Author Archives: ~~Rhonda

Living in a small town, I share my life with my husband Russell (married in 1977), five children (one still at home), and six cats (one indoors, the others outside).

I teach an online class called “The Christmas Notebook” which is about all things holiday prep. The many facets of celebrating Christmas comprises one of my favorite hobbies. Other favorite things include gardening, reading, cooking, and scrapbooking.

sunday was busy, too!

October 16, 2016 – 11:56 pm

Back to work on Sunday! Genny worked on the tree all day. She has it almost done. Just a few more details. I made four kinds of truffles and then spent the day rolling them while talking with Genny. The whole house smelled like chocolate. Melted chocolate and heavy whipping cream…all you need for Chocolate […]

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a busy saturday

October 16, 2016 – 1:10 am

My sister Genny came today to work on the chalkboard Christmas tree. She brought me mums in these colors. And an autumn angel… While she chalked, I made cookies for the Christmas Open House in December. Of course, when baking Christmas cookies, you should use your Christmas measuring spoons. I started with one of my […]

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new putz house in red and green

October 14, 2016 – 11:52 pm

Last week I saw a Putz log cabin online that I liked a lot. I thought I had saved it to Pinterest, but can’t find it now. I wish I could share the picture with you. I did decide to make a pattern from it and spent several days, off and on, working out the […]

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this year’s chalkboard tree

October 10, 2016 – 7:57 pm

We have done a chalkboard tree for the Christmas season the past four years. This will be our fifth one. The first one was based on one I saw online. Our chalkboard is eight feet tall. The ceilings are twelve feet. Lots of room to play! The second tree was done with a “Twelve Days […]

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menu plan monday ~ october 3, 2016

October 4, 2016 – 4:18 pm

We raised five Black Swallowtail caterpillars that DH found on the parsley late this summer. Last week four of them emerged. Clark ignored the caterpiller tank until the first one emerged. Then he was totally focused! The butterflies were released as soon as their wings had dried. Clark hasn’t shown any interest in the fifth […]

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make a joyful noise! Christmas card shadow box

September 27, 2016 – 11:00 pm

I am making new stock for my Etsy store. Today I finished a shadow box that I particularly like. I call it “Make a Joyful Noise!” It is listed in my shop -ChristmasNotebook. The paper I wanted to use for the back of the box wasn’t quite the right color, so I used some thinned […]

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menu plan monday ~ september 26, 2016

September 26, 2016 – 6:48 pm

I’ve had another busy week. Older Daughter and Middle Daughter helped me can 21 jars of spiced apple slices, plus two quarts we put in the fridge for immediate enjoyment. I am working on beefing up the inventory for my Etsy shop before the Christmas season arrives. I’ve posted some new Christmas card shadow boxes […]

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shadow boxes from Christmas cards

September 24, 2016 – 12:20 am

I’ve been working on Christmas card shadow boxes the past few days. They are made from Christmas cards. They are about 4″ x 6″ x 1″. The winter sleigh ride scenes are always a favorite of mine. Up close… The back is scrapbook card stock. I really like the way this one turned out. These […]

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menu plan monday ~ september 19, 2016

September 19, 2016 – 7:23 pm

This past weekend, our church continued a long held tradition of making apple butter. Apple Butter Day means fall is right around the corner. It is great to see the younger members of our church family stepping in for their first turn at stirring the kettle. Rose Red was happy to have so many other […]

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picket fence tutorial, using corrugated cardboard

September 19, 2016 – 3:23 pm

I have been trying several ways to make picket fences for Putz houses. I came up with some options, using corrugated cardboard. The cardboard I used is a thin cardboard with about seven ridges per inch. It came from a box for a dustbuster. The “picket” fence I describe in this post was inspired by […]

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