Please visit my new website at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064125395445&mibextid=wwXIfr&mibextid=wwXIfr

The day has come my friends. Woofity Woof and Bitzy Bee has been PUBLISHED!!

 I can hardly contain my excitement. The book is complete and is being sold on Amazon...US, UK, and CA.  Barnes and Nobles, Books a Million, Half Price Books have also opted in...and many more! I can hardly believe it. Me. A poor girl that lived a life of endless tragedy and mishaps. I feel like I've clawed my way from the gutter and at the tender young age of 60 have finally done something that I am proud of. 

If you are interested in purchasing a copy that great.

If you are not interested in purchasing a copy, that's great too.

Today, everything is great. 

Here is the link to Amazon in the US https://a.co/d/dtaD0NL

Thank you so much! 

Woofity Woof and Bitzy Bee

Well folks it's been a long time coming but book number 2 is in the works. Woofity Woof and Bitzy Bee.

The story of 2 friends Woofity Woof, a delightful little Pomeranian pooch, and Bitzy Bee who is so very busy gathering nectar and pollinating the flowers. 

Woofity follows Bitzy through the mountains and meadows and into his own neighborhood only to learn the importance of bees, how they survive, and how they help our planet stay plentiful. 

This is book 2 in what hopefully will be a series of children's books based on friendships, learning some of life's lessons in a fun and adventurous way.

Coming soon! I'm so excited. 

It's official. A call to Action! 230 cards going out to Operation Gratitude.

 A call to action has been issued. Operation Gratitude plans on shipping 30,000 boxes of goodies out to our troops and first responders. In these boxes they like to include handmade items. 

I have decided to make greeting cards for the troops to send back home to their families. I have officially filled up my box and have found that it holds 230 cards!

There are many items that can be made under the handmade category:

Greeing Cards (obviously)

Drawstring bags
Bandanas
Paracord Bracelets

Beanie Babies

Fleece hats, scarfs and neck gaiters.

Knit or Crochet, scarfs, hats, amigurumi figures, hacky sacs, mini flying discs

And of course hand written letters of encouragement and thanks for service are ALWAYS welcome.

Operation Gratitude offers many way that you can help, volunteer, write to and/or support our troops. Be they at home or far away these boxes offer hope and a confidence in knowing that we at home support them and appreciate the many risks they take to keep us safe. For more information on how you can help please visit: Homepage - Operation Gratitude.

Of note...You may also make a request that a care package be sent to those who deserve our continued support.

My Book - Woofity Woof and Li'l Sprout and how you can help.

 My boy, my book. 

For those of you that know me you know I love my little Pomeranian dog Woofus. So much so that I wrote a children's book in which he is the lead character. I wrote the short story and did all of the illustrations myself.

I hope to do more books in the future, but you know how it is. Time is spread ever so thin.

If you have cause to buy a children's book, I would be ever so grateful if you would purchase a copy of my book. If it helps you can think of it as a donation. I often donate to various groups and the sales from this book can help me help others.

It is available on Amazon. Amazon has buried it so deep that it is almost impossible to find via their search engine so here is the link:

Woofity Woof and Lil' Sprout: Cleary, Kelly J., Cleary, Kelly J.: 9781690865384: Amazon.com: Books

Thank you so much and if you have a furry friend, give him a cuddle for me.

Spellbinders CKOM June 2021 Better late than never

This is my first time purchasing a card kit from any company. I looked at a few different companies, not too many, but a few and decided that this kit looked like it had the most bang for my buck. Spellbinders Card Kit of the Month. I bought one of the older kits that was on sale. I decided on this kit for 2 reasons. 

1. I didn’t want to pay full price for a kit that I was not familiar with. 

2. I absolutely loved the dies that came in this kit and the dies were exclusive to the kit so the only way I was going to get them was through the purchasing of the kit. 

Let me just say that I was not disappointed. This  kit is jammed packed with everything you need to make some pretty terrific cards.

I was impressed from the moment I received the box. The kit was beautifully packaged.

I wasn’t really sure how to use this kit to it’s full advantage so I watched some online videos and did a little scraplifting. The kit is advertised as being able to make 10 cards from the kit. Well I made 10 cards from ideas that I saw on line. After that I put the kit away and there it sat for a few more weeks. Last night I decided to get it back out and see what I could come up with. I admit I was stumped so I hit YouTube for some more inspiration . Within just a couple of hours I came up with 7 more cards.

So that makes 17 cards from this one kit! I still have so many more supplies. I bet I can get another 17 cards from this kit. I, of course, will have to supply some card bases from my stash but this kit is well worth the price, even at full price. 

Ok...I stopped counting at 25 cards. I still have supplies left but this is getting ridiculous. 25 cards from a kit that is supposed to make 10. 

If you're on the fence about a card kit I would say  you can't go wrong with this one!

Card Crafting for Operation Gratitude 3/30/22

 Getting out a few more cards today with some help from my furry supervisor! He's so stinkin' cute.

I've been trying to do some stash busting and those scraps can make so much more than I realized. I could probably scrap 300 cards just using my old stash that I have been hording. Why don't we use our pretty papers? When is the right time going to be if not right now? I'm not kidding when I say I found 3 paper pads that I have had since 2003! Here are a few of the cards I made to get that paper gone!

These cards were made for Operation Gratitude. To find out more ways that you can help click the link below.

Homepage - Operation Gratitude

Making Cards for Operation Gratitude March Madness

 I decided that I would make cards for Operation Gratitude. It's been 2 weeks and I have about 160 cards made. My friends say I'm crazy, I say it makes me feel good. I'm going to post pics and update this same post as I go. The tricky part is they want blank cards so they can be sent on any occasion. Sounds easier than it is.

If you received one of these cards please leave a comment, I would love to hear from you.

Or if you received a letter from me, please comment as well. 

To find out how you can participate click the link below.

Homepage - Operation Gratitude

Some Cards Made in March 2022

Crochet Stitches, How to.

The very basics. How to put the yarn on your hook and make your beginning chain.

Starting Knot for Single Crochet Row

Starting Knot for Double Crochet Row.

Drop Down Double Crochet. 

Ending Knot for Single Crochet

Happy Accident

 

Who doesn't love a new baby? Call me old school but every new baby needs a blanket made with love.

I saw this free pattern on line and immediately loved the colors. Another plus that it was made from Hobby Lobby "I Love This Yarn" and as luck would have it there is a Hobby Lobby close by so I would be able recreate this beauty in the very same color combinations. I was tickled.

This pattern consisted of a stitch that I had never done before, 2dctog or 2 double crochets together. 

This was a great pattern and I was able to whip it up in just a few days.

I ran into a bit of trouble at the end of each row that I should have autocorrected but didn't. It left me with a big gap/hole going all the way down one side. This happened on the ending side where you turn to go back and start the next row. There are several different ways to turn around neatly but this one just proved to be messy. I should have just done my own thing right when I noticed it but my stubborn side told me just to follow the instructions as I had interpreted them. Let's just say a happy accident was about to happen.

Welcome Baby

I ended up solving the problem by making a row of single crochet all the way around to clean up the edges then added fringe to the side that had the gaping holes. The other 3 sides were finished off with a round of double crochet. All in all, I think it was a lovely and unique effect. Some would say messed up project, I say Happy Accident! 

Happy Thanksgiving 2021 it came and went

So here it is. Thanksgiving Day 2021. Still in the midst of the Covid 19 breakout. Today however we are having a house full of love filled with our closets of family members. And since I am in "CAKE" mode I thought I would try this Anti-Gravity cake that I saw on Pinterest. Some of you may be interested in how I did it, so here goes...

It starts out with peanut butter Swiss buttercream sandwiched between a white butter cake and a topped with a peanut butter layer cake. This is just so you have an idea of what is inside.

The I added a crumb coat of chocolate Swiss buttercream on my layers of cake.  

                                      

Then I about 8 Kit Kat chocolate bars. I first broke them apart. I thought they may make a cleaner break if they were cold...but nope, They better and cleaner at room temperature. 

                                                

Turn the bars upside down and pipe a thin line of frosting on the back.

Place the bars on the sides of the crumb coated cake. Be sure to leave a spot about 4" wide with no bars just frosting. I placed them alternating the direction of the print so they could be read from either side.

                                         

Put an additional layer of frosting on the top and sprinkle with Reese Pieces Candies. Place more frosting on the 4" space the space that has no Kit Kat bars.

                                                   

Now this part is a little tricky. Using small handfuls of candies gently place them on the side "wall" of that 4" space. This will make it look as if they are cascading down the cake. Sprinkle additional candies around the bottom edge of the cake and plate, I just leave these pieces loose. People love to pick at these when they think you are not looking. ;)

                                               

Next place a straw or other long item just off center down into the cake. You can see that I used a straw. I pipe icing around the bottom an "built" layers of frosting and Reese Pieces up so it looks like they are pouring out onto the cake.

Top View

                                               

Side View

                                               

I remembered that I had some silicone leaf molds for fondant and decided to coat them with some milk chocolate morsels that I had in the pantry. This added a nice extra touch to the cake but you certainly don't need. them. Melt your chocolate in the microwave, place a rather thick layer on each side of the mold and place in the fridge until firm.

                

For the finishing touch I added just a folded sheet of paper to the top. I found this picture on line and just printed it out on my home computer. I folded it envelope style leaving one end open. It could say anything, Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, congrats...the sky is the limit. The paper just hangs on the bent end of the straw; it is not attached in any way.

This cake would be great with white Kit Kat's too. Filled with Skittles or Sixlets. Let your imagination run free and let me see the finished product if you make one.

I hope you and your family have a wonder day filled with all the blessings life has to offer. Happy Thanksgiving!

Pizza Day!

 Who doesn't love pizza day?

Making your own pizza is surprisingly easy.  I wonder, does Chef Boyardee still make pizza kits in a box? I remember those as a kid and even then they were terrible. But it was a different time and women had not learned to juggle their new and ever growing careers and family lives and I image pizza in a box had its place.

With ever soaring prices I still find it hard to swallow that pizza is coming in at $30 plus! What?! that's shear madness. I mean really, who needs them when you can make a crust of your own for pennies? Literally pennies. I made this crust for maybe .50 cents. Seriously and that's pushing it. 

So what do you say? Shall we make a pizza? I said heck yeah!

Pick out your toppings. Mine are little outside of the box but if you have never had corn on a pizza you don't know what you are missing! 

I prebake my crust for 10 minutes, be sure to poke holes in it with a fork or you'll end up with a puffed up round that resembles something that flew undetected through the night sky, kills your car battery and beams you up Scotty.

Spread on the pizza sauce of your choice, of course you could make your own fairly easy but in this case I had some left over jarred pasta sauce so that's what I'm using.

A tip I learned is to add a bit of cheese directly onto the sauce before adding the toppings and it will help everything stay in place a bit better. Seems to inhibit sliding.

Then add your toppings. I have here red onion, corn, red bell peppers, kalamata olives, and some vegan pepperoni that I made, a little homegrown....basil that is, top with what ever chesses you like. You don't have to stick to mozzarella. I use anything and everything that I have in the fridge. This one has a blend of mozzarella, leftover 3 cheese mix, and even a little Feta cheese. 

Bake for another 10 minutes and look at this beauty! Just the way I like it.

No soggy bottom nice crispy crust.

As you can tell I made this pizza using a lot of leftovers but even if I had intentionally purchased every item it would have come in at $3-4 maybe.

My dough recipe:

Put a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of sugar (helps to activate the yeast) and teaspoon of active dry yeast in a glass cup or jar, add 1/2 cup 120 degree water, stir and let set until you see bubbles. This only takes a few minutes. I use a glass 2 cup measuring cup.  

When it has a good amount of bubbles about 10 minutes or so add a tablespoon of oil and stir.

Mix in flour, start with about 1 cup and mix, adding flour until you can pick it up with your hands and it's not a sticky mess. Knead it out, just a bit adding flour as you go until it's not too sticky anymore and is a smooth solid ball. This only takes a minute, don't freak out we are not kneading bread here. Make it into a nice little ball then cover and let it rest for about 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile heat the oven to 425 degrees. I've used a baking stone with a bit of corn meal sprinkled on it but use what you like. I like a thin crust so I just roll it out to fit my stone and I'm done.

I prebake my crust, poking holes in it first, for about 10 minutes then add the toppings and bake until desired crispness. I start with 10 min and check on it, sometimes depending on the toppings I like it a little crispier so I leave it in a little longer. 

If you want a pan style pizza you will have to roll your dough to fit  whatever pen you have that has elevated sides. A cast-iron cast-iron pan works great. Add a generous amount of oil in the bottom of the pan, a couple tablespoons, cover and let your dough rise until doubled in size. Also bake this at a lower temp, aroud 375 degrees until crispy brown. Bon appétit!

Fly little birdie! Fly!

So this morning, long before sunrise, I get up and let my little dog out as is our usual routine. After a few minutes I hear him barking a strange bark, you know how dogs have different barks for different situations...well for one it's coming from the front yard. Which means he has gotten out of the backyard somehow. My first thought was the deer knocked down the fence again. So I go out to retrieve my beloved little Woofus from the front yard before he runs out into traffic. I step outside and there is a beautiful gray cat with shining yellow eyes on my porch. Mind you it's still pitch dark out side and all I can see are his eyes and the light shining on the outline of his fluffy little coat. He lets out a few quiet meows and doesn't run or cower, which I find odd.

After getting Woof to safety I dig out my flashlight to see if the fence in down in the back and I can't see anything. As I shine the light around 3 things, which I thought were bats, come flying out of the corner of the house. What a start they gave me! They flew around frantically in the dark and then off they went, not before raising by fear barometer rather rapidly. I decided that I had better wait until daylight to take a closer look at the fence after all its much too early in the day to tango with bats.

As I opened the backdoor to go inside 3 birds flew over my head and into my house! Straight through the laundry room and into the kitchen. What the heck?! It's 6 in the morning, still dark out, my dog is barking it's fool head off and I'm thinking how in the world am I going to get not one but three birds, that are flailing in utter terror out of my house?

What a place to land LOL

So I thought I'd try my fly technique. After all if it works on flies maybe it will work on birds too.

So the layout of the land is...there is a laundry room off the kitchen with a glass paned door between the two and then there is another door which leads to the back porch which has a small roof over it and then out into the yard.

The idea is to wrangle the birds into the laundry room and then out. So I turn off all the lights except for the one on the porch and the one in the laundry room hoping they will go toward the lights like flies do. So I'm waving my arm and shewing like a mad woman trying to get them headed in the right direction. Low and behold they "get it" they go into the laundry room. Ok good! Now the outside door is open but they stay in the laundry room. What? Why don't they go out? I'm shewing and waving, oh I hope the neighbors are not up watching, and they fly in circles land on just about everything out of reach, even on top of the door that leads to freedom, but will not go out. Then a faint meeeeooow comes from the bushes. LOL oh my. They won't go out because the cat with the shining yellow eyes is waiting for them. 

I gave the birds a few minutes to catch their breath and then I got a little more aggressive with my voice and radical arm waving until they began to fly out. The only problem was they were flying right back in! They feared the cat much more than me. One out, two in, three out and all back in, round and round they went until finally, impressed with myself, all 3 were out, or so I thought.

I settled back into my morning routine. I hear Woofus scratching and rearranging his bedding before settling down and all is well. A few minutes later I hear the dog again trying to get comfortable, then again, then again and then again. What the heck was he up to? So I go in to check on him and it wasn't him at all but another little bird perched on the blade of my ceiling fan looking as frightened as can be. So I go through the motions again and finally send him on his way. Now...finally everything is calm and as it should be.

Now you know how to not only get flies out of your house but birds too! Thank goodness it was dark outside and not daylight. Have a swooping good day!

Muffins Glorious Muffins!

Muffins glorious muffins! What will it be today? I'm not sure why but while I was perusing the baking isle at my local Walmart I ran across Butterscotch Baking Chips. My mother was big fan of butterscotch and with her recent passing I decided this was a call to baking arms. I wasn't sure what I was going to make with them but one thing was for sure, I was going to make something delicious.

I searched the net for recipes nothing really jumped out at me. Until I had that light bulb moment. I mean...I was, after all on a muffin kick. It was settled, Oatmeal Muffins with Butterscotch chips. 

Mom's Giant Green Bowl

Of course I always have to tweak recipes and make them my own so with a little added cinnamon and my buttterscotch chips, deliciousness was well on its way. I used the recipe from my tried and true Better Holmes and Gardens Cookbook added the cinnamon and chips and ooooh....what can I say?

I like to identify my muffins so I placed a morsel and bit of oatmeal on the top and set them off to bake.

Blogging at the same time as baking is amazing, it smells so good in here. 

Well here they are in all of their glory. Ready to eat. Bon Appetite.

I hope this inspires you to make some tweaks of your own for a delicious and ready to share bake for family ad friends.

One of Life's Unexpected Gifts

 It all started here. Finding an afghan that my grandmother crocheted for my mother back in the 1970's. She made these for pretty much everyone in the family. I got mine when I was about 17 and managed to lose it somewhere in my travels.

My grandmother passed away many years ago and I have been searching for this pattern ever since I lost it...for almost 40 years!

I recently came across the afghan while going through some of my mothers things and grabbed it quicker than you can snatch a baby away from a harmful situation. It was in a plastic zipped up bag along with a quilt that I had made for her several years ago, I threw the bag in my truck and took it home, tossed it onto the dining room floor happy and content. 

That night I continued in my quest of learning to crochet a "new to me" stitch. It was tedious and not coming to me as quickly as I would have like but nothing good comes without hard work, right?

The next morning I decided to take the afghan out of the bag, get a closer look and see if I could figure out how it was made. I had lived in guilt long enough after losing the one my gran had made me and was eager to decode the secret evasive pattern.  

I could scarcely believe what I was seeing. It just couldn't be! It looked like it but surely not. No. That was just absurd. I ran into the living room and gathered up the meager practice piece I had been crocheting the night before and laid it across my grans afghan. The pattern was different but the stitch looked the same. I literally could not believe my eyes. I took a photo and sent it to my sister for verification. My gran had stitched hers with years of precision and mine was a bit sloppy but I'll be jiggered if it wasn't the exact same stitch!

I sent pictures of the front and the back because I just could not believe it. Had I actually stumbled on something that I had been searching for for 40 some odd years?

My eyes filled with tears at the irony of it all. The joy that I not only found the pattern but I had found an original blanket that she had made and to the amazing coincidence that I had been trying to learn the very stitches that it contained. Tears rolled down my chubby cheeks as I began to sob.

I sat down with a pad and a pencil and began to count stitches and patterns and repeats. Not an easy task as I am a beginner at the art of crochet but I was determined! After about 2 hours and feeling satisfied it dawned on me that I could actually ask a question on Facebook in one of my crochet groups along with a picture to see if anyone knew anything about the pattern. If I had only thought of it earlier I would have saved myself some time but also I would have lost the warmth I felt in my heart as it filled with the love I felt as I deconstructed grandmas precious gift.

I did ask the question and got several responses within minutes. Apparently it is called the Navajo Diamond. I quickly scanned all modes of cyberspace to find pictures and patterns but in the end ended up using my own handwritten notes. There were a few mistakes in my initial count but my first project, a baby blanket for a friend turned out to be rather successful and a great learning project.

You just never know when life is going to give you a truly unexpected gift. 💖