Applique Quilt

Gosh I have so many things to get caught up on and so many things I could blog about that I hardly know where to begin. I will start with this child size quilt, 4 1/2 feet by 3 1/2 feet to be exact, then give you a few teasers for up coming post. I started it so long ago that I can't even remember where I got my inspiration from! But the flower design caught my eye and I re interpreted it on this quilt. I originally began it for my second oldest grand daughter thinking I would make one for each grand child eventually. Ha! that idea is out the window! Too many grand kids so close together and not enough time to quilt.

Hello Kitty Look-a-Like Scarf

Every Christmas I hand make something to give the grand kids as well as a few children of close friends. This year I made 15 scarves. I used a Simplicity pattern #4354 that I have had for a while; it is a pattern for cats and puppy scarfs. They are very cute! I decided to try my hand at making something other than the puppies and cats, I attempted lizards and dinosaurs too. The lizards looked great.....the dinos looked like lizards. Oh well, at least the boys were happy with them. And then I realized as I was looking for the pics to do this post that I do not have one pic of the scarves other than the ones I took of the Hello Kitty look-a-like scarf! Oh my!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars After School Snack

My grand kids come home after school Starving with a capital S! Typical of most kids, am I right? And boy can they eat. If I am smart, I will have a tummy filling snack already prepared when they arrive and this one, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars, is a favorite. They, along with their daddy's and papa, will finish off an entire recipe in one shot. It's easy and mostly healthy, so I am happy to make this for them often. My Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars recipe is a version of a no bake cookies recipe and very versatile. Leave out the chocolate chips if you want, use water instead of milk, add more cocoa; you get the picture.

Long Time No See & Pear Vinegar

Well I have had a vacation haven't I? I really didn't mean to go so long without a post. It all started, my time away I mean, when I made some changes to our internet/cable service. There was a problem with the internet line and it would let me on for about 5 minutes before it would kick me off. I would have to wait a couple of hours and try again only to get the same treatment. 

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

First published at Family Home and Life.

Who doesn't love a warm freshly made Cinnamon Roll with frosting melting all over the top? This time of year is perfect for making them. They are great gifts for neighbors, co workers; anyone on your gift giving list. Making Cinnamon Rolls is not all that hard. The dough for these rolls can be refrigerated overnight so that you can pop them in the oven for a quick breakfast; freeze the raw dough then bake, or partially bake and then freeze them. If you have never made Cinnamon Rolls before I urge you to try these. 

Christmas Garland

First published at Family Home and Life. 

The kids and I made Christmas Garlands. They are very simple to make. You fold your paper, trace on a design and then cut out. You don't cut a section of the folded edge so that it all stays in one piece. Here's how we made the Christmas Garlands.

Scripture Ornaments

First published at Family Home and Life. 

This is an easy and fast yet lovely Christmas Ornament that you can make with the kids. I call them Scripture Ornaments because I used a page from the Bible about the birth of Jesus as my back ground. But if scripture is not your thing sheet music is nice or make up your own verbiage. These would make great gifts or tweak this version to make gift tags.

Here’s how I made these.

Easy Christmas Decorating Idea

First published at Family Home and Life. 

Gramma’s workshop has been on overload for a while now! I’m sorry but there is not enough time in the day to make the kids gifts and post about it all at the same time. I’ll have to do that later. But I did want to share a Christmas decorating idea with you.

Nativity Set for the Kids

First Published at Family Home & Life, Dec 2012.

Every Christmas, I have a birthday party for Jesus in my home. We tell the Christmas story gathered around a birthday cake, sing Happy Birthday, and each child gets a candle to blow out on the cake. Since having grand kids, this celebration has become more special to us all.  As the kids have grown older, they have begun to join in with the story telling. This year I wanted to include the kids even more. I decided I would make a nativity for them to use in the story telling. Since there are a lot of cardboard tube "people" made out of empty toilet paper and paper towels rolls around Pinterest, I decided to try to make a nativity using empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls.

Sweet Potato Casserole

First published at Family Home and Life.

I just love fall! And sweet potato dishes are just the thing to remind us that Thanksgiving is just around the corner. This recipe is so easy and so good that you will want to eat it all yourself. I know I sure do! And some times I even have the left overs for breakfast! Yum yum!

Sweet potatoes are inexpensive, filling, so good for you. They have more fiber than oatmeal, rich in vitamin C, potassium, more vitamin A than carrots. And they are low calorie at about 150 each. But not in this recipe! We have it dolled up in butter and brown sugar, and topped off with marshmallows.