CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT SWAP

Wanted to share a few ornaments I sent out to my partner in Marsha's (Sassy Mini Dolls) ornament exchange.  

I had sooo much fun making these ornaments for my swap partner, Nerina.  Creating these ornaments really helped get the Christmas prep juices flowing.  

wooden ornament decoupaged with vintage santa image.

wooden ornament packaged inside CD mailer.

Nerina and I corresponded a bit to get to know one another, and to find out each other's likes and styles. In one of the emails, she mentioned she was finding herself really drawn this year to vintage-looking, sparkly, old-fashioned ornaments and Christmas decor.  

simple star ornament jazzed up with paper pinwheel, vintage image, bling and glitter

a sweet phrase printed on cardstock edged in glitter

this little guy was inspired by one i saw on web somewhere last year.
can't remember where.  isn't he adorable?

In turn, Nerina sent a huge box of wonderful goodies to me.  Several styles of ornaments, items for creating ornaments and crafty projects, all kinds of cool things.  I plan on sharing pics of my goodies from her tomorrow.  Didn't want to drown you all in tons of snaps tonight!

this was actually a store-bought ornament.  i cheated just a bit ;o)

another cheat store bought ornament. the front.

the back.

On December 1st, Marsha will set up a linky party so we can all go and visit each other, and see what lovely ornaments others in the swap exchanged.  She's also creating a virtual tree that will be adorned with all our ornaments.  Can't wait to see that!

Check back tomorrow so I can share all the great goodies Nerina sent to me!

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FELT LEAF GARLAND - MY PB KNOCK-OFF

Well, I'm back. I knew I couldn't stay away for two weeks.  I will say, though, that I did need this past week's break from blogging.  As much as I enjoy blogging and reading my favorite blogs, having one less thing to think about was really needed.  

I did manage to get some things done.  Of course, not as much as I really wanted.  And I did knock out a couple projects.  One project being my version of
Pottery Barn's Felt Leaf Garland.  

Pottery Barn Kids

You know when you see something and you just have to have it, or just have to make it?  That's how I felt when I saw this felt leaf garland sold at PB's Kid's site.  

Pottery Barn Kids

But with a price tag of $50, I knew for sure I wouldn't purchasing the real article.  

Fifty bucks???!!!  I don't think so.

So, I broke out my stash of Kunin Felt and got busy.  Kunin Felt is a wonderful, high-quality, washable felt (you can order here).  When I worked in a quilt shop eons ago, we sold it by the yard.  It was used a lot in craft and doll patterns.  

I found some leaf templates on the net I liked, printed them out and traced them to the paper side of fusible web.  The fusible web is ironed onto the felt, and then the leaf shape is cut out.  Once the paper backing is peeled off, I then ironed the cut shape to another piece of felt to create the layered leaves.  Of course, the leaves with cut outs were made before they were layered and ironed.  

The cost of this project . . . zero, zip . . . just my time, as I had all the materials on hand.  It's not exactly like the Pottery Barn garland, but I'm super-pleased with the results.

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TAKING A BLOGGING BREAK

Kinda funny that I'm announcing a blogging break when I've been such a bad, neglectful blogger recently!  I have other priorities right now on which to focus, and I think my humble little blog's gonna have to take a far back seat for a bit.


I hope to get back into the swing of things in a couple weeks . . . maybe sooner :o)



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CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

The air is crisp, the leaves are turning . . . 

It's the perfect weather for soup.  

I love soup.  

I could eat it almost every night.  I'm not sure my family are big soup fans.  I think it's psychological to them that an entire meal must be spread out all over a plate, not neatly combined in a single bowl.

Picture from "Back To The Cutting Board"

Anyway, it was chilly the other day, and I was in a soup mood.  But really wanting something different and quick, I found a great recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup at one of my favorite online recipe sites, All Recipes.  I'm sharing it because, not only was it totally delish, but it was quick and easy and everything was already in my pantry.  I like last minute meals like that - you know, when I actually have everything on hand that I need!

I should have taken pics of my own creation, but, as mentioned above, I was in a hurry to get dinner on the table, and just didn't take the time to grab the camera.  I did, however, find a few pics on the net that very much resembled my yummy finished product.

Picture from "Food Nework"

I'm sure if you try it, you will not at all be disappointed in this recipe's ease and tastiness.  And hopefully you're family will enjoy it as well!

The Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes (I used tomato sauce)

1 (10.5 oz) can condensed chicken broth (I used boxed chicken stock)

1-1/4 cups water (I omitted the water, but used extra chicken stock)

1 cup whole corn (I used frozen)

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 fresh chopped cilantro

2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces

crushed tortilla chips (I used tortilla chip strips)

sliced avocado

shredded Jack Cheese

chopped green onions

The Directions:

1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth and water.  Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes
2. Sir in corn, chilies, beans, cilantro and chicken.  Simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Ladle soup into bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, or strips, avocado slices, cheese and chopped green onion.  

I also added a dollop of cream cheese and squeezed some fresh lime over the soup.

Picture from "Shine from Yahoo"

See!  

Quick and easy and good!  

This will definitely be a repeat performer in my kitchen!

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