Adventures in Gingerbread Land

Hi! Nope, sorry, not a fun Kringle Market post [maybe later in the week]---but instead a tale about my gingerbread house experience. Ho ho ho. [sorry.]
For many years my children and I made a gingerbread house together. Over the years we made little cottages, surf shacks, ski lodges, and a lighthouse. We had windows made of candy glass, with lights inside. But in recent years, as my kids got older, their Decembers were too busy, usually filled with exciting ski weekends and other projects. And no gingerbread house. I admit I was very sad about that.
So this year when I saw the kits at Michael's Crafts, I decided I would make my own gingerbread house.

"It will be wonderful," I told myself. "No childish teasing and bickering. No little sticky hands in  the royal icing, no garish gumdrops and candy canes!" My gingerbread house would be a work of art, all brown crispy cooky walls and white spun sugar icing. My house would be in the Swedish style, sophisticated yet adorable. Neutral, natural. I had stars in my eyes, Christmas glow in my heart.

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Last week I opened the box.
I carefully drew my design on each section.

I fired up the hot glue gun and stuck the little house together.

And in the box I found a big tube of white royal icing. Yes I used it, despite years of perfecting my own recipe that has 100% success rate.
Omigosh, what a mistake! The store-bought icing was too thick to nicely flow from the pastry tip, too dry to stick on the walls---but too wet not to sag and droop.

I was out of coarse decorating sugar so I ''covered'' my flaws with white Martha Stewart glitter! Glitter fixes everything. Right? And if Martha made it...well.

Probably you can tell from the hot glue gun part that this is not an edible gingerbread house. Really, no one wants to actually eat a stale confection that has been sitting on the table for a month, gathering pug fur and dust. So glitter and hot glue are fine. (If you have your heart set on gingerbread, make a batch of little Gingerbread Boys to actually eat.)

I almost tossed it out. Then I dressed it up with  pine twigs. Is it a FAIL? I haven't decided yet. My audience here has been politely very silent.

I did find an interesting tutorial, from the White House pastry chef, of all people. Seems I should have decorated the walls and roof flat [no dripping!], waited a day for the icing to dry firm, and then put it together. Huh. Never tried that. Next time!

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And here's a link to a beautiful blog, where the designer creates her own perfect village. HERE
Someday I'm going to make a gingerbread Noah's Ark. But next year I think I'll just try another little cottage.

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Do you have  special family tradition for the holidays? Something you do or did with the kids or grandkids? My favorite--not a craft--was taking the kids ice skating at Rockefeller Center on the day their school let out/ half day---for the hols. Magic. Once it even snowed.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

note: all the pretty houses and Rockefeller Center are from Pinterest and/ or Google images.

Christmas Thrift Shopping

Hi! Happy Holidays! I'm hanging out, waiting for a friend---we're going to do our early Christmas food shopping today. How fun! We're going to a new [to me] old fashioned Italian butcher, to order the Christmas prime rib, then on to Trader Joe's for sweet onion chutney. And peppermint stick bark, yum.
Earlier this week my friend B [Bea] came to visit. Our holiday outing was a day of thrift shopping and dinner. Always so fun since we don't get together so often, because she lives in far away ''upstate NY''.
I had good luck at the thrift shop. Can't show everything because I did get some stocking stuffers that must remain secret. As always I got plaid shirts. This thrift shop excels in Ralph Lauren-esque cotton plaid shirts.

For When the Wild Geese Fly, to finish up when I get back to it after the hols. I especially needed more of the tomato soup red for the three pine Tree blocks.

And extra blues for my future planned Scrappy Basket project.

Not sure what the baskets will be like--appliqued like Jan Patek and Lynda Hall baskets HERE, and HERE --I love Lynda Hall's designs---or randomly pieced like Gwen Marston [still don't ''get'' her method, sigh. I understand how to do her Baskets but I don't understand why her  method is better, faster, thriftier, cooler. I like structure and patterns, I think. But I'm willing to learn!].

I also found this beautiful very large linen shirt to deconstruct.

BTW, here is a great short video by Bonnie Hunter, showing how she deconstructs shirts for her scrappy quilts. Not quite how I do it, but good ideas.

Some future quilt backings: a sheet and a pillow case. With cotton yardage to back quilts running around 60.oo [six yards at 10.oo a yard], 2.99 for a queen sized sheet looks pretty good.

I love the tiny tossed violets. This will be added onto my Summertime quilt's backing; the lovely sheet I plan to use is not wide enough.

And this sweet Shabby Chic pillow case, tiny pink rosebuds, either to give an extra good wash and use, or to save for a baby quilt backing. 1.99.

I found two pretty sweaters also to felt and deconstruct.

I wish the red hooded sweater fit me.  Cherry red, palest grey, robin's egg blue--Lopi-style colorwork. Yum.But no--and it is hole-y.

So far they have not felted, though, despite being run through the hot wash/ dry twice now. Speaks well for the manufacturers of the wool used, but not so good for crafters like me. Old Navy and Ann Taylor LOFT.

They can be seasonal Nordic pillows or little hearts, arm warmers, mittens, mug rugs ,or doggy jackets.

A special vintage snowflake pin for a friend who wears them on her winter hats.

And another Mason jar, quite large, one quart?,  and in a lovely if oh so obviously unauthentic bright turquoise color.

The jar is stamped Est. 1946, which could be misleading, if the color didn't warn me anyway.

But then the bottom says Not Food Safe. Repro clue, because back in the 1940s no one had the idea, time, or money to make canning jars that can't hold fruit.

Good button jar or flower vase though, for a dollar.
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Then there's always the thing that got away. There was a beautiful, brand new-looking classic wing chair in the window, only 19.oo.  Ugly olive green but I would cover it in a blue and white coastal print, set it in my sunny big window for winter sewing, with a little sewing table next to it, Mo's bed at my feet. We stood there, bemoaning the fact that we'd driven my friend's little Toyota instead of my Jeep---Could we squeeze the chair into the back seat? Then B got a bit impatient and flopped down to rest [and hold the item] while I dithered. Boom! The entire back fell off!
LOL LOL. Unused because very damaged. But later we had non-buyers remorse, thinking I could have fixed it. Too bad.
W also Christmas shopped at the big Marshall's. A little plaid coat for Mo, they have the best dog clothes there, and some stocking stuffer gifts. Success!

The drive home was fun. I love seeing all the houses decorated with lights , all blazing away and so festive in the early darkness. Pancho's for dinner, fajitas and margaritas wound up a tiring but so fun day. We had a 15% off coupon, too, an added thrifty bonus for our thrifting day.

How about you, do you like Christmas shopping at the thrift shops? Even if what you find is, well...a gift for you!?
Have a good weekend!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

PS The Italian butcher shop was great, but Trader Joe's was so disappointing. They send out their "Fearless Flyer"---full of fun little gifts for foodie friends, and treats for holiday meals---and I could not find a single thing. Pretty crappy merchandising, in my opinion. I did find a quart of Peppermint ice cream, to soothe my disappointment.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

Good evening, everyone. After a solid week of holiday shopping and decorating, I am feeling a teensy bit stressed, like I'm both treading water and running on empty.

I'll show you how I've fixed up my house so far. I couldn't get away with just keeping my blue and white and throwing on an accent color. That ends up red/ white/ and blue/ and looks like Fourth of July.

Hope you all enjoy the pre-holiday excitement, too.

love

lizzy

gone to the beach....