menu plan monday ~ april 18, 2016

The weekend was warm but beautiful. Rose Red had fun using Pa’s garden wagon to haul sticks to the burn pile.

helping pa pick up sticks

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

three new Christmas shadow boxes

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.

Sleigh Ride

During the past several days I have made three more shadow boxes to list.

Taking Home the Tree

Christmas card shadow box

Christmas card shadow box

Christmas card shadow box

Moonlit Sleigh Ride

Christmas card shadow box

Trimmed inside with silver beads.

Christmas card shadow box

Frosty and Friend

Christmas card shadow box

Christmas card shadow box

Christmas card shadow box

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

menu plan monday…on tuesday

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?

prom night

It was beautifully sunny, but cold outside the past couple of days. Clark and Winston found a pool of sunshine to enjoy.

cats

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.

cat

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

this putz house gets pink trees

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?

Putz house

Putz house

The houses are so plain looking before the embellishments are added.

Putz house

Bottle brush trees add a lot.

Putz house

And foliage and beads…

Putz house

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.

Putz house

~~Rhonda

the widow’s walk Putz house

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.

widow walk Putz house

widow walk Putz house

widow walk Putz house

widow walk Putz house

This house sold! It’s on its way to a new home.

ivory Putz house with green roof

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.

ChristmasNotebook on Etsy

~~Rhonda

i hope you’re not tired of putz houses…

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.

ivory Putz house with green roof

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.

ivory Putz house with green roof

ivory Putz house with green roof

ivory Putz house with green roof

ivory Putz house with green roof

I have two more ready to embellish, but will be busy tomorrow and probably won’t get to them until Monday.

ChristmasNotebook on Etsy

~~Rhonda

blue putz house

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.

blue double Putz house

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.

blue double Putz house

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.

blue double Putz house

A couple of pieces of blue snowflake “foliage” added some color to the back drop.

blue double Putz house

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.

blue double Putz house

The stepping stones were painted white and then glittered. Done!

blue double Putz house

Visit my Etsy store to see more Putz houses and Christmas ornaments.

ChristmasNotebook on Etsy

~~Rhonda

visit my new Etsy store!

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:

ChristmasNotebook on Etsy

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!

white and pink putz church

I’ve listed twelve soldered microscope slide ornaments so far. They covered a wide variety of subjects.

soldered ornament

soldered ornament

soldered ornament

soldered ornament

There is one diorama ornament listed. More will be posted soon.

deer diorama ornament

Also one Christmas Shadow Box. More soon!

Sleigh Ride

There are listings for three decoupage ornaments. I have a lot more of those to post.

decoupage ornament / snow day

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

working on the putz houses

Since the last post about these little houses, I have finished several more steps toward finishing them. I decided to make window frames for all of them.

Putz houses

Putz houses

Putz houses

After the bases were painted and glittered and the window frames installed, it was time to make some fences.

Putz houses

And more fence posts…

Putz houses

Fence railings are painted, glittered and ready to install.

Putz houses

Ta-da!

Putz houses

Putz houses

Putz houses

Next step is embellishing the houses. Maybe tomorrow.

~~Rhoda

menu plan monday ~ april 4, 2016

The twins spent a three day weekend here and the time went by quickly. They played outside a lot on Friday. The weather was a tad chilly, but not too cold. They found plenty to do. Saturday was colder. They didn’t want to go out, so spent some time standing at my desk as we watched “The Great British Baking Show.” They were fascinated. Snow White found it “too stressful” to wait to find out who won and who lost. Rose Red loved it, though. She watched three episodes.

fascinating cooking show

They did go out long enough to cook hot dogs and S’mores over the fire pit with Pa Saturday evening.

cookout

And on Sunday, the weather was gorgeous. We spent a good part of the afternoon outside.

playing catch

Today would have been my parents’ 64th wedding anniversary, if Mom were alive. I hope the day brought you some sweet memories, Dad.

April 4, 1952 / Ruth Mitchell Ashby, Clarence Ashby, Alan L. Ashby, Georgia Maguire Ashby, Nellie Wiser Maguire, Harold Maguire.

Dad and Mom's wedding

Following is the menu for the week.

Monday
Roast Beef Sandwiches
Homemade Buns

Tuesday
Spicy Tomato Cream Spaghetti
Sour Dough Garlic Bread
Green Salad

Wednesday
Hamburgers
Homemade Buns
Pretzels
Grapes

Thursday
Crock Pot Turkey
Gravy
Rice
Corn
Peas

Friday
Slow Cooker Chicken and Corn Chowder

Saturday
Quilt Day and Soup Luncheon
Cheese / Crackers
Veggie Tray
Fresh Strawberries, Pineapple and Blueberries

Sunday
Fridge Food

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

~~Rhonda