t and ....

(today's tea is shu pu-erh loose tea)

... t and thank you cards ....

( HERE's the "how to" post about making your own rubber stamps out of polymer erasers)

* * *

please visit these other lovely t spots:

Patty

Pat

Jean

Christen

Penny

Judy

* * * 

Merry Christmas

What can I give him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb,

If I were a wise man

I would do my part,

Yet what I can I give Him —

Give my heart.

t is for .....

t is for ....

totally cool

tiny

treasures sent

to me

this week ...

thank you elizabeth, jean and jameson!

***

today's

t

is

Prince of Wales Specialty Black

yum!

***

please visit these other lovely t spots:

Patty

Pat

Jean

Christen

Penny

... this one doesn't flop :)

This flower cone doesn't flop (see previous post). The difference is to have the ribbon on either side of it rather than in the back. This only took and hour to make .... not bad .... and I've discovered that crepe paper is a really great embellishment for that Victorian kind of look.

So this project used: a music sheet, crepe paper, ric-rac ribbon, a gold pipe cleaner, glitter, ribbon, gold stars, a snowflake ornament and a vintage Christmas St. Nick sticker.



I'm planning to surprise a friend by leaving it on her front door doorknob - like you would do with a May basket on May 1st.

A Victorian Christmas Flower Cone

I've seen these on etsy and in fancy gift shops and knew it wouldn't be hard to make my own. In fact, Martha Stewart has a very easy tutorial to follow (click HERE). For picture taking purposes, I have it one my front door - but it actually flops around too much to stay there. Now it's hanging indoors over the corner of a picture frame. It was pretty easy to make, looks pretty special and would be a terrific gift for anyone who likes old fashioned or Victorian Christmas things.

a fun teacher gift ...

... and it's "green!"

... a recycled can and a rooted plant (this one is ivy) make a great gift for children to make and give to their teacher - or anyone really!

I punched holes in the can bottom and spray painted it (spray paint - not so "green") and my 8 year old did the rest.

She even got to have a little science lesson about how cuttings will root in water and make an entirely new plant.

 It only took a week for roots to appear!

Ivy works great - you can also very easily root Christmas Cactus, Geraniums and Spider Plants.

t is for .....

Ten

10

one - zero

double digits

I have a ten year old now :)

t is for ....

totally cute

truthful

talkative

trustworthy

a tease

tenderhearted

too smart

... and today I am totally running around like mad ...

present shopping

cake baking

present wrapping

special dinner fixing

(fried chicken by request)

and just generally swamped

too swamped for a pretty picture of my cuppa

but trust me

hot

black

caffeinated

t

for today

***

please also visit these other fine t spots:

Patty

Pat

Jean

Judy

Christen

Penny

(ladies .... I'll drop on you a bit later .... when the dust settles)

Burning Love

I made this tin milagros heart a while ago and thought it needed a little something to complete it.

Doesn't love need some fun mixed in?

I threw in some Elvis Presley and movie candy (Dots and Hot Tamales) .... oh and some maddening crazy tangled up computer wire.

It's just a hunk a hunk of burning love :)

***

(it's also in my etsy shop)

t is for .....

... t is for treats!

I spent most of the day yesterday baking up a storm with "Nana" and "Grandmama."

Today's t is Australian Madura tea

with treats:

Hungarian Rugalach (Nana's recipe)

and Christmas Criss-Cross cookies (Grandmama's recipe)

... wish you were here to share the calories ;)

***

Please also visit these other t spots:

Patty

Pat

Jean

Christen

Judy

you?

(if you would like to join the "t on tuesday" gang, just let me know and I'll happily add your link to the list every week)

nature's tinsel

I captured these images at a "u-cut" tree lot yesterday.

We ended up not getting a tree there - but I'm glad I had my camera along.

field trip

... today I left the countryside behind me and headed for the city of Seattle.

It was a frosty cold morning.

But by the time I got to the city it was warm sunshine and oyster shell blue sky.

The field trip?

A personal date with my favorite of all artists

Alexander Calder.

He was at SAM (Seattle Art Museum).

He's funny, happy, childlike and incredibly incredibly prolific.

40 straight years of non stop energy and production.

His specialty?

Balance.

Whimsy.

Simplicity.

Ahhhhhhhhh .......

more matchbox mania

I made this advent calendar about 3 yrs ago out of matchboxes, foam core and a bunch of scrapbooking stuff ....

I fill the "drawers" with candy and my kids take turns with opening one each day.

I don't really remember how I made it though ..... sorry :(

t is for .....

(focused out)

T is for ....

Taking a liTTle Time ouT

(focused in)

I do sooo looove Thanksgiving .... it's my favorite holiday of the year ...

but the last couple of days have become one big huge time out .... and boy, oh boy, was that ever a good idea.

It was like having a coach on the sidelines making a great big T with his hands - and suddenly here I am with gatorade (actually it's Lady Grey Tea) and a bench. It feels good.

Wishing you a breather from the game too :)

***

other T blogs:

Pat

Patty

Christen

Judy

Jean

a gift from the pixie pond

Char at the Pixie Pond was my swap partner for the matchbox swap.

The idea was to decorate and stuff a matchbox to the brim with trinkets and treasures.

It's truly amazing what will fit - it's totally magical to have this tiny little treasure box of cool stuff :)

... this is what she sent me from her little corner of the world. Pretty cool eh?

I love the hand lettered ribbon especially :)

t is for .....

T is for Thankfulness ...

for ...

rain that helps things grow

distances shortened with a phone call

bills that can be paid

family ... and the friends found there

tears - gently dried

fears - gently pushed aside

challenges that cause me to say, "help!"

time flying by, making me slow down

time creeping past, making me more patient

books that make the world fade away

music that changes my mood

clutter and mess reminding me that I am not alone

a table full of faces I love

chatter

laughter

lingering long

hanging out

... the world stands still.

***

T on Tuesday

Patty

Pat

Jean

Judy

Christen

... and you?

A Plate of Happiness

... Pumpkin Cupcakes ...

(recipe from Gayle at Planet M Files .... click HERE)

... with a little added cheer

as if you weren't smiling already at the sight of cupcakes

:) :) :)

.....

The "Party Picks" are newly featured in my Etsy shop .... click HERE

A Little Wishful Snowman

I've been working on this snowman "shrine" for a couple of weeks and finally finished him today. It's been a very rainy day - which gave me the idea for how to finish him and let him have his say about things ...

.... you see, he is rather perched on a soapbox sort of contraption there ...

... it says on the sides:

"into each life a .....

..... little rain must fall."

His response to that idea?

"let it snow!!!"

***

he was just listed in my etsy shop today

(click HERE for the listing)

colors to dye for (pun intended)

step 1: you need wool and kool-aid

I used "Fisherman's Wool" which is sold in great big skeins (it's economical) in natural colors. I used an off white and a brownish color.

***

Soak small amounts of the wool in kool-aid and water.

For less intense colors like mine - just a couple of minutes will do it.

Be careful to really squeeze your yarn to get it soaking up the dye.

Wool is basically waterproof - so you have to really work it in.

***

Hang it up to dry in a place where it won't matter if it drips.

***

Mine dried over night.

You can see that the darker wool and the lighter wool dyed very differently ... except for the grape ... those 2 look basically the same to me.

I'm planning to make ski headbands like THIS one.

I'll use the natural wool for the background color and these yummy kool-aid colors for the stranded parts. (They smell good too!)

***

... oh, and you might want to wear gloves (wink)

T is for .....

T is for Tenderness

Tender:

having yielding character

having the softer emotions

showing care or consideration

susceptible to emotion

delicate to touch

sensitive to injury.

I'll have more of that T, please.

***

Pat

Patty

Christen

Judy

Jean

an origami box with lid ....

.... just perfect for a chunk of homemade fudge at Christmas time.

(click HERE for where I got the pattern)

my favorite dish

... is my grandmother's candy dish.

She used to always have a supply of those strawberry hard candies with gooey filling.

Yum.

Now it keeps small 2 inch pieces of art (twinchies) that I've swapped with friends ...

less fattening :)