Christmas Shopping?

This year, with the economy the way it is, with many of us out of work, living with relatives, or on reduced incomes with only one spouse working, Christmas Shopping will be different this year.

Shopping? How about the local chain drug store? They have most everything, usually at cheaper prices. I love the commercial that shows Christmas carolers singing in the mall, singing about not shopping in the mall! It cracks me up!

Shopping? How about something homemade? I made a little dolly blanket and pillow out of scraps of fleece for my granddaughter.

Shopping? How about a coupon for a future dinner out, or a promised chore done? Put it in a little bag that you hand decorate, like the one here that I painted.

Shopping? How about framing a written poem, or letter written to the one you love? It will become a cherished gift! I know, we did it for our children one year when we were broke.

As long as we enjoy and honor one another, it will be a happy Christmas!

End of My Craft Show Season

Recently I did three craft shows/bazaars! Three in two weeks! Well, needless to say, I was exhausted! . . . . . and . . . . . I have recovered with some rest. I won't go into a major recap--I already did a critique of the first show in a previous post.

http://pruitthandcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/11/bazaar-critique.html

(That post had a comment from someone wanting to see the booth.)

My daughter, Suzanne, had the booth right next to me; she sells vintage style aprons on Etsy.

http://herapronstringsshop.etsy.com/

I did enjoy meeting new folks, both vendors and customers. Well, season's over, so on to the big Holiday sale in my Etsy shop . . . . . . .

The Fab Miss B

Do you love the Goodwill shops? Thrift shops? Second-Hand stores? Then you will love this Etsy seller, who also loves to "ransack thrift shops"--by her own admission! She also loves to travel, write, paint, bake, read, drink champagne and make beautiful things to use and enjoy. And make Beautiful things she does!

Meet Miss B in her own words: "Bonjour! I'm Becky and I'm so happy to meet you.My funny last name “Kazana” is a Swahili word which means “to make a home”. My husband and I fell in love with this philosophy during our travels in Africa, and decided to adopt Kazana as our last name. It reminds us that our home is not a physical place, but our life together.In the last three years, our travels have taken us through Africa, Europe, China, and all over the United States. We have recently moved to The Big Island in Hawaii where we are enjoying the endless summer denied us growing up in Minnesota!"

She has two etsy shops: thefabmissb's shop and beckykazana's shop. Enjoy the sampling of her work, a few of my favs since I love to sew!

Holiday Banner HOW-TO

Make yourself a holiday banner like mine! See my previous tutorial about Paper Bag Art for the basics! http://pruitthandcrafts.blogspot.com/2009/03/spring-break-with-paper-bag-art.html

Although this was a Spring theme, it can be adapted to make a Christmas banner. Mine uses a Christmas fabric, that I cut up. I put them on the bags and added comments with puffy paint. Then I hot glued them to seam binding, tied a loop in each end of the seam binding and hung it from the finials on my curtain! Now I'm festive! You can be too! Try it! If you don't have the time, I have one available in my shop! And it is on sale!

Super Simple Christmas Recipe!

Here's a simple Christmas Recipe that will make your table look festive and it is SUPER simple to make! We all need a simple recipe when cooking for a large holiday crew! I really love this recipe and found it years ago--who knows where? I have used it year after year to add color to my table; and as another option for using cranberry sauce. Sorry I don't have a picture.

Cranberry Pears

Canned pear halves
Canned cranberry sauce
*optional: cinnamon & mint sprigs


You will need a flat casserole pan, either 8 inches square or a larger rectangular one. Put a layer of canned pear halves in the pan with the cored side up. [one half makes a nice single serving size. You can gauge the number of pear halves (& pan size) you will need by your guest list.] Then take a can of whole berry cranberry sauce and pour it over the pears. Continue with pears and sauce as desired. Pop in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes (or under a broiler for a shorter time), or until the pears are heated and the sauce bubbles just a bit. Do not over cook--this is just a heating process.

Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired, and add mint sprigs for a touch of green. Add a large spoon and serve in the casserole dish. Enjoy!

Bazaar Critique

As promised to my Etsyblogger friends, here is my own critique of my first show of the season. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, and didn't get any pictures. My granddaughter did get a picture on her phone, and I am trying to get a copy of it. I'll post it if she gets it to me!

Anyway, here goes: (maybe ya'll will get some ideas from my mistakes)

1) I should have tagged everything! A few things did not have price tags and and in the rush and push of the beginning of the day, my memory failed me in a couple of instances. Sold too low in these instances, but I will never know if I could have actually gotten the higher price or not. At least the items sold!

2) My "loss leader" $2 earrings (last year's stock) sold very well . . . but they were not located in the proper place on my table. They were in the middle of the table and thus blocked access to other items as customers rummaged thru two trays of earrings.

3) My quilts, quilted wall hangings and aprons still were not displayed well. One reason was that I had a lack of space with just one table. In the next two craft sales, I will have more space--two tables. I have purchased a rack for better display of the quilts and their patterns. Quilted wall hangings were hung too low, the rack will help.

4) Signage could have been better, i.e. two signs for each of two earring trays--not just one sign. Questions surfaced: "Is that the price for both trays?"

Observation: Most customers were 30 something and older, mostly buying for self. Since it was held at a school and just before Thanksgiving, there were a few younger customers buying Christmas gifts. A couple of older ladies bought an apron for a gift. Almost sold another 'gift' apron, but it wasn't large enough.
**Note to self for next year: Make a few more aprons for women with a larger girth!

I have a two day show beginning tomorrow, and another show on Saturday. The first sale is on a college campus and it will be interesting to see what sells. I would imagine that I will sell more coffee cup cozies and small Christmas gift items. My etsy shops will on vacation mode till next week. I will try to do another critique or "exit interview" next week on these new shows. It will be fun to compare them!

Thanksgiving Photos!

We had an awesome time at my son's house for Thanksgiving. Just a few photos to give you a flair for the chaos of 38 people at our gathering!

and

all the feast:

A Carol of Thanksgiving

Charles Dickens' famous Christmas Carol is the basis for today's post.

There was once a perfect family, in my mind. It was and is my family. (Check my profile to see facts about my family.) I love them all: grand kids, grown kids and spouses. I choose to love them; I am committed to them, each one. I forgive their trespasses and don't hold them in debt to my 'shouldas'. I forgive their behaviour and love them anyway, as I hope they do for me also. Nobody's perfect! And, most of all at this time of year, I love the way they all plan to get together on holidays and make the effort to travel if needed. For us, Thanksgiving is a priority!

A few years ago, living far away, I wanted to be with them, although they were scattered across the continent. God granted my wish and I moved closer to the bulk of them in the Pacific Northwest . . . . But I have noticed of late, that attitudes are changing and a Scrooge type attitude threatens to descended on my perfect world. Each one has his/her own life. There are jobs to get to, friends to placate, schedules to keep and dogs to board. Just as Scrooge had no time for family, no time to set aside to enjoy each other's company, no penny to spare; it seems that the care of this world has been shoving and encroaching upon my family Thanksgiving tradition. Oh, I don't mean that we no longer get together, I just mean that I see family members are not looking forward to and anticipating visiting with each other like they used to. Just as Scrooge discovered things about himself, I offer the following "ghosts" for personal reflection.

Enter ghost (verse) number one: The Ghost of the Present Culture. You know, that friend that has a scrooge-like attitude about the holidays. You know him, he is a ghost of a person, you fill in the blank. You can identify them as they thumb their nose at traditions and sentiment while they say, "Oh, that's so quaint!' with an attitude of distain, belittling your experience in favor of their, probably non-existent, holiday experience. I say: Do not be influenced by a present culture of disdain with traditional values that are deemed no longer in vogue. Remember your youthful celebrations, (your grandfather's love of a certain holiday and your mother's love of this one) and agree with Timothy:

I Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the all in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

May the spirit, love and purity of the Thanksgiving holiday continue to be a prized possession in our "perfect family."

Enter ghost (verse) number two speaking wisdom. King Solomon, who is called "wiser than all men" says:

Proverbs 17:9

"He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends."

and Peter furthers that sentiment by quoting King Solomon:

I Peter 4:8

And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins".

Nobody's perfect. It seems some are "making contingency plans " for when this one does this and that one does that, etc. Maybe it's age, but young or old, we choose our attitudes. We choose to love. Hopefully, we choose to overlook a transgression.

Enter ghost (verse) number three admonishing Godliness. King David, a man after God's own heart said:

Psalm 37: 8 & 11

"Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;

Do not fret it only causes harm . . .

The meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."

It only causes harm to yourself. When we are old, and lonely and wondering where our family has gone; when we have not treated our family members with respect, and love; we will one day find ourselves without anyone, alone. The thought of a dysfunctional family in their old age is the worst end to a perfect start.

I really hope that this year we can enjoy each other as a perfect family, (Roy's and all :) ---family knows), and not miss the best gift of all--my perfect family--A family that chooses to love, respect and cover a fault.

Pumpkin Bread Recipe!

Weather's getting cooler and my kids (grown) are asking me about my pumpkin bread recipe! They grew up eating it on cold days. They remember walking a mile up the hill, often thru snow, from the bus stop to our house (we lived in a rural mountain setting) and coming home to some warm pumpkin bread ready to eat! OK, my kids and I know that this recipe has a lot of oil in it (and eggs) but there is no better recipe for the flavor and for, obviously, for nostalgia! Try it, you'll like it!

Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups sifted Flour
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2/3 cup water
2 cups Canned Pumpkin

Sift dry ingredients. Combine eggs, oil, water & Pumpkin. Stir into dry ingredients. Turn into 3 greased 8x4 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a wood toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool before slicing. Tastes best slightly warm, spread with butter. (You'll just have to imagine the wonderful smell!)

New Jewelry!

I've been adding a few pieces to my jewelry line (also making sure I have enough product for my upcoming shows). Here are a few of my new pieces:

Visit my design shop to see the rest of the line!

Can't wait to do the first bazaar this Saturday! Hoping I've thought of everything and planned well! We'll see.