(More) Homemade Ornaments

Are you ready for another round of ornament-making?  This may be the last one.  Though I do still have 5 unused clear ball ornaments so you never know.

By now you're all probably familiar with my pinecone map ornament.  If not, you can go here for a tutorial.  I made another one except this time I used a smaller styrofoam ball (that last one ended up as a huge ornament!), and birch bark for the leaves.

I used leftover birchbark from my wreaths and mantel and the same leaf pattern as before, but cut it down a bit.  Here is the pattern since several of you have asked for it.

As before, I started by inserting the ribbon loop into the top of the ball and gluing a leaf to the bottom so that nothing was left uncovered.  Working from the bottom, I hot glued each leaf onto the ball working my way around to keep everything level.  Make sure that you glue the leaves right up to the ribbon.  I then added a ribbon bow at the top to finish it off.

Pretty cute, right?  I might even like this one better than the map ornament.

My next ornament (or pair of ornaments) are ribbon-filled glass balls.  I filled one ball with scraps of red and white ribbons - slightly curled with scissors first - and the other ball with olive green and green-silver sparkly ribbon.  I'm totally in love with that sparkly stuff.  The colour is just fantastic.  I added bows to the tops of each ornament (I really like the look).

I can't stop grinning at that green one.  Seriously, it's ridiculous.

Finally, I was getting a little tired, so I made a simple twine wrapped ball.  This is nothing new, but I like the homemade and rustic look of it.  I just started at the top and hotglued the twine on, circling around and around until I was about halfway down the ball.

 I saw one on the web that had scraps of sheet music inside.  That would look really sweet and it would coordinate with my other sheet music ornament.

So there you have it - three more ornaments that you can add to your collection. They were all inexpensive, and besides the time it took to cut out the birch bark leaves, really quick to put together.

Have you tried making any of these ornaments? 

What was your favourite?

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Linking to these fun parties!

Christmas Mantel

I think this is the first year I've decorated our mantel for Christmas.  I usually hang the stockings and Santa's clothesline and call it done.  But this year, since I went all out on the ornaments (here, here, and here) and the wreaths (here), I figured there's no reason to stop now.

We also have a floating shelf in the livingroom. The thing's gotta be at least 6 feet long, so that gave me double the decorating space!

I used more of the branches that we collected from my father-in-law's property. Sorry about the pictures, they were all taken at night.

First the shelf.  I layered cedar branches, just randomly, filling in with smaller pieces as needed.  I ran a garland of pinecones and berries from Micheal's (50% off!) along the length of the shelf.   The garland was intended to drape across the front of the fireplace but it looked so much better here.  I then added in some candles from the dollar store, old candlesticks from Goodwill, and flameless candles.

Sidenote: Costco has packages of 24 different-sized candles/tealights with 24 spare batteries for $15.  Tom says it's worth it for the batteries alone as he uses them all the time at his work and they're expensive. Should I start a black market battery store on the side?

The display needed some height so I added my apothocary jars filled with bows (don't they look a bit like poinsettia leaves?)  I added more pinecones - can't ever have too many pinecones - some red ribbon and bits of birch bark. Oh, there are also some spheres that I bought from the dollar store years ago.  Don't know what they're for but I think they fit right in.

The fireplace mantel was a little harder to decorate because it isn't very deep.  I started with a candle holder we bought last year and added pine branches around it.  I had to use little spots of hot glue to keep them in place because they kept falling forward.  But the glue comes right off so no big deal.

I tried out just about every candlestick I own. And I own a lot. I have two faux lanterns that I received as a shower gift but that I've never really liked.  I spraypainted the silver bases with oil rubbed bronze to coordinate with the dark wood of the candleholder.  I then partially filled them with burgundy gravel and pearl beads, and added more flameless candles.

Wove in some red ribbon and silver beads. 

Added more pinecones.  (Of course.)

 I also a couple of table "vignettes". 

There is a set of birch bark trees I loooooove.

And a pretty little vase filled with cedar twigs and pinecones. 

I love that ribbon.  It's new this year.

I think I might be ready for Christmas!

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Linking to these fun parties this week!

Paleo Spaghetti

I have to admit that since giving up cereal grains, I haven't really missed pasta.  But I do miss the sauce, and it seems weird to dig into a big bowl of spaghetti sauce all by itself.

Enter Paleo spaghetti.  I found this recipe on paleodietlifestyle.com and it gets a gold star from me.

I make my sauce in the slowcooker - 'cause I'm lazy.  I add ground beef, chopped onions, mushrooms and garlic.  I let that cook completely and then add a jar of prepared spaghetti sauce.  Sometimes I'll add a can of diced tomatoes if I have it in the house.  Then some spices (chinese chili sauce and garlic pepper this time), and a tablespoon of sugar to sweeten it. I also used some coconut milk to cut down on the acidity of the tomato.

Doesn't that look good?

For the  "spaghetti" you're going to use a spaghetti squash.  I've never liked squash but I'm warming up to it now.  Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and what-have-you, and season it if you wish (I used southwest pepper flakes). 

Feel free to put the sticker from the squash on your dog's head and watch her dance around trying to get it off.  Dinner and a show! 

Place the two squash halves face down in a baking dish and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.  You don't want to overcook it or the squash will become mushy instead of stringy.

Once done, take a fork and "fluff" the squash strings apart.  They should come apart easily. 

One average squash makes enough for at least 5-6 servings, maybe more. We've made two dinners, two lunches, and a breakfast from it so far and there's still quite a bit left.

What do you think?  Something you'd want to try?  If you do, let me know how it turned out. Do you have any other pasta alternatives you like to use?

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Linking to these great food parties this week!