Afternoon Snack

It is quite a challenge keeping house, tending the yard, sewing, grocery shopping and all the other things I try to do. Today I rested more and let things go, while I enjoyed the lively paintings of Gregory Frank Harris, which you can see on Rehs Gallery and other places on the web. It must be wonderful to dress up and be inspiration for art like this, and, what nice scenery goes with it. I hope when I get my "line of clothes" sewn this year, that I can get such pretty places to show them.

 

The recent Victoria Magazine has a lovely recipe in it, for these toasty bites of asparagus and meat, but since I only have very basic ingredients in my pantry and ice-box, I made a passable substitute. The original recipe has several specialized ingredients that are not abundantly available in my local grocery store,

so I first toasted thin slices of baguette bread in the oven on a baking tin, and then covered them in cream cheese, sprinkled with a little Italian seasoning. Topped with pieces of Sarah Lee smoked turkey and fresh cooked asparagus, this was delicious. I served it with apple juice and it made a splendid snack.

It is a good issue this month, with lovely bouquets and places to visit, such as historic home tours, and other things.

The snow is gone and the primroses are in bloom outside.

Below are these interesting cedar tree cones that have seeds inside. When the cones dry, they fall apart.The pieces look like little roses, and crafters use them to paint or put in dried scented mixtures for the home.

These are cedars of Lebanon from a tree out behind the house. The temperature is still cool, but warm enough to take an outside picture.

The only thing I really have been thinking about to share today is to be focused on your home and family and catch yourself and bring yourself back to reality if ever you find that you are losing ground by letting distractions cause you to get sidetracked.

Being home means you are your own boss, and it can be a challenge to guide your home. You have to map out your day and generally plan to keep up the laundry, clean the kitchen and provide meals, without creating a lot of tension for yourself. This can be done by finding ways to enjoy it. Whatever you can do to make the tasks at home enjoyable, do it. It may be having soft music or it may be wearing a pretty cotton dress and an apron and nice shoes. It might be having a lovely scent in the house, or something in the slow cooker while you do the rest of the house work.

Read some of the blogs you see on my sidebar, or go through some of their blogs, and you will see that a lot of ladies at home have some very good techniques for making life pleasant at home while they do their daily work. Sometimes all it takes to inspire you might be a picture.

At our dollar store there is a young man who always asks the customers what they are going to do today that is interesting or special.I always tell him how I am going to use the merchandise I just bought, and it makes him laugh when I answer, "I am going home and put that Ti-d-bowl in the tank, put this stem of roses in a vase, (and sometimes they sell fresh roses at Dollar Tree) hang up my fresh shower curtain, and mail something to my mother in this padded envelope."

What are you doing today?

I am going to enjoy using my new honey-almond soap that I got at Dollar Tree today. The scent is absolutely exquisite, like the expensive bath products in the honey stores here and bath & body stores in the malls.

All paintings by Gregory Frank Harris

 

Posted with Blogsy

Decorating Led-Lite Pillar Candles from the Dollar Tree

Timeless Grace by Stefan Alix

Decoupaged and glittered led-lite candles: click on for a larger view.

I have often used  the little votive led-lights from Dollar Tree, which come two in a package for a dollar, and I have discovered that Dollar Tree stores are now selling the pillar size led-light candles. Since these used to be obtainable only at really exclusive stores and catalogs for $6.00 to $12.00, more or less, it was quite a thrill to find them in the dollar stores. They are plastic, coated with a layer of scented wax, and use three AAA batteries, also available at the Dollar Tree, in a package of 8.

 They look really nice simply put up on candlesticks of varying heights, and left plain white, without decoration.

The pillar candles are also available in the shorter size, as you see on the left.

When turned on by the little switch underneath the candle, it looks like a real flame, which glows beautifully from the outside.


These candles look lovely left plain, on a nice candle stick. There are no doubt hundreds of ways to decorate these, and for now I will show you one way I have trimmed the ones I bought.

 I used a pretty rose napkin made by Ideal Home Range, (IHR), but printed tissue wrap could also be used. You have to pull apart the napkin and separate the two layers, removing the white part, which you will not be using.

 You can cut out the design, and if the back ground is white, it is okay to leave a lot of the white showing.

 Another way, which is easier, is just to size up a portion of the print to fit the candle, and cut it to fit., then paint the entire candle with decoupage, and  apply the whole square of napkin that you just cut, to the candle.

Using Modge Podge, or a thick white glue, paint the candle. Then, carefully lay down the applique or the square of napkin you cut to fit the candle.

 Gently tap the outer edges of the paper,

and then, dip the brush in more modge podge or glue, and paint carefully over the top of the picture.

I did not have good success with the liquid white school glue, such as Elmers, as the candle was too slick for it to stick. I found the Modge Podge brand of decoupage glue worked better.

While it is still wet, if you wish, sprinkle some coarse clear/white or crystal glitter on it.

The pillar candle on the right and the little half-size one in the middle are glitterized, and the one on the stand on the left is not.  One dollar each, plus a napkin and some glue, is not a bad price to pay for something so elegant.  These candles are selling very fast at the Dollar Tree.

Just put a number of those stick-on gems (about a dollar a package) on to the candle, for a quick and easy decoration.

The picture below is a printed label, applied to the candle with an ordinary glue stick, with added gem stickers.

This next one is something I tried using a little print (Picking Flowers for a Posy, by Charles Haigh-Wood), which looks good just applied with a glue stick.

The image was printed on regular printer paper, from my pictures, then cut out and glued onto the candle. The lit candle glows through the picture.

Tissue paper sheet music print, decoupaged onto candle, and tied with sheer ribbon.

K & C brand scrapbook paper, with added old-fashioned pen nibs.

This one is decorated with an interesting sticker. You have to use a glue stick with some stickers, as the candle is too slick for them to stick. Try this with an added tie of some kind: rafia, or fancy wire.

This is just one of those printable house rows,  made by Lillibeth on her blog, The Pleasant Times. They were colored with crayons by a child and then decoupaged onto the candle.

Done with fabric, tissue wrap, and a water slide decal.

An antique metallic length of gift-wrap ribbon is decoupaged on completely around the candle.

Decorated with a large hydrangea sticker, sent by a reader.

Decorated with a seasonal card, applied with a glue stick, sent by a viewer.

These make great seasonal gifts inside the home, that do not plug in. Get a basket of them ready for spur of the moment gifts, or unexpected gift-giving.  These also look great used in church fellowship rooms for banquets.

Here are some a reader just sent me, that she decorated with stickers. This is even easier than the one I shared in earlier pictures. You might be able to find those large specialty stickers that you buy by the piece which you tear off on the perferated line, at craft stores. Roses, scenes, and more, could be put on these candles, and involve a lot less mess than the decoupage glue!! You might also try clippings from thin pages of magazines applied with a regular office glue stick.