Candy Cane Deco Mesh Wreath

If you prefer the wreath without all of the embellishments you can leave it plain like the picture below or maybe just add a bow for a pop of color.

I have seen tons of deco mesh wreaths… which, by the way, I LOVE to see!  It's just something about it! It's durable, pretty, stylish and looks good either indoors or outdoors!  At any rate, I found myself drawn to making one of those candy cane deco-mesh wreaths.  If you've ever wondered how to make one of those candy cane deco mesh wreaths you're not exactly alone!  I've been trying to figure that out for quite some time now! lol..

  Well…. the results… I have to say... this was WAY easier than making a traditional deco-mesh wreath!!  And it looks great for the holiday season!.

Supplies:

1- candy cane wreath form (I ordered mine on-line from www.trendytree.com)

1- 21" inch 10yd. roll of deco mesh of your choice (for this project… I chose the red\white stripe)  Also… you can get this at www.trendytree.com as well.

Various decorations, ribbons, etc… that you would like to use as embellishments for your wreath

Gather the ends of your deco-mesh together like the picture above.

Fold the end upon itself like the picture above so you done have the frayed ends sticking out at the bottom of your deco mesh wreath.

 Tie the folded end of your deco-mesh down to the lower right corner of the wreath frame.

Once you have the lower right end tied down…. move up to the next tie down ON THE SAME SIDE… I used about a 9 inch length of deco mesh before I decided my "poof" was big enough to make  it look full.

After you have tied your deco-mesh down to the right side of the frame… you will need to bend the deco-mesh back down to the left tie down (the first tie down on the lower left bottom) on the wreath frame.

Continue from the left tie-down and move the deco-mesh back to the right side tie-down (keeping your 9 inches of length the same between each tie) and use it to tie down/secure the deco mesh to the right side.  Work you way from left to right following this fashion.

Once you finish securing all of the deco-mesh it may look something like the picture above (or most likely it will look way better!, lol)…. at any rate, you can see some of the tie downs are still obviously visible from the front.  You will need to take them and twist them around towards the back of the wreath frame.

This picture shows a view from the back AFTER all of the ties have been twisted around towards the back of the wreath.

This is another view from the front with most of the ties hidden behind the wreath frame.  At his point, you can add embellishments, bows, ribbons and other decorations to your wreath.  I hope this was helpful!!

Roasted Acorn Squash

Something about the Fall and Thanksgiving season leaves me wanting a good tasting roasted acorn squash.  I figured I would post my own version of roasted acorn squash although I am sure there are tons more delicious and way more interesting recipes around… this happens to be one of my favorites so far.

Ingredients:

2 Acorn Squash

As Much or Little as You Prefer of:

Brown Sugar

Butter

Chopped Pecans
Vanilla Flavoring

Olive oil 

salt

I started by halving my Acorn squash and used a spoon to clean the seeds and 'insides' of the squash out so that it looked like the  picture above.

I also chopped the end of the Acorn squash off so that it would sit flat during the baking process and hold the filling that I plan to put inside of it.

The picture above shows both of my acorn squash with the ends removed as well as the seeds and insides.  At this point… I drizzled them with a bit of olive oil and added a sprinkle of salt to each half.

Add a bit of butter to each half.. I used a good spoon full, but you could use more or less if you prefer.

Then add the brown sugar, a drop or two of vanilla flavoring and some chopped pecans.

I baked mine at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes and they were very soft.  If you needed to take them out before then I'm sure you could test them after about 30 minutes and they would be done.

The finished product!  Yum!  I used a fork and sort of mashed mine as if it were a baked potato to combine all of the ingredients.

And finally, a nice big fork full of roasted acorn squash!  I thought it turned out great!  However, if you DON'T like 'sweet' vegetables such as sweet potatoes or other slightly sweetened vegetables you might want to opt for some of the other available roasted acorn squash recipes… just my opinion.

A Thanksgiving Table Scape

The pictures don't exactly do this Thanksgiving table scape justice!  This is a picture from Beverly's Home.  I like that it's festive, pretty and you can see everyone you are enjoying dinner with and not have to move or look over the decorations.

This picture below shows a view down the side of the table.

A small decorative pumpkin on the end plates.  It's decorative and super easy to move when you're ready to begin serving guests.

The centerpiece… it's nice and pretty but not obnoxious and it doesn't obstruct the guests view of each other.

And here it is again… from a different angle of course.

Deco Mesh Candle Ring

Occasionally I decide that making a candle ring is a great idea for my next crafting project.  This seems simple enough but actually making and crafting the candle ring requires patience  …. The good thing is, …. you don't even need skill or talent to make one!!

This is how I began with mine.

Start with the candle you plan to make a candle ring with.  Use floral wire  and measure the amount you need to circle around the entire candle.

This circle of floral wire shows the measurement for the candle I plan to use… I did make it a tad bit bigger than my candle but that's because I wanted to make sure I had plenty of space for adding my decorations.

The next thing you do is add the deco-mesh of your choice in equal portions to the floral wire.  You can tell from the picture above there are five sections which are tied to the floral wire with matching pipe cleaners.

With each "tied down section" add a decoration or decorative item.  Remember… the deco mesh is meant to serve as a 'backdrop' to the decorations so it doesn't have to be perfect.

The picture here shows how I fastened the decorative items to the floral wire.  I just wrapped the stem of my flowers around the candle ring.

You will probably be able to see where the flowers are tied down when there is no candle in the ring… This doesn't bother me but if you prefer not to see where your decorative items are tied to the candle ring you might want to use hot-glue to attach the decorative items.

I call this one a "War Eagle Christmas" …. although I am not an Auburn fan my dear friend is.. so this is for her.

This picture is a vertical view of the candle ring.

And this one…. is the candle ring with a candle inside.

This is probably my favorite candle ring… I call this one a "Roll Tide Christmas" …. I love the white flowers…. and if you look CLOSELY you can see a little red bow next to the white flower.

Now you can see the little red bow!

I placed the candle ring on a zebra-striped charger… which gives it a really nice punch of color.

Deco-Mesh Christmas Tree

This craft project was quite a labor of love from my neighbor!  She spent a good bit of time trying to figure out exactly HOW you can make a Christmas Tree using deco-mesh.

You start with a tomato cage and a set of Christmas lights.  Beverly used standard Christmas lights but I suppose if you are in the mood to get really creative you can experiment with the lights you want to use.

You start with a tomato cage that has a tapered end like the one in this picture.

You will want to "flip it over" so the top rounded portion is now the bottom.

Afterwards, take a strand your Christmas lights and create 3 more columns, tying them to the circles with pipe cleaners…
So, there should be 3 circles, and 6 columns when you add the Christmas lights.









This picture shows the strand of Christmas lights INSIDE the tomato cage and how you can use pipe-cleaners to attach the lights to the tomato cage.

You can tell from these pictures that the light strands are being used as a column to attach the deco-mesh to with pipe cleaners.  Also, … the tomato cage has been painted red to match the deco-mesh.. you can see 'bits and pieces' of the red tomato cage in the pictures as well.

This picture shows how the deco-mesh is gathered and secured to the column with pipe cleaners.  If you need more information on how to 'gather' and attach deco mesh check out my deco mesh wreath tutorials.

When your done, stick a bow on the top, or a santa hat or perhaps any other tree topper you would like yo add.  also this is a view from the top with the lights on.

Full view of the tree with the lights on.

Or lights out if you prefer!

Knorr Smokey Mac & Cheese Pasta

I found this recipe on the back of one of my "emergency pasta" dinners.  It sounded so delicious I was forced to give it a try!  …. So, I followed the directions and the results were (of course) absolutely delicious!!  I posted my pictures and the Knorr recipe below.  If you decide to give it a try you WON'T be disappointed!!

1)  Start with the Knorr 'pasta sides' in the chicken flavor.  The recipe is on the back of this bag!  Prepare it according to package instructions with 2 cups of water and a Tbsp. of butter, which you bring to a boil and then add the contents of the bag.

In the mean while, cook at least two slices of bacon ( I used several more) until they are crispy enough to serve as bacon bits in the pasta.  I cooked mine in the microwave for 3 minutes (covered with a paper towel to keep my microwave clean) .  I learned a long time ago that I HATE frying bacon and one of those 'microwave bacon plates' has totally served it's usefulness in this house!!

I chopped one small green and red bell pepper from my garden.  The recipe called for a chopped onion but personally, I'm not too crazy about onions so I didn't add one.

The recipe also called for shredded pepper jack cheese and the only thing I had was several slices of pepper jack cheese…. so….

I chopped 4 pepper jack slices of cheese and this is what I ended up with including my tiny garden bell peppers.

Chop two cups of cooked chicken.

Bring your pasta to a boil according to the package instructions.

Once the bacon was finished cooking I chopped it to use as bacon bits.

Add your chopped chicken, chopped bacon, bell peppers and pepper jack cheese during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking (the recipe calls for a chopped onion which I didn't add because I typically don't like onions).  Stir in until everything is well incorporated.

Smokey Bacon, Chicken, Mac & Cheese pasta…. quick, easy and great for a busy afternoon dinner.  This recipe also works great when utilizing left-overs for 'next day' lunch!!