You’ll need a small jar – baby jar, olive jar, pimento jar, etc.  Using epoxy, adhere a small plastic or ceramic figurine, animal, or tree onto the inside of the lid.  Some crafters suggest mineral oil in the jar, but Martha says distilled water and a dash of glycerin.  Sprinkle in a little glitter.  Either screw that lid on tight, or put some epoxy on the threads of the lid first to keep it sealed up.  Flip it and shake!

Pretty simple, huh?  How about an idea that’s even easier, but yields a greater effect?  You could use a glass bell jar or apothecary jar to create a snow dome – all you need is the container, some items to go inside, and faux snow.  A modern presentation of the classic snow globe!

Photo Credits:  Martha Stewart, Flickr (fullofbliss’ photostream).

I’m not much of a cook, but food gifts are always appreciated at Valentine’s.  Especially if they are chocolate!  I thought I’d share a yummy and easy recipe I’ve used for Valentine’s gifting in the past.  Wish I had time to make some this year, but maybe you do!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package OREO chocolate sandwich cookies, divided
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 (8 ounce) packages semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted

Directions

1. Crush 9 of the cookies to fine crumbs in food processor; reserve for later use. (Cookies can also be finely crushed in a resealable plastic bag using a rolling pin.) Crush remaining 36 cookies to fine crumbs; place in medium bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended. Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.
2. Dip balls in chocolate using 2 forks or tongs;  place on wax paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover chocolate can be stored at room temperature for another use.) Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumbs or colorful sprinkles, if you wish.
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store leftover truffles, covered, in refrigerator.

These are really delicious and will be well-received by any chocolate lover!  Make it an even more special gift by placing in pretty paper boxes.  This is a picture of one of Martha Stewart’s Christmas paper box kits, but the colors make it perfect for Valentine’s, too.

Photo Credits:  MorganMoore, Martha Stewart.

Not all of us are cut out for making our own Christmas gifts.  But some of us could make a few if they were simple and special, right? A vintage teacup candle is a heartfelt gift for a special friend or family member.  Candlemaking kits are available at stores like Michaels, or you could just drop a votive in a cute tea cup.  Or, cheat a little and buy these ready-made at Anthropologie!

Just a spritz of spray mount and a roll in a tray of colored glitter from Martha Stewart Crafts (available at Michaels) makes regular taper or pillar candles extra-special.

For the geneology buff, download a free or inexpensive family tree and complete it by hand.  A simple mat and frame make this an elegant and thoughtful heirloom.

Use decals to spruce up and personalize pillar candles.

Make homemade-flavored popcorn and pack in tin buckets available at any home store.  Use a piece of cardboard to separate flavors.  I have an awesome Sundried Tomato Popcorn recipe I will leave for you at the end of this post!

Use a map of a special vacation to create drink coasters that bring back good memories.  Adhere map to cork circles and make sure you brush on a glue sealant on top.

Use wide ribbon and a special photograph to make a handmade bookmark.  Use a simple stitch in the corners to attach.

Buy a few small tassels and attach these hooks to make a lovely pair of earrings.   Earring hooks are available at Michaels.

Handgathered “kits” will be appreciated by any man.  The important thing is choosing the right container to hold relevant items.  Below are examples of a travel kit, shoeshine kit, and car wash kit.

Pull memoribilia and souvenirs out of hidden boxes and create a collage of a special trip to present to your loved one.  Now that I think about it, resurrected honeymoon souvenirs mounted on paper board and framed would be an excellent anniversary gift!

Do you have ideas for handmade Christmas presents?  I’d love to hear about any you have created for friends or family.  Below is the recipe for the Sundried Tomato Popcorn I promised earlier.  This recipe came from my friend, Jennifer Driver.

Sundried Tomato Popcorn

2 tbs corn oil

2 tbs olive oil

2 split garlic cloves

3/4 cup popcorn, unpopped

1/4 cup Provolone cheese, grated

6 sun-dried tomatoes, oil-cured and finely chopped

1 tbs oil from the tomatoes

12 basil leaves, fresh and finely chopped

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

In large pot heat both oils over high heat until smoking.  Add 1 kernel of popping corn and heat until it pops.  Add split garlic cloves and rest of popping corn, cover pot, and shake gently until corn starts to pop.  Shake vigorously until popping subsides.  Remove from heat.  Remove garlic.  Toss popcorn with provolone, tomatoes, oil, salt, and chopped basil.  Serves 6.

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It’s October 1st, so you know what that means?  It means Halloween decorating!  With the days getting shorter and the temperature dropping, it just makes sense to start spooking the house up as I mourn the dying of Summer.

Over the last several years, my Halloween decorating has been inspired by two people:  Martha Stewart and Andrea Ferrell.   Both ladies enjoy Halloween decorating that leans towards the “natural macabre.”  Today I highlight Martha, I hope soon to highlight the lesser-known but equally fab Andrea Ferrell.

I’m so excited to try this bleeding candles trick!  Take some white candles, stick them in a bucket of sand, light a red candle, and let the wax drip down the white candles.  Genius.

What’s spookier than silhouettes of feared pests – like bats, rats, and spiders?  And check out the runny black border around the top of the walls – now that’s creepy.

I use tons of the spider-webs-in-a-bag stuff, but this year I bought some cheesecloth like this.  It’s easier than stretching the other to look realistic – you just drape it, maybe rip it a little, and add a few dried leaves like Martha does here.

You gotta think of how you can make the most normal of things a little spooky, like floral decor.  Pick flowers and fillers in black, brown, red, and drab green.  Add in some dark dried pieces and dark berries.  Then arrange it all in old, unpolished silver urns.

Another great effect from a paper silhouette – this time as a curtain!

I love this naturally macabre grouping of vintage silhouettes, a phrenology head, and dried cotscomb under cloches.  Looks like dried brains – how fun is that?!

Simply lovely to spray paint pumpkins in silver or gold.  Orange doesn’t go with my color palette, anyway!

Martha likes the glittered skulls, especially when piled beneath glass.  Believe me, I’m pulling out my cake stands and cloches for highlighting my Halloween decor this year!

What’s easier than grabbing a few dead branches from the yard to create a little Halloween tree?  This one is spray-painted black but natural is good, too.

Black crepe streamers make spooky curtains in your haunted house.

Who thinks like this?  I love it!  So now we’re dying Halloween eggs a mottled brown and using them in this “rotten eggs and worms” vignette.  The worms are old fishing lures.

I love using what you already have and creeping it up.  Like this pewter collection.  It’s all about the context – just add this bat silhouette streamer and some autumn florals.

More spooky silhouettes, this time mounted above votive candles to cast some really scary shadows.

Gather dark fruit and dark-colored candles for a Halloween centerpiece.  Then add some roaches.  Nice.

And don’t forget the spiders!  Some are stickers, others are plastic toys.  It looks like these votives are sitting in some bloody liquid.

Wouldn’t you love to have a dinner in this dining room on a dark, stormy night?

So, are you ready for the spookiest Halloween yet?

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Ok, my daughter loves reading like you would not believe, so I had to find a way to take that love of books and create a birthday party to suit her perfectly.  The main theme was books, supported by owls – wise old cartoon owls are always reading a book, right?   If you preferred, you could do books with worms (bookworms, of course).

The party colors were green/blue/brown.  I used light and dark blue balloons for decor.  I found a green owl shirt at Target for Audrey to wear, and I dressed up like a nerdy librarian .

Invitations were little folded books I printed on cream cardstock stationery from Michaels.  I got the cover pic from an old children’s book. You can download the Word documents at the end of this post to customize your own invitations.

I made an owl cake with a cake pan I found on ebay for $8 (I think it was a discontinued Wilton pan)You could also use that cake pan that is an open book, or a cake with a bespeckled bookworm.  I found an owl cookie cutter on ebay for a few bucks and made owl cookies.  I also served sliced green apples in a glass trifle pedestal bowl, strawberry blossoms (see recipe below), grapes, and a Nashville Junior League ham and biscuit recipe that rocks (see below).

I used lots of books as props, as well as owls of all kinds.  You can always find owl stuff at yard sales and estate sales in 1970’s ranch neighborhoods!  I had a lot of owls anyway, since I use them in my Halloween decorating (you’ll see that in October!)  Cups and plates were a kinda mid-century mod pattern in green and blue that I found at Publix grocery store.

Activities included making slam books (see details below).  We also made a beaded bookmark with blue and green glass beads from Michael’s thread on medium gage wire,  played “Who Am I” book characters (I gave some hints for them to guess some pretty major literary characters), and went on a book treasure hunt (see details below).   All the kids took home their bookmark, slam book, and a canvas bag from Oriental Trading Company with a classic paperback for a $1.50 from Dover Publications.   Great fun for 8-year-olds!

Download the Birthday Book Bash Invitation Files 

Book Treasure Hunt:

Simply choose 20 or so books, display them on a table or ledge, and make up questions that relate to the books you have chosen.  Give each child a copy of the questions and pencil, and the race is on!  Here are some sample questions, based on the books I used, of course:

This Book . . .

1.        contains many animal stories

2.        has 152 pages

3.        has the same author as Alice in Wonderland

4.        has a boat in it called “The Red Dolphin”

5.        includes an interesting map containing Deerlick River 

6.        takes place in a boarding school

7.        contains a picture of an eagle

8.        has a character named Veruca Salt

9.        is part of the “Dana Girls” series

10.     takes place on Prince Edward Island in Nova Scotia, Canada 

Slam Books:

In case you never made those in jr. high, a slam book is a small notebook, usually the spiral-bound type which is passed among school students.  I found some simple fabric-covered ones from Oriental Trading Company and let the girls decorate them with stickers and sticker tape from Martha Stewart’s collection at Michaels.

The first page is numbered 1-10 (or however many children are attending the party).   Just write a question at the top of each page, and then number below it (1-10 for 10 children).  Each child picks a number, puts their name next to that number on the first page of the slam book, then fills in their answer on each page beside that numbered line.   Questions for SlamBooks:  What’s your favorite color?  What’s your favorite food?  What’s your favorite school subject?  What would be your one wish? What do you want to be when you grow up?  What’s your favorite book?  What’s your favorite movie/TV show?  What 3 words/adjectives best describe you?  What’s the most special thing about you?  A sample page looks like this:

What 3 words best describe you?

1.   ______________________________________

2.  ______________________________________

3. ______________________________________

4. ______________________________________

Hope that makes sense.  If you don’t get it, go ask a 7th grade girl.

Strawberry Blossoms:

 12 large fresh strawberries

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tbs powdered sugar

1 tbs sour cream

Slice off strawberry tops.  Place strawberries on cutting board, point up.  Cut each half into 3 wedges to form 6 petals.  Pull slightly apart.  Beat other ingredients and put in pastry bag with star tip.  Fill strawberries.

Junior League Ham and Biscuits:

1 lb. sliced ham

2 sticks butter

3 tsp poppy seeds

1 med onion, diced

3 tsp mustard

1 tsp worcestershire

12 oz Swiss cheese

2 rounds of Sister Schubert rolls (or) 3 pkgs small brown/serve dinner rolls

Melt butter, add mustard, poppy seeds, Worcestershire, onion.  Split rolls  (I recommend using a bread knife on slightly frozen rolls), spread mixture on both sides of rolls, then layer ham and cheese.  Wrap in foil.  350 degrees for 10 minutes.

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