SENIOR LADY: CHRISTMAS BULB ORNAMENTS!

 

I was watching videos and looking through

Christmas catalogs recently.  I was needing 

ideas for my DIY Christmas Decor and 

gifts. I finally spotted a craft that required 

materials that were easy to find in most 

stores. The  craft was simple and I had 

most of the embellishments on hand.

Apparently this craft was the trend 

three years ago.  I didn't notice it on 

the craft channels. This craft used

 light bulbs. I couldn't fInd the old 

fashion incadescent light bulbs.

The store I was shopping at only 

had single packs of 60 watt bulbs. 

The 2 count LED chandelier light 

 bulbs were the best choice. I had

 to create my own design for these 

40 watt light bulbs. The online video

that I watched used recycled 60 watt

 light bulbs. They were decorated to

resemble  snowmen.

 BULB CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS 

NEED:

(3) 2-pack 40  Watt Chandelier bulbs 

Embellishments:

Adhesive Green Diamond Wrap 

Diamond Gold Pearl Wrap 

12 Count Green & Red Mini Bows 

7 Red & Green Pipe Cleaners 

Mini Red Berries (80-90)

Mini Greenery ( 6-7 Pieces )

Assorted 90 count:

Red, Green, & White Pom Poms

Red, Green, & White Ribbon, 5/8 Inch 

Red Satin Ribbon, 5/8 Inch with:

 Words Merry Christmas 

TOOLS:

Glue Gun & Glue Sticks

Scissors 

  

Lay out embellishments & decide which

ones to place on the bulbs. Freely use my 

 decorated bulbs as inspiration. These bulbs

 have a white panel with words written on

them. I decided to cover the panels with

 embellishments. I left the bulb portion

exposed.  The diamond wrap has adhesive

 but I still added glue to make gems more

 secure. The berries were removed from 

their stems with scissors. I added them 

one at a time, on the panel.  Secured them 

with hot glue. 

I cut small leaves & vines off picks & bushes. 

They were hot glued on the white panel 

of the bulb. 

I have a collection of odds and ends

 from previous craft projects. However,

 the mini bows, gems, and pom poms

 were bought from a Dollar Store. 

Embellishment like beads, buttons,

ribbons, and gems can be used for 

Christmas crafts once you have a

 design you want to try. 

SENIOR LADY: TOO MANY EARRINGS HOLDER!

I love large earrings and include them 

in my jewelry collection. I have hoop 

earrings in several colors. I was able 

to find an online  site that sold Retro

 70's, 2-3 inch hoop earrings in 

different colors. I was so happy

 to have a 12 count set of the 

hoops shipped  to me last year. 

 There are large teardrop earrings 

made from in wood, gold, and silver 

also in my jewelry box.  Searching

 through my jewelry box for the 

earrings to match my outfits became 

a daily hassle. 

I searched online for a  solution 

for displaying my earrings. There

we're not many jewelry displays 

that hung on the wall. 

I watched  several craft videos 

and finally found an answer to

my problem. A few ladies used

dollar store picture frames to 

display their jewelry.  I thought

this was a great idea. I could

recycle larger picture frames

from thrift stores, if a  larger 

jewelry display was needed.

Some crafters used foam 

sheets, embroidery cloth,

 and mesh kitchen drawer 

liners in the frame. Light

blue was the color I needed.

My bedroom and bathroom 

are painted light blue. The

jewelry frames will be hung

 on the wall like a painting. 

Light blue items was not 

 stocked at  stores I shopped at. 

The kitchen section at my local

 dollar store had  light blue

microfiber pot holders.

The pot holders had mesh  

liners sewn on the back. My 

earrings with the French

hook could be hung on

the mesh liner.

PICTURE FRAME EARRING HOLDER

NEED:

8x11 Picture Frame

2 pack microfiber

pot holders 

Colored mini paper clips

TOOLS:

Scissors 

Glue gun & glue sticks 

Ruler

Remove the black panel, ad sheet,

and glass panel from the frame. 

Lay picture frame face down.

Lay white cardboard border

face down in the frame. Use

scissors to cut pot holder 

fabric to fit the 8x11 frame. 

The glass panel can be used

 as a guide to measure pot 

holder fabric, if ruler not 

available. 

The mesh needs to show in

 the front of the frame. The

colored  fabric will be visible 

behind the mesh. 

The picture frame earring holder 

is ready to be hung up. The

hooks on the back of the

 earrings can be placed in the 

mesh holes.  Place pairs of

earrings in desired arrangement.

I have hoop earrings with French clips, 

hinged backs, and push backs. I added

 mini light blue paper clips in the mesh

 holes. Open up the paper clips. One end

 goes in the mesh holes and the other 

end holds the hoop area of the earrings.

 

 

The picture frame earring holders

make great gifts for birthdays and 

Christmas. This gift can be created 

for less than five dollars!!

SENIOR LADY: PATRIOTIC SEASONAL WREATH!

I love making wreaths for each season. 

Therefore, I try to have all types of wreath

 forms on hand. I have bought styrofoam, 

wood, wire, pine, and grapevine forms.

I store them on shelves in  my craft room.

 I'm never sure what design I am going 

to create beforehand. I review magazines,

videos, and ad circulars for inspiration.  

Years of crafting have taught me keep

 wreath forms, ribbons, and all types of 

embellishments on my shelves and work

 station in my craft room.

I realized that there are three holidays

that require using colors red,white, and 

blue.  I decided to stop trying to make a 

new wreath for Memorial Day,  July 4th,  

and Veteran's Day.  I made a wreath 

recently for Veteran's Day. This wreath

will used for each of these Patriotic

Holidays.

PATRIOTIC HOLIDAY WREATH 

10 inch grapevine wreath form 

2 Red Carnation Bushes 

2 White Carnation Bushes 

2 Blue Purple Mix Lilac Bushes 

Red, White, or Blue Pipe Cleaner

Tools:

Glue gun & Glue Sticks 

DIRECTIONS:

Remove red, white, & blue flower heads from 

stems. Arrange flowers in a design to determine

how many colors needed. I used 4 white, 4 red,

and 6 blue. A 7 inch pipe cleaner was used for 

hanger loop.

Glue flowers around wreath in desired color pattern.

Use pipe cleaner for hanger. Form a hanger loop

 and glue it  to back ( make sure loop 

in center)of the wreath.

I may purchase patriotic garlands to attach to

the front of my porch too. They'll be used for 

all of the Patriotic Holidays.

TIP:

**  Adding Red, White, & Blue ribbon is optional.

( I didn't have patriotic colored ribbons)

**  Patriotic colored butterflies or birds make

a great embellishment.

, 

HOLIDAY BREAKFAST BREAD!

 

My children are grown and I am retired. Therefore, 

gourmet cooking is my new passion. I am a foodie

who tries to cook some of the Mexican, Italian, and 

Oriental dishes I see online. I like to try the dishes

that are trending on social media too. These

dishes are not too complicated and require

ingredients available in your local grocery

store.

I also experiment with making unusual

muffins and breads which I eat during the week.

I got bored with baking  plain banana and blueberry

muffins.  I have experimented with peach, apple,

pumpkin, lemon, orange and zucchini muffins and

 breads. I wanted to think of a new breakfast bread

 to serve my family during the holidays this year. 

I surveyed my pantry.   There were too many boxes 

of chocolate cake mixes stored on the shelf. I had

 a large banana left in my fruit bowl. Plenty of 

pecans and walnuts were in mason jars in my

 fridge. This chocolate lover was going to bake

 a bread that was good for a Holiday Breakfast,

Brunch, or Luncheon menu!

I may try a peach blueberry or a chocolate cranberry

bread in the future.

HOLIDAY CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix

2 Eggs 

1 large ripe Banana 

1/2 Cup Sour Cream 

1/2 Cup fine chopped Walnuts 

1/4 Cup Sweetened Shredded Coconut 

1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon 

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 

1/2 Cup or to taste, Dark Chocolate Chips, for Topping 

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.

In large bowl mash the banana. Add sour cream, eggs,

cinnamon, vanilla, coconut, and nuts. Mix well with 

a Mixing Fork. Batter will be thick. DON'T OVER MIX.

Pour batter into loaf pan and spread evenly. Cover

top of batter with chocolate chips. Bake 45 minutes

or until toothpick comes out clean.

TIPS:

** 1/3 cup oil can be added. I forgot to

add it. The bread was still moist and

tasty.

** I always add coconut to my breads.

It enhances the flavor profile of the bread.

** Sour Cream adds moisture and keeps

bread from being too sweet.

** Semi-sweet chocolate chips can be substituted.

**  Pecans can be substituted.