Daughter's Winter Decor and such..

Happy Weekend everyone.. 

Hope you have a great one.. 

We are supposed to have a pretty cold night here in New Brunswick and then after the weekend perhaps some rain.. 

I hope not.. 

It just makes such a mess when we have this much snow but we have no control over the weather, eh? 

Just thankful to live here in the North.. 

We are used to snow storms, rain storms, slush and cold temps.. 

There are a lot of pluses, though, that is for sure.. 

Pure crisp air, beautiful scenery, winter sports and so much more.. 

It is great to love where you live and I certainly do.. 

Actually, I am quite a spoil sport in the fact that I do not desire to even visit elsewhere.. 

The love of travel just did a flyby when I was being created.. grin.. 

Then it landed safe and sound in our daughter.. 

She loves to travel as do our sons, really..

Mentioning Winter and our daughter... smile.. 

I am posting some pics of her Winter decor of her Foyer.. 

As you can see, we have two different styles..  

Shonda is very creative and made these mason jar lamps.. 

I think you just put paint inside the bottles and swirl it around.. 

Then fill with fairy lights as the English call them.. smile.. 

Winter in Canada means a more natural decor.. 

Pine cones, birch bark and moss are there for the picking.. 

Some greenery you can use are Pine, Firs and Cedars just for a few.. 

Shonda is using pine.. 

She also made the pillow from Burlap and painted on black cloth.. 

The Crazy Quilt was part of the Homespun Christmas present her mama gave her.. grin.. 

It is mostly satins and I found it at a Thrift store.. 

Actually, I almost kept it but I do not need it.. 

Right? 

This is another wall in her foyer.. 

Our grandsons have had their photos drawn several times as they have grown up.. 

Sweet young men, now.. 

Anyway.. 

Dave bought Shonda this old trunk at the Antique Flee Market many years ago.. 

Shonda made the chalk board and all of the snowballs you see here.. 

Aren't they perfect for Winter decor.. 

Here is the Pinterest link for making the snowballs.. 

Just click HERE..

A few months ago I went shopping with her to buy some new table settings, napkins, table runner and such.. 

It was so much fun.. 

Spending Dave's money.. grin.. 

I especially love the napkin rings.. 

I decided that day that I would try and make some for myself.. 

I was in the craft business for over 20 years and had collected a lot of old jewellery, buttons and such and figured I could do a few much cheaper then Shonda's lovely ones..  

And so... 

This afternoon I dug out a few napkin rings that I had picked up at the Christmas Tree Shop when we were in Bangor.. 

And hidden away in my craft room were a bottle of jewels.. 

  and a basket full of old beads and such... 

Along with my trusty old glue gun I made a few.. 

The thing is that this post is too long so you will have to come back next time to see how they turned out.. 

I must say that I do like them.. 

Friday night at our house means either go out for supper or make something we love.. 

Hence.. 

Home made Tomato Basil Sauce and Pasta.. 

A few of you asked last post for the Pumpkin Preserves Recipe.. 

Here it is.. 

Pumpkin Preserves resembles Marmalade but has a vastly different flavor.. 

Quite sweet though so I do cut the sugar back a bit.. 

That is up to you.. 

Old Fashioned Pumpkin Preserves...

5 pounds of pumpkin... peeled and cut into small pieces..

3/4 pound of root ginger..peeled and cut into small pieces..

3 lemons cut up fine.. I use the whole lemon..

5 pounds of sugar  (I use 4 pounds)

Cut pumpkin into small pieces and add the sugar..

Let stand for 24 hours..

Put in a large pot along with ginger and lemon...Bring to a boil.. Simmer on top of stove until pumpkin is clear...

Take out pumpkin with a slotted spoon and let the juice simmer until quite thick..

Add pumpkin mixture and bring back to a boil..

Bottle and seal... 

Thanks so much for dropping by, sweet ladies.. 

And a big welcome to the new followers.. 

Love having you.. 

Also, I appreciate that you have filled out the questionnaire and I will try to use it to better the blog.. 

Oh,  thanks so much for linking onto the Face Book page of the Blessed Hearth.. 

You do not need to be a member of FB to read this page.. 

I hope to randomly add some ideas and recipes that won't be here so make sure to check it out.. 

There is a link at the top of my sidebar.. 

God bless you all.. 

Keepers of the Home Meeting for June..

Good Evening dear hearts.. 

So happy you dropped by.. 

Another first Saturday of the month here in New Brunswick and another Keepers of the Home meeting.. 

It was a lovely morning.. 

I must begin by saying that I kind of forgot to take pics most of the time but we do have a few.. 

Several had left before I remembered.. 

sorry.. 

There was a wonderful turnout for it.. 

Some new girls that we are so happy to have with us.. 

We started off by cooking breakfast together as usual. 

One Keeper blessed us with some homemade muffins which went lovely with our bacon, eggs, and toast.. 

Just an ordinary breakfast this time.. 

But very good..

I took a bottle of dandelion jelly for them to try out.. 

Susan liked it good enough to take the rest home.. smile.. 

Then I had to get them to try my lovage straws.. 

We put them in our tomato juice and it just gives the juice a nice celery flavor.. 

If you would like the herb then I  know you can get them at the Co-op in Sussex.. 

A few others took the leaves home to dry for their soups and salads.. 

There was lots of coffee and tea while we had another little lesson on our Christian homes.. 

We have ventured into the entry way or mud room or foyer... 

Whatever you desire to call it .. 

This is the room that says welcome and we used our 5 senses.. 

Looking the word entryway up in the Bible and in Exodus 35 -15 it talks about the entryway into the temple and how it smelled of incense and oils.. 

We discussed the sense smell..

And how it is the first thing that meets you when you open the door.. smile.. 

Every home has it own smell, eh? 

There are many ways to have a fresh smelling home.. 

You can find some tips HERE..

An entryway contains things like sneakers, hockey gear and such so it takes a bit of work. 

As for the pinterest board I will keep adding to it so keep checking.. 

OK?

We then chatted about our other senses and how they worked in our homes.. 

We talked about sight and how we would try to get some scripture up on our walls . 

Hopefully, in the Fall we will make some crafts with scriptures on them..

Our favorite is the verse .. 

As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord.. 

Joshua 24-15

A nice tidy entryway is certainly on all of our agendas... 

And organized, too.. smile.. 

Here is a link for way back when I first started my blog and it was not very professional, believe me..

Please excuse the poor quality pics and such.. smile.. 

But it is a few scripture decorating tipS and you might like it.. 

You can find it HERE.

The next sense was hearing and how lovely it is to come in and hear lovely music, the laughter of the family or just sweet chatter..

Not a blaring TV or family arguing..  

The entryway can be such a place of blessing as each morning we try and hold hands and pray a blessing for the day upon our children and even their friends as they stand in the door and wait.. smile.. 

I had to share about how touching it was for me to visit my daughter and hear her in her entryway praying a blessing of the day upon her boys.. 

In I Samuel 1- 12, 13 it talks of Hannah praying in the entryway of the temple.. 

Praying for a child.. smile.. 

The only thing we came up with for taste was to leave a bowl of mints somewhere. grin..

Perhaps you have one ???  

But really the one that is not so obvious but perhaps the most important is how your home feels when the door is closed against the world.. 

Do your children feel their mama's arms welcoming them home after a day at school? 

Does hubby feel the love from his family as he closes the door on another workday out there? 

Do friends and strangers feel the welcome of your home? 

The love and joy and peace that only God can bestow on hearts and homes can be felt first in your entryway.. 

Not a very deep subject but just a few thoughts.. 

So...

 That was that and we moved on to making some homemade cleaners.. 

Fabreze recipe 

In a spray bottle from the dollar store pour in a funnel 

2 cups of water

1/4 cup of Gain Fabric Softener

1 T. baking soda

Shake well.. 

It really works.. 

Homemade Spray Cleaner.. 

1/4 cup of dish soap  (Dawn)

1/4 cup of white vinegar 

2 tsp. Borax

3 1/2 cups of hot water 

essential oils of choice and amount to suit you.. 

I love lavender.. 

And perhaps a drop of tee tree.. 

Thyme Disinfectant.. 

2 1/2 cups of water 

handful of thyme 

vinegar

 a squirt of Dawn soap

Simmer the thyme in a pot with the water for a couple of hours.. Strain through cheesecloth or a coffee filter .. 

Pour into a spray bottle.. Add the soap and top it up with the vinegar.. 

I loved the smell of the house while this was simmering away.. 

Reminded me of an Italian Bistro.. grin.. 

It worked well, too which I found amazing as it is a tea color.. 

On one site they talked about the scientific proof of the disinfecting power of thyme.. 

Kind of good to know.. 

There was also a recipe for Homemade Laundry Powder found HERE..

And one for Laminate Floor Cleaner that I found Here..

And the Spray Air Freshner is on my Pinterest Board above.. 

Most of the girls made Fabreze and then a little stamped tag to hang on it.. 

We had also brought plants for an exchange which was a lot of fun.. 

There was all kinds.. 

Even white lilac bushes..  

All in all we had a wonderful morning with lovely fellowship.. 

Thanks so much for dropping by.. 

This is our last meeting for the Summer until we have our annual overniter at our cottage in St. Martins in July... 

Have a blessed weekend and thank you to all you girls who come and help so much with everything.. 

I appreciate you all.  

And thank you for your sweet notes.. 

Hugs.. 

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