New Issue of Small Town Living Online!!

The new Dec./Jan. 2009 issue is now available!!

Check it out at:

http://www.stliving.net/

Highlights:
How to Get Rich Quick
Small Town Southern Christmas
Raising Alpacas
Save Money by Making Your Own
Cleaning Supplies
Creative Solutions for Holiday Leftovers
The American Artisans Guide
Where to Shop for Handmade Goods

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Enjoy! and Share with Family and Friends!

Getting a wee bit crafty...and more...

Trust that you all had an enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends.

We had a good time.Nice visit with some family members.

Plenty of food and then some..ha.

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I am trying to figure out what to do with about half of a ham left over.

This evening I used some of the ham..chopped up about 2 cups of ham..prepared some pasta noodles, then tossed it all with about 4 tablespoons of artichoke and tomato bruschetta sauce.

It was quite tasty.

I'll have to come up a few more fun and innovative things with what is left.

I'm sure I'll figure it out, and when we finish eating the ham..there will be a big ham bone left to prepare a big pot of bean soup with.

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Well..I wanted to share a few crafty things with you all.

I made a wee something for my husband for Christmas..out of wire.

I wanted to see if I could do this..and I'm actually pleased to say that it turned out pretty nicely.

And was quite easy.

It was a little wire sculpted bird.

To make this wee bird first you take some wire... start by creating the top shape of the birds silhouette first...then when you get to where the tail part should be you create a tail shape ..then come back to where the bottom part of the bird should be..twist about 5 twists of the wire and continue with the underside of the birds body.

When you get back to the beak portion give the wire a good 8-9 twists to form the beak. Crimp the sharp end over with your needle nose pliers.

You should have a flat looking bird body silhouette.

Bend the tail portion up as it should be on a bird..not flat but holding up on the body.

Now you have a general bird ouline but it needs to be "rounded out"

start at the head portion near the beak and start twisting about 4 twists of the wire take the wire over to the opposite side of the bird and twist about 4 turns. Keep working creating a "rib type " look on one side of the birds body..all the way towards the back of the bird..about 6 "ribs"

Press the "ribs" outward.

Turn the bird over and repeat on the opposite side.

You now have a bird shape that looks a bit rounded(has form/not just flat..now your birdy has a "body), minus the feet and wings.

Next you will want to sculpt the wings.

use about 6 inches of wire... fold partly in half..and make it have the shape as a wing would..give it a bit of curve.

Now weave some wire in a zig zag type way over the wing shape, twisting after each zig/zag.

about 6 lines across the wing.

Attach the wing to the top of the bird body by twisting it tightly to the body. Shape the wing out by bending it as a bird wing would look..give it a little curve up and out away from the body.

Repeat on opposite side.

Now for the feet...

get two pieces of wire about 6-8 inches long.

shape into an elongated heart shape with a tiny portion of the wire....pinch the heart shape to look more like bird toes. twist around the foot part.

Do this for each wire piece. Attach end of leg to underneath of bird body by twisting tightly.

Attach an organza ribbon to hang.

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Hope my instructions weren't too difficult to understand.

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Now that I have made one of these I certainly want to make more..and plan on making a few larger ones out of sturdier wire soon.

I used a light weight jewelry type wire for my first one.

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If you create one of these..please let me know..I'd like to see what you have made.

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I'd like to share with you a few things that my crafty daughter has added to her etsy shop at:

http://www.shesewsbytheseashore.etsy.com/

A really cute Graduation donkey..this little donkey is created using a pattern from about the 1940's.

My daughter adjusted the pattern and added a diploma and cap.

Too cute!

This is available in her shop for $24

This would make a great graduation gift..or a gift for that person who thinks they..umm "know it all"...ha

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Next ..she created a really darling purse from her own design.

Appliqued mushrooms on the outside. A darling red polka dot liner, and darling red polka dot accents on the handle.

Really sweet hand bag!
Only $17!

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Then she made a one of a kind apron!With a pattern she designed herself.

This apron is a pretty polka dot green fabric with hot pink accents.

Only $17 !

Isn't it awesome!

Hope you all have a great day!

Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose~

Happy Thanksgiving!!...and photos of Collin

Hello!

I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

May your day be filled with fun,laughter,family,friends and plenty of things to be thankful for.

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As promised here are a few photos of Collin..he is now 11 months old.

Please forgive the quality of the photos..my camera battery was extremely low.

But you get an idea at least of how handsome our little guy now is.

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Have a terrific evening!

And if you'd like to join me over at the new "Small Town Living" forums!

please stop by at:

http://smalltownliving.ning.com/

It is a new fun place to share about your town,garden,crafts,and more with others that have a love for small town community feel,getting back to basics and things like gardening, crafting,frugal living,and a lot more.(88 members and growing)

Hope to see you there!

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Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose~

A nice Friday...

Hi gals!

Hope you all have had a nice Friday.

Mine was a good one.

Hubby and I got out for a few hours, ran a couple of errands then did some Christmas shopping.

Yeah..I decided that since I had not been too crafty this year..and I kept drawing blanks on what to make for whom..we decided to go shopping instead.

I did manage to create a few wee homemade things.(yep..few and wee they were ..ha) I mean I really was drawing blanks and wracking my brain about it.

So it's not all 100 percent store bought goods, but anyhow...It was fun deciding what to put in each families gift box.:0)

Now the only thing left is to find a few things for our own crew.

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For one of my hubby's gifts ...I managed to be able to get a great deal from a special mentioned on a recent episode of Oprah. ..yeah..I was able to get that deal from snapfish.com...it turned out awesome and I can't wait for hubby to see it. It really will be great. It was regularly $29.99..the special was a 48 hr. deal where all's you had to pay was shipping of $6.99.(oh gosh that sounds so cheap huh?)

Cool!..yeah I like a good deal...ha

(o.k. sorry to be so secretive, but you know..hubby might happen upon my blog and whoops..figure it out ..so..that's enough about that..ha)

(If you want an idea of what it is, just look for the item on snapfish that starts at $29.99)

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Haven't figured out what to get the kiddos yet..but I'm sure I'll get it figured out.

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So hard to believe that the year has zipped right on by and here we are at nearly Thanksgiving and then right around the corner is Christmas.

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Well..this evening I did mange to get the kitchen pantry all organized.

No more scooting this item over to get to that item and so forth..now I can tell where things are.

As Martha would say.."It's a good thing"..ha

I'm afraid Martha would have freaked if she'd have seen my kitchen pantry before the organization. Shoot even now that it's organized she still might freak..ha. A Martha I am not..even though my family calls me a neat freak and Bree..ha...all's I do is roll my eyes and say "puleeze!"

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Let's see what else is new?

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Oh..we have some exciting news coming up in the upcoming issue of Small Town Living!!!

If you are not on our notification list for when the new issues get published to the website..please do contact me if you'd like to be notified.

(gardengoose at gmail dot com/in the subject line please put :Attn. Small Town Living)

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Well..I think that's about all for today.

Oh..I have got to get a new photo of our fur baby "Collin" up on my blog.

He is almost a year old now..can you believe it??

Oldest daughter and I groomed him yesterday..yeah..he's a right wiggle worm when it comes to grooming..he's not too keen on those clippers ...so it took 3 1/2 hrs from bathing, to drying him off, to clipping and shaving. But..the way I look at it..I managed to save over $40.

So it was worth it..and he looks so handsome now.

I will have to get a picture for sure.

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Have a lovely evening!

Thanks so very much for stopping by!( Please leave a comment letting me know that you stopped by. I love to read your sweet comments.)

~The Garden Goose~

Hi gals..a few recipes to share with you!

My gracious the days have been zippping by on me again..waaah!

I am trying to get a few things cleared out again..Why is it that things like desks, and kitchen drawers and pantries can get messy so quickly?

Gee whiz..

Anyhow..I got my desk cleaned out. Yikes..what a mess. I had tucked catalogs for this, and papers for that in the drawers..and gracious..I wound up with half a garbage bag full of paper.

Too bad we didn't have a fire in the fireplace tonight..I could have really had a good bonfire going..ha.

Next up will be cleaning up and organizing the pantry and kitchen cupboards and tackling some cleaning that has been waiting on me. Wanna come help?..ha

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I've been working on a few wee Christmas items here and there also.Wish I could show you..but..the recipients of said gifts do happen to frequent my blog from time to time..and I can't go spoiling their suprises now can I?

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Wanted to share with you all a couple of recipes that can be used for gift items if you'd like.

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Peanut Butter Fudge

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2/3 cup evaporated milk

1 2/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1 (10 oz.) pkg. peanut butter chips

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

1 tsp. vanilla extract

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In a large saucepan bring the first 3 ingredients to a boil.

Cook over medium heat. Make sure to stir constantly. Cook for 5 minutes.Remove from heat.

Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until smooth textured.

Pour into a greased 9 inch square pan.Cool completely.

Cut into squares. When cooled and cut into squares you can wrap with saran wrap.

Tie a small bow around each little wrapped fudge square to make it look like a mini "package".

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Next up is a bath product recipe:

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Peppermint Bath Salts

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1 cup fine sea salt

2 cup epsom salts

6-8 drops peppermint essential oil

a few drops of red food coloring

Mix all together in a large mixing bowl.

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Put into small jars and make a pretty decorative tag to accompany.

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You can substitute other scents of essential oils. For example:

try an orange scented oil and a few drops of red/yellow food color to create an "Orangesicle Delight" bath salts.

Try Eucalyptus oil, or create a lavender scented bath salt by using lavender oil.

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Have Fun!

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Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose~

A few more awards..and more...

Gosh I was late on claiming my award from Linda over at http://www.remotetreechanger.blogspot.com/
a "Thank you!" to Linda.

This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shows in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary and personal values every day.The rules to follow are :1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.2) Pass the award to other 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

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****O.k. though instead of posting to 15 folks..I always, always have a very hard time with this! I am gifting this award to the first 15 of you to comment on this post. Feel free to share it with those that you feel are a good match for it.

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And I am also honored to accept this butterfly award from Cathy Jean at:
http://auntdaisyscottage.blogspot.com/

"Thank you!"

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The rules are:

1. Put the logo on your blog.2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.3. Nominate 10 other blogs for this award.4. Add links to those blogs.5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.6. Give a reason why you consider their blogs cool.

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Again..there are so many blogs out there that I think are downright cool!

If you are a poster and one of the gals found in my blog list here..feel free to share the award with someone else that you find to be "cool".

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So....

has it been cold where you are at?

It has been down right chilly here in the evenings.We had to cover some plants last night, and had some towels that were tossed up over the courtyard fence by the plants. It was funny to see that about half a dozen anole lizards had hidden up under the towels for warmth. Lizards that are cold, are very slow and sluggish lizards. After we wrapped the plants..my oldest daughter moved the lizards back up under the towels and in amongst the plants that were covered so that they'd have a chance. We also get little geckos here..we have been told that they were a local pet shop escape and a pet escape from out at our AFB.

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(lizard photos courtesy of flickr.com creative commons/commercial usage photos)
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O.k. I had a question recently about.."what is a yo-yo"? in regards to my last post about Christmas gift ideas/crafts.

A "yo-yo" is a small piece of fabric that is either a circle shape, a heart shape, or a flower shape. They are pieces of fabric that are gathered with a running stitch to create these shapes.

Years ago they were just done as a round circle shape and were used for such things as table mats, quilts, and so forth.

In recent years the 'yo-yo" has made a comeback and is being used on various craft projects. To embellish t-shirts, purses, hair barrettes, and more... And someone has invented several plastic templates for other shapes(the heart and flowers shapes shown in previous post) So that crafters can expand a bit on their yo-yo creations.It is a fast, easy way to embellish craft projects and to create something fun using up those little colorful scraps of fabric that every crafter seems to have more than their share of.

So..hope that helps a bit on what they are.

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I'll try and post a few more things here and there with ideas for Holiday crafting.

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Have a great evening. Stay warm..and hey..curl up with a cup of tea or cocoa if need be.

Thanks for stopping by!

~The Garden Goose~

Homemade Christmas Ideas...

Wanted to share a few ideas for Homemade Christmas gifts with you all.

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Idea # 1: Mini yo-yo wall quilts.

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Create yo-yo's using either a heart shaped yo-yo maker, or a flower yo-yo maker available at your local craft/fabric store.

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Idea #2: using the same yo-yo makers create hair barrettes for little girls.

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Idea #3: use a few of the yo-yo's to embellish the packages, or to embellish jar mixes.Or to even make small ornaments by attaching a ribbon hanger.

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Idea #4: use a few of the yo-yo's to embellish floursack tea towels.

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Idea #5: create cute napkin rings by attaching the yo-yo's to a piece of elastic. Make homemade napkins to go with the napkin rings

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EDIBLE GIFTS:

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Idea #1: create yummy caramel/chocolate covered apples.

Create gourmet looking apples by first dipping large apples into caramel, let set up,

... then dip into either white or dark chocolate, let set up, then dip again building up the layers.

Lastly either roll in candy sprinkles or nuts, or chopped candy bars, or chopped heath bits,or m and m's, then drizzle over the top with a little chocolate drizzle. Wrap in cellophane.Embellish with a pretty ribbon. Oooh yummy!

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Idea #2: The usual standby..home made cookies.... but how about changing the packaging this year to perhaps a Chinese take out box for the holder?

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Idea #3: jar mixes and cocoa mixes:

Look online for any of a variety of jar mixes, spice mixes, cocoa mixes. Make darling tags to accomadate.

OTHER

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Idea#1: Bath Salts: combine 2 cups of epsom salts, 1/2 cup coarse sea salt, 3-4 drops essential oil of choice(peppermint is good for the holidays!!) and 2-3 drops food coloring..stir well and package into baggies,or small jars. If packaging into baggies create a nice bag topper label.

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Idea #2: Create memory pillows...(or a family heirloom canvas print) If you have a photo of your children or other photos you'd like to share. Have photos printed onto canvas .

(printing can be done at www.wilsongraphics.net)

Make a cute gingham fabric pillow topper. Sew canvas square into center of pillow fabric(before you sew the squares together) and embellish corners with buttons.

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There you have it..a few more Home made Christmas Gift ideas!

HAVE FUN!!!

~The Garden Goose!