Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Wishing all a wonderful Thanksgiving ~

Happy Easter!

Today is a great day, it is Orthodox Easter. My best wishes to all who celebrate!

Merry Christmas!

Peace, Joy and love. 

Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Easter!

It was a beautiful day today. Happy Easter, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, my dear friends. May this Christmas bring you comfort, joy, peace and happiness to last throughout the coming year!

 

Free cross stitch ornament PEACE

I just made this little holiday cross stitch ornament and wanted to share it with you. I finished it as a door knob hanger but I am sure you might find more ideas of how to use it.

It will take you just one winter evening to make it, so get comfortable and enjoy your stitching!

Here is the free chart:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is here and it is time to gather around the table with the family.

 Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Sweet holidays

These last several days in between the holidays are so delicious. They are full of sweet desserts and you don't care any more about your diet. Even thought you promised yourself to start a healthier lifestyle tomorrow. Well, 2013 is almost here so why not start that diet & exercise program on January 2nd?

 I am still planning to make that delicious holiday cake fromAleksa's blog for New Year eve celebration and for the smooth transaction to a new year the thai sweet rice and mango dessert from Marina's blog, and I am done with sweets. At least, until the other good reason to try a new recipe will come alone :) 

A drinks for the Holiday

I am cooking for the small private dinner party tomorrow and listening to Christmas music. The house is full of holiday aromas and it make me feel so peaceful. I tried to mix some drinks yesterday to see what would be good for the party and I really liked this one made with Pennsylvania Dutch Original Pumpkin Cream liquor I bought at Costco the other day:

 You can drink the Pumpkin cream liquor straight but to me it seems to be too a little too sweet. So I pour some liquor over ice and added some 1% milk. I used 3 parts of milk to 1 part of liquor.

 It tasted so good and remind me the eggnog. Try it and tell me what you think!

Happy Independence Day!

       For those in the US, happy 4th of July!

Happy Mother's Day

Our best wishes to all mothers in the world.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy new Year!

Have a wonderful New Year, everyone!
May all your wishes come true!

Merry Christmas

Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone! Peace, Joy and Happiness to you!

 My best wishes for the holiday season,

Tanya

The holidays with galafilc

I have been in Europe right before the Christmas once. It's wonderful and it's truly feels like you are in a fairy tale city. Every house is decorated with care and falling snow is just making this picture even more magic.

Holiday time in Poland, where Galina*  (galafilc) is from, is beautiful. So I asked Galina to share with us some holiday thoughts and it truly put me into a Holiday spirit!

1. What does December mean to you?

December means winter for me and snow and the holidays. 

You have to think of gifts, you have to think of what to cook for your holiday table. Here in Poland you will receive your gift on Christmas eve. At night the family will gather together around the holiday table to greet Christmas and share the meal. By tradition the  number of dishes on the holiday table are 12. The meal is simple but sophisticated. Some believe the 12 dishes will bring you luck in the coming year. The guests will share the oblatok, wish happy Christmas to each other and then will be looking for the gifts under the Christmas tree.

2. What 3 things give you the most Holiday spirit?
The Christmas tree, of course! I love it when it is decorated with colorful ornaments and lights. The gifts are carefully wrapped in a pretty paper or hidden in a packages. The aroma of cinnamon, clover and candied fruits which is widely used in cooking at this time of year. You can find them in a poppy seed roll or a Christmas cake but also in some dishes with fish and vegetables.

3. What warm things you would always recommend to have in your wardrobe?

I would always have a good warm sweater with a big collar in my wardrobe. Of course, colorful scarves, hats and mittens. The bright colors will help to brighten the gray days and the dark nights. 

Some warm socks are should always be on hand. They are even warmer when made by your mother or a grandma :)

 *Galina is a creator of many wonderful felted scarves, jackets, mittens and so much more! Visit her shop to see for yourself!

Cranberry sauce/ relish

If you did not purchase a cranberry sauce yet for your Thanksgiving dinner this easy recipe will help.

You will need:

6 cups of fresh cranberries

3 medium size apples

2 cups sugar

2 table spoons water

1 table spoon of lemon juice

2 table spoons brandy

Prepare the fruits: wash cranberries and discard all berries that have the signs of spoiling. Peel your apples, core it and chop into small cubes, about 1/2".

Place cranberries, apples, sugar and water into a wide stainless still pot, cook on a medium heat stirring often to avoid burning on a bottom.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook about 10 minutes longer. Add some lemon juice, fold it into the sauce and cook 5 more minutes. Carefully add brandy, stir and bring to a boil. It is ready to be served, hot or chilled - perfect for  your turkey!

I like to smash the berries during cooking to get a thicker jam like consistency, but it is up to you. I also like to use gin instead of brandy, either will work.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Snowflake to cross stitch, free design

The holidays are in the air and it's time to think of decorating our homes. I stitched this very simple snowflake design for my tree and thought I would share it with you.

I finished it as an ornament but you can put it on a post card or use it for the elegant accent winter linen pillow. As the ornament it will looks lovely on a door knob or a Christmas tree.

I used evenveawe fabric in my design, some DMC colored cotton threads and golden metallic thread, Swarovski Crystals, a tassel and some ribbon. Feel free to decorate your work as your wish!

If you are needing some of the materials I will sell some of mine - please let me know!

Happy Holidays!

Best gift for men

I sold my last pair of black fingerless gloves this morning and noticed this comment my customer made: "I cannot find gloves like this anywhere, and I like to wear them when I play guitar in cold spaces. Thank you!! :)"

So I thought one more time of how useful this type of gloves are. They are great for a fisherman or a hunter,

they will warm your hands up while you are driving in cold weather,

the outdoor photographer will find out that this is a blast.

It was historically used for the sellers of outdoor markets in Europe but it's got a different use now. If you wants to do things outdoors and want your hands to be warm but still need the use of your fingers, these are the gloves for you!

I am not even mentioning typing at a cold office or sometimes just being in a cold house. Have warm hands and a warm heart!

So I went through our feedback just to see one more time what our customers who purchase gloves from us think of them. Here is just some of them:

Super fast shipping. great quality. my husband loves them. thanks!

Very nice gloves - my son loves them! They may have been his favorite Christmas gift.

He loves the gloves and actually wears them! wooot! thanks so much for the awesome work.

These were a gift and my son and he absolutely loved them. Great communication, prompt shipping...the gloves were very well made! Thank you so much!

The men in my family love these gloves.

Thank you dear very much! I bought this gloves for my brother birthday. He is so happy!

Well constructed and warm

Thank you ever so much, Tanya, the gloves are *exquisite* - not to mention the packaging, which was very thoughtful of you. Keep up the great work!

I am one satisfied customer! Beautiful work, lovely packaging, and the personal note was a nice touch! My husband will ove his Christmas gift :)

Lovely service! Prompt service and delivery, packaged well, and they're comfortable to wear!!

These fit really well and the knit is flawless. My husband says they're the best gloves he has ever had! Thanks!

These are JUST what I wanted for my hubby!!! Beautifully crafted, too! Thank you, thank you, thank you :)

Well received by the fisherman! Good fit, and the color won't scare the fish. Nicely knit.

Worth every penny!

We are still accepting the custom orders on men's fingerless gloves. Stay warm this winter!

Have a Happy Halloween!

That's witchful thinking

Halloween is getting closer and I am already getting excited, the party spirit, you know.

I was thinking of costumes and decorations for this year and realized I can not come up with many new ideas so I contacted a couple of my friends for some new inspiration. I asked these three friends just three questions about Halloween.

Maybe some of these ideas will help you for your party. Please see my blog for the questions and responses.