Christmas Projects 2015: Home Sweet Home

As Remembrance Day passes here in Canada, I feel it's finally time to unlease the Christmas spirit on the blog. I'll admit- I've been crafting up a storm already, reading every festive magazine I can get my hands on and drinking as many Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks as I can!

  My goal during the next 7 weeks is enjoy as many hours of Christmas fun as I can - whether it's decorating, baking, crafting or reading Christmas books.   If I continue at the same rate as I have so far since Halloween two weeks agao, I am sure I will be able to share a new "make" with you each week right up until Christmas.  

Are you ready for my first creation of the season??

Home Sweet Home

What seemed like a simple hoop project at first glance turned out to be a many-stepped project involving a lot of time and patience.  But I enjoyed every minute of it!!

This was one of those projects that I couldn't wait to sit down and get working on every single night.

I traced the image "old-school" just as my mother taught a long time ago- white fabric on a black image, taped to the window.  An extra sharp pencil works best too! Next came my floss choices - a little bit traditional and a little bit trendy!

The first stitches I attempted were a simple back-stitch.  I had this done in no time. 

Then things got a little more complicated.  Next I had to perfect the lazy daisy stitch, apply and sew on some uncooperative felt letters then confidently create bunches of felt holly leaves. 

 After much ripping out and starting again, I was happy with the results:

See the little red berries on the "pine branches?" Those are glass seed beads sewn on one by one, too.  (No detail was missed on this project, my friends!)

I love how this turned out. Now I need to find the perfect place to display it. I think I may make several Christmas hoops and hang them on the plain wall around our TV.  

Hmm....Keep checking this space to see my final decision.....

What am I making now?  Well, it involves felt, too, and the faces of 3 Christmas friends - Santa, Rudolph and Frosty.  I should be done it tonight and I am already looking forward to showing it to you soon!

Have you started your Christmas crafting?

How about your decor?  

XOXOXO

Bronwyn

My Favourite Recipe Right Now : Peanut Butter Fruit Crumble

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. The sun shone here and we got some more leaves packed into bags and hubby managed to get the Christmas lights hung. 

 

I tried to keep the weekend low key after another crazy week at work.  I filled my time with only the things that make me happy - cups of tea, crafting, reading, baking and cooking. 

I did do some housework, but I tried to "whistle while I worked" and I got through it all with a smile on my face.

 

I've mention this recipe for Peanut Butter Fruit Crumble a few times here in the blog so I decided I would whip it up again today, take some pictures and post the recipe for all of you who have asked. 

 

Try this recipe.  You'll be glad you did!

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Fruit Crumble

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 cup white sugar

4 cups of fruit (fresh or frozen)

1  1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2cup flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

 

 

1.  Preheat the  oven to 350 degrees.

 

2.  Measure out your fruit. Use one or many kinds of your favourites.  This time I went with apple slices and black cherries.

 

3.  Combine cornstarch, lemon juice and 1/4 cold water in small bowl and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.  (I like to put these ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake them up!)

 

 

 

4.  Pour the cornstarch mixture into the fruit and stir.  Add in the white sugar and stir.  (If my fruit is particularly sweet, I leave out the white sugar altogether!)

 

(I like how the cherry juice has dyed my apples pink!)

5.  In another bowl, stir together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and flour.

 

 

6.  Once the dry ingredients  are combined, cut in the butter and peanut butter.  You can use a pastry cutter, a fork or a butter knife to cut in the butters, aiming for a crumbly texture. 

(It's hard to get a "pretty" picture of PB.  It's just so brown.)

 

7. Put the fruit mixture into a 9x9 baking dish. (I made 2 smaller crumbles today using 2 smaller pie plate baking dishes.)  Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the fruit.  Try to spread it evenly so that every serving has the same level of yumminess!

 



 

 

 8. Bake for 20 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling on the edges.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

 

Now doesn't that look and sound good? 

Please give it a try and let me know how it turns out.  I'd love to hear about any other fruit combinations you try.

 

Wishing you all a wonderful week of sunshine and smiles. 

 

I think I'll be back later in the week with my first completed Christmas craft of 2015!

 

 

XOXOX

 

Bronwyn

 

 

 

 

Five On Friday: Five Photos From My Phone

Hello everyone! I feel like I have been completely MIA from blogging lately!

Life is hectic and exhausting and no matter how hard I try to slow it down, it always kicks itself back into high gear!

 

Between a crazy home-life of school projects with my 6th grader, emotional traumas for  my 4th grader and a recent diagnosis of ADHD for my 2nd grader....

 AND... the wild class of kindergarten kids I teach this year, everyday I am exhausted and ready for big cup of tea (or red wine!) and then my bed!!

 

I've missed Amy's (Love Made My Home) Five On Friday Link Party  several times in the last few weeks and I am determined to join in this time. 

 

So without further ado, five photos from my phone that illustrate the week that has been.

 

Number One: A Family Dinner at the Pub

Oh yes.  This was bliss.  I didn't have to cook it or clean up after it and it was a wonderful  hour and a half with my darling family.  Kevin and I drank cider while the kids guzzled down their chocolate milk (what a treat!) and we each savoured every morsel of our French fries, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches and beef and stilton pie. 

 

 

 

Number Two: Caramel Apples

As I mentioned in my last post we did an un-traditional Halloween this year.  The kids did not trick or treat, so instead we took them to a gourmet candy shop and let them pick some sweets.  Bryn chose one of these double-decker caramel apples coated in chewy caramel and  covered with  white chocolate.  It tasted as good as it looks!

 

 

Number Three: Peanut Butter Noodles

Before I grocery shop I always let the kids help choose a meal when I am planning the next week's dinners.  This week my daughter chose one of her favourite dishes, "Peanut Butter Noodles."  Essentially it's a Thai-flavoured dish made with noodles and veggies with a sesame/lime/cilantro/peanut sauce.   It is delicious.  Let me know if you want me to post the recipe. 

 

Number Four:  Bedtime Snack

These darker, cooler nights call for cosier snacks, don't you think?

My three kids could enjoy this EVERY evening!

 

 

 

 

Number Five:  Christmas Already?

This is our neighbour's house.  They go all out with Halloween decorations. I mean they put up TONS of stuff.  But by noon on November 1st, it was all gone!

 I joked with the kids that this family  had moved on from Halloween very quickly.  Maybe they'd have their reindeer out within the week. 

Nope.  They didn't even wait that long.  By the time I walked the dog that evening, the reindeer were out and glowing!

 

 

I am so glad it is Friday.  I've got a lot of plans to do nothing this weekend.  I'd like to sew and knit and read and drink tea. But I'm sure my children have other ideas.  We'll have to wait and see.

 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

 

 

XOXOX

 

Bronwyn

 

 

An Evening at Medieval Times

As I  mentioned briefly in my last post, we decided to do Halloween a little differently this year. 

 

For the last three years, October 31st has been cold and rainy.  I've spent tons of money on costumes and candy and my kids freely admitted that they hadn't enjoyed one  bit of it!

So instead of risking the weather and the grumpiness, we asked the kids if we could spend our money differently this year and spend the evening doing something fun as a family. 

What did I come up with?

 

Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament!

 

I had wanted to take the kids for ages and this was the perfect opportunity.   And then when I was able to get the seats for half-price I jumped at the chance- and so did the kids!

 

 

What is Medieval Times you might ask?  Well it's basically a big theatrical show that is based loosely on the traditions of the joust.  You have a king, a princess, knights, horses and lots of action!

While you watch you are served dinner "medieval-style" on metal plates without any cutlery - so you have to eat with your hands!

 

Our show was just under an hour away in Toronto.  It runs all year long in a 100 year old show building near Lake Ontario.

 

Inside it is decorated just as a king's castle might be- with crests, flags, armour and weaponry. 

 



This is the king's throne area.  He "knighted" several members of the audience because they were celebrating their birthdays at the tournament.



Before heading into our seats, Bryn was excited to meet this falcon and his handler.  Both played a big part in the show later in the evening. 

When assigned your seats, you are given a crown to match the knight for which you are supposed to cheer.  Our knight, the "Green Knight" fought valiantly, but was put out in the first round!

 

 

No silverware here!  Fingers and napkins only! We ate roasted chicken, cobs of corn and baked potatoes and slurped tomato soup from the handled bowl.

Drinks?  Yup. We had a few.  I guess sangria isn't the usual "medieval" fare, but I don't really like ale!

 

 

This was our host for the night -the Chancellor.  He commentated and help tell the story of the knights and their past battles and victories.

 

The 12 horses involved were all Spanish dressage ponies.  They were amazing! So elegant and perfectly dressed!

 

Afton was presented a flower by the Green Knight.  She was very embarrassed but smiled for a picture afterwards. 

 

 

I wish I could have captured more pictures of the action for you.  It really was fast-paced and exciting- but all too quick to  catch on film.   We saw jousting, sword-fighting, hand to hand combat and beautifully choreographed musical horse rides. 

 

And the kids absolutely adored it! In fact, each one in turn said they had no regrets missing out on the traditional fun of Halloween.

I agreed.  So did my hubby.  It was the perfect night out for the whole family!

 

Have you ever attended a show like this before? 

Ever been to the joust? 

 

Have a wonderful week. 

They are calling for near-summer like temperatures around here - during the first week of November!!

 

 

XOXOXOX

 

Bronwyn

 

 



 

Celebrating Hallowe'en (Sort Of)

Today is October 31st -  Hallowe'en.

This holiday is VERY BIG here in North America.  Apparently it is second only to Christmas in terms of decorating, consumerism and being people's "favourite holiday." 

 

Is it it my favourite?  No way.  In fact I've never really liked it, even as a child.  I can't get excited about skeletons and witches, or jack'o'lanterns and costumes.  My husband says it's because it's not "pretty enough."  Maybe.  I'm not really an orange girl, though I adore the colours of autumn in general. 

 

However, having kids has made me embrace the spooky season a bit more.  So the other night we headed out for a family walk to look at people's holiday decorations. I convince dthe flock that we needed to walk through the conservation area first to enjoy the leaves, then we'd hit the streets in search of jack'o'lanterns. 

 

Leaves -- check!

Now into the neighbourhood.

 

Alas, I  think we picked the wrong streets.

We found lots of gorgeous homes, primped up for autumn, but very few with any sign of Hallowe'en fun.

 

Secretly, I didn't mind!

 

Love this blue door and the stonework path and steps.



These stone lintels are luxuriously curvy.  And those geraniums are still going strong!

Number 105 has a front door with just the right number of curly-cues!

 

I'd love to have a seat on this rocker and watch the world go by!

Oh look! What is this I spy?  It's a jack'o'lantern snowman!!

 

I am glad we found SOMETHING spooky on our walk!

 

Have I done any Hallowe'en decorating around our home?  Of course.  I couldn't let the kids down!!

 

A wreath on our front door:

 

A witchy-pumpkin on the front steps:

 

 

Some spooks peeping out of the pot of mums:

 

And some spooky elements were added onto the mantel in the kitchen:

 

 

 

And yes - I even "dressed-up!"

Yesterday we had the opportunity to wear costumes at the school where I teach (and the kids' school too!)  My daughter and I both went as black cats.  ( See - I can get into the spirit!)

 

Although the kids won't be dressing up and going "trick-or-treating" tonight (we have very fun alternative plans this year!), we plan on filling our day with some skeleton cookie decorating and a few Halloween movies (Ghostbusters!).

What are your plans for Halloween?  I'd love to hear about them!

 

 

 

Wishing you the spookiest of days!

 

XOXOXO

Bronwyn

 

 

So Many Projects, So Little Time!

Autumn is the perfect time for making, crafting and creating!  

As the evenings grow darker earlier, I have been getting in my dog walk right after supper,  homework time with the  kids then the evening is MINE!

 

What have I been making?  A variety of things as usual.  I like to several projects on the go so that I don't get tired of anything!

Project One:  Circle Quilt

One of the women I work with is due to have twin boys right after Christmas.  I've decided to make a quilt for one boy and a crocheted blanket for the other.  I am going to use the same colours for both so that there is a matching scheme between them.  

I started with two charm packs of fabric. I sewed four squares into a bigger square, pressed them carefully  and cut them into a circle. 

I'll start applying the circles to the cream backing fabric this weekend, I think.  

 

 Project Two:  Christmas Star Quilt

I've shown you this before.  I now have 13 of the 20 paper-pieced stars completed.  I bought some new festive fabric  this past weekend and I can't wait to cut out a few more stars.  Hopefully I'll be able to start sewing the stars onto the snowflake-printed background fabric soon!

Project Three:  Spice of Life Crochet-Along Blanket

I am almost done this one!  I'd say I am 3/4 of the way through the main part of the blanket and then I'll get started on the edging.  Oh yes.  And then I'll have to sew in the ends.  Yuck.  I guess is should have sew them in as I went along like I did at the beginning. No sense regretting it now.  Moving on.  

Project Four:  Home Sweet Home Embroidery

I just started this one on the weekend.  I LOVE it! The design, the colours, the stitching and the sentiment make me tremble with excitement! I traced the pattern onto the fabric "old-school" (using a window, tape and a pencil) and got stitching right away.  I am done all the embroidery already, and now need to apply some felt lettering and some holly leaves.  Tune in soon for the finished product!

 

 

Project Five:  Memories of Italy Cross Stitch - COMPLETE!!

I am so glad that I can post that I actually finished one of my many projects.  This cross-stitch captures many Italian sights that we viewed on our recent trip to Italy.  Do you see the Colosseum?  The Duomo in Florence?  The tower in St.Mark's Square?  A gondola? The Ponte Rialto? And the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Now to get this framed and hung along side my cross-stitch pictures of Paris and London.  

 

What  have you been working on?  Do you have a handful of projects on the go, too?  Have you started any festive-themed projects? Maybe a gift or two?

 

I'd love to hear what YOU'VE been up to! 

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your week. 

Hallowe'en is just 4 sleeps away!

 

XOXOX

Bronwyn