Re-Fashioning - Ragtag Garlands

**Update:  the first ragtag garland I made was a gift to my sister-in-law.  She made several this year for friends and family.  I take that as a huge compliment to the popularity of the idea.  I have added these cute ragtag garlands to my etsy store.

So, whether you want to tackle the project or order one, enjoy! **


So, over my Christmas trip back home, I visited the Salvation Army clothing store where dime day happened on all clothing.  Needless to say, I spent a few dollars and walked away with some amazing finds.  I spent a couple hours today cutting apart the pieces I am using for scrap fabric or for refashioning into other items.  I have a couple of aprons cut out already.

I also made several sets of circles for fabric flowers.


And finally, I cut several pieces into strips for a very cute garland idea. 

My suggestions for this are provided:

Stay tuned for more on this re-fashioning experiment!!!

Hot Cranberry Spice

Found this recipe and just cannot wait to try it out.

Yummy!!!

I like finding new recipes for traditional foods. For a couple of years I have been making cranberry spritzers, so now it's time to move on to a new drink.

Ingredients:

2 quarts apple cider 6 cups cranberry juice 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

4 cinnamon sticks 1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves 1 lemon, thinly sliced

Directions:

1.	In a large pot, combine apple cider, cranberry juice, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves and lemon slices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove cinnamon, cloves, and lemon slices. Serve hot.

Shabby Apple Website

Wowie..........such a cute, cute clothing line. I love the feminine and flirty looks. Check out all the sweet finds a Shabby Apple.

Christmas Noise pillow case

These are just 2 of my Christmas pillow cases I created. I found white and off white pillow cases at Goodwill or Salvation Army, cleaned and repaired if needed and then set out to create a festive Christmas scene using bits and pieces of fabric. The triangle trees are made out of different red swatches from projects. I used wonder-under to adhere and then did a different decorative embroidery stitch around each one. This was the first case I completed.

The Deck the Halls case has balls. Each one is a swatch of fabric matted onto a coordinating fabric. The hangers are embroidered on, and I used a decorative font to create the title. I embellished the edge of the case with a green and white polka-dot ribbon and a thin red lace edging.

These are fun and very easy to make. I think the starbursts add a bit more pizzaz and help accent the festivity of the season. Each case I completed has some portion of one of my favorite holiday songs:

Merry Christmas (case 1) - We Wish you a Merry Christmas
Deck the Halls (case 2) - Deck the Halls
Comfort / Joy (not shown) - Tiding of comfort and Joy
With 2 eyes made out of coal (not shown) - Frosty the Snowman

I have a few more layouts sketched into my idea journal for other songs I like, including Santa Baby. Maybe I'll get around to getting these done.

Out in the Milky Way Martini

There are a number of variations to this chocolate martini...and we are sure you'll love to make this martini.

Ingredients

6 ounces of freezing Absolut Vanil vodka
1 Milky Way candy bar sliced into smallish pieces
1 tablespoon of sweet chocolate shavings
2 slightly chilled Martini glasses.
A well chilled, stylish martini shaker.
The mix

Put the sliced candy bar into your microwave oven and heat until it melts.
Pour the vodka into your cocktail shaker, which is half full of cracked ice.
Shake, shake, shake. A good dozen vigorous shakes should do the trick.
Let your shaker rest while you prep your glasses.
Spoon 1 teaspoon of the gooey candy bar into the bottom of each glass.
Strain the vodka equally (make mine a bit heavier--of course).
Top each glass with some chocolate shavings.
Spin the cool tiki beats of King Kukulele & the Friki Tikis...sip and enjoy!