Visions of Bliss

2011-07-01T10:14:00.000-05:00

Joplin missouri

2011-05-23T13:57:00.000-05:00

Tornado hit our house and neighborhood yesterday.....Hubby and I are okay.....but house and cars gone......please pray for the people of Joplin missouri

2010-10-01T09:07:00.013-05:00

OCTOBER HAS ARRIVED !

I Can hardly believe that it is October already, so much has happened since my last post. We went camping in COLORADO for 10 days, then stopped in ALBEQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO on our way home where we had a great visit with family and went to the Albequerque Growers Market. At the Growers Market we purchased a large bag of chili peppers and watched them being roasted....pictures forthcoming...After that....I went on a cruise to ALASKA and WOW! what a beautiful, WILD and breathtaking state!! Had a great time with my son Nick who is a guest entertainer on the ship I was on ~ The GOLDEN of Princess Cruise Lines. The shows were of course awesome!! It was great getting a chance to meet some of the people my son works with and was glad to see that he has such a great bunch of people to work with. We had 3 stops in Alaska and 1 stop in VICTORIA, CANADA before coming back to our original port of SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. I stayed in Seattle for 2 days after the cruise was finished and visited with more of my family and we spent some time one day at PIKES PLACE MARKET, more great pictures from these events in the next few weeks. And if you can believe it, in-between all these trips, I have been canning, freezing and pickling a pantry full of goodies for our winter larder. Hope you get a chance to check back next week and see all the great pics from these events. Soon to come too are more great DIY projects for Christmas gift giving. A big thank you to The Graphics Fairy for the free pumpkin graphic used above for this article. You can find more free graphics on her web site HERE. Until next time....I wish you Peace..

2010-08-17T08:58:00.004-05:00

Just A Moment Today To Post Some Pics Of My Project For The Limner Art Event

The Title Of My Art Was ~ OBEDIENCE

Click HERE For The Article
About The Limner Event

That Was In The Joplin Globe

Read More About What Inspired My Piece
"OBEDIENCE"
On My Blog Next Week

I Will Have More Pics and News About This Awesome Event Next Week!

Until Next Time......I Wish You Peace....

2010-08-08T15:27:00.000-05:00

This Week I Will Be Participating In The Limner Art Society Event Here In Joplin

If you would like to find out more about the Limner Art Society click HERE to see their website.

Until next time......I wish you Peace...........

2010-07-26T09:12:00.004-05:00

Make Custom Labels Like These To Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle Containers

I used a free graphic from The Graphics Fairy

To Make These Vintage Style French Labels.
I Added The Words and

Changed The Sizing in Photoshop. I Then Printed Them On Cardstock and Used a Rubber Stamper To Add The Special

Delivery Notice. The Par Avion Tags

Were Made Using Photo Shop Also.

I Used The Par Avion Tags As A Strip Sealer

For The Boxes

And For Closing The Top Of The Cellophane

Cookie Bags

I Had Been Saving These Containers

To Repurpose Them For Packaging For Gifting.

These Containers Were Originally

From Starbucks and Came With Mixed Fruit and Nuts In Them. The Incense and Cookies I Put In These Boxes Were Put In Cello Bags First and Then Put Inside The Boxes.

These Labels Were Great For Incense Gifting

And Cookie Gifting

My Next Project Will Be To Repurpose

This Black Bottomed Box That Tea Came In.

For Those Who Would Rather Purchase Labels and Not Make Their Own, I Will Be Offering These In My Etsy Shop.

They Will Be Available As A Set Of 4 Tags With 4 Par Avion Strip Tags, and Can Be Made With Your Specified

Custom Wording On Them

And You Can Specify The Size You Need For

Your Repurposed Containers

Click HERE to see my Etsy Listing for This Label Set

Today I Will Be Linking This Post Up To

Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy

Thanks For Stopping In Today At Visions Of Bliss....

Let's All Make A Difference By Remembering To

REDUCE.......REUSE......REPURPOSE......RECYCLE

Until next time....I wish you Peace....

2010-07-23T10:49:00.007-05:00

I Started To Think About This Title For Today's Post and Thought...Wow...I Have Always Loved The Fragrance of Fridays....You Know what I Mean...You Can Smell

A Weekend Coming On ! HaHa!

But...... That Is Not What I Meant by

A Fragrant Friday this time...

No, Actually I Meant It Literally. Today Is Actually

Fragrant.....You May Ask Why...

Well, Because Today I Am Going To Show You How To Make

Incense Cones and Sticks.......Like These...

.....And Yes....Because Of This Project

My Studio Does Smell Very Fragrant This Friday!

So Let's Get Started Shall We?

For This Project You Will Need The Following Supplies

* DPG (Dipropylene Glycol)

* Fragrance Oil

* Unscented Incense Cones And Sticks

Container To Put The Incense In For Soaking Up Oils

Newspapers and Paper Towels

Containers To Store The Finished Incense Cones and Sticks

The Above Items Marked With An Asterisk can be Purchased Online HERE or At Many Soap and Candle Suppliers.

Step 1

Put 1 part Fragrance Oil and 2 parts DPG into the container you will be soaking your unscented incense cones and sticks.

(I used a bathroom dixie cup to measure these portions out.)

Step 2

Add cones or sticks to the liquid you just measured out, making sure that all of the cones or sticks are completely covered by the liquid. Let the cones and/or sticks soak in this liquid mixture for 3 to 4 days. I soaked the sticks for 3 days and the cones for 4 days. The reason for the difference is the sticks are much thinner and take less time to soak up the oils, but the cones are thick and need more soaking time.

(By the way I soaked the sticks in a piece of foil that I had tripled and made into a long box shape, sorry I forgot to take pics of that. Make sure this "box" is put on a newspaper lined cookie sheet or box lid as some of the liquid could seep out a little.)

Step 3

Layer the newspaper and paper towels on a cookie sheet or box lid. Take the incense cones and/or sticks out of the liquid and lay them out in a single layer on the paper towels to dry for about 2 - 3 days.

(Save the leftover liquid, it is reuseable for making more incense. Make sure you store this liquid properly labeled and in a container with an airtight lid.)

Your Incense is now ready to use!

Store your Incense In A Zip Lock Plastic

Bag or Cellophane Bags

I made labels for the above and below containers for storing my cellophane bags filled with incense.

I will have more pictures on Monday of How I repurposed some containers like these For Incense and Cookie Gifting.

Hope you enjoy making some incense, it really is so very easy and lots of fun! Have a great weekend and...

Until next time.....I wish you Peace...

2010-07-22T11:55:00.003-05:00

A Beautiful Necklace From Cindy at

Whimsical Musings

This beautiful necklace arrived this week from Cindy.

I had entered a drawing on her blog

Whimsical Musings and won!

You might want to check her blog out for other current drawings. Thank you for the gift Cindy!

In other news.... check back tomorrow for the post
"A FRAGRANT FRIDAY"
I will be posting a tuitorial for making your own incense sticks and cones. I will also have pictures of the packaging I designed for mine on that post. The tuitorial for the packaging will be on my Brag Monday post that I will be linking up at The Graphics Fairy next Monday.

I am in the process of making some gifts for my holiday gifting this year, so keep watching for more tuitorials on new items. I like to do my gifts up as far in advance as I can when it's possible and since it has turned so hot here the last couple of weeks I have been indoors doing a lot more art and crafting.....
I am enjoying my self immensely!

Until next time......I wish you Peace.........

2010-07-20T09:21:00.001-05:00

An Interesting Perspective....Something To Think About......

Would love to hear your comments on this video.....
Until next time.....I wish you Peace.........

2010-07-16T08:55:00.006-05:00

Encouragement....

To Inspire with Courage, Spirit, or Hope

One of the reasons I started Vision Of Bliss Blog was not only to express myself and my art to those who visit, but also as a means of Encouraging others. I hope this post

INSPIRES and ENCOURAGES

you today...

Times being what they are these days I hope the following (paraphrased) quote helps you to look at the glass as

half-full...

and NOT half-empty....

Finally Brothers,

Whatever Is True,

Whatever Is Noble,

Whatever Is Right,

Whatever Is Pure,

Whatever Is Lovely,

Whatever Is Admirable,

~ If Anything Is Excellent or Praiseworthy ~

....THINK ABOUT SUCH THINGS.....

Phillipians 4:8

Today I am linking up at I Owe It All To Him ....To see More Words Of Encouragement Click Here

May you find encouragement in these inspiring words

today......Until next time.....I Wish You Peace.....

2010-07-14T10:14:00.005-05:00

Making Herb Infused

Wine Vinegar

Making Herb Infused Vinegars Is Really Very Easy and

A Great Way To Recycle Some Of Those Pretty Wine or

Syrup Bottles You Have Been Saving.

I Even Found A Way To Recycle The Wire "Cage" That

Was On One Of My Champagne Bottles! I Thought It Made A Cool Embellishment To The Top When I Added The "Cage" Along With One Of My Custom Galvanized Sheet Metal Tags

I Thought Some Of You Might Like To Make Some Herb Infused Vinegar So I Added The Instructions To This Post.

Start By Gathering Up Some Of Those Pretty Bottles You Just Couldn't Bring Yourself To Get Rid Of And Sterilize Them

These Bottles Were From Flavored Waters, Wine

And Coffee Syrups

Supplies Needed

~ Empty Sterilized Bottles ~

~ Herbs And Spices Of Your Choice ~

(The Herbs and spices I used were - Rosemary, Thyme, Flat and Curly Leaf Parsley, Basil, Black Peppercorns, Garlic and Mustard Seeds)

~ White Wine Vinegar ~

~ Cork And Optional Champagne Wire Cage ~

~ Labels and or Tags ~
(I found the free graphic for my label at The Graphics Fairy, I used Photoshop To Embellish It and Add The Words)

Useful Tools

~ Small Plastic Funnel ~

~ Long Wooden Chopstick ~

Step 1 ~ Gather Up The Fresh Herbs You Want To Infuse

Wash And Dry Them Thoroughly

Premeasure Additional Spice Ingredients

I Used About A Tablespoon Each Of Black Peppercorns And Mustard Seeds and 6 Garlic Cloves

Now You Are Ready For Step 2

Step 2 ~ Fill The Empty Steralized Bottle By
First Adding The Spices...

Then The Fresh Herbs

The Herbs I Used In This Infusion Were

~ Curly And Flat Leaf Parsley ~

~ Thyme ~

~Rosemary ~

~ Basil ~

I Used A Wooden Chopstick To Push The Fresh Herbs Down

(Only Use Plastic Or Wood Utensils as Metal Ones React With The Acidic Vinegar)

Step 3 ~ Using The Plastic Funnel Pour The Vinegar Over The Herbs and Fill The Bottle, Leaving About 1 1/2 Inches Headspace At The Top

Cork The Top And Add Embellishments

Add Your Label and You Are Done!

Wasn't That Easy?

It Is Best To Let Your Vinegar Steep

For 2 To 3 Weeks In A Cool Dry Place Before Use

Enjoy !!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day. Until next time.....I wish you Peace....

2010-07-12T11:46:00.011-05:00

Bottle Labels For My
Herb Infused Vinegar

Today's project has been all about making labels for the Herb Infused Wine Vinegar I am making From The Profusion Of Herbs In My Garden This Year

My Project Started By Cleaning and Sterilizing Wine Bottles I Had Been Saving To Repurpose To Hold My Homemade Infused Wine Vinegars

I Have Not Finished The Clear Bottle Labels Yet,

But I Plan On Making A Galvanized Silver Sheet Metal Tag For These

For The Labels I Went Over To The Graphics Fairy and Picked Up Some Free Graphics To Make My Labels. Karen Has Soooo Many Cool Graphics To Pick From!

I Loaded The Graphics Into PhotoShop and Customized The Labels With What I Wanted Them To Say

But Of Couse I Couldn't Stop There...

I Just HAD To Add One Of My Handmade Copper Hang Tags

I Decided To Make The Copper Tag With The Year On It

Like A Nice Vintage Style Bottle Of Wine

I Thought The Copper Tag Looked Especially Good With The

Amber Brown Colored Bottles

What A Great Way To Repurpose An Old Wine Bottle !

I Think These Would Make A Great Gift, Don't You?

A Great Way To Use Some Of Those Extra Herbs From Your Abundant Summer Harvest

I Am Planning To Offer These On Etsy With The Words On The Labels To The Customers Specifications.

I Think These Would Look Great On A Wedding Wine Bottle Too. The Label Could Be Customized For Congratulatory Wishes For The Couple or A Table Number With The Wedding Date Stamped On The Metal Hang Tag.

Each Label Set Will Include Two Printed Labels To Adhere To Your Bottles and Two Handstamped Copper or Galvanized Silver Metal Hang Tags

Custom Stamped To The Customers Requested Message

Guess I Have A Few More Bottle To Go, So Back To Work! Thanks For Stopping In To See What I've Been Up To.

I'm linking this post to Brag Monday at The Graphics Fairy and to Between Naps On The Porch ~ Metamorphsis Monday (The Butterfly Box in my sidebar is the link).

Until Next Time.......I Wish You Peace.....

2010-07-08T19:12:00.003-05:00

Stone Gable Giveaway!

Yvonne over at StoneGable is having

a giveaway to celebrate her

200th POST

Congratulations Yvonne!!

Here are instructions from her blog for entering her giveaway...

Since we are in the hot DOG days of summer, how about a cool treat of a giveaway? I am giving away a Cuisinart Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Sorbet Maker. Make your favorite icy treats in 20 minutes in this 1 1/2 quart, fully automatic maker! I love mine and use it all the time! One lucky winner will too! There are 3 easy ways to enter. You can enter all three times!

1 ~ Enter by leaving a comment on this post. (At Yvonne's StoneGable Page Here) If you do not have a blog~ please leave a comment~ and check back to see if you have won!

2 ~ Enter by becoming a follower or letting me know that you already are a follower.

3 ~ Enter by posting this giveaway on your blog!

StoneGable's 200th post giveway ends Wednesday July 14, 2010 at midnight EST and the winner will be announced on Thursday July 15 in the evening.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

Signing off for today.....I will have some new pics of the latest metal tag orders I just filled posted soon. Until next time.....I wish you Peace....

Let me Entertain You

2010-06-28T09:28:00.007-05:00

July.

Let me Entertain you.

A life of entertainment is much like getting in a new york taxi cab on a busy Friday evening. It's a gamble. Taking into account that you may get a sensible driver, or one that you will evidently be risking your life with. Either way, they all speed at a wreckless rate in order to get you to your destination. Sometimes this car ride can be thrilling and you find yourself rolling down the window and enjoying the adrenaline rush of being alive. Other times you find yourself whispering obscenities under your breath and gripping the seat and the door handle praying that you arrive to where you are going in one piece. Sound dramatic? Then we are right on target. Welcome to the world of an artist and entertainer! Through these pages I will give you the highs and the lows of what leaps and obstacles my job brings to my artistry. You may find a connection to what I'm saying and relate that to your own artistic adventures, or you may simply enjoy the intriguing tales of what really goes on "backstage".

We started off a few weeks back with our rehearsals in Los Angeles, California. Meeting a new cast is a lot like playing cards. You are hoping for a good hand, because what you are dealt is what you will be "playing" next to for the following 6 to 8 months of your life. Luckily I was met with an eager and exciting cast. You may think that everyone involved in performance is passionate and excited about what they do. Sadly there are people out in the entertainment world that are in it for the paycheck and not for the product. Thankfully the cast I am working with is wonderful. We have passion, energy, and emotion that is going to make for an exciting contract on board.

Rehearsals were rushed as we learned 5 production shows in 2 weeks. Spending 8 hours a day in a room full of mirrors and no windows is a quick way to get to know your fellow cast members. This is just the beginning of a new kind of friendship. In life, many friendships develop over time. A coffee date here, and lunch date there and over the span of about a month you feel like you are starting to get to know someone. We cover that in about a week or less. Not only are you singing about love into the eyes of someone you've just met, you are trying to actually feel the emotion behind the words of the song. It's kind of like going into work for the first day and meeting a work colleague and saying "Hello, my name is Nicholas let's try falling in love with each other today and see how we go". You develop a bond with people you work with so much quicker, because you have to find a way to emotionally connect with them.

I could say that this life is full of glitz and glamour, but there is such a trade off in this lifestyle of what many call "glamorous". While that may hold true some of the time, there are many sacrifices to be made. Chances of having a life with some sort of stability is slim. I feel like my life is always on the go, and that I am always saying goodbye. In retrospect my job offers a lot of excitement and adventure. The places I have been and the lessons I have learned have taught me some valuable things that have changed my pursuit of my art as well as my life.

So let's begin our 8 month journey sailing up to Alaska and then down to Hawaii. 5 shows to open in 2 months, performances almost nightly for crowds of up to 1500 a show, and a behind the scenes look at the lifestyle of a singer aboard a cruise ship. Welcome Aboard!

Let Me Entertain You!!

This is our son Nicholas Novak, and the above clip is from some of the shows he has been in on Cruise Ships.

Once a month Nick is going to be a guest writer on my LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU page. Nick will update us on his latest adventures in the Entertainment world, where he is currently traveling and about the shows he is in. Until then here is another little clip from his dance reel.
I am starting a new page, Let Me Entertain You, that you will be able to click on at the top of the blog that will include new pics of Nick in his shows and his articles.
Until next time......I wish you Peace..........

2010-06-18T23:26:00.006-05:00

Today's Lunch Was

Fresh Homemade Bruschette

But Let Me Back Up A Little Bit.....

Let me tell you what led to having this delicious Bruschette For Lunch...

It All Started When I Read A Blog Post and Recipe By Yvonne At Her Stone Gable Blog. You Can Find Her Recipe HERE For Making This Pesto Sauce...

After A Quick Look Through My Supplies ....

And A Quick Tour Of My Garden..

I Knew I Had Everything I Needed To Make Up

This Awesome Pesto Recipe I Found At Stone Gable's Blog

So I started Clipping The Tops Off The Basil Plants......

And Before I Knew It.....My Basket Was Full!

To Prepare The Basil I Cut Off The Leaves.....

Washed It.....

Then Spun It As Dry As Possible With My Salad Spinner

Then It Was Time To Gather Up The Pesto Ingredients

Pine Nuts...............

Toasted A Golden Hue

Freshly Shredded Parmesean Cheese, Olive Oil and Chopped Garlic...MMMMM

The Kitchen Was Beginning To Smell Pretty

Delicious!

The Food Processor Worked It's Magic!

At Last.......Presto....

It Was Pesto!!

So of course I Had To Make

A Custom Pesto Tag For My Jar

Well One Thing Led To Another......

and As The Aromatic Smells Were Sensually Drifting Through The House....

I Thought.....hmmmmm.... It's Lunch Time...

How About Some Bruschette???

And So....I Made Some!

It Was Delicious.

All I Did To Make The Bruschette Was Chop Up Three

Roma Tomatoes, Add A Dash Of Fresh Ground Sea Salt and Pepper And A Bit Of The Pesto and The Bruschette Was Ready

The Recipe For The Pesto Can Be Found Here On Stone Gable's Blog. Yvonne Has

The Most Wonderful Blog, Check It Out
You Won't Be Disappointed!

Thanks For Stopping By Today! Until Next Time.......I Wish You Peace...

2010-06-14T18:14:00.003-05:00

Winner Announcement!

Congratulations To Aimee Qulia of Greenbelt, MD

On Winning The 4 Copper Garden Tags From

Art Pod Studios

My Etsy Business, Art Pod Studios is being featured today on Music and Mommies Blog! Crystal, the author of this blog, is sponsoring a Free Giveaway of 4 Custom Art Pod Studios (words of the winners choosing) Copper Plant Tags. So hop on over to Crystal's blog and check it out HERE ! Don't forget the deadline is July 5th, 2010....so don't wait too long to enter!

(The Featured Banner Graphics Above belong exclusively to Crystal the author of Music and Mommies Blog.)

2010-06-14T12:38:00.005-05:00

I Woke Up To Rain On The Roof This Morning...

It Had Been So Hot And Muggy All Weekend..

It Was A Refreshing Change!

This Was The View Outside My Studio Window This Morning

Last Week Was All About Creating New Packaging For My Etsy Items and Filling Custom Orders

I Created These Cards For My Copper Garden Tags Using A Graphic From The Graphics Fairy

I Think It Has Really Added A Custom Touch To My Packaging

Thank You Karen For Such Great Free Graphics!!

Here Are A Few Pictures From Some Of The

Custom Orders I Filled Last Week

I Also Created A New Style Of Packaging For The

Storage Tags I Sell On Etsy.....

What do you think?

I Love How The New Packaging Came Out!

This Order Went To Washington D.C.

Other News This Weekend, We Went To The Local Farmer's Market and Got Some Fresh Veggies and These Wonderful Sunflowers.....They Just Make Me Smile!!

We Then Took Our Weekly Drive To The Farm To Pick Up Some Fresh Goat's Milk.

Tomorrow I will be posting pictures of my weekend yogurt making session. I will also be posting the receipe and yogurt making tips. See you here tomorrow!

By The Way.... Happy FLAG DAY !

Until next time....I wish you Peace...

2010-06-04T12:01:00.002-05:00

This week....Tags....TAgs....TAGS!

I Made These Tags For

My Coffee Bar Area

These Are Copper Garden Tags For An Etsy Order

Another Etsy Order ~ Galvanized Tags 1" X 3"

Tags For My Homemade Yogurt

I have a couple more tag orders to fill yet and when I'm done I'll post some more pics.....Have a great weekend! Until next time.....I wish you Peace.....

2010-06-01T15:30:00.002-05:00

We Had A Wonderful Weekend !

Nothing But Blue Skies As Far As The Eye Could See!!

I Am So Thankful For Those Who Have

Made It Possible For America To Stay The

Land Of The Free

We put our flag out for the holiday and I finally got a couple of hanging plants up too. The windows you see across the top ridge of the house are the skyline windows at the top of my studio's vaulted ceiling.

Last week in a previous post I showed you the little wren nest full of speckled eggs in this red basket of Geraniums and guess what.....

The little babies are hatching!! I'll post more pics when they get a little bigger.

Summer is finally getting here, it's about 90 degrees here today and my tomato plants have more than doubled in size already! Just makes my mouth water thinking about the coming harvest!

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said..

Earth Laughs In Flowers!

Hope you are having a great week!! Until next time.....I wish you Peace....

2010-05-22T10:09:00.000-05:00

A Bird Is Nesting In My Hanging Geranium Plant!

I don't usually post on the weekend, but I just had to share this

with you today!

I took my hanging geranium plant down to pick off the dead leaves and the mama bird (a little wren I think) flew out and squawked feverishly at me!

This is why she was so mad!

But I am happy to say she forgave me because I noticed later she did fly back into the nest.......

Hopefully once they hatch I can get another picture and post it!!

Have a great weekend....until next time.....I wish you peace

2010-05-21T07:03:00.005-05:00

Like brown paper packages tied up with string

~TAGS~

are a few of my

Favorite Things.

So that is just what I have been designing for the last few weeks.

Like these cute little Purse Tags I made. I decided to make some with regular words like this one....and with texting abbreviations for an instant personalized message. These tags would look great on a purse, bookbag or manbag.

I had been wanting to come up with a contemporary and stylish way to label my glass storage jars so I decided to make hang tags for them too. I love the way they turned out and it was the perfect finishing touch these glass jars needs.

These Salt and Pepper containers from the dollar store were exactly the right size for my coffee bar in the kitchen. I put cinnamon and stevia in them and made these tags to identify the ingredients. It makes it so much easier for my guests to find what they need when getting their morning coffee.

Of course by this time I had gone completely bonkers making tags for everything imaginable, even my homemade yogurt!

I even made tags for my storage boxes that had a space for a

label, but I made metal tags for them instead.

With all this tag creating going on I decided to start listing some of these on Etsy.

So of course I needed to decide how to package my little gems......

This is what I came up with for the Garden Tags I showed you earlier this week.

I grabbed a great picture from the Graphics Fairy and printed 3 across using the "wallet" size printer option, then cut them long with the blank space below each picture for the bottom. After punching holes for the stakes to go through I slid them into cello bags for that finishing touch!

Simply styled, Professional looking and Functional. I am already dreaming about and working on other great packaging uses for some of The Graphics Fairy's artful freebies. I'll be posting those up soon.

Thanks for stopping in today! Until next time.......I wish you Peace.

2010-05-18T09:29:00.001-05:00

If you would like to show off one of your latest handmade projects just click on the Show & Tell page link above then add your picture and link using the McLinky tool. We would love to see your latest projects so go ahead...... link up!

(Thanks Karen for another great graphic for my Show & Tell Button!)
If you would like to see more great free graphics check out the Graphics Fairy HERE

2010-05-17T08:36:00.001-05:00

Monday Morning Coffee Time

Just getting my first cuppa this morning and looking out at the lush green that is starting to grow in my yard....

This is the area of the yard we call the B & B for the Birds......Bath and Breakfast

The vine behind the Birdbath is clematis and the plants in the front are Lambs Ear, very soft fuzzy leaves. In about a week the Lambs Ear plants will have light pink flowers at the top of the long stems.

I got a hanging plant of pink impatients last week at Lowe's for $5.98 and divided up the plants in the pot to fill in around the hostas and ferns. It's a great way to get larger bedding plants without the larger price.

I was so sad when I got my terra cotta pots out this year and my biggest one had cracked and broke....so I decided to salvage what I could and took the broken pieces and lined one of my other planters instead of using gravel for drainage.

I took the broken pot and "planted" it in the ground, then filled it with annual flowers and covered the edges with some of the area gravel to keep the dirt from washing away. I'll post more pics as it fills out so you can see the results of this experiment.

This is our first attempt at using the upside down tomato planters....looks like we have a good start, this is about 2 weeks after we planted the tomato tower. I'll post more pics as it grows.

Purple Petunias

One of our resident squarrels, he just finished breakfast from the corn we put out for them. I'm hoping this will keep them away from the bird feeders!

Hope you are having a great start to your week. Check back tomorrow for some highlights on my newest Etsy Listings and tag design projects in progress.

Until next time............I wish you......Peace

2010-05-14T11:08:00.009-05:00

New Listings On Etsy

PLANT & HERB TAGS
Each of these tags were designed by me then handcut, handstamped and sealed for extra durability.

I love the way these turned out! Wouldn't these make a great gift for someone that loves gardening??

I am making these in both COPPER and TIN.

Each plant marker comes with a stake (made by me also) in the design pictured here.

I though these would be great for decorating with too, or for a plant exchange or garden party.

It would add that extra special little touch to the plant you wanted to trade, and could be used in a centerpiece for your garden party.

I added a copper eyelet to each of the tags as extra reinforment for the hanger.

I will be taking orders for custom sizes, words, and quantity. These can be ordered in copper or galvanized tin.

If you would like to order some click here to see my Etsy store.

I have more listings coming soon for additional metal tags for storage and organizational needs. I think the metal tags give a stylish flair to tagging your storage containers but are very practical as well!

Thanks for stopping by the blog! Until next time......I wish you Peace.........

2010-05-07T08:55:00.002-05:00

Here is the new TGIF Graphic for this Friday....ENJOY!

I pulled this cute Mother and Child Picture from my collection of 1908 Magazines.....

Have a Great

MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND!!

2010-04-30T10:15:00.004-05:00

Check out this link for a great Blogger's Party coming June 19, 2010, here is a copy from her post of what it's all about.............

2nd Annual Where Bloggers Create party- June 19th, 2010!!!! It’s time again to share your creative spaces!!!
Is your space at the dining room table? Do you have a room of your own? Have you converted a closet? And what do you do in there? What kind of things do you create?
This year is special because Jo Packham and Where Women Create magazine is offering some fabulous prizes!
The first prize is your own feature in Where Women Create magazine! (How cool is that?) Jo Packham herself will pick the winner and boy is it ever a fun experience!
Then we will be offering to 6 random party goers,
2- 1 year subscriptions to Where Women Create magazine
2 -Sets of Jo’s books Where Women Create and The Book of Inspiration
2-WWC charm bracelets
So this is how it will work. If you want to participate leave me a comment on this post. I will add your name to the list of participants on my sidebar. On the night before the party, post your photos and stories about yourselves and your art. (This assures that the early risers or those bloggers in other parts of the world can see your post on time.) We all love lots of pictures so don’t be shy!!!! On the day of the party we will all meet here and you can spend the whole weekend blog hopping to visit everyone’s blogs and get a peak inside all the very wonderful and creative studios!!
It doesn’t matter if your space is big or small, it’s yours and that makes it special!!!

I am definitely going to participate in this one! Sounds like a lot of fun....

2010-04-26T10:48:00.009-05:00

Home Sweet Home!

I have been gone for the last week taking care of my elderly parents. My mom recently had complete knee replacement surgery and my dad has dementia so it was a very busy week helping them move back home from the care center. It's a 6 hour drive for me to get their farm and while I was there taking care of them I definitely had withdrawl symptoms! As I said my folks live on a farm and....you guessed it.....have NO internet!! It was a challenging week without my cyber friends, LOL!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who visited my blog while I was gone. I was completely surprised to find upon my return last night that I had been featured on Karen's blog...The Graphics Fairy Brag Monday page. Click HERE to see the post. (Thanks Karen for the continuous supply of free graphics for use in our creations!!)

I have a few things to catch up on for the next day or two, but I definitely have some great things I made recently to show off and will be adding some new free graphics and new recipes this week. Thanks so much for stopping by, I look forward to visiting with the newbie followers!

So.....until next time.....I wish you Peace....

2010-04-14T10:00:00.005-05:00

Today's Free Graphics are from a couple of English Pamphlets in my collection from the year 1900

To Copy just click on the image and then right click the image that comes up and save it to your computer....it's that simple....so try it!

Here are a few blank versions for you to play around with...

The image below is a little bit different coloring and a smaller version....

Hope you are having a great week! Until next time....I wish you peace.

2010-04-10T07:48:00.010-05:00

Post Card Sachets With Charm

I had so much fun making these! I started off with some free graphics I got at the Graphics Fairy.

(You can get to her site by clicking on the link in the right sidebar.)

I used my printer (a Canon i860) to print the graphics on muslin fabric, (see instructions on how to do this with your printer on my TGIF page) then sewed a back on and stuffed them with lavender buds.

Loved the way the first one turned out so just had to make another one with a little different design.

The charms are made from real stamps that have been sandwiched

between two pieces of 1 X 1 inch glass that I then soldered together.

This is the back side of the charm.

Simply Charming....don't you think??

I thought these would make a great gift for Mother's Day! Two gifts in one, a charm for a necklace or bracelet and a sachet to set out or tuck into a drawer or closet.
Don't forget to check out the TGIF page (at the top of this page) for how-to instructions for printing on fabric using your computer printer. Until next time......I wish you peace.....

2010-03-19T13:50:00.009-05:00

Time Warping ~ Caribbean Style
(The first posting for this cruise story is under the subheading at the top of the page tuesdays traveling toothbrush.)

Today I'm feeling a little bit like this Salvador Dali picture of the melting timepiece. For the last several weeks I have either been preparing to travel or traveling and all with an agenda packed with constant activities. Going from the “dark ages” of winter here in the midwest to the sunny beaches of Florida to hop onto our son's cruise definitely felt a little surreal.
For the next couple of weeks I will be putting up several posts a week that will give a little insight into the world of Caribbean cruising. But these posts will not only be about cruising like the average person....you see our son is one of the lead singers in the shows that his Cruiseline puts on....so you will also get a glimpse into the world of entaintment......Cruise Ship Style.
So stop by next week for the first post about our cruising experience. Below is a picture of the world we left behind the day we hopped aboard our plane for Florida. It was snowing and the temperature was hovering in the low 30s.

And this is the ship we hopped aboard for our 1 week cruise.

Hope you are all staying warm out there and if you are like me you are ready for spring to stay put!! Until next time............I wish you Peace...........

2010-03-16T02:12:00.003-05:00

Another Work Space Added To The Studio !!

I recently completed a class in stained glass and realized that now that I had learned how to solder I could try my hand at soldered jewelry (if you would like to see my soldered jewelry check out the jewelry postings listed in the right sidebar.) After working on a few soldering projects I decided that I really needed to have my soldering workspace closer to a window for better ventilation, thus my new workstation was born. I had recently purchased some additional shelving that is actually made to fit in a closet but we modified it by adding a shelf across the middle section where the clothes hanging bar goes. It turned out really well and has been a great workspace.

If you have a studio workspace I would love to see some of your pics and hear about how you set yours up...all you need to do is make a comment on this post and add your blog link within the post. Here are a few more pics of my studio (as you can see it is not very organized right now, but I had several projects in process when I took these pics.)

Until next time.....I wish you Peace..........

2010-03-11T15:03:00.007-06:00

More Collage Jewelry Finished !!

ART EMOTION

TRUE VOICE

PURE POETRY

JEWELRY JUMBLE

2010-03-10T20:52:00.007-06:00

COLLAGED JEWELRY

Today it's been all about making collaged jewelry......take a look at my finished projects!

These Pendants are made using 2 microscope slides with a small handmade art collage sandwiched between the two slides. The sides were joined together with adhesive copper foiling and then the project was soldered and embellished.

I used free graphics I got at The Graphics Fairy in making the collage part of my jewelry. There is a link in the right sidebar if you

want to check out her blogsite.

HEART'S MEMORY

A GRAND DESIGN

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

2010-03-05T14:51:00.005-06:00

Home Again, Home Again ~ Jiggity Jig

(Just A Little Teaser Picture From Our Trip, have you figured out what I am eating yet? It definitely was yummy! Here's a little hint, we ate this on the French side of St. Martin.)

We just returned from the sunny beachs of the Caribbean! Guess we brought back a little of the sunny weather to our area, it is supposed to get up to 62 degrees today!! Yeah! As soon as I get caught up I plan on posting pictures from our trip and update my readers on what the latest news is here at the Art Pod. Until then soak up the sun if you are getting any of this great warmer weather. Until next time.......I wish you Peace.

2010-02-11T13:14:00.015-06:00

DREAMS CAN COME TRUE.....

I just finished this book and was very moved by the unique life story of Susan Boyle. It is a rags to riches story with a very different set of circumstances than the usual ones told. Susan's story is very inspiring to say the least. Eventhough I didn't care much for the writing style of this author, Susan's story shone through. Here is just one of the insightful quotes from the book .....

"What, ultimately, has made Susan so universally loved is that she is everywoman. Everyone in the world has a bit of Susan Boyle in them - the frightened wee girl treated badly at school and dismissed as an adult - but Susan proved that these are handicaps that can be overcome. Everyone has dreamed a dream of some description, though few of us are able to follow it through. After all, it takes guts to leave the safety zone and expose yourself to the eyes of an unforgiving world.- something Susan did and has kept on doing. Ultimately, the Susan Boyle story is about hope."

After reading this book it just confirmed the notion that it is never to late to realize the dreams that you have imagined yourself to achieve. Click on the link below to see a clip from her now famous Britain's Got Talent audition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

I just have to say I don't know if this clip will affect you the same way it does me, but it definitely moves me to tears everytime I watch it....enjoy. Until next time.....I wish you peace...

2010-01-26T11:05:00.002-06:00

This picture was taken in front of my friend Terri's home. I didn't know what Selah meant so I asked Terri. She said it meant to pause and reflect. So when I got home I decided to look up the word. It is a Hebrew word and actually has several meanings according to sources on google. The one that sounded like the most common interpretation meant "a dramatic pause or change of tempo - stop and listen". It is used many times in the Psalms.

The second most used interpretation meant "measured against" or "valued". Here the translation "valued" is used to illustrate the meaning of something for an exchange, i.e., wisdom cannot be measured with the gold of Ophir. It is BEYOND value. In other words, it is beyond comparison or measuring against.

What a wonderful way to describe my visit to Terri's home ~ A Time to Pause and Reflect ~ A Place of Value Beyond Measure. Not only did her home exhude this sentiment but also our time spent together. I am so thankful for friends like Terri with a willingness to take time to nuture friendship. May you be blessed with such friendships, until next time..... I wish you Peace...

2010-01-25T10:36:00.006-06:00

ART JOURNALING DAY 8

For day 8 of our art journal we were to pick a word that would exemplify what our focus for the year would be and use it in our journal art page. This is the page I came up with and a short explanation of the word I picked and why.....

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to live this year with "No Regrets", but..

that is not my word for 2010. My word for 2010 is

BALANCE

For me the two things are very tied together. Finding balance in my life includes no regrets or apologies for not being able to do everything. Meaning.....if I want to do art, I will have no regrets about the layer of dust on everything and 2 loads of laundry not being done that I am behind on.

Balanced heart (living blissfully) makes for a balanced life.

Until next time......I wish you peace...

2010-01-14T09:15:00.003-06:00

Essence of Woman

A recently completed sketch. Would love to hear your interpretative thoughts on this one.
Hope you enjoy....

2010-01-10T06:28:00.002-06:00

ART JOURNALING ~ DAY 3 & 4

The Journal prompt for days 3 and 4 was to use checks and large circles in the design. I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do so I just started playing around with some ideas and the pictures below show what I came up with. When starting this project I added texture to the 2 page spread using Liquitex Modeling Paste the night before so it had plenty of time to dry before adding the other layers.

The color combinations turned out great and I thought the design had the look and feel of an old map page.

The left page has a "vintage paper island" that reads

The Journey Awakens The Soul

The right page had lots of swirls for the circles and various sizes and shapes of numbers. I put the numbers in the design to represent passage of days through the new year.

For day 5 the Journal prompt is diary or calendar pages. Check back soon to see what design I came up with! Until next time.............I wish you Peace..........

2010-01-10T05:06:00.002-06:00

SUSHI !!

MMMM, don't you just love Sushi? I have to admit Sushi is one of my favorite foods, so when I saw a picture of sushi candles made from beeswax sheets I knew I just had to try my hand at making some myself. I was quite surprised that these candles burned for about 3 to 4 hours! Beeswax is a great natural product with a light honey scent.

These Were Very Easy To Make

Continue Below For Instructions

SUPPLIES: For each candle you will need White, Black, Red, Natural and Pale Green Beeswax Sheets. There are numerous suppliers on the web and through Etsy.com Most beeswax sheets come 8 inches wide by 16 inches long. I purchased pre-waxed wicks for the wicking, but you can make your own if you wish.

INSTRUCTIONS: Cut each of the colors of beeswax into strips that are about 1 inch wide by 8 inches long. Cut the red, green and natural strips again so they are only 4 inches long. I usually warm each of my strips up just a little bit with a hairdryer to make it easier to get a tight roll and not crack the beeswax. Only do this very lightly though as you do not want to melt the wax :-) Roll up the 4 inch long strips in each of the above colors, this is the middle of the sushi rolls (the 3 colors of the sushi filling). After rolling up the red, green and natural beeswax 4 inch long strips place them around the prewaxed wick securely. For the "rice" portion of the sushi candle you will cut the white wax sheet into 1 inch wide by 8 inch long strips. For each sushi candle you will use two 8 inch long strips and one 4 inch long strip. (So you will be cutting some of the 8 inch long white strips in half.) Wrap the white strips around the 3 colors you have secured to the wick. Now you just need to cut the black wax sheet into 1 inch wide by 8 inch long strips. Wrap one black strip over the last white strip you put on and you are done!

As you can see by the above pictures you can mix up the color combinations in these to get the look of different kinds of sushi. Let me know how yours turned out or if you have any questions. (You can leave a comment or question in the comment spot below this post.) These would make a great valentines gift for that special someone who is a sushi lover! Hope you enjoy this little craft project! Until next time........I wish you Peace.........

2010-01-07T15:44:00.002-06:00

ART JOURNALING 2010 - DAY 1 & 2

My mind swirled with ideas as I opened my recently purchased art journal and caught a whiff of the newly bound pages of the book. A whole sketchbook full of blank pristine white pages full of endless possibilities! The bouquets of brushes and newly sharpened pencils on my art table which overflowed with artists paraphenalia stood at the ready waiting for that first stoke or swirl.

Filled with excitement about starting my first art project for 2010 I quickly jumped online to take a peek at the prompt for the day for the art journal group I belong to. The suggestion for the day was to make a Journal Introduction Page. Wanting to picture myself doing more art this year, I decided the theme for my journal this year would be.......

Visionary Moments.

On the second page I put words that expressed what I wanted my art to portray this year...family, friendships, love, life, protecting the environment, and finding bliss. I added the statement "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" to remind myself to try new things.

Supplies Used For These Pages Were

Glazing Medium

Matte Medium

Permanent Markers

Acrylics

Oil Pastels

Vintage Book Pages

Rubber Stamp

Stamping and Distress Inks

Polymer Clay

2010-01-05T21:07:00.001-06:00

ART POD STUDIOS TOUR

Today I got to thinking that my readers might like to see where I work.....here at the Art Pod. I finished getting my studio and supplies settled into their new home just recently and I am thoroughly enjoying my new space. I still have some organizing to do but it was wonderful this fall when my busy Halloween season hit and I had such a wonder place to work in........

This area of the studio is dedicated to comfort!! I have my morning tea time here and contemplate goals for the day.

This shot was taken from the staircase and pretty well shows the layout of the whole studio.

One of the things I did not get a picture of is the cathederal ceiling area of the studio. The ceiling is all wood and adds a lot of visual warmth to the studio, while the 6 skylights at the highest part of the ceiling add the much needed natural light for doing my artwork.

Hope you enjoyed my little tour, until next time I wish you peace...............

2010-01-04T15:01:00.002-06:00

LIKE THE SONG SAYS

FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD!!

Here are just a few of the food gifts I made for Christmas this year. In this picture are Marshmallows on a Stick that were dipped in chocolate then rolled in toffee bits. Cranberry Bars, one of our family favorites. Poppy Seed Bread Slices and Snack Jar Mixes For Gifts. (If you are interested in the recipes for some of these foods just click on the topic Recipes in the side bar and it will take you to my recipe pages.)

Our Christmas Breakfast ~ Spinach Omlette, Ham Balls and Fruit Slush.

2009-12-21T11:44:00.003-06:00

LAST MINUTE MONKEY BUSINESS

As I stare at today's project at hand, this moment is looking a bit like a horror movie with a graveyard full of strewn monkey body parts everywhere. How did it come to this ???? this last minute frantic swizel of activity to make this pile of sock parts submissively congeal into a completed sock monkey. Despite the clock tick, tick, ticking it's silent alarming cry......"has to be mailed today!! has to be mailed today!!" my mind swims with the excitement of crafting this stuffed bunch of sock pieces into a sock monkey rock star for my niece.

So for now dear void, I will be submissive to the silently screaming clock and attempt to get this one finished and in the mail today.....and will make an additional posting later this evening....wish me luck :)

Well believe it or not I DID actually get all of the sock monekys made and in the mail and delivered by Christmas! It was really worth all the work cause everyone loved them. Here are a few more pictures.

Fascinating !

2009-12-12T20:52:00.001-06:00

T' WOULD BE A FANCY WOULD IT NOT??

I wrote this poem one day as I sat looking at and drinking from one of my favorite tea cups......

Beauty Remembered

The delicate teacup

sits in a place of

honor in the room.

A tiny chip here,

A hairline crack there.

Character bestowed by years of use.
Ahhhh......t'would be a fancy would it not,

to be like that teacup?

Chips and cracks of time worn age ignored....

Only the beauty of yesterday

remembered.

2009-12-11T10:06:00.000-06:00

JULIE & JULIA

I just finished watching the new movie Julie & Julia, the story about Julia Childs beginning her career in French Cooking and Julie Powell's blogging adventures. I knew when I saw it in the theaters that it would be a movie that I would just have to own. The story parallels the two women's lives and their adventures in cooking french cuisine.

I have to say for me, that eventhough the story is wonderfully entertaining, it was also an inspiration. Yes! an inspiration. An inspiration to discover what I really love to do and find bliss in and jump in with both feet! Isn't that what we all want? To discover what our best talents are and then be able to use them to make a real living while doing it, not just dabble in it for a hobby. Some very good "Food For Thought"....

Until next time..................I wish you Peace...

2009-12-11T09:49:00.001-06:00

AWWW.....

DON'T THEY MAKE A CUTE COUPLE??

Just finished my second sock monkey, isn't she cute? I would love to hear some suggestions for a cute name for her.......This monkey is going to a little girl who is just under 2 years old.

2009-12-10T09:53:00.001-06:00

SOCK MONKEYS !!

For the last couple of days I have been working on my Sock Monkey Project......Almost 2 done and 4 to go. I love making handmade gifts for the holidays, it is so much more fun than trapsing around the crowded malls. The crafting bug always hits me about this time of year when the temperatures start to plummet and it gets dreaily rainy or snowy out. With my trusty Red Holiday mug of coffee and Christmas music blaring from my ipod tuned to Pandora I am armed to begin my crafting frenzy.

This week the frenzy has been all about the sock monkey gifts that I am making for our family and friends wee ones and one for my hubby as well (the one for my hubby will be a "Spock" monkey as he is a trekie fan ).

The above picture is the first monkey I completed. I love the "expression" his face ended up having. I really had quite a hard time finding a vest pattern to make for him. I searched the internet far and wide for a free pattern, but to no avail, there just wasn't one to be found. I decided it could not be any more frustrating to try to make my own pattern than it had been searching the internet for an hour for one, so that is what I did. After making the pattern I ended up altering it 3 or 4 times to get just the right look and fit that I wanted, but it did finally look the way I had hoped it would. If you would like a copy of the pattern just let me know, I would be glad to email it to you once I scan it. The monkey in the picture is for a little boy whose room is blue and brown so I made his outfit to match those colors.

Next week I will be done with the monkeys hopefully and start my food gifts.......keep tuned in as I will be posting pictures of all my projects, and instructions for those who would like to have them. Thanks for stopping in for a chat, until next time......I wish you Peace.

2009-12-09T09:32:00.004-06:00

Gingerbread House

I created the log cabin gingerbread house pictured above a few years ago and thought some of my readers might like to see it. Everything on the house is edible. The following is a list of what each of the items is made from:

Wood Chopping Log...........Handformed Gingerbread

Ax..........I cut a pretzel for the handle and made the ax blade from Handformed Tootsie Roll

Rock on Border and Chimney..............Purchased Chocolate Rock Candy

Wood Logs......Handformed Tootsie Rolls

Snowshoes.....Piped Royal Icing and Thined Royal Icing Snowboots......Handformed Tootsie Rolls

Chopping Block "Sawdust".......Fresh ground Nutmeg Using a Food Rasp

Decorative Greens and Red Bows......Piped Royal Icing

Animals......Bear, Jumping Deer and Moose All Made from Gingerbread

I made the pattern myself so if you are interested in having a copy of it let me know and I would be glad to either post it here or email it to you. I haven't quite figured out yet how to save it as a full size pattern on here.....but will hopefully get a chance to work on that soon. I can also include my gingerbread recipe and tips for working with gingerbread, let me know if you have any questions.............HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

2009-12-08T13:17:00.011-06:00

WINTERTIME BLISS

The First Wintry Breath of Crisp Mountain Air

Crunchy Glistening Snow Underfoot

The Snap Of A Snow Laden Tree Branch
As It Echos Through The Forest
Canadian Geese In Flight
Woodsmoke Curling Up - Up - Up
From The Chimney, ThenVanishing Like Magic

The Snap and Crackle Sounds Of Cedarwood Burning In The Woodstove

What is your wintertime bliss?

2009-12-08T13:03:00.001-06:00

A Poem Speaks To The Mind's Eye

.....Heart & Soul.....

Would that we could all be

POETS

~Carolee~

2009-11-22T01:08:00.002-06:00

FAMILY HEIRLOOMS

A Family Abounding in

Love and Encouragement

Bestows a Greater Heirloom

Upon Their Children

Than Any Treasured Object

Ever Could.

~ Carolee ~

2009-11-19T02:36:00.003-06:00

My Brief Attempt At China Painting

As I foraged my way into the world of china painting a few years ago (and even tried my hand at a bit of it, as pictured at the left) I wrote Blooming Porcelain (shown below) in an attempt to explain what it was like for me to watch one of these experienced artists transform a plain piece of china into art. Hope you enjoy..........

2009-10-01T14:11:00.005-05:00

BLOOMING PORCELAIN

As the sculptor is to the clay,
likewise, the china painter to porcelain.

With gentle, precise strokes,

tiny hairs infused with tinted oils

stroke the surface of the porcelain

in a blur of shapes and color.

Each stroke changes the cold porcelain forever

into a dramatic explosion of warmth and beauty.

~~ TRANSFORMATION ~~

The mind's eye caresses the essence of pink rosebuds

as the profusion of leaves in heathered greens touch the dusty blue sky surround.

Visual aromas of the rose exude artistic beauty,

stirring the soul and seductivey charming the senses.

2009-09-25T10:36:00.006-05:00

~~RECIPES~~

Ham Balls

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

Ingredient List #1 ~ Ham Balls

2 lbs. Ground Ham or Ground Pork

2 lbs. Ground Beef
3 Eggs Beaten
2 Cups Graham Crackers Ground (I use my food processor to do this)
1/2 Cup Milk
Ingredient List # 2 ~ Sauce

1/2 Can of Tomato Soup

1/2 Cup Water

1 teaspoon Dry Mustard

1/2 Cup vinegar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

Instructions

Using items from Ingredient list #1, put all items together, mix well. Make ham balls using a 1/2 measuring cup for your sizing guide (you can make these smaller if you wish, this is how the ones pictured were made).

Put the ham balls in a roasting pan with sides.

To make sauce put all ingredients in a saucepan, mix well and heat through. Pour the sauce over the ham balls.

Bake in a 350 degree oven on the middle rack for 1 to 1 1/2 hours ( basting about every 15 minutes) till nicely glazed and middle is cooked.

Festive Cranberry Bars

2 1/2 Sticks Butter at Room Temperature

3 Cups Sugar

3 Cups Flour

4 Eggs Well Beaten Eggs at Room Temperature

4 Cups Whole Cranberries

A Little Extra Butter and Flour to Prepare Pan For Baking

9 X 13 Pan

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Wash sort and drain cranberries, toss the cranberries in a little bit of flour to coat and set aside. Grease and flour the pan with butter and flour, set aside.

In mixer cream together the butter and sugar, then add the beaten eggs to this mixture. Continue mixing and add half cup of flour at a time to bowl until all is added and well incorporated. The cranberries are then stirred in by hand. Put mixture in pan and smooth out the batter evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you insert a toothpick in the bars it should come out clean if the bars are done. Cool bars, cut and serve...ENJOY!