How I Know God Exists, Part 1

Hi friends!
I trust you all had a marvelous Christmas! I know we sure did. I love this time of year when we get to spend time with family and celebrate the gift of the birth of Jesus Christ. I pray often to have spiritual experiences that will lift my soul and keep me closer to my creator. I had an experience this past week that I thought I'd share with you. It is something that is special and sacred to me. As it turned out to be that spiritual experience I was hoping for. Yet not in the way or time I expected. (But what I've learned about God's blessings sometimes they aren't in the way we expect!)

Last week was crazy busy! Yes we had been having our Family Home Evenings, attending church services, worshipping and remembering the Savior this time of year, but all the rest of the time seemed to be filled with mad rushing around! Trying to get things made, shipped, parties, shopping and the like. One day in particular I had a room mom party to host, class Christmas program at school and many things to do. I had some errands to do and left the house in a rush. My home is about 10 minutes from stores and the Post Office and I was coming into town, when I realized I had forgotten the giant stack of envelopes on the kitchen table that needed to get out today! AHHHH! I was really mad at myself for forgetting them! And I had to turn around and go back for them. So I did. At this moment I was feeling anything but a peaceful, patient feeling!! As I finally got what I had forgotten, went to the Post Office, bank, and made my last stop at the supermarket for a few things I figured out why I had forgotten the envelopes. As I pulled into the parking stall I looked to my right to see a run down SUV loaded to the ceiling with stuff, a woman and two small children. She was talking on her phone and looked a bit distressed. At first glance I thought to myself, "people have issues and one shouldn't pry." And I proceeded to the store. I got the things I needed and loaded them in my car. As I put my cart away, the woman was still there. She looked more distressed than before and a thought came into my head "Ask her if she is okay." The thought was paired with the feeling that she needed help and I would be the answer to her prayer. So I went over. She was now loading her child into the car seat. I asked her if she was okay? She turned around with tears running down her face. "No, I'm not okay. I'm traveling from Idaho to California and I'm out of gas and out of money." It turned out that she had just left her abusive husband and was trying to get to her parents home in California. (One of my errands this afternoon was to go to the bank and get a check cashed so I could give our employees a Christmas bonus that night when we took them to dinner, when I wrote the check I wrote it for over the amount needed, but I wasn't sure why at the time.)  I went back to my car grabbed the extra cash I had and gave it to her. I asked if she would follow me to the gas station across the street and I could fill her tank. As we were talking, one of the clerks in the store came to collect carts and overheard us. She then offered help also. The girl was waiting at this store to receive a Western Union from her uncle that would also help her on her way. As I drove back to my house after filling her tank, a warm peaceful feeling came over me. And a thought came into my mind that I had helped to answer her prayer. A prayer that maybe had not been offered before.
I don't share this story with you to pat myself on the back or to bring light to "my good doings." My purpose in sharing is that I want all to know that we have a loving Father in Heaven, A God that knows and loves us. He hears our prayers and he answers them. And because I know this I feel it is my duty to share that more might know if Him. Sometimes He uses other people to answer prayers. I had the privilege of being one of His angels and what a sweet experience it was for me.
 God's spirit speaks to us in so many ways. Sometimes it's a thought in our minds, sometimes a feeling in our heart, and many other ways. I believe God speaks to us in the way that we understand the best. I have found that He speaks to me most by thoughts in my mind accompanied by feelings in my heart. This combination has happened in my life so many times and I can't deny the knowledge that He does in fact exist, hear our prayers, care about us and is aware of our needs and circumstances. One could argue that this is all pure coincidence. And some may see it that way.

I returned to the store at a later date and I encountered the clerk that was there that day. She remembered me and said that it was nice that I helped. And I said that it was nice that she helped. She went on to say that she was able to have some more conversation with the girl while she was hanging around the store waiting for the Western Union to come through. She mentioned that the girl said she had said a prayer, hoping for some help. And that she, and the store had chipped in to get her diapers and medications that the children needed. She also said that the girl had called and said she made it to California. This was music to my heart! I secretly cried all the way home and tears fill my eyes as I type now. For the feeling of "you helped answer some one's prayer" floods my soul again with the Spirit of God. Coincidence, I think not! There was a reason I forgot the stuff on the table (so I would be later to be in the stall next to her so that I would see her), there was a reason I had written the check out for extra money, (so I would have extra to give to her) and the thought and feeling that I was answering a prayer was because she had prayed. Yes, I believe that things happen for a reason. And I believe that God does in fact exist and speaks to us, sometimes for our own benefit and sometimes to benefit others. I hope and pray that we can all be open to the soft whisperings of the Spirit that we can help those around us who are in need. This experience is precious to me, because it further adds to my personal testimony of the Almighty and His guidance in my life. I'm grateful for it and I hope you can find time to think of Him and the great gifts He gives us this Season. I don't yet know why I felt prompted to share this on my blog (perhaps that will be made known later) and I put part 1 because I have had many experiences such as this that are special and personal to me that maybe at some other time I will be prompted to share. If this helps lift only one heart, the purpose was served. Wishing you all late Merry Christmas!!

Candy Canes and Stars, A Christmas Poem about Jesus

Hi Friends,
Today I thought I'd share a little something I did. Just in case anyone else out there needs an idea for a gift for their Primary Class for Christmas. Something that goes with the lesson about Jesus' birth and the true meaning of Christmas. (If you are unfamiliar with "Primary" it's what my church
calls the program/organization for teaching children.) I have the pleasure of being a Primary Teacher, which I love very much. I get to teach sweet little 5-6 year olds about their Savior, Jesus Christ.

I wanted to give the kids a treat that they'd like, but I wanted it to have meaning too. I thought it would be fun to find some star candy and candy canes. I ended up using star shaped marshmallows and candy canes. I tried to find a poem or something written that was cute to go with those things, that had spiritual meaning, but I couldn't find anything that had both. So I came up with a poem myself. Here is how it goes if anyone else needs to use it:

Candy Canes and Stars, A Poem About Jesus
Next week is Christmas, you are counting down the days,
You'll be out of school with plenty of time to play.
My hope is that this candy will help make it clear,
The reason for the season is not about Reindeer.
Christ, Our Savior was born in some hay,
So we could all be saved from the mistakes of our day.
The stars are to remind you of that night long ago,
When they guided many to his stable so low.
A Candy Cane looks like a Shepherd's Crook,
Reminding us that they saw an Angel and then went to look.
For the Christ Child, The Son of the Highest, Jesus His name,
If you turn the Candy Cane upside down, you will see a "J" just the same.
I hope you remember what the "J" stands for,
Jesus, Jehovah, Our Savior was born.


Merry Christmas from our little "Patch-A-Heaven!"
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Recipe Share: Caramel Dipped Potato Chips

Hello there! Welcome back to my little "Patch-A-Heaven!" Since finishing my Cowgirl Tree, I have been trying to catch up on everything else to be "ready" for Christmas. This week I have been doing a lot of baking. The kids, grandma and I made Gingerbread houses over the weekend and now I'm working on neighbor treat/gifts and gifts from our companies to our vendors and clients. I have always loved home made caramel! (I think you could pretty much put it on a dry cow pie and it would taste good! Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you could put it on about anything and it would taste good!) I have a Cottage Permit that allows me to make and sell treats from my home so I have done this many times at local boutiques and people just call in orders. So I have made many a batches of caramel. It's such a beautiful thing. But while I was dipping my normal things like apples, pretzels, nuts, I saw a bag of Lay's potato chips sitting on the counter for my kids lunch. And I got an idea! A horrible, awful idea!! (horrible and awful on the diet, but so wonderful on the taste buds!!) So I gave it a try. I dipped a chip let it cool (so I wouldn't burn my tongue off!) And gave it a little taste. You know the movie Ratatouille when the tiny chef mixes those two flavors together and the lights and music surround him in total bliss?! Yep, that totally happened! And I'm not kidding! These are so simple, yet the marriage of flavors is amazing!! First you get the salty, crunchy bite of the potato chip and then from outta nowhere the sweet, chewiness from the caramel hits and bada-bing, bada-boom! AMAZING! Don't believe me? Try it, I dare you!! But don't blame me when you can't just eat one!!

What you will need:
Caramel Recipe, if you use the one I like you will need: Milk, Sweetened condensed milk, Karo syrup, Vanilla, brown sugar.
Lay's original potato chips
Parchment paper for easy clean up, if you cook the caramel to a perfect 236 degrees it won't stick, yet still be chewy!

Here's what I did:
I made a batch of home made caramel. Use your favorite recipe. Mine is linked here:
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2012/09/revival-recipe-caramel-marshmellow.html

When caramel is at a perfect 236 degrees, it's ready for dipping! I just dipped the chips and allowed them to cool and then the caramel is set, yet still chewy. Now is the fun part...just pop one in your mouth and watch the lights and music surround you!! If you want to be an over achiever you could then drizzle chocolate over them, today I preferred to go simple!

The Perfect Christmas Party Appetizer: Savory Smothered Pretzel Sticks

One of my favorite things about the Christmas Season is the parties! Getting together with family and friends to renew and appreciate relationships and enjoy good food!! I love good food! Since I was a child desserts have been, and still are my favorite part of the meal. But appetizers are a close second! I love delectable snackers at a party. So today I thought I'd share something I came up with recently. These were inspired by one of my favorite Holiday treats; caramel/chocolate dipped pretzel sticks! And I thought why not have a Savory counter part?!

What you will need:
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup finely chopped Broccoli
1/2 Cup finely chopped Cauliflower
1/2 Cup finely chopped Sweet Red Pepper
1 Clove finely chopped Garlic
1 Tablespoon finely chopped Cilantro leaves
Pretzel Sticks, the big ones
1 oz Ranch Dressing Packet, dry
Shredded Cheddar Cheese for star

Directions:
Chop the Broccoli, Cauliflower, Red Pepper, Garlic and Cilantro very finely. Then mix them all together and aside in a bowl. Now beat softened Cream Cheese in mixer until smooth. Then add Sour Cream and Ranch Packet. Beat until smooth and well mixed. Then spread the Ranch mixture onto the Pretzel Sticks leaving one end bare. Then roll the smeared sticks in the finely chopped vegetables. If they don't stick well just press them in gently. And refrigerate until served. I broke some of the Pretzel Sticks in half to use for the branches of the Christmas Tree arrangement. And the center of the Tree was an original length Pretzel Stick. For the Star (Tree Topper) I just placed a small amount of shredded Cheddar Cheese onto a piece of Parchment Paper on a Cookie Sheet and baked at about 425 degrees for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is browned and hardened. Then put a dollop of the Ranch Dressing Mixture on the top of the Tree and carefully stuck the Cheese Star into the dollop so it stood up.

I used the above vegetable ingredients because I wanted these to be Christmas color themed. For any occasion you could make these and include any of your favorite vegetables. For example I think carrots, olives, celery, green onions, green pepper, onions or any of your favorite vegetable variations would be good! Just chop them fine!!

Here are some pics of the Savory Smothered Pretzel Stick Appetizers:

Here are the veggies lookin' all finely chopped!

This Pretzel Baby is all smothered and ready for his dip into the veggie medley.

And here he is dipped and looking delicious!
 

Here is a melted Cheddar Star. Beware...they are strangely delectable!

Mmm! Pretty yummy looking Christmas Tree!!

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Finale: The Tree Reveal!

Welcome! I'm glad you're here! We've been working on a Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree for weeks now. And I'm excited to show you the end result!! Thanks to my contributors; Suzi from Chores and Chandeliers and my Momma who have shared awesome ornaments with us!

Here is a recap of the ornaments we created for this tree:

Here is the repurposed Cowgirl Star.
Link to tutorial below (See what it looked like before!)
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree_8786.html

Horse shoe ornaments
Link to tutorial
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree_11.html

Rusty Tin Cross Ornament by Suzi at
Chores and Chandeliers. Thanks Suzi!
Link below
http://choresandchandeliers.blogspot.com/2013/12/rusty-tin-and-turquoise-cross-ornament.html

Belt Buckle, Stirrups and Horse Ornaments
Link to tutorial below
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree_855.html


 

 

Hand tied fabric Garland.
Link to tutorial
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree_8.html

Rope Ornament.
Link to this tutorial by Lorna, Thanks Momma!
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree.html

Boot Ornaments.
Link to this tutorial by Lorna, Thanks again Momma!
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree_10.html

The Personalized Cowgirl Picture Ornaments.
Link to this tutorial:
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/handmade-cowgirl-country-christmas-tree_10.html

Cowgirl Jewelry Inspired Beaded Ornaments.
Link to this tutorial:
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/12/cowgirl-country-christmas-tree-series.html

Hand tooled leather star ornaments.
Link to this tutorial:
http://fancyewe.blogspot.com/2013/11/cowgirl-country-christmas-tree-series.html

 

 
 



                       And now for the moment you have all been waiting for...Introducing my
                                      Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree:

 

 

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 10: Leather Saddle Ornaments

My Cowgirl Tree needed saddles! So here is what I did: I found an image of a saddle online, printed it out. I traced it onto my leather. Then I cut out the saddle (this is the hardest part, getting in small places is a little tricky on leather!) Then I stamped the parts of the saddle using the smallest stamping tool I had. Next, I used my hole punch to make holes for the saddle strings. Which I made from Suede Leather Lacing. Then fed the lacing through the holes and tied a knot on the back side. Then used E6000 Glue to hold the strings in place and attached some rhinestones. I made another hole with the punch for the Lacing to be put through to create the hanger.

Here is a look at my signature saddle ornament:

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, The Repurposed Cowgirl Tree Star

Hi friends! When I went to put my star on my tree this year....it just didn't go. And I didn't love it! So I fixed it!! The original star was a brown whicker type with another smaller star covered with leaves on the front. So I removed the smaller leaf star and traced one the same size out of leather. Then I sprayed the whicker part with gold metallic spray paint. (Yes...I used it again!) Then I used my hole punch to make holes in the leather to attach a silver concho in the center and other smaller turquoise rivets and then glued on small Swarovski crystals with E-600. Then I reassembled the smaller star onto the front.
Here is what I started with:

The Original Whicker Star.

The New Cowgirl Star!

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 9: Rusty Tin and Turquoise Cross Ornament Collaboration

Photo Credit: Chores and Chandeliers

Hi friends! I'm so excited to introduce you to a friend of mine!! Her name is Suzi and she has a darling blog called Chores and Chandeliers. She bakes, she crafts, she creates, and she has the most gorgeous red hair and great cowgirl style! (And she loves Turquoise too!) I invited her to contribute an ornament tutorial to this Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series. And to my delight, she said yes! She has created the most beautiful rustic cross Christmas ornament project. Please take the time to view her ornament tutorial, she has done a wonderful job! Here is a link to her blog:
 Link to Chores and Chandeliers Blog
I love that this ornament helps us to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Whose birth we are celebrating this Christmas Season and whose sacrifice on the Cross that we should be grateful for every day! Thanks Suzi for sharing your talents and this beautiful ornament with us!

I think I will be doing mine with Copper. (I have an "in" with a guy who has lots of Copper scraps!)

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 8: Horseshoe Ornaments

Hello and Welcome Back to my "Little Patch-A-Heaven!" Today I have a couple more ornaments to add to my tree! I added 8 horse shoes. (4 I left the original, silver color, and 4 I spray painted metallic gold.) Then I added a Suede Leather Lacing string to be able to hang them and tied the lacing with a cream colored bow.  Now, if you add real horse shoes to your tree I would recommend using aluminum shoes(racing plates). The aluminum racing plates are much lighter and don't weigh down the branches.

Here are some pics of what I did:
(Once again, please ignore the horrible manicure going on in these pics. All this crafting is hard on a girls nails!!)

Here I am adding the Suede Lacing. I doubled the lace then made a loop, then put the ends through the loop and pulled it tight against the shoe. Then tied the ends together in a knot at the top.

Here the Lacing is pulled tight against the shoe.

Here are the silver colored ones all finished!

Here are the Gold spray painted shoes all finished!

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 7: How to Make Boot Ornaments

We are almost to the reveal of the completed Cowgirl Tree! I've been showing the ornaments as I have created them along the way, but the entire tree has yet to be seen. Today's ornament comes from my ever talented momma. (Again!) I swear, she should have the blog and I should be her assistant!! She's so creative. I am happy to show you the boot ornaments she came up with. She found pictures of boots she liked on the internet (some were already colored and then some she colored herself), then printed them out on cardstock paper. (She printed two of the same boot for one ornament so both sides are cute) Cut them out and then she glued a piece of cardboard between them, added a ribbon and ta-da...cute boots for the tree! What's a Cowgirl Tree without boots right?!!

Here are some of my favorites:

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 6: Cowgirl Picture Ornaments

And we just have a few ornaments left to feature! There is something special about adding personal pictures to your tree in the form of an ornament! And this Cowgirl Tree needed just that...some pictures of real Cowgirls! You could print and cut out any Cowgirl pics that you wanted to use. I chose to use pics of my family cowgirls. It gave the tree just the personal, special touch I was seeking. And it was fun for my girls! They helped me paint the wood and now they get to find the pictures of themselves on the tree.

Here's what I did:
I went to the Wal-mart website, to their photo dept. I uploaded all the pics from my computer. Then in 1 hour they were printed and ready for pick up! I found some wooden ovals at Hobby Lobby. Then I painted them red, and let them dry. Then I Modge Podged the trimmed pics onto the painted wood. And glued ribbon to the back. These were super easy and a fun, personal addition to our Cowgirl Tree.

Here they are!

All attached, just need ribbon.

Here is one on the tree.

Fashionable Farmer/Runway Rancher Series, Episode 9: Camel, Cowgirl Layers and Fringe

Hi friends! I had to get my mind off of my Cowgirl Tree for a minute. (I am becoming a little obsessed with her...just a little!) So what better topic to get my mind to switch gears...fashion should do the trick!! Today I bring you the current fashion trends Camel (the color), Layers and Fringe. All are trends worthy of mention these days. You may have noticed I have worn most of the components of my outfit before today. None of them are new, but that's what makes it great right?! I am a "fashion blogger" however I don't have companies lined up to get me to wear their stuff. (Yet!!) So I am just like you...I have a budget and I have to figure out ways to wear the clothes I already have, but in fresh new ways! That can be a challenge to not let your looks get stale when you have the same clothes to work with, but it can be done. For today's look I went with my favorite fashion staples: My J Brand blue, high waisted skinnies (I pretty much live in these jeans and let me tell ya..."Pajama Jeans" ain't got nothin' on these babies!) They are comfy yet stylish. And the other thing I can't live without is my light denim chambray button up shirt. (I may or may not have counted it a total of 7 times in my IG feed!) That means I like it...a lot! But it goes with everything and I love that about it!! Layering is in right now and that is perfect because it's cold outside!! The trick is to layer without creating too much bulk in areas. So to lessen this I tucked in the chambray shirt then layered the Camel colored knit dress over the top. The knit is clingy which is good so I don't look bulky. And keeping the shirt tucked keeps it smooth around the middle. I then layered on my fav Brown Concho belt. I love the leggings and skinny jeans to layer with. In this case I went with skinnies. I love them tucked into these amazing 5 layer fringe mocs from Minnetonka. They are comfy, yet stylish! And for the last layer I went with my colorful Powder River Outfitters (Panhandle Slim) fringe sweater jacket. It has Turquoise and Dark Red colors in it so I accented the look with Turquoise jewelry and Oxblood nails.
 Here is my Fashionable Farmer/Runway Rancher look for today. And yes it just keeps snowing here!  Which I try never to complain about! I hate the cold, but I sure like to be able to irrigate in the summer time...so bring on the snow!!

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree, Episode 5: Belt/Buckle Ornaments

Welcome! I have about decided that in order for me to get to some other important things in my life (such as...my apron orders that are stacking up, buying and wrapping my family's presents, and really enjoying the true meaning of Christmas) that I may have to continue this series next year and maybe the year after that...and you get the point! I have become a little bit OBSESSED with getting this tree done and I'm really happy with "her" but in the sake of time I need to stop somewhere this year! (I still have so many ideas for other ornaments that will have to wait!)

So having said that, I have just a few more ornament tutorials for ya this year. The one I am featuring today is one that was inspired by a Cowgirls Belt and her buckle. Of course she has many! But if she is a rider, she probably has a special one. One that she probably won. While I was picking up a few last minute supplies at the Tandy Leather shop I noticed they had these great Barrel Racer Conchos and they were in an oval shape like a buckle would be. So I just had to get them! And did I mention they were on sale!! Score!

Here is what I did:
I cut strips of leather with my leather scissors, they are about 1" inch wide and about 6" long. I punched holes into the leather to attach the concho at one end, then punched 3 holes in the opposite end to look like belt holes. I tapered the end with the 3 holes also. Then I used my leather tools to hand stamp/tool then leather in between. Lastly I attached a piece of Leather Lacing to the concho to hang. I stained some of my leather ornaments with a dark brown stain, I love them, however they don't show up as well as the natural lighter leather color when placed against the dark green tree background.

Here is how they turned out!

Here they are without the tooling.

Here they are completed!

Tandy Leather also had some really great horse conchos and gold stirrups that I used to make a few signature ornaments.

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 4: How to Make a Hand Tied Garland

The days are flying by and the "Cowgirl Tree" is close to being complete! I can't wait to share her with you! (I say her...this tree and I have spent a lot of time together lately so it is now a she!) I just have a couple more ornaments to do tutorials on and then she is ready for her big debut. I can honestly say that I am excited about my tree for the first time in my life! (I have never loved my tree before because it never felt quite like me!) All my trees before have just been decorated with hand me down ornaments and none of them went together. A Charlie Brown Tree for sure! Which is fine, but I have always wanted one like this! So I'm happy it's coming together this year. Not that it hasn't been crazy busy to make it happen!

I wanted the color scheme to be Browns, Tans, Cream, Denim and then accented with a Dark Red and Turquoise. And some metallic and bling. For the Turquoise element I wanted it to be strong in the garland. And I wanted a handmade garland. So I got some inexpensive Turquoise colored fleece fabric and then cut it into long stripes then cut many small strips to tie onto the longer strip to create a tied fabric garland. I then repeated the tying process using a cream colored tulle. Here are some pics of this project. This is simple and inexpensive. I think I spent $3 for the fleece fabric, I already had the Tulle. This garland does take time to make! The tying process is simple and easy, but it takes some time. Many of you may be at this point in the game be wondering...Why on earth is she making all the ornaments and décor for this tree when she can just go buy them!? And yes...this is true! There are many darling cowboy, cowgirl, western themed trees and ornaments out there. But the one thing that they don't offer is individuality! These you just can't buy! They are original to my tree. Yes, you could copy any of them and I welcome you to do so (that's why they are here on the blog), but just like gardening, canning and a lot of other "nostalgic" practices, making your own ornaments just makes it that much more special when you look at it. It becomes more personal. May sound weird, but it works for me! Hope you like her!!

Here I have cut a long strip of the fleece fabric about 1 1/2" wide then cut many strips about 4 1/2" long and about 1" wide

Here is the long strip and one of the smaller strips. I then tied the small strip around the long strip. leaving the ends of the small strip long.

Here I have tied 3 small strips to the long strip. Then I just repeated the tying process until I got to the end, then tied the cream Tulle in the same manner.

Here are 3 strands of the garland. Two have the cream Tulle, one does not yet.

You could make this as full as you would like. When I did the Tulle, instead of tying just one small strip, I tied about 4 pieces of Tulle at a time, to make it show up better. You could make it appear thicker or more full by using more strips at a time or just doing more strips closer together. I loved the way it turned out. I didn't want the garland to overwhelm the tree, but I wanted it to add texture and the Turquoise color.

Handmade Cowgirl Country Christmas Tree Series, Episode 3, Rope Ornament Tutorial

Welcome back! It's been below zero here on my little "Patch-A-Heaven" the past few days so needless to say I have been hunkered down inside working on my décor for Christmas! (I hate cold!!) But it has allowed me to get a lot done!
The next ornament tutorial for the Handmade Cowgirl Tree is a Rope Ornament. Most Cowgirls know how to swing a rope, whether it's to compete in Break-Away, Team Roping competitions, on the ranch to catch and drag a calf to the fire for branding or catch a rogue sheep! So today's ornament is true to the Cowgirl Spirit! This ornament was compliments of my mother. She is one of the contributing artists in this series. So here is how to make Lorna's Rope Ornament:

You will need:
Hemp rope
Ribbon to embellish
Rhinestones, for embellishment
Ornament hooks or Suede Lacing
Scissors





































These are super simple and look great on the tree!

Directions:
Real ropes have a loop at the end called a Hondo. To make this just create a loop at one end and then wrap the end around the rope and put the end of the rope through the hole to create a sliding loop.

Once you have the sliding loop made, now stick the end of the rope (without the loop) through the loop and pull through until you can make a circle with the rope, then continue to coil the rope up until all the rope is pulled into a circle.

Once you have all the rope coiled, tie the ribbon around it and tie a knot. Put the ornament hook through the knot and then tie a bow in the ribbon.

Or you could use Suede Lacing to hang them. To do this just wrap the lacing around the rope at the top and then tie the red ribbon bow around the lacing, just above the rope coil. Then tie a knot at the top of the Lacing to hang.

Here I am using the Lacing instead of the hooks.

Then I glued a rhinestone on the bow, because Cowgirls love bling!