It's beginning to look a little bit like Christmas

It's way too cold to play outside, so we've spent the last few days putting up the Christmas decorations. The canning jars have gone from holding sand & shells, to storing mini Christmas ornaments. One jar is still full of sand, to hold-up our Wyoming Christmas tree - Tumbleweed!

Since this will be our only tree this year, I hung only the best onrnaments on it. There is an "evergreen" garland draped on the shelf & intertwined with a string of lights.

Almost FREE Christmas

With Christmas nearing, and my cash disappearing, I have been looking for ways to give my kids a fun christmas, while spending as little money as possible.

Here's some ideas I've come up with so far.

1. the library is FREE. (just don't get any late fees!) So, just before Christmas, I am going to rent my limit of children's books, wrap them up & let my kids read all they want. Once they've read the books, they have no use for them anyway, so buying a stack of new books seems a bit "extravagant", at least for this year.
2. Let the kids help cook Christmas breakfast, supper... They get what they really want most & that's your time and attention. I let my kids write up a "menu" on a piece of construction paper, then take "orders" and serve supper. They love it!
3. Any family with kids, probably has toys they don't want or need anymore. Take any toys still in great shape & host a "swap" with friends. Trust me, the kids probably won't even notice the toys are used, especially if it's wrapped-up all fancy. (a swap would also work for those fancy "Christmas picture" outfits that the kids only wear once.)
4. All craft stores have free, project idea sheets for knitting, crafting etc. I have collected a bunch that look simple enough for kids. I will add these to a notebook I am building for my kids. The notebook is a collection of free patterns or instructions I have found online.
Some websites I like so far...
http://www.instructables.com/
http://www.crochettoday.com/default.aspx
http://www.freepatterns.com/
I'll wrap-up the notebook, add a bag full of any fabric scraps, yarn, glue, glitter that I can find around the house. Hopefully this will keep them so busy, they won't realize they didn't get that big screen TV they've been begging for!




To get you started, I made a pdf pattern to sew this cute stuffed chickie.
I can't figure out how to add a pdf to my blog. But, if you'd like a copy of the pattern, just send me an e-mail & I will send you the pattern.

If you have any other ideas for a free, or very cheap, Christmas for kids, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear other people's ideas!

vote!
It's just that simple.

Grandma's sour cream apple pie

Apples were on sale this week & I may have gotten a bit carried away. First thing I decided to make with all those apples was this YUMMY pie.

line a 9 inch pie pan with pastry.

sift together in a bowl...
2 Tbsp flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
add this to the flour...
1 egg, unbeaten
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
beat to smooth batter. stir in 2 cups sliced apples. pour into pastry.
bake in 400 oven for 15 minutes. reduce to 350 for 30 minutes.top with spicy topping. bake 10 minutes longer at 400.

spicy topping
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
mix together with fork.

way to go domino!

I love my domino magaines, so I was so excited to find out...
domino the book of decorating will be available October 14.


thank you domino magazine editors Deborah Needleman, Sara Ruffin Costello and Dara Caponigro. I can't wait!!!

Halloween decorating Farm Belles style

Back to school & all is well. So, I've decided it's time to let go of summer & start decorating for fall. Since we are currently renting, this limits my decorating creativity quite a bit. But, I think I found a solution. I've been using my entertainment center & piano as display shelves. Of course I like to "use what I've got" in decorating, because it is thrifty and EASY. So, I use canning jars a LOT. For my Halloween "display" I filled the canning jars with sand (got plenty of that in Wyoming) and stuck in some tumbleweed to give the scene some height. Then, I set out some ghosts, bugs & an autumn colored garland. I draped "cobwebs" over the whole thing and stuck in even more bugs.

It turned out even better than I imagined! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

live 'n learn

a farm belle knows:

cheap is always chic
good food doesn't come from a box, or a drive-thru
fabric scraps are just a quilt waiting to be finished
bananas don't go rotten, they just become a very tasty bread
everything is fair game for decorating, even sand and twigs
kids & chickens are both very entertaining
margarine is no replacement for BUTTER
whining won't get the chores done
creating something is more fun than buying it
boredom is never an option
muddy boots are her "good shoes"
the Farmer's Market has tastier food than the fanciest grocery store
boys attract mud. luckily, they are washable

chick apron

here chick chick!

auction loot

maybe I got a bit carried away with all the cookbooks, but hey, I do like to eat!

you're my inspiration

Farm belles is dedicated to all the women in my life past, present and future
to grandmothers who broke new ground, in order to give us roots
to sisters who shared growing pains, & distractions along the road of life
to daughters, the vision of our future

I blame you all!!!
for the great food, encouraging words, hilarious anecdotes, silly little life lessons, and the craving to create new things.
My obsession with crafting starts with my mother, who ALWAYS made our Halloween costumes. It continues with my daughter who HAD TO HAVE a fancy party dress for this year's Daddy Daughter Dance.
I craft until my hands ache - why? Because I love it!