Pucker up!

We all have bragging rights when we accomplish something new, right? Well, here is a little something that I want to brag about...my lemon tart. I made this scrumptious lemon tart for Thanksgiving. It was a recipe that I found while looking through some of my Martha Stewart cookbooks. For some reason, I become illiterate when it comes to Martha's recipes. I am not one who bakes often. Therefore, I am somewhat unfamiliar with some terminology that she uses in her recipes. My creativity took over in the kitchen and I decided to make this lemon tart. Here it is....so Martha, what do you think?

All aboard!

We decided to take a trip to North Carolina and back on Friday...crazy, right? Well, we wanted to ride on the Polar Express and that was the only time that we could go. So, my family, my brother and sister-n-law and their two children decided to make a day of it. We all had a blast! There was a dusting of snow on the ground. The air was cool and crisp with a bitter wind. It was perfect weather for a Christmas train ride on the Polar Express. We dressed the kids in their pj's just like in the movie and boarded the train. We were served hot chocolate, shortbread cookies and chocolate Santa's...mmmmmmm! The kids danced in the isle to some of the theme music from the Polar Express movie, listened to the story of the Polar Express and sang Christmas carols during the trip. We toured Santa's village and picked Santa up for the ride back to the station. Santa visited with each of the boys and girls on the train and handed each of them a bell. It was pretty cool to watch the faces of the children light up as Santa approached. I believe, do you?

Pick of the week

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, many of you may have been invited to share Thanksgiving away from home with family and friends. If you are looking for a nice hostess gift for the occasion, what about a coaster set? This is not just any coaster set. This is a DIY (do it yourself) handmade by you, coaster set. If you think this is something you would like to do, try checking out this link http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_3&listing_id=16511456 to an Etsy seller who has the DIY kits ready for purchase. These would make great holiday gifts as well!

Thrifty is my new name

Since you all know how much I like to craft, the following will come as no surprise to you....

The girls over at www.youcanmakethis.com put together a team of 50 people to be thrifty crafter this holiday season. These 50 people will put their creative hats on and come up with cute gift ideas for your Christmas gift list that are affordable. Their goal is to make hand made Christmas gifts for everyone (or as many as possible) on their list and stay under $50.00.

Out of 350 people that entered into the contest, I was chosen to be one of the thrifty under $50 crafters. I was thrilled to hear that I had been picked. Not only do I have a few gift giving ideas in mind, but now you guys get to be part of the fun!

If you are stumped on what to get someone for the holiday season, send me an email and we will see what we can come up with together. I will also be posting some gift giving ideas along with photos of things I am making along the way. I hope you all will find something inspiring to get you in the crafting mood. Everyone loves a hand made heart felt gift!

**I've also taken the handmade pledge. There is a link at the bottom of my blog for more info.**

Outta' here!

Busy, busy weekend plans here at the Roe house. We are off and running today with Roxy's thanksgiving program at her school. Then, ALL ABOARD....were off to ride the Polar Express in the Great Smokey Mountains! Early a.m. Saturday I'll be up decking the house...with lingerie! Nope, no swanky stuff going on, just a nice lingerie shower for my sister-n-law who is soon to be wed! I'll post pictures later of the cute little paper bra and pantie sets I made for the shower. (They are pretty cute if I say so myself!) And the list goes on.....including my grandmother flying in for the holidays on Monday. Shew....I'll drop a line in when I can, 'til then...have a great weekend!

Pick of the week

My husband and I took our two little girls to the Georgia Aquarium this past week and we had a wonderful time. If you have not been to visit the Georgia Aquarium, it is well worth the trip and I think you will find yourself enjoying sea life like never before.

We all have that "hard to buy for" person on our Christmas list. Why not get them tickets to the aquarium? With that said, here is my pick of the week. The Georgia Aquarium http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/

Goodbye leaves

The past few days have been windy and cold here...ahhhh winter! We have been watching the leaves fall and blow through the air with each passing gust of wind. Like many, we have been preparing Thanksgiving day plans and pulling out Christmas decor. Oh how I love the holidays!

I can never seem to find time to do all the little crafty holiday things I would like, but I always make something. This year I think I will introduce Roxanne to the art of wax leaves. She is fascinated with the leaves all over the ground and amazed at the bare trees. This is the first time she has ever taken note to the change of the seasons.

If you have never done this craft before, it's quite simple and you can even make sheets for wrapping gifts. You simply get a roll of wax paper, pull and cut off a sheet to your desired length. Then, repeat so that you have two sheets of wax paper, equal in length. Gather leaves of all sorts. Arrange the leaves on one sheet of your wax paper. Place the other sheet of wax paper on top of the leaves, making a "leaf sandwich". Turn your iron to it's lowest setting, use a thin cloth to cover the wax paper and press. The heat from the iron will melt the wax paper together with the leaves inside!

My new craft room

Craftstylish.com has a fantastic program that allows you to create your own sewing room. It's a terrific program for crafters. Well, I designed mine (above) today. It was not as detailed as what I would have liked, as far as what would go into the room. However, it gave me a good layout for my machines and working space. Give it a try, create your own space! You can visit the link here http://www.craftstylish.com/item/23907/heathers-room. And no, in the real word I would not put my embroidery machine on the same table as my computer. I would most likely have a separate small work desk for my computer and the embroidery machine would sit on a stand alone frame. These options were not available on the program so I had to use what I could.

Craft happy :)

Yep, give me fabric and I'm happy! Here is a little creation that I made for Roxy with some funky prints that I found...SCORE!

Pick of the week

Does your holiday gift list need some help? Well, write this one down...GALLOP! I was introduced to this book several months back. It is a fascinating book. Each page comes to life with animated movement of animals and other images. Roxy fell in love with it the first time she laid eyes on it...yep, Santa's got it all under control!

If you have not seen this book for yourself, you've gotta check it out. I have purchased this item at Books-A-Million and I have also seen it available at High Cotton Boutique in Stockbridge (for you locals), Amazon.com and Target. There is also a new addition out called SWING. It's just as cool!

Gallop!
A Scanimation Picture Book
By Rufus Butler Seder

smelly thanks

It's the season to give thanks! Here is a cute way to add some fun to your powder room for your Thanksgiving guest. These soaps are made with orange and pumpkin pie scents....mmmm. Doesn't that sound warm and yummy! You can view the Etsy listing for this item here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_13&listing_id=16952135 This Etsy seller has a huge variety of soap products listed in her shop. Be sure to stop by and see her entire product line.

Got music?

The answer is yes! If it has a guitar on it, it's a fave for Roxy. She is so into guitars these days. Not sure what sparked her interest, but she loves them. This little set is a bit boyish for my "all pink" pop star. However, it would look awesome on a rockin' little man. Click on the link here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_19&listing_id=12521156 to view the entire listing.

Just for laughs

Pick of the week

Let the holiday season begin! Here is my first pick of the week for the holidays. I love to find unique ways to add a special touch to something so ordinary. Click here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_15&listing_id=16868483 to find the listing for this whimsy red bird address label. I love this design because it is not so overdone in a Christmas theme that you could not use it before or after Christmas. This is sure to get you in the spirit of the season!

Halloween sweethearts

I hope you all had an exciting and fun Halloween. My girls (the Zebra sisters) enjoyed every minute of it. Well...maybe not. I do recall Roxy saying that she didn't want to carry her bag because it was too heavy, her feet were tired and that Halloween was a long day"! Other than that,I think she was grateful for the end result...CaNdY!!! Little Bryar hung right in their with the best of the trick-or-treaters. She enjoyed her first sucker (of sorts) a Sugar Daddy...mmmmm. Try cleaning that sticky mess up with one wippie and some spit...you moms know what I mean!