EAB Designs

A Day of Crafts & Cooking

I've been busy since early this morning with preparations for Saturday evening's Halloween activities.  First up was making a big batch of chili for our dinner guests.  While the chili was simmering, I made my "Posh Squash" from the kits I ordered from Olive-Juice & Co.  I just love how they turned out.  The hand-dyed velvet is so beautiful and they will be perfect for our Thanksgiving decor as well!

 

 

After completing my "Posh Squash" it is was back into the kitchen to prep the ingredients for the remainder of our menu:  Buttermilk Cornbread, Pecan and Goat Cheese Salad, and Apple Crisp.  For my sweet girls, I also made our annual treat of caramel apples. An all time favorite of mine since I was a kid.

 

Chenille Pumpkins

While visiting an antique/flea market show a few weeks ago, I came across these adorable little pumpkins.  Cindy Roberts, of Raggidy Edges, creates these out of vintage chenille fabrics.  She will be an exhibitor at a number of East Coast shows this holiday season and you can find her show schedule here.  We'll be vendors at a couple of the same shows and I can't wait to stop by her booth to see her snowmen and Santa creations.

 

 

Happy Easter!

 

A small bouquet of ranunculus, my absolute favorite flower, brightens our Easter table.  Wishing you all a blessed Easter from our home to yours! 

Decorative Easter Eggs

 

Drawing inspiration from a few of my favorite spring magazines, I decorated some Easter eggs tonight using Prima paper flowers and butterflies which I cut out from my stash of decorative papers.  My intention was to blow out the eggs so I could save them for future years, but after breaking the egg shells on my first three attempts, I decided to just boil them (patience is definitely not my forte).  My favorite food coloring to use is soft gel paste in a bottle, which I keep on hand for decorating cookies.  Just mix some in with a teaspoon of vinegar and boiling water and you're able to achieve that perfect shade you're looking for.

Valentine Sweets

 

Spent Friday evening creating all of my handmade Valentines to send out in this morning's mail.  Many of my Valentine recipients follow my blog, so I'll have to keep those creations secret for now.  Packaged up some baked treats and candies to accompany the cards.  One can never have too many sweets on Valentine's Day.  Speaking of which, could someone please call the candy police, I can't seem to stop eating these little conversation hearts!

 

Christmas Greens

   

We are fortunate to have a property filled with large boxwoods, and several varieties of holly bushes.  During the holidays, I am able to cut fresh greens and place them all around the house.  I especially love fresh boxwood and its aroma.  I tuck it into my antique urns and nestle in some of my favorite ornaments.  The above ornaments, which were made from vintage light reflectors and rhinestone rings, were purchased last year from Joy of The Hope Jar.  I love the combination of the mercury glass, sparkle and fresh greens.

Cherished Ornaments

 

All of our ornaments hold such special memories.  There's one that always hangs at the very top of our tree, the "Julie and Eddie" needlepoint heart.  I made this for my husband twenty six years ago when we first started dating.  My, how time flies!

Counting Down to Christmas

 

I made this advent calendar for my girls a number of years ago.  I purchased red, green and white baby socks on clearance.  To make the white socks look a little more festive, I sewed plaid bows to the top.  Metal rimmed tags, from the office supply store, were then stamped with numbers.   Sew the tag to the sock and your advent calendar is ready to hang!  I use tiny wooden clothespins to hang each sock from a boxwood garland, which is placed on the banister right outside my girls' rooms.  Each morning when they wake up, they are so excited to peek into the sock to see what's inside.  It's a lot of fun, and sometimes challenging, to come up with inexpensive little surprises that will fit in each sock.  However, the most challenging part for me is remembering to fill the sock the night before.  (Reminds me of when I forgot to put my little one's tooth fairy money under her pillow one night and I awoke to the disappointing words of, "Mommy, she didn't come."  Hoping I'm not the only Mom who has gone to bed and forgot!)

 

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

 

As with all holidays, we look forward to many traditions.  At Thanksgiving, we set the table the evening before.  When my girls were in pre-school and Kindergarten they came home with these adorable pine-cone turkeys and paper Pilgrims they made.  Since that time, (my girls are in high school now!),  we have placed them as the centerpiece on our Thanksgiving table.  I love them now as much as I did when they first brought them home.  Today we made our traditional sweet potato, pumpkin and apple pies.  (Okay, I have to confess, I ate a very small piece of the sweet potato pie already.)  I hope tomorrow finds you surrounded by friends and loved ones.  We have so much to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    

Seasonal Decorations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are two items in our house that I always look forward to changing the contents of to reflect the current season or holiday.  The first would be the urns on our front porch which are currently holding two large pumpkins.  The second would be the apothecary jars on our dining room table which I just decorated for Halloween.  I mixed little white pumpkins with charming vintage Halloween tags and tickets.  You can purchase the vintage graphics from Seneca Pond Crafts.  I added German glass glitter to wooden spider webs for a touch of sparkle.