Pence Christmas Tree Farm and Ornament Shop!

Punchinello Ribbon

2011-09-01T09:25:00.001-05:00

New colors of Punchinello ribbon just arrived! This is a bright shiny ribbon that is 3 1/4″ in width and 50 yards in length.That will make a lot of bows! Great for adding bright pops of color.

Colors include Fuchsia, Chartreuse, Chocolate, Black and Emerald Green.

50 New Styles and Colors of Deco Poly Mesh Arriving Soon!

2011-08-23T21:26:00.000-05:00

About 50 new styles and colors of deco poly mesh arriving any day now! So many new colors….chocolate, navy blue, shades of gold. New stripes include lime, turquoise, pink, black, orange and black, orange and blue…..great college or school color. More colors in the 10 inch rolls….plain and metallic.

I’ve also added a new category “Complete Mesh Inventory.” That way, you won’t miss anything new.

Stay tuned! All these items are already posted on the website and show “out of stock” right now……I’ll get them updated just as quick as they arrive……so don’t get discouraged when you’re browsing the and see all the “out of stock!” The newest items always show up first…..so browse past the first few pages to get to the items already in stock.

Deco Mesh Cupcake

2011-08-16T10:44:00.001-05:00

Cupcake decoration made with deco poly mesh. This was my first project to use the 2 1/2″ mesh ribbon, and adjustments had to be made along the way. The overall project turned out just fine though. This cupcake measures about 16″ at it widest part and 17-18″ in ht.

This project started with chicken wire, wire cutters, and a tape measure. I wear old dress leather gloves. Garden gloves are too bulky, but you need something to protect your fingertips. This roll of chicken wire came from Lowe’s and cost around $8.00. I’ve made several projects off this roll already, and still have a lot left. I also used an empty ice cream bucket minus the lid and handle.

I needed enough wire to go around the bucket. The bottom wire just needed to be long enough to tuck under the bucket and the top portion needed to be long enough to attach to the rounded portion that would be the cupcake top. Any similar container would work.

Cut the wire and shape around the bucket.

I taped the bottom edges of the wire to the container using clear tape, but duct tape or anything would do. You could cover the bottom of the container later if desired.

Roll out another piece of chicken wire to cut as the top portion of the cupcake. This piece was about 26 or 27 inches. If your piece is too big, you can always mush down the size a bit. Better to cut too large a piece than too litte.

I needed a rounded shape for the upper part of the cupcake, so I used a basketball. Just wrap the wire around the ball to get the shape.

Gently peel back the wire to remove the basketball.

I just wanted a dome shape to fit down over the cupcake base. Just keep molding and shaping the wire until the desired shape and size. I had to crunch down the edges quite a bit to get the final shape. It started out a little larger than I needed. But, that’s the good thing about chicken wire, you can just keep molding and scrunching until you get your shape.

The wires sticking up from the cupcake base were pressed inward and the top dome portion placed on top. Wire edges were the secured together. You may have to occasionally clip a wire so you have something to wire together.

I chose a White Metallic 2 1/2″ mesh ribbon for the cupcake base and Pink Metallic for the top. Used white chenille stems (pipe cleaners) for the base and dome. The stems were cut into thirds.

Start adding the white mesh. Place a chenille twist anywhere along the bottom edge. Just give it a couple of twists. Anytime you can fasten the stems to more than two pieces of wire it will help stabilize the frame and keep the twist from slipping and sliding.

For some projects I may place all the twists then come back and start with the ribbon. But for this project since I was working with a more narrow ribbon, I placed a twist, attached ribbon and continued on around the base. Sometimes the twists work out pretty evenly and other times they don’t. Just make adjustments as you go. And remember you’ll always be able to go back and fill in a gap after you’re done if you need to.

I kept the loops rather small and tight going around the base. The raw edge of your beginning piece can just be tucked to the inside of the wire. Just place a small bunch of ribbon into the next twist and continue working around the base.

I noticed the label on the ice cream container at this point, and thought that it might show through. Covered it up with white label paper just in case. Just continue working around the base. You may find that the chicken wire has too big a gap and no place to put a twist. When this occurs, just add in a chenille stem as a base to add your twist to. When you reach the point that you’ve covered it all the way around, cut the ribbon with a 3-4 inch tail and when fastened in the last twist, tuck the tail underneath the wire.

You made need to reshape the dome portion a little. For the dome portion, I went ahead and put the twists in place before I started the mesh. I also wanted the dome portion to have more depth or size to it, so I chose to use two ribbons and made the loops a little larger and a little farther apart.

The pink and purple ribbon was started together in one twist, raw edges tucked under the wire. The ribbon is the same on both sides so you don’t have to worry about it twisting. Continue working from one twist to the next going all around the dome. I made the dome twists just a little larger, about 3-4″.

Once you’ve completed the loops, cut the tail 4-5″ and tuck to the inside. Look around for any gaps and fill with loops of mesh. I did this by cutting strips about 6-8 inches, folding and just tucking the tips into the holes. This project was for my own use, if I were making it to give away or sell, I would secure the loops with a stem. Also take this time to tuck in the chenille stem ends.

A RAZ Sequin Spray was used to decorate the cupcake. The sequin balls were cut off leaving a short piece of wire and hot glued to the mesh. A red ball was cut with enough wire left to look like a long-stemmed cherry.

Little bits of Glitter Strip Garland was cut and hot glued as “sprinkles.”

This was a fun project to make and easy to do! It would make a great birthday table decoration, baby shower or Christmas. And the fun part is, you can make it in any color combination – red and white with Peppermints, black and orange with spider sprinkles for Halloween.

Tissue Paper Covered Hurricanes

2011-08-15T13:04:00.001-05:00

Leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with simple, elegant ideas. These are clear Hurricane lanterns or clear glass vases covered with tissue paper in assorted colors. Actually, there is only one color used per vase, it’s the layering that makes it look shaded. Clever!

I would use battery powered candles in this project.
Great idea from Martha……and you could just change the tissue paper for the occasion. Love the ability to use something once and discard it…..when it’s as inexpensive as this would be.

Click on the photo to see the directions and more photos.

Fall Cornucopia made of Deco Poly Mesh Netting

2011-08-15T11:49:00.004-05:00

http://www.trendytree.com/blog/?p=4199

My weekend project was making a fall Cornucopia. It was the first time for making this, so I experimented and made some changes along the way. Again, form was made out of good old faithful chicken wire. Chicken wire can be purchased in rolls at places like Home Depot, mine came from Lowe’s. It was about $8.00 and I’ve made about 4 projects out of it and still have plenty left.

You’ll need wire cutters to cut the chicken wire. I like to wear an old pair of dress leather gloves. Garden gloves are too bulky and you need something to protect your fingers from sharp edges.

Roll out the wire and press it down to make it easier to cut. I used about a 30″ length on this project. I apologize for the photos….I don’t have a neat craft area….my are is the packing table in the shop. But it works fine…….just not too attractive)))

Roll up the wire in the shape of a cone. Wire edges together from the cut ends. Just keep experimenting until you get the shape you like.

This was my finished shape.

At this point, check the size of the opening depending on what you plan to put inside the Cornucopia. For now I plan to use some artificial gourds and squash.

Choose your materials – color of mesh and ribbon. I already had some Copper Metallic Ribbon open, so I chose this to go around the opening. I wanted a couple of rows of a contrast to the rest of the body. The mesh I chose was a Fall Multicolor Check. It looks more red/green in this photo but it actually has a good bit of gold, orange and mossy green. The deco poly mesh was 21″ in length. In retrospect, a more narrow mesh would have been easier to work with, but these were the colors I wanted and it was what I had. The chenille stems or pipe cleaners, were a pumpkin orange color.

Start the twists around the opening. The copper metallic ribbon used was 4″ in with and light weight, so the chenille stems were cut into thirds for this ribbon. Once the deco mesh was started, the stems were cut in half.

Pinch up the end of the ribbon and lay into one of the twists. Doesn’t matter where you start.

Bunch up about 2″ and place in the next twist. Work all the way around the opening.

When you get back to your starting point, just re-open that twist and place your last bunch there. Don’t cut your ribbon….you’re going to drop down to the second layer and go around again.

Drop down about 1 1/2″ or so to start your second row of twists. Your spacing won’t always work out evenly, some may be a little high or low, but you can always fill in gaps later as needed. Sometimes I place my twists on the chicken wire completely before I start with the ribbon, on this project though, I placed a twist and then did my ribbon. Continue working all the way around again.

When you’ve finished the second round, cut your ribbon, but leave a long tail….18″ to 24″. Just tuck to the inside for now. At a point later on, I applied hot glue to the wire edge that was showing and covered it with the ribbon tail.

Start the mesh. The Chenille stems were cut in half for the mesh. When tying on the Chenille stems, try to wire them in where they won’t slip and slide by connecting through more than 2 pieces of the chicken wire. This also will help stabilize your form. Bunch up the mesh and lay down in the first twist. Close tightly with a couple of twists. It doesn’t matter where you start. Tuck the raw edge to the inside.

Continue bunching a couple of inches of mess and go to the next twist. These bunches were much tighter than what I use for a wreath or garland and more difficult to handle for sure. So, if you have a more narrow mesh I would suggest using it. Don’t worry too much about gaps at this point, you can pull and loosen bunch later as needed or fill in gaps with extra mesh. Again, I placed the twists as I worked around the Cornucopia trying to prevent gaps as best I could.

Continue with the mesh working your way to the tail. Typically I would work all the way around the Cornucopia, but after about half way, I started working from one side to the other, leaving the bottom with no mesh. I wanted the Cornucopia to sit flat and not be too easy to roll over.

Cut the mesh and tuck the tail to the inside.

The inside looks messy, but we’ll work on that a little later.

At this point, I thought the Copper Metallic Ribbon didn’t stand out quite as much as I wanted. Had I used a more narrow deco mesh, it probably would have been find, but I decided to beef this up a little bit and went back with more Copper Metallic Ribbon around the opening. I just re-opened a twist and started another round, this time making my bunches a little bit larger. Worked all the way around the opening twice and then it looked the way I had wanted.

At this point I started tucking the chenille stems out of the way. Any gaps were filled by cutting pieces of an orange metallic 2 1/2″ mesh and tucking into the gap. These were not wired or tied in any way. I just cut a piece of ribbon, folded it over and stuck it in. Now, if I were making these to sell or give as a gift, I would have taken more pains and attached it securely, but this was for my backyard party coming up in October))

After the gap was filled, it not even noticeable that it’s a different mesh.

The long tail we saved from the first rounds of Copper Metallic Ribbon are ready to be glued to cover up the wire edge.

Just apply hot glue to the edge and press the wire edge of the Copper Metallic Ribbon to it. I used scissors or something to press the ribbon as I go to protect my fingers. Work all the way around the inside covering up the wire. You may have to lift up your first round of ribbon a little to do this.

Also I cut a piece of the mesh I used and tucked inside the Cornucopia to help the gaps or openings be less visible.

If you shape has gotten a little off while you’ve been working on the Cornucopia, just work with it. That's the good thing about chicken wire, you can shape, re-shape, it’s very flexible. Choose your embellishments. I had something called flame grass in red and mustard gold. The ends had to be cut off a bit and I didn’t hot glue any of my embellishments in.

To make the Cornucopia permanent and secure I would have done this, but when the fall gourds, mini pumpkins and Indian corn are available at the farmer’s market, I’ll want to use some of these. Spanish Moss or Wood Wool would be another good bedding material. For our backyard party, I’ll probably use a bed of Sweet Gum, Maple and Hickory leaves that have turned. Another good reason for not hot gluing anything…..

Check the bottom side since it is made of chicken wire. Don’t want any raw edges to scratch your table top. Raw edges can be turned inward and you can place it on a folded napkin or place mat to protect the table. Again, my Cornucopia was made in mind for outside decorating. I’ll post more photos this fall when I fill the Cornucopia with fruits of the season)))

August Discount Coupon - Good for 10% Off!

2011-08-10T10:21:00.002-05:00

August Newsletter

Take 10% off any order $50 or more!

Coupon Code "august"

(discount will show on checkout page)

(does not apply to sale items)

Offer good August 1 thru August 31, 2011, no rain checks and does not apply to previous orders.

RAZ Imports

About 75% of our 2011 items have now arrived from RAZ!

Old World Christmas 9/11 Remembrance ornaments now in Stock!

99% of our RAZ Halloween is in stock!

Glamour Ropes and Glitzy Sticks scheduled to arrive this week!

13 Colors! Great for bending, twisting, curling, creating shapes for your holiday designs.

Live Chat now available! Drop in if you need assistance, or just say hello! If I'm not there to respond to your call, just leave a message and I'll get back to you.

Be sure to drop by Facebook and "like" our page. We occasionally post extra coupons or discounts on our Facebook page and we welcome the opportunity to interact with our customer and friends.

How to Make a Witch Boot Using Chicken Wire and Metallic Ribbon

2011-08-10T10:08:00.003-05:00

This Witch Boot Halloween decoration was made starting with a form of chicken wire. It was a new project so I experimented along the way!

If you’ve been following my blog, you’ve seen me use chicken wire before. And I’m still using off the original $8.00 roll of wire that I purchased a Lowe’s. So far I’ve made two witch hats, a ball and now this boot……still have plenty left! Just roll the wire out on a flat surface and cut a length of about 18 inches. I wear old leather gloves to protect my fingers from sharp points.

I started molding the top of the boot first. Just roll the wire into a tubular shape. I made a v-shape in the front and made the very top of the boot fan out a bit.

Then I cut a smaller piece to shape the foot of the boot. and attached it to the top portion. The heel was made from a third piece. You may have to cut some wires here and there so you can attach them together. Just keep shaping and checking how it stands along the way. It’s very light and easy to bend. I made sure the boot was open all the way down to the foot so I could put my hand in. When I started to curl the toe I could no longer insert my hand there.

The boot was filled with just some left over orange mesh or ribbon scraps. Anything to put inside that would help hide any gaps in the finished mesh or ribbon. I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to cover the boot but wanted to start with an orange copper metallic wire edge ribbon.

This ribbon is very shiny, lightweight and measures 4″ x 25 yards. I used orange chenille strips or pipe cleaners to attach the metallic ribbon. The pipe cleaners were cut into thirds.

I started by placing a row of pipe cleaner twists around the top. When placing the pipe cleaners also go through at least two wires of the chicken wire and also use it to stabilize your form when you can (put your twist between two connecting pieces).

Roll off some of the ribbon, but don’t cut it. Scrunch together a piece about 2 inches from the end and lay between the pipe cleaner ends. Make about two twists. Then scrunch about 2-3″ and repeat in the next twist. I kept the poufs a little small compared to make a wreath or garland. Continue all around the neck of the boot and don’t cut the ribbon.

I placed another row of twists about and inch lower than the first and made a second round. At this point I stopped with the copper metallic ribbon. Cut the ribbon and tuck the raw edge into the inside of the boot and wrap around a wire.

At this point, I realized I needed something to give some weight to the foot of the boot to help it stand upright.
I was in the shop, so I had to
make do with anything I could find. I chose 3 rolls of adding machine paper. Removed the mesh, added the paper rolls and tucked the mesh back it. Now, this may not have been the best thing to use as a weight and I’m sure you can come up with something better. A bag of marbles or rocks would have worked.
I decided to wrap the rest of the boot in a 4″ metallic ribbon. Same style as the other ribbon, just a different color. Start at the toe. Cover the toe, and while holding the ribbon in place start wrapping the ribbon around. Much like an ace wrap if you’ve ever wrapped an ankle (drawing from my nursing experience here…)

When I started wrapping the ribbon, I noted that the foot needed more fullness to it. I had crimped the wire together to curl the toe and this had flatten the foot part some. Took tissue paper and just wrapped around the foot for fullness and taped in place.

This was a trial project, so that’s why I didn’t use any glue or anything at this point. Anything I had done like starting the ribbon on the toe, was easily undone and started over.

Continue wrapping the ribbon overlapping your last piece by 1/2 to 1″ or so. I did cut the ribbon once I had reached the heel area. Tucked those raw edges and wrapped around a wire and started a new piece to cover the heel.

A square using a double thickness of ribbon was cut and placed over the heel, using a rubber band to hold it in place. Start with a new piece of ribbon on the underneath side close to the rubber band and start wrapping again, continuing up the boot.

The boot is lower in the front than in the back so when you can no longer wrap all the way around the boot, just zig-zag back and forth up the rest of the back wrapping the ribbon around wires up under the copper ribbon.

At this point I did use some hot glue. The inside of the boot shows the chicken wire so I used a piece of ribbon and hot glued it to the top edge of the wire to help cover this up. Then re-fluff your copper poufs turning the ends of the pipe cleaners underneath where they don’t show.

The boot is now ready for some finishing touches. Along the way, be sure to check the boot to make sure it still stands upright. You may have to adjust here and there. You could add any sort of embellishment…..ribbons, feathers, ornaments, etc. I wanted something to hang off the toe, but I just didn’t have the right size ball, jingle bell or anything. I tried hanging a spider off, but finally decided to just leave it plain.

Took a piece of the copper ribbon and folded it in half, hot glued it together and wrapped around the boot, gluing in the back.

Stuck some feather picks that I had down into the band. Made a buckle out of Glitter Strip Garland. Glued it together first, then glued the whole thing to the boot.

The overall measurement of the boot is around 16″ in ht. Even though I did open two rolls of ribbon to do this project, I had enough left over the make another boot, just reversing the colors.

Chicken wire is easy to work with. The hardest part about this project for me was deciding on the finishing touches! I tried a big spider in place of the buckle and it looked good, but opted to stay with shiny, bling…..I need a BIG jewel to go on the buckle!

Candy Corn!

2011-08-08T21:45:00.001-05:00

Cute Candy Corn favor…..great for packaging those special Halloween treat, school parties and more. This free printable is found on Skip to My Lou. Just click on the image to go there to download the free printable.

Easy instructions, all you need in card stock paper, double stick tape and a little tissue paper. You could use clear cellophane if you needed something a little more durable.

There is also a really cool Candy Corn Banner too!

Great job Skip to My Lou! And take a look at these adorable cupcake wrappers! The cupcake wrapper is actually a template that you can download and print. Once you have your template, just use it as a pattern to cut out cupcake wrapper out of any kind of Halloween paper you have.

Scrap booking supply stores have paper by the package, or you could use colored card stock or even construction paper.The edges were cut with scalloped scissors. Check out the website for easy to follow instructions.

I love dressing up cupcakes….kids love it too))

How to Make a Witch Broom Using Deco Poly Flex Tubing

2011-08-08T19:42:00.000-05:00

This Witch’s Broom was made using scraps and pieces of left over Deco Flex Tubing that I had in the shop. I really like when you can find a use for left over pieces so that nothing goes to waste. The broom was easy to make, probably took me about an hour from start to finish.

Sorry but I had problems with my camera after I started the project and haven’t been able to recover the initial photos.

I started with the cardboard tube from a 21″ roll of deco mesh, black and orange ribbon and some hot glue for the broom handle. I covered the end of the hollow tube with a piece of ribbon and then started at the opposite end wrapping the ribbon around the tube, use hot glue. Trim off any excess pieces on the ends.

Once that was completed, I cut 18″ lengths of Poly Deco Flex Tubing in lime green, orange and black. I wound up with about 47 pieces. Had more of some colors, less of another.

The green Christmas ornament you see in the back ground of the above photo, was to be the base of my tree. I started with a 6″ Styrofoam ornament and cut it in half using a knife with a serrated edge. Then I hollowed out a hole that was about the size of the broom handle. Turned out later that the 6″ ball was too large and I wound up using a 4″ ball instead.

The Deco Flex Tubing was positioned about 1″ or so away from the distal end of the broom handle (the end that will be going into the Styrofoam base). A rubber band was wrapped around the handle base twice and pieces of the tubing secured under the rubber band with the longer ends pointing toward the upper part of the handle. Position the tubing well underneath the rubber band so it won’t pull out later. Better to have it under there too far, than not far enough.

This is how it looked when I had placed all the pieces of tubing underneath the rubber band. The tubing actually comes to the end of the handle, I wanted to be sure it wouldn’t pull out in the next step.

Take two zip ties or cable ties and position one close to the distal end of the handle and one just about where the rubber band is. I didn’t remove the rubber band. Tighten them slightly and double check to see if they are fairly evenly spaced and none are too short. Then tighten the zip ties and cut off the excess ends.

Turn the broom straight up now and let the tubing fall down like a mop. I rechecked placing the handle into the cut Styrofoam ornament. Had to hollow the opening out a little more for a good fit.

As I said earlier, the 6″ ornament I had cut in half was too large, so I used a 4″. Slicing through a Styrofoam ball isn’t as easy as it sounds…..and it’s messy. Position it flat side down and do any trimming you need to do to see that it sets flat. Cut a small piece of cardboard about the size of the ball or just a little smaller. I just used a square piece. The hole you created to stick the handle in, shouldn’t be cut all the way through, but hot glue will melt it through. So, you need the cardboard as a bottom.

Next you’re ready to place your band around the tubing. I smoothed down the tubing and placed a rubber band about the point where I wanted to secure the tubing tightly like a broomstick. The other rubber band down lower on the tubing was just to help control them and keep the out of the way for a bit.

I had to put two zip ties together to go around the broom. Tighten and clip off the excess.

Broom ready for finishing. I wanted to make it so that it would stand, or hang. If you wanted to omit the step of inserted into the Styrofoam ball it would still look fine, just wouldn’t stand alone.

I wanted to cover up the plastic zip ties, so I used hot glue to attach a piece of lime green glitter strip garland. This glitter strip garland comes in a flat roll and is much like a plastic belt covered in glitter. You can just cut long strips of it and swirl on to your Christmas tree…..it has many uses and comes in several colors.

All finished! You could add more trim such as a bow, spiders, bats….most anything Halloween. I tied some clear fishing line around the handle as a hanger.

The overall size of the broom in its standing position is about 21″ and to then end of the tubing about 33″ The grandkids love it))

Make Giant Lollipops out of Balloons

2011-08-05T16:25:00.003-05:00

Aren’t these just the cutest things! I love them! This wonderful decorating idea comes from Parents. The name of the article was Land o’ Candy Birthday Party They really look like Chuba Pops don’t they! Here are the instructions from parents.com.

What you’ll need

Large foam brush, white acrylic paint, wrapping-paper tubes, balloons, ribbon, 2-oz. paint or glue bottles, tape, cellophane, scissors

Make it

1. Use the brush to apply two coats of paint to a tube; let dry.
2. Blow up a balloon, knot the end, and to the bottom attach a length of ribbon that is about 6″ longer than the tube.
3. Tie the loose end of the ribbon to the paint or glue bottle (secure with tape if necessary) and drop it into the tube so that ribbon comes out the other end.
4. Cut the ribbon from the paint or glue bottle, pull it taut and tape it to the inside of the tube. (The top of the tube should cover the balloon knot.)
5. Cut a 3′x4′ piece of cellophane, cinch around the balloon, and tie with ribbon.
6. Insert the loose paint or glue bottle in the bottom of the tube to help it stand up. Secure in place on the floor with strips of tape if necessary.
These would make great party decorations or even Christmas decorations depending n the colors of balloons, ribbons, etc.

Also from parents.com were these cellophane wrapped candies. Well….that’s sure what they look like! Aren’t they just delicious looking))
Instructions: These hard candies are super easy to make. Tape together two plastic dinner plates, wrap them in cellophane, and cinch the ends with ribbon.

These look just like giant twisted paper wrapped candies. Really great inexpensive decorating ideas for sure. These are made out of colorful party plates and covered with clear cellophane. These would be so cute decorated for a Christmas theme and the large Balloon Lollipops could be used along side a walkway or entry way.

This article has more great colorful party decorations. Another great favor to take home were bottles of candy. Made from recycled bottles and filled with Skittles. You could use any sort of small candy that matched your party colors. Great idea…….and the packaging would cost you…nothing! Just fill up the bottles and add a cute tag.

Visit parents.com

Black Work Wreath!

2011-07-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

Just in today! The Black Work Wreath, great for your Halloween decorations. Only a few in stock, so order soon!

Balloon Wreaths

2011-07-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

Need another craft project to use up your bits and pieces of ribbons and stuff? Here’s a great looking one especially if you have birthday parties and summer celebrations coming up.

This first photo is from “Catch My Party” blog. It’s from Kate P’s party. So colorful and cheery! The addition of simple pipe cleaners add a whimsical look.

This photo is from “Landee See Landee Do” Blog. Just click on the photo to visit her blog. You’ll find simple, detailed instructions to make this great birthday wreath and lots of photos. Be prepared to spend some time there…..because she has tons of other interesting blogs you’ll get absorbed in))

Another view from Landee See Landee Do

These are great wreath projects to involve the kids in. Even the smallest child can pick out balloon colors. The wreath makes a nice “welcome to my party!” Primary colors would be great for a Back to School Party too.
You could apply the balloon technique to any Styrofoam shape…..make a cone tree….or a ball and suspend it by ribbon…..different size balls hanging in windows would be cute…..I can see a grand kids project in the making!

Just thought these cute wreaths were a nice change from poly mesh for a bit))) Gee ….maybe we should sell balloons too!

Posted Links for New Videos from Craig Bachman Imports - Making Deco Poly Mesh Wreaths & Garlands

2011-07-13T15:18:00.001-05:00

Just posted links for two new videos (right side bar “instructional videos”) from Craig Bachman Imports showing how to use deco poly mesh and Work Wreath to create beautiful wreaths and also how to use Work Garlands.

CBI How to: Deco Mesh & Work Wreath

CBI How To: Deco Mesh & Work Garland

Craig Bachman has promised more videos! I’ll get them posted just as quick as they are available!

Visit us at Trendy Tree and browse our list of great Instructional Videos on Christmas decorating, wreath and garland making, bow making and more! You'll find the list on the right side bar of the Blog.

Screamin' Cacklin' Walkin' Witches!

2011-07-12T19:23:00.001-05:00

These small witches from Burton & Burton are only about 13 inches in ht….but they are quite vocal!

They cackle and scream, eyes start flashing and off they go in a little wiggly walk. Just clap your hands to activate. They operate off 3 AA batteries.

Click Here to See the Action!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more Halloween Decorations from Burton & Burton and RAZ Imports.

See the Craig Bachman Showroom in Dallas!

2011-07-12T17:23:00.001-05:00

Here’s a sneak peek of the 2011 Dallas Market inside the Craig Bachman Showroom! Learn more about their deco poly mesh, Work Wreaths, Work Garlands, and new Work Balls and more.

Click photo to see video

You’ll see examples of the new Glamour Rope coming in soon to Trendy Tree.

Deco Poly Ice Cream Cone Decoration!

2011-07-09T12:35:00.002-05:00

Huge ice cream cone made out of deco poly mesh! This is a Craig Bachman creation using a Work Wall Cone and a Work Ball.

Poly mesh netting was worked in and out the twists as usual. The “sprinkles” on top were made from pieces of Glamour Rope.

The new Work Wall cone and Work Ball are items from Craig Bachman that we haven’t stocked at this time. But, I think you could create the same effect above using a Work Wreath and Work Garland.

You basically would need a tree or cone shape that you could turn upside down for the cone. A chicken wire frame could be fashioned for the cone. You could use pipe cleaners to secure the mesh to the chicken wire frame.

A Work Wreath could be used for the ice cream portion, just beef up the center poufs to give it a more rounded look and tighter around the edges.

Sprinkles can be hot glued on by cutting short pieces of the Glamour Rope or even the Glitzy Sticks. Our Glamour Rope and Glitzy Sticks should be arriving any day now. Short pieces of Deco Flex Tubing could be used with the same look too I think.

I can see right now, I have to try my hand at this project! What a great wall decoration or door welcome for a birthday party. Now I’m thinking of a cupcake form……or cookie…..or a Cake Pop! Cake Pops are the newest sweet treat rage….

I’ll be back with more instruction once I try my hand at this one))) Visit us at Trendy Tree for more decorating ideas using decorative poly mesh ribbon.

Star Shaped Wreath Made of Fresh Greenery by Martha Stewart

2011-07-08T00:37:00.000-05:00

Beautiful star shaped wreath made of fresh greenery. This photo is from Martha Stewart and the instructions for making the wreath can be found on her site. Just click on the photo for details.

The reason I posted this project is because I LOVE the way the wreath is hanging in the window! Leave it to Martha to turn the simple into stunning.

I have the book “Great American Wreaths” by Martha Stewart Living and it is fantastic. I’ve had it for years, but refer to it over and over again. It includes bow making, simple and easy to follow instructions on making wreaths. The Great American part comes from the fact that they chose materials from different states…..Magnolia leaves from Mississippi of course.
I’ve made the Magnolia wreath several times from fresh branches gathered from an old home place just down the road. It takes tons of branches because you just want to use the tips, but it makes an absolutely stunning wreath.

To make the Magnolia wreath some of the leaves are positioned with the waxy green side showing, then others turned with the velvety brown under side. Course, the leaves are fresh so the wreath doesn’t last but a few days, but still well worth the time spent to make it.

When I make them, I leave them in the house until ready to go outside for a backyard party and they just smell up the house with the Magnolia scent. Next one I make…..will be hanging in the window like the one above)))

"Learn Deco Mesh Wreath Design" By Southern Charm Wreaths

2011-07-07T23:34:00.002-05:00

Just sit tight! You’ve been wanting to try your hand at making wreaths and garlands I know)))

Wreath making is a fun and profitable craft project, and the best part is you can personalize your wreaths and garlands any way you want! Choose your own colors, ribbons, embellishments and themes. Maybe all you’ve been waiting on is a little more instruction on how to get started.

Well if you’ve been following my Blog, you know I’ve posted photos of several wreaths from “Southern Charm Wreaths.” These are some of the most beautiful wreaths I’ve seen made out of deco poly mesh.
Julie, creator of Southern Charm Wreaths has decided to share her expertise. She is coming out with an eBook at the end of July that will give you tons of information on creating your own festive, funky wreaths and garlands.
From her eBook you will learn:

what is Poly Deco Mesh;
step-by-step instructions on how to make your very own Poly Deco Mesh wreath;
where to purchase your wreathing supplies in retail stores and online;
how what kind of ribbon to add to your Poly Deco Mesh wreath;
how to add ornaments or silk flowers to your Poly Deco Mesh wreath;
how to add signs to your Poly Deco Mesh wreath;
plus bonuses on other ways to decorate with Poly Deco Mesh and
how to make garland from Poly Deco Mesh.

Just click on the book for the link where you can sign up to get on the list!

Old World Christmas September 11, 2001 Remembrance Heart Just Arrived at Trendy Tree!

2011-07-06T10:20:00.001-05:00

As the country looks back to the events of September 11, 2001, it is important to remember the thousands we lost and those whose lives have been changed forever.
Old World Christmas glass Remembrance ornaments were designed to honor the thousands of lives lost on September 11, 2011, and keep their memory alive.
Remembrance Heart measures 2 3/4″ and is made of mouth blown, hand painted glass.

Hang Tag Reads: This glass Remembrance Heart ornament was designed to honor the thousands who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. The heart is wrapped with red, white and blue, the colors of the flag of the United States of America. The Remembrance Heart stands for courage, unity and love of country.

Back of heart is plain.

The Remembrance Heart ornament is now in stock! More 9-11 remembrance ornaments arriving soon.

Pickin' Cotton in the 1950's and 1960's

2011-07-05T16:35:00.004-05:00

I posted a blog the other day about a museum in Holly Springs having an old cotton pick sack…..I was wanting to find a photo and sure enough……found one on eBay. You know, you can just about find anything you want on eBay! Now, don’t get me wrong…..I’m not wanting a pick sack, but I was curious to see if there were any photos out there….and I did find some))) If I don’t ever have to pick cotton again, it will be just fine with me))

Courtesy of eBay Seller bestmanwins

Now, if you want to purchase an old vintage pick sack, the style above is a 6 foot sack. and it’s for sale on eBay! Clicking on the photo will take you there. It was the size I used growing up the 1950′s-1960′s. The sack is made of durable cotton material and the bottom side has little tar dots that helped keep the sack from wearing out too quick from dragging down the cotton rows. Forty to forty five pounds of cotton would probably be about all you could put in this size sack. Sacks were available in 6 foot, 7 1/2 and 9 foot lengths.

This is not my family, but the scene is one that I’m all too familiar with))) These sacks look like 9 footers! This photo is courtesy of Gideon Seniors 1959. My days of “going to the field” started way before I was big enough to do anything but play on a quilt under a shade tree. When I was old enough to tag along down the rows with mother, daddy and my sisters, I proudly wore a pick sack made of burlap, or a mesh type sack that potatoes, onions or fruit came in. Then I graduated up to the 6 foot sack. Oh joy.

Picking cotton is back-breaking work. The taller you are, the more you have to stoop over. There is no way to pick cotton but to stoop over the row and pick. Some people could scoot down the rows on their knees, but not many. Leather knee pads that strapped to your legs were used. We had one pair of knee pads in the family….and if anyone wore them it would usually be daddy. Kids didn’t need anything but a hat, we didn’t wear sunscreen….it may not have existed then….who knows. My grandmother did her best to make us wear a bonnet….but that undoubtedly had to be the hottest thing in the world. Some folks picked in a wide brim straw hat…..most of the time I went without anything, sometimes a baseball cap. No wonder I had freckles huh…. My grandmother wanted us to pick cotton in long sleeve shirts and pants to protect us from the sun…..but you know grandmothers don’t know anything…right? Right.

Going to the field was a family affair most of the time. My little brother was too young to go to the field, so he stayed with my grandmother. My mother used to work in the field with us, but at some point she started working at a local factory and left the field work to daddy and the rest of us. I always did say she was smart. So, as soon as we all ate a breakfast of eggs, biscuits sausage or bacon……we got things together to head to the field. Sometimes it only meant walking out the back yard and picking cotton behind the house….sometimes we had to load up in the pickup and drive to some other patches we had, or over to my granddaddy’s to pick for him. I was the youngest going to the field and had two older sisters. We fought a lot.
You had to make sure you got your pick sack, cap, hat and shoes. There was no such thing as driving back to the house in case you forgot something…..if you did, you just did without until dinnertime (lunch or the noon meal).

A big jug of water had to be fixed before we left. This was about a 1 and 1/2 or 2 gallon glass jug with mason jar type screw lid. No glasses or cups…..we all drank out of the same jug. Ice was made with cubes from the metal ice trays and the jug was placed in several brown grocery store sacks. The more sacks, the longer the water would stay cold. We didn’t even have a Jolly Jug! lol Gracious! Now I’m really feeling sorry for us…. I think at some point we did finally get an insulated water jug……probably one that got left behind when we had hired hands come help us pick…

If we were picking close to the house, we would quit around noon…..or whenever daddy said we could quit and go to the house to eat. My sister (the middle one) would leave the field a little early and go fix our lunch. Usually it was something like opening a jar of canned kraut, fried potatoes, corn bread and tea. Sometimes ice was scarce. We had to have enough for dinner, but needed some for the next jug of afternoon water. If we were picking cotton for my granddaddy…..dinnertime was a different story)))) My grandmother didn’t really go to the field to pick cotton that I can remember, but she would come bring us water and she fixed lunch. She always wanted us to rest a while after lunch and didn’t want us going back to the field too soon. She worried that we would get too hot, snake bit, cut if we were hoeing and a host of other problems.

My granddaddy was crippled and couldn’t do a lot of walking as in picking cotton, he was on the tractor most of the time. But, when we worked for him, he paid us just like he did any other hired hand. Now, I had to be 9-12 maybe at the time…..and I got a full day’s pay just like everyone else. Plus, every afternoon he would take out and go to the store at Pinedale and come back with a carton of Pepsi, Snickers, MilkyWay or package of peanuts for everyone…..he did this everyday we were in the field without fail.

To get your sack ready for picking, it first had to be fitted on your shoulder for the right length. The strap would go around my left shoulder and the sack opening be on the right right. A big knot would be taking up in the strap to make it fit. “Professional” pickers would have their strap sewn flat to get rid of the knot to make it more comfortable. A walnut sized rock or cotton boll would be placed in the corner on one side or the other of the sack and a heavy wire twisted around it.

We would have a “weigh in” about mid morning, noon, mid afternoon and end of day. A pickup truck with side planks would be pulled into the field or a tractor pulling a cotton wagon for the weigh in. Usually the truck or tractor would sit in about the same spot and we’d leave our water jug and food there or under the nearest shade tree where we thought we would finish up at lunch time.

If we had to take our lunch in the field, it would usually be left over biscuits with eggs or peanut butter and crackers, sometimes Vienna sausages in a can with crackers and water from the jug.
The cotton wagon or pickup would have a plank extended high out from the back for the scales to hang on. The cotton sacks would be hung on the scales by the strap and the hook that had been made in the corner of the sack. The sacks would have to clear the ground and a pound or so had to be taken off from the amount the cotton weighed to account for the sack.
Photo courtesy of Gideon Seniors 1959.

The scales shown in the photos are just like the ones we used. Once the sack was doubled up and hung and cleared the ground, the “pea” was placed on the slender end to level the scale. Depending on how much cotton was in the sack, you either had to use the “big pea” or “little pea.” I think the peas weighed around 1 and 4 pounds, but I’m not sure.

Our scales were bought at Hamilton Hardware in New Albany, according to daddy, around 1953. They would weigh up to about 200 pounds and had markings on one side up to 40 and up to 160 on the other. I think to weigh 200 pounds you had to use both peas…

Usually the owner of the field did the weighing. The most I could ever pick was 35-45 pounds at a time, but some some folks would have 100 or more pounds at each weigh in.

Competition was pretty fierce sometimes depending on who you were picking with. The weigh in amounts were written down so the truck load could be kept up with. When the truck or wagon had 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, it would be taken to the local gin at night. We had little paper tablets or books to write our weights down in to keep up with it individually. These were free at the country stores from companies like Garrett Snuff. Sometimes the amount on the wagon would be written down on a wagon plank.

The sacks would be tossed into the wagon for emptying. Sometimes if there were young men picking, they would get up in the wagon and empty the sacks as my daddy threw them in. If not, daddy would empty all the sacks when he finished the weighing while everyone rested. He’d throw your sack back out to you and we would head back out to the row where you had left off. There wasn’t much danger of getting your sack mixed up with anyone else’s.

Sometimes, we would write our names on them using those purple berries off bushes.
Depending on where we were, we all might get to jump on the cotton wagon or in the back of the truck laying around on the cotton and head back to the house for lunch or home in the afternoon. This was always a pleasant time. The cotton would be soft and the smaller kids like me would do some playing by burying each other or throwing cotton around. We had to be careful not to throw it out of the wagon though. Depending on how many had to ride back to the house, someone might get to ride on the tractor seat with daddy and even do a little driving.

The smokers among the cotton pickers would take this time to have a cigarette. More than once a small fire had to be put out in the cotton wagon…..which could have been a disaster. My daddy and grandaddy both smoked but they were always mindful of the dangers around the cotton and kept an eye on the other smokers. Daddy smoked Camels…..and my grandaddy rolled his own. I still have one of his last cans of Prince Albert and the little package of thin, cigarette papers. The can still has a little tobacco in it.

My grandson saw the can one day and asked me what it was…..I showed it to him and opened it so he could see the tobacco and talked a little about my grandaddy. He was probably in the 2nd or third grade at the time.

Well, at school one day they had a police officer come to class to do a little talk on drugs. Apparently they discussed marijuana in class and saw some samples…..the officer asked if anyone had ever seen anything like that. My grandson proudly raised his had and said “Yes! My NeNe has some at her house.”

Once enough cotton had been picked, the wagon load or truck load had to be taken to the gin for ginning. The wagon had to be emptied at night, so more cotton could be loaded the next day. Some of the farmers with bigger farms had mechanical cotton pickers and extra trailers. But the smaller farmers picked a load, had it ginned and started back over with the same wagon.

So, ginning for the smaller farmer had to be done at night. I don’t know how long the gin stayed open, but it always seemed to be. Most of the time our cotton was taken to the Hurricane Gin. After supper daddy would head to the gin pulling the wagon load with the tractor. The gin was only probably 10 miles away, but driving the tractor at night was slow and now that I look back, I see how dangerous it really was. It was always a treat to get to go to the gin at night. Sometimes a friend and I would get to ride on the cotton to the gin. We would bury under the cotton to stay warm and comfy on the way.

Once at the gin, there would always be a long line of wagons and trucks and you just had to get in line and wait your turn. This was always a good time for running across the road for a soft drink and candy bar. When it was our time to get the cotton ginned, we had to get out of the wagon and wait. Daddy would get in the back of the wagon and suck up the cotton with this big tubular vacuum. Sometimes he would let us put our hands under it to feel the force of the vacuum. We would stand around and watch the ginning process as the seeds were separated from the cotton. Sometimes we would wait inside the gin office especially if the nights were becoming chilly.

Once the wagon was emptied, we headed back home. Daddy would get some sort of paper from the gin office, I think it had to do something with the seed or maybe just the bale number. Once the cotton was ginned, we never saw it again. The bales stayed at the gin for the buyer.

A card and cotton sample would arrive in the mail in a few days. The cotton sample was about the size 12-14″ long, had brown paper wrapped around the middle like yarn, with the cotton sticking out on each end. Inside the brown paper flap would be a card with the cotton grade. The card would have letters on it like M, LM, SLM that stood for middling, low middling, strict low middling. The middling was always the best grade. There may have been more grades, these are the ones I remember. SLM was not something that daddy wanted to see, so we were always happy to be able to shout out Middling!

I think daddy would take the cotton sample and the card to the cotton broker to sell the bale. After that, the cotton was used for stuffing cushions or something like that. The ride back home wasn’t nearly as comfy as the one going. If you were riding in the back of the wagon, it bounced you all over the place, was windy and cool.

Cotton picked paid about $3.00 per 100 pounds. So a really good picker made $10-12 dollars a day. Yes, the good old days))) Back breaking, hot work. The cotton burs would make your hands so sore. Some people picked in gloves with the fingers cut out. The worst picking would be the “scrapping.” Fields would be picked a second time to get every scrap of cotton getting bolls that had opened after the first picking or had been left behind in fields that had been first picked by mechanical cotton pickers. Cotton pickers (mechanical) do a much better job today than they did 30-40 years ago.

The money we made picking or hoeing cotton was our own. We never had to turn it in as family money, but we did use it for school clothes, supplies and things like that.

One during before basketball season started, the girls and boys basketball team had a “field trip.” Now, our field trip didn’t quite have the same connotation as a field trip today by most classroom standards. Sometime around 1966 or 1967, our basketball team got new warmups (pants to wear over our basketball uniforms to the games).

Previous to the new warmups, we had to take our ball uniforms or “ball suit” in an overnight case and change into it, play ball, then change back into our regular clothes. Having the new warmups was great….we could get ready to play quicker and the team looked great.

So, one Saturday we all picked cotton for one of the local farmers to help pay for our warmups. Not a bad deal at the time and no one quibbled about doing a day’s work for the team.

1967-68 Hurricane Basketball Team

So maybe the 1950 and 1960′s were the good old days……well….guess it depends on what part of those days you’re talking about))) I’m not complaining though…….doesn’t appear that I was abused from child labor, or my pysche damaged for life……children need to do something productive, satisfying, and there is certainly nothing wrong with learning some responsibilty and even making a little money.

But if you ask me if I want to go pick some cotton………no thank you)))

Trendy Tree July Newsletter - Free Shipping Coupon!

2011-07-03T22:59:00.000-05:00

Free Shipping on any order $100 or more!

Coupon Code "july"

(discount will show on checkout page)

(does not apply to Alaska, HI, PR, APO or international)

(Shipping will be USPS Parcel Post, First Class, Priority Mail or UPS Ground. Offer good July 3 thru July 31, 2011, no rain checks and does not apply to previous orders.)

RAZ Imports

RAZ 2011 has started to come! Items showing "out of stock" should be coming in within the next few weeks.

Old World Christmas Remembrance Heart Arriving this Week

Most of our RAZ Halloween has begun to arrive.

Check out our Blog for decorating tips and news! We have a great list of instructional videos

wreath and garland making and Christmas decorating. Trendy Tree Give-a-ways will be posted on our Blog and Facebook.

Instructional Videos

Free Printable!

Sandwich Fixings!

2011-07-03T17:13:00.000-05:00

In the hot summertime…..it’s just too hot to cook sometimes! C’mon now, admit it…..if if can’t be grilled outside….it’s going to have to be slapped between two pieces of bread….or roll….or croissants as it was today))

This was sandwich Sunday at our house…..homemade chicken salad and pimento and cheese. I’m going to share my two easy recipes. Make extra and keep in the frig for a few days. The chicken will keep safely for a couple of days, but the pimento and cheese much longer.
Now as you know as with most cooks from the south, we don’t do a lot of scientific measuring. Or I don’t anyway)))

So I’m giving you my guess-timates as to the amounts…..you’re free to add/subtract depending on your taste.
We’ll start with the chicken salad.

Chicken Salad

Chicken from one whole chicken (Roasted chicken is better, has more flavor, but boiled chicken is okay. Using only the chicken breast is okay too and actually makes prettier salad.)
3/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped pickle (I use bread and butter style, but dill works fine too)
1 crisp, tart apple – peeled and chopped (needs to be a Granny Smith, Fuji or anything that is very crisp, not a Delicious apple)
Dill flakes to taste
Salt/Pepper to taste
3/4 cup to 1 cup of Kraft Mayo (start with the lesser amount or even 1/2 cup and gradually increase to the desired taste and appearance)

Chop the chicken, put in the rest of the ingredients adding the Mayo last. Chill. Adding some toasted pecans is an option and some people like a little chopped onion in theirs. Serve on your favorite bread, stuff a tomato or serve on a lettuce leaf with crackers.

Pimento and Cheese

In my family, we usually make pimento and cheese two different ways. One is may with Velvetta Cheese and melted, the other is shredded sharp cheddar. Both have the usual Kraft Mayo and pimento. The melted Velvetta kind has a great taste, even a smidgen of sugar in it and both are favorites among our household.

Today’s pimento and cheese was the shredded kind. It mainly depends on what kind of cheese I have in the frig when I make my decision, because it’s always an afterthought……we just usually keep stocked up on cheese and the other ingredients.

3-4 cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese (today I combined sharp cheddar/colby jack)
1 large jar of chopped pimento (drain juice, but reserve just in case you need to thin a little)
3/4 to 1 cup of Kraft Mayo (start with 1/2 cup and gradually increase depending on your taste and consistency….more Mayo, the thinner and easier to spread)

Mix everything together and store in the frig. I like to serve on toasted bread or croissants.

Peaches are in!

2011-07-03T16:09:00.001-05:00

If you live in Pontotoc County, the words you’re waiting to hear each summer are “peaches are in!” Course, most of my blog readers are not from Pontotoc County I’m sure, but in Pontotoc we have the Cherry Creek Orchard who supplies the community with the best peaches you’ve ever eaten!

Sliced peaches with fresh whipped cream is a favorite dessert around our place. No extra sugar on the peaches is required and they are just dripping with juice. Our only problem is keeping enough peeled and sliced for the grand kids)))

Now, I’ll have to say that strawberries and whipped cream is their all time favorite thing to eat, but peaches run a close second…..or neck and neck perhaps)))

Whipped cream is super easy to make and you always substitute a little non-sugar sweetener if you’re trying to cut back on calories or for diabetic diets. If you’d like to see my recipe, just click on Whipped Cream.

The Fuzzy Peach Christmas ornament from Inge-Glas of Germay was introduced in 2010. It looks like a ripe peach with dark green leaf. Made of European mouth blown, hand painted glass and measures approximately 2 3/4″ It is probably the most realistic looking piece of fruit ornament I’ve ever seen.

Great keepsake for those luscious Cherry Creek Peaches))

North Pole Candy Sticks

2011-07-03T01:23:00.000-05:00

Doing some blog browsing tonight and found the cutest North Pole Candy Sticks at Karas Party Ideas.

Such a cute way to use a simple item….peppermint sticks, a bit of frosting, M & M and little sign. Cute…cute! You could always make different little signs… Santa Stop Here, Reindeer Crossing, etc.

I’m always so impressed at the blogs out there! So many are moms with small children, some working at home and actually earning some money with their blogs. The creativity is amazing! Photos are fantastic.
Visit Karas Party Ideas and see the blog on her Gingerbread Party. Very much worth the time)))

Melted Snowman Cookie by Creative Domestic

2011-07-03T01:21:00.002-05:00

Check these adorable Melted Snowman Cookies from Crazy Domestic. So cute and creative. Crazy Domestic has simplified the instructions by using cookie mix, purchased frosting and marshmallows. Turned out pretty good I’d say))

To see more photos and the complete instructions, just click on the photo. Thanks to Creative Domestic for this great idea))

Patriotic Fan - Free Printable!

2011-07-02T08:34:00.003-05:00

Great free printable from Guildcraft Arts and Crafts. Just print on some card stock and attach to a wide craft stick, or tongue blade for you nurses out there))

Just click on the photo to go to the printable page. You can print them colored, or as coloring pages, great summertime activity for the kids. Basic white card stock can be purchased at Walmart in packs of 150 sheets. It is indispensable if you have children or grandkids. I should start a list of 101 Uses of Card Stock! I’m printing mine as pages to color. It’s amazing how creative kids can be when they get a box of colors, markers, glitter pens……or paints.

We keep a craft box filled with items just for projects like this…..and glue sticks….don’t forget glue sticks. Glue sticks are the best invention since sliced bread! The glue we used as kids was in a glass bottle with a rubber top that you had to press down on your paper with and a little opening would let the glue come out when it was pressed……when it wasn’t stopped up.

You could print two, put the stick in the middle with glue and have a two sided fan. Great project for kids. Great fan to use sitting around on the back porch, at least in Mississippi!

These fans were the sort we used to have in the summertime when I was growing up in the 1950′s. You never had to buy them, they were given away by merchants, candidates and so forth. They were a must when you were sitting in church to keep the air moving. This was way before the time of having air conditioners in churches in our community anyway. You were lucky if the church had a ceiling fan, most did not.

Fans were used to keep you cool, fan sleeping babies, fan to keep the flies off the food and pretty good for giving your brother a whack every now and then))

If you want to reminisce and see more fans, just do a search on eBay. The photo on the right came from there…..and I swear I can remember this one!

And what about cooling off with the King of Rock and Roll! Elvis Presley…..you know his birthplace is only about 30 mi from Trendy Tree/Pence Christmas Tree Farm.

In this photo of Elvis, you can’t really see it here in the thumbnail, but on the sleeve of his uniform it has a patch that says “Hell on Wheels.” Think that was a part of his official uniform? I wonder…..

Mississippi Watermelon Festival July 15-16, Mize, MS

2011-06-29T10:42:00.001-05:00

Mississippi Watermelon Festival

Saturday's events will include the popular Biggest Watermelon contest: producers grow them and bring them and we auction them off, the top 3 get plaques!!

They are also having a car show, run and gospel music. Visit http://mswatermelonfestival.com/events.htm for more details.

This Watermelon Slice Christmas ornament from Inge-Glas of Germany would make a perfect keepsake for the Watermelon Festival! It's called titled "Summer's Best Dessert" and rightfully so I'd say. Wonder if they will come out with a yellow meated melon.....is that meaded or meated? Someone please let me know!

Deco Poly Mesh Curly Wreath

2011-06-28T15:23:00.002-05:00

This curly wreath was made using decorative poly mesh, a work wreath and a few embellishments. It was easy to make and the curly rolls give it a little different look.

The photos aren’t the best in the world, my work space is a real work space and not a setting for photography)) But, I’ll show you the steps I took in making the wreath.

Supplies used were three rolls of poly mesh in assorted colors, 21″ width and one roll of 2.5″ Apple Green. We used Hot Pink, White, and Purple in the solid deco poly mesh netting. My granddaughter chose the colors and I didn’t have a lime green in the wider width, so we added some accent color with the narrow ribbon. We used a lime green 24″ Work Wreath as the base.

The first thing you do is cut the lengths of mesh in about 10-12″ pieces. Use sharp scissors and handle the mesh as little as possible to decrease the raveling. The mesh curls on to itself and you can make the rolls a little tighter if you wish, but while you’re cutting, just cut and lay aside.

I cut 12 rolls from each of the three colors – purple, pink, white giving me 36 rolls. There was probably half a roll left on each roll, so you likely could make another whole wreath. I did cut a few extra when I was finished just to fill a gap here and there.

Next the lime green work wreath was placed on the table and twists smoothed out. Take two of the rolls of mesh at a time (you can just play with this, trying two or more depending on how thick you want your finished wreath) and hold in the center.

I just randomly picked up the colors and didn’t try to make a pattern or anything. Starting on the outside of the work wreath, twist the ties securely around the mesh.

Continue working the rolls in all around the outer edge, then start on the inside and work around. You really want to handle the mesh as little and possible because the cut edges will ravel. Loose strings can be clipped when you’re finished and any rolls that need to be re-curled can.

Once you have all your rolls secured, hang it up so you can see where to fill in any gaps if necessary. At this point we added in some pieces of lime green. Just cut strips or loops and go right back into the twists to secure. Add any sort of embellishments such as ornaments, sprays, etc.

For Maggie’s wreath we chose some Peace Signs, Funky Hearts and Flowers and some RAZ Yellow Curly Sprays. Embellishments are secured using the same twists in the work wreath that are holding the curly rolls.

Once the sprays were inserted, I turned the wreath over the back and secured the sprays to the work wreath with zip ties. This keeps the end of the pick or spray from showing also. The end of the zip cut was cut off after the photo so you could see it better. I also placed a zip tie on the back for a hanger.

These colors are great for girls. Maggie’s room is purple and lime green and I’ll post a photo once we get it hung in her room. I’m debating on weather to put a bow on the wreath and have one made, but we’ll wait until we get it in her room to decide.

Wreath making using the Work Wreaths and deco poly mesh is easy and there is such a wide variety of styles, colors and embellishments to work with. Wish we had the space to create wreaths to sell, but unfortunately we don’t…….maybe some day)))

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see our wreath making supplies. We have many color of decorative poly mesh netting in the 21" 10" and 2.5" widths, assorted wire edge ribbon, Work Wreaths and Work Garlands in all sorts of colors. You'll find just the colors and embellishments you need to create your own spectacular wreath!

New Product at Trendy Tree! 27" Oversized Metal Christmas Stocking Ornament

2011-06-27T15:51:00.001-05:00

These new oversized curly toe metal Christmas Stocking Ornaments just arrived to Trendy Tree! They are brightly colored in red or green glittered metal and this one has green glittered polka dots. There is also a green with red polka dot, green and red with contrasting horizontal stripes.

This long stocking ornaments have just a little bit of curve to the metal, they are not simply flat. They are long at 27″ from the toe to the top of the curly metal hanger. Each one is decorated with gold glittered jingle bells dangling from the cuff.

These ornaments will look great on your tree, wall, or door. You could even hang them from your fireplace mantle or from a table or china cabinet using stocking holders.
We only have a few of these in stock, so order early!

New Product at Trendy Tree! 16" Crushed Metallic Fabric Ribbon Rolls

2011-06-27T14:47:00.001-05:00

New ribbon product just came in! Shiny, crushed metallic ribbon in red and lime green.

This ribbon is great looking, crushable so you can try it, un-do it and try again. The edges are not wired and have not been easy to ravel with my use. It will look great for bow making, wreath making, and draping around your Christmas tree. It could be coiled up underneath your tree or woven in and out among the branches. It is light weight and very shiny.

The ribbon or fabric, is 16″ in width and on a 10-yard roll. It is made of 60% Polyester and 40% Nylon.

Right now we only have classic red and lime green in stock in limited supply so order early!

More new items on the way!

Olathe Sweet Corn Festival Olathe, CO Augut 5-6, 2011

2011-06-18T14:43:00.001-05:00

The Olathe Sweet Corn Festival is more than fun in the western Colorado sunshine. It is an ever-growing symbol of a community committed to making the future better for the generations to come.

In 1992, a few insightful people in the small western Colorado town of Olathe, decided to celebrate the community’s agricultural jewel… “Olathe Sweet” sweet corn, by organizing the first Olathe Sweet Corn Festival. This hometown crop was and continues to be more than just another of the many agriculture products of the region. Sweet corn is the crop that has kept this rural American community alive when other efforts were failing.

Sweet corn is called Indian corn, sugar corn, and pole corn) is a variety of maize with a high sugar content. Unlike field corn varieties, which are harvested when the kernels are dry and mature , sweet corn is picked when immature and prepared and eaten as a vegetable, rather than a grain. Since the process of maturation involves converting sugar to starch, sweet corn stores poorly and must be eaten fresh, canned, or frozen, before the kernels become tough and starchy.

Growing up in the 1950′s leaves me with many memories of “putting up corn.” The window of opportunity to gather corn at the proper time was short. Any other plans were simply discarded and when the corn was “ready” it had to be gathered and prepared for freezing or canning. It never got ready on a Sunday though…..always on another day.

The day would start with gathering the corn. Corn would be checked each day by watching the color of the tassels or silk and peeling back a little bit of the shuck. The corn would be ready if the kernels were filled out sufficiently and there was a pop of milk when a kernel was pressed with a fingernail.

The corn had to be just right……if there wasn’t much milk, you had waited a little too long or if the kernel was tough or too deep a yellow color. “Ready” corn would be pale yellow in color, so tender, brown tassels on the outside of the shuck, but silks fresh and shiny still clinging to the corn on the inside.

Corn would be pulled from the stalk and collected in big baskets, buckets, piled into the pickup bed or trailer on the back of the tractor. The corn would then be carried to the house and left outside underneath the largest shade tree. Putting up corn was a hot and messy job.

Shucking Corn - recipetips.com

Preparation would start with shucking the corn. Course this depending on how you were putting the corn up. If it was to be cut off and frozen or canned, all the shuck had to be removed. The photo on the left of shucking corn is from recipetips.com. Click on their link to see the whole shucking, silking process.

Sometimes corn was prepared to be put up as corn on the cob and most of the outer layers of shuck were removed and both ends cut off. Then individual ears would be wrapped in foil and placed in the freezer just like that. When you were ready to fix corn on the cob later, you had to remove the rest of the shuck and silk that would still be adhered to the corn. Most of the time our sweet corn was cut off the cob for freezing or canning.

Once the complete shuck was removed, then the silks had to be removed. This was done by hand or using a soft brush. Sometimes a soft rag rubbed over the cob would help. Occasionally you might find a worm embedded at the top of the cob, this part would simply be cut off. The end of the cob would also be cut off.

Ears would be left long for cutting the kernels off, or cut or broken into if to be frozen for corn on the cob.
Cutting off the kernels was something that the adults usually did. There is a trick to it. The kernels have to be cut at just the right depth. Maybe just a little more than the tip of the kernel. The cob would be stood on it’s end, inside a large dishpan. Cutting corn off the cob is a splattering mess. With the cob on its end, a sharp knife would be run down the length of the cob just skimming off the kernels. This would be repeated around the entire cob. Once the kernels were cut, then the knife would be scraped up and down the cob to get the remaining tender pieces and the milky juice. If you cut the kernels too deep, you would cut into the cob and that was a no no. Thus the reason for the adults cutting the corn off the cob.

As I grew older I finally was mature enough to manage this……what a great day…….now I could tell the little brother…….YOU have to wash the jars)))))

Washing the canning jars was a task always assigned to the kids to start with. Mason jars in quart and pint size were opened throughout the year and their contents consumed – corn, green beans, tomatoes, peas, butter beans, pickles, peaches and so forth. Once the jars were emptied during cooking, they were washed and placed under the sink or in a cabinet. At some point, too many would collect and have to be carried outside to a shed, well house, barn, carport closet etc.

Jars were kept from year to year. You never wanted to be caught throwing away a glass jar that could be used for canning……. Mason jars were the best, sometimes a Kerr would show up and a really, really long time ago there might be a blue one. And, although everyone said don’t do it…..sometimes leftover mayonnaise jars were used for canning. But, these were never used in the pressure cooker……only a boiling water bath because a broken canning jar really was dangerous with its hot contents.

I can remember my mother taking jars from the pressure cooker canner when they had finished and making us all stand way back…..way back as she took the hot jars out and set them in the floor on a towel to cool or counter-top. Once the jars were removed from the canner, the bands were tightened and the jar left to seal. The jars would be sitting all around and as they started to cool you would start to hear a little “pop” as they sealed. After they had all cooled, they would be checked for sealing by pressing on the flat with your thumb. Tops consisted of a flat and a band. Bands were reusable, but not flats…..not for canning anyway. Any jar that hadn’t sealed, would be placed in the refrigerator for use in the next day or two. The bands were not usually removed until at least the next day so as not to disturb the seal.

I can remember my mother saying to my daddy…..”go to the store and get some flats…..I’ve got bands…” Not a phrase that has been used in my household…..but I have done some canning since I married, but very little.

One year mother got a new pressure canner……and we hunted for stuff to can. Everything got canned that year…..corn, peas, butter beans, little whole potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable soup, green beans, pickles, plums, and probably more…….if you were standing still you were in danger of being canned!

I’ve heard my daddy talk about some people canning sausage……but canning meat wasn’t anything that was ever tried at our house…..too dangerous I think. You have to be careful with home canned foods of course and dispose anything that has lost it’s seal.
Back to the task of washing the jars. When corn was to be prepared or other vegetable that was going into jars, the first thing was to start gathering up the jars for washing. Boxes of dusty, gritty jars would be retrieved from their storage place and a big metal tub filled with soapy water. Rags and a “peach tree limb” were required.

Now, peach trees normally provided sweet luscious peaches, but they also gave up their limbs for more less tasty purposes. “Go get a limb off the peach tree….” You knew you were either fixing to have to wash jars…..or worse than that…..you were fixing to get a whipping! Never did you have to get a limb for someone ELSE to get a whipping. The whippee had to get his own limb……

Limbs for washing jars would need to be sturdy, limbs for whipping were thinner so they could inflict more pain I guess…..we really didn’t get too many whippings at home…..most of the time just the dreaded words of “go get a limb off the peach tree” were enough to change an attitude alone.

The jars would have their first washing done by the youngest in the family with a little supervision by the adults. This mostly was to get the dirt dobbers, cobwebs, bugs, and dirt out of the jars . Then they would go to the house for the real washing in hot soapy water then a boiling water bath. They had to be sparkling clean for canning.

Sometimes we kids had to just stand around and fan the flies to keep them off the corn during the shucking, silking and cutting process. All this was done outside, sometimes on the back porch if there just wasn’t a shade anywhere. Never in the house though, too messy.

If the corn was going in the freezer, once it was all cut off, it was poured into a metal dishpan and some water added to it. It was placed on the stove and cooked for a while, stirring frequently to keep it from sticking. You had to be really careful that it didn’t scorch. I don’t know how long it cooked but it turned a little darker in color and thickened up some. At that point it was left to cool a little and then dipped by cupfuls and poured into plastic bags for the freezer. Once the bags were filled, twist ties were used to close the bag…..no Zip Lok at that point in time)))

Once the bags were closed they were placed into the sink filled with ice water or large dishpans with water and ice until they cooled down enough to go in the freezer. Sometimes we dated the bags, but not always. Usually food in the freezer didn’t last long enough to worry about the date it was prepared.

Photo from Self Sufficiency News

Corn to be canned was spooned into clean, sterilized jars, usually pints. I think some water was added, but I don’t know how much. Jars couldn’t be overfilled, you had to allow room for boiling within the jar. Flat and bands were applied, though bands were not tightened completely. Then they were placed in the pressure canner. Some water would be in the bottom and the jars set over inside the canner in a rack.

The pressure canner on the left looks much like my mother and grandmother’s. Scary looking isn’t it! Just wait though until it heats up, starts jiggling and letting off a little steam…..really scary! There is a gauge that has to be watched and you never, never, try to remove the lid until the pressure and steam has been released. It’s all manageable, but you have to appreciate the potential for accidents.

Well this blog entry started out as a mention of our Corn Christmas ornaments that could be used as a keepsake for the Olathe Sweet Corn Festival…….guess I got to reminiscing about the old days and got off track. Not that I’m yearning to get out in the backyard and put up a mess of corn! No thank you. Yes, it’s good. But honestly I really don’t think it’s any better than the frozen corn that comes in a tube that we have today. It’s good, very good. But I’m glad to know that I could do it if I had too.

This Yellow Corn Christmas ornament from Inge-Glas of Germany, looks more like the sweet or field corn of my summers. We have other corn on the cob ornaments from Old World Christmas and Inge-Glas, but they have more of a harvest corn style look.

If you’re interested in learning more about canning……get a Ball Blue Book…..my mother swore by it)))

Get Organized for Christmas Now!

2011-06-12T08:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had a phone call from a customer wanting to buy several items which was great for us, but the reason she was needing so many was that she had purchased a similar ornament right after Christmas, and now they were no where to be found. So frustrating, but it’s happened to all of us. I have a bag of 8″ gold balls that simply are hiding somewhere……and this is a BIG bag of balls! Haven’t seen them now in over two years…..
Thus, the search for some Christmas organizers began and I found several)))

This organizer is from the Executive Homemaker at Tip Junkie. It prints out several worksheets at one. It includes a party planner, gift planner, memory planner and more. Just print it off and start a ring binder with room to add more. Just click on the photo to go to the print page.

You might want to buy a package of tabs for your notebook because more pages abound!

This page is from Organized Christmas and would be great to start jotting down your decorating ideas for every room in your house. The Organized Christmas site is chocked full of pages!

The Deco Inventory page is something I should have probably been using for a long time now…..maybe my gold balls wouldn’t be lost!

More pages from Organized Christmas:

Decor Storage Inventory

Ornament Journal

Holiday Collections

Our Holiday Traditions

Holiday Memories Journal

Two-Page Weekly Planner

Holiday Party Budget

Holiday Party Guest List

Holiday Party Planner

Holiday Swaps Directory

Catalog/Internet Orders (Be sure to put Trendy Tree at the top of the list on this one!)

Stocking Stuffers

Black Friday Holiday Sales Planner

Wrap and Mail Checklist

Chore Checklist

Holiday Home Spruce Up Checklist

Holiday Wardrobe Planner

Holiday Menu Planner

Favorite Holiday Recipes

Holiday Baking Planner

These pages from Organized Christmas can be printed, or some can even be completed online, then printed if you like. Print as few or many, and you may want multiples of some of them.

You will probably want to visit Organized Christmas because they have much more than what I’ve listed. There are calendars (I’m sure will be updated soon to 2011) and much much more.

This is a neat little check list called the Ultimate Holiday Checklist from giverslog.com It can be printed, cut and dropped your purse or just printed and fan folded.

You and print the Ultimate Holiday Checklist just as it was created, or print it blank with just the headings to make it more personable. I really like the small format that you can tuck in your purse or even your pocket.

If printing paper isn’t your bag…..here’s some apps for your phone!

Pocket Elf - iphone

Android - Free Christmas List

Android Christmas Planner

Blackberry Christmas Checklist

Blackberry Christmas Budget

Free Christmas Printables!

2011-06-11T10:47:00.001-05:00

The amazing folks at Catch My Party have created some great Christmas printables that you can download for free at their site and use as gift tags and mini candy bar wrappers. You could even print the candy bar wrappers on card stock and use as napkin rings.

To visit the download page, just click on the image or go to their Blog “Catch My Party.” But be prepared to spend some time…. fantastic party ideas)))

Visit us at Trendy Tree for more great decorating ideas!

Another Give-a-way on Trendy Tree!

2011-06-11T09:49:00.003-05:00

Another give-a-way from Trendy Tree coming up! This RAZ 18″ Potted (artificial) Pine is the perfect little tree to decorate and set on a table, corner of a desk, kitchen counter……you’ll find a place for it no problem. It’s actually one that could be used year-round with or without decorating. It has tiny little pine cones attached to it.

To get your name in the hat for this little tree all you have to do is “like” us on our Trendy Tree Facebook page …..how easy is that!

You will need to leave a comment on this post though so we can capture your name!

After you’ve “liked” us on Facebook, just come back to this blog and leave us a note.

(We already have 500+ “likes” on our Facebook page and this give-a-way is just for the folks who make a comment on this post.)

But what if you already “like” us? No problem. You can still get your name in the hat. Just tell a friend about us – one or more))).

Just be sure to come back to the Blog and leave a comment telling us what you did))

The winner will be chosen by random.org. The promotion starts today, June 11, 2011 and ends June 18, 2011. Once the winner been chosen, we will contact you by email to obtain your shipping address.
Giveaway applies only to residents of USA, excluding Alaska, Hawaii, PR, APO addresses.

Visit us on Trendy Tree to see all our RAZ Christmas decorations.....coming in soon!

GOOD LUCK!

6/19/11 UPDATE: Congratulations to Kim Z. who won the the RAZ Pine Tree. Winner was chosen by random.org. Thanks to all who participated and stay tuned for another give-a-way!

Deco Poly Flex Tubing

2011-06-10T22:11:00.000-05:00

Our Deco Poly Flex Tubing comes in bags of 30 yards. Most of the time these bags contain 3 10-yard pieces, but sometimes the tubing can be in one pieces, sometimes there might be one length of 15 yards and another of 10, it’s variable.

But we’ve also found that a full 30 yards is not needed for each project. So, we’ve put together some bags of different color combinations so that you can have a variety and not have to purchase 90 yards just to get three different colors!

This selection of red, white blue is perfect for patriotic decorations, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor day and more. This was the first combination bag we put together and seeing the popularity of three colors in one bag….we decided to do more!

The orange, black and green colors are great for Halloween. It was a toss up on whether to put purple in this bag or green…..wish there was room for a fourth color.

Colors of the Mardi Gras – Purple Gold and Green. The green in this bag is darker Emerald Green which blends perfect with the deep rich Purple. The gold is actually listed on the website as Brown with Gold. We have another gold with gold foil color, but this metallic gold was a better fit. It is actually a Laser Foil whereas the other are metallic foil.

This multicolor bag includes Turquoise Blue Fuchsia, and White with Silver. This color combination is very popular with multicolored Christmas decorations, and also great for birthday and other occasions. Very popular colors.

This Christmas package contains are most popular colors ….Lime Green, Red and White. The White is White with Silver. Classic red and green is our best seller of most any sort of decoration each year.

Hope these combination packages will be helpful to you. We still have a Baby package to upload and an Iridescent package.

If there are more color combinations you would like to see, please just leave a comment or send us an email and we’ll see what we can do!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see all 21 colors of Deco Poly Flex Tubing in stock!

Patriotic Deco Poly Flex Tubing Winner!

2011-06-09T07:02:00.002-05:00

Congratulations to L. Hurst – winner of the bag of Patriotic Deco Poly Flex Tubing from Trendy Tree! (Winner chosen by random.org)

Stay tuned! Another give-a-way coming up soon!

Quick and Easy Ice Cream Cake

2011-06-08T13:25:00.001-05:00

We needed a cake in a pinch this week so I threw together a Quick Ice Cream Cake. It only took a few minutes to make, the children all loved it and there wasn't one bite left over!

Two simple ingredients - Vanilla Ice Cream and Graham Crackers!

Spray a Loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Allow a 1/2 gal of ice cream to soften slightly

Lay down a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of the pan.

Alternate layers of ice cream, graham crackers, ice cream...etc. Finish with ice cream on the top.

Cover with foil and return to the freezer for a couple of hours.

I used the entire 1/2 gal of ice cream and a little less than a sleeve of graham crackers.

To serve, just cut into slices. The cake probably could have been turned out on a serving plate, but we just cut and the slices came out easily.

This was one of the easiest desserts I've ever made and especially to have not one crumb left! I'm already thinking about making another with a little more thought perhaps the next time......may try a Banana Split Ice Cream Cake with bananas, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, maybe some strawberry or pineapple topping and some nuts......or peaches and vanilla ice cream. Even could do a Patriotic Ice Cream Cake with Vanilla, Strawberries and Blue Berries......

Please leave us a comment on the combinations you might try!

Visit us on Trendy Tree for more down home recipes!

Raspberry Festivals

2011-06-08T07:54:00.003-05:00

Raspberries are plentiful this year as are the festivals! Here’s a few we found:

Northwest Raspberry Festival at Lynden, WA July 15-16, 2011

Hopkins Raspberry Festival at Hopkins, MN July 9-11, 2011

Bear Lake Raspberry Festival Days at Garden City, UT August 4-6, 2011

Raspberry Festival at Cottonwood, Idaho August 7, 2011

I’m sure there are more festivals this summer and plenty of farms to pick your own fresh raspberries…..great outdoor activity for the little ones……just be careful of the chiggers!

Here’s a recipe from Betty Crocker’s 1950 Cookbook for raspberry pie. The pie is actually Berries and Cream Pie and you can choose to make it with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, or even peaches…….same delicious result.

Berries and Cream Pie

Make Pastry for one 9″ pie (or do as we do in the Pence household.... buy one….)

Place 4 cups fresh berries in pie crust

Mix together and pour over berries:

2/3 cup sugar

4 tbsp. Gold Medal flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup cream (30%)

Bake until crust is nicely browned and filling set. Serve slightly warm.

Temperature; 400 degrees (a moderate hot ove)
Time: Bake 35-40 minutes

Now, if you need a Christmas ornament to make picking raspberries, attending a festival, baking or eating a raspberry pie a sweet memory……we have an ornament for you! Merck Family’s Old World Christmas Raspberries.

This Old World Christmas ornament is retired…..we have only a few left in stock so don’t let it slip by! Cluster of purplish red raspberries with green leaves. Ornament measures approximately 2 3/4″ and is made of mouth blown, hand painted glass.

The Hang Tag reads: Raspberries are a symbol of kindness in Christian art. Their red juice signifies the heart where kindness originates. Raspberries are a delicate fruit, so they symbolize fragility as well. Raspberries are thought to have medicinal benefits, especially associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

Visit us at Trendy Tree and see of collection of over 800 styles of Old World Christmas ornaments!

The Wayne Chicken Show!

2011-06-08T07:53:00.002-05:00

If you’re going to be in Nebraska in July, you might want to drop by the Wayne Chicken Show July 8-10, 2011. Sounds like these folks really know how to have fun! Events include the world’s largest chicken dance……I think even I could participate in that one))) Lots of food and games for all ages, flea markets and contests.

Hey…..Elvis will be there…..maybe he’s driving down after having been in Tupelo last week for the Elvis Festival….who knows…

Wayne, NE may have the bragging rights to a chicken festival…..but we have the bragging rights to the perfect Chicken ornament!

The Rubber Chicken ornament was introduced by Merck Family’s Old World Christmas in 2003 and measures approximately 5 1/2″, made of mouth blown, hand painted glass.

The Hang Tag reads: A Rubber Chicken is a popular gag and slapstick comedy prop used by comics. However, as part of political campaigning, someone who “travels the rubber chicken circuit,” does so by attending or making speeches at many gatherings where dinner is often overcooked chicken. Either way, this chicken likes to have fun!

Perfect gift for those who like to have fun)))

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more great gag gift Christmas ornaments!

Hope Watermelon Festival August 11-13, 2011

2011-06-07T13:40:00.000-05:00

The Hope Watermelon Festival in August promises three full days of fun! Located at Faith Park, Hope, Arkansas. There is a pageant, car show, arts and crafts, softball tournament…..and cold watermelon by the slice!

If you attend this fun-filled festival and need a keepsake Christmas ornament, we have just the thing for you. Or, if you can’t attend and just love watermelon……we have the ornament for you)))

Old World Christmas Watermelon Wedge

Inge-Glas Summer's Best Dessert

Take your choice! Maybe one of these days we’ll have a yellow meated watermelon ornament…..Old World Christmas….are you listening??

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more summer fruit Christmas ornaments!

National Donut Day!

2011-06-04T10:10:00.001-05:00

National Donut Day is the first Friday in June.

National Donut Day started in 1938 as a fund raiser for the Chicago Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy. Many American donut shops offer free donuts on Donut Day. The Salvation Army continues to use donuts as a fund raiser.

Here’s a recipe for donuts (or doughnuts as Betty Crocker says….) from my mother’s 1950′s cookbook. I remember them being delicious!

Favorite Doughnuts

Beat well: 4 egg yolks (or 2 whole eggs)

Beat in: 1 cup sugar; 2 tbsp. soft shortening

Stir in: 3/4 cup thick buttermilk or sour milk
Sift together and stir in: 3 1/2 cups sifted GOLD MEDAL Flour; 2 tsp. baking powder; 1 tsp. soda; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1/4 tsp. nutmeg; 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Chill dough 2 hours. Heat fat while rolling and cutting doughnuts.

1. Turn part of dough onto floured cloth-covered board. Keep the rest chilled. Turn dough to lightly cover with flour.

2. Roll out gently 1/3″ thick. Cut with floured sharp doughnut cutter. Take board close to kettle to transfer doughnuts easily.

3. Lift doughnuts on wide spatula, slide quickly into hot fat. Fry as many at a time as can be turned easily.

4. Turn doughnuts as they rise to surface and show a little color. Fry about 3 min. to completely brown on both sides.

5. Life from fat with long fork. Do not prick doughnuts. Drain over kettle, place on absorbent paper in warm place.

Note: Keep fat to use again: Clarify fat with raw potato in it (4 slices to 1 qt). When fat bubbles, strain into jar or can through 2 or 3 thicknesses of cheesecloth, over wire strainer. (The potato absorbs flavors and collects sediment, the remainder settling to the bottom. ) Keep in refrigerator in light-proof, tight, covered container.

Serve plain, sugared or glazed.

Note: The amount and kind of spice may be varied to suit individual taste. 2 tsp vanilla may be used in place of spices.

Temperature of fat: 370 to 380 degrees

Amount: 2 dozen 3″ doughnuts

To Sugar Doughnuts: Just before serving, shake doughnuts one at a time in a paper bag with a little confectioners’ or granulated sugar.

To Coat with Nuts and Sugar: Dip warm doughnuts into warm glaze (see below), then into mixture of 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp of cinnamon.

To Glaze Doughnuts: Add 1/3 cup boiling water gradually to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar. Mix well. Dip warm doughnuts into the warm glaze.

Or…..go to Shipleys))))

The good thing about the Old World Christmas Donuts…….no calories)))

Patriotic Red White Blue Deco Poly Flex Tubing Give-a-Way at Trendy Tree!

2011-06-02T09:47:00.002-05:00

This bunch of patriotic Deco Poly Flex Tubing in red, white and blue is perfect for your July 4th projects! We’re giving away a set of three 10-yard lengths and all you have to do is make a comment on this blog…..it’s that easy! The give way starts today and winner will be chosen on June 9th, 2011.

Details:
1. Make a comment on this Blog post
2. Giveaway applies only to residents of USA, excluding Alaska, Hawaii, PR, APO addresses.
3. Winner will be chosen by using random.org
4. Winner will be notified by email. If no response in 48 hours, another winner will be selected.
5. Winner’s name will be posted on Blog and Facebook.
6. You may enter extra times by doing any of the following (JUST BE SURE TO MAKE ANOTHER COMMENT ON THIS BLOG AND TELL ME WHAT YOU DID).

Like us on Facebook

Share this give away link on Facebook

Share this give away link on another Blog

Share this give away link by email

Share this give away link by Twitter, Stumble, Buzz….any other social network

Now…..go spread the word that Trendy Tree is giving away some Flex Tubing!

Note: 6/9/11 L. Hurst is the winner of the Patriotic Deco Poly Flex Tubing. (Chosen by random.org)

Free Shipping in June at Trendy Tree!

2011-05-31T12:10:00.004-05:00

Trendy Tree - Pence Christmas Tree Farm

June Newsletter

Free Shipping on any order $100 or more!

Coupon Code "june"

(discount will show on checkout page)

(does not apply to Alaska, HI, PR, APO or international)

(Shipping will be USPS Parcel Post, First Class, Priority Mail or UPS Ground. Offer good May 31 thru June 30, 2011, no rain checks and does not apply to previous orders.)

RAZ Imports

RAZ 2011 Christmas and Halloween items should start arriving by the end of the month!

New Colors and Styles of Mesh Netting!

New Saxon natural jute material, open wide weave, 21" x 10 yd

New 10" Poly Mesh!

Candy Rolls Decorated for Memorial Day

2011-05-29T19:37:00.001-05:00

These candy rolls were decorated up for Memorial Day. I saw a project on Martha Stewart’s site using this method to wrap up rolls of coins. I thought it would work great for a little extra decoration for Memorial day.
These candy rolls are actually strawberry and fruit flavored Mentos. First wrapped in white paper (I used white label paper….just peel off the back and stick, but you could use any sort of wrapping paper.) Added bits of ribbon, stars or even cut out some stars and stripes from some left over shiny patriotic banners. One package of patriotic banners has lended itself to several projects for Memorial Day.

These candy rolls would look great as items to go in birthday happy sacks…..decorated according to your party theme….or any other holiday or special occasion. They really didn’t cost anything to make, scraps were used….even the cellophane. I used the cellophane bags that some tissue paper and the banner had come in. Just cut off the seams and lay flat. I wasn’t even thinking about trying to be thrifty……just saving myself a walk to the shop to get out a clear cellophane roll……

Firecracker Pinata

2011-05-27T22:16:00.000-05:00

The grandchildren decided today that we needed a pinata for Memorial Day. Memorial Day which is 3 days away…….you know how the requests from grand-kids are)))

Well, typically to make a pinata I start with paper mache mixture to build the form and this usually takes 2-3 days to dry completely. Since we didn’t have that kind of time, we tried to come up with something we could create from cardboard.

We came up with a Firecracker shape by cutting a piece of cardboard about 24″ in width. Rolled it up into a cylinder shape and taped it together. So, now we have a Firecracker 24″ in ht and about 12″ in width.

One good thing about the Trendy Tree shop, we have plenty of cardboard, tape, boxes etc. So after we rolled up the cardboard, we cut circles to fit in the top and bottom from old boxes. Our cuts were not perfect….but they worked.

A false bottom was created since it was such a tall pinata I didn’t want the weight of the candy to make the form sag. The candy will be placed closer to the top…..noticed AJ making a mental note of this so he’d know where to hit it.
Next step was to decide how to decorate. We opted for basic red, white, blue and marked off two different designs on the cardboard. One side with horizontal stripes, the other with vertical. Simple enough.

Next we were ready for the tissue paper fringe. These are easy to do but you may have to experiment a little to get your cuts just right. Basically just remove the folded tissue paper out of the bag and cut across the top about 2″ down from the top without ever unfolding it. Then make lengthwise cuts through the folded tissue paper about 1/8″ to 1/4″ in width. Only make your cut to within about 1/2″ of the top so that when you unfold it, you will have a strip of fringe.

Start at the bottom of your project and use glue stick on the cardboard. Gently unfold the paper fringe and stick down. Always work by adding the next layer of fringe overlapping the last. You want to make sure the strips are close enough that your cardboard isn’t showing through. It doesn’t have to be perfect and bare spots can always be covered up. Save yourself some time and frustration. Buy Elmer’s Glue Stick……it lasts longer. It does dry quick so work by pasting a few inches at a time….paste, apply fringe. I like to work left to right to left, but there is no right or wrong way. You essentially just want to cover the cardboard.

At this point, we were ready to add the candy. Choose small individually wrapped candies. This pinata was just going to be for the three grandchildren so I only used about 3 varieties…..bubble gum (sour ball kind), Laffy Taffy and Jolly Ranchers.

Pinatas I’ve made for birthday parties with larger groups of children can hold 2-3 pounds of candy and have been made for that weight. This one is large, but not designed for heavy candy. Usually I like to use Tootsie Roll Pops because once they fall out, the kids can find them quick to pick up.

Ready for closing! Usually I add the twine to hang the pinata from at this point. The string has to be strong enough to withstand the beating and still not pull out of the pinata. This Firecracker Pinata was quickly put together and there is no way that the circle lid would hold the string for hanging. So this one will be hung horizontally by tying some twine around both ends…..picture frame style, and suspending from that. It is not shown in the photos.

Before the lid was secured, we took a RAZ sparkle berry spray and cut a couple of branches from it. Twisted the branches together and pushed through the circle lid. The spray was taped underneath the lid. The lid was secured with tape and covered with fringe.

All done! To add just a bit more sparkle, we cut out some star shapes from a patriotic banner (left over from another project). Before the stars were cut, I added some adhesive paper to the banner, then cut the shapes. This gave a little more body to the stars. They were glued in place with glue stick.

Now……where is that plastic bat??

Lollipop Centerpiece

2011-05-27T02:24:00.002-05:00

This whimsical centerpiece from the RAZ Gumdrops and Jellybeans Collections will be something children love! I know my grandchildren will)))

Items and Quantities Used:
3106565 (09) Glittered Lollipop
3116350 (07) Glittered Lollipop
G3116171 (02) Candy Garland

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more items from the RAZ Gumdrops and Jellybeans Collection!

Gold Metallic Diamond Mesh Netting

2011-05-24T10:19:00.000-05:00

This new style of mesh netting just arrived and it's going to be great for all sorts of holidays and celebrations. It is a 14 kt gold glittery color. The color is hard to capture in the photo ( my photos). It's very bright and shiny with gold and gold foil threads.

The pattern is a diamond or honeycomb shape.

It also is a bit wider than most of our mesh netting. This roll is about 26 1/2" in width and 10 yards in length. Great for covering large gift baskets and flower pots. The mesh would make huge bows and swags. All sorts of uses come to mind! Perfect for the golden anniversary.....

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see our huge collection of styles and colors of mesh netting!

New Color Decorative Poly Mesh Rolls - Orange and Lime Green!

2011-05-23T09:34:00.000-05:00

Great new color of decorative poly mesh in the 21" width just arrived! Lime green and orange! Perfect spring, summer and even fall color combination. Fresh citrus colors.....would look great worked into floral arrangements or table swags featuring florals with fresh cut oranges and limes.....so cool and refreshing!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to shop our huge collection of poly mesh ribbon/netting in 2 1/2", 10" and 21' widths.....so many styles and colors!

Boston Cream Pie!

2011-05-21T11:36:00.000-05:00

A Boston cream pie is a round cake that is split and filled with a custard or cream filling and frosted with chocolate. Although it is called a Boston cream pie, it is in fact a cake, and not a pie. Created by French chef M. Sanzian at Boston's Parker House Hotel, this pudding and cake combination comprises two layers of sponge cake filled with vanilla custard or crème pâtissière. The cake is topped with a chocolate glaze (such as ganache) and sometimes powdered sugar or a cherry. The Boston cream pie is the official dessert of Massachusetts, declared as such in 1996 (according to Wikipedia). According to my family......it is good))))

This Boston Cream Pie recipe from my mother's 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook was actually a combination of three recipes. The instructions were:

Make a one-egg cake, pp 124, 125, in one round 9" layer pan. Split into 2 thin layers. Put together with cooled Cream Filing (p. 172). Spread Thin Chocolate Icing over top. Serve like pie.

Sounds simple enough! And actually it was...it just required several steps to finish.

Most of the Betty Crocker cake recipes give measurements for a large cake or small (one layer) cake. This isn't something you see in today's cookbooks for the most part.

Light Yellow Cake (Small Cake)

Grease and flour 2 8" layer pans or 9" square pan

Cream together until fluffy...

3/8 cup soft shortening (half butter for flavor)

1 1/4 cup sugar

Beat in thoroughly...

1 egg (1/4 cup)

Sift together...

1 7/8 cup sifted flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Stir in alternately with...

7/8 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Pour into prepared pans. bake until cake tests done. Cool. Finish with filling and frosting as desired.

Temperature: 350 degrees (moderate oven)

Time: Bake layers 30 to 35 minutes, square or oblong 35-40 minutes

I chose a spring-form pan to bake my cake in since it was a bit larger than my round cake pans. A spring-form pan is really easy to use.

Just put the two pieces together and close the outside clamp. Even though this pan was supposed to be "non-stick" I greased and floured anyway. I usually prepare the pan by using a stick of butter or margarine and grease the bottom and inside of the pan (Not using the whole stick! Just enough to coat the pan.))) The sprinkle flour all around and gently shake and roll the pan around to get all the edges coated. Then tap the pan gently upside down over the sink the shake away the excess flour.

Follow the recipe and mix the ingredients. Turn the oven on so it can pre-heat.

Pour the batter into you pan and gently run a knife through the batter. It will help remove air bubbles. You can also set the cake pan down firmly in the counter top a couple of times to help remove air bubbles.

While you cake is baking, complete the next step of your Boston Cream Pie.....the cream filling.

Cream Filling

(for small cake)

Mix together in top of double boiler ...

3 tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. cornstarch

1/3 tsp. salt

3/4 cup rich milk or cream

Bring to boil over direct heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute...

Remove from heat. Pour a little over ....

3 egg yolks slightly beaten

Blend into hot mixture. Cook over boiling water, stirring until thick (2 minutes).

Remove from heat. Add ...

1 tsp. vanilla

Note: chill until it sets.

Once your cake has baked, set it aside for cooling. Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing the sides or transferring to another dish.

With a spring-form pan you just unclamp the side latch and remove the side portion. Then all you have to do is turn it upside down on to a plate, the back right side up to your serving dish.

The next step is to slice the cake layer in half. There are different ways of doing this, but I like to use the toothpick method. You can take dental floss and split the cake layer horizontally by moving the floss in a back and forth motion....but I think toothpicks are the best.

Just position toothpicks halfway of the cake layer placing them 1 to 2 " apart. Go all the way around the cake layer.

Once the toothpicks are in place, use a long, serrated knife and lay the blade on top of the toothpicks as a guide. Using a short sawing motion, turn the cake stand with your left hand and slowly cut all the way through the cake. Lay the slice off to the side and remove the toothpicks.

Brush away the excess crumbs. My cake was a little browner than I would have like.....next time will take it out of the oven a little earlier.

By this time your cream filling should be chilled and ready to spread on the cut layer. Just pour the majority of it in the center of the cake and spread to the outside with a knife. You want the filling to come all the way out to the edge. Hanging over the edge is better that falling short of reaching the edge.

Place the top layer back on and position for the best fit.

Brush away any stray crumbs.

Next it's time to make your icing or ganache.

Thin Chocolate Icing

(For Boston Cream Pie, Cream Puffs, and such...)

Melt together over hot water ....

1 sq. unsweetened chocolate (1 oz).

1 tsp butter

Remove from over the hot water.

Blend in...

2 tbsp boiling water

1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

Beat only until smooth, but not stiff

Spread the icing over the top of the cake, letting it drizzle down the side if it's thin enough. If it becomes stiff too quickly, you can run the knife in hot water to help smooth the icing.

Enjoy!

New 10" Poly Mesh Rolls Just Arrived!

2011-05-21T00:31:00.002-05:00

Just in this week! Poly mesh rolls in 10" widths! Great for bow making, wreath making and all sorts of craft projects. Stripes and solids.

Check out all the new poly mesh rolls.....many new styles in!

Firecracker Decorations for Memorial Day

2011-05-20T17:41:00.004-05:00

These RAZ Firecracker Fourth of July decorations are perfect for Memorial day also. Since our stock was running low, Maggie and I decided to make our own firecracker decorations for Memorial Day. Last year Maggie and AJ made a beautiful banner for the back porch with stars and stripes. This year we'll put it back up and add the firecracker decorations.

We started with just a few simple items ....emptied out some Pringles cans which Maggie says was the best part)) We needed another size and the cans that the tubbies of drink mix comes in was perfect.

The only thing we really had to buy was an inexpensive pack of patriotic banners at the Dollar Tree. The foil colors were perfect for our project. Glue sticks were in the craft box and scissors. We cut out pieces of the banner to fit around the cans and just applied with glue stick, trimming off any excess.

The cans were filled about half way with rocks just to give some weight. Small bows were made out of Deco Poly Flex Tubing. A small hole was punched in the plastic lid and the end of the bow threaded through. This was just enough tension to hold the bow just fine. The star sprays and picks were poked through the hole.

We also used some RAZ Red Glittered Ball Spray. We just played with the foil coverings and added white/silver Flex Tubing, red metallic ribbon....just pieces of anything we had in the red, white, blue colors.

I think our firecrackers turned out just fine. Next we're going to make a white Deco Poly Mesh wreath with red, white, blue accents and maybe some American Flags.

Happy Memorial Day!

New Saxon Natural Fiber Open Weave Mesh Netting Just Arrived!

2011-05-20T08:32:00.000-05:00

Great new colors of Saxon Jute Netting. This is a wonderful material to work with. It has a wide open weave and made of natural fibers. We had a similar product last year, but this one is smoother and not quite so "hairy." It's available in four colors: Red - Lime Green - Orange and White. I have the "white listed" as cream though, since it's more of an off white or ivory.

The photograph of the red roll shows how the open weave of this product.

This natural open weave netting or ribbon, will look great for your wreath making, bow making and more. It will add texture, bright color and a different dimension when combined with fresh or silk greenery or other ribbon products.

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see our huge selection of deco poly mesh netting and ribbons!

New Pink and Turquoise Blue Poly Mesh Netting Just Arrived!

2011-05-19T15:05:00.000-05:00

Two new colors of decorative poly mesh netting added to the site today. Pink and Blue....Turquoise Blue that is. These are both new colors for Trendy Tree. We have the Baby Pink and Baby Blue, but it's the smooth mesh and not metallic. These rolls have tiny foil threads that add a bit of glitz and shine.

These two colors will make great decorations for the nursery, baby showers, Easter, birthday celebrations and more! Keep checking the Poly Mesh section.....I have many more to add!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see our huge selection of decorative poly mesh ribbon!

More Uses for Deco Poly Mesh - Flower Pots!

2011-05-12T09:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I potted some Impatients, Marigolds and Geraniums. In one of my two-tiered pots I usually place some of that cocoa material that is used in lining hanging baskets. Well, I didn't have any of this but did have a couple of pieces of rolls of deco poly mesh left over from Halloween and fall decorating last year. I thought I'd try using this as a liner in the flower pot and it worked just fine!

I just cut the length wide enough to fit down in the pot, used 2 layers for the first one, decided to use 3 layers for the second one.

Just layer the mesh in the pot, an extra hand would help as the deco poly mesh naturally holds it shape and would curl up around the edges.

Add your potting soil, making sure you have plenty of width to hang over the edge until you're through potting. Don't trim the edges until you have your plants snuggly in the soil.

Trim the excess mesh.

Once the flowers have grown and filled out more, I'll take more pictures and post. I'm sure it will be necessary to keep a close eye on the moisture content as the pot will dry out quick (same as it would with the cocoa mat).

Visit us at Trendy Tree and browse our huge selection of deco poly mesh netting and ribbon. Growing every day!

Betty Crocker Divinity

2011-05-10T23:37:00.001-05:00

Mother's Day was this past Sunday and my Mother has been gone now for almost ten years. I spent of lot of time thinking about her this weekend and remembering so many good things from my childhood. I decided I would try to make her Divinity Candy recipe she used from her 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook. Now, I'm no where near the cook my Mother was, and I had never tried to make Divinity before. But I did remember there were certain things about Divinity that would make it fail or not......one of those was "you can't made Divinity on a rainy day." I don't know why, but you can't. Mother said, so that was enough for me. But on Sunday, the sun was shining so I took a stab at it. The recipe sounded very simple, just four basic ingredients really - sugar, corn syrup, egg white and pecans. Most of the time the Divinity my Mother made was plain, with maybe just one pecan half on top.

So I began my mission for the day - gathered my ingredients and set out to make Betty Crocker's Divinity.

Betty Crocker Divinity

Place in a saucepan over low heat .......

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup white corn syrup

1 /2 cup water

Stir until sugar is dissolved; then cook without stirring to 252 degrees F (a little dropped into cold water forms a hard ball). Remove from heat and pour, beating constantly, in a fine stream into....

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Continue beating until mixture holds its shape and loses its gloss. Add....

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup broken nuts

Drop quickly from tip of spoon onto waxed paper in individiual peaks ....or spread in greased shallow pan and cut into 1" squares when firm.

Amount: About 1 1/4 lb.

(Mother always swore by Karo, I used the store brand)

Stir until sugar is dissolved; then cook without stirring to 252 degrees F (a little dropped in cold water forms a hard ball.)

Now, to me this was the most difficult part, especially if you don't own a candy thermometer. Well worth the couple of bucks one costs. If you don't have one, get one. Fooling around with soft ball, hard ball, crackle stage is just to subjective for me. I used a candy thermometer. My Mother gave me a candy thermometer many years ago along with a meat thermometer. My husband, the grill master, asked me one day if the Boston butt on the grill might be ready.....I said...."check it with the thermometer.....that's the only way to know for sure." That was my first mistake. You guessed it.....How in the name of goodness he got that big fat candy thermometer in that roast I'll never know.....but he did. So my candy thermometer was ruined by the grill heat or the trauma to it..... it never worked again.

A candy thermometer is made of glass and larger than a meat thermometer. A meat thermometer is heavier glass and has metal on it. A candy or deep frying thermometer is made to clip on the side of the pan. The clip is moveable. You want to position the thermometer within your mixture, but not resting on the bottom or side of the pad. The temperature numbers correspond with the stage of cooking....soft ball, hard ball, etc.

Once the sugar has dissolved, the mixture will become clear and continue to boil gently. Please be very careful with this mixture.....it's sugar syrup and so hot. I don't even want my grandchildren in the kitchen when I'm making something like this. Sorry I didn't set the timer, but the process probably took 10-15 minutes to reach 252 degrees. (The recipe calls for pecans. I like to very lightly toast pecans before using them in a recipe. Just barely toasting them really brings out the flavor, be careful not to overdo.)

While your sugar syrup is cooking, beat two eggs whites into stiff peaks and set aside. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer. I used a stand.

Be very patient and don't be tempted to turn up the heat on your sugar syrup. Once the temperature reaches the soft ball stage, watch it closely. The temperature will start rising quicker once it's reached that point. When the temperature reaches 252 degrees F or "hard ball stage" remove from heat.

A lot of cooks forego the thermometer and use old tried and true methods of "syrup spins a thread" when a small amount is dropped from a spoon, or by dropping a small amount into a bowl of cold water and watching it form a hard ball. For me, the thermometer works best.

I've tried dropping a small amount in cold water.....and found that I did it probably did it ten times before I could decided if it was right or not.

Remove the syrup from the heat and pour in a small stream into your beaten egg whites, beating all the while. This is where a stand mixer helps. Be careful with metal bowls, this is a hot mixture.

Continue beating until mixture loses its gloss. This step of the recipe is somewhat subjective also. If you don't beat long enough and try to start dropping the candy, it will spread out and be thin and won't hold it's shape......if you beat it too long, it will become stiff, candy will be grainy or crumble.

This isn't a step you can walk away from either. Once you've started, you're committed! Continue to beat. Sometimes the mixture will look glossy and when you spoon through it you'll see it beginning to look dull.

At this point, I stopped using my mixer, put in the vanilla and chopped nuts. Continue to fold over and over with a wooden spoon. A long handled wooden spoon is much easier to use and your hand won't get tired so quickly. The mixture will get a little stiffer and it's sticky.

Drop a small amount onto some wax paper and test to see if it holds it's shape. If not, just keep beating and try again in a minute or so. It also seems to help if you drop a teaspoon by touching the waxed paper with your spoon so the candy so of adheres to the paper. Using a twisting motion to swirl the top of the candy while dropping from the spoon. You have to work quickly once the candy is ready to drop.

The candy on the left was dropped too early, it's losing it's shape. The candy on the right is the correct consistency and holds it form better.

Once you've completed dropping the candy, it has to completely cool or "dry." This can take a couple of hours. So remember when you drop it, put your waxed paper on a cookie sheet or drop it somewhere out of your way. I can remember my Mother making Divinity and it was always placed in the "back bedroom." I always thought it was just to cool it.....now I realize it had to be gotten out the way in the kitchen too! One time she made Divinity and the cookie sheets were placed on the bed in the back bedroom and it was forgotten for a couple of days. I can't imagine how, but I do remember the thrill when we found it!

The Divinity turned out heavenly! Sweet of course and simply melted in your mouth. The slight toasting of the pecans really enhanced the flavor of the nuts. This recipe was a little time consuming, but most definitely worth the effort. Too bad there wasn't a way to eliminate some of the calories....but then it wouldn't be Divinity would it!

Think my Mother would have been proud)))

Multicolor Madness!

2011-05-06T14:33:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love multicolor Christmas decorations! So many options! I have to admit, I do like clear lights on a tree when using multicolor ornaments. The clear white lights just enhance the glittering colors of pink, purple, green, red, blue.....truly magical. Children love multicolor......isn't that why most of us decorate)))

This Multicolor Sequin Ball Spray from RAZ and perfect for the multicolor tree. The stems are long at 30" and stiff. The ball is different from the previous multicolor ball spray in that this one is covered with sequins and this makes the colors stand out much more I think. These sprays shooting from the top of a tree can add a good 2 ft to the ht of your tree.

These 4" Ice Mica balls are available in four colors, red, blue, lime green and purple. The "purple" is more of a purplish pink. We also have the red and green in a huge 6" size also. These balls are really value priced, they are light weight, have metallic cords for hanging and the colors just "pop!"

Ashley at Domestic Fashionista created this fabulous wreath with multicolor Styrofoam ornaments and so graciously allowed us to share with you on our Blog.

I love the colors, it looks so cheery and was handmade using a wire coat hanger as a frame. She also created a brief video with very simple instructions.

Click to view video Domestic Fashionista: Ornament Wreath

Visit Ashely at her Domestica Fashionista blog for lots of great decorating ideas - and on a budget at that! I have to try one of these wreaths.....love the multicolor and this just gets you to thinking about all the other color combinations! Wouldn't red/white/silver be great for a "Peppermint" look.....most any combination of balls would work....or same colors of balls, but different finishes.

We have some new Snowball ornaments coming in....what a great look that would be paired up with some black and red accents for a Snowman look....Ashley! Help!!

We have an entire section devoted to Multicolor Ornaments and Decorations. Browse around when you have some time))

National Nurses Week!

2011-05-06T11:27:00.003-05:00

National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

Florence Nightingale Pledge

This modified "Hippocratic Oath" was composed in 1893 by Mrs. Lystra E. Gretter and a Committee for the Farrand Training School for Nurses, Detroit, Michigan. It was called the Florence Nightingale Pledge as a token of esteem for the founder of modern nursing.

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

It's been over 25 years since I repeated this pledge in a candlelight ceremony where I was "pinned." I can still remember the difficulty I had getting the words out. Not because of nervousness or not knowing what the words were....but of the difficulty of saying the words out loud while choking back the tears. My heart was bursting in pride and humbleness ....I truly was pledging to be the best nurse I could be.

If you have a favorite nurse, or know a nurse who performs her work with the Nightingale Pledge at heart.....please visit us on Facebook and make a comment about them. Once all the comments are in, we'll choose a nurse and send her a special Christmas ornament as a small token of appreciation. Please make your comment on the National Nurses Week post. Thanks!

Now GO HUG A NURSE!

National Hoagie Day!

2011-05-06T09:50:00.002-05:00

Well, a little bit late, but according to some internet research, yesterday (May 5, 2011) was National Hoagie Day!

According to Wikipedia: The sandwich originated in several different Italian American communities in the Northeastern United States from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. The popularity of this Italian-American cuisine has grown from its origins in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to spread to most parts of the United States, and with the advent of chain restaurants, is now available in many parts of the world. In Europe it would simply be known as a baguette, or a ciabatta, named after the type of bread being used. Both types of bread are traditional breads in use in France and Italy for centuries.

Wikipedia Image

The Hoagie is also called a Submarine, Po-Boy, Grinder, Hero, Torpedo, Blimpie, Bomer, and Zep (had never heard of that one myself). Typically the deli style sandwich is made by splitting an oblong roll of French or Italian bread, filling with hot or cold meat slices, meatballs, oysters, cheese slices, assorted vegetable slices such as onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, peppers, and all types of condiments. Specific areas of the country call their sandwiches by different names.......the Po' Boy is found in Louisiana. The Louisiana Po' Boy is filled with fried shrimp or oysters, roast beef and gravy, hot sausage, etc. Many restaurant menus are built around the Po' Boy ......and if you haven't had one.....you must try it)))

If you are a Hero, Sub, Hoagie or Po'Boy lover.....or have someone in your family or friend that can't live without them....we have the Christmas ornament for you!

The Deli Sandwich by Old World Christmas is a perfect keepsake for the Hoagie lover! The Deli Sandwich ornament is a large ornament measuring about 4" in length......about a "half size" hoagie I'd say by experience)))

The hang tag note says: Named after the 4th Earl of Sandwich in 1762, sandwiches have been a favorite food for centuries. Known as a sub, submarine, grinder, hoagie, or hero, a sandwich made to order fresh from a deli is one of the best. Delicious and convenient, a deli sandwich is a great snack or meal anytime.

Come to think of it......we have more ornaments to go with your Deli Sandwich - Olives, Pickles, Cheese, French Fries....Beer, Water. What a great gift idea! Place a red checkered cloth napkin in a small picnic basket and fill with "sandwiches." Just don't eat em!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to fill your picnic basket!

Teacher Appreciation Day!

2011-05-04T08:36:00.002-05:00

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day!

Visit our Trendy Tree Facebook Page and make a recommendation of your favorite teacher. We'll choose one from the comments and send them this Teacher's Apple keepsake Christmas ornament from Merck Family's Old World Christmas.

Find the post with the Teacher's Apple Ornament and make your comments there. Once we've chosen the teacher, we'll contact you for complete name and shipping address.

5/9/11 Congratulations to Aimee Stahl Vargas

Thank you Aimee for being an outstanding Teacher. We appreciate you!

Teacher Appreciation Week

2011-05-03T15:32:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Teacher Appreciation Day! May 4th, 2011. Actually the whole week is Teacher Appreciation week. There is a website dedicated to Teacher Appreciation Day. Visit it when you have some time, very interesting.

Small personal gifts are great for those favorite teachers. Home baked cookies and candy, small fruit baskets, gift certificates for food. Keepsake Christmas ornaments make special gifts and wonderful keepsake treasures.

“Education is the best provision for the journey to old age.”
Aristotle

Visit us at Trendy Tree for more great Teacher gift ideas.

Free Shipping Coupon at Trendy Tree!

2011-05-03T11:18:00.004-05:00

Free shipping coupon for orders of $50 or more on glass Christmas ornaments at Trendy Tree. Good for ornaments from these categories:

Enter the code "free" in the discount coupon space on your checkout page

Good for 48 Continental United States

(shipping to Alaska, Hawaii, & APO address will be discounted 50% manually)

International Orders not included.

(Shipping will be USPS Parcel Post, First Class, Priority Mail or UPS Ground. Offer good May 3 thru May 31, 2011, no rain checks and does not apply to previous orders.)

Scavenger Hunt at Trendy Tree!

2011-04-28T17:55:00.003-05:00

Try your hand at our very first Scavenger Hunt at Trendy Tree! The object could be anything on our website.

RULES

Scavenger Hunt starts 4/29/11 - ends 4/30/11

Participants must live in the 48 continental US

(excludes Alaska, Hawaii, APO addresses and International)

Clues posted to the Trendy Tree Blog and Facebook

Winner's name will be posted to the Trendy Tree Blog and Facebook

How to proceed if you think you've found the object:

Place the object in your shopping cart
Enter the code "200" (if you are correct and someone else hasn't beaten you to it, your order should show a 100% discount.
Shipping will show on your order, but you WILL NOT BE CHARGED and item will be shipped free.
As you proceed through the checkout process, DO NOT enter any payment method, choose "Telephone Order" to bypass this. Any sort of payment information is not needed....this is a FREE Scavenger Hunt!

Clue #1

A Type of Drink

GOOD LUCK!

Glitzy Sticks! Coming to Trendy Tree!

2011-04-25T13:28:00.004-05:00

Glitzy Sticks!

New product scheduled to arrive around August 2011. 15 colors of glitttery, shiny Glitzy Sticks!

Flexible, 36" in length and 4 mm in width ( a little less than 1/4") Sold in bags of 24 pieces.

Glitzy Sticks can be used in a variety of ways for all your craft project, add a burst of color and dimension to your floral arrangements, wreaths, decorate your Christmas tree and packages. Here a few photos of ways to use Glitzy Sticks and I'm sure you can come up with dozens more!

Glitzy Sticks colors include: Lime Green, Red, Pink, Fuchsia, Purple, Royal Blue, Emerald Green, White, Black, Silver, Gold, Copper, Chocolate, Orange, Turquoise

Arriving to Trendy Tree in August 2011!

"Dying" Naturally.....Easter Eggs that is....

2011-04-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

We'll all be coloring or dying eggs for this weekend and today I received the neatest information in an email from our RADKO rep. An article on "going natural" for Easter. Here is it:

DIY Decorating: Easter Edition

Fun projects to bring some of Spring's good vibes inside

Go Natural:

Boxed egg-dye kits are absolutely fine (and some of them come with glitter!), but did you know that you can color Easter eggs using just water, vegetables and vinegar? True story! The result is softer colors and less mess. Here's how:

Add the one of the following color-rich, natural ingredients to a large saucepan containing 5-6 cups of water and 1.5 tablespoons white vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer for up to 30 minutes before removing from heat and adding 4-5 hard boiled eggs at a time. Keep solids (beets, cabbage) in the pot for a crinkle effect; remove it for smooth color. Display eggs in wicker baskets, vintage bowls

Pink -- 2 medium-sized beets, washed but unpeeled and chopped

Yellow -- 1/4 cup ground turmeric

Blue -- 1/2 large head of red cabbage, chopped into ribbons

Turn Trash into Tiny Treasures:

Don't toss the shells after breakfast this weekend! Carefully cracking will provide you with the groundwork for a super Spring-y seed starting display. Gather up:

4-12 eggshells, cracked in 1/2 or 3/4 and emptied

a sewing needle or thumbtack

an empty egg carton

paint, markers, or crayons

a small amount of soil

seeds (marigolds, sweet pea, cucumbers and herbs work best and seem to sprout the fastest, but use your imagination!)

Carefully wash the empty egg shells. Pat dry with a cloth or paper towel and poke a little hole in the very bottom of each shell.
Paint or color these to your taste using watercolors, acrylics, markers or crayons for a little extra flair. They're beautiful on their own, though, so no worries if you prefer the natural look.
Using high-quality potting soil or dirt culled from your existing garden, fill each shell approximately half way full.
Place dirt-filled shells in the egg carton and, using your finger, create a dent in which to tuck 1-2 seeds. Cover seeds with dirt and spritz with water.
Set the whole thing by a sunny window, moistening as necessary, and you'll have cute little sprouts in no time at all!
When your plants outgrow their starter shells, carefully crack each one and plant them directly into a larger pot or your garden. The roots will extend out and down and the shell will decompose over time!

HAPPY EASTER!

Pink Iridescent Poly Deco Flex Tubing - Back in Stock at Trendy Tree!

2011-04-21T10:24:00.000-05:00

Just arrived! More the Deco Flex Tubing in Iridescent Pink.

Stock up now while supplies are plentiful!

Visit us at Trendy Tree to see more Poly Deco Flex Tubing in 21 Colors!

Southern Oven Fried Chicken

2011-04-19T16:57:00.002-05:00

I recently purchased the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, 1950 edition off eBay. This cookbook is just like the one my mother had when I was a child and I suppose it's been gone for years or still packed away in some obscure place. Anyway, when I saw one like it on eBay....I had to have it! It's really in remarkably good shape to be so old and has no missing pages! And the extra part is, the lady (assuming it was a lady) who owned the book had taken much care to tuck in recipes from Better Homes and Gardens magazines dating back to 1944. These recipe pages were designed to be cut out and placed in a ring-binder cookbook. Each recipe has a little note that tells you which tab to file the recipe under.

This recipe is for Southern Oven Fried Chicken and dated September, 1955. I made it for our Sunday lunch and it was really good! Even the grandchildren ate it......now, I don't know about yours, but our grandchildren are a bit of picky eaters.....except for the little one and bless his heart, he will eat anything))) He's only three and he just accepts anything you offer. He'll spit it out if he doesn't like it, but by gosh....he'll try it! The other two, 8 and 10 year old......if you ask them to try something new they act as if you've said you were going to cut off an ear or something! But they liked this))) And for some unknown reason, they like my baked macaroni and cheese! Now, I know MOST kids all love macaroni and cheese, but they actually like the homemade kind better than Kraft in a box....go figure...So at least now we have a meat and casserole they will eat, now if we could just camouflage broccoli or something....

Southern Oven-Fried Chicken

"Couldn't be easier - no browning - no turning! And delicious!"

1 4-ounce package potato chips (two cups crushed)

1/4 Tsp garlic salt

Dash Pepper

1 2 1/2 to 3 pound ready to cook frying chicken, disjointed

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

Combine crushed chips and seasonings. Dip chicken in melted butter; roll in chip mixture. Place pieces, skin side up, so they do not touch in greased shallow pan or jelly-roll pan. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) 1 hour, or till tender (do not turn). Makes 4 servings.

Mrs. Robert Regg, Jr., Hendersonville, Tennessee

The chicken was very tender, crisp on the outside and overall very good. The things I did different in this recipe were only to add more crushed potato chips and more butter. I had more chicken that the recipe called for I'm sure. Our best friends ate lunch with us too and the first thing my friend said was "did you cut up this chicken???" No, I didn't cut up a whole chicken or "disjoint" one as the recipe called for....but I've done it plenty of times! It's one of the "good ole day" things that I don't plan to do again unless I have to do it just to prove myself to someone))) And, I use parchment paper on my pans....no stick and makes clean up a snap.

Four ounces of potato chips would hardly have covered a leg and breast of this chicken. But honestly, what is it with today's chickens! They are SO large. The split breasts I had were huge! I had to cut them in half to make quarter breast! And the legs were hefty too! I don't know what's in the breeder's chicken feed nowadays, maybe they're getting growth hormone.....it's just not right.....I'd hate to meet one of the chickens in a dark alley!

I was saying to my friend at the dinner table about this looking and tasting like real fried chicken, but since it was baked....so much healthier.......we just looked at each other and laughed.......I had forgotten about the potato chips and butter.......oh well. We do live in the South and you know we can fry anything when given the opportunity!

The baked macaroni and cheese recipe came from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. Typically the macaroni and cheese I make uses boiled macaroni. The I make a mixture of butter, milk, flour and a little cheese. Shred cheddar cheese and stir it into the macaroni and then pour the mixture over it, and bake in the oven. This recipe specifically did not include the step of making your liquid mixture. I was skeptical about this one, but thought I'd give it a try.

Pioneer Macaroni and Cheese (a Betty Crocker Key recipe)

"The simplest kind of dish."

Place in alternating layers in a buttered 12 x 7 1/2 x 2" baking dish

Boiled macaroni (8 oz uncooked)

Dots of butter (2 Tbsp in all)

1 1/4 cup cut-up sharp cheese (1/2" cubes - 1/3" lb)

Salt (3/4 tsp in all)

Pepper (1/4 tsp in all)

2 cups milk

Sprinkle with Paprika

Bake until golden brown on top. Serve hot from baking dish.....garnished, if desired, with parsley sprigs, pimiento strips, pepper rings, etc.

Temperature; 350 degrees (mod oven)

Time: Bake 40 min

Amount: 6 to 8 servings

What I did different: Well, as you can see, I didn't cube my cheese.....I just cut it up and dropped it in. I also didn't let it get quite as brown as I would have liked, but it was done and I was pressed by time....so next time I'll wait until it gets a little browner. It was a nice consistency even without the flour. I was pleasantly surprised! And the cheese even tasted sharper. I think this may also have been because of no flour.

I most definitely will change my way of fixing macaroni and cheese to this method.....it's quicker and the finished result is tastier! There is a version to this key recipe that calls for cooked tomatoes....can't wait to try it.

Angel Food Cake with Filling Betty Crocker 1950's Recipe

2011-04-19T10:21:00.003-05:00

Sunday dessert was from Betty Crocker's 1950 Picture Cookbook. A freshly baked Angel Food Cake with filling and covered in whipped cream. This cake should have been named DREAM CAKE. Wonderful!

This recipe started with the Angel Food Cake recipe (a "key" recipe) "Light as air.....fluffy as a cloud."

Set out, but do not grease ....... 10" tube pan, 4" deep

Measure and sift together three times :

1 cup sifted SOFTASILK flour or 1 cup sifted Gold Medal Flour

7/8 cup of sugar (granulated)

(mix and set aside to be added to merinque later)

Measure into large mixing bowl:

1 1/2 cups of egg whites (12)

1 1 /2 tsp. cream of tartar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Beat with wire whip until foamy.

Gradually add, 2 tbsp. at a time ...................... 3/4 cup sugar (granulated)

Continue beating until meringue holds stiff peaks.

Sift gradually the flour sugar mixture over the meringue.

Fold in gently just until the flour-sugar mixture disappears. Push batter into ungreased tube center pan. Gently cut through batter with a knife. Bake. When cake tests done, invert. Let hang until cold.

Temperature: 375 degrees (quick mod. oven)

Time: Bake 30 to 35 min

* To see if your cake is done: bake until no imprint remains when finger lightly touches top of cake. (Another way, is to insert a toothpick. Cake is done if toothpick comes out clean.)

* Apparently they used to make (and may still) a sort of cone shaped holder that you could invert a tube pan on. I didn't have anything like that, but my tube pan had little tabs that extended about 1" from the top of the pan, so when inverted the top of the cake was not touching anything. Once cooled, to remove an Angel Food Cake from the pain, insert a knife or long slender spatula down the side of the pan and gently pull the cake away from the edge, do this around the tube also. I had to go around my cake a couple of times to get the bottom to turn loose.

*Egg whites: A dozen egg whites is an estimate. It actually took only 11 eggs to measure 1 1/2" of egg whites. If you don't have an egg white separator ( I don't) save yourself some trouble. You don't want any yolk to get into your white, so break each egg and separate by dropping the yolk into a bowl, but drop your egg white onto a saucer by itself. Slip that egg white into your mixing bowl, then do another egg. You don't to be on egg #10 and get yolk into your mixing bowl.

*Sifting ingredients. This is essential, even if using presifted flour. Had to send my husband to town to buy me a new sifter! Had one, once upon a time....but I guess you can tell....it's been a while since I've used it))

*Oven temperature: Even though this recipe is over 50 years old, temperature is temperature. My oven is a convection oven though and this probably altered the results a little. The cake came out a little browner than I wanted, but it was to be covered with whip cream.....no one complained about it))

Once the cake was cool, it was set aside while the filling was made. The filling recipe came from the Desserts section of the cookbook. This excerpt heads that chapter:

Desserts

Dessert originally meant food served after the table had been cleared or "deserted" of everything else......even the cloth removed. We find accounts of grand dinners served in the early days of our country describing the polished mahogany tables with candles in tall silver candelabra casting a mellow glow over the guests enjoying a "dessert" of fresh fruit. In Europe, "dessert" still means fruit served at the end of the meal. However, for them, this fruit course follows a "sweet" ....that is a pudding, pastry, souffle', or an elaborate torte creation. We Americans have simply promoted the "sweet" to the place of honor at the end of the meal.

European visitors in our country are amazed at the array of "sweets" Americans have to choose from. In addition to those we have adopted from other nations, British steamed puddings, German and Austrian tortes, French meringues, and Italian souffles, we have developed our own special favorites, including ice creams and our fruit shortcakes and cobblers.

This wide variety of truly delightful desserts make it difficult to choose a section for one chapter. It would have been easier to fill a whole cook book with dessert recipes. We have tried, however, to give you dessert favorites of each type. You will find some that are suitable for holiday dinners and parties....other for simply family meals where consideration must be given to what the children may eat. Then there are the elaborate distinctly party desserts for buffet suppers or dessert luncheons. Of course we have made it a point to include homey, old-time favorites too!

With all these at your fingertips, we hope you will have fun servcing dessert that will bring each meal to a satisfying and delightful finish.

Betty Crocker, 1950

The fillings for angel food cake all sounded delicious. There was Angel Food Waldorf; Apricot Ice Cream; Almond Cream; Luscious Chocolate Almond Dessert; Fresh Strawberry Coconut; Chocolate Peppermint and Angel Food Delight. I chose the Angel Food Delight.

Choice of an epicure, Judge Leslie L. Anderson, Minneapolis, MN

Prepare Angel Food Cake for filling. Fill cake cavity with:

Fruit Cream Filling and Frosting

Whip until stiff .....

3 cups whipping cream

Beat in.....

6 tbsp. confectioner's sugar

Fold into a little less than half the cream .....

3/4 cup crushed pineapple, well drained

1 cup fresh strawberries, cut in halves

6 marshmallows, cut into quarters

Replace top of cake and spread remaining cream on top and sides. Chill 4 to 8 hours.

How to Fill Angel Food Cake

1. Place a high 10" Angel Food Cake upside-down on a plate or waxed paper. Slice entire top from cake about 1" down. Lift off top and lay to one side.

2. Cut down into the cake 1" from outer edge, and 1" from middle hole, leaving a substantial "wall" of cake about 1'' thick, and 1" base at the bottom.

3. Remove the center with a curved knife or spoon, being careful to leave a "wall" of cake at bottom 1" thick. Place on serving plate.

4. Completely fill cavity with chilled filling.

5. Replace top of cake and press gently. Cover top and sides with the remaining chilled cream mixture.

Things I did different in the recipe and what I'll do next time:

I only sifted one time.....cake would have probably been taller if I can followed the directions more closely. I really missed that part until posting this blog! Instead of quartering the strawberries, I sliced mine up smaller and even mashed them up a little bit. Also cut the marshmallow into smaller pieces.

Next time....I think I'll just buy an Angel Food Cake! End result should be just as good and such a time saver! Plan to try the Angel Food Waldorf next time. It has Chocolate Whipped Cream....been wanting to try this for sure! As far as whipping the egg whites and the whipped cream....I simply can't image doing it with a wire whisk or hand beater! Our fore...mothers....must have had biceps like a power lifter!

Classic Red and Green for Christmas

2011-04-15T18:25:00.000-05:00

If you like classic red and green as your Christmas colors, this checked style of deco poly mesh is perfect for you! The little strips of red foil add to the glimmer and shine making your holiday creations sparkle.

Decorative poly mesh ribbon or netting as it is sometimes called, comes in 10 yards rolls (30 feet), 21" wide. It is made of a synthetic material similar to Sinamay. It has just a bit of stretch, but holds it shape and retains it's color remarkably well. It actually is water resistant and is great our outdoor use. It will eventually fade when left in bright sunlight, but just by experience, it takes a really long time. It holds its crispness when fashioned into wreaths, bows and garlands. And, if you change your mind about your creation, just undo it and start over...... If you use it for garland on your Christmas tree, you can re-roll it right back on to the cardboard tube and use again the following year. I have some that I've used for 3-4 years now.

As with any project, if you're not sure how many rolls you need, buy extra. You'll find other uses for I guarantee.

RAZ Red and Green Glittered Ball Sprays

RAZ Red and Green 12" Glittered Snowflakes

Large 6" Red and Green Glittered Balls

RAZ Red and Green Lighted Christmas Packages

Glitter Sticks - Red- Green - Gold

If red and green are two of your favorite colors to decorate with, come visit us at Trendy Tree.....we have a whole section of all red and green decorations, trims, ribbons and more! Just browse the section "Red and Green"

A Good Day!

2011-04-14T00:04:00.006-05:00

Some days, you just have to close up shop and head out.....today was one of those days)) We picked up our youngest grandson and headed to New Albany.

First stop was to wander around downtown New Albany.....so many quaint shops....and Sugaree's Bakery.

This place is WONDERFUL. Everything I've ever tasted from Sugaree's is scrumptious. Today was chocolate chip walnut cookies. Sugaree's is located right on Bankhead street (for all practical purposes, this is "main" street downtown New Albany). Actually Main Street is on the backside of New Albany and many, many years ago was the main drag through town. It was actually called the Jockey Yard.....I've heard my grandmother say many times. We also tried the Strawberry Cake today. YUM! This cake tasted so much like the fresh strawberry cake my mother used to make that we went back to Sugaree's before we left town and picked up a slice for my 89 year old Dad. I hope he enjoys it tonight)))

Next stop was to the Union County Seed and Feed store to buy ferns. There was a time where I tried to keep my ferns through the winter, but I gave up due to the mess with the shedding and each spring we get enough shade ferns to go across the back porch and sun ferns to go around pool. You won't find any green thumbs around our place. We have no luck with plant life, but somehow my ferns thrive)). The trick is Bone Meal. Bone meal, actually comes from bones....ground up animal bones from slaughterhouses...don't worry, it's sterilized. The bone meal contains nitrogen which makes the leaves green, phosphate which aids in having a healthy sturdy plant. Just lift up the fronds and sprinkle a couple of tablespoons on the dirt and lightly water. Rinse any off that might be on the fronds, but I really haven't noticed problem like burning the leaves or anything like you can do with other types of fertilizer.

And, at the Seed and Feed, they have this wonderful old Rocket Ride, still in it's original form. It costs a dime and is an absolute must for the grands each time we go in the store. They usually have a few live animals too, baby chicks, hens, rabbits....you never know what you're going to find.

Then off to the City Park for some playground fun. Matt had a lot of fun on the slides.....they have so many, and they are well maintained, it shady with huge trees everywhere and just an overall nice place to visit.

We walked around the park and watched some young men playing disk golf I think you call it. You throw a frisbee like disk and go from one hole to the other similar to golf. Looks like something the entire family could enjoy and the course at the City Park is free. Matt had to stop and throw sweet gum balls and sticks into the Tallahatchie River.

This took up quite a bit of our morning as we had to throw them in on one side of the bridge, run over to the other side and watch them float by. Yes....you do these kinds of things for a 3 year old who thought it was great fun. And this is the Tallahatachie River that Billie Joe McAllister jumped into according to Bobbie Gentry's 1967 song Ode to Billie Joe.

Next stop was lunch at Latham's Hamburger Inn. Seems we've started a routine with the grands.....they love to go to Latham's and sit on the old wooden bar stools that turn round and round, drink cokes from little bottles and read all the old signs on the brick wall behind the counter. Hamburgers and hot dogs are the usual fare for our folks. Today Matt had a hot dog and we had the "standard" cheeseburgers and fries. Everytime we take Matt, we have to bring his Coke bottle home and refill it for the rest of the day with whatever he drinks.

So, that was just about it. We dropped off a slice of Sugaree's Strawberry Cake and two of Latham's cheeseburgers off to daddy and Matt was fast asleep in his car seat. By the time we arrived at home with 10 ferns he was awake and ready to help get them placed in pots. We potted the ferns and he did all the watering ......with just a little help.

Not a particularly special day......just a day, but one worth remembering.

Today's Color is Purple!

2011-04-14T00:02:00.000-05:00

The actual color of Tyrian purple, the original color purple from which the name purple is derived, is the color of a dye extracted from a mollusc found on the shores of the city of Tyre in ancient Phoenicia (present day Lebanon) that in classical antiquity became a symbol of royalty because only the very wealthy could afford it. Therefore, Tyrian purple was also called imperial purple. (Wikipedia)

Well, that was a mouthful! Purple, we all love purple. Deep, rich, jewel tones......If you like purple.....we have it!

Just received a shipment of Deco Poly Flex Tubing! Brilliant, sparkling purple with purple foil metallic. Flex tubing adds a "pop" of color to your creations and gives dimension to your bows, wreath making, garlands, floral arrangements and tree trimming. You can use it as a simple tie around packages, around candles, around bunches of fresh flowers.....

Visit us at Trendy Tree and see all the new colors that just came in of Deco Poly Flex Tubing.