Still Time To Bake

I know that the Christmas festivities are in high gear about now, but there is always time to do a little bit more baking. I was looking for new "simple" ideas for some different Christmas baking and I found this recipe at Diethood I thought I would share with you. They look absolutely delicious don't they! I make little mini cheesecakes that are a lot like these and those are really good so I thought I would try these. Oh my no wonder we put on those few extra pounds during the holidays.....all this great eating! :)

Happy Eating!

Colleen :)

Whew....Done!

My oh my!! It has been a long time since I have posted hasn't it. Well I am finally done with all the local Christmas shows and bazaars and what a great season we had! The local people are just amazing in supporting the local shops and fairs. I wish I could thank each and everyone of them. 

We had some new items that just flew off the shelves. This year I made some placemats using fabric that shows one of our favorite flowers up here and of course my coiled bowls that did really well. Still have a few of these in my Etsy shop. 

Then my husband did really well with his woodworking. He had aspen candle holders that were new this year and everyone really liked them. Only have a few of those left. His birch bowls did really well too. Now he has to get busy and get more stuff made so we can fill his Etsy shop back up. LOL! :)

All in all we had a terrific year. From the summer visitors to the local people we did really well. I thank God everyday that we are able to have our little business and create things for everyone to see. It is so much fun and fulfilling. :)

Hope everyone's Christmas season is going well and you are all getting everything done. This time of year is so much fun...hectic but fun. :) Which reminds me.....I still need to get the baking done! Yikes better get going and do that. 

Have a great week!

Colleen :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Just wanted to wish all of my faithful blog followers a very Merry Christmas!! Have a wonderful day and enjoy all of your family and friends. I know I am. :)

FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED

I know this time of year is so hectic for all of us, but I thought I would pass on some information that I was reading the other day. Seems this lady was listening to a talk show and the doctor on the show proclaimed, “The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never had the time to finish.”

She thought about this for the longest time. Then looked around her house to see all the things she started and hadn’t found the time to finish. She decided that today was the day to change, so before leaving the house that morning she finished off a 2-liter bottle of Mt. Dew, a bottle of some unknown alcoholic beverage, a package of Oreo’s, a pound package of peanut M&M’s , the rest of last night’s strawberry cheesecake, some Dorito’s, and a box of chocolate truffles left over from Valentine’s Day!!!!

I really think that doctor knew what he was talking about! I can relate to this……………..hmmm may have to try it tomorrow!!

So hang in there and enjoy life!

CHRISTMAS BAKING

Wow....can't believe it has been so long since I have posted anything! :(    I have been busy doing my local craft shows so that is a pretty good excuse I guess. :)  I have finished with the shows and they were very successful. I am very happy with all the shows I did. Now I need to finish up packing the gift boxes to get them ready to ship then I can start baking. :)

Speaking of baking.....how about this recipe. It sounds absolutely delicious! Only bad thing is that I would probably only be able to make half the batch as I would eat half the cookie dough, half the peanut butter cups and half the brownie mix before I even got close to the pan!! HA!HA! 

Ingredients:

Refrigerator chocolate chip cookie dough

Mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Box of fudge brownie mix

               *egg

               *water

               *oil

Instructions:

Prepare brownie mix according to box using the eggs, water and oil.

Smash the refrigerator cookie dough into the bottom of the muffin pans

Unwrap and place peanut butter cups on top of the cookie dough. Top with prepared brownie mix.

Bake for 18 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree oven. Walla......you have a great dessert. Now.....if we can keep it from attaching to our hips when we eat them. :)  I may have to try these, but first I have to get those sugar cookies done!

Happy Baking!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terrible frightened. And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.

                                                                                                                   Luke 2:9-12

Wishing all of my faithful blog followers and cyber friends a joyous and wonderful Christmas!

 

 

CHRISTMAS SHOW

Had my first of three Christmas shows last weekend. It went fairly well. Not as good as last year, but with the economy we were pleasantly surprised. This is the biggest show on the peninsula and people even come over from Anchorage to do their shopping because this is all handmade only. It is really nice to see all the talent there is up here.

This is my booth. I do all the summer and Christmas shows with my "market buddy". We have a large area at these shows so we can stuff a lot of products in them and it just gives the customers more room to move around. 

This is my friends side of the booth. She makes the most wonderful soap and they make candle and plant holders out of stones they find on the beach so hence the name SoapStonz. 

I really enjoy doing these shows and visiting with all the people. It is nice to see many repeat customers coming to find us to see what new we have. We are blessed with all the repeat customers we get. :)

Today is Cyber Monday so I thought I would have a 20% discount sale in my Etsy Shop. Just type in CYBER20 at check out. It runs through Tuesday December 3rd. I have lots of Christmas decor. :)


So what are your plans for this week? Christmas shopping? I am sooooooooooo far behind schedule. Normally I have all my packages done and shipped to my dad, but this year I am not even finished!! Toooooooooooooooo much to do and too little time!!! :) Well I better get busy getting stuff done! Have a great week! :)

BLOG HOP PARTY...GIVEAWAY!!

It's time for the Giving Thanks-Quilter's Blog Hop Party!!

We are having a giveaway!! And who doesn't like giveaways!! I know I love them. :) 

 

 

The Quilting Gallery is having a blog hop party that I am taking part in. These are always so much fun so I hope you join us at the Blog Party. There are on average 120 blogs that join this party from all over the world so there will be lots of blogs to visit and giveaways to enter! I always have so much fun visiting with people from all corners of the world so please join in the fun and visiting blogs. :)



I thought I would offer on my giveaway some Christmas fabric. There are 5 fat quarters of Christmas fabric called the Winterfest Bundle from Fabric World. Cute little Santa's and mittens and red, green and white accent fabric can be used for your Christmas sewing. 

The rules are easy peasy for entering my giveaway........................

Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post.

New followers are always welcome.

Leave a way for me to contact you if you are a no-reply blog or do not have a blog.

I would appreciate it if you would like to share this giveaway

Giveaway will run through November 26th with the winner

announced on November 27th.

 

 

So that is all it takes. Not much to it is there. So have fun with the blog hop and see you in....BLOGLAND! :)

 

 

 

WINTER CELEBRATION IS HERE!!





Time for the Old Farmhouse Gathering Winter Celebration!!! Starts today!!! Please come join us in the fun and shop for so many wonderful gift items from this wonderful and talented team. Just follow here or you can go to Etsy and type in WCCOFG into the search bar to see all the great goodies for sale! See you there!

                                                 

Colleen :)

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! :)