cinnamon, peppermints, and evergreen...

...are the smells wafting through our house right now!

We are soaking up the holiday spirit!

These are a Few of My Favorite Things...

My Favorite Things...

Illustrated by Some Fabulous Items Chosen From a Few of My Favorites by the Crafting in Color Team on Etsy! (click on any photo to be directed to the actual item for sale in their etsy shop!)

Raindrops on roses

and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles

and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages

tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies

and crisp apple strudels

Doorbells and sleighbells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winter that melts into spring

These are a few of my favorite things!

When the dog bites

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel...so bad!

A Christmas Story ~ Christmas Cookies... got to love the leg lamp!

Broke in my new cookie cutter from the gift shop at the "Christmas Story" house in Cleveland.

My hubby is taking this batch into his work for a holiday cookie party. Next time I'm going to draw fishnets on the legs!

I will share the recipe shortly! I've just been swamped this week & must go pack some etsy orders! Can't keep my customers waiting!

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday... a sunrise and a rainbow!

...can you believe it's snowing sideways here now with 50mph winds?

A Christmas Story... Make the movie come to life by visiting Ralphie Parker's house for yourself!

For us it just wouldn't be Christmas any more without the tradition of watching this 'now classic' holiday movie "A Christmas Story!"

Over this past Thanksgiving holiday we were lucky enough to venture out to see the actual house that was in the movie...located in the Cleveland area.

http://achristmasstoryhouse.com/

The house...photo taken from across the street

My little 'pink nightmare' ...cardboard cutout photo fun...photo taken in 'Ralphie's room upstairs'

Daddy's going to kill Ralphie...so let's hide under the kitchen sink!

Photo taken in the front room with the infamous 'Leg Lamp' and a partially wrapped Red Rider BB Gun.

Someone had the brilliant idea to fix up the house & turn it into a museum of sorts. After a couple of tour buses left, we had the place virtually to ourselves!

We will definitely be going back to visit again. There were many items to see such as the kids' clothes, toys, and props. The gift shop had super fun things from leg lamps to BB guns & I scored a leg lamp cookie cutter for me, and a orphan Annie decoder pin for my boy!

On the day we visited, one of the actors...Jim Moralevitz, the guy who delivered the 'major award' was there talking about his memories of making the movie & behind the scenes info. Woo hoo!... a brush with a celebrity even!

The kids had a blast & we made a memory! After we came home, we watched the film together again & my boy was thrilled to know he'd been there in Ralphie's house!

Good times!

If you love 'A Christmas Story' and handmade items... I highly recommend you visit 'My Little Cabbage' on Etsy to purchase your very own 'Pink Nightmare' handcrafted felt ornament!

I've already ordered one & can't wait to see it gracing our tree this year!

Cheers!

Ring in the Holidays with a FREE Ring by isewcute!

I'm giving away jewelry!!!

A free sprinkles dome ring with every order no matter how big or how small from my etsy today and today only!

Limit only one per household.

http://www.isewcute.etsy.com/

Today is cyber Monday & I thought I'd do a special from 12:01 a.m. to 11.59 pm EST.

You cannot buy this ring in my shop & I will only be making a limited amount of them for this special promo.

Some details about this sweet sprinkles ring:

The ring base is silver plated & adjusts to fit most.

The dome is handcast resin with real rainbow cupcake sprinkles.

It measures app. 3/4" across.

It would make a perfect stocking stuffer or treat to put in your advent calendar!

Old Fashioned Home Made Holiday Hard Candy ...by isewcute

I've been busy in the kitchen making huge batches of old fashioned holiday candy for a local craft bazaar ....& some for gift-giving too.
I use an old family recipe, but if you'd like to try making hard candy, there are some recipes printed within the packaging of some of the flavor oils you can buy in the candy & cake decorating sections of your local craft store.
Besides the ingredients you'll need to make the candy & the flavor oils, you just need a heavy pot, a candy thermometer, kitchen shears for cutting the candy, a cast iron skillet to pour the melted candy onto, powdered sugar to keep the pieces from sticking to one another after it's cut, & jars to store the candy in.

Each of the jars is embellished with a label I created which has a drawing of my hubby's grandma on it. (it was her recipe after all...so credit is given where credit is due)

...a tag is also added to each jar with twine... calling out the flavors included in each mix.

I absolutely love making it! You can just imagine how the smell of candy just fills the entire house! It smells like Christmas to me...& it lingers too for a couple of days!

If you're local to the Dayton, Ohio area... you can get some! It's available now at the State Road Methodist Church in Germantown... 15020 State Rt. 725... the craft bazaar is going on today & tomorrow!

It makes a great holiday gift for a hostess, teacher, coworker, friend, & family.

Getting Crafty with Leaves...How to Embellish a Shirt for Fall

Please excuse the wrinkles... I was so excited at how well this turned out that I didn't bother ironing before taking photos!
This is a shirt I embellished for my mother in law by printing a pattern along the neckline using real leaves.

Materials to make this project include:
a shirt,
some fabric paint,
a sponge brush,
scrap paper,
something to line the shirt with to prevent the paint from bleeding through (I used a plastic lid from a storage bin)
...and of course a selection of leaves. Make sure your leaves are not too dried out...you don't want them to crumble mid-project!

After preparing the shirt by lining it with my storage bin lid & smoothing out the neckline where I wanted my leaf pattern to go, I mixed up a palette of fabric paints in fall leaf colors. The brands of paint I used were matte Tulip brand soft fabric paint & Lumiere Metallic Acrylic...mixed together for added glitz.

I brushed the color on thick...coating each leaf evenly.

Then lay the leaves onto the shirt...paint side down in the pattern you desire.

To get the pattern to transfer well...you'll want to cover the leaves with a piece of scrap paper...and burnish the back of the paper gently yet firmly... with your fingertips, but be sure to not move the leaves out of their position or you'll get a smudgy pattern.

Finally lift off the scrap paper carefully...and then pull up the leaf by the stem slowly...so as to not smudge the design.

I think this project came out so nice & this color green really sets off the contrasting color of the leaves nicely.

My mother in law looks really good in green! I can hardly wait to give it to her!

:o)

Recipe for Nuts and Bolts aka: Chex Party Mix

I just made a double batch of chex mix this morning... & toasted our pumpkin seeds using the same seasoning & thought I'd share my version of this yummy snack with you all!




Nuts & Bolts (aka chex party mix by isewcute)

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick of margarine
2 Tbsp. Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. celery salt
1 tsp. onion powder
3 cups corn chex
3 cups rice chex
3 cups cheerios...we like them better than the wheat chex in the original recipe.
2 cups mixed nuts...sometimes I just use cashews only...they're soooo good!
2 cups pretzel sticks...broken in half


Melt the margarine in a saucepan & add the seasonings. Blend well with a small wisk. Remove from heat. Mix all the cereals & nuts & pretzels in a large bowl....then spread it out on a couple of baking sheets. Use a basting brush to brush the liquid onto the cereal & nut mix...be sure to coat evenly.


Bake at 250 degrees for 2 hours... but be sure stir it about every 15 min. or so ... that way it toasts evenly & the seasonings are well blended into the mix.


Let cool & store in an airtight container to maintain freshness. Enjoy!
*I always double this recipe because it goes fast & it's great to share!



My grandma & great aunt used to call this mix 'Nuts and Bolts' ...it was a real treat to go over to their house as a kid & find they had made up a batch!

:o)

Sesame Street Has Been Around for 40 Years! Can you believe it?

This is the stuff I grew up on!
I entertained myself for hours as a preschooler... listening to Sesame Street records. Sesame Street sure has come a long way since the 1970's.
Now I get a real kick out of the album art & how styles & characters have changed in 30+ years.

Oscar was orange? I don't even remember that... must've been before I was born....and check out the mutton chops!

Big Bird looked so awkward....and his voice had a goofy twang to it in some of the songs he sang.


Elmo wasn't around until 1983.

...and who can forget Mr. Hooper?

I think it's wonderful that Sesame Street has been around so long...and I hope they'll be around for another 40 years teaching kids to read, share, and have fun learning.

:o)

Corn Bread Recipe ...goes real well with chili!

Some folks have asked me for my cornbread recipe... so here goes:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups of yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup shortening
3 Tbsp. molasses
1 egg - beaten
1 cup milk

Mix the wet ingredients in one bowl & set aside. In another bowl... blend together the dry ingredients then cut in the shortening with a pastry blender. Add the wet ingredients & mix just until everything is blended... don't over mix.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8" square pan & bake at 425 degrees for 20-27 min.... until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Fall is a Fun Time to Play Outside

It's not too hot & not yet too cold. We had a ball playing in the leaves the other day. It seems they're falling fast & now there are more on the ground than on the trees.

I'm going to miss all the colors... at least until we get some sparkles on snow.

We are getting all ready for Halloween!!!!

We went to a local farm & picked out our pumpkins...then carved them up all scary cute!

The kiddos are really getting into the fun of Halloween this year.

...the cutest thing was babygirl walking around with a little wagon...trying to find a pumpkin that wasn't 'too big'. This pie pumpkin was just what she was looking for. Carving it was a real pain though...it was one tough little pumpkin!