Housewreath with a difference...

Today I'm featuring a wreath with a difference. My friend Joann of the "Holiday Year-Round Tree" and "Holiday Room" fame has shared her creativity with me again. So with her permission I am posting it here today, hoping it may inspire others to try this lovely, novel and stylish idea.
This could have been a Wordless Wednesday post as the pics are very self explanatory but I had to give credit to my friend.
Thanks again Joann : ) Well done!

As an added footnote I'd like to add that Joann took last year's wreath and just re-arranged the flowers and added the numbers. The numbers are foam and she got these at the Dollar Store. We might need to get ours from a hobby store which would be more expensive or try to cut your own from stencils downloaded from a stencil site on your pc. She coloured the numbers and stuck them onto the wreath with glue dots and toothpicks. Have fun trying to make your own : D

Decorating for Year Round Holidays

My online friend Joann has given me permission to showcase some of the pictures she has sent me which show how she decorates her family room for Memorial through Labor Day. These are some lovely special touches with the red, blue and white colours and red stripes on white as well as white stars on blue. This same effect, which she incorporates into her Bears corner, brings harmony and warmth to the room while setting the pace and the place into holiday mood!








This White Christmas tree was bought as an after Christmas bargain and is being used as a Holiday Tree. It was already set with white lights and so red and blue lights were added to complete the holiday effect. Joann made all the beaded ornaments and added some store bought ones acquired from the sales after Christmas. That is a brilliant idea, don't you think?



Thanks Joann for letting me share these lovely pictures and wonderful ideas : ) God bless!

Free Tags for your Christmas Gifts

Here are some tags I made which you could use when giving a Christmas gift of Herbs and/or Spices or a set of Salt and Pepper Shakers or even home-baked goodies.


















Here's a multiple page if you will be needing more than one...

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Carving Made Easy and Fun! ~Part 2~

If you have followed the first steps in getting your pumpkin ready, now you can start getting ready for the next step...

Carving your design.

Attach your own or printed design to the flattest side of your pumpkin by using thumbtacks or masking tape. **Tip** If your pattern is too big or too small for the pumpkin you chose, use a copy machine to enlarge or reduce the pattern size.

Once the pattern is in place, use a punch tool to outline each shape of your design. Poke the tool along the edge of each shape, spacing the holes about 1/8-inch apart. DO NOT press hard; all you want is a small indentation to transfer the outline.
Remove your pattern once you have made sure you have not missed any spots. Keep handy for visual aid.

If you have opted to draw your own or your kid's design directly on the pumpkin, work slowly as you copy each shape to avoid making mistakes.

In order that you can see the outline better rub some baking powder or flour over all your pin-point dot design so that the design stands out better. Now you can connect the dots with your sharpie or outliner and voila' you can see your design and it is ready for cutting.


Cutting the shapes

Use a long nail or punch to start your design thus making a starting point where you can insert the blade without cutting too much into the design. Turn and push until it’s all the way into the pumpkin, then remove. Do this every time you start a new shape (eyes, nose, mouth) in your design. This makes it easier for you to work your way through using your knife. Using this as your starting point now work your way through your design steadily sawing in an even direction.

Maintain light pressure and use a gentle sawing motion to cut through the rind. Steady the pumpkin with your free hand, which should be kept well away from the blade. When making curves, just slightly turn the blade. When making sharp corners, remove the knife and re-insert it at an angle.

To remove the pieces you cut, you may find it easier to push them out from the inside. If the cutout refuses to budge, check that all of your cuts meet at corners, and that the blade has cut all the way through the rind. In some cases, you may need to gentle pry out the shape with a butter knife. For larger pieces, you may want to cut them into smaller bits and remove them in sections.

Cleaning Up

For maximum effect of brightness, trim the inside walls of the cutouts so they are straight and even. Also remove stray fibers and strands around the inside edges of your shapes.

Safety First

Place desired candle inside or a pumpkin light which is safer, light and place lid back on top.

• Light the candle and place it on a piece of tinfoil inside the pumpkin. Put the lid on. Let it sit a minute...
• Remove the lid and there should be a smoke mark on it
• Cut a vent in the lid where the smoke mark shows
• NEVER LEAVE BURNING CANDLES UNATTENDED
  

Enjoy your pumpkin carving and
a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving Made Easy and Fun! ~Part 1~

This post is meant for those who have never carved a pumpkin before or who have had difficulties in carving one. I am by no means a professional but have carved a fair number for our kids and have gathered a few tips to make this job easier and fun! So are you ready, let's go...

Pick your Pumpkin

Firstly, of course you need to buy a pumpkin! Choosing the right one is very important. I would suggest you find a round medium-sized one which sits well on the ground and is stable. It would look nicer and be easier to work with if it includes a bit of stem, especially if you will be removing the seeds through the top. Another feature to look for and which would help immensely when you get to the carving part is that your pumpkin has a gently curved face and is free of soft spots or breaks and blemishes in the skin.

OK so now you know which pumpkin to choose you can go out with your kids and make your choice at a supermarket or even a pumpkin farm if you know of one. This could even be an opportunity for younger kids to connect with nature and learn how pumpkins are grown. But even if you find yourself making a last-minute run to the supermarket or wayside stand, your family can have a blast picking the perfect pumpkin.

Assemble Your Tools

You will most probably find the basic tools you need among your common household items. These are:

A cutting tool: a sharp serrated knife will do but of course needless to say this is a job for you not your young ones. While doing this job you can get them involved in choosing a pattern from here or here. Or you can have them draw their own pattern if they are good at this.


A scraper: or large kitchen spoon for scraping out the seeds and pulp.

A punch: use a nail or awl to transfer a paper pattern to the pumpkin. Just place the paper on the side where you will carve the face (sticking with tape or pinning it down with thumb tacks). Trace by punching your paper pattern along the outline.

Pattern: whether you create your own design or use a ready made pattern, it's best to have your design on paper rather than draw it directly on the pumpkin. That way, you can change your design easily without trying to erase marks on the pumpkin. However, if you feel the design is simple enough you can copy the outline using a crayon (which you can wipe off if you make an error). This way you will not need to stick the paper to the pumpkin.
I suggest using one of the easier face patterns. As I said earlier, if your kids can draw why not let them design the face pattern and work around it. To make carving easier, the cutouts should be large, simple shapes with plenty of space between them. Besides the pattern link under A Cutting Tool (see above), here are two more faces this time from Kaboose for you to print. You can also search the web for "free pumpkin carving patterns" or "free pumpkin carving stencils."

Masking Tape: use this adhesive tape if you need to attach your pattern to the pumpkin.

Baking Powder (or flour) and outliner (or sharpie) : You can rub this powder over the holes you made earlier when you traced the outline with your punch (see above). It will make it easier for you to see the pattern when you outline it with your outliner or sharpie.

Table covering: To protect your work surface from mess and for easier cleanup, cover it with newspaper or an old table cloth.

A Bowl or Colander: for scooping the seeds/pulp into when cleaning out the pumpkin.



Cutting the Lid

Place your pumpkin on some newspapers. Cut a circle around the stem of the pumpkin, using your cutting knife making about a 6 inch wide circular lid. Make the cut at an angle by keeping the tip of the blade pointed toward the centre of the pumpkin. This creates a bevel and will prevent the top from falling through when you place it back on. Work slowly with an even sawing motion and use only light pressure.




Cleaning out the Pumpkin

This is the messiest and most probably the most enjoyable part of this project. It will be quite an easy job to remove all the seeds, strings and the rest of the pulp using a scraper or large spoon. Do not throw the seeds away...you can rinse them later and roast them.
Scrape some of the flesh from the inside so your pumpkin is about an inch thick all the way around (or at least wherever you’ll be carving). You can poke a straight pin through it to estimate the thickness. Save the flesh for making pumpkin pie or soups.

**Tip** Include a small notch in your lid. This will make it easier to replace it with the correct orientation.

L**k out for Part 2

Happy Thanksgiving 2010

A Thanksgiving display in our hallway ~ can you see

the REAL Maple leaves my dear cuz brought us from their yard?

I know I am posting this a little late and our Sunday is over but just wanted to post to wish all my Canadian friends

A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

~ well, it is still Sunday in Canada : )

We had a lovely day with my Mum and my dear cousin and

her wonderful husband, on holiday here from Canada

...it was indeed very special

to have them

spend this day with us.

“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”
Edward Sandford Martin

Blessings to one,
Blessings to all,
Blessings especially during this fall!
Doreen : )

A Stroll along Balluta Bay

Emmanuele Luigi Galizia, the proponent of Gothic Revival in Malta
designed the Carmelite Church in Balluta Bay

Balluta Bay is on the northeast coast of Malta between the towns of Sliema and St.Julians (San Giljan). It is a popular recreation spot and a well known area by locals and tourists alike. The promenade provides a lovely walk along the bay and goes both ways towards Spinola Bay as well as towards Sliema on the other side.

With my DH having a few days off this week, we were able to go out more often especially in the evenings. One such occasion was when we went over to the Sliema/St.Julians area for a stroll along the Promenade. It has been ages since we did this...we really don't like crowds and with the parking problem it is definitely something we don't do often. Thanks to our son's GF's kind gesture she offered to drive us there, so my DH did not have to worry about parking at all. I'm so glad I took my camera along with me as I was able to capture a few lovely pictures of this beautiful area to share with you.

The picture at the top of this posting shows the neo-gothic Carmelite Parish Church overlooking Balluta Bay and dominating the skyline on this one side. It is such a relief to see that the fine cluster of terraced townhouses in the local variant of Georgian-style architecture still stands (see old picture below). On the opposite side, that is on the south shore of the Bay, a modern hotel Le Méridien St.Julian's Hotel, built on the grounds surrounding the 18th century Villa Cassar Torregiani outlines the skyline on this side and stands in contrast to the opposite side...you could even say this is where old meets new!

The picture above is the south shore of the bay across from the church ... here you may be able to see a water-polo pitch and several shops and apartments overlooking this side of the inlet. The hotel I mentioned above is situated on this side but is not in the picture.







The stunning art nouveau Balluta Buildings

These are the stunning art nouveau Balluta Buildings, which are apartment buildings on the eastern shore.
Giuseppe Psaila (1891–1960) and Andrea Vassallo (1856–1928) were the two prominent architects who created this masterpiece, Balluta Buildings, completed in 1928. These two architects focused on the more sinuous, nature-inspired features of Art Nouveau.

They are still as imposing as when they were constructed in 1928 but we noticed that, unfortunately, they are in quite a pitiful state and as far as we could see mostly uninhabited. We are hoping something will be done soon to preserve this historical building.


This is an old picture of Balluta Bay which I found as public domain ~ Notice how deserted the streets were then and with barely any traffic. I can just make out a bus passing in front of the church.
You might even notice a difference in the church facade which was refurbished some years ago along with an extension to accommodate the ever-increasing population. Both the church and Balluta Buildings can be seen clearly here in their prime.

ST. JULIANS is an extension of Sliema. It started as a small fishing port around the two bays of Spinola and Balluta but like Sliema it is now a major residential town and tourist centre with numerous shops, restaurants and hotels.

This was only part of our stroll of course...we had a lovely evening and a delicious meal on the terrace of one of the fine dining places overlooking the sea. I wish we could do this every day but then it would not be so special!

My Year Round Tree

Keep

Christmas

with you

all through the year

That is the message featured on my year round tree. This is a saying I always remember especially after Christmas. It was a saying that I remember hearing on a Sesame Street Christmas episode I used to watch with our kids ~ this meaningful message has stayed with us from year to year.

This year I decided to have a mini year round tree which I hope to decorate according to the different seasons, feasts, birthdays, anniversaries and holidays.

Come join me as I go about changing or adding to my little tree.

Here are the little hearts I made using paper, glitter glue, stickers, outliners, flowers and gems along with ribbon hangers.

I put them all on my tree for Valentine's along with other decorations I received from my online friends.