I have wanted to do this project for quite some time, and finally found the boxes at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. Each little box will hold a "ticket" for Christmas activities or a special treat for my two girls, from December 1st through Christmas morning.

Pumpkin Scones

Totally NOT my own recipe, but the best one I have found so far. Found it on the browneyedbaker.com site, and made a couple of slight modifications to simplify.

2 cups all-purpose flour
7 T granulated sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
6 T cold butter ( I use the good, unsalted, real butter, not margarine)
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 T half and half ( I substitute the liquid french vanilla coffee creamer, just because I always have it on hand)
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in food processor. Cut butter into pieces, add to dry ingredients, and pulse again til well blended. Mix wet ingredients together in small bowl, then add to processor and pulse til dough forms. Pat out onto floured board into a wheel shape about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with pizza wheel into 8 wedges, place on baking sheet or stone, and bake just until lightly golden. Let cool on rack and glaze with the following

Glaze: this is not exact in measurement (some things I just eyeball!), but a large scoop of powdered sugar, a dash of maple flavoring, a splash of coffee, and a tiny splash of milk. If needed, you can add more powdered sugar to get the right consistency of a thick glaze, but just wisk it all together, and drizzle the scones generously.

As promised, Crock Pot Apple Butter.

5 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped
4 cups of sugar (if apples are sweet, 3 would do nicely
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt

Place apples in crock pot, mix remaining ingredients
together, then add to apples. Cook on high for one hour,
then low for 9 to 11 hours. Uncover, and cook for one additional hour.

I then wisked it all together to smooth it out, but it didn't
take much ; )
Rather than freezing, I chose to jar mine.

I have a pregnant friend who is really looking
forward to this!

If you are ever in Florence, MS...

Donna's Produce #6. I am trying to branch out a little bit, and overcome some of the shyness I have about taking photos in "odd" places. My youngest daughter and I had a little road trip today. I have passed this place many times, but never stopped the car. Today, I not only stopped, but got out, picked up some fresh fruits and veggies, and asked the employees if I could take some pics. I was a tad surprised to hear that they have folks do that, and I was certainly not the first!
The photo I took of the front of the building didn't turn out well, but trying to catch up with my daughter didn't leave me room for retakes. Once she saw what Donna's had available, there was no holding her back.









Check out the mums! Aren't they gorgeous? And that adorable little girl in blue? Mine, all mine. ; ) She fell in L-O-V-E with all the pumkins, gourds, bats, and ghosts. She even helped me bag up some produce to bring home with us.




Like these apples. Which at some point this weekend will show up in a blog post on crock-pot apple butter. Sounds tasty, huh?

This card is a "thank you" for my mom. She just got me a Wacom Bamboo tablet and all the programming I need to start doing more with my photos. I am super excited to learn PSE, and so far I am loving the pen tablet. I used the Love You a Latte Lite cartridge for the cupcake, and the Bloom Lite cartridge for the label. Ribbon is CTMH, and I strung it through slots I punched with the ribbon slot punch. I am having a ball with that "new" old tool now that I have left it on my desktop. It's just amazing how much something gets used when it is within arm's reach, isn't it?

I was watching HSN the other day, and saw the new Sew Ribbon thingie on. I thought the concept looked very familiar, and sure enough, in my pile of scrappy tools, I dug out my Making Memories Instant Setter and the Ribbon Slot Punches that go with it. I also rummaged around and ended up using foam stamps, acrylic paint, and stickles. The stamped flowers are actually quite a neon pink, but no matter how I photograph it this morning, I cannot get it to show up as more than "bubblegum"! Hopefully by Sunday afternoon, I will be able to make a little more time for this project, because WRMK makes a few different patterns, and I would like to duplicate at least some of them.

18th Birthday Card.

My oldest daughter, Beverly, will be turning 18 in a couple of weeks. I just know she will love this card.

I cut the bee from the Cricut Paisley cartridge and flocked the yellow parts, the flowers are Prima with a flocked brad center, and the Martha Stewart border punch came in a set from HSN.