.frances and louise go to the white house.

Lisa posted this picture of Frances & Louise visiting the White House during Christmas season – they are so darn cute! <3 them!!

.christmas card 2012.

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Here's my Christmas card for 2012! Love the pictures from Puerto Vallarta...wish I could be there again... :)

.a bouquet for Nick.

I saw this great idea on Pinterest (http://www.waittilyourfathergetshome.com/2012/04/02/man-bouquet/) – surprise, surprise! I knew it would be perfect for Nick’s birthday, so off to the liquor store I went! Shucks! It was fun to pick out the little airplane sized bottles of alcohol I knew he’d (or Kate…in a few months) would like!

I cut skewers to different sizes and hot glued them to the bottles. I put a styrofoam ball in the bottom of the pot and then sprayed the top with spray glue to get the paper confetti to stick. Stick the skewers into the foam ball and wha la!

 

A man’s bouquet!

 

Happy Birthday Nick! :)

.day of silence.

.christmas baking.

I did some Christmas baking today – or pretzel dipping, not really baking.

Here’s the lineup:

Rolo Pretzels – YUM!

Unwrap all the Rolos from the foil. I used two bags of Rolos (and had to buy them in Connell – cha ching cha ching!).

Lay out pretzels (Costco ones work really well) on a foil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet…one with sides works well since they kinda slide around. Put one Rolo on top of each pretzel. Put them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes or until the chocolate shines and is slightly melted.

 

Press a pecan in the center of the Rolo, smashing the Rolo down and causing it to spread out over the pretzel.

Let them sit for about an hour or until hardened.

Enjoy – but not all at once! :)

Next – Dipped pretzels

Melt the Almond Bark in the microwave according to the directions on the package.

Put a handful of pretzels in the bark, make sure it’s completely covered, then fish it out and lay it to dry on wax paper.

   

I used two packaged of almond bark and the pretzels filled two 9x13” Tupperware containers when I put them away. Between the Rolo pretzels and the dipped pretzels, I used two full bags of Rold Gold small pretzels. The Costco ones work real well, but I didn’t get to Costco.

Last for today – Snicker Doodles!

Here’s my Mom’s Snicker Doodle recipe in our church cookbook.

 

I think this recipe made about about 6 dozen cookies. Could’ve made a few more, but I had to sneak some of the dough. Guilty!

 

Yum! Now on to the next round…coming soon!

.tea party.

I love plus signs and making plus sign quilts, so this was a no brainer! It was A. LOT. of work though – lots of little pieces and pressing. I pieced it at Priest Lake and luckily, my Grandma helped with the pressing.

 

I took it to Susan to quilt and she did great big aqua flowers in each square along with my favorite way to quilt the borders. It’s so pretty!

 

My favorite part of this one is the red hounds tooth backing!

Pattern: Tea Party by Cluck Cluck Sew
Fabric: Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille

.a new favorite.

I am loving this quilt…well, these quilts!

.  

I just can’t decide if I like it better in aqua or pink!

      

 

Pattern: Dot Party by Jaybird Quilts
Fabric; Vintage Modern by Bonnie & Camille 

.ruby shortcake.

This is such a bright and fun quilt – simple, but lovely!

 

    

Pattern: Shortcake by Cluck Cluck Sew
Fabric: Ruby by Bonnie & Camille

(now do you see how creative my blog titles are?!)

.dottie and ruby.

This one has been done for a while, but never made it’s way to the blog.

I’m not the greatest at snowball blocks, so this was certainly a good way to practice!

Another one with fabirc by Bonnie & Camille…I just can’t get enough of it! Everything else looks boring in comparison!

 

  

 

Pattern: Dottie by Cluck Cluck Sew
Fabric: Ruby by Bonnie & Camille

.2012 christmas quilt.

I love the Christmas Quilt I made for 2012. I pieced it at Priest Lake this summer..and let me tell you, it wasn’t easy! It’s pieced on the diagonal rather than in vertically, so it had it’s share of time outs along the way.

I took it to Susan, the master long arm quilter, and although you can’t see it real well in these pictures, she quilted holly & berries in the borders and swirls all over the rest of the quilt.

It’s sitting on the back of our chair right now and I love looking over at it!

    

 

Pattern: Spot On from Simplify by Camille Roskelley
Fabric: Glace by 3 Sisters