Ringing Out the Year... With A Cowl and a Recipe!

Hey Y'all!

Well. Luckily the dentist was able to see me at 11 this morning. After a few x-rays it was determined that I have some nerve issues going on from clenching and grinding my teeth at night. I also have some Crohns issues going on with my gums. So the good news is that it is not a tooth, but something that is not easily fixable. Today I went and purchased a new night guard (since I chewed through my last one) and I have a few tricks up my sleeve from my dentist to help with  my gum issues. I also visited the natural health food store and stocked up on sulfate free, everything else free toothpaste as well. Drastic times call for drastic measures! So. There we are!

Today I wanted to share a quick recipe and an easy to make cowl accessory with y'all just in case you had big New Year's Eve plans! I have never been a big NYE party gal, but I do like to go out to dinner and then get home before all of the crazy folks get on the roads. NYE is one of those nights where I like to be in my house still admiring my Christmas tree lights.

First up... a Yummy Recipe! I don't know about y'all... but here in South Carolina we take our New Year's Day meal very seriously. You must have black eyed peas and some sort of greens. You also have a few other sides as well. With the peanut/nut allergy that I have had to face over the past few years, I have to be very careful about what I make. One of my favorite things to eat is a fruit salad or fruit ambrosia. But some folks put nuts in that and then I can't eat it! I found this great fruit salad recipe on Pinterest right before Christmas and Mom and I took it to a brunch we were invited to on Christmas day. It. Was. So. Good! Also. I didn't take any pictures when I made this!

For Cherry Fruit Salad you will need...
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (Bonus points if you use the Extra Creamy version!)
1 (16 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks, drained
2/3 bag of  miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional.. obviously I DID NOT INCLUDE THIS!)
Directions
First, completely drain the pineapple.Really get all of the juice out. You can save it and drink it later or add to New Year's Day drinks!

Then,  combine all the ingredients except the cool whip and the cherry pie filling. Make sure to mix well. Finally, fold in the cherry pie filling and then fold in the Cool Whip. Be careful not to over mix so the Cool Whip will not fall. Place in the fridge and let the Cherry Fruit Salad chill overnight.
Trust me, it will be hard not to taste this before it is chilled.... but OMG if you wait it is so DELICIOUS!

Note.. this is not my picture... it is from Pinterest. I had my spoon so deep in this concoction that I did not get any pictures!

And... finally a quick cowl for a night out on the town! As I mentioned in my last post, I was very, ahem, creative this Christmas and found a lot of quick to make, great looking presents for friends and family. And this one I promise, even if you are not crafty, you can make!

You will need one ball of Starbella Strata yarn. I found mine at AC Moore. It runs about $6.99 and I had a 50% off coupon and a 15% off teacher discount. This is the Raspberry Jam colorway.

Remove the wrapper from the yarn and pull out three lengths from your nose to the end of your arm extended all the way out. Cut the yarn tube.

Put your hand through the end of the tube like you are stretching out socks or a pair of panty hose.

Stretch the yarn fabric long wise and width wise. Place over your head. INSTANT COWL!

You can make the lengths you measure longer and get a longer cowl. You can get at least 2 to 3 cowls out of one skein of this yarn tube. Nifty!

If you need more help making this cowl... because trust me, I didn't get it at first either... check out this nifty two minute video!

This yarn comes in a few different colorways. I made another one out of the Shipwreck colorway and gave it to my Mom for Christmas.

My Mom promptly went online and ordered ALL of the colors to make cowls for all of her friends!

So that's it for tonight. Go forth and craft and cook! I might hop on tomorrow to do a best of 2013... we'll see!
Tootles!
:) JKP

A Belated Merry, Merry and Almost New Year!

Hey Y'all!

Well, the last time I hopped on the ol' blog it was right before Thanksgiving. And. What I like to call the 2013 time warp. It seemed like right after Turkey Day everything was on warped speed and things had to be done, done, done! Before I knew it, Girls Weekend Christmas Palooza was over and Christmas was a mere 14 days away. Whew. I was busy with school and then right before we got out for winter break, I was hit with the good old sinus infection, plus double ear infection. So. That is how I spent my time through Christmas, getting better! I have also had to go back on some prednisone for various issues, so that has added to the fun too. One of the things that triggered from my sinus infection was a tooth issue that I have been dealing with for a few months. It really hasn't been that bad over the months, but with my sinuses going crazy it has kicked my tooth "issue" and pain into high gear. I am hoping the dentist can fit me in sometime this week because this has not been fun. Tummy pain I can handle any day, tooth pain NOT!

Anyhoo. I am still enjoying my Christmas decorations. Y'all know how I just love the lights! I guess I will take everything down around the first. One nice thing about winter break this year is that we don't have to go back to school until January 6th! So I am able to really enjoy this next week. Except for being in pain, I have quite enjoyed the past few days of watching tv, napping (when I can) and piddling around the house. Here's a pic of the entertainment center with this year's decorations!

I also have a new addiction... no crochet/crochet scarves!

This year was a "pinching the pennies" Christmas. I have had a few expensive months! Mitzi Mazda had to have some service and then my heat went out over Girls Weekend Christmas Palooza. So I had to be really creative with my gifts this year. Since I am a "maker" I came across some really neat crafts on You Tube! I am sure you are well aware of the "ruffle scarves" that have been very popular with knitters and crocheter's over the past year. I think they are so cute, but LAWDY it takes forever and a day to knit one. One night while on Pinterest, I came across an easy way to make them and y'all... I had some great gifts!

I made a silver, gold and white one for my Mom...

This one for my Mom's friend Jean.... She hosted a great Christmas Day Brunch and I had to take something to her!

And a red sparkly one for my Mom's friend Pat... She loves the red and the sparkly!

I have some more colorways to work on this week. Would you like to make one for yourself or someone else? I promise, if you can hold a crochet hook, you can make this scarf! I started out by watching this tutorial on You Tube. I vary the stitches I pick up just a bit, depending on how flouncy I want the scarf to be. If I want it really flouncy I will pick up 12 stitches, less flouncy and I will do 9. I can make a scarf in about 20 minutes. Not bad for a new accessory. The yarn runs about $4.99.. but AC Moore and Michael's usually have it on sale for $3.99. Check out the video to get going on your own scarf!

This is a second video that I watched that really helped with beginning and ending the scarves. This video is very thorough with the demonstration and shows you what the scarves look like with different loops added.

I'll be back tomorrow with hopefully a tooth update (keep your fingers REALLY crossed) and another easy craft and recipe for New Year's!
Tootles y'all!
:) JKP

She's a Knitting Maniac!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey Y'all!

'Tis the season for last minute gifts. I realized yesterday afternoon that I was getting my hair cut and highlighted today and I didn't have a thing for my hair dresser. Trust me folks. That is one person you HAVE to bring a gift to at Christmas time. And. I love the way Tiffany does my hair, so I knew I had to resort to a quick knit!

About a month ago, I was on Ravelry and came across a quick and easy fingerless glove pattern that was actually posted on You Tube. Go figure. But, it was made with bulky yarn and size 9 needles, so I was game.

I used Lion Brand's Tweed Stripes to knit a "test" pair and they came out very cute. Although, let me say, that you have to hack this yarn to pieces to get it to stripe properly so that both gloves will match.

Here's the fist pair I knitted up. They will be going in my Mom's Christmas stocking! Hi Mom! She knows this. She tried to steal them at Thanksgiving! :)

So, I rooted around in my ever growing yarn basket and found out that I had another skein of Tweed Stripes in the Prism colorway, so I casted on for a pair of quick knit gloves to take as a gift today.
I did modify the pattern a bit. Instead of casting on 24 stitches like the pattern calls for, I casted on 28. I then knit 18 rows of 2x2 rib, 14 rows of stockinette stitch, and then 6 rows of 2x2 rib. I casted off and sewed the sides, leaving a space for the thumb.

Here's the finished pair.

I literally casted on at 4:00 this afternoon and was sewing these puppies up at 6:30. NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!!

If you want to make your own pair, check out the You Tube video below. It walks you through step by step!



Happy Knitting!
Tootles!
:) JKP

A Scarf For My Granddaddy

Hey Y'all!

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter.. all you heard about this past weekend was a scarf that I was knitting up for my Granddaddy Abe. Back in October when all of the holiday knitting magazines were coming out, I got it into my head that I wanted to knit my Grandaddy a scarf. I found a pattern, but couldn't find the yarn. I ended up trolling the Lion Brand website one night before bed last week, and I found a quick knit, thick scarf that would be perfect for him!

So with needles in my hand I got off to a good start Wednesday night. But by Saturday afternoon, this was all I had!

So I found a good Christmas movie on TV, had a snack, and knitted into the deep dark night. Well. For three hours anyway! At the end I had a five foot scarf made of stockinette stitch with a garter stitch border. I washed it up, blocked it, and prayed it would be dry in time to give my grandaddy at our annual family Christmas lunch on Sunday.

And the verdict.........

HE LOVED IT! The look on his face when he opened the bag made all of the knitting hours worth it. He was so excited that I made it for him! My mom bought him some new hats that matched the scarf, so he is quite the man about town right now!

Happy Thomy's!!!

The pattern is a free one from Lion Brand. It is called The Basic Scarf and it is a free pattern if you join Lion Brand. com. I used two skeins of Lion Brand's Hometown USA in the color Cincinnati. I used size 15 needles and I am a very loose knitter.  The whole scarf will take you about 3 and a half hours to knit up.

I hope you can make someone's holiday this year by making something from the heart!!!
Tootles!
:) JKP

I LOVE Cupcakes!

Hey Y'all!

I hope where ever you are, you are getting to see some snow! Where I live, we only see snow once in a blue moon, so it is really special when it happens. I just love snow and how white and fresh it makes everything look. My Christmas wish is to go somewhere where it snows during Christmas. I would love to take sleigh rides, go caroling and stay in a big ol' lodge. And. Drink hot toddies! :) Anybody out there have a winning Powerball ticket???

Anyhoo. Since I don't live where it snows, and for that matter, where it gets cold very often, I have to create a Winter Wonderland in my house during Christmas. This year I have three, yes THREE Christmas trees in my living room. One is real, the other two are artificial. I have collected Hallmark ornaments for YEARS, so I have plenty of ornaments for all of the trees. However, this year, I wanted to shake things up. One of my trees is an aluminum green tree. It is like metallic tinsel. Over the past two years, y'all have heard of my love for cupcakes. They are the perfect treat for someone like me because I can't eat a lot of dough-y foods with my stomach. I can still have a sweet treat and not feel sick! So I decided that one of my Christmas trees this year needed to be dedicated to my love of cupcakes. I started to poke around on Pinterest and I found the most amazing craft project. And, y'all know how I LOVE the craft projects. So with some Styrofoam balls, artificial snow, regular glue, hot glue, ribbon and some plastic holly berries, I made some precious cupcake ornaments!

If you would like to make your own cupcake tree (and let's face it, what girly girl wouldn't want one?) here are the craft supplies you are going to need:

2.5 inch Styrofoam balls (use a coupon and get them half off at the craft store)
Artificial snowflakes ( I used regular and iridescent to get a sparkly effect)
Cupcake liners.. foil ones and Christmas themed ones
A hot glue gun and glue sticks
Craft or school glue
A foam brush, a paper bowl, and toothpicks
Christmas themed ribbon
A Solo cup or Styrofoam block to hold the snowballs as they are drying

To start, combine the regular and iridescent snowflakes in a bowl. You might also want to spread paper towels or newspapers out on the table you are working on. The snowflakes get EVERYWHERE! :)

Next, poke a toothpick on the bottom of one of the Styrofoam balls. Coat at least 2/3 thirds of the top of the ball with glue.

Then roll the ball in the snowflake mixture.

While you are making the other "snowballs" you want a place to put the finished ones to dry well. I stuck mine into a Styrofoam block.

I let mine dry overnight to be safe. If it is not dry enough, the next part won't work.

Once the "snowballs" are dry to the touch, plug in your hot glue gun. If you are making this craft with little ones, make sure you take over here.

Separate out your cupcake liners. I did a combination of foil and Christmas themed ones. Simply line the side of the cupcake liner with hot glue. Then, place the "snowball" into the liner, cupping your hands around the ball. Don't push the ball down to the bottom. The hot glue will grab the sides. Your "cupcake" will look rounded on the bottom if you push it down to far into the liner. *Side note.. the foil liners get REALLY hot with the glue, so be very careful!*

Now, once the cupcake liner has cooled, we get to have some fun! Cut one of the holly berries off of the bunch, but leave a stem. With a toothpick, tuck the ribbon down into the cupcake. Insert the stem of the "berry" into the hole made with the toothpick and ribbon. Add a dab of hot glue and push the stem in all the way into the cupcake.

And viola!!! You have a cupcake ornament!

You can also leave the stem "up" and make it more cherry like.

Now you can make enough for a whole tree!

And, a close up!

And here's a thought... if you find a white tree on clearance AFTER Christmas, you can use a Valentine's day theme and keep it up longer! You can also use smaller Styrofoam balls and liners too! :)

I'll be back tomorrow with some pics of my Christmas decorations around my house. I just love to have on my lights in my house at night. It is so peaceful and relaxing to me!

Tootles and happy crafting!
:) JKP