DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   This great diy comes from  www.greylustergirl.blogspot.com .  Put some of these on your Christmas tree or anywhere around the house that needs a little decoration. 3-D Cardboard Star I have one thing from my Fourth of July mantel done, wahoo! I better get cracken cause the 4th is just  around the corner! If you are in a Independence Day mode too, why not make one of these fun 3-D cardboard stars! Here is what I did: Grab an empty box of cereal. Trace and cut out two stars. Score both stars from their tips to the indented parts (5 times each star). Push the stars out on the score lines by the tips and push in by the indented parts. If that doesn't make sense to you, head over and follow  this tutorial . Glue the stars together. I used hot glue. Once dry, spray paint them your color of choice. Distress with ink if desired.

  This comes from  www.larkandlola.blogspot.com  .  I thought these were really neat and very inventive. Enjoy making a few of these to go on that special tree or even give them to friends and family.  They will enjoy them on their three for years to come. Today I made these decorative rosettes! They're ornaments. They are fairly easy to make and super charming. Here's how I did it... I picked up some scrapbooking embellishments at Joann's. Michael's also carries this brand, K & Co. And grabbed one of the old music books I buy on eBay all the time for $1 or so. Tore out some pages. {No, I don't feel bad doing this at all. It's not worth anything and no one is going to sit down and play music from the 50s. I'm giving it new life!} Trimmed each page down to a 4" x 8" piece. Like so. {Don't mind my weathered self-healing mat. It's been with me through a million & one craft projects. Christmas gift hin

   Some of the celebrations we associate with Christmas today began way before Christianity developed, so that by medieval times traditions of mid-winter feasting were long established. Later the Puritans banned some festivities, but other 'holyday' pleasures still survived. It was not until the reign of Queen Victoria that many of today's customs - such as decorating fir trees - really took off. Medieval Fire, light and evergreens    Pre-Christian, northern societies used to enliven the dark days of the winter solstice with a celebration of fire, light and jollity, to create relief in the season of nature's dormancy and to hurry along the renewal of springtime. Christmas, as the celebration of the birth of Christ, was also a winter festival which gradually incorporated many pagan traditions, one of which was the burning of fires to ward away dark and evil spirits.    The tradition of decorating the home with native evergreens is a truly ancient one. Sin

  Christmas brings a new life to the believers. Much before Christmas comes, the mood around the world changes. It is the anticipation of lovely days ahead of giving joy, meeting friends and family and feeling the spirit in the air that changes the most negative person to positive moods. Chistmas makes a person different. The same man, who you never see smiling, laughs during Christmas. That is the festive spirit of Christmas and that is why it is a lovely festival.     The most important part of Christmas is of course celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Another ritual of Christmas that makes it so special is giving. We send so many cards to friends and family that we lose the count. Similarly giving gifts is very important. Selecting the right gift for everyone, wrapping it lovingly and sending it across, all this is joyful. This joy cannot be described in words.     As said earlier, it is the giving that is the major reason of happiness. If we look at our moods and beha

  This recipe is from  www.marthastewart.com .  What doesn't go better for a Thanksgiving dessert than chocolate and pumpkin??  Nothing I can think of at this moment.  Make this for one of your holiday happenings and I guarantee there won't be any left over or to take home.    Chocolate shows up in three guises throughout this dressed-up pumpkin pie. A layer of bittersweet chocolate coats the cinnamon-spiced graham cracker crust, semisweet chocolate adds depth and smoothness to the pumpkin custard filling, and melted milk chocolate is drizzled over the top just before serving. Make this pie the day before Thanksgiving (minus the milk chocolate topping) to give the filling time to set in the refrigerator. Yield  Serves 12 Ingredients For the Filling 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 16 crackers) 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 2 tablespoons packed light-brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

   Burning Yule logs is a tradition dating back long before the birth of Jesus. In pre-Christian times, the Yule log was burned in the home hearth on the winter solstice in honor of the pagan sun god Odin, known also as the Yule Father or Oak King. The winter solstice, known amongst pagans as Yule or Gwyl Canol Gaeaf, falls on December 21 or 22, whichever is the shortest day and longest night of the current year. The Yule festival symbolizes a battle between the powers of light (Oak King) and powers of darkness (Holly King). A Yule log, typically a thick branch taken from a oak tree, would be burned in the hearth beginning on this night as a celebration of the Oak King's triumphant defeat over the Holly King. Burning the Yule log     The traditional Yule celebration would begin at dawn with the cutting of the oak branch, which was then ceremoniously carried into the house. Lit by the father or oldest member of the family, the Yule log would be left to burn for the