Jan 10th already!!  Goodness time flies when you are having fun doesnt it?  Well we have no snow left it has been in the 40s round here! Crazy winter weather.   Hopefully we dont have a repeat of last winter, we lost 90% of our fruit crop here in mi and gee hope and pray we dont do that again!!  I dont have much left in the freezer so want to replenish with our fruits. 
Hope everyone is doing well out there and with the new year comes new inspirations!!  I have a ton of new products to work on and am currently working on making something for a valentines swap over at my other family forum!! primitive and rustic decorating over at delphi!! Love that place!!

The boys are all out of bed and laying with me here on the couch in living room, perfect way to start my day.  I am heading over to the kitchen for a bit, ciabatta baking day, some dog cookies, graham crackers and finishing up my chickpea veggie burgers for the freezer.

They announced on the tv morning news today that this is the worst flu season for decades!!  Scary!! Makes you want to stay in your home and lock up tightly!!  I didnt get a flu shot but am almost considering running over to walgreens and get one!  I think they are still giving them.

Have yall checked out the creative times magazine?  I finished and sent in the next article for the march/april issue, hint hint has some burlap ideas!!   Love burlap!! Bought some and am excited to make some new projects with it!! I watched the show junk gypsies and oh my goodness gracious, they made burlap curtains for a bedroom and used old vintage lace/trims from wedding dresses!!   You can find gorgeous wedding dresses cheap at local thrift stores I may just have to get one I would so love curtains for my craft studio! and what would be more perfect!!!
Are you making any burlap crafts these days?  Boy maybe I should do a challenge on here for yall showcasing your burlap creations!!
HMMMMMMMMMMMM... thinking that will be coming up in next post!!
Hope yall have a wondeful rest of your week!
Be back soon....
HUGS
Darlene
and my "boys" on the couch!!
LOL



~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

HAPPY 2013~~

NEW YEAR new plans, resolutions, goals, and best of all adventures!!
I want to let yall know on a new adventure for me!!  Creative Times Magazine which is a fabo online crafting mag has allowed me to be their new quick tips article writer!!  I am excited!!  You will find it here:
www.creativetimesmagazine.com   and best of all they are working on it not only being an online mag you could also order a hard copy!! I will be doing that!!
my first article of tips is in there!!    I am inspired so wrote up the next article last night for the march/april issue.

And onto new plans:  I have a few new projects I so want to make and some of them are ideas from the most wonderful online site  PINTEREST!! oh my love love LOVE that place!!  I can so get lost on the site!! If you havent visited please do do but be warned!! LIMIT yourself!!  hours pass quickly on there and I dont get much accomplished around here!! LOL oh well!! I have 50 some boards and find new things to pin by the minute.......no second!! 
here's a link to my boards:::   http://pinterest.com/chickenscratch/
And dont you know my boys have their own board!! LOL I need to put some more pics of them on there soon.           New goals: I have a few do you?  I really want to try making some great altered mixed media jewelry pieces.  I have visions in my mind but just have to incorporate that into actuallly doing...ya know.    Another goal would be to clean up and.....oh that dreaded word............organize my craft studio!! It has become a dumping ground if you will for everything!!  I can't even think of being creative in there anymore!! =(  time has come to pitch the unwanted unused items. 

Onto some of the things I did just before xmas.  

Susan made this beautiful chocolate mint torte.  Layers of decadent moist chocolate cake with peppermint infused buttercream topped with luscious chocolate ganache' and some marizpan holly!  Oh so yummylicious!!

chocolate dipped butter squares   and they were addicting too!!

my mom decorated some little sugar cookie trees for on our cookie trays and boxes. 

our popular red raspberry filled linzer tart cookies!!

some twisted candy cane butter cookies Susan made.  These were soooooooo yummo!! 

Old milkcan for my hubby's boss.  I was very pleased with how this turned out.  I had sectioned the painted area off with chalk, *hint* chalk wipes off with no marks, use it all the time when painted signs or pretty much anything.   hubby sandblasted the area and left the rest of can it's lovely rustiness!!

OK OK!~! I got up on christmas eve at 2 am to finish this block set for my little darling neice, so yes!! can u see it!!!  I didnt until her mommy and her unwrapped it!! I will be making another R for it!! LOL

I used vintage seam binding in brown for the outside edges, painted the blocks light sage green and mod podged the awesome My Mind's Eye papers and some little pearl accents.  My cricut finally got to get used!!  I have had it sitting on a work table poor baby neglected..... I can see using that alot this year!! I have alof of things to make!! 

And a couple last minute signs I painted for gifts!  Love those snowmen and a bit unhappy to not paint them til next winter!! sad!!=( 

maybe if we had some snow I would paint them more!! but we see grass!!

 

Love this guy!! I did one similar for my shows and the lady that bought it loved it so much she ordered 2 more.

Love this one too!! 

So that is about all for today.  Hope yall had a wonderful happy safe new years!!  My mom and I went out to lunch yesterday, did a bit of shopping and then came home.

 Hubby and I stayed home with the "boys" last night, watched tv, played games and had popcorn!! What a wonderful evening and start to the new year!!  Love my boys and our family!

Have a great day! be back soon!!

HUGS

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Christmas gifts and more

Hope yall had a most blessed Merry Christmas day!!  We had a joyous peaceful day at home on Christmas and were in pjs most of the day lounging around with the boys!  They were excited Santa paws brought them lots of presents to open.  What fun watching these guys open them and play!

Here are a few of the kinds of cookies my mom and I made at the kichen for the cookie trays we made up and boxes.  Coconut macaroons, linzer tart, mocha, chocolate hazelnut espresso cookies, decorated sugar cookies, cranberry lemon, orange marmalade filled kolachky, butter candy cane, peppermint topped chocolate, chocolate dipped butter squares, red velvet cake truffles, sugar cookies and I think that was it. 

I bought alot of boxes from Hobby Lobby after xmas last year and they looked great. 

Susan made a chocolate cake that was to die for!!!  super moist chocolate cake, peppermint infused buttercream frosting topped with chocolate ganache' and marzipan holly.  Super delish!!

these are the butter squares, just butter cookies cut with a pastry wheel baked and dipped in chocolate and topped with xmas non pariels

decorated sugar trees

cranberry pistachio biscotti 

peppermint swirl marshmallows

butter candy canes, topped with some crushed peppermint candies

linzer tart cookies filled with red raspberry preserves

candy canes

here are the butter squares I cut up

This was a block set I did up for my niece, only had to redo the r  oooppppssssss!!  It was on backwards, lol  I got up at 2am to make this so no wonder I did something wrong! 

I painted this old milk can for my hubbys boss.  Love it!!  I was very pleased with how it turned out. 

and a close up of Carissa's blocks for her room.

Well 2013 is just round the corner now!!  Hope yall have a great week and I will be back in the new year with some exciting new news and also more goodies and treats!!

God Bless!!

HUGS

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Cant believe we are just days away from Christmas!!  I dont think we are gonna see a white Christmas here in Michigan! IT has been in the upper40s and actually it is most pleasant!  I love the snow and yall know that but this is kind of nice too. 
Tomorrow Dec 15th is our last holiday farmers/artisans show.  I was able to find a bit of time, well at 3.00 in the mornings to work on some more snowmen signs.  These 3 are done and ready and I have 3 more almost finished. 

I so love the words around the border! 

This is my favo of the 3 I think LOL

Black currant buttermilk cake with vanilla glaze

Red raspberry muffins

and a red raspberry buttermilk cake   LOVE making bundt cakes!!

cinnamon quick bread

carrots cooked and mashed ready to be made into soup!

crumb topping for bars

blueberry apple bar filling I made

and here are the bars just out of the oven!  These are so yummy!  maybe they need a touch of powdered sugar sprinkled ontop! 

from pinterest!!  Snowflake stamped shortbread cookies.  They are so pretty! and quite tasty too!

the cinnamon bread needed "farmgirl bling"

So that was it for yesterday.  Today is gonna be a busy day I have to make a pot of creamy potato soup, cheddar foccacia, andouille cheese n pepper topped flatbreads, cookies, and mocha cinnamon coffee cakes.   Thank goodness for my mom helping at the kitchen!  Susan made this adorable and very yummy decadent chocolate mint holiday cakes.. arent they adorable? 

chocolate cake, peppermint buttercream frosting topped with chocolate ganache' and marzipan holly

this was 1 of the crates full ready for market filled with linzer tart cookies and some ciabatta rolls.

YUMMY!! 

Goodness with all the shows, markets and orders I have been so busy I am definetly ready for a break.  In january!  LOL  Next week is all about cookies and cakes for 3 markets!  We will be making our annual cookie trays up and then with Christmas fast approaching I want to be sure we have plenty of desserts available.  Red velvet bundt cake with cream cheese frosting, maybe some rum cakes and then let the cookies bake!!  So far we are making cranberry lemon, linzer tarts filled with raspberry or apricot filling, kolachky filled with orange marmalade or honey walnut, gingerbreads, chai crescents, russian tea cakes, peppermint candy canes, decorated sugar cookies, hazelnut shortbread, cranberry pistachio biscotti bites, brown sugar shortbread and make a couple others?  That should be enough!  LOL busy busy week! 

Hope yall have a wonderful weekend!!

Foundry Hall in South Haven winter holiday farmers/artisans market tomorrow!!

Hugs

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

altered wood frames and more

Hey yall!!
Hope you and your families had a most blessed Thanksgiving day!!
I have so much to be thankful for and feel truly blessed for everything and everyone in my life!! 

We spent the last beautfiul warm sunny day outside working pretty much from sun up to sun down thurs.  Hubby was home and we really needed to do the outside chores before the snow comes.  I am glad our family understood it was 60 outside.  I split the big pile of wood while hubby drained and cleaned the pool out, moved things around and also we had to do the goats hooves, close in the windows on the coop and fix the gated door for the "girls", and well let's say we stayed busy every minute!! but it was fun to work with him together.

My brother was needed a project of something he could assist in making for a couple of craft shows he is in so we came up with some altered wood frames.

This pic is my first dog on my own Ozzie, oh he was a sweetie!! 

So of cource we had to do some frames for dogs!!  These are all for sale for $6.50 plus shipping and we can personalyze them too!! 

another dog one

pretty pinks with some Prima gorgeous flowers

I love the light soft blue and black together

oh an some nekked cranberry pistachio biscotti

And I finally finished up some enamel pan lids I have been collecting and some gingers I made last year! =)

Another pinkish one love those beaded flourishes!! I take them apart and use bits n pieces of them to add some "bling"

"thank heaven for little girls" on a sticker across the top

the finished dipped biscotti!! no longer nekked! LOL

Yesterday and now today the wind is just whippin around outside!! On my way out I took pics down the road so you can see how wild those waves are!! and cold!!

Cheddar foccacia

orange glazed cranberry orange bread

and some small round loaves of cheddar foccacia!  Love making foccacia, next time though I am going back to baking on the stones

This was our adventure last week  a 10 day sourdough bread  nice slices in the top and ready for the oven

after baking

while baking in the oven they plumped up ALOT!! 

and another done one!

they were most excellent!! I do however like the ciabatta we made better!! This recipe was good but with all the work of making raisin water and all the days inbetween while it soured up it really wasnt worth the work!  The ciabatta to me had such a more intense flavor and only was  a few days!!  The crust on the sourdough was nice and crisp and the inside as you can see had nice air pocket and was moist!!  I dont think I would make it again for quite awhile though.   We are experimenting with alot of bread recipes this winter so watch for another one soon!! LOL

TODAY IS SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY!! dont forget to shop locally!!

We are having our market at Foundry Hall in South Haven today with a couple new vendors popping in!! so stop on by 11-3 today!

have a wonderful weekend!!

Hugs

Darlene

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~