Try It Tuesday: Loom Knit Ruffle Scarf

To make these scarves I used about 3/4-1 skein of Red Heart Sashay Yarn, depending upon the size of the skein. The video will show you exactly what I did and you can look at the pictures of the some of the ruffle scarves I have made. There are some I made that I did not take a picture of.

** (UPDATED, 1/4/14)  I was asked on the video how to finish this off and what I did was I used either a thick thread (like upholstery thread) or DMC floss (the whole floss, not an individual thread) and thread it on to a needle. Then ran it up the hole space on the edge of the yarn first (this will being that unfinished edge up so it is not seen) and then through each of the loops on the pegs to take it off the spool loom. Then just double knot it. That's it. The ruffles will drape over it and you will not see the end that is tied up.

This is one of me showing what the scarf look like before I gave this to a friend for her birthday, along with some coordinating earrings and bracelet.

This is one that I made for a Christmas present, maybe it is for you!

(UPDATED! 1/4/14 - I gave this to my mom. When my grandma saw it she asked me to make her one of these scarves - she also really liked the Ribbons Scarf I was wearing at Christmas. So, I made her one of the pink/purple/gray ones that are pictured above. It typically takes me about 2 1/2 hours to make one of these scarves.)

This one is also a Christmas present. It is for my daughter in her school colors. They make a line of this Sashay yarn that is available in the typical school colors. This is the smallest skein. I think she will be excited to receive this because she doesn't have too much in her school colors yet since she is only a second grader.

(UPDATED - 1/4/14 - I recently bought a skein of this yarn that has small sequins in it. It is so pretty! I have no idea who I will make it for, maybe me! I just thought it was gorgeous and would make a great gift when I decide on the right recipient. There is also a line of this year that is called "Sparkle" and has a thin strand of sparkly thread running through it in either the same color or silver.)

GIVEAWAY and Review: The Promise - Birth of the Messiah DVD

My Thoughts:
I had the chance to review "The Promise: Birth of the Messiah" with my family this past weekend. It was a nice way to shift from the Thanksgiving weekend to beginning our Christmas holiday events and remember just what the reason for the season is. I was happy we had this to start off our Christmas season with so that we could slow down and appreciate the story of the birth of Jesus before things got too choatic and commercial. It is an animated musical, which makes it appealing to younger kids. Some of the words used are advanced for a young child's vocabulary, but the story is not lost on them. I think if a child has even the slightest familiarity with the story they can easily follow along with the visual even if the vocabulary might be beyond them.On the other hand, I do think there were instances that things were simplified quite a bit for the benefit of a young audience. It has it ebbs and flows in terms of what I think a young child will understand, but as long as you watch it with your children you can have a conversation with them about the story and I think both you and your child will take more away from it than just having watched it.

ABOUT THE PROMISE 
The Promise: The Birth of the Messiah is an animated musical celebration of one of the most pivotal events in all human history, the birth of Jesus Christ. This beautifully crafted musical is a faithful adaptation of the birth narrative from the Gospel of Luke in both story and song. The animated production leverages optical motion technology to blend traditional animation techniques with the performance talents of ballet dancers and dramatic stage actors. The result is a unique and worshipful story experience that will inspire audiences young and old for years to come.

Find out more information about "The Promise" and Glorious Films online:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon

Official Trailer

ONE LUCKY READER WILL WIN A COPY OF 

THE PROMISE: BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Make It Monday: Snickerdoodle Muffins

Looking for something special to serve on Christmas morning but don't have time to be sweating over making cinnamon rolls, then these Snickerdoodle Muffins are going to be perfect!

Snickerdoodle Muffins
1/2 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C greek yogurt
1/2 C milk
2 eggs
2 C white whole wheat flour
1/3 C brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Cream together butter, sugars and extracts
• Blend in salt, baking soda, baking powder, cream of tartar and nutmeg
• In a separate bowl, mix together yogurt, milk and eggs
• Add half of yogurt mixture to sugar mixture and alternate with the flour.
• Fill 12-15 muffin cups
• Mix together brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over batter
• Bake for about 20 minutes
• Enjoy!

Review: Good Cook Mini Loaf Pan with Mini Lasagna Recipe

What I really liked about this recipe that I can up with to make lasagna in the Good Cook Sweet Creations Mini Loaf Pan (Disclosure: I am a Good Cooks Blogger) is that even though my prep time took just as long, it look just over half as long (35 minutes instead of 1 hour) to bake this lasagna in 4 mini loaf pans instead of a 9x9" pan. So, it was much quicker from oven to table!

Also, I can offer a 25% off coupon to goodcook.com for the Mini loaf pan to my readers. Use CODE: SWEETLOAF

I am so excited about the versatility of this pan and have more plans to cook with it including a bread and possibly some fudge. This is such a great size pans to make gifts. I was given parchment paper to review along with it, but that doesn't really go with lasagna, but you will see it when I post pictures of my bread and candies. And what's even more awesome is I can share the love with one of my readers and you can win this set.

WANT TO WIN THIS SWEET CREATIONS MINI LOAF PAN!!!

ONE LUCKY READER WILL!!!

Mini Lasagna Recipe using Sweet Loaf Mini Loaf Pan

8 lasagna noodles
12 oz spaghetti sauce
1 C ricotta cheese
1/2 shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 oz. fresh spinach
1/4 C onion, minced
1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese






Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook noodles al dente.
• Steam spinach and onion to soften.
• Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.
• Spread some spaghetti sauce on the bottom of each mini loaf pan.
• Cut lasagna noodles in half the short way.
• Mix cheeses, egg and seasonings together.
• Create layers with 2 (half) noodles, cheese mixture, and then sauce with half of your ingredients, you will repeat this layer.
• Add a middle layer of the spinach and onion (you are only doing this layer once.)
• Repeat layers of noodles, cheese mixture and sauce.
• Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
• Bake for 35 minutes.
• Allow to cool for 5-15 minutes before serving.
• Enjoy!

COME BACK NEXT WEEK TO ENTER A GIVEAWAY TO WIN

A SWEET CREATIONS MINI LOAF PAN AND 50 SHEETS OF PARCHMENT PAPER!!!!!!!

PLUS, I WILL BE SHARING ONE MORE RECIPE THAT I WILL BE MAKING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON IN THIS MINI LOAF PAN.

Leave me a comment on this review and recipe, it will be an optional entry on the rafflecopter form.

GIVEAWAY and Review: Eau Flirt Perfume by Harvey Prince

I didn't know I wanted a new scent until I was sent Eau Flirt by Harvey Prince to review. I love the light, fun scent of it. Flirty is just the right name for it! Until I looked at the website I couldn't pick out just what I was smelling, except the ylang ylang. I would not have guessed the notes of pumpkin pie, but how appropriate for the holiday season. Listed below are all the noted scents in Eau Flirt:

Notes: Lavender, Pumpkin Pie, Citrus, Jasmine, Freesia, Ylang Ylang, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ambers 

Style: Seductive. Sparkling. Wicked. 

How can you not love the cute little drawing on the box and on the bottle! They did an excellent job of capturing flirt on both and helping carry the experience from visual to olfactory. 

Now, that is the obvious review of the scent and cosmetic appearance of the perfume, what I also want to tell you about why I was so excited to review this product has to do with the company itself. They craft their scents in the USA. They are 100% cruelty-free and no animal testing. There is also no phthalates, parabens, sulfates, benzenes, GMOs or triclosan. They create their scents using essential and natural oils. Doesn't all that make you even more excited to buy this delightful smelling perfume!?!?

Some other praise for Eau Flirt by Harvey Prince:

 The "olfactory equivalent of a little red dress" - The New York Times 

Create a buzz with this “peppy new fragrance.” – Cosmopolitan 

"In a blind smell test among men, Eau Flirt was the clear victor vs a popular, classic Chanel perfume" - CBS Early Show

 

Check out more information about Harvey Prince online:

Website

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

THREE LUCKY WINNERS WILL BE WINNING A BOTTLE OF

EAU FLIRT BY HARVEY PRINCE!!!

ENTER RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Review: Disney LIVE - 3 Classic Fairytales

I had a chance to review Disney LIVE: Three Classic Fairy Tales that was at the Mayo Civic Center on Saturday afternoon with my family.  The three fairy tales part of the 1 1/2 hour program was Snow White, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. All the pictures in the post are ones I took while there, sorry they are not the best,

These top two pictures are of the grand finale when all of the princesses and princes came out on stage one last time and were joined by Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy.

All of the costumes meet your expectations if you are familiar with the Disney movie versions of these stories, so kids will not be disappointed.

The Dwarves were actually quite large. I imagine it has to be quite hot inside those costumes.

The stepmother looks as hideous on the outside as she is on the inside. I didn't really remember what she looks like from the movie, but this has to be it. The ugly stepsisters cracked me up! They had HUGE feet (shoes) and were stumbling all over the place.

What a perfect princess! Maybe it's the blond hair like min, but Cinderella was always my favorite.

The only thing missing was the pumpkin turned in to a carriage, but it was a great short rendidtion of the full length movie.

 Intermission time! Of course there is the usual Disney themed snacks with take home mugs and glasses and crowns, but we have collected enough of those that we buy the snacks available from the venue. This time it was pretzels and cheese.

Can you tell he is saying "CHEESE!" as he is showing me the nacho cheese on his pretzel? Clever boy!

Mickey & Minnie welcomed us back after intermission. They came out in between each fairy tales and before and after intermission and at the beginning and ending. It wouldn't be a Disney show without lots of Mickey and Minnie.

The last fairy tale presented was Beauty and the Beast. I thought the staging for this one was really great and included lot of changes that were done in the blink of an eye. They had you focused on other things when the center stage would turn around or the stairs would drop down or placed a filter screen in front that images were displayed on.

I don't know why, but I always liked the character of Gaston. Not that I like his person, but just how he was cast as this dumb self-absorbed jock who everyone wants and can't have the one person he wants because you can't make someone love you.

This show does have a part that might be a little scary to kids when there is the fight between the Beast and Gaston. There is flashing and strobe light and fighting, but it is over rather quickly.

Another scene with everyone fawning over Gaston as he shows off.

Of course, these are all fairy tales and they all have happy endings where the princess and prince live happily ever after.

Two Printable Letters to Santa

I made up these letters for my kids to write their letters to Santa (St. Nick). They have different needs in terms to their writing abilities. My son just turned four and is in the beginning stages of writing and so I made up the top letter for him to fill in with just a few words. My daughter is 7 1/2 years old and very good at writing and so she is able to write complete sentences. I have a feeling she will use the sentences in her brother's letter as guidance to what she will write, but it is open for her to write whatever she wants.

My children will write their letters to Santa (or St. Nick) and leave them for him to pick up on the eve of St. Nick's Day. If you read the link about St. Nick's Day you will have some clue of my state or origination. :) How people celebrate St. Nick's Day can vary, but what we do is that the kids leave their Santa letter and he comes to get them from our house on the eve of St. Nick's Day (Santa is Saint Nicholas's nickname) and he leaves the kids a few tokens to help get them in mood for the Christmas holiday (so they get Christmas-y items). One of those items they get is a new ornament for their own mini Christmas trees they each have outside their bedroom. My kids will have quite a Christmas ornament collection by the time they grow up and leave our home. They get excited to see what ornament he brings them each year. Also they usually get a piece of Christmas candy and a book with a Christmas story and an inexpensive Christmas craft kit from the dollar store.