January Daisies

Its been a while since I did some artwork. I have been so wrapped up in crocheting and the holidays, that I nearly forgot about the relaxation of painting.

One afternoon after all had settled down, the house was cleaned and crochet orders were caught up, I decided I wanted to paint a while. I didn't have a new blank canvas so I took an old ugly abstract painting I did a couple years ago and painted over it with a new look. That's the fun of acrylic!

"January Daisies"

I knew sort of what I wanted to paint. I needed a picture for my bathroom to coincide with the colors of the curtain and rug. I grabbed just three colors plus white and began my masterpiece. I was not sure what to paint or how to do the colors so I just began using the brush on the canvas and adjusted and blended as I went. once it was completely dry, I randomly drew long stem daisies blowing in the wind.

 

I plan to do some more paintings as soon as I get more time. Painting is so relaxing.

Ive shared this at:
create-link-inspire at thecraftyblogstalke

Baked Kale Chips

I introduced myself to a new vegetable called Kale. I've heard of this leafy vegetable but never tried it until now. My sister told me that she baked kale leaves in the oven to make a healthy nibble snack.
Well, since I'm wanting to eat healthy I gave it a try. I actually tried a piece of kale before baking and found it to be delicious. I thought it had a slight bitter but nutty flavor.

 Baked Kale Chips

First I cut off the big stems then rinsed the kale in a colander.

You want them to be as dry as you can get them so it will turn crisp correctly. So after I rinsed them, I tore them by hand into small pieces and laid on a sheet of paper towels and used another paper towel to press the water away.

Then I put the kale pieces in a large baggy but you can also use a bowl. I poured a couple tablespoons of olive oil and sea salt into the bag and tossed the kale to get it coated well.

I covered a baking sheet with foil and laid the frilly greens in a single layer to bake.

At this point you can add other flavors if you wish such as garlic, or paprika (which is what I did). But its totally optional. Just the salt and olive oil alone make a wonderful flavor.

Bake at 325 for about 20 minutes until crisp.

They will be thin and fragile but not so bad that you cant pic them up to eat them. My husband and daughter liked them therefore I almost didn't get a chance to get a picture after baking. They didn't last long. These do not do good to eat later because some of the leaves will turn soft again but I heard you can store them in a paper bag to keep the crispness.

I'm thinking of trying some other recipes using this fiber filled vegetable soon. Do you have a Kale recipe you love? Id love to hear some more ideas.

Ive shared this at:

whatd-you-do-this-weekend at tumbleweedcontessa
made-by-me-109-linky-party-and-features at jaqsstudio 
full-plate-thursday at mizhelenscountrycottage
create-link-inspire at thecraftyblogstalke

Happy New Year!

Wow, twenty thirteen went by way to fast but I'm ready for a new start.

As I look back on the past twelve months, its hasn't been that bad. My daughter graduated college, I received a pay raise, my online shop stayed steady, I learned a few new things, got rid of a few so called friends. I didn't have to go any further than deleting them off face book because that's the only place they seemed to know me. You know what I'm talking about. Even though I would have liked to be closer and would have been a good friend for them, they just had their own groups and lives and were to busy or thought they were to good to know me well. I say, good riddance.

Looking forward, I'm pretty excited about what the new year may bring me. 

In February, I hope to have some exciting news to share. (no pregnancy, weddings or moves). Just something I've been challenging myself to accomplish and hope it happens.
I also, hope to get a new car this year. I have had one now for seven years and if I see my budget will let me, I hope to have something new. Its just scary thinking about getting into another four years of car payments.
I might be a mom to a college student again. My daughter is waiting on news of acceptance into a masters program.
I plan to visit the beach more often this year, loose weight, tithe more and be a better person.
I have lots of drawers and closets to clean out and maybe learn a few new recipes and crafts.

Today I will be having my traditional New Years dinner complete with collard greens, black eye peas, mashed potatoes, pork loin, macaroni and cheese and cobblers. My house will be full of friends and family as we celebrate the New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Goodbye Christmas

Goodbye Christmas!

Its the day after Christmas and I just took down and put away all my Christmas decorations! I get tired of looking at them and its not like any of my family or even friends visited my house this year to take a look at all the beautiful things we did to make it all Christmasy. We did all the visiting as usual and sometimes I wonder what the point is to even decorate, but then my husband reminds me that its for us to enjoy and not to worry about everyone else seeing it.

Besides the disappointment of no visitors, we did have a wonderful Christmas. I'm pretty sure that everything we got, we had asked for. Only two returns out of all the things my daughter received due to the wrong size. Since Christmas is now over, I'm gonna share with you a few of my Christmas confessions.

• I have never seen the "Grinch". Neither cartoon or movie all the way through.
• I have never watched "A Christmas Story" all the way through.
• I stopped believing in Santa before I stopped believing in reindeer.
• I never once caught my parents being Santa. I was to afraid to get up thinking he wouldn't come.
• I don't know what Figgy pudding is.
• I do not know all the words to the 12 days of Christmas.
• When I hear the word "Frankincense" I think of "Frankenstein".
• I hate the colors Red and Green and together is even worst.
• I only peeked at a present one time in my life and its when I was little. It was a shirt and I felt guilty all Christmas. Never ever have peeked again.

My family will finally visit my home on New Years day. I will do my traditional dinner and then I get to start the new year and look forward to spring and summer. I love spring time! Cant wait to pull out the Easter decorations.

Do you leave up your Christmas deocrations until Janaury? Or do you you take them down in a hurry like me?

Italian Almond Biscotti

Every year at Christmas I make goodies to share. One year it was cheese balls, the other it was pecan cookies, etc....But this year I decided to make some Italian Biscotti. My Husband is from an Italian family and I sure would have loved to get a hold of some of his grandmothers recipes. He will often mention the frittata and sugary pastry twist that were favorites along with other unique and special dishes. Most of the time she would make them without a recipe. She had them all in her head and as far as I know, she took them with her to the grave.

Biscotti is an Italian word that means twice cooked. These cookies were twice cooked (or baked) so they would keep longer and hold up when dipped in coffee.

I got this recipe from learnfromyesterday.com. The only thing I did different was I used almonds instead of walnuts and I used 1 teaspoon of anise and 1 teaspoon of vanilla because she said either one would work and that just meant I had to make a choice and I'm not good a making my mind up so I did both. It turned out delicious!

This recipe makes A LOT of Biscotti. I will have biscotti until Easter! When I was making the dough, I felt like Lucy in one of the "I Love Lucy" shows.

However, It ended up doing just fine and made 4 perfect loafs and about 100 pieces. I didn't actually count them and I would eat the broken ones. But I'm pretty sure It made about that much.

I left most of them plain but I dipped a few of them in some chocolate dip to add extra sweetness to these not so sweet cookies. They are perfectly sweet when dipped in coffee. Perfect for a quick breakfast during this fast pace time of the year. And to my surprise, they do not have a lot of calories.

Ive shared this at:

ladybug-blessings

nifty-thrifty-tuesday at linda-coastalcharm

whatd-you-do-this-weekend at tumbleweedcontessa

full-plate-thursday at mizhelenscountrycottage

thecraftyblogstalker

showcase-your-talent-thursday at whatscookinglove

freedom-fridays at myturnforus



Boot Cuffs

I have been wanting to make some cute little boot cuffs. Its something you practically have to buy hand made. I cant seem to find them in any of the store around here in North Carolina. But then again, its 70 degrees in December.

I went to Pinterest to find some ideas on a pair. I attempted a couple but just couldn't seem to get them right so I gave up.

Then I got a few request for some and thought Id give it another try. I ended up making up my own pattern and made a couple pairs. I like the way they turned out.

The first pair went to one of my best friends and the other pair went to my daughter. If you would like a pair, you can special request them in my Etsy shop or if you can crochet here is how I did them.

NOTE: I'm not good at writting the patterns. Just hope you can uderstand how I explain the process.

BOOT CUFFS
chain 13
sc across (12)
ch 1 turn, sc in back loop only
   *repeat (ch 1 turn, sc back loop only) until sized to go around your calf. (I did 40rows)
fold and slip stitch together (this is your ribbed cuff).
ch 1, sc in rounds until desired length. ( I did 12).
Tie off and garnish with a button or bow.

Not only are these things stylish and warm, but they will also keep critters out of your boots while your outside playing.



Pecan Brittle

Peanut brittle has always been a favorite during the holiday season. I decided to make my own but all I had was pecans so I'm calling it "Pecan Brittle".

 

This is the first time I've tried this. For some reason, I had a recipe for brittle that only called for sugar and butter.???....Yea, I know, right?. I got it from my mom... I think. I knew this could not be right. I must have started writing a recipe and never finished or my mom knew some magic trick to it. She can always come up with the best recipes and most are in her head.

By now the craving for some brittle was getting more intense. What do I do? I logged quickly onto Pinterest and found a recipe, or should I say, "many recipes".

I didn't use only one recipe but got ideas from several and made my own. Well, mainly because I didn't have all of the ingredients to complete any single one so I scrapped it, and to my surprise, it turned out really good! The best part is that I did it in the microwave! Worst part? I had to chisel the remaining mess off my glass bowl! That was a job in itself!

Pecan Brittle

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup Karo syrup( light corn syrup)

1/4 Tbs salt

1 Tbs butter

1 Tbs vanilla extract

1 cup pecans (or any nut)

In a glass bowl, combine: nuts, sugar, syrup & salt.

Microwave 4 minutes. ( mixture will be bubbly).
Stir in butter and vanilla and cook another 4 minutes.

Quickly pour onto a greased baking sheet. (Be careful not to get any one you because it will blister you like a glue gun on steroids). 

Cool about 15 minutes then break into pieces and enjoy.



Ive shared this at:
inspire-me-monday at create-with-joy
full-plate-thursday at mizhelenscountrycottage
kitchen-fun-crafty-friday at kitchenfunwithmy3sons
ladybug-blessings.