Junie Moon: Christmas

Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Friday, January 17, 2014

Holiday Trees

Yep, it’s another pillowcase blog post—one of thousands you can find online at many a seamstress’ blog. They are so much fun, though, it’s kind of hard to stop with one—just like the potato chip commercial asserts. And much like a favorite recipe you make over-and-over again, I have a favorite sewing tutorial. Michelle’s Magic Pillowcase tutorial is my go-to sewing instruction when I want to sew something fun and easy.

I made some adorable flamingo pillowcases for my sister at Christmas but completely forgot to take a picture of them. But you can see the cute pillowcases I made for my own bed using festive holiday fabric. What could be more fun than sleeping on holiday trees—and these aren’t even crunchy under my head.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

A Moon for Junie Moon

Since the inception of my blog, I’ve used the header depicting a glass art piece made by my wonderful sister Connie. Deciding the glass moon definitely has a personality, we named her Junie Moon and she served perfectly for my blog header.

I absolutely loved my Junie Moon and was horrified when I broke her moving from Arizona to Florida.

Connie made me a new Junie Moon for Christmas—don’t you just love her beautiful lips? Notice her mouth is slightly open? That’s because she always has something to say—so me! The new Junie Moon is going to hang on the wall in my sewing/craft/office and hopefully I never have to move again and risk breaking her.

Look at those eyelashes—this Junie Moon is definitely a flirty girl! Thank you, Connie, for this beautiful work of art. I love it and you!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Chips off the Banana

Happy Epiphany (Three Kings’ Day)! Today marks the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Epiphany colors are white and gold to celebrate new hope. It’s a feast day and I have a small food offering—homemade banana chips using a recipe I found on Pinterest. Although you have to stretch your imagination just a tad, the concept somewhat invokes white and gold.

Turn your oven on to 200°F. Using olive oil, lightly coat a piece of parchment paper to fit your cookie sheet(s). Slice bananas into thin chips, dip in lemon juice, and spread on a cookie sheet. Bake for 2 hours at 200°F, then turn over each little chip. Bake for another 1.5-2 hours or until crisp.

Each oven is different, so monitor your banana chips now and then. My husband actually liked the little treats and they do make for a healthy snack. I’ll give this recipe a repeat try in future.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Homemade Vanilla Chemistry

My homemade vanilla gifts (here and here) this past Christmas were a big success. Based on the feedback and requests from my recipients, I guess this wee kitchen gift is going to be an annual tradition.

Monday found me busy at the kitchen counter measuring, pouring, and mumbling to myself as I manipulated bottles of liquor and disemboweled a copious number of vanilla beans. If my Halloween stuff was not still stored in Tucson, I would have pulled out my witch hat as I concocted my brew.

I mixed vodka with rum, brandy, and vanilla beans for my concoction (sans eye of newt). My erstwhile cauldron yielded four huge bottles (1.75 mL each) of homemade vanilla now stored away in the dark recesses of my pantry. Over the months until Christmas, the magic of chemistry will do its thing and produce vanilla extract which will be bottled and packaged for gifting. Who knew something so simple would be so fun and such a well-received gift?

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Dog’s Advice

Right before Christmas, my mother-in-law told me about an expression she heard that she said makes her laugh every time she thinks about it. She couldn’t remember the exact phrase but said it was some piece of advice about dogs and how they handle stress.

I searched online and finally found the quote, although the original source of this interesting tidbit remains a mystery.

She likes basset hounds, so I found a cute black-and-white cartoon of one on the web. The little sketch and quote were printed on watercolor paper I sized for my printer. After adding a modicum of color with watercolors, I placed the little 3x5-inch picture in a magnetic frame for the fridge.

It made for a cute stocking stuffer and has become my mother-in-law’s favorite saying when things are a bit too much.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Homemade Vanilla Redoux

Revisiting the homemade vanilla project of last May, I made appropriate adjustments to my first effort. No way was I going to let making vanilla defeat me.

Upon further research, I discovered you can get gourmet vanilla beans cheaper online which were promptly found on eBay. After pouring out some of the vodka in both of my large bottles, I added dark rum to my concoction. Clarice at Storybook Woods told me she uses brandy. I didn’t have any brandy but used her hint that rum also works.

A tiny slit was made down the length of my new beans and I inserted five of each bean type into each vodka/rum bottle (two batches were in action at the same time). The whole shebang was stored away in a dark cupboard waiting for the resulting miracle that is homemade vanilla.

The homemade vanilla turned out to be scrumptious with its exquisite fragrance and taste. My bottles of goodness were packed for giving to my family at Christmas thanks to a DIY project posted on Twig & Thistle.

Worrying about whether they’d leak when mailing, I cut up a sandwich baggie and placed a little square of the plastic over the top of each bottle before screwing on the lid. Not a drop leaked in the shipping process.

Resources

Boston Round Amber 4-ounce glass bottles with screw-on lids: Specialty Bottle Supply
Grade A Gourmet Tahitian Vanilla Beans: Vanilla Products USA
Prime Gourmet Madagascar Bourbon Planifolia Vanilla Beans: Vanilla Products USA
Vanilla Tutorial and Printable Labels: Twig & Thistle

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Fabric Wreath

Although fabric wreaths are not a new concept, this was my first effort to make one. It was an easy activity done sitting in the middle of my bed early one morning in the middle of December when waking too early and not able to get back to sleep due to a case of the worries.

The friendly ladies at the quilting store near me, The Sewing Center Around the Block, showed me how to make the wreath, but you can find a free tutorial using a similar technique at Moda Bake Shop.

This is an indoor wreath, so I hung it on our bedroom door to welcome my husband for the holidays. Isn’t that what every man wants to be greeted with when arriving home after not seeing his wife for awhile? No? Well, silly me.

Other than actual sleeping, there is nothing as fine as a bit of simple crafting before dawn. Okay, I can think of one other activity, but maybe we ought not to discuss that.

Resources

Moda Fabrics’ Lumiere De Noel by French General Jelly Roll: The Sewing Center Around the Block
12'' wire, 4-ring wreath frame: purchased at JoAnn’s but available at most craft stores
Pinking shears: from my sewing box

Hugs,

Friday, December 25, 2009

Blessings Friday: Christmas 2009

Source: The Graphics Fairy blog

Merry Christmas to all of you—my husband and I wish you an abundance of blessings!

Hugs,

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Almost Elf Time

It’s Christmas Eve and this afternoon my husband and I will pretend to be elves and deliver our last little gifts to nearby friends and neighbors.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

We’ll deliver the Magic Reindeer Feed and Rudolph’s Spare Red Noses I made to all the neighborhood children. But we haven’t forgotten their parents; we’ll give them a copy of Richard Paul Evan’s book The Christmas Box as well as a tin of Cinnamon Toast Pecans I made and the recipe in case they want to try making some themselves.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Holly sprigs graphic from The Graphics Fairy blog

I converted Paula Deen’s recipe to a card for my recipe box. Click on the picture to enlarge for saving to your computer and printing. For gifting with the pecan treats, I printed the recipe on cardstock, made decorative corners, and backed it with a piece of dark-red cardstock.

All the little gifts are lined up on the pool table, ready for stuffing in our elf sacks (no, we really don't have elf sacks), and off we'll go just when the sun is starting to go down and the Christmas lights come on in all the houses. I love Christmas Eve!

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve and enjoy all the magic this night brings to the world.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Recipes and Sewing Mrs. Claus’ New Bag

Holiday Recipes

All my Christmas preparations are done and all I’m doing now is having some fun in the kitchen, baking a bit here and cooking a bit there. I’m having a lovely, relaxing time.

On a recent trip to Michaels to get some craft supplies since there’s still at least one tiny nook in my house not yet inundated with creative tools, I found holiday recipe boxes on sale. I could make such a box as I did for Halloween a couple of years ago, but the ones at Michaels were cute, cheap, and ready to go.

Packages of gaily-designed recipe cards were tucked in the $1 bins, so I grabbed a bunch of those along with two of the recipe boxes. One box and packages of recipe cards will go to my daughter Lindsay. Now I’m pulling out holiday recipes from my computer archives to put on my card set to store in my new box.

Here are a few recipe cards I’ve made in the past in case you’re seeking to add to your own collection. This card was put in use yesterday to make Yule Bread in honor of Winter Solstice.

Pfeffernuesse—German peppernut cookies are one of my all-time favorites. After living in Germany twice and being spoiled by the glorious Weihnachten traditions there, I cannot survive without these delectable cookies each year.

Shortbread is my husband’s favorite, so he’s now stocked up with this treat for awhile.

Mrs. Claus’ New Bag

Mrs. Claus (that would be me) needed a new red-and-white bag, so I’ve made one exactly like the Japanese Knot Bag I made last year for a blog giveaway using the free tutorial at Show Your Workings.

I’ve been thinking about that bag since my giveaway and wanted one for myself; thank goodness I still had some of the same fabric in my stash. I love that the bag is reversible, so Mrs. Claus can enjoy whichever side makes her happy on any given day.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Shenry’s Christmas VI CD Swap: “Whoopee with Sass”

Warning: Dear Gentle Readers who expect a safe crafty subject today. It’s not. Don’t read if you’re easily offended. If you do choose to read, please don’t fuss at me later; I’ve tried to keep it somewhat under control.

Once again, I’ve participated in Shenry's annual Christmas CD Swap. The theme this year was challenging for me, one of his suggested considerations was “Orgasmalanche” and another Michael Jackson. I had to ask a friend what the first term meant.

Source: I received it in an email the other day, but it originates at parodyville.com

Since Michael Jackson really doesn’t do anything at all for me, I worked on the “Orgasmalanche” theme—which was rather brave of me considering it’s a public display of naughtiness. It’s probably good the mostly young people in the swap learn we old folks still have a life, y’know. This can be my good deed on behalf of baby boomers everywhere. My CD is titled “Whoopee with Sass”.

We’re tasked to explain our music choices on our blogs—awkward for me as I keep such subjects private and do not write about them. However, I chose to accept the challenge and am endeavoring to meet the established parameters.

In considering my play list, I contemplated … uh … making love … as a type of bell curve where everything starts slow and easy, somewhat tentative. Then it all gets much more energetic and builds to a peak—enough said about that bit. Then the bell curve turns downward to cuddling time. Everyone’s different, but this is my world view of such matters and my musical offerings reflect this perception.

If I’m going to put brazen music CDs into the hands of the other participants, I figured I could at least make everything look pretty. I used a CD Kit from Chronicle Books (various versions can be found cheaper at Amazon.com) to create my gift set offerings and printed my play list on pink paper.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Blessings Friday: Recycling Christmas Cards

Christmas cards are filling up our mailbox, but what do we do with the cards after the holidays? The subject has been discussed on many blogs and just the other day Finnyknits offered a couple of new ideas. Today I thought I’d continue the virtual conversation.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens magazine, December 2009

Last night I remembered this magazine article I’d recently read, so I dug it out and scanned it into my computer to share with you. It’s a lovely charitable idea to consider.

Yesterday I used tutorials found at Chica and Jo’s blog to make a note pad and a matchbook-style note pad out of two recycled cards. My little test projects went well and were very fast to make.

Here’s another view so you can see the end of the cat note pad where it’s edged with padding compound to make pages that you can tear off. I wanted to keep the sentiment in the matchbook-style pad so I was careful how I cut the card. This one will go in my knitting bag for making notations about what row I’m on at any given time.

A couple of years ago I posted a tutorial about making small origami gift boxes out of old cards, perfect for tiny gifts like candies or jewelry.

Resources

Craft Christmas ornaments with Junk Mail Gems
Create a recycled Christmas card banner
Crochet card edges to make new cards at FaveCrafts
Finnyknits makes a yearly post sharing creative card recycling projects: 2009, 2008, 2007
Make origami greeting card boxes with me (a PDF link is listed in my Tutorials in the sidebar)
Many project ideas may be found at Chica and Jo’s blog
Recycled Card Program at St. Jude’s Ranch
Use the cards in rubber stamping projects at About.com

The blessings of receiving cards at any holiday or special occasion are double-fold—we can also use the cards later to continue the love.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Peppermint Stick Planter

In the December 2009 issue of Better Homes and Gardens’ Christmas Ideas magazine, I saw a project involving decorating a square glass vase with candy canes (page 10, article entitled “Merry in Minutes”). The finished vase was filled with fresh red carnations anchored in floral foam. I decided to give this idea a try.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Using Bob’s Peppermint Sticks bought at Cracker Barrel for 99 cents per bag, I hot glued each candy stick to the sides of a square glass vase. It’s sealed with clear acrylic spray. Then I put a wired red velvet ribbon edged with white around the base, hot gluing it in a couple of places so it won’t slip off.

Instead of fresh flowers, I planted a small rosemary plant in my new vase. Not only does the rosemary look like a small Christmas tree, it's useful in the kitchen and has a wonderful fragrance.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

UFO Christmas ATC Exchange

My UFO (Unfinished Objects) craft group met last Saturday for our Christmas breakfast and ATC exchange.

© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved

Here is the card I gave each of our members which I tucked into a little gift bag with some other goodies. Each card element has special meaning to me—all equating to love:

The card I made to represent my love for all things mermaid.
A sand dollar from my collection of those my mother and I gathered over the years from our home beach in N.C.
A bit of sand from the beach in Destin, FL which my husband and I collected on the day of our wedding and I keep in a sealed plastic tub.
A tiny sea shell I call a unicorn’s horn which means good luck. My husband and I found a bunch of these on a beach in Mexico on our first anniversary.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

BYOB 2009 Ornaments

We had a huge group for this year’s annual BYOB (Blow Your Own Ball) party my sister Connie and I host each year at Sonoran Glass Art Academy. We love this annual opportunity to make our own glass ornaments. I don’t have pictures of everyone’s finished projects, but I can share some of mine.

This one reminds me of the ocean with its serene blues and greens. I’d say it’s a favorite, but all my glass ornaments are special to me.

While I don’t get to see holly leaves and berries sprinkled with snow here in Tucson, this ornament will serve as a reminder.

Every mermaid needs a sea shell ornament and now I have a glass one. All that’s needed is to insert a ribbon in each ornament and hang my new treasures on our Christmas tree.

Today I have a scheduled lunch with my friend/neighbor Cindy and then I’ll take all my boxed Christmas gifts to FedEx. I ship everything each year via FedEx Ground which has proved year-after-year to be the most economical solution.