Cinnamon Christmas Stars

We're kicking the holiday season off with some fun crafting :) I had ran across some twig stars on flickr and thought that it would be fun to make some with the kids but instead of using twigs we used cinnamon sticks so that we could have a little bit of christmas scented aromatherapy *grin*.

We headed outdoors after breakfast to cut some fresh cedar branches and collect any miniature pine cones we could find that the squirrels hadn't already striped and hidden away for winter. We were lucky to find a few out by the chicken coop and I had some star anise, bells and red berries from last Christmas still in the craft cupboard for gussying up our stars :)

To keep things moving quickly so the younger two wouldn't loose interest by waiting for glue to dry I pulled out my trusty hot glue gun *grin*. I swear everyone should own one of those! LOL. We had our cinnamon stars assembled in not time and were ready to add our greenery :)

They each took turns picking out which pinecones, bells and such they wanted to use and I helped them glue everything on to their stars. We even made a couple of extras to share with my mom and friends :)

They smell awesome! We have five of them hanging all along our big picture window in the family room and they have scented the whole area. Now we just need a garland to go with them :)

Looking for more crafty ideas or inspiration? Pop over to Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday and see what others are up to :)

Hugs,
Rosina

right now, I AM

...being silly!
I told my daughter I had thought of a new way that we could warm up her pajamas so they wouldn't be so cold when she got dressed for bed. So I stuck them on the brick wall *grin*. Our main woodstove chimney is right behind the bricks and the wall gets super toasty. The fuzzy jammies stuck to the rough bricks like velcro and they warmed right up for her :) Definitely got some giggles out of her before bed *grin*.

PS. please excuse my massive laundry pile. Anyone feel like folding? I'll pay you in cookies :)

Hugs,
Rosina

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Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

They're finished! Here are the fingerless gloves that I was working on last week as a surprise for my daughter :) They fit around her wrists perfectly and extend nicely just above her knuckles while not being to tight. Tightness is always an issue as she doesn't like anything she wears to be to restrictive *grin*.

My mom fell in love with the moss stitch on them just like I did and I actually just finished making a set for her in black :) I just need to sew up the seam and they'll be ready for her to wear to.

I picked up some Lopi wool this weekend and I'm going to try my hand at making some felted slippers with it. This should be fun! I'm crazy about these fall colors still :) But before I start the slippers though I just might whip up a pair of leg warmers for my daughter to cover her leggings with when she wears dresses to town. She complains sometimes about being chilly and I ran across a super easy pattern for leg warmers over at Ginny's blog that just might be the answer to cold legs! Now I just have to decide whether to stick with the ribbed look or try and incorporate the moss stitch into them so the match her gloves *grin*.

On the book front this week I actually don't have one to share unless you want to hear about our school books? I could tell you all about cohesion and adhesion or how to properly read the amount of liquid in a beaker using the meniscus *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Sewing... Sort of

Hubby came home last night just in time for another day of being without power *grin*. I think he was seriously thinking he should have stayed on the boat where he had lights, tv, and a fully functional kitchen LOL. Hopefully this isn't going to be the winter norm of storms and darkness!

I had hoped to get more done on my holiday table runner this morning while Daddy and the kids played but I only made it half way through the blocks before everything shut down. I was chuckling to myself as I was sewing because I'm sure a serious quilter might cringe at how I was sewing my corner blocks on :) This time instead of marking a line down the center of each one I just pinched them making a crease to follow and I actually haven't pinned anything together since starting... I just love to break the rules *grin*.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get a chance to actually finish them.
For now I'm just enjoying being able to check my email and fill some pots full of water for tomorrow morning just in case we wake up in the perma dark again *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

Outdoor Seating

Well it looks like the snow is here to stay for a while :)
Our driveway took a slushy turn the other day when the weather warmed up temporarily so thankfully my dad was able to plow it with his backhoe and make getting in and out to the main road much easier! It also made getting around with our sleds quicker to. My poor little guy was getting all tuckered out plodding through the snow *grin*.

During the summer months we purchased a new sofa and for fun we put our old one out on the front porch so that we would have a place to plunk down and rest on. It's a little ratty but our porch is completely hidden behind prickly juniper bushes so it's not visible to any passersby and no one would ever know it was there.

Well... it's still there *grin*. A little crunchier now that it has frozen solid but still being enjoyed just as much as a place for the children to catch their breath on after running and sledding or as a hiding place to avoid wayward snowballs :) I have a feeling that it will probably be there until spring now LOL.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend to :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Piecing Pinwheels

I'm getting closer to finishing my holiday table runner and I'm loving all of the red :) The pinwheel blocks have gone together quite well although I did have to put my seam ripper to good use and pull a couple of them apart to adjust the centers so that the points aligned better :)

I decided to modify my pattern just a little though after running across this really cute peppermint twist table runner :) So I just finished cutting 48 little squares in a tan linen to place on the corners of my pinwheel blocks to round them up. I know what I'll be working on tomorrow *grin*.

Happy sunday!

Hugs,
Rosina

Mail Day

I received a wonderful surprise in the mail today :)

A little packet of these gorgeous handmade cards that I won from Amy over at During Quiet Time. During the Potholder Pass swap I participated in she very generously offered them as a giveaway as incentive to get everyone to mail their packages on time and I was the lucky winner :) I never win anything so this is a real treat!

Each one is created from one of her original lino block prints and I can't wait to used them as my Christmas cards. I have an uncle in Austria that paints and I know he will just love one of these :) You really must check out her Etsy shop! She makes the cutest little ornaments, mug rugs, quilts and more of these lovely cards.

Thanks so much Amy. I just LOVE them :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Power Outage

Last night just as we were getting ready to start cooking dinner the house went dark. Not just dim but plunged into an inky black darkness as the power went out. There's nothing quite like it as you slowly fumble trying to see but not seeing while searching for the flashlight you know is right there on the counter... somewhere *grin*.

With the oil lantern burning and a few candles lit on the coffee table we enjoyed a gourmet meal of grilled cheese sandwiches fresh off the woodstove cook top :) We had so much fun playing Old Maid, Pictionary and a frustrating game of Sorry *grin*. My poor little guy just couldn't understand why his men had to go back to their home base when someone knocked him off the board LOL.

With the children tucked into their bedrooms Hubby and I had a lovely quiet time just sitting in the glow of the woodstove. It really was a treat to spend quiet time without the interuptions of the computer, blogging, or phones ringing. Just the sound of snow thumping down from the trees onto the rooftop and the crackle of the wood as it burned brightly in the stove :)

The power is back on this morning and of course it is so nice to have flusing toilets and water again but I think I could use a few more evenings of quiet. Maybe we'll turn off all of the lights again tonight and play boardgames by candle light all over again *grin*.

Hugs,
Rosina

right now, I AM

...smiling.
Winter has finally arrived with gusto and the sledding, snowball throwing and snowmen building marathon has begun. My days will now be filled with squeals of delight each morning as the height of the snow is re-measured, breakfasts gobbled and children being stuffed into snow suits multiple times :)

I love this time of year most of all.

Hugs,
Rosina

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Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I thought that I would have a finished little girls hat to share with you this week but I sort of dropped that in the dust to work on a pair of gloves :) My daughter already has a hat so it can wait just a wee bit longer but she could really use a pair of cute little fingerless gloves *grin*.

As I was visiting other yarn along participants I found a link to these gorgeous gloves! Unfortunately I can't remember whose blog it was so if you happen to know which mama made a pair of these for her daughter please let me know as I would love to stop by again :)

I am completely smitten with the 'moss stitch' that makes up the center portion of the glove. I had my mom model it for the photo since I haven't told my daughter I'm making them for her. It's going to be a surprise :) She has been anxioulsy waiting for me to make something pink for her so she is going to LOVE them! I've only got one done so far and it is still waiting to be stitched up but from how tight it was to fit it around my mom's hand I know they will be a comfortable fit for her. I can't wait to cast on the second one tonight :)

Now for the book that I'm reading this week. It is The Christmas Table by Diane Morgan and it is full of yummy recipes. I have marked quite a few already for this holiday season. I'm particularly looking forward to trying the radicchio caesar salad. I love using cabbage and radicchio for salads and I've never thought of using it for caesar. It will look gorgeous on our plates with its bright puple purple color!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone has cast on this week :)

Hugs,
Rosina