SLICE, Another TOY!

I'm so excited I just had to share this new little toy with you!!! If you know what a CRICUT is you'll be really excited to see it's newest competition!! It's small, it's portable, and it's made by Making Memories. It looks like a lot of fun and very creative. I've just got to run out and buy one. I went to the Making Memories website and looked it over so go peek if you have a minute.

I'm already dreaming of the possibilities.

Christmas Cottages!

I finally finished the last two cottages and took pictures. I'm sorry it took me so long. Everything just seems to get in the way of my FUN!! Anyway, I finally finished them and here they are. I hope you like them!

Here are my cottages all together.
I made 3 blocks of each for a total of 15 blocks.

This is one of my favorites!

I love the snowflakes on this roof!

I thought the black and white background on this block was really cute along with the peppermint candy house. It reminds me of the candy house in the fairytale "Hansel and Gretel."

I really love this fabric from Moda's "Candyland Christmas" line of fabric.

I look forward to putting my cottages together once the exchange is done. The blocks I've seen so far are just adorable and it'll be fun to see them all put together. Thanks, Nanette for putting this exchange together for all of us.

Pumpkin Tissue Holder Tutorial

(I painted this little WITCH years ago)

I thought I would share my latest little gift I'm making for some of the girls in the office that have October Birthdays. Believe it or not there's three of them! I started making just four (one for me too) and then I thought, well, SO and SO would like one and of course, my quilting buddies would like one, and maybe I should make one for my sister and as you can see the list just kept growing. I think I'm up to 15 little pumpkins I'm making.

This is a quick and simple little gift you can make for anyone. You could even make it out of lots of different fabric to personalize it. I've seen these little tissue cuties in a lot of different places.

Have fun making these little pumpkins.

To start off you will need what you see in the picture above.

• 2 pieces pumpkin fabric cut @ 6" x 6 1/2"
• 2 pieces fall stripe cut @ 2 1/2" x 6" for binding
• 2 pieces green fabric cut @ 2 1/2" x 2 1/4" for leaf
• 1 piece batting cut @ 2 1/2" x 2 1/4" for leaf
• 1 piece brown ric rac cut @ 4" long for stem
  

• Fold striped binding in half lengthwise, press.
• Place pumpkin fabric with wrong sides together.
• Using a 1/4" seam sew striped binding on each side.
• Press binding so seams go outward.
• Fold binding over toward back of center fabric.
• Stitch in ditch making sure to catch underneath.
  

• Here you will see the binding sewn in place.
• Fold in half and mark center with two pins.

• Place green fabric with wrong sides together.
• Place batting in between the two green pieces.
• Use a pencil to draw a leaf, then sew on pencil line.
• Trim leaf just outside the line you've just sewn.
• Center 4" piece of brown rick rack and green leaf.
• Sew in place so it doesn't move.

• Fold outside edges toward the center.
• Pin in place, sew the short ends twice.
• Finish off the edges with a serger/zigzag stitch.

• Turn your pumpkin inside out and press.
• Tack the leaf in place.
  
• Fill with Kleenex Tissues.

Now it's ready to throw in your purse for
when you have the sniffles.

Favorite Breakfast Quiche

This is a yummy and satisfying breakfast dish. I'm sure many of you have made it in it's many variations but yesterday at the hair salon the lady sitting next to me had never heard of quiche made with a hashbrown crust. I enlightened her and she gave me her email address so I could mail it to her. Since she had never heard of it before I thought I would just share it with each of you. It's pretty simple to make and a delicious yet sophisticated looking breakfast to serve to a group of people for breakfast or brunch. You can add fruit and pastries to the menu along with orange juice and toast if you like. Enjoy!

Breakfast Quiche

By Kim Walus

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Ore Ida Frozen Hash Browns (Shredded) or Costco's hashbrowns
1/2 Cup Butter (melted)
2 Cups diced Ham, Bacon, Sausage, Polska Keilbasa or any combination
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Colby, or both
Green Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms are optional
1/2 cup Milk
5 eggs (beaten)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Empty hash browns into a 9”X13” ungreased pyrex dish. Drizzle melted butter over the top and place in a 425 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes. Combine meat, cheese, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and spoon over hash browns. Spread evenly. Beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the ingredients in dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serves 6-10 depending on how BIG you cut the pieces. In my family we're lucky to get 6 pieces. My kids could each eat TWO pieces they love it so much.

Apple Brickle Dip

I've been cooking again today since the kids are home for General Conference weekend. They wanted me to make their favorite breakfast quiche and for lunch I'm making this extra yummy Apple Brickle Dip and sandwiches with chips.

I first made this recipe for a Hidden Oaks Christmas Gathering in December of 2001 and it was a big hit and everyone wanted the recipe. I have since given it out to several people and it’s always a favorite. The only problem is that it’s so good you want to keep going back for more. There’s rarely any leftovers on this one! This Recipe is from the December/January 2001 issue of the Taste of Home Magazine page 66.

Here it is. . .

Apple Brickle Dip
Taste of Home Magazine Dec/Jan 2001 Issue

Ingredients:
8oz. package cream cheese, softened (do not use fat-free cream cheese)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package Heath English toffee bits (10oz.)
3-4 medium tart apples, cut into slices or chunks ( I like Fuji or Honey Crisp)

Instructions:
In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugars and vanilla. Fold in toffee chips. Serve with apples. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2 cups

Our Visit to Sundance

Last week my DH's parents (from N. Ca.) came to visit along with his Uncle Dan and Aunt Pat from Oregon. It was Dan and Pat's 1st visit to our home. It's been over 15 years since we made a trek to Oregon to see them so my husband decided to try to get them down her. Dan is Mark's mothers brother and we knew it had been at least a year since they had seen each other. We had a great time while they were here and my kids just loved them, especially McKenna. She was so sad when they had to leave and cried after they left. She loved Dan so much she had me take her out after school to buy him a present. So I have a package to mail on Monday to Uncle Dan.

Here are a few pictures from our trip up Provo Canyon to Sundance. . .

We got a late start on Saturday because Grandma Carole wasn't feeling well so Mark's parents stayed home while we took Dan and Pat up to Sundance to ride the ski lift. It's a really fun ride and lasts about 45 minutes up and back. It's a great way to enjoy the fall colors. You can even get off at the top and walk around or take a hike. There are lots of bike riders that go up the lift and ride down. It looks like a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day. Dan and Pat enjoyed the views. Dan is a big tease and had fun joking with all of the people on the other side going down while we went up and those going up as we came back down. It was a lot of fun being together and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. The weather was perfect that day, too!

Here's the back side of Mount Timpanogas.

Here's my DH on the ski lift.
He's sitting just to the right of me.

Aren't the colors beautiful?

Here's a look at the ski lift looking down toward the place where the lift turns and goes back up and down toward where we started at the bottom of the ski lift.

Another look at the beautiful colors.

Hawk Walk

My apologies go out to those who visit my blog frequently I've just been so busy with out of town company and today I've been trying to catch up a bit on my family blog and this blog. I just can't believe it's already after 8pm and I still need to read with Kenna and do homework before bed. It's been a busy afternoon with two other commitments after a long day at work.

Lately, it's been way too hard to find time to be creative but I made this cute ensemble for our Principle at school. I just thought I'd share it with you. Quilting Update: I'm working on my blocks for the Christmas Cottage Block Exchange and I have eight done but I bought more christmas fabric yesterday to make a few more (any excuse to buy more NEW fabric). I'll have pictures posted before too long.

Have a great rest of the week and enjoy the following...

Recently our school kids participated in the 7th Annual Hawk Walk to earn money for the school. It's been a big success in years past and this year our School Principal and PTA President are having a Greased Pig Catching Contest in support of the kids efforts. The loser gets to KISS the PIG with RED Lipstick on their lips. They've both been playing it up good and it's been a lot of fun for the kids. I made a shirt for the principal to wear during the Hawk Walk. It was pretty funny! Enjoy the short video clip at the end of the post.

My DD Kenna holding the shirt I made for our Principal. It says, "Think PIG!" In smaller print it says, "To WIN the battle you must think like a PIG."

I even made piggy ears and a curly tail for the back of the shirt. Some kids tore it off though and we couldn't ever find it! Oh Well!

He was a good sport about his piggy outfit and even wore it for the kids. He really played it up well and had a lot of fun with it! The kids chased him around the field giving him HIGH FIVES!

Kenna's Class Picture.

Kenna and Friends taking a water break!

Pouring water on her head to keep cool!

The marathon walkers!

Here's a Quickie Video of Our Great Principal!!