Spectacular Savings (through November 30th!)

 

Spiritual Gifts

Here's a sweet (spiritual) gift...from an adorable little girl with a great talent for teaching the Word of God!

"...and a little child shall lead them." Isaiah 11:6

Change Time, Change Batteries or "Learn from my mistake"

A few Saturdays ago, we made and bottled Apple Pie Filling until 9:30 p.m. (see below for a great recipe given to me by my best friend, Kelli). We were pretty exhausted, the husband and I because you see, we had been up since 3 a.m. (a story for another time). But the last batch we made was beautiful! We cleaned up the canning kitchen (which is in our basement), mopped the floors and turned out the lights. As we were preparing for bed, one of the smoke detectors started chirping because the battery was almost dead. 

This may be as good a time as any to explain that we had already removed 3 dead batteries (from the 5 total smoke detectors in our home) and had never replaced them. That annoying chirping when the battery dies ALWAYS starts in the middle of the night causing one to lose sleep waiting...for...the...next...beep!!! AARRGGHH! And of course, once one has had a good night's sleep, one never thinks to replace the battery, because that would require going to the store and buying some 9 volt batteries, which one never happens to have just laying around.

Back to the story: We promptly removed the battery from the second-to-last working smoke detector (ensuring an uninterrupted night of rest!), said our prayers (thanking God for safety and protection, of course...all the while He's shaking His head, I'm sure..) and went to sleep.

At 1 a.m., we awake to the blare (NOT a chirp or beep) of the last working smoke detector screaming that there is a problem! Remember the old movies about how to be safe in a fire? You are supposed to feel your door to see if it's hot, right? Who remembers that when the alarm is piercing your groggy brain? My husband flings open the door and 3 feet of smoke billows in on the ceiling. Suddenly I remember that I forgot to turn off the hot water bath with the last batch of Apple Pie Filling!!

We were lucky...the water had burned off and 3 bottles had burst, allowing the apples and sugar to start smoking and were able to get it out the door before it started to burn! 

So take it from me, folks...when the time changes, CHANGE THE BATTERIES IN YOUR SMOKE DETECTORS!!! And here's another little life lesson: Don't Google "smoking pot picture" if you are looking for an image of a burning pan in the kitchen...

Now to the good stuff! Here's the recipe for bottled Apple Pie Filling (thanks, Kelli!)

24 pounds (1/2 bushel) Apples, peeled, cored and sliced 

Mix together: 5 c. water, 6 c. sugar, 12 T cornstarch and 3 T cinnamon. Heat and stir until clear (it will still be brown, but not opaque). Add sliced apples and stir just 'til hot. Pour into jars and process in hot water bath for 25 minutes (REMEMBER TO TURN OFF THE STOVE WHEN FINISHED). 

To make a pie: Pour into pie crust and bake 45 minutes at 425 degrees.

Royal Blog Tour: Peaceful Season

Thanks for making the Royal Blog Tour a great success! While the tour is officially over, I'm leaving up the samples to inspire your holiday stamping :) Scroll to the bottom for Blog Candy Winner!

I've prepared some breathtaking samples using the *Exclusive* Level 2 Hostess Stamp Set, Peaceful Season from the Stampin' Up! Holiday Mini Catalog...it's not too late to contact your demonstrator to host a workshop to earn this set FREE (hint, hint)!

Have you seen the adorable mini gift bags in the Holiday Mini Catalog? Here is just one simple way to dress up some homemade caramel popcorn or a small gift:

 I love this card created with the Big Shot, Scallop Square die and more of the Deck the Halls Designer Series Paper that looks like a present on the outside...

 ...and when you open it up, you pull the greeting from a pocket on the inside of the card! 

It could be both a card AND a gift if you glued a gift card on the insert :)

I wanted to share a home decor project, too, so here is a simple luminary using the Fancy Favor die, the new Decorative Label punch, some vellum and a battery-operated tea light from the dollar store!

Finally, a simple and elegant greeting you can create in seconds with the Northern Flurry embossing folder from the Holiday Mini Catalog (and one of the cards you can make at my Christmas Stamp-a-Stack on November 20th!).  Isn't that Marina Mist blue beautiful?

BLOG CANDY!! Would you like to win a "Dasher" Instant Christmas Card Kit (just add ink!)? 

You must do TWO (2) simple things to qualify: 

1. E-mail me (loni@sfcn.org) with your name and e-mail address (so I can contact you if you win!) and 

2. Leave a comment telling for which holiday you send the most cards (Christmas? Valentines? Birthdays? Other?)

November 9~THE TOUR IS OVER and the winner of Dasher Card Kit is (thanks to Random.org)...visitor #54:

ilchezhead said...

Great blog. I love the snowflake card and luminare. I send out the most cards at Christmas, by far. Approx 100. I didn't make them last year, but have started this year's. Thanks for sharing. Sandy

4 Things for Christmas

As a mother of 4 teenagers, I'm beginning to consider the holiday season with a critical eye. As my children grew bigger, the gifts they wanted got smaller... and more expensive! I've watched as "receiving presents" became more important than "giving presents". We've tried a few things in recent years, including simply giving them money and taking them to the after Christmas sales (I loved this but hubby hated it). We have stopped giving gifts to one side of the family and instead take all the cousins/aunts/uncles shopping for a family in need (slowly growing in popularity with the kids). For my immediate family, I've really been pondering what we can do to make Christmas MEANINGFUL, JOYFUL and SIMPLE.

In the Victorian Era, there was a simple mantra for Christmas Giving:

"Something they WANT, Something they NEED, 

Something to WEAR and Something to READ"

In thinking outside the box, I found a few thoughts about what children REALLY WANT for Christmas by authors Jo Robinson& 

Jo Robinson (Author)

› Visit Amazon's Jo Robinson Page

Find all the books, read about the author, and more.

See search results for this author

Are you an author? Learn about Author Central

Jean C. Staeheli of "Unplug the Christmas Machine": 

1. A relaxed and loving time with the family. Children need relaxed attention. During the holidays, slow down and spend quality time with your kids.
2. Realistic expectations about gifts. Kids enjoy looking forward to gifts and then having their expectations met. The key is to manage their expectations. In this economy, it may be wise to focus on things you can make for each other and to talk to your children about what to reasonably expect.
3. An evenly paced holiday season.  Note to self: Pace yourself! Reserve some nights at home for low-key fun with the family. The authors suggest starting the season later or stretching the celebration through to New Years Day.
4. Reliable family traditions.  The things I remember most about Christmas as a child were caroling with my family on Christmas Eve, shopping with my cousin for gifts on Black Friday and the food (with me, it's always the food!). I am considering traditions I can continue or create this year with my older kids. 

What do you think?

Spooky: Rule of 3's

THREE is such a magic number: Like Charlie's Angels or the Three Musketeers. How about spaghetti, meatballs and garlic bread? Faith, Hope & Charity? Harry, Ron & Hermoine or (for you "Wicked" fans like me:) Glinda, Elphaba and Fyero..."witch" brings us to the point today, this classic card sketch (Fall-to Layout #113 from Clean & Simple Stamping):

 When in doubt, you can't go wrong with a simple trio of images like this!

Have I told you how much I love the new Spider Web embossing folder for the Big Shot? Besides using it on my card, I combined it with the Candy Wrapper Die to make the adorable gift below (can you see the little bat on the tag made with the bat punch? Too adorable!)

Here's a close up...

So to everyone, have a "Wicked" Halloween, and a safe one! 

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the Holiday Helper~12 days of creativity arriving in your inbox beginning November 1st :)

My Gift to You: Holiday Helper!

If you "need a little Christmas, right this very minute" have I got a gift for you! Sign up to receive my Holiday Helper~12 Days of creative projects that will not only put you in the holiday mood, but help you enjoy a dazzling handcrafted season! With each mailing, you will receive not only a picture of the finished project, but you will also receive a complete supply list with a step-by-step tutorial that shows you exactly how to do the project.

Subscription is f*r*e*e and painless, Click on the image above and start getting your Holiday Helper on November 1st! If you are already receiving my newsletters, you will automatically receive all the Holiday Helpers, unless you notify me that you do not wish to receive them.  If for any reason you wish to stop the Holiday Helper I have a link on every email page to unsubscribe. Why not click away?

Bubble, Bubble, Toil & Trouble

TRY THIS AT HOME! Today's creativity comes from the kitchen :)

My teenage son came home from a sleepover a few months ago and said, "Mom! You *HAVE* to get the recipe for vanilla syrup from Josh's mom!!! CALL HER NOW!!! It's the best stuff I have EVER TASTED!!!" (No extra emphasis added)

"Well," says I, "if you like it so much, why don't YOU ask her for it?"

So he did. And we love it. AND it's easy. NOT TO MENTION that there is a cube of butter in the recipe.

Need I say more??

Without further ado, I present to you.....Kim's Vanilla Syrup:

Mix one cube of butter, 1 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of buttermilk (yeah, more butter!) in saucepan and boil for one minute.

Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour over pancakes or waffles (or just spoon directly into mouth, if you can afford the calories...)

This would probably be about a million Weight Watchers points (so I try to pace myself), but if you need great recipes for that, go to my friend Lacy's Weight Watchers Recipe blog...she's reached her 10% goal and is still going strong!

And thanks, Kim, for contributing to my sugar obsession.

Wish Big

I must be in sync with the gals over at Clean & Simple Stamping because this is the project I took to the cabin in Pine Valley to work on over the weekend:

These are my birthday cards for the demonstrators in my SU! family this year (sorry, ladies, if this spoils the surprise!!) and they just happened to follow the C&S Fall-to-Layout #111:

I am making these cards in lots of different colors, like the one below that showcases some of the 2010 In-Colors (Peach Parfait and Concord Crush). I wasn't sure they would look good together, but this just goes to show you that the hues in each color family prepared by SU! really *are* compatible with each other!!

Want to get one of these in your mailbox for your birthday? It's just one of the many reasons to join my Stampin' Up! family! While you are here looking around, let me remind you that the Clearance Rack Blitz only lasts a little longer, so click here to shop and save up to 80% on crafting supplies :) 

Stock Your Creative Cupboards!

Through October 18th, Stampin' Up! is having a BLITZ in the CLEARANCE RACK...up to 80% off retired product and only while supplies last! For preferred customer pricing, click HERE to go to my online store. EVERY BLITZ ORDER will also get a hand-stamped thank you from me (and don't forget that you can earn FREE Hostess Benefits when you order over $150!).