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)