Childrens Crafts Paper Christmas Tree

HO ho ho Merry Christmas Tree Project. My granddaughters are 3 and 4 years old., and they really enjoyed making this project. Adult supervision is needed to make sure that they don't get glue all over the place. Ha ha..

Supplies:
Construction paper assorted colors , plus green.
Glue
Marker
Assorted beads
Glitter

Tear green construction paper into small irregular pieces.

Draw an outline of  a Christmas Tree with a magic marker. Glue the green strips on the inside line of Christmas Tree.

Add decorations on with glue, like beads, strings, and glitter.

This is the tree from the 3 year old.

Childrens Crafts Christmas Balls

My granddaughters love to make things, they know the word crafts. This is a very easy craft for young children.. This does need to be supervised by an adult. Make sure to check the glass ball tops for any sharp broken glass edges. Make sure you are in an area that is carpeted just in case one of the glass balls rolls off the table or out of little hands.

Supplies
Package of glass balls they sell them at crafts stores like Micheal's, hobby lobby
Several bottles of acrylic paint like Folk Art in colors of your choice
Glitter for decorating the out side of balls if desired
Tinsel optional
Beads optional

Remove lids from glass balls set to the side inspect tops for safety.

Allow children to pour 3 to 4 different paint colors into balls, it's best to keep the balls in the holder so they won' t roll around.

Then roll the ball around until the paints mingle together, and cover the whole inside of glass ball.

Decorate the outside with glitter. Allow to dry.  Place  tops back on glass balls. The children enjoyed hanging their own ornaments on the Christmas Tree.

Corn Bread Stuffing Recipe

Here is a corn bread stuffing recipe that I use to make with my dad when I was growning up. Every time  I make this recipe, I feel  like a kid again,.helping my dad on Thanksgiving morning. The only difference is the original recipe had raisins, in it which, one else seemed to like, except for me and dad. Ha Ha.
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Ingredient::
1 pound breakfast bulk pork sausage
2 boxes of Jiffy Corn muffin mix
2 eggs for Jiffy Mix
2/3 cup milk for Jiffy Mix
1 cup water
1 soft chicken bullion cube
1 stick butter
1 large onion chopped 1 1/2 cup of onion
1 1/2 cup celery chopped
2 teaspoons ground black pepper

In large pan fry sausage till crispy, drain and set aside.

Prepare Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix according to package instructions, to speed things up for me, I pour the batter into a  hot waffle iron. This also air drys the muffins faster, break them up, toss into large bowl. adding 2 teaspoons of black pepper thoroughly mix..

Chop 1 1/2 cups of onion, and celery.

Fry the onion, and celery with one stick of butter, for 7 minutes. . Break up bullion cube into 1 cup of water, microwave on high for 1 minute dissolving cube all the way by stirring set aside.

Place sausage, onion, celery,  and corn bread waffles in large bowl, combine well adding 1 egg., and cup of chicken broth.

Transfer to an oven safe  pan, bake 1 hour, with parchment paper on top, at 350 degrees. Enjoy this side dish of corn bread stuffing all year round you don't have to wait for Thanksgiving Day any more to eat delicious stuffing. Give it a try let me know what you think.

Paris Cardigan Sweater

I decided it was time to try to knit a more advanced project. I have been going to a knitting group at the Greenberry House a cozy place in Meadows of Dan , Virginia where Leslie the shop owner, and seasoned knitters help us beginners with our knitting skills. I have come to understand how to read  knitting patterns. 

I found this free cute Paris Cardigan Sweater pattern from http://www.lionbrand.com/ website  This sweater is titled April in Paris Cardigan. I chose to change the colors, and leave off the pockets.This is done in the seed stitch.. See my progress in pictures.

This is one of the sleeves.

This is the back.

The front of the sweater.

This the collar which was worked with the fun fur yarn, 2 colors at the same time. It gives the collar a soft look, but also since it is doubled it gives it a weight which helps the collar lay right.

Putting it all together,  was a bit of a challenge. The back needs to be sewn  to the front first, then the sleeves. My tip is to pin  the sleeves to the back and front with safety pins, and adjust as needed before actually sewing together.This will keep the sweater looking more even, and professional..

Blueberry Apple Crumb Pe

Does this picture make your mouth water for a delicious  slice of berry pie. This blueberry apple crumb pie dessert has to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it to make it complete. I like making crumb toppings  for a change of pace. It's not as  fussy as a regular pie crust. To make this dessert quicker use frozen pie crust, and canned apple pie filling. For perfect pie crust recipe.

Ingredients: Crumb topping
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup oat meal
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pie filling
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 can apple pie filling
Pie crust
5 cups flour
2 cups shortening
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon vinegar
3/4 cup water


Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Instructions:
To make your perfect pie crust, or use your frozen one. Place  crust in glass pie pan. Add apple pie filling, and blueberries.To make crumb topping place butter, flour,oatmeal, and cinnamon in small bowl, with pastry dough blender, completely blend those 4 ingredients. Add the chopped pecans last and incorporate thoroughly. Spread on top of pie filling covering completely. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 350 for 15 more minutes.

Knitted Sweater Jacket Cute

This is my first try at making big girl clothes.I found this darling vintage pattern from the 40's. This knitted  short sweater  jacket appealed to me because it looked trendy, short with flowing sleeves, and flowing neck line. I also liked that it did not require buttons. It is knitted from the bottom up, the sleeves are knit into place, instead of having to attach them..The the sweater is folded in half and sewn at the sides.

supplies

5 balls 241 yards medium wt  100% acrylic yarn

size 15 circular 29 inch long needles

size 4 circular 29 inch needles

 large eye blunt needle

counting cylinder

stitch holder pin extra long

size medium measures 23 inches long on back side

Back: With size 15 needles cast on 184 sts.

First row: k1 * p2, k2; repeat from *, end p2, k1.

2nd row: p1, * k2, p2; repeat from *, end k2, p1. Repeat these 2 rows for 4 inches for frill, end with 2nd row.

Change to size 4 needles, continue for ribbing for 62 rows above the frill, end with 2nd row.

To make sleeves: Cast on 47 sts at beginning of next row for sleeve. Beginning with p2, work ribbing to end. Cast on 47 sts, and begin next row with k2. Work 278 sts in ribbing for 12 ins.(this is the sleeves)

Bind off 47 sts at beginning of each of next 2 rows.

Next row: Work 77 sts and slip on holder for half of the front, work 33 sts and slip on a strand of yarn for neck edge, finish row. Continue ribbing on last 77 sts; work 6 rows even. Dec. 1 st at neck edge every 2nd row 24 times, then every row 8 times, end at neck edge.

 Place 45 sts on holder. Beginning at neck edge work other side to correspond, end at neck. Do not break yarn. With same needle, and marking this side as wrong side of jacket, pick up and k 36 sts on shaped edge to neck, work the 20 sts of neck, pick up and k 36 sts on shaped edge on other side, work 45 sts from holder (192 sts)

Change to size 15 needles and continue ribbing for 4 ins. Bind off.

Frill on sleeves: With size 4 needles and working from right side pick up and k 96 sts on edge of sleeve. Change to size 15 needles, and work ribbing for 4 ins. Bind off.

Finishing: With wrong side of frill to turn back on right side of jacket, sew side and sleeve seams, Steam.

My beautiful daughter-in-law is modeling this sweater, I did add 2 string cords so it could be tied together.

Good side view of sleeves.

The side view photo did not turn out sharp, and as clear as I would have liked it, but you can get an idea of what the sweater looks like from the side it's cute, cute, cute.

Sloppy Joe's

Are you running out of quick meal ideas? How does Sloppy Joe's from scratch sound? It doesn't take that long to prepare. You  may already have most of the ingredients in your kitchen. Try this one and tell me what you think.

Ingredients
1 pound ground meat
1 medium onion chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
shredded cheddar cheese for topping
slice of tomato for topping
slice of sweet onion for topping
hamburger buns

Fry  ground meat well, drain excess fat off. Add chopped onion, paprika,cumin, garlic salt, onion powder, 
ketchup, apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar into the frying pan. Cook til sauce thickens about 10 minutes. Server immediately over warm hamburger buns. I like to add a slice of tomato, onion and cheese on mine.