new colors for the putz houses

I have been asked by a few people lately if I might make Putz houses in other colors than the ones I’ve been using. Of course! Just let me know what you would like to see! So, I started with five…

Putz house

Added roofs and window panes.

Putz house

Added snow to the roofs and window frames to the windows.

Putz house

Glued the houses to the bases.

Putz houses

Putz houses

And added snow around the base of each house.

Putz houses

Putz houses

Tomorrow I plan to add fences and maybe make some time to embellish a few, if it works out. I am looking forward to using traditional red and green with some of these houses. Till tomorrow.

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ may 6, 2016

We had a lot of rian on Saturday, but Sunday was sunny with a very blue sky. So pretty. DH and I toured the yard and noted all the FFO (First Flower Out) daylilies. This one is ‘Purple Bicolor.’

FFO

It’s always exciting to see the daylily season begin! There are a lot of flower buds this year. It looks like it could be a spectacular sight in a few weeks. Here’s the “before” picture. It won’t be long till I can take an “after” picture!

daylily beds

The hydrangeas look the best they have ever been. Loaded with blossoms! In shades of purple, pink, green, ivory and blue. SO beautiful!

Putz house

We took advantage of them for the Sunday bouquet this week.

Sabbath flowers

This is a lacecap hydrangea called ‘Twist-n-Shout.’ We just planted this bush two years ago and it has taken off with great gusto.

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Here’s the bush on the west side of the front porch. Beautiful! We brought these bushes from our previous home twenty years ago. I don’t know the name of them, but they have a lot of purple in the blossoms. Can you see Clark in the window? He longs to come outside, but has to enjoy the beauty and the luscious smells from the windowsill.

Hydrangeas

The Southern Magnolia is blooming. These flowers are twelve inches across. Such a wonderful scent drifting on the breeze. I planted this tree so I could use the leaves at Christmas time. But the blossoms are worth the effort, even if I never decorated with the foliage during the holidays. Pure white with a lightly sweet, lemony scent.

Southern Magnolia

We had the twins visiting with us last week. They were here Wednesday evening through Saturday and we had rain every day so they weren’t able to play outside. Instead, they spent a lot of time in the library, building an arcade from cardboard boxes. They devised their own games, decided on the rules, made the tickets, chose prizes, etc. They can have more fun with cardboard, duct tape and colored paper than anyone I know.

Snow White’s contribution was the game “Urky the Turkey.” To play the game, you put your hand in the hole at the top of the box and pull out a piece of paper. You get three tries. If the paper reads “turkey” you try again. If it reads “farmer” you win. I asked why you were supposed to get the farmer to win. She said, “Because if you don’t get the farmer he will KILL the turkeys and they will NOT have a very happy Thanksgiving!” Makes sense.

Here’s the menu for the week. No turkey.

Monday
Napa Cabbage and Veggie Stir Fry with Chicken
Wild Rice

Tuesday
Chicken and Noodle Soup
Sourdough Toast

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Cole Slaw

Thursday
Spaghetti / Meatballs
Homemade Sauce
Steamed Peapods
Corn

Friday
Tacos

Saturday
Eggs and Rice

Sunday
Roasted Chicken
Garden Salad
Corn on the Cob
Green Beans

You can find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

spring garden

The garden is so pretty in the spring. Breezy days at just the right temperatures. Showers to keep everything watered and lushly growing. I do love spring. Here are a few pictures taken during the past week or two. There’s a lot of purple going on.

Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’
We have two of these. I wish I had fifty. I think they are very beautiful.

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'

Reflections of Meadow Sage (perennial salvia) in the birdbath at the back door.

reflections

Catnip ‘Six Hills Giant’ with a honeybee coming in for a landing in the upper left hand corner.

catnip

Iris ‘Caesar’s Brother’ by the carport.

'Caesar's Brother' iris

Iris ‘Illiani Charm’

'Illini Charm' iris

‘Sutter’s Mill’ is a large hosta. And already blooming.

Hosta 'Sutter's Mill'

Peony ‘Karl Rosenfield’
Not purple.

peony 'Karl Rosenfield'

Yellow flag iris.
Considered a noxious weed by some…but how pretty.

Yellow flag iris

The apricot trees have fruit. We’ll see how the crop turns out.

apricots

I have a second batch of pictures to share. Fodder for another post.

~~Rhonda

white putz houses…one with pink, one with blue

I am having a hard time getting things done the past few days. The weekend was busy, we had a great time on Memorial Day with Older Son and his family, I thought Tuesday was Monday all day long, and here it is Wednesday afternoon and I am well behind where I thought I would be. Here’s to catching up.

I finished two Putz houses. Or “little glitter houses” as they are also called. This one, trimmed in pink, is one of my all time top five favorites. Might even be #2 in the faves lineup. And I wasn’t that crazy about it until I got the embellishments on.

Putz House

So cute with the lights on.

Putz House

The other house is also white, but it is trimmed in blue.

Putz House

With the lights on, it looks like a cold winter night, doesn’t it? But all is cozy inside!

Putz House

I have 24 Putz houses available in my Etsy shop. You can see them here:

ChristmasNotebook

After I get some photos uploaded, I will post a garden tour. This and that…whatever has been blooming for the past week or so.

~~Rhonda

two little blue and white putz houses

I hope you are not getting tired of seeing Putz houses. I have managed to finish two more today.

Putz house

Of course, you need to see it lit, too!

Putz house

The other one is a very simple design.

Putz house

Putz house

And I worked on the other six that I have in process. I added artificial snow to all of them, glittered that, and then trimmed some of the roof lines.

I used string beads to line the roof of the little yellow house and tinsel chenille stems (pipe cleaners) to line the roof of the two-tiered house.

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The yellow house on the left in this picture is a very simple and traditional Putz design. I trimmed the roof with green tinsel chenille stems to bring out the color in the roof. The yellow house with pink trim has so much going on already with all those windows that I decided to leave the roof alone. No trim.

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The white house on the left is the same pattern as the yellow one above with all the windows. And the white one with the tinsel trimmed roof is the same design as the first picture in this post.

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The white house with the blue fence has a secret. See how the fence is offset? That’s because I ran out of fencing. Look at that! Another inch and I would have been fine! Happily, I had set the house at an angle into the corner, so I was able to offset the fence. A happy accident because I do like the way it came out. I think there is room on the right for a decorated bottle brush tree. And maybe a little deer in front of the fence.

Offset fence

The white one with the pink fence also has a secret. Look at the roof before the tinsel trim was added. It just dried that way. All wrinkly. Once it has dried that way, there is nothing you can do to straighten the roof itself. But the trim fixed it right up, making the roof line look straight. A pretty simple fix that adds some nice embellishment to the house.

Putz house

I have so many garden pictures I want to share, as well. My laptop is out of commission and I am having to use the desktop computer which is not as handy for posting. My usual routine is to work on crafts at my desk, then use the laptop after I retire to write a post for the blog. I can only sit at the desk for so long before I need to get my feet up to reduce the pain in my legs. Hopefully DH and Younger Son can fix the laptop soon. It has been backing up to Carbonite for a couple of days…so many pictures…yikes… Once that is done, I hope they can have it up and running without too much delay. I will try to get a garden post up tomorrow or Monday.

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend. We’ll be grilling with Older Son and his family. Looking forward to having the grands over. DH and daughters will make the trip to the cemetery for the Memorial service in the morning, then back to the house for grilling. Take time to remember those who have given their lives in service to our country. We owe them so much more than we can repay.

~~Rhonda

three new Putz houses

I have been working on Putz houses this past week. I managed to make bases for eleven houses that were ready to be placed on bases, have fences glued in place and then embellished. I have completed three of the houses.

The first one is one of my favorite designs. It’s the two-tiered, rounded roof Putz. This picture shows it lit. The window and door panes shine with a golden glow. I love to see them with lights shining. It makes them seem more animated.

Putz Houses

This picture gives a better idea of the actual color of the house. The first story is white and the second story is yellow. I trimmed the roof lines and the front door with pale turquoise string beads.

Putz Houses

Middle Daughter likes this one a lot. Purple is her favorite color.

Putz Houses

Lights are on…

Putz Houses

I made the above fence using a diamond-shape hand-held punch. If you are interested, here’s a tutorial for making fences for Putz houses. Making Putz fences

The yellow house has a green roof and a pink fence. See how I mixed it up there? 😉

Putz Houses

The walkway is lined with tiny pink beads. I like the way it came out. I’ll be doing that again.

Putz Houses

These three houses are listed in my Etsy shop. ChristmasNotebook

All proceeds from the shop fund Kenya Mercy Ministries. KMM helps the men, women and children in Nairobi, Kenya, who live in Kibera, one of the largest slums in Africa. Pictures from Kibera. I appreciate each purchase which helps support ministry to these destitute people.

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ may 23, 2016

It was an exciting weekend! Our youngest daughter graduated from high school. We estimated we have had children in grade school and/or high school for 33 years! On Saturday, we hosted an open house to celebrate. Thanks to all who came to enjoy the day with us. Youngest Daughter graduated with honors on Sunday afternoon. We are very proud of her and all she has accomplished. We thank God for the gift she is to our family.

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After the busy weekend, it was relaxing to do some work at my desk. I made bases for eleven Putz houses I have ready to decorate. The next step will be to paint the bases. More about them soon.

bases for Putz houses

Down to business… Sometimes it is hard to come up with an appealing menu for the week. When I ask what they want to eat, everyone says “I don’t know…” Good thing about that? No complaints allowed about the menu when it is all left up to me.

Monday
Omelettes
Toasted Sour Dough Bread

Tuesday
Sushi for my birthday!
Strawberry Shortcake

Wednesday
Hamburgers with Smoked Cheddar
Tangy Buttermilk Cheese Buns
Stir Fried Napa Cabbage with Garlic

Thursday
Chicken Parmesan
Steamed Green Beans
Garden Salad

Friday
Mongolian Beef with Broccoli
Brown Rice

Saturday
Fridge Food

Sunday
Rosemary Ranch Grilled Chicken
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Sliced Tomatoes and Cucumbers
Asparagus

You can find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda
ChristmasNotebook at Etsy

ten Christmas shadow boxes

Middle Daughter went through the craft room upstairs and found ten Christmas card shadow boxes that I made last year. I was able to get them listed in my Etsy shop today. ChristmasNotebook

This one features a polar bear. So cute!

Christmas Shadow Box

Christmas Shadow Box

I love how different all the Christmas cards are. It’s fun to go through my collection of cards, choosing the ones I want to use for new projects. Many thanks to everyone who has given me their old Christmas cards!

Christmas Shadow Box

Christmas Shadow Box

The snowy, trimmed-in-white ones are my favorites.

Christmas Shadow Box

The deer by the lake…

Christmas Shadow Box

Skating by the old mill.

Christmas Shadow Box

Christmas Shadow Box

People either like this one a lot or they don’t like it at all. I like the way the greenery rings the shadow box.

Christmas Shadow Box

Christmas Shadow Box

Another wintery white one…

Christmas Shadow Box

Little girl in gold…

Christmas Shadow Box

Country church…

Christmas Shadow Box

Christmas Shadow Box

Looking through the toy store window.

Christmas Shadow Box

Christmas Shadow Box

It takes a while to get items ready to post to Etsy. I have to groom the craft item to remove lint and hot glue strings, take pictures, edit the pictures and then post them to Etsy. It took a good part of the afternoon to get these ten items listed. I hope you’ve enjoyed taking a look.

If you are interested in making shadow boxes yourself, you can take a look at my tutorial. Feel free to ask any questions you might have.

shadow boxes from Christmas cards

~~Rhonda

menu plan monday ~ may 16, 2016

I’m a day late with the menu. I spent all day yesterday sorting and organizing the downstairs craft room. It’s overflowing with supplies and finished projects. I was so caught up in the work of cleaning things up that I forgot about putting up the weekly menu. It follows below if you are interested.

I’m happy with the progress I am making with my craft space. I’ve made a lot more room on the desk for work space. It may be hard to tell in the picture, but most of the items will be put away when I’m done and that will be a good amount of rescued space.

At my desk

Behind the desk, it’s a mess at the moment. But it’s not as bad as it appears. I’ve sorted through everything, got rid of some, organized the lot, and it’s just a matter of deciding how I want to store everything.

Begin my desk...midway through organizing supplies.

Looks worse in the picture than it does in person, I promise. I think the reorganization of my supplies will make my work proceed more smoothly. I have a lot of Putz houses made and ready to put on bases and embellish. I also have eight more shadow boxes ready to list. I just need to take pictures and get them posted to my Etsy shop. ChristmasNotebook

Now the menu…

Monday
Fridge Food

Tuesday
Asian Chicken
Wild Rice
Steamed Green Beans
Green Salad

Wednesday
Pan Seared Tilapia
Baby Baked Potatoes
Roasted Cabbage with Maple Bacon

Thursday
Chicken / Veggie Stir Fry
Brown Rice

Friday
Chef Salad

Saturday
We’re hosting an open house in the afternoon to celebrate our youngest daughter’s graduation from high school. Easy meals are on the menu for today.

Lunch / Ham or Turkey Sandwiches
Pretzels
Fruit Salad

Supper / Omelettes
Sour Dough Toast

Sunday
Roast Chicken
Mashed Potatoes
Steamed Asparagus
Carrots

You can find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.

~~Rhonda

two-tiered putz

Today I finished the other two-tiered Putz house that I had ready to embellish. The house is yellow and blue. I fiddled with it for quite a while before I settled on a scheme I liked. I used gold embellishments and two green bottle brush trees.

two-tiered Putz house

Do you like the puff of smoke? And the lights…I think they make the house come alive.

two-tiered Putz house

The two-tiered house is a fun one. I want to make more with curved roofs. I like the lines.

two-tiered Putz house

There are more pictures of the house in my Etsy shop. ChristmasNotebook

If anyone has questions about making Putz houses, please feel free to leave a comment and ask. I am happy to help.

~~Rhonda