(Killer) White Chocolate popcorn for White Wednesday!

The following easy recipe will make you the most popular kid on the block.

I'm not joking.

Here's all you need...

Pop two bags of your favorite microwave popcorn.

(you can do it the old fashioned way - you'll have to make two batches)

After the popcorn is completely popped, dump it into a large mixing bowl.

Melt one 12 -14 oz. package of vanilla Candy Melts (or Melt 'N Molds or whatever Safeway or Michaels has on sale) in the microwave slowly.

The key here is to melt it in 30-second increments.  After each 30-second round, stir - back in for 30 seconds, stir - you get the idea...until every morsel is melted.

After about four 30-second rounds (2 minutes total) it looks like this:

Immediately pour over popcorn and mix together thoroughly.

Cool for at least an hour.

(If you are impatient like me, you can throw it into the fridge)

I bag it up in cellophane bags for gifts...



bowl - $1 Walmart! bags: 16/$4.99 Michaels!



 ...but the greatest thing about this treat is putting a bowl of it out and watching people's eyes roll back in their head when they first taste it.

looks innocent enough.....

You see, it looks like regular old popcorn, so the look on your friends faces when they eat this stuff is worth the price of admission.

The Eighth Wonder of the World.

Oh yeah, and come prepared with the recipe - you're going to get requests.
(I believe it was my good friend Beth who gave me the recipe)

This stuff is like crack cocaine.

The first one's free....

I'm linking to Faded Charm today for White Wednesday!

If I were you, I'd jump on over there to check out all the pretties!

Bon appetit!

xoxo

smoke and mirrors II ~ or how to stretch your dollar to get the biggest bang for your buck.

About a year ago at this time, I wrote about a set I designed when I was Visual Arts Director at a church in California. 

For those of you new to this blog, you can read more about it HERE.

 

This year, I am back at it again, but this time in the role of a volunteer. I am now part of the creative team at Lake City Community Church in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I was asked to design a set for the weeks leading up to Christmas Eve that would be less thematic and more generic. - one that would fit the moderate budget and could be reused throughout the year. The lobby would give everyone their traditional Christmas fix, but when you entered the auditorium, it would be more abstract and theatrical.

So I went fishing around on the Internet and saw many grand designs.

The word "spandex" came up in several conversations....

As cool as it looks, it is a bit pricey.

designed by Duke Dejong (aka: The Duke of Spandex)

Then I remembered how cool that faux stained glass looked....

 designed by Patrick Fore from Journey Church in Norman, Oklahoma

But the printing and paper costs were a little high.

Then this caught my eye:

designed by Camron Ware

I bet you can't guess how that was done...

Smoke and mirrors baby.

This is where we started...

...and here is what we did:

Bought a roll of 5' wide Weed Block from Home Depot (about $100)

Cut several 30' lengths from it - I cut it 6' longer than required so it would "puddle" on the floor.

(I love my huge foyer - fondly nicknamed "the bowling alley")

Sewed a casing along the top edge of each panel.

We laid them all out on a lot of painter's plastic.

Using brooms of all kinds and a few gallons of cheap white semi-gloss paint we randomly "broomed" and dribbled the paint onto each panel.

It took five of us and almost no time at all - it requires a person on either end to hold the cloth taught.

Biggest concern ~ the paint seemed to soak into the cloth ~ would the treatment dry "opaque" enough for it to create the effect we wanted???

(To be completely honest, I went to bed that night a little freaked out ~ I had no Plan B...)
Moving on....

Using cheap conduit cut into 5' lengths, we hung them from the catwalk - the biggest decision here was how many to use - five or seven?

(design rule #1: always use odd numbers)

I decided on five.

Now comes the smoke and mirrors part...

The lighting crew!!!!!

All light is absorbed by the black landscape cloth, and only the paint is illuminated.

Cool, yes?

AND...we can change the mood of the room simply by the flick of a switch...

We can also use these panels at other times of the year, in different configurations and placement to create a completely new design.

A huge THANK YOU to Dennis, Tod, Patty, Myrna, David, and Ron for sharing your gifts and working your magic.
See ya in the pew....

xoxo

past, present and future....

Tying up loose ends in the attic...

The Past:

I mentioned a few new friends that I met while I was at the Custer Show.

They picked up lots of goodies from me for their individual shops, so I just wanted to brag a little about these adorable young women for a moment.

The first is Jenny from Retro Pony. Don't you just LOVE the name of her shop? It's located in Winthrop, Washington, which is a little tourist town in Northern Washington. She came into my booth and we started chatting like two long lost friends! (She actually had a booth at Custer's and was selling her own beautiful handmade jewelry.)

I want that t-shirt: "Chicks dig Hicks".

 She went home with lots of my treasures, and then called me two days later to order more! 

Thanks Jenny!

My other new BFFs are Holly and Becky of All That Glitter, in Spokane, Washington. We have all been vendors together at the Vintage Barn shows in the past, but this was the first time we actually got to meet. 

They always have the cutest booth set-up - filled with all sorts of fun display ideas....

...and lots and lots of pink!

Holly's church is re-vamping their bookstore, so she bought lots of goodies from me to sell there (the proceeds go to outreach programs and I'm a sucker for anything mission related!)

They are also going to put a few items of mine in their shop in Spokane, so if you are in the area, stop by and tell them Pammy sent you!

The Present:

We have a winner! I had lots and lots of you write me with the correct answer to my question last week....

Santa Baby Bubble is going to-o-o-o......

Jane!

(Jane of Mamie Jane's, who happens to be one of my all time favorite creative bloggers!)

Congratulations - as soon as you give me your contact info, he'll be on his merry old way!

The Future:

Monday, December 13th is the next project Monday!

Remember my *challenge* from the last one?

Here's a hint....

You do not have to work with these roses to participate, but I thought it would be fun to see all the different creative ideas you come up with using this paper rose.

Just sayin'....

Happy creating!

xoxo

Looking back on an almost perfect day.



The only reason Thanksgiving wasn't perfect was because my children and their families were so far away :-(

However.....

We had a lovely day spent with wonderful friends who are like family.

Here is my photo album...

To welcome our guests...



A warm fire to greet them...

the setting.

the table.



for each guest I stamped a wee tag and attached it to a rustic little wreath.

 


(if you're interested in that wreath, you might want to come back for the next Project Monday!)



As I reflect on the day, I am filled with gratitude.

For good friends, long-distance holiday telephone chats, great food, a warm fire, laughter...

And a husband who helps with the dishes.

As you venture out today into the world of Black Friday crowds, don't forget to enter for a chance to win this:

For more details, click HERE. (you only have three more days...)

Stay warm!

xoxo