Sugared Cranberries and Rosemary

Well the good thing about being at home is getting to 

take the time to try new things.

I've wanted to try to sugar both cranberries and rosemary that I have growing in my yard since last year.

So here goes!

You can store them once you make them in the frig in an air tight container for 2-3 days. 

Now let me show you how to make these sparkly festive goodies!

All you need is a few ingredients.

Sugar, cranberries, rosemary and water!

Start with 1/2 c of water and 1/2 c of sugar in a saucepan over med heat.

Bring to a boil and turn to low stirring til the sugar has dissolved.

Add a cup of cranberries and using a spatula fully coat them

with the simple syrup.

Once they are coated use a slotted spoon to move to either a drying cookie rack or parchment paper for just a minute to get a bit sticky.

Using a plastic or glass dish, transfer some of the cranberries into the sugar and coat. Once you've coated them move them to the parchment paper to dry.

Now don't throw away the simple syrup in the pan!

We are going to sugar some rosemary now!

Add your rosemary sprigs to the pan and coat the sprigs

with the simple syrup.  Remove and set on parchment paper

to set up and get a little sticky 

I used a longer length sized bowl that I filled with sugar to coat

the sprigs in. 

Roll the sprigs around in the sugar until you get a sparkly look.

Set them on the parchment to dry.

Speaking of sugar, I used granulated sugar, you could use decorative sparkling sugar or even sugar in the raw.

  Each gives off a different sparkly look. 

drying......

drying time is quick! Once they have dried you can store them in the frig in an air tight container for up to 2-3 days.

Here are a few ideas for you to use them for. 

I love the little clumps of the cranberries as these are

great to use on top of a cupcake or muffin

Add them on top of a cake....

Add a sprig of rosemary on top of a donut....

Or add to a holiday drink.....

These sparkly little gems are the perfect garnish for just about any 

dessert or just sitting in a bowl looking ever so festive!

I hope you give them a try, kind of fun and magical!

Hot Chocolate Bar

Hello friends!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

I decided it would be fun to make a hot chocolate bar

for the holiday.

The above sign says "home", I haven't used it since we moved so instead of buying a hot chocolate bar sign I figured I could make one out of what I have on hand. 

I used some black chalk paint ( I prefer chalk paint as it dries quickly)

I did two coats and let it dry before writing on the board. 

I went around the kitchen and pulled as many items I could out of cupboards to create my bar.

I only ended up having to buy the cocoa, marsh mellows and peppermint bits. 

Just stack and add as you go,  you can see I filled

ball jars with the goodies and empty jars with cookies and candies.

You can make yours to suit the ages in your homes.

Some other fun ideas are the piroutte cookies, candy canes, little chocolates.

You can use trays or boxes to put your jars on or put them

right on the counter.  I added some vintage santa mugs that

were my Grandma's too.

I set them on top of a cake stand, get creative as you like and

just move things around til you get it to look how you like it.

It's a lot of fun to do and you can also do this with the kiddos. 

Diy Snowball drops

Happy Saturday!

I'm still over here plugging along slowly adding Christmas

decor around the house.

This is one of my bathrooms, it's smaller and a bit

harder to decorate except for this window.

I wanted to make a snowy window scene to go along with

the vintage tree you see sitting there.  (thanks Carol!)

While looking at our local garden and nursery store Molbak's a 

few weeks ago they had these adorable snow poms on sticks that

you could hang.  Super cute, but a bit pricey.

Enter my take on the snowball drops......

You could do this in any window and would be fun to do with the 

kiddos. 

I purchased just two different sizes of pom poms and used a thread and needle to make this. 

I just strung three of the smallest ones first then the larger one and repeated.  This is seriously super easy.  To hang it I just used some scotch tape at the top of the window.

Super cute! I love how it turned out!

Gnome for the Holidays

Happy wednesday!

I've been so busy getting ready for the holidays I feel like I haven't had a moment to create a card to share in a while!

So back to the Gnome for the Holidays stamp set I go!

As you have figured out by now,  I love gnomes.

These images are from the "Gnome for the Holidays" set

I used some aqua painters and regular markers to create this card.

The trick to watercoloring is to start with the lighter color first then layer the darker over the top.  

Watercoloring is very relaxing, just take your time and add as you go. 

I thought I'd share my Christmas tree this year.  

I typically have done a white forest animal themed tree but decided to add some color and ribbon I have had hanging around for a few years.

To make the ribbon for the tree you will cut your ribbon two different sizes and angle the end pieces when you cut them.

At the top give it a slight twist and using a stapler, staple it together and tuck deep into the inner part of the tree adding it all throughout the tree to you get the desired look you are looking for.  

I used a red and black buffalo plaid ribbon and a burlap ribbon.

It's just what I had on hand and I really have been trying to use what I have. 

I found this gorgeous tree at the Home Depot a few years ago.

It's 9ft that came somewhat flocked with the crystals on it. 

It's still available and can be found HERE

I also found the metal tree collar there too  HERE

Both were 80% off when I purchased them!

Here's to decking the halls, walls and outside!

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Christmas Tins

Hello monday!

Coming at you this morning with these cute tin buckets I happen to come across at Molbak's.

Of course they were so cute and a bit high in price for me so I went 

on the hunt for how I could make these.

First things first,  if you are going to punch holes in these tin pails you will need these.....

a crop a dile tool. 

They punch holes in leather, metal, foil, wood etc. 

I happen to find these tins at the Dollar Tree,

they are the exact same size as the ones at Molbaks.

Using the crop a dile, figure out your spacing for punching

the holes.  Cut all the way around the pail. 

Once you have all the holes punched take your twine and weave the twine in and out of the holes til you get back to the beginning.  Tie and bow. 

For the red and black buffalo plaid ribbon do exactly

the same by weaving it in out and til back to the beginning. 

Once at the beginning, tie a nice bow. 

It's all done!

I added a little tree to it and a cute red truck tag. 

For the one below I left the twine on the

pail and used a little wood round that I wrote on 

to add to the front. 

Add some little artificial trees and what a cute decor!!

Outdoor Gnome

This is what happens when you have a creative mind and besides work keep yourself busy during covid......

I have this very large 12ft Arborvitae tree in the back that I decided to dress up for the holidays.  Enter my love of gnomes right now......

I'll be "Gnome" for Christmas!

And here he is in all his glory!

How did I make this you ask?

I went to the Dollar store and bought three round plastic tablecloths,

I also bought this red christmas mesh and had a plastic flesh colored bowl on hand. 

This really maybe cost me $5 to make.

I started with the pom pom on top of his hat by creating a bow out of the mesh and attaching the bow to a green garden stake using some wire.   My husband did the job of climbing up the ladder to stick it right down the middle of the tree.

The next step was to wrap the mesh around the center of the tree to create the brim of his hat.  It is just tied into a knot at the back of the tree.

Now take your three tablecloths, starting with one, fold it over

and using your scissors cut straight lines across from one side to the 

side.  Do this to all three tablecloths.  

I attached the beard to the brim of the hat by hot gluing the beard to the mesh.  Do one layer at a time.

For the nose,  using my bowl, I glued a 2 x 2" piece of wood to the bowl and pushed the nose into the tree.

I know I will get asked how to do this, so I wanted to share the steps,

I will try and get some more photos to post today while it's light out.

So far it has done well in the weather here,  we had a 40 mph wind storm and only had the top pom pom blow off. 

 Easy to put back on so no worries there!

This is what the nose and beard looks like up close..

And this is how I cut up the plastic tablecloths

In this picture above,  you can see how I hot glued the

plastic tablecloth to the red mesh.  It has been up for almost

two weeks now and with the wind and rain hasn't budged. 

Here's a look from another angle.  

I love my gnomie!

There's no place like "gnome" for the holidays!

Red Truck Christmas Kit

I still have some of these Red Truck kits available

It's called the "Red Truck Christmas Kit" and all you need to have on hand is scissors some adhesive!

  ******* I have 10 kits available!  *****

$35.00 for the kit plus your shipping which is $5.

$40.00 total

You can email me if you'd like the kit and I will have you pay via

Paypal or Venmo

Kit prices include all the items you see here;

The kit has 5 ornamnents 

Framed Art

and a wooden red truck wall art.

You will receive videos on how to make each project. 

Email me at juliepitta@rocketmail.com

This is the galvanized rustic christmas framed art

You will also make this adorable red truck 

Christmas ornaments.

You will also make these two pine ornaments with greens and beads

And below, the red truck is alive!