Last Day of CIJ

Thank you for all who looked at my blog this month and the comments. Even tho I am not followers on your blogs-I went to them daily if I saw you had a posting. Such good ideals.

Peanut Butter Balls

Since my craft of the day was from grandma, I guess the recipe will be too.
For years my grandparents made hundreds of these balls for gifts at Christmas. Each family would get a container and they always made one for the bank where I worked. I now make them. Family gets them at my house and I put them on trays that we give away.

Peanut Butter Balls

Mix together and form into balls.
1 pound powered sugar
2 cups peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1 stick oleo
3 cups Rice Krispies (when I tried a cheaper brand, we did not think they were as good)

Melt in double boiler; 8-9 oz Hershey bar, 3/4 bar paraffin, and 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate.
Dip balls in chocolate mixture. Let dry on waxed paper.

At times we will chill the balls.

Made by grandma

My grandma made these years ago and they were found when cleaning out the house so I got them. She never let anything go to waste. I do believe I got my love of crafting from her. Pringle can. Old Christmas cards crocheted around.

Baby gifts

The quilt I made today. (just sewn and tacked) It is long and narrow. Also made the 3 burp rags. Then for little girls I do a pair of soxs with multi colored beads and then a pair with pink. Wrap them up in a wash rag with a spoon in the middle for a lollipop. For the granddaughter of my boss. Click for big pictures. When they are done I put the curly pink ribbon on and curl it.

Dip

My boss at work brings this for potlucks all the time. He puts it together at work and it goes fast!

1 can Frito bean dip
1 can Frito cheese dip (can use which ever flavor you want)
Salsa of your choice

In a pie tin, spread out the bean dip, then cheese dip and salsa on top.

Candy Tractor

I brought this one somewhere (oh yeah, at the hospital craft show) for a pattern.
Hope somebody enjoys these to make as favors.

Sled from candy

Pardon the dust on this. I have had these several years. A customers mother made these SEVERAL years ago for all of us at the bank. Tried to show all angles.

Triple Chocolate Fudge Bars

Nice for holidays or anytime. Fast and good.



4-oz pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups milk
18 1/4 oz pkg chocolate cake mix
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix pudding with milk, blend until thick. Add cake mix, blend well. Fold in chocolate chips, spread in a greased jelly-roll pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Cool, cut into bars to serve. Makes 36 servings.

Can add frosted if desired.

Ornaments

Snowflakes from beads and wire.

The colorful icicles from wire, beads and a small ball covered in glue and glitter. Kids have fun designing them.

The snowflakes I hang off my curtain in the dining room in front of the sliding glass doors. They are made from beads put inside cookie cutters and melted.

Easiest Pecan Pralines

1 pound package brown sugar
1/2 pint whipping cream
2 tablespoons margarine
2 cups pecan halves

Stir brown sugar and whipping cream together in a microwave-safe bowl: microwave in 2-minute intervals until sugar melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from microwave; stir in margarine and pecan halves. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto was paper; set aside until firm. Makes about 3 dozen.

Snowman Cup and Sitting Angel

Years ago at a craft day I made the little snowman cup. You can put candy inside or a gift card. It is glass and has a rub on face. After this picture I dropped it and chipped the top.

The angel is a small clay vase, dress cut from a saucer.

Butter Mint Cookies

1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpoe flour
green colored sugar

In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in extract. Gradually add flour and mix well.

Roll tablespoons of dough into balls. Place 1" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a glass dipped in colored sugar. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 3 dozen

Christmas Ornament

Made with scallop punch and scrapbook paper. Sorry these pictures are blurry.

Cabbages

A friend of ours is pretty well done with the produce from his garden and has given it to family members so now we are getting it. He gave us 2 heads of cabbage and they weigh in at 15 pounds!

Mixed Nut Brittle

1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/3 cup water
4 cups mixed nuts
2 teaspoon butter plus 2 tablespoons butter divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Uncover and cook until a candy thermometer reads 290 (soft crack stage)
Meanwhile grease a 15X10X1" baking pan with 2 teapoons butter: set aside. Place nuts in two ungreased 15X10X1" baking pan: baking at 325 for 10-15 minutes or until warm. (keep warm till ready to use)
Remove sugar mixture from the heat, carefully stir in the nuts, vanilla, salt and remaining butter. Quickly spread into prepared pan. Cool completely: break into pieces.
Yield 2 1/2 pounds

Snowman

Made from a wooden ball and candle holder.

Diaper Cake

The finished cake that DD made for the shower today.

Southwestern Pretzels

1 package (10 ounces) Bavarian style hard pretzels
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Place pretzels in a single layer on a baking sheet. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder; stir until well blended. Brush butter mixture over top of each pretzel. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until dry to the touch. Cool on baking sheet. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 20 pretzels

Barbecued Cashews

These were given as a gift one year to a friend and I got the recipe. Some people like them and some don't. They also made them with peanuts and different nuts.


2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon white wine Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cups salted cashews

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in Worchestershire sauce and the next 5 ingredients. Remove from heat. Add cashews, stirring to coat. Spread nuts in an aluminum foil-lined 10X15" jellyroll pan. Bake for 12 minutes, stirring twice. Spread nuts on paper towels; cool completely. store in airtight container.

Contains 2 cups cashews.

Snowman

Using a plastic golf ball, paint and material for the hat. Tie hat off with floss.

Tootsie Roll Fudge

This is a recipe that I have not made. Found it after the holidays last year.

1 teaspoon plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
2 cups Tootsie Roll Midgees
2 tablespoons peanut buter
3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup green and red M&M's

Line a 9" square pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1 teaspoon butter, set aside. In a heavy saucepan, melt the tootsie rolls, peanut butter and remaining butter over low heat, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla (mixture will be very thick). Fold in pecans.

Spread into prepared pan. Using a sharp knife, score the surface into 1" squares. Press a M&M candy into the center of each square. Cool. Using foil, remove fudege from pan; cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.
Yield: about 2 pounds

Made from pumpkin seeda. The base is a round piece of cardboard and then glue the seed on. Bird seed was used for the center after spray painted.

Beaded Christmas Tree

Using the starflake beads of various sizes, pipe cleaner and a star bead for the top.
Also a round bead at the bottom to seperate the tree from the base.

Pipe Cleaner Christmas Tree

Pipe cleaner and add small beads. Bend to form a tree shape. Star bead on top.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy

1 pound white candy coating, coarsely chopped
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

In a large mircowave-safe bowl, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. In a separate bowl, repeat with chocolate chips. Stir peanut butter into candy coating. Thinly spread onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with chocolate chips. Cut through mixture with a knife to swirl the chocolate. Chill until firm.

Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Yield about 2 1/2 pounds.

Toffee Peanut Clusters

1 1/2 pounds milk chocolate candy coating shopped
1 jar (16 ounces) dry roasred panuts
1 package (8 ounces) milk chocolate toffee bits

In a microwave, melt candy coating; stir until smooth. Stir in peanuts and toffee bits. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 5 dozen

Strawberry Fudge Balls

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup (6 ounce) semisweet chocolate morsels melted
3/4 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
1/4 cup strawberry preserves

Coatings: 1 cup almonds toasted and finely chopped (change the nuts out for other ones if wanted), powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer util fluffy. Add melted chocolate, beating until smooth. Stir in wafer crumbs and preserves, cover and chill 1 hour.

Shape mixture into 1" balls and roll in almonds, powdered sugar or cocoa. Store in an airight container in refrigerator up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.

Easy Wreath

This week I am trying to pull out the ornaments that were made with the kids when they were young.

Pipe cleaner, green tri-beads and red round ones.

Snowflakes

Made these last year. Found the ideal off the HGTV boards. You can get the snowflakes 6/$1.00 at the Dollar Tree (clear and blue). Make a yo-yo and then use old Christmas cards. Click for a better view. (in the one you can still see a glue string. Oops! )

I gave these to co-workers last year.

Roasted Pecan Clusters

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 cups pecan pieces
6 (2 ounce) squares chocolate candy coating

Melt butter in a 15 X 10 " jelly roll pan in a 300 oven. Spread nuts in pan.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Microwave candy coating in a microwave safe bowl at medium (50% power) 2 to 3 minutes or until melted Stir in nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto wax paper, let cool. Peel from wax paper, and store in an airtight container.

Gooery Turtle Bars

2 cups graham cracker crumbs or vanilla wafers
1/2 cup butter or margarine melted
1 (12 ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup pecans pieces
1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping

Combine crumbs and butter in a ungreased 13 X 9" pan, stir and press firmly in bottom of pan. Sprinkle with chocolate morels pecans.

Remove lid from caramel topping, mircowave at high 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until hot, stirring after 30 seconds. Drizzle over pecans. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until morsels melt, let cool in pan on a wire rack. Chill at least 30 minutes then cut into bars.

Using 1" balls (stryofoam) and scap material cut with pinking shears and a stick struck into them. Ribbon and a hanger.

Sorry about the picture. The ones taken yesterday a.m. are like this but not the afternoon ones!

You want to see a colorful room?

This is my daughters room. We did this when she was in maybe 5th or 6th. Can't remember. She will be 22 this week and still likes all the color. She keeps saying that the posters are coming down but.... Her closet inside is orange and then people use to sign the wall. Even the guys who laid the carpet siged it. The kids did the sponging themselves and it went so fast. Her ceiling fan blades are white and sponged a color of each wall and her furance vent is also white and sponged different colors.

My sons is done in camo. Will post his pictures another time.

Daughter working on diaper cake for the 25th

The bottom layer is covered with a crib sheet in the colors of the nursey. Blue and brown. Has to be ironed yet.

My Kids about 21 yrs. ago

My daughter made

Several years ago when my daughter was in grade school she came out of the craft room one day and had made this. I was wondering what was keeping her so quiet!!! A nice craft to do with young kids. She had been looking thru some of my Christmas craft magazines and saw it.

Made from the larger craft size stick.

Tumbleweeds

sweet-salty treat


1 package (11 ounces) butterscotch chips
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 jar (12 ounces) dry roasted peanuts
1 can (4 ounces) potato sticks

In a large heavy saucepan, melt butterscotch chips and peanut butter; stir until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in peanuts and potato sticks.

Drop by tablespoons onto waxed paper-lined pans. Refrigerate until firm. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 5 dozen

Some of our flowers

Zinnias by the mailbox. Very few red and yellow. Mixture of big and the lilliputs. The Japanese Beetles are just starting on them. Click to see them, if you don't have them in your area. They got started in our area 3 or 4 summers ago. Destroy trees, bushes, gardens, and flowers. Vining Vinca. First year we planted it. The swing thing this box was on--collasped in a recent storm. The last is a shot of half the planter that sits on the front porch. Small inset area not really a porch. My g'pa made it over 20 years ago and it has seen better days but hate to get rid of it.