MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Well all the packages have been sent and suitcases are packed for our trip down to the lower 48 to spend time with family and friends. I wanted to take this time to wish all my loyal followers a very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the New Year. I am very grateful for every one of you and everything I have and I am looking forward to what the next year will bring. :)

So everyone have a wonderful holiday season, best wishes to you all and I will see you when I get back. :) 

THUMBPRINT COOKIES

So how is everyone’s week before Christmas going? Is everyone finished shopping and wrapping? I ship all of my gifts to my dad and then we fly down so I have to be very organized and have everything down there by Thanksgiving right?..............NOT!! Needless to say I was wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy behind schedule this year and my dad just received the boxes yesterday, but hey they made it!!

Do you have all your baking done yet? Well for those of you that bake. I have one more batch of sugar cookies to do for my son’s family to take with us and then I will be done! HURRAH!! I usually make a couple of batches of these thumbprint cookies and they usually don’t last very long. I made a batch last week and this batch yesterday and yes………………they are just about gone.

I thought maybe you might like to have this recipe since everyone around here likes these cookies. I usually double the ingredients as one only makes about 16 cookies and we can eat those in a few hours!
 

 

¼ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup shortening

¼ cup brown sugar (packed)

1 egg, separated

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup Gold Medal Flour

¾ cups finely chopped nuts

1 small container of candied cherries

Powdered sugar for icing

 

Heat oven to 350. Mix thoroughly butter, shortening, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla. Work in flour until dough holds together. Shape dough by teaspoonful’s into 1-inch balls.

Beat egg white slightly. Dip each ball into egg white; roll in nuts. Place 1- inch apart on ungreased baking sheet; press thumb deeply into center of each. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Immediately remove from baking sheet. Place candied cherry in center of each cookie. When cooled dribble with powdered sugar icing. And whalla….you are done!

 

 

 

 

I hope you like them as much as we do! Have fun with all of your baking and then we can all go on diets January 2^nd! :)

 

 

 

 

CHRISTMAS RED!

I love the color red especially in clothes and fabrics and of course one of the colors of Christmas is red. I thought I would share this treasury of red with you. I just thought is was so pretty.

So are all of you shopping and baking today? I have all my shopping done and getting ready to start some baking today. What is your favorite thing to bake for Christmas? Mine are sugar cookies. My family loves them or at least that is what they tell me. :)

Enjoy the treasury and enjoy your day!

'R is for RED!!!!' by CaneRiverCrafts

 

15% OFF Red and White P... SouthernWreath... $80.75	2 DECORATIVE PILLOW Cov... ThePillowFight $30.00
Crisp Red and White Cla... IsamayDesigns $1.60	Battenburg Lace and Fel... SnowNoseCrafts $4.00
Roly Poly Santa Doll Or... shweetpotatodo... $15.00	3 to 6 months Baby Red ... CreationsbySha... $12.00
Red and White Swirl Nee... smootynashley $10.00	2 Beautiful Wool Felt C... FancifulStitch... $8.99
Red Crocheted Snowflake... farmersattic $14.99	Adorable Red & White St... sarasweetandsm... $8.00
Candy Canes, Lollipops ... TutuDeliciousD... $44.95	Bag Nook Kindle eReader... NeedlesnPinsSt... $16.00
Cissy..A Loving Needlep... Warmth $15.00	Red White Bow-Christmas... SpoiledBratz $12.99
Christmas Skirt, Holida... rockabutt $34.00	Red and White 28 inch l... AuntBsAttic $30.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

PRIMITIVE CHRISTMAS DECORATING

 

Christmas is upon us and that means for many of us we will be decorating our homes for the season. I don’t do as much decorating as I have in the past. With the kids and grandkids living down in the lower 48 we really don’t have a reason to do too much decorating. I still do put lights out on the house and put a few items in the house. That is ok to just keep it simple.

But for those of you that do like to do a lot of decorating, I read this article the other day and it has some wonderful ideas for decorating with a primitive/folk art/country theme.

 Here are some of the suggestions:

FRESH GREENERY:

            There are many ways to incorporate fresh greenery into your displays. Cut sprigs of evergreen and add to trenchers, bowls, baskets, and crocks.

WREATHS:

            The wreath has an important place in the history of Christmas. The circle shape of the wreath is made to represent Christ’s eternal love, strength and the creation of new life. Evergreens are commonly used in the construction of the wreath. Try using fresh herbs, pinecones or dried apples instead. They will add primitive country charm to your home.

GARLANDS:

            Popcorn and cranberry garlands are fun and easy to make. They will also give your tree old-time charm. Make a few extra garlands to hang outside for your feathered friends.

THEMED TREES:

            Use what you have around your home to create themed trees. Tie homespun fabric or jute onto small cookie cutters and hang on a small tree in the kitchen. Use small clothespins to clip vintage photos to branches to create a memory tree. Use your imagination to create one-of-a-kind trees in your home. Forget about the tree skirt….place your tree in a galvanized tub, wooden crate or crock instead. This will give you more of a primitive look.

DECORATING WITH FRUITS:

            During colonial times, the colonists used fruits, such as pineapples, pears and apples in displays, wreaths and garlands. Place a few apples, pears and nuts in a bowl and tuck in a few greens. Line three pears in a windowsill and add a few sprigs of fresh greens. Remember, less is more! Simple decorations are often as effective as those more elaborate.

   

PINECONES:

            Add a special touch to wrapped gifts by adding pine cones and other natural elements such as cinnamon sticks and winterberries. Create a pinecone tree by wiring pinecones onto floral picks and then inserting them on a cone-shaped foam base. Place a jar candle in a wooden bowl and fill the remainder of the bowl with pinecones.

You can give your home a cozy, old-fashioned feel at minimal cost this Christmas by decorating with handmade and natural items.

                                                       Reprinted in part by permission from The Country Register of Minnesota

 

 

I like all of these ideas especially the themed trees. That sounds like it would really look neat. I also love pinecones and those ideas are good also. This is one of the ways I use pinecones in my decorating.

And this is the wreath I use outside my front door. It has lights on it so I like that.

So, what is your favorite decorating idea? Post a comment here so we all can get some new ideas. J

 

Hope you got some ideas from this article. I did. I also have a new Christmas recipe for you under The Recipe Exchange. Hope you have fun decorating!!

 

Also the Old Farmhouse Gathering team is still having their Spirit of Christmas Celebration so come on over and see everything they have to offer. We have some wonderful gift ideas. Just follow here

           

 

SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

I am finished with the local Christmas shows and what great shows they were! I had such a fun time doing them and had tremendous sales. So many more than I ever expected. I am truly grateful for everyone that purchased our items. I had three shows and my husband started the season with 60 of his cutting boards and whalla……………..I sold every one of them!! It was amazing. And my tote bags, pillows, pot holders, etc went like hot cakes! It was great!!!

Now back to reality………I am hoping to get more consistent with my postings now that those shows are over. So I am going to start with letting all of you know about the Spirit of Christmas Celebration that the Old Farmhouse Gathering team on Etsy is having. If you are looking for some really nice items for those Christmas gifts then this is the team that has them.

 

Come on over and join us in our celebration…  http://www.etsy.com/search?q=socofg&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US&page=4        You can also just go to Etsy home page and type in SOCOFG to see all the wonderful items. Here is a sample of what you will see. :)

          

Primitive Christmas Rei... OldeAnniePrimi... $12.95	Santa Doll tinsandtreasur... $18.00
Primitive Angel Christm... happyvalleypri... $5.95	Santa Mouse with presen... MyStitchesToTr... $25.00
Santa and his sleigh SO... bkgcustomcraft... $25.00	SOCOFG celebration Chri... Pippisdesigns $11.95
Chester the snowman Artbyme $16.00	Extreme Primitive Santa... shweetpotatodo... $35.00
Christmas Santa Make-Do... PaintspotsnSpl... $16.95	Red Crocheted Snowflake... farmersattic $14.99
Primitive Penny rug gar... primpennystitc... $12.99	Holiday, Wall Hanging, ... kathleenmelvil... $24.00
Primitive Christmas Elf... YorkiesPrimiti... $24.95	Primitive Season's ... scrapsofthepas... $10.00
Santa Napkin Holder, Ch... loisling $12.00	Primitive Snowman Tree ... Rabbithollowpr... $28.95

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

 

 

New recipe for you under The Recipe Exchange. Sounds yummy....love chocolate! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TUESDAY TREASURIES

Time for Tuesday's Treasuries...or I guess this week we could call it Turkey Treasuries. Since it is getting close to Thanksgiving for us USAers I thought I would do a treasury with turkeys. Boy was I amazed at the amount of different things that can be made around turkey's! Who would have thought.....certainly not me. So here is this week's treasury.....enjoy! :)

 

Thanksgiving Turkey Wit... Freeheart1 $18.00	TURKEY BABY HAT - Photo... AleksandraNagr... $29.00
Wild Turkey Sterling Si... AlbertFazJewel... $215.00	Thanksgiving Turkey Fab... TwoCraftyKids $3.49
Whimsical Thanksgiving ... barbsheartstro... $21.00	Vintage Fall Turkey Dig... graphicals $1.00
Primitive Stitchery Fal... wvluckygirl $13.99	Quilt magic turkey BrendasQuiltMa... $22.00
Fall Autumn Fabric Prin... corgipal $10.00	Woodland Turkey Necklac... OohLookItsARab... $18.00
Thanksgiving Turkey Hai... LivvyLousBouti... $3.50	Primitive THANKSGIVING ... WickedlyCreati... $18.00
Thanksgiving Hair Clips... Snugglebugkidz $12.99	Folk Art Thanksgiving T... quiltcountry $115.00
Thanksgiving Funny Turk... Buttonwilloe $12.00	Wild Turkey, Great Smok... MagMoment $30.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house