Crafty Crystal

Well February has been a busy month for me.

I've been sewing like crazy!!

And it has been great. I've been really enjoying my projects.

They have been simple and quick to make, and that seriously makes me want to complete the projects. I have a problem with difficult sewing.... it's to HARD!!!

So I lose interest, then stop sewing for months.

Anyways I just wanted to share with you all the things I've made this month.

Hopefully I can keep it up and make some more great stuff.

Teddy Bear Rag Blanket

Doggy Coats

I didn't have a pattern for these. I used one of Breanna's toy dog coats as a template.

Baby Joeli's top quilt

Rag Burp cloths

Baby boy rag crib blanket.

Well that's it. Only the pink 9 patch is meant for someone. The rest I just did. You never know when someone you know will have a baby, so I figured it's good to have a few things on hand for gifts. Besides what else am I going to do to fill up my time. There is only so much cooking and cleaning a girl can do!!

Yummy Treats

Chocolate Mice

Here is a recipe for one of my family's favorite treats.

Before they had to wait till we seen grandma to get them, but on one of her visits out her she showed me how to make them. Super easy... but a little messy. Hope you like getting your hands right in there.

( I don't!)

Here's what you need

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup peanutbutter

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup coconut

2 cups ricecrispies

Mix all ingredients together by hand.

This is the part I'm not excited about.

Form into logs. Then put them in the fridge or freezer to stiffen up.

Chocolate Mixture

Melt 1/4 block of paro wax and half a box of semi sweet chocolate in a double boiler.

Dip your formed logs, making sure to evenly coat the log.

Place dipped mice back into the freezer to let the chocolate set.

Ta-da!!

Chocolate Mice.

You can keep them in the freezer and take them out as needed.

I double up the recipe cause they never last long around here.

Enjoy!!

Little bits of happiness

I'm liking the ranch a little more as each day passes by.

The peace and quite.

Wide open spaces that the children can play in.

But most of all the COWS!!!

Anyone who really knows me knows that I have a problem when it comes to bovines.

I collect cow paraphernalia.

Planters, cow banks, pictures, statues... the list goes on and on

So to live on a cattle ranch sends tingles right through me.

And to make matters all the better I have a wonderful husband who loves to see me smile.

Right now the cows are giving birth and my sweetie took me to work with him again to see all the bouncing baby calves.

( this is a man that knows me well )

Please understand that the pictures may not be my best, they are taken from inside Dale's tractor.

But you won't hear me complain, I'm just tickled silly that I got to go see all the babies!

The Monsters that live with me

Well here they are. The monsters that torture my days and nights.

They jump out at me from corners

Beg me for sleepovers

Make each other cry and me as well

When things aren't going their way they call " The Grandma "

Get me to bake them things that they never eat

Put gas in the skidoo so that they can make you worry about where they are

Make my hair go silver not gray

Sing the sweetest songs then fart!

Make me laugh uncontrollably

then shake my head at the unbelievable things they think they can get away with

They preform acts of great kindness for the people around them

So that we hear how wonderful they are

Then we get to ask 

Who are you talking about??? Can't be my monsters!

The Old Souls in Young Body's

And you know what

I wouldn't have them any other way

Breanna and Darby

XOXOX

Baking

Ta-dah!!

Yummy fudge, not the gross pudding mixture of before!! I'm so glad it worked out. Don't get me wrong I still stumbled through the process of making it. I learned that my baking instructions

need to be VERY clear on all aspects of the recipe!

I was having a really hard time with getting it to reach the correct temp. it was taking literally all bloody day. After the 2 1/2 hour mark I got mad!Then like there's was a light bulb over my head it turned on. I was using a double boiler method instead of putting it directly into a sauce pan!

Needless to say that when I switched it out into a sauce pan... the stupid stuff heated up right away!

Argggghhh!!

On the bright side it tastes great, the bad thing is the kids don't even like it! All that hard work to surprise them with the never before made fudge was all for nothing. Guess I'll just have to bite the bullet and eat it myself *sigh*. The things I do for my family!

Daily Life on the Ranch

Hello all!

Well I've been trying to keep myself busy the last few days. These are the charm purses that I've made. I really like the yellow and black one. They are super easy to make and it's a great way to get rid of some of the extra cotton fabric that you don't know what to do with any more. I really enjoy making "rag" things right now. Blankets, purses and other stuff. You see I'm lazy by nature so I like to do projects that only take a day or two for me to complete. Don't get me wrong, I still like making quilts and wall hangings, it's just that right now I want simplicity in my crafting. And it doesn't hurt that it's really cute things I'm wanting to make!

I've also tried to acomplish some baking while my kids have been away... I repeat TRIED!!! As you can see by the side picture that my attemps were for nothing. Burnt Banana Bread!!! Grrrrr. And that's not all that I ruined in the last few days. Please don't laugh to hard... I made Fudge. Or so I thought. It turns out that something so yummy to eat is not so easy to make(for me anyway).

The end result was a pudding like mixture that sat in the fridge for 2 days waiting to stiffen up! Needless to say it did not! So I called my mother in-law or she called me to say that I didn't boil it long enough, and that it's not just me. She has had a hard time making it as well. 

So defeated with my attempt I strolled over to the cookhouse to talk with the lady's there. They gave me a candy thermometer. So I'm gonna try again later today. I'll let you know if I end up with pudding or yummy fudge!

Daily Life on the Ranch

Hello,

 I'm Crystal. I've decided to create this blog so that I might share a little bit of the feeling's that I get when I read the blogs of my friends. I know that I really enjoy reading about what friends and their family's are doing, and it helps me to feel connected to them even if I'm no longer close by. So I hope that by doing this I create the same or similar feelings in the people I care about and those I don't know. 

 I am the mother of two wonderful children and " home maker " to a husband who does his best to keep me happy ( not an easy task I might add ).

  I do a lot of sewing and reading to keep myself busy out here in the middle of nowhere. And I find that we are more social here on the ranch then we've ever been anywhere else that we might have lived. Although I do spend 90% of my days in the house! So I guess all in all I'm not all that social! I blame it on the cold weather. That's a pretty good excuse don't you think. Well maybe I'll change my hermit ways come spring. But between us I wouldn't hold my breath.

I will try my very best to keep this new blog of mine as up to date as possible. Hope you enjoy!