Snow Day! Winter Display Shelf

Here we are at our last day of Snow Day Week!

Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons!  

This year after I took down my lovely FallMas decor I decided to try out doing some winter decorating, in just a couple of spots in the living room (small display shelf and the huge green rack).  I love it!

Here is the green rack and wall all bedecked in a Winter Wonderland!

I put my Putz village on the bottom shelf in a blanket of snow.

I used branches from my white christmas tree in the flanking containers (aka industrial sized food cans!) and as back ground on the shelves.

Prints of vintage snowman buildin'!

Vintage Snowman bits and bobs:

Winter isn't over til March 20 and this display just might stay up til then...even if it's 90 degrees outside!

 

Snow day! ~Snowman Balls

After all that Snowman craftin' we all could use a little Snow Day snack!

Here are some yummy snowman confectionaries!

 

Their bodies are made from a peanut butter fudge kinda deal coated in white almond bark.

12 oz peanut butter

1 stick butter melted

1 lb powdered sugar

Mix all together and roll into balls.  Refrigerate balls to firm up a bit.  Melt white almond bark in a double boiler and dip each ball.  Set aside on wax paper til set.

Impale balls with snowman picks if you have them!  If not make your own from large white wood beads glued to toothpicks decorated as you see fit.

Snow Day! Let's build some snowmens!

Don't let a lack of white icy mush keep you from building your own snow pal!

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This year I am doing a much bigger Winter~Snowman display (upcoming post!) so I needed a little bit of some extra bits.  I decided to make a few vintage inspired crafty fellows!

First up is this little dumpling.

Inspired by these vintage guys:

I made mine by using 2 styrofoam balls that were the same size.  I cut down the body ball flatish on the neck and 'feet' region, then attach together with strong hot glue.  I then heavily coated his head in school glue.  I filled a large bowl with those hyper staticky mini styofoam balls from 1.25 Tree.  Next you dunk the goopy glue laden snowman in the balls coating his head.  Let dry and this will take days.  Then repeat on his body.  After all has dried for the most part if you find any bare spots just fill them in with more glue and balls.  I made his features from round black push pins from 1.25 Tree.  His hat is a mini solo cup (shot glass size, also from 1.25 Tree) spray painted black.  the brim is cut from a bit of stiff black felt.  Mouth is a bit of sparkly black pipe cleaner hot glued on.  Trim is silver rick rack.

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Next we have this concerned fellow:

He is a classic crafty vintage deal made from a couple of vintage white satin christmas balls, white bump pipe cleaner, bits of black cardstock for his features.  His nose is from a holly berry from a bush I had leftover from making Holly Boy.  His hat is an ornament from walsmart christmas stuff.  This guy is fairly self evident how to construct him, just glue all the bits in the right places!

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I saved the best for last!

Based after this cutie on ebay (nope to 18 bucks + shipping):

I mean come on!  He looks like he is made from something a cat coughed up...and he's wielding a noodle!  LOVE HIM!

How I made him was by painting a pine cone white as seen in the one process photo I took:

Then hot glue a small satin ball ornament on the butt of the pinecone.  Next make him some arms and legs from pipe cleaners and hot glue into place. Then cover the entire cone in either cotton wadding or Angel's Hair (spun glass).  I don't know if they make it anymore.  I have a couple of packs I found at thrift stores over the years.  So I LOVE so many of the wonky things about the original inspiration snowman and one of them is that weird cape-like matted bit around his shoulders.  To make this I tore a bit of a christmas snow blanket into a backwards bolero type shape and fitted it onto him.  I then sponged on some white paint and sprinkled it with silver glitter.  His facial features are card stock eyes, a red ball needle nose and a parentheses sticker mouth.  His hat is comprised from a foam mini pool noodle type finger flinger toy I found at 1.25 tree.  I cut it to the size I wanted and painted it with black acrylic paint, brim is cardstock.

And his noodle staff is a gold painted noodle. 

I have got sooo many more snowmens crafts I want to make!

Peep some for yourself in my Snow Day Pinterest Board.

 

Snow Day Earrings

For this week of Snow Day fun why not sport some festive earrings?

I made these by printing out a snowman image I liked, attached black card stock on back for more stability, mod podged the front, popped a hole in the top, and added an earring hook.

For the snowman image I used go to my:

Snow Day Pinterest Board

Snow Day~Ivory Snow~Soap Display

 

Back again and bigger than ever, It's Snow Day on MHiCTy!

It's looking like yet again a true snow day isn't going to be happening this season in my neck of the woods so I just have to do it virtually.  Join me as I have expanded Snow Day into Snow Week!

Starting off with my small display case I did an Ivory Soap/Snow theme:

A few months back I came across a treasure trove of vintage products affiliated with Procter & Gamble at an estate sale. Lots of Ivory ones which I thought worked perfectly for a Snow Day theme!

I miss when products had freebies.  The bar of soap offers a free mail-in offer for "Evening in Paris" Talcum Powder.  The metal container of Ivory Liquid Detergent comes with 2 free steak knives strapped on to it's side! 

And then there's $50,000 in cash prizes if you complete the Snowgram.

I also crafted up a snow man....made out of Ivory soap!

Have you ever heard of the "science experiment" where you microwave a bar of Ivory soap (yes, it has to be Ivory brand soap) and it ballons into a huge crumbly mess?!

Yeah, that's what I made him out of.  

Seen above is the product of 2 bars bursted.  I wouldn't recommend this as the way to make a snowman. But here is my how-to anyhow:  Microwave chucks of soap on a paper plate at 30 second intervals.  Keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.  The only fun in this is watching the soap expand so make sure you don't step away to tend to the dog/child/meth lab.  After expansion has happened handle with care as blobs are very brittle.  Pick 3 globs that are roundish and gently pick at them with your finger or ice pick to shape.  Attach the snowballs in-between with a toothpick.  For the features I used thumb tacks and sewing needles painted with black nail polish.  His hat is card stock and attached with a toothpick.

Here is a much better way to make a snow man, using a mail-in offer from Ivory Snow:

Carter Cheese Mold

Today I share this wonderful appetizer made famous by Rosalynn Carter, wife to 39th President Jimmy Carter.

Fun Fact!  We are related to the Carter's!  Well, my husband is...so I claim it by marriage. Rosalynn is my husband's mother's great aunt.  Far off related but hey it's our only family claim to fame other than being related to the blue ribbon winner for pickled pig's feet at the 1983 Arkansas state fair!

I did a little bit of my own thing with this recipe.  I used green onions instead of a regular onion.  I also added far more than a dash cayenne and I did it to the strawberry preserves.  Another thing is you have to shred your own cheese.  Don't use the pre shredded because it won't hold together properly.

This appetizer is absolutely delish and perfect for potlucks and picnics! I shaped mine in a vintage Tupperware mold for extra pizzazz!

 

I'm MUD about you!

 

Could this be the most perfect vintage valentine of time?!

A mud puddle!  With muddy ripple eye bags!

I had to work him into some sort of valentine what-not...

I came up with doing a "mud" pie!

It's actually a peanut butter pie. I have not made one before and found a recipe online.  At this moment we haven't partaken of the mud pie so I am going to hold off with relaying the recipe until I know it's worthy! (update: not worthy! extremely bland.  Stay away from any recipes that are cream cheese, whipping cream, peanut butter, and powdered sugar)

I thought about trying to reproduce the face using icing but took the simple way out and just printed it and backed it in contact paper so the oil wouldn't seep through.  The 'grass' is green tinted coconut.

Be my muddy valentine!

Peas Be My Valentine!

Are you and your loved one "two peas in a pod"?  

Would you like for your sweetie to be your "pod-ner"?

Maybe they are your "sweet pea"?

Or maybe they have an unhealthy obsession with seeking out weird valentine's day themes that mix vegetables and valentine's day together (my hand raises)?

Then do I have a theme for you!

Forget chocolate!

Give a valentine heart shaped box of sweet peas for your sweet pea!

Cultivate your love with copious amounts of pea punned valentine cards!

And there's nothing like a bouquet of roses featuring cans of precious peas...

.....vased in vintage label inspired pea cans!

What valentine wouldn't be "peased" with this show of affection?!

If you want to impress your pod-ner for valentine's day the images I used are canned in my Pinterest "Peas Be My Valentine!" board

The quick How-to on this is to print out the images in the sizes you like.

Cover cans in the labels.

Attach the 'roses' to green pipe cleaner stems.

Make a few pom pom and felt pea pods.

Buy a box of chocolates and devour them yourself, saving the box for the peas.  Your sweet pea will understand!

Let's do our "Thing" together valentine!

This is one weird mama-jama!

I think I like it!

 

I did my "thing" by making a large sized version (from an oatmeal container) as a gift container for Valentine's day!

Just fill with things that are for you and your loved one to do your ...ahem..."thing".

I'll be a sad sack valentine

This year for Valentine's Day I decided to do several micro themes starting with this "Sad Sack"!

We all know someone that loves to be the sad-sack-wet-blanket- kill-joy right?

(Helpful Hint: They are the Anti-Valentine's Day sour pusses)

Well this is the perfect gift for them!

I started out by embellishing some mini treat sacks with little eyes and a pout made from bits of contact paper I cut out with hole punches.  The frown is actually a parenthesis from a sheet of letter stickers.

Then I started thinking... what would go in a "sad sack" as a gift....

And this is what I came up with.  Garbage like food packets, old easter candy, a dead Sunbeam battery.....tootsie rolls and free bars of crap soap from hotels are other prime items for a sad sack.

Just clean out your junk drawer and gift it to your favorite "woe is me- pity party' type in your life!

They'll love it because it will give them something to complain about on social media helping to grasp onto some of that martyrdom they love so much!

 

These are the "pre" of the sacks I used, bought from 1.25 Tree.