Weekender Bouquet: Sweet William

Weekender bouquet: This is an arrangement of Dianthus barbatus "Sweet William" taken from "Howard's Garden" - the garden at the entrance of our kennel building where Charvie now happily reins as top dog. Sweet William convey to me old fashioned innocence and country charm; the Mason jar with wire bail seemed the perfect vessel for them. Their essence is sweet and evocative, much like their botanical cousin the carnation. Do you have a memory of old fashioned Sweet Wiliams?

Heart's Content Valentine's Wreath

Happy New Year!

So this is my first post of 2015 and I wish everyone a happy and joyful New Year! This is a frenetic time of year for me and it seems I've barely taken down the Christmas decorations and here it is time to celebrate Valentine's to our heart's content. Today I share a little wreath project I crafted in 2014. The wreath is a 7-inch Styrofoam heart that I covered with worsted-weight rose colored yarn. The heart shape is a bit challenging to wrap smoothly due to the curves and bends but still looks pretty and homespun.

For adornment I made two crepe roses with ivory crepe paper. Crepe is such a delightful paper to use for making everlasting flowers. The stretch of the paper gives a natural ruffle and it holds the shape well without a stiffening agent. I used a pale pink chenille stem (pipe cleaner!) for the stamen and worked the flower from the stamen out adding petals and affixing with low-temperature hot glue. For the flower leafs I used moss green crepe, cutting a basic leaf shape and then bending and tugging to give life to the leaf.

Notice how I rough-trimmed the leaf edges for a more realistic appearance. I adore the translucent appearance of the crepe blossom: the petals almost look as if they were well-veined like a real rose.

 For me paper everlasting flowers are an intriguing creation because I am looking for balance between a realistic representation of Mother Nature's best work and an artist's interpretation. Take a look at my Everlasting Flowers board on Pinterest for inspired ideas and step-by-step tutorials.

Thanks for joining me today!

Shared Post: Sausage-Mushroom Appetizers

Note: This recipe originally appeared on my sister blog, LivingAfterWLS Blog, a site dedicated to the healthy long-lasting weight management of weight loss surgery patients. I thought you might enjoy it here at Crafting with KeepHer and Kaye.

Protein: The "Power" Nutrient
"No matter if you're young, old or somewhere in-between, eating enough protein plays an important role in good health at every age and life stage."
Protein: Power Nutrient

Cheesy Sausage Mushroom Appetizers

A classic appetizer to make, share, and enjoy this holiday season. Taking a cue from the classic Jimmy Dean® cheesy sausage meatballs, this version employs mushroom caps to hold the meaty goodness in a tidy bite-size portion. Adjust the recipe to taste using any variety of Jimmy Dean® roll sausage being mindful of the fat content. 

Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package Jimmy Dean® Premium Pork Reduced Fat Roll Sausage
3/4 cup all-purpose baking mix
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded medium Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
pinch teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
18 medium-large button mushrooms, stems and gills removed

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Gently mix all ingredients except mushrooms in a large bowl just until blended. Stuff 1 1/2-tablespoons of sausage mixture into each mushroom cap, mounding sausage and pressing into a dome shape. Bake 18-24 minutes or until done (internal temperature 160°F). Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

18 servings (1 stuffed mushroom each)

Mound sausage in mushroom caps as shown above.

Leftovers Hint: Breakfast Skillet
Chop or slice any leftover stuffed mushrooms and warm in a skillet. Add eggs, lightly mixed, to sausage mixture and cook until eggs are done. Serve warm and enjoy a protein power start to your day!

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Trekking to the Forest for a Christmas Tree

Hello Friends and Loyal Readers! Thanks for dropping by today. I received a few emails asking if our Peacock Splendor Christmas Tree is real or artificial. It is most positively real, shaped by nature, and wonderfully fragrant. It is a great part of our holiday tradition to make the annual trek to the National Forest designated tree cutting area and select a most perfect specimen. Tall, but not too tall. Bushy, but not too full. Symmetrical but not too symmetrical. We are in search of the perfect tree and hope to find one that's a bit quirky with personality. Oh really, there aren't so many rules, perhaps better called guidelines than rules. Keeping all this in mind we set about the hunt and when we've found the winner? What a thrill! Think about it: thousands and thousands of trees from which to choose. There can only be one winner. 

The Forest Service encourages this tradition and has established guidelines to protect the forest and provide a positive tree gathering experience to be enjoyed by all who are fortunate to experience this nostalgic custom rapt with memory making moments. Jim and I found our perfect tree last week. This 20-year family tradition truly marks the start of our holiday season.

According to the Forest Service "Many families have a tradition of getting a permit then heading to their local national forest to pick out their perfect Christmas tree. Most national forests allow users to harvest trees for personal use firewood and Christmas trees, but you must first have a Forest Service-issued permit and you must follow specific guidelines, which can vary from forest to forest." US Forest Service

Under crystal clear skies Jim pulls the tree through the snow to bring home in the truck. There is less snow than normal in our forest this year which makes tree spotting and harvesting much easier than years when the snow is deep and passage is slow.

 

 Once we arrive home Jim sets the tree in a stand while KeepHerKitty and I prepare the lights, garland, and ornaments for decorating. Here KeepHer inspects the lights for defective bulbs.

 

From the moment the tree is placed in the living room until we bid farewell to O'tannenbaum KeepHer considers it her personal shelter and hiding place. Or perhaps she is just waiting for presents? Whatever her reason, doesn't she strike a picture-perfect pose?

To see our tree in full holiday glory: Peacock Splendor Christmas Tree

Thanks for visiting today! Do you have a holiday tree cutting traditon?

 

Peacock Splendor Christmas Tree

I enjoy a theme in my Christmas decorating and  this year have attempted to capture Peacock Splendor. My vision includes copious use of sparkling ribbons, shiny ornaments, and numerous peacocks. In 2013 my theme was Peacocks in the Snow. Many of the decorations easily transitioned to this year's more opulent theme.

A white peacock looks quite proper amidst the branches and baubles.

 

A fillable ornament from last year: marabou fluff and peacock eye feather.

  

A royal blue peacock, one of 12 on the tree.

  

Teardrop Ornament.

  

Fancy white peacock.

  

Branches heavy with glitz and sparkle.

  

The tree aglow at twilight.

  Warmly glows the tree.

  Peacock Splendor.

Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoyed this tour of our Christmas Tree.

Throwback Thursday: Oh Stamp!

Several years ago my friend Kim sent me custom postage stamps with a picture of my Old English Sheepdog featured. That is Howard on the .39 cent stamp and a quick check on Wikipedia shows that was the USPS First Class postage rate in 2006. I was charmed with such a clever way to share my beloved dog in an unexpected way.

So naturally, KeepHerKitty was granted her own stamp in 2007 with a face value of .41 cents and again in 2011 with an ethereal image of her amongst the Christmas baubles (shown at left), face value .44 cents. Charvie Dog was not to be left out and he smiles with interest on the .42 cent stamp in 2008. I think Charvie and KeepHer, in these images, look like brother and sister!

I hope those who have received mail from us with one of these adorable stamps have enjoyed receiving it as much as I enjoyed sending it.

Clockwise from top: KeepHerKitty 2011, Charvie 2008, Howard 2006, KeepHerKitty 2007.

Today Inspired: Jewel of Autumn

"Pomegranates have been cherished for their exquisite beauty, flavor, color, and health benefits for centuries. From their distinctive crown to their ruby red arils, pomegranates are royalty amongst fruit. They are symbolic of prosperity and abundance in virtually every civilization. Fortunately, this treasure’s versatility and possibilities are as abundant as the juicy arils bursting forth from within."
~ Pomegranate Council

 

Enjoy my recipe: 

Exquisite Cranberry Pomegranate Compote

Give Peace a Chance

Peace on Earth

A common sentiment this time of year.

A wishful unreachable dream when listening to news from around the world. But if we give up the dream what is left? For me and my family the wish for Peace on Earth begins at home. Early in the Christmas planning season I came across a few bloggers who captured the sentiment of Peace on Earth using a globe and those words. Some painted the globe entirely in chalkboard paint and hand scribed the words on the surface. Others crafted banners and bunting displaying them on unpainted globes in homage to the season.

We are fortunate to have a stunning world globe hand crafted by a lapidarist using semi-precious stones indigenous to the area to define nations and countries. Obviously it would not do to paint this likeness of Mother Earth, a precious artwork in it's own right. So I imitated the buntings and banners to make my own statement of Peace on Earth.

Normally the globe sits atop the poker table except when card games are in progress. So it seemed fitting to craft my peace bunting from used playing cards using the Silhouette electronic cutting machine. The letter tabs are cut from the face of red heart and red diamond cards and backed with black card stock. The tag for each letter is cut from the back of red Bicycle brand playing cards.

A small tag placed behind and between each letter tag is cut from the face cards from the same Bicycle deck. I used white yarn to string the tags on and then tied each tag in place with baker's twine. I like how the rich patterns from the face card tags contrasts with the opal oceans on the globe.

To secure the banner to the globe I used Scotch(R) Reusable Adhesive Tabs which will not leave a residue on the globe. After great discussion Jim and I agreed the simple word "PEACE" was statement enough without adding the preposition "on Earth."

Peace on Earth. Perhaps an unreachable dream, but what if we all were to give peace a chance, starting at home. Where might the dream take us?