a gift from the pixie pond

Char at the Pixie Pond was my swap partner for the matchbox swap.

The idea was to decorate and stuff a matchbox to the brim with trinkets and treasures.

It's truly amazing what will fit - it's totally magical to have this tiny little treasure box of cool stuff :)

... this is what she sent me from her little corner of the world. Pretty cool eh?

I love the hand lettered ribbon especially :)

t is for .....

T is for Thankfulness ...

for ...

rain that helps things grow

distances shortened with a phone call

bills that can be paid

family ... and the friends found there

tears - gently dried

fears - gently pushed aside

challenges that cause me to say, "help!"

time flying by, making me slow down

time creeping past, making me more patient

books that make the world fade away

music that changes my mood

clutter and mess reminding me that I am not alone

a table full of faces I love

chatter

laughter

lingering long

hanging out

... the world stands still.

***

T on Tuesday

Patty

Pat

Jean

Judy

Christen

... and you?

A Plate of Happiness

... Pumpkin Cupcakes ...

(recipe from Gayle at Planet M Files .... click HERE)

... with a little added cheer

as if you weren't smiling already at the sight of cupcakes

:) :) :)

.....

The "Party Picks" are newly featured in my Etsy shop .... click HERE

A Little Wishful Snowman

I've been working on this snowman "shrine" for a couple of weeks and finally finished him today. It's been a very rainy day - which gave me the idea for how to finish him and let him have his say about things ...

.... you see, he is rather perched on a soapbox sort of contraption there ...

... it says on the sides:

"into each life a .....

..... little rain must fall."

His response to that idea?

"let it snow!!!"

***

he was just listed in my etsy shop today

(click HERE for the listing)

colors to dye for (pun intended)

step 1: you need wool and kool-aid

I used "Fisherman's Wool" which is sold in great big skeins (it's economical) in natural colors. I used an off white and a brownish color.

***

Soak small amounts of the wool in kool-aid and water.

For less intense colors like mine - just a couple of minutes will do it.

Be careful to really squeeze your yarn to get it soaking up the dye.

Wool is basically waterproof - so you have to really work it in.

***

Hang it up to dry in a place where it won't matter if it drips.

***

Mine dried over night.

You can see that the darker wool and the lighter wool dyed very differently ... except for the grape ... those 2 look basically the same to me.

I'm planning to make ski headbands like THIS one.

I'll use the natural wool for the background color and these yummy kool-aid colors for the stranded parts. (They smell good too!)

***

... oh, and you might want to wear gloves (wink)

T is for .....

T is for Tenderness

Tender:

having yielding character

having the softer emotions

showing care or consideration

susceptible to emotion

delicate to touch

sensitive to injury.

I'll have more of that T, please.

***

Pat

Patty

Christen

Judy

Jean

an origami box with lid ....

.... just perfect for a chunk of homemade fudge at Christmas time.

(click HERE for where I got the pattern)

my favorite dish

... is my grandmother's candy dish.

She used to always have a supply of those strawberry hard candies with gooey filling.

Yum.

Now it keeps small 2 inch pieces of art (twinchies) that I've swapped with friends ...

less fattening :)

tea and 45 more days ...

... til Christmas!

***

a gift of warmth

(harris tweed (click here for pattern) button down scarf)

***

and a gift of cheer

(smocked fingerless mitts (click here for pattern) and hot apple cider)

***

Christmas always seems to broadside me and the result is a near nervous breakdown on Christmas Eve. My strategy this year: make a bunch of fudge with my sister to package up and tie with a bow ..... and knit small things here and there from my yarn scraps and stash. We spend a lot of evening time in front of the tv at this time of year - and knitting is perfect for that.

***

Wishing you a warm and cozy day!

Please visit these other Tea on Tuesday blogs to see what they're up to:

Pat

Patty

Christen

Judy

Jean

Jason Witt

work or play?

I thought I'd be real transparent and show you my work space

we are friends, right?

so I know you won't be horrified at the mess

sometimes I have to thank God for doors that shut

and a table to call my own

***

My work space is in a corner of the family room.

That is a huge improvement over where it used to be.

... in the laundry room ....

(my very 1st blog post about that).

The cupboard was a wedding gift from my very best friends in the whole world.

They must have had an instinct that I would one day NEED a cupboard that is off limits to everyone but me .....

"ask me first before you go in there looking for tape, glue or a stapler!!!"

jolly good

I've been working on some ideas for my etsy shop ...

maintaining my shop is always a struggle for me.

I guess I just want to play and "the shop" seems like work.

What do you think about this little jolly good fellow?

If you saw him in your wanderings, would you want to snatch him up?

Would $5 seem too high?

Just curious .....

tea and happy mail

Today's tea is Numi Puerh Tea sent to me by Patty. We recently played in a a teacup swap and as luck would have it, I drew her name and she drew mine. Of course, she sent more than just a teacup - and the teacup is not just a teacup either ..... isn't it beautiful?

She also loaded me down with all kinds of other goodies ..... like honey soap, fun ephemera, gorgeous postcard art, bottle caps (I love bottle caps) ....

.... a really cool altered sea urchin shell, a wonderful german beeswax ornament, and look what she tied the packages with ..... altered twist ties: "real life" and "happy go lucky"

Isn't that just such a cool idea?!

I think she must have included some of her Virginia sunshine too ....

look at what a beautiful day it is promising to be!

No rain in the forecast until Thursday! Yay!

Thank you Patty :)

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For the other tea on tuesday bloggers please visit:

Patty

Christen

Judy

Jean

Pat

... and cheers!