Big Sale and Free Shipping Plus a New Project

Hey all! I hope your Thanksgiving was fantastic; today is going to be brief I wanted you all to know about the sale going on in my Art Fire store, there is 40% off until the 30th and also free shipping which I will have until the end of December. So I hope you all will venture into the store and take a peek at my sale and free shipping.

I am also working on a few things, a new doll using glue, water, balloons, and newspaper, yup that's the head of the doll in the photo.
I am also working a different kind of crochet rag rug using yarn and jute when I get it finished I will post photos of it here shortly.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

I just wanted to wish all friends and families a very happy Thanksgiving and mention what I am most thankful for, and that would be my trials and adverse times.
Why? Well I am hoping that those things will help me to be a better person, I hope that I have gained more compassion through my adverse time of losing my home in Nov 2, 199 I do know what is to lose everything thing, but not everything, I may have lost the material things but I do know Heavenly Father and my Lord Christ made sure my son who was 5 years old at the time got out on his own and knew what door to go out, I believe my Heavenly father guided him; as later one fireman would tell me "It sure was a good thing he chose the front door". I am thankful for the firemen who risked their lives to put out the fire, and for those who donated so much to us, thank you, even now just does not seem enough. I am thankful that Heavenly Father humbled me enough to find my way home to the LDS Church.

I am so very thankful so the next trial, it brought a special closeness to my husband who was hit head on in his log truck, not only am Ithankful he lived through it but I am thankful he was there, I know Heavenly Father meant him to be there at that moment so that he might take the blow and save those that were behind him as others expressed to him.

In these past few months I have been given another trial and it has been quite adverse in testing my faith and courage and yet helping to cast out the rocks and be forgiving to those that did my daughter harm.

Most of all I am thankful that I have a Heavenly Father, and my Lord Christ and that I have been given the trial and adverse times, but also the ability to pray for guidance and faith to know it will all be alright.

All are in my prayers that you are blessed and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Apple Cider Pancakes and Edible Craft Idea

I thought is would be a really different delight at breakfast time with the holiday season fast approaching and it is really very simple.

What you will need is dry pancake mix and dry powdered apple cider packets about 3 of them will do; you choice of apple peeled and sliced into small chunks.

Mix up the pancake batter as the directions indicate then add the packets of apple cider, or if you have a jug of apple juice, apple cider sub it for the milk or water that the pancake mix asks for to make the batter.
Serve this will hot maple syrup and bacon it is yum! and the pancakes really seem to fluff right up using the packets of apple cider.

This craft project is also pretty quick and easy, that I thought up!


What you will need is two large packets of the sugar cookie mix, or make the cookies from one of your own sugar cookie recipes, or a box of sugar cookie mix.
Make up the cookie batter for cutting out shapes because you will need the flour spread out on a cutting board, I used about 2 table spoons of flour.
When you get your batter all done roll small smooth balls on the floured cutting board about 1 inch balls.
Roll the balls in sugar and cinnamon or color the sugar with a dab of green, red food coloring; place the balls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, now take a smooth small cup or glass and dip it into the sugar mixture and flatten out the cookies carefully, bake till lightly browned and just before they cool make a small hole at the top. String fishing line or a heavy thread through the cookies and ribbon of your choice.
The idea of these is to make edible Christmas ornaments for the tree or to give as a gift for a neighbor or friend. Plus if you have kids around these are fun to make them with and they will not hang on the Christmas tree for long, this is very simple treat/gift idea and you can change and make the creative side of you flow out.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie in an Black Iron Frying Pan

Yes it is another recipe to share with everyone!
I love cooking although I don't cook with a science in hand, instead I like to throw things into the pot and see how it comes out; in other words I love cooking by taste only, and I sharing with the idea you can can make this your own in in what ever way you wish.
Well we are getting the first really bad storm of the reason, winds will be blowing a 60 miles an hour and just sitting here writing this; I can tell you its blowing now.
My son picked potatoes with his girlfriend and he brought me a 100 potatoes and I am putting them to good use, and this is what the recipe is about those potatoes.
What you will need:
2-3 large potatoes all cut and cubed
I like to use caned meat and either beef or turkey will work or you can cute boneless chicken and cook a little before hand and then add it to the rest of this recipe.
small whole carrots/baby carrots don't cut them about 2 cups or 1 1/2
broccoli just about 1 1/2 cup and just break up the broccoli
can of mushrooms
one packet of chicken gravy
1 can of mushroom soup
1 red onion chopped cup
corn bread mix
Okay add your canned meat at least 2 cans in large skillet, don't drain the meat just dump the juice into the well greased frying pan. Add the mushroom soup, gravy mix, carrots, onion, broccoli and potatoes that are cubed, now mix really well in the frying pan and if it looks as though its all clumping together and too thick add about a 1/4 cup of water and mix again. Smooth it all out through out the frying pan.
Now follow the instructions for making the corn bread and pour the uncooked corn bread dough over the top. This is going to be a heavy frying pan so put a cookie sheet under before adding everything I should have stated that sooner, place the cooking sheet with the frying pan on top into the oven and bake for 30-40 min. or until it starts turning golden brown on top and tooth pick comes out clean, this is huge meal for a large family of about 5-6; we always have left overs, serve with a nice salad and hot apple cider.

A Recipe for Cranberry raisin Walnut Cookies

I love these Walnut Cranberry raisin cookies; these are very easy to make with just a white cake mix and it does not matter what brand just any will do. If you use Jiffy I suggest buying about four boxes being that the boxes are small.
Add you cake mix to a bowl and one egg and one cup of soften butter do not use margin, butter really makes these cookies taste mouthwatering good.
Now add a table spoon of water and just about two cups of cranberry raisins, the walnuts should not be chopped up into small pieces rather just cut and chopped slightly. Finally add about one and one half cup of white chocolate chips, mix all together and drop spoon out about a table spoon onto a well greased cookie sheet, bake at 350 until cookies look done and slightly browned serve warm, these will not last long. I can get up to 45 cookies using the cake mix and for me that is a good deal with that teen boy.

Quick Witch Hats for Halloween

Well I finally started these and wanted to share them with you, they are not quite finished but you can do this recipe very quickly and add what ever color frosting you would like to these witch hats.
This year I went with the striped kisses just because I thought they looked pretty cool.
What you will need is Keebler short bread cookies that one can find easily in the store, I would buy several containers, depending on family size ; in my family these go super fast.
Then get a bag of chocolate kisses or the stripped ones and some chocolate frosting and a tube of the green, orange frosting for making the bows.
When you get home just flip the cookies over and and spread a small amount of chocolate frosting around the hole of the cookie, because you want the kiss to stick to the top.
Now take the tube frosting of either orange or green and draw a small line around the bottom where the kiss meets the cookie and then draw 2 small loops and then a dab of green in the center of the loops as to indicate a knot, do this with all the cookies and kisses, you can even mix it up with the stripes and just straight chocolate kisses, it is a very simple and quick idea for the last minute Halloween treat.





I have added the frosting just not the bows to these pictures, thought everyone could just use imagination and the bow is very simple to do and looks great not matter what. Sorry everyone that's hole not whole and just dab a bit of chocolate frosting around the hole then at the base of the kiss add the orange or green frosting in these photos I have not done that.

An Adventure with the Talking Tombstones

I just love this event held in Astoria Oregon every year right before Halloween night!
This year I was able to video tape some it and yes you see that some of it is side ways that because I got better angle but I can't seem to figure out how to turn the video with this new computer.
This first gentleman was a lawyer for the district and was shot by his rival. Remember that these are true life stories of actual people who once lived here and not made up so it really it neat how the historical society finds out about each person and then portrays them.
One really interesting bit of history was that the Chinese were buried in this cemetery and then later dug up and taken back home to china.


I wanted to video a one of the head stones just to give everyone idea how old this cemetery is and I got a bit of the hubby in it. What is so interesting is that you learn what life was like way back when and how hard things were, such as dying of consumption. The next story really was very sad a young lady of the times caught up in becoming a woman of the evening and given false promises and then ending her life; when the deceitful man went off and married someone else, she used Morphia and was buried without a headstone I thought this tale was sad.


This last gentle was very interesting, seems the papers way back when stated that he drowned in the item he is popping out of and that he was intoxicated at the time but the gentle states that he was not. His mother did sewing and mending socks, but that's not what she did really, seems she had a house where the men folk liked to visit all the ladies who mended socks. His mother left him in Astoria at a young age and later he worked in the Canneries, he would pull Salmon up with this great pole with a hook on it and often this item was used to fight with loggers, the day was so interesting and just perfect for a visit to the talking tombstones.