I haven’t been feeling up to par the past few weeks, but have still enjoyed working at my craft desk on new shadow boxes. Here are three of them.
Winter Evening
Grandmother’s House
Sledding Party
These, and other ornaments I’ve made, as well as Putz houses, can be seen in my Etsy shop ChristmasNotebook.
~~Rhonda
I managed to get two Christmas card shadow boxes done today. I have six more in process. I listed these two on my Etsy shop, ChristmasNotebook.
The first box uses a Christmas card with a picture of skaters on it.
This is a small box. Only four inches wide, three inches tall, including the embellishment on the top.
The other Christmas card is a very pretty angel.
~~Rhonda
The weekend was warm but beautiful. Rose Red had fun using Pa’s garden wagon to haul sticks to the burn pile.
I have garden pics and twin pics to share, but haven’t had time or the energy to do anything with them yet. Hopefully tomorrow!
Here’s the menu for this week.
Monday
Carry Out
Tuesday
Tacos
Lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, etc.
Wednesday
Baked Penne with Chicken
Thursday
Cheesy Potato Sausage Soup
Friday
Balsamic Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin
Potatoes and Carrots
Green Salad
Saturday
Roast Beef in the Crock Pot for sandwiches
Homemade Buns
Sunday
Baked Rotini with Red Sauce
Garlic Bread
Garden Salad
You can find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
Since opening my Etsy shop, ChristmasNotebook, I have enjoyed watching the views add up. I sold one of the listed Putz houses and am grateful for that! I had only one Christmas shadow box listed and it has been favorited more times than anything else in the shop. So I decided I’d better make a few more. This is the shadow box that is garnering the faves. One of my personal favorites, too.
During the past several days I have made three more shadow boxes to list.
Taking Home the Tree
Moonlit Sleigh Ride
Trimmed inside with silver beads.
Frosty and Friend
It has been fun to get back to the shadow boxes. I haven’t made any since January, if I recall correctly.
I want, again, to thank everyone who has donated cards to my crafting efforts. Thanks so much! I continue to look for more cards. Any kind at all…Christmas, all occasion, new and old, vintage, whatever you want to pass along. If you’re local, there is no need to take the backs off, but if you are mailing them, it may save some postage if the backs are removed. I’ll take them any way you want to send them!
~~Rhonda
A day late but I did get the menu done. But first a few pictures. Youngest Daughter had prom Saturday night. Here she is with Dad. He just got back from a 55 mile bike ride (bicycle not motorcycle). Doesn’t she look pretty?
It was beautifully sunny, but cold outside the past couple of days. Clark and Winston found a pool of sunshine to enjoy.
Clark (and Winston) will be one year old in May. He keeps getting fluffier and fluffier. He has the funniest little tufts of hair next to his ears.
Sunday we will celebrate Oldest Daughter’s birthday. Looking forward to having her home for the afternoon!
Monday
Chicken Tortellini Soup
Sour Dough Toast
Tuesday
Carry Out
Wednesday
Hamburgers with Smoked Cheddar
Homemade Buns
Roasted Cabbage with Maple Bacon
Thursday
Chicken Quesadillas
Avocado Sour Cream
Tortilla Chips
Friday
Homemade Pizza
Saturday
Smoked Pork Shank and Beans
Cornbread
Sunday
Crock Pot Pork Chops
Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans
Birthday Cake and Ice Cream for Oldest Daughter
You can find more menus and ideas at Menu Plan Monday.
~~Rhonda
Middle Daughter brought me some new artificial foliage last week. I was excited to use some of the pink leaves for the background of ths little Putz house. Or is it a church?
The houses are so plain looking before the embellishments are added.
Bottle brush trees add a lot.
And foliage and beads…
You can see this and other Putz houses, as well as hand crafted Christmas ornaments, in my Etsy store. ChristmasNotebook at Etsy
I have some other little Putzes that need paint, bases, fences, etc. Back to work.
~~Rhonda
I didn’t get much done this weekend as far as crafting goes. I was very busy, though! On Saturday some of the church ladies came over and we pieced a quilt top. That was so much fun that I totally forgot to take any pictures. Saturday, late afternoon, DH’s sister and her husband came to spend the night. They are making a long road trip out west and we were their first stop. It was great to visit with them and to catch up on family news.
I did spend some time Sunday afternoon, embellishing this little green and blue Putz house with the widow’s walk on top.
This house sold! It’s on its way to a new home.
Today, I’m not feeling the greatest. I have one more Putz house ready to embellish. I’m going to work on that and then retreat to the recliner to put my legs up. My next big project will be to make some Christmas card shadow boxes for my etsy store.
~~Rhonda
Today I tried something a little different with the small ivory and green Putz house. I haven’t used red on any of the houses yet, but decided this one could handle some red embellishments.
Adding wired red beads to the background foliage worked out better than I thought it might. From the back, it’s easier to see how they look. I twined the wire around the foliage here and there to help it stay upright.
I have two more ready to embellish, but will be busy tomorrow and probably won’t get to them until Monday.
~~Rhonda
Yesterday I decorated another Putz house. I had four waiting for embellishments, so picked the first one in the line. I like to cut the wooden base off the bottle brush trees. Personal preference. I also thought the larger tree was too tall for the house, so I cut almost an inch off the bottom. You need wire cutters for that job.
I twisted some shredded iridescent packing material into the trees. Makes a pretty little sparkle as the light hits the trees. After I had it where I wanted it, I dabbed a little glue here and there to tack it down. Helps to keep it in place.
The bottle brush trees were decorated with some blue, green, and ivory beads. Two blue star beads made perfect tree toppers. The trees were glued to the base at either side of the house. Some artificial foliage filled in the back of the house.
A couple of pieces of blue snowflake “foliage” added some color to the back drop.
The front of the house seemed to be asking for a bit more. I added a few shorter bits of foliage and then used the hot glue gun to put down some stepping stones.
The stepping stones were painted white and then glittered. Done!
Visit my Etsy store to see more Putz houses and Christmas ornaments.
~~Rhonda
I have often been told that I should open an Etsy shop, so I have taken the leap and done so! You can visit me here:
I have several different kinds of Christmas items for sale. My personal favorites are the Putz houses. I have nine of those listed. More to come soon!
I’ve listed twelve soldered microscope slide ornaments so far. They covered a wide variety of subjects.
There is one diorama ornament listed. More will be posted soon.
Also one Christmas Shadow Box. More soon!
There are listings for three decoupage ornaments. I have a lot more of those to post.
I hope you will visit my new shop soon! All proceeds will fund street children ministries. I deeply appreciate everyone’s support for this cause. Locals may waive shipping costs by picking up orders at our house.
~~Rhonda