Let it Snow, the tutorial & The Blessings of Family.

I planned to do my next post on Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights but this is more time sensitive. [The Fantasy in Lights post is next]

I love a flocked Christmas tree, maybe it's because I can count on my hands great snowfalls in my lifetime. I mean beautiful, glistening snows, making home look like a Normal Rockwell portrait.

I have purchased one single, beautiful flocked tree over the thirty-six years Don and I have been married. Mostly due to the fact he's one of the thriftiest men God ever breathed breath into.. but I can't blame him, $100 is too much to pay for a tree. [the average price in our area] 
Because I love flocked trees so much, I wanted to find a better option. I tried several DIY options and never like the end result. UNTIL NOW... I found a blog (whose name has slipped my mind) but it's about this. 

This is the BEST tree flock product ever.
I wanted something that looks real, costs less and stays on.  You can purchase it at amazon. I'm a Prime member and mine arrived in two days, free shipping. Love that Amazon Prime! 

Amazon Sno Flock HERE  This is the 2lb size, enough to flock a 7 ft tree fairly well. Also available in 1# and 5#.  I purchased 5# because I was looking for a blizzard! This is a professional product like nurseries and florists use. 

All you need to apply the flocking is water, a new spray bottle, drop cloths and a kitchen sifter.  [CAUTION: It is recommended to wear a mask while applying simply because the particles are so tiny. They are cotton however and besides adhesive, have nothing remotely toxic in them]  The adhesive is something akin to Elmers glue. There is absolutely NO SMELL while applying or after drying. I have asthma and covered my nose and mouth with a mask. No problems whatsoever. 

I decided the best option was to set the tree up in the living room, where it would be decorated for the holidays. Time for drop cloths which I purchased at the local big box story for $3.67 for three. 

After spreading the drop cloths, I attached a few ends about 2-3 feet high to catch over-sifting and keep the mess to a minimum. I will warn you, whatever you are wearing on your feet should be washable. My house slippers began sticking to the drop cloths after a while.
What my set up looked like. . .  I taped the drop cloths to the backs of furniture pieces and to window trim to make a "pool" for flocking with the tree in the middle. I taped two drop clothes together and it nearly covered my living room. (I saved the third drop cloth for the after finished drying time) Then it was time to get busy. 

You can go to the website [seasonsreflections.com] for Sno Flock and follow the directions for application. I used two of their methods of application and one of my own, to achieve the

look I desired. I wanted somewhere between a snow-covered wonderland and a blizzard.

Here's what you do: Spray a few branches at a time with water and sift the flock over the branch. Lightly at first and I advise stepping back after you get a section done and eyeball it. See how it looks. That would be method #1 application. 
Method #2 involves some coordination.. Spray your branches with water, begin sifting and while sifting lightly mist the flock (falling from the sifter) onto the tree. It gives a wind blown look. As if snow was whisked into your tree by the brisk winter wind. 

**You will need to go back and mist the branches you've completed- not saturate them, just mist to set the adhesive.  This activates the adhesive to adhere better to the branches and needles. It takes a full 24 hours for a 7.5 foot tree to dry. [It was raining outside and mine still dried in 14 hrs] It is recommended to wait until your tree is fully dried to allow good adhesion before applying lights and ornaments. Waiting is not my strong suit but I'm doing it. 

Here's my "Before"

Here's the "after"... ta-daa!  Isn't it lovely?  I was thrilled as I trotted off to bed, satisfied it was easier to apply than I had first thought. Oh, and #3 application, I almost forgot. I stood on a step ladder to distribute the sno flock on the very top branches. When my sifter got really low, before I refilled it, I would hold it "sling shot" fashion and let it go. Let the snow fall where it may.. it ended up giving me a really authentic application. As you sift you discover these little sparkly, slightly larger snow flakes at the bottom of your sifter. Ah, the icing on the cake! These little sparklers have a "mother of pearl" opalescence to them. They are the last ones you apply and best done by hand. *mist lightly on the tips of your tree and sprinkle them strategically where you wish. I hope you can see the shine here in the close up, it's hard to capture in a photo but it's there and it's a beautiful finish. 

I simply rolled my drop cloths up toward the tree and carefully eased each leg of my stand up to get them out. Rolled with all the mess inside and disposed in the trash. I placed the third and clean one under the tree to catch any adhesive drips overnight. I found a couple the next morning.

My review of this product- it gets an A+ for ease of application, simplicity and beauty. The price is nothing to sneeze at either. By purchasing the 5# at $39.95 I have enough to do an entire other tree (If I like).  For reference, you could easily do a 5-6 foot slim tree with 1# and if you were careful, a 7.5 ft tree with 2# (if you want a light snow effect)
I plan to save mine for touch-ups next year AND add some more flocking on my other decorations around our home. 

My only vivid childhood snow memory, living in the Southern U.S.- I could not have been more than seven years old, when we had a massive snow. It's not unusual to have 100 degrees in the summer but snow in Alabama? Not often and certainly nothing like the several feet we got that winter.
Looking back, I'm sure my mother did not enjoy it as much as we children. We had a large metal arm that swung out over the fire in the fireplace that was hardly ever used. My daddy built that fireplace and I guess added the arm just in case. It came in handy for holding pots for cooking over the fire and his old perculator coffee pot. [there were NO generators]

We had a "sleeper sofa" in the living room and the dining room and kitchen had a low and half wall. It was like many open plan homes of today. Mama piled all the blankets into the living room, moved the furniture back and daddy brought mattresses to the floor. They put all the food from the refrigerator out in the snow and buried it. The power was off for days, I'm not sure how many but I remember mama cooking on that fireplace for several nights. We sat at the table and ate "One pot" meals she cooked over the fire, probably the best meals I had ever eaten. I slept beside her in front of the fire on that sleeper sofa with daddy and the boys on mattresses on the floor. Daddy worked hard at work and it was a joy not lost on my brothers and I, to have him home. Captive, just for us. We all five played monopoly, rook and Crant (my brother closest in age to me) even played Candyland with me. We read stories and poems from the Childcraft and Encyclopedia [It's where we got our information when you could not get to the library. You know, before "google"]
I remember the look on my mothers face when I asked "can we turn the lights back off, Mama" after Alabama Power Co finally managed to get them back on? 

While mama was likely thinking of the piles of dirty laundry, taking a hot bath and cooking on her stove- I was thinking, don't go. Stay and play a little longer. Take time to laugh with me again. Pile up together and read another book. Let's fall asleep in front of the fire.
I want to eat out of bowls sitting on a quilt in front of the fireplace with my brothers, laugh again while daddy and mama tell stories of their childhoods. Those days are long gone. I am the old one now and my perspective has changed over the years and is now different yet still the same. 

While you mark all the links to the perfect gifts, hustle to get the new ipad, make sure your family gets their every desire...  All that stuff. It's not important, really it isn't.

My hope for the best holiday season Bowls of soup by the fire, grandchildren giggles and belly laughs, reading, listening to their dreams, telling stories from long ago. To be thankful for what God has allowed and so freely given, for the birth of a Savior. Share your time and most of all, the love of Christ. It really is the best gift.  

I bake a little..

Is there anything better when you're a child than waking up to the smell of cake in the oven? If there is, I can't think of it. My mother was a morning person, as am I, and she would get up very early and begin her holiday baking.
I'll just call it right here. I talked all the time, I mean ALL the time. I suppose she felt it necessary to rise early to get everything measured and mixed before I woke up. I was always pretty upset but I got over it as soon as she presented me with the beaters.

This would explain why baking has always been my constant. When life is good- I bake, when life gets hard- I bake. Anxious? you guessed it. The experience of moving through the recipe tweaking flavors or technique is cathartic for me. It takes me to the kitchen table of my childhood helping mama make a sour cream pound cake or a pie crust. Being schooled on the importance of the best ingredients you could get your hands on, not skipping steps and intricately measuring everything. I may be one of the few people that enjoy sifting flour. My mother relished the perfect tender crumb on the sides of that cake, while maintaining a light crunch on the top. If you ever had Sour Cream Pound Cake from Mary Lou, you know what I'm talking about.
I find great satisfaction in continuing family traditions. Our children continue the same traditions. My daughter-in-law, Alisha makes the best Sweet potato pie, while my Danielle makes superior cookies and scones, Patrick makes a mean pancake from a scratch recipe.

 Almost 40 years ago I took my first "cake and candy" class. I'm not trying to toot my own horn but I found something I was truly good at.  I remember thinking, "these are my people."
Fast forward a few years and life changed as it has a way of doing. I no longer had time to bake for others. I put my baking on the shelf for a while, waiting only for family birthdays and celebrations to whip up something marvelous.  Strangely, I am not a sweet fanatic. I'd rather have a piece of cornbread.

[Old Fashioned Spice Cake with praline pecan filling & Brown Sugar buttercream]

In the last year I have picked my cake tools up again and taken some classes to refresh my skill set. I am having a BLAST. I remember so many times hearing my mother say, "How did I have time to hold down a full time job?"  ... and now I understand. 

[Gum paste roses for a cake top]

I'm also a sales rep for an amazing Jewelry Designer. [Jewelry blog post coming soon] I love our eSBe Designs company and everyone I get to work with. There's my husband of almost 37 years, children, grandchildren, dogs, horses and fabulous girl friends! [Not necessarily in that order] This is life now and it's wonderful.

I had a hard time coming up with a name for my baking. I almost called myself "Cake Nazi" because I do not deal with whiners well. It would have been something like this, except "No Cake for You!"

Our babies call me Honey, that proved difficult as well as most sounded like stripper names but I settled on Honey's Cakes. 

To clarify, if you think the cake from the big box store is the best you've had in a while, my cakes are probably not for you. I buy fresh local eggs and pecans, make my own vanilla extract, buy the best butter and flours available. I use old family recipes along side new versions I've toiled over, until I perfected them.

[A little Halloween fellow I made. Marbled fondant over Red velvet. The boys loved it!]

If you want a really good tasting cake, I will provide you with a delicious homemade confection. It will transport you to a place in childhood when all was good with the world, memories of your grandmothers German Chocolate Cake at Sunday dinners. Dinner on the grounds at church, when you were sure to grab a piece of Mrs Vines Coconut cake before it disappeared.

I will make you a Espresso Chocolate cake covered in my Sweet Chocolate buttercream topped with Chocolate Ganache. Maybe a white sponge cake with lemon or apricot filling that balance the sweetness of the Vanilla buttercream? I make Red Velvet cake, Strawberry, Chocolate, Sour Cream Pound Cake, Almond Cake, Oatmeal Cake, Vanilla Sponge [excellent choice for weddings] and Italian Creme to name a few. I decorate birthday cakes as well. American buttercream is a favorite but there are other options as well- Italian meringue, cream cheese, Seven Minute and more.

I make Wedding Cakes and cupcakes. Yes, if you want a beautiful & great tasting homemade cake, I can do it. I will deliver local for a fee. My Thanksgiving deadline has passed but you can order for Christmas now. I'm offering $5 off a "Specialty" cake ordered by December 2nd.  Payment is up front on this offer. *Offer does not include standard cakes- vanilla, strawberry or chocolate.

Thank you mama and Aunt Lora, Aunt Ola and Aunt Jim. You taught me well and I'm passing it along.  Yes, I bake a little.