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Archive for the ‘Art and Crafts’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (12/18/09)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Gift Ideas, Handcrafted Cards, Health, inspiration, Recipes, Recycling, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 18, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The holidays are creeping ever so close, but don’t panic! I’ve got a couple of thoughts and ideas for you.

#1 – Send E-Holiday Greetings
Last year in an effort to reduce the amount of paper goods going to landfills, I sent email Christmas greetings to 95% of my friends and family. Those that I didn’t have email addresses for received snail-mail versions. The email greetings had all the components of my usual holiday greeting – a family photo and a newsletter. For me the unexpected bonus of sending this type of correspondence was all of the spontaneous email replies from friends and family that I normally only heard from during our annual Christmas card exchange. No stamps and no addressing of envelopes are involved and no paper products go to landfill, but still all the best wishes of the holiday season are sent to those I care about. In my mind this is the best of both worlds.

#2 – Gift Idea
Do you have someone on your shopping list that spends a fair amount of time commuting to and from school or work? Consider giving this person a book on CD. My family has long been fans of listening to classics and thrillers while in riding in the car. When my kids were young they listened to cassette tapes of children’s classics such as Anne of the Green Gables, Hatchet, The Odyssey, and Lord of the Rings.

Along this line you can also give a subscription to Audible.com. Different subscription rates provide for different numbers of free downloads of books per month or per year. New book releases can be downloaded to your computer to be burned to a CD and/or downloaded to your iPod for listening. The cost is significantly lower than the cost of a new audio book.

#3 – Recipe for Bath Salts
What about treating a friend or yourself to a spa treatment, but at home? Homemade bath salts are easy to make! Put 3 cups of Epsom salts in a large glass bowl or large glass jar. In a smaller glass container mix together 1 tablespoon of glycerin, a few drops of food coloring, and enough essential oil to attain the desired intensity of fragrance. Add the perfumed liquid mixture into the salt crystals and mix thoroughly. This mixture should be stored in a glass container with a lid. Make a tag or label describing the contents of the jar and directions for its use (add 3 heaping tablespoons to your bath). Some recipes for bath salts also include a quarter cup of sea salt and/or a couple of tablespoons of baking soda.

#4 – A Healthy Gift Idea
For seven years I have subscribed to the Nutrition Action Healthletter which is published 10 times a year by the Center for Science in the Public Interest or CSPI for the nominal fee of $24. Packed in roughly 20 pages are easily understood articles on diet, health and food safety, latest updates on food and health supplements, columns on recent studies, and nutritional comparisons of products. The most recent issue featured articles titled Seven Facts You May Not Know About Exercise and What the Label Doesn’t Tell You. The knowledge gained from this periodical enables readers to make better and healthier life choices.

#5 – Definition of Joy
I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace – a connection to what matters. Oprah Winfrey

Have a joyous weekend!

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Tablecloths Masquerading as Tree Skirts

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Holidays, tagged , , , , , , , on December 17, 2009| 1 Comment »

As I roamed through store after store one year searching for a Christmas tree skirt that was proportional to my large tree and that matched my decor, I became frustrated because all I could find were dinky little tree skirts at exorbitant prices. Then a thought occurred to me, “What about using a round tablecloth as a tree skirt?”

Tablecloths can be found in a variety of diameters, fabrics, and colors and you’re more likely to find a tablecloth that matches your home’s decor than a tree skirt! Consider purchasing a round tablecloth at stores like T.J. Maxx, Ross, Marshall’s or Tuesday Morning.

Here’s how I convert tablecloths into tree skirts:
1. Fold the tablecloth in half, then in quarters, and finally in eighths.
2. With a pair of fabric scissors or very sharp scissors, cut the point off the top of the folded fabric following the curve of the hemmed edge to create the hole for the tree trunk. Depending on the diameter of your tree trunk you’ll want to cut about one to two inches from the point, because when you finally open up the fabric, you’ll have a two to four inch hole.
3. Next while the fabric is still folded in eighths, cut a fold from the bottom of the hem all the way up to the cut you just made. This provides an opening in the tablecloth that enables you to drape it around the tree.
4. Using Mighty Mendit, a product advertised on television, you can glue some type of braiding or trim around the raw edge of the center hole and the two cut edges of the side opening. An alternative to this is folding the raw edges under a half-inch and hemming them on your sewing machine. A third option is to just leave the edges raw and tuck them under every year so that no one notices them. As you can probably guess, this is the option I’ve always chosen!

Note: The photo shows a 70″ round tablecloth around the base of a 9′ tree.

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Friday’s Fresh Five (12/11/09)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, tagged , , , , , on December 11, 2009| 2 Comments »

The spirit of sharing and giving can be found everywhere.

#1 – Free Printable Gift Tags
There are many websites that provide free printable gift tags for all occasions. Just do a Google search for free printable gift tags and select the page that you want to print. Insert white card stock into your color printer, print, and cut out! Here’s a site that had cute Christmas tags.

#2 – Baking Tip
With holiday baking in full swing, consider this tip: Cookies will spread during baking if you’ve allowed the butter to get too soft, so refrigerate your dough for a couple of hours before baking. Bottom line: When putting a sheet of cookies into the oven to bake, the cooler the cookie dough, the less it will spread.

#3 – Looking for a Unique Gift That Gives Back?
My cousin Laurie is a high school principal. She, along with her daughters Alison and Kelly, and friend Nancy, an intervention specialist, have started a project called BeBuddies. Laurie and her team create one-of-a-kind, handmade BeBuddies. They are asking people to, “Please adopt one this holiday season and support youth who are finding ways to develop their skills and avoid further contact with the juvenile justice system. Every dollar from the sale of BeBuddies will bring resources to teens from 14-18 who are on probation.” Suggested adoption fee for a very cute and unique BeBuddy is $20.00. For more information email BeBuddies@gmail.com. Adopt a BeBuddy and help high-risk youth!

#4 – Christmas Tree Trivia – True or False
A. Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850.
B. It is considered bad luck to put up your Christmas tree before the 1st of December.
C. In the first week, a tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water per day.
D. Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska.
E. Thomas Edison’s assistants came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees.
F. Christmas trees generally take 6-8 years to mature.
G. You should never burn your Christmas tree in the fireplace. It can contribute to creosote buildup.

Answers: All true!

#5 – Perspectives on Stress From Catherine Pulsifer
When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter in 5 years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go.

Things could be a lot worse, the stress of the situation always could be worse, but I am alive and I have a lot to be thankful for – so I shall not waste my days with stress and frustrations – Life is too short!

I’m in a holidaze, but hope your holiday season is stress free!

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Project Pomander

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, tagged , , , , , , on December 9, 2009| Leave a Comment »

There’s nothing new about pomanders. As a matter of fact pomanders were used in the late Middle Ages through the 17th century to protect against infection and mask against bad smells. Today pomanders are primarily used as room fresheners. According to Wikipedia, the word pomander originates from the French “pomme d’ambre, i.e. apple of amber, is a ball made of perfumes, such as ambergris (whence the name), musk, or civet.”

Modern day pomanders are generally apples or citrus fruit studded with whole cloves. To spice up my life (Ha! Ha!) and get me in the mood for Christmas, I decided to make some citrus pomanders. I purchased oranges, lemons, limes and a jar of whole cloves. Costco is a good place to purchase these items in bulk and inexpensively. Because I didn’t want my home to smell like a dentist’s office, I decided not to follow tradition and chose not to cover the entire surface of the fruit. Hearts, stars, and patterns were more in line with my style.

I washed the fruit first and poured the cloves in a little bowl. If you are really a detail-type person, you could separate in advance the headless cloves from the head-still-intact ones. Unbelievably, I did not do this. Working on a plate, I selected the side of the fruit I wanted to highlight and used cookie cutters to outline the desired design. Holding the cookie cutter in place, I gently poked holes around the outside of the cookie cutter with a bamboo skewer. The cutter may have to be gently rocked from side to side to adequately work the design around the contour of the fruit. Space the holes about one-fourth inch apart, or for a denser-looking design, place them closer together. Push a whole clove into each of the holes.

Had I checked in with Martha Stewart first, I would have used rubber bands to create straight lines and would have shaken my pomanders in Orrisroot (available at health food stores) which is a perfume fixative. Live and learn!

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Stopping Those Drafts

Posted in Art and Crafts, tagged , , , , on December 7, 2009| 2 Comments »

The rare dusting of snow is melting now, but the temperature will be in the 20’s for the next couple of nights. I am glad that I took the time last week to make draft stoppers for some of my doors. No matter what type of weather stripping I put on it, my cranky old front door always plays the hot-cold air exchange game. I’ve been told by a contractor that the ultimate fix for this is to get a new front door. Not being ready or willing to do that, I decided to make some draft stoppers. How hard could it be?

After measuring the width of the doors, I rummaged through my fabric remnant bin and found some appropriate material. It is best to use a tightly woven fabric so that the filling doesn’t leak out and also try to select fabric that has a design on it so dirt won’t show. It is on the floor after all! For each draft stopper I cut out a rectangle of fabric using the measurement of the door width + 2-inches for seam allowance x 8-inches high. Fold fabric lengthwise with right sides together and pin in place. With your sewing machine stitch all the way up the long side and at one end. Turn the fabric tube right side out.

Filling material for draft stoppers should be somewhat heavy so the units stay in place and should also be somewhat malleable, so that each draft stopper can be pushed in against the door and door sill as tightly as possible. Possible fillers include sand, saw dust, or kitty litter. I opted for the last one since it was cheap and I was at the grocery store when I thought of the idea. I used a 20 pound bag to make three draft stoppers.

It’s probably best to pour the filling into the fabric tube outside the house and having another person to help would be ideal. Because I was alone and it was too cold in my garage, I filled mine in my family room. After spreading newspapers on the floor, I used a large jar to scoop kitty litter into a gallon Ziploc bag. After the Ziploc was about 2/3 filled, I cut 1-inch off the bottom corner of the bag. This was going to be my funnel. Holding the sealed Ziploc in one hand and the fabric tube in the other, I was able to fill the tube with minimal mess. Filling the entire tube required a few refills of the Ziploc bag. When refilling the Ziploc bag, be aware of which corner is the cut one so that the kitty litter does not come spilling out. Fill tube entirely except for the last 1.5-inches at the top. Fold about a half-inch of the top edge of the fabric down to the inside of the tube and carefully sew the tube shut. If it is difficult to sew because the filling is pushing against the machine’s presser foot, you may have to empty some of the filling out. Stitch again next to your first line of stitches for reinforcement.

I placed my draft stoppers on three external doors and I’m already feeling a slight temperature difference in my home. I should have made these years ago. The only trick now is to get my husband to put them back in place every time he goes in and out!

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Friday’s Fresh Five (12/4/09)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Style and fashion, tagged , , , , , , , , , on December 4, 2009| 1 Comment »

Hope you had an enjoyable Turkey Day and gave many thanks for all of the blessings in your lives.

#1 – Decorating With . . .
Dried apple slices and cinnamon sticks add a homey and fragrant touch to holiday wreaths, garlands, and potpourri, but how about decorating presents with them? Use brown postal wrapping paper (or reuse plain sides of grocery bags) or brown lunch bags to hold your gifts. Tie off packages with any coarse natural fiber twine such as raffia, jute or hemp, and add the finishing touches of dried apple slices and cinnamon sticks.

Here’s a recipe for dried apple slices from the Gooseberry Patch – Coming Home for Christmas Cookbook:
8-10 apples
lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
6 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons arrow root powder

Soak apples in juice for five minutes, then pat dry. Place remaining ingredients in a large plastic storage bag. Add apple slices and shake to coat. Dry apples in a 150 to 200 degree oven for 6 hours. Remove from oven and lay on wax paper and turn daily until dry.

Fresh apples can be used as decorations too:
*Fill large bowls, vases, or hurricane lamps with apples. One vase could contain only red apples, another only green apples or you could have several containers with red and green mixed together. Fresh greens and berries can be tucked in for a festive look.
*Hollowed-out apples can be used to hold dips and spreads or hold votive candles.
* Apples can be added to floral arrangements or wreaths by wiring them or by staking them.

#2 – Meat Tip From Bob the Market Man
Always scrape or rinse and pat dry any cut of meat that has gone through the meat saw. This includes pork chops, T-bone steaks, porterhouse steaks, and chuck steaks. Scraping, rinsing, or wiping removes any bone dust or fragments that may have adhered to the raw meat.

#3 – Aretha Franklin Sings “Chain, Chain, Chain . . . “
The trend now is to wear multiple chains or necklaces. Layer short and long necklaces together or combine a few longer necklaces for a stylish look. The multiple chain look can be worn with casual attire, such as jeans and a simple blouse, or depending on the design and quality of the necklaces with dressier attire. Bottom line – don’t pile on so many that you’ll fall over!

#4 – Dental Floss Is Not Just for Teeth!
I always keep a container of dental floss in my kitchen drawer. It has a myriad of uses. Because it is thin, yet strong, I use it to truss chicken or turkey. Waxed floss works great for cutting out different types of dough, such as dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, or refrigerator cookies. Refrigerate dough to make it firm, place floss underneath the roll of dough, and cross the left side to the right and the right to the left. Pull floss tightly to cut evenly through dough. This crisscross technique can also be used to cut soft cheese or to loosen stubborn baked cookies or biscuits off baking sheets. Hang pictures with it instead of wire, which can scrape wall paint. Dental floss can come to the rescue many times over when you travel. Use it for quick fixes for broken zipper pulls, luggage tags, bracelets and necklaces, and shoe laces. Sew a button back on with floss, but be sure to pack a needle with a large eye in your travel gear. This holiday season string your cranberries, popcorn, or gumdrops on dental floss. Mint dental floss works great to tie fresh or artificial greens together!

#5 – Thought for Today
For today and its blessings, I owe the world an attitude of gratitude.
Clarence E. Hodges

Time to start your Christmas shopping – only three weeks left!

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The Twelve Posts of Christmas

Posted in About me, Art and Crafts, Creativity, tagged , , , on November 25, 2009| 1 Comment »

Andy Williams is crooning, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go . . . .” Well, not quite everywhere, but at least at the store where I work. Hanging from a little pop-up Christmas tree in the middle of the store are three-dimensional metal and crystal-embellished ornaments. Rich jewel-toned silky tops, shimmering sweaters, and sequined jackets hang from racks waiting for the holiday spirit to snatch them up. No offense to Pilgrim fans out there, but other than placing a fall wreath on my front door, I did not decorate my home for Thanksgiving. Although I enjoy Thanksgiving because of the obvious three F’s: fall, food, and family, for this holiday crafter there is so much to do with so little time. Like the retail stores, I’ve moved on to Christmas!

With only 12 planned posts before Christmas, I’m offering you my Twelve Posts of Christmas. The contents of these posts won’t stray too far from my original intent, but there will be an emphasis on recipes for entertaining, crafty gifts to make and take, and many other holiday ideas.

Here’s my first holiday idea for you. How about refreshing your front door Christmas wreath? Even if your wreath has seen better days, there’s no need to toss it out. As long as it still has good “bones,” it is salvageable! One of my friends always gets vouchers from me for her birthday. Last year I promised to rework one of her broken necklaces and when I was finished she had a totally different necklace plus two pairs of matching earrings. This year she received a voucher from me to refresh her two front door Christmas wreaths.

It was easy. First I removed faded flower stems by either carefully pulling them off or by cutting them off as close to the glue source as possible. Next, using wire cutters, I removed the bows. Because I wanted to reuse as many original parts of the wreaths as possible, I left the cream-colored berries, pine cones, and leaves on, but took off an overabundance of disintegrating tiny plastic berries and replaced them with more realistic ones. I also removed anything else that was on the verge of falling off.

At my local craft store I selected new ribbon. In my friend’s case, I wanted to get away from the faded, wide, red ribbon that the wreaths were sporting before, because between the poinsettias and the berries there was too much red. I opted for a wide cream brocade ribbon. I thought the light color would look attractive against her black doors and would match the cream-colored berries. I paired up a thinner, gold-edged, transparent, red ribbon with the cream ribbon to tie in the gold of the existing leaves. While at the craft store I also picked up new poinsettias, keeping the same diameter as the old ones, along with the new more realistic berries.

The flowers, berries, and loose items were all hot-glued into place. Pretty new bows were made and instead of placing them at the bottom where they used to be, I positioned the bows at about ten o’clock for the left wreath and two o’clock for the right one. I felt this made each wreath more unique, while still being part of a pair.

Overall, the project took me a couple of hours, but that’s because I was watching a Christmas movie at the same time!

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Tea for Two – Recycling Teacups

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gift Ideas, Handcrafted Cards, Jewelry, Recycling, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 18, 2009| 4 Comments »

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Some things are too pretty to throw out. Cracked or chipped teacups fall into that category for me. Recycling or reusing them in different ways seems to be the best compromise and for years I have looked for ways to do this. After much thought and research, I have compiled this list of ways to reuse mismatched cups and slightly damaged teacups:

1. Teacups as Planters
Pack crocus corms tightly with point side up in water over a bed of tiny pebbles. Or drill a drainage hole into the bottom of a teacup and pop in an herb plant. Plant three or more of these and line them up along your sunny kitchen window.

2. Teacups as Storage Caddies
A teacup set in your guest bathroom makes a cute container for small guest soaps.

Teacups can also be used in a bathroom to store small items such as nail clippers and hairpins or used in your bedroom as jewelry sorters for earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.

What about using an old tea cup at your desk for storing paper clips, rubber bands, stamps, etc.?

3. Teacups as Pincushions
I’ve seen old teacups converted into pincushions with attached saucers used for holding buttons, bobbins, etc. Just make a compact ball of stuffing, cover it with fabric and hot glue it to the inside of the tea cup.

4. Teacups as Candy Dishes
Collect and group an assortment of teacups. Place different colored candy in each cup. This would be especially sweet for a springtime luncheon.

4. Teacups as Candle Holders
Put votive candles into an array of teacups for an instant candle-scape indoors or out. Varying the heights of each teacup and saucer set would add visual interest.

5. Teacups as Candles

I haven’t made these myself yet, but I plan to. Basically, a wick is attached to the bottom of the cup, wax is melted in the microwave and then poured into a tea cup. Complete instructions for this project can be found here: http://www.designspongeonline.com/2008/11/diy-project-kates-teacup-candles.html

6. Teacups as Bird Feeders

Check out this website for ways to convert teacups into bird feeders for your garden.

7. Teacups as Decorative Items

Broken pits of teacups can be used in mosaics and in jewelry designs.
Teacups have been converted into bangles, wind chimes, and chandeliers. Look at these clever ideas.

Now that you know what to do with those misfit teacups, don’t forget that tea leaves can be recycled, too. Throw loose tea leaves into your compost pile. Composting tea bags is a little trickier, depending on the type of tea bag fabric used. Used tea bags can also be placed in the bottom of plant containers, especially in hanging plants, to help retain moisture. And remember the old beauty tip of using them as eye compresses. Warm or cold, teabags can help to relax tired eyes. Lastly, donate dried, empty teabags to native artists who use them to create original artwork that they sell to raise money for themselves and their communities. Check out this company in Africa that makes art and useful items out of tea bags. Good for our planet and good for our souls.

Note: I created the photo mosaic teacup card at the top of this post for my Auntie Ella who is a lover of hearts and of tea, but more importantly, is a very special person to me.

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Friday’s Fresh Five (11/6/09)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Community, Creativity, Handcrafted Cards, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Kids, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 6, 2009| 2 Comments »

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#1 – Making Peace, Cards That Is
P1090113_1Being a flower child of the ’70s, I decided to make birthday cards for my sister-in-law and for a friend utilizing paper punches and scraps again, but this time designing them to be in the shape of peace signs. The heart-shaped peace sign was made by stacking large and small, flower-shaped punch-outs from Astrobright paper. The round traditional peace sign consisted of stars punched out of an outdated Hawaiian calender, then color grouped and mounted onto pearlized cream and lustrous aquamarine papers.

#2 – Leftover Halloween Candy Needed
I read an article in my local newspaper about different uses for leftover Halloween candy. The one suggestion that caught my eye was sending the candy to Operation Gratitude. Operation Gratitude will take the candy and put them together with other items to make care packages for American troops. Checking out the website: http://www.OperationGratitude.com, I found that not only did OG need our candy, but it also pleaded, “At this time, our most urgent need is for personal letters, hand-made scarves, Beanie Babies and financial donations to pay for postage.” If you send your candy to OG, why not include a few personal notes? The holidays are coming up for our soldiers, too.

The newspaper article mentions to ship candy by December 5th to:
Operation Gratitude/California
Army National Guard
17330 Victory Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Attn: Charlie Othold

#3 – Bet You Didn’t Know This?
I’m just a fountain of information today, but did you know that Ralph Macchio, the Karate Kid, turned 48 this week! This makes me feel old! My sons used to watch his movies and mimicked his famous “crane” move over and over again. And who could ever forget Mr. Miyagi’s “Wax on, wax off” martial arts lesson? Using that strategy didn’t help me back then, when I tried to get my sons to wash our car!

#4 – Are Store Brands As Good As Name Brands? – Bob’s Market Tip
Most of the time, yes. Generally, the quality is the same, but items are just labeled differently. Store brand items are packed by the same companies that pack major brands and store brands cost less because no promotion is needed and they come directly to the store from a warehouse, therefore requiring no middleman. Do not be afraid to experiment. If you find the product meets your standards, you can save a significant amount of money off of your annual grocery bill. Try performing blind taste tests at home to see if store brands taste better than the name brand products. Even Best Foods Real Mayonnaise is packed by a company that packs for private labels.

#5 – A Peace Quote by Jimi Hendrix

When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.

Peace to all this weekend.

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Friday’s Fresh Five (10/30/09)

Posted in Art and Crafts, Creativity, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Helping Others, Recipes, Recycling, Style and fashion, tagged , , , , , , on October 30, 2009| 4 Comments »

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#1 – Spooky Cake My Way!
I have to say that biting into crunchy chocolate bits and creamy pockets of sweetness of the Oreo cookies hidden in this cake, was a spooktacular experience! Even though Maida Heatter’s (Spooky) Oreo Bundt Cake sounded good, I didn’t have all the ingredients for it and I was in a lazy mood. With my sincerest apologies to the great baker Ms. Heatter, I cheated and used a cake mix. Here’s what I did: Preheated oven to 325 degrees. Greased and floured my bundt pan. Took 18 whole Halloween Oreo cookies, broke them into quarters and set them aside. Followed the instructions on the package of Betty Crocker’s Super Moist Yellow cake mix and made the batter. Poured about two cups of plain batter into my bundt pan. Then into the remaining batter, I gently folded in the broken cookies and poured this mixture into the pan. Baked it for 40 minutes and then removed it from the oven to cool. After it cooled, I sprinkled it with a light dusting of powdered sugar and then followed that with a light dusting of cocoa powder. Couldn’t have been easier!

#2 – Reusing Jack
You’re not going to throw away your jack-o’-lantern after Halloween are you? Jack is more than a pretty face! Roast the seeds with your favorite spices and don’t forget that the flesh makes delicious soup or heavenly pies (providing your jack-o’-lantern is still fresh). There are plenty of online sites with recipes for all of the above. After that, the best way to dispose of your pumpkin is by composting. According to Raquel Fagin of Earth911.com, “Both the pumpkin, as well as its seeds, can be composted. In fact, pumpkin seeds themselves are a strong source of nutrients, including zinc, iron and phosphorus. Compost piles rely on a mix of nitrogen-rich greens (which will include pumpkin components) and browns (leaves, paper and other carbon-rich materials). So, Halloween is the perfect time to compost, because you’ll not only have leaves falling before winter, but your pumpkin to also add to the mix.” Or what about this – Give your local zoo a call and check to see if it accepts donations of pumpkins to feed to its animals as a seasonal treat. Give a zoo animal a “Big Jack!”

#3 – OMG – Leggings Are Back!
Here’s what Gill Hart of Suite101.com says, “The fall/winter 2009 trend for belting everything from baggy tops to dresses to cardigans means that leggings are the perfect accessory, no matter what a woman’s age.” He further states, “Metallic-look poly-blend leggings also make an ‘80s-style comeback, along with jeggings and treggings, a strange hybrid, a cross between jeans/trousers and leggings, for those who are not brave enough to go the hole hog”. Say it’s not true, because I thought leggings were hideous in their original incarnations! Maybe it’s just me.

#4 – Flower Vases To Go
When taking flowers to friends or dropping flowers off to a senior home, it’s always nice to have them already arranged in vases for immediate enjoyment. There’s no need to give up one of your own vases or to go out and buy new ones, just look around your pantry. I find that large jars and cans make fabulous vases. You do save empty mayonnaise and spaghetti sauce jars, don’t you? Cover the jar or can with fabric or wrapping paper or even cheesecloth, tie with a ribbon, fill with water, and add flowers. Some cans don’t even need to be covered. An empty can of Le Sueur Sweet Peas makes a cute little flower container all by itself. What to do with the peas? That’s another post!

#5 – A Bit of Mother Teresa Wisdom
It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.

Do something with great love this weekend.

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