Lighted Nativity Porch Sign

I love all of the big signs with fun Christmas phrases/words that everyone is posting this year and even after putting up Christmas lights, our porch needed something else. However, I have always wanted a Nativity scene for the front of the house and haven’t found the right one yet. So, I figured…combine the two!!

The best part: I had everything on hand (FREE!) and the whole project only took me a few hours!

Grabbing some old fence boards I had saved in the garage, I started by carefully removing all the rusty nails. I like the rustic look, so I just cleaned them up a bit and lightly sanded down the front. Then, I cut another board into three pieces that fit across the back of the four fence boards. Using wood screws, the boards were attached to the back of the sign.

I left the rough edges and the broken ends because I liked the old look it gave the sign, but you could cut the boards to make clean, straight ends.

I drew a rough sketch with a piece of chalk and filled in the background with a very watered down blue.

Using paint from my craft room stash (and brushes you don’t love…the old fence is pretty rough), I started filling in the chalk lines. I wanted it to look a bit primitive, so I kept the shapes simple and did not do any detail.

Once I was happy with the image, I used chalk to outline my lettering and then filled it in with a glossy black paint.

 

After seeing several mantel signs on Pinterest with lights, I knew I wanted to include that feature on this porch sign. So, I drilled several holes around the face of the sign and ran a string of lights around the back…putting a bulb through each of the holes I had previously drilled.

 

It was even prettier once it was in its spot on the porch!

And, just in time to plug it in for the evening….

 We love it and hope you do too!

Merry Christmas,

This post is linked to:

http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/2015/12/wow-me-wednesday-236.html 

www.thegirlcreative.com/be-inspired-link-party-no-76/

Help! I can't craft or cook!

Three weeks ago I had surgery on my right hand and elbow.  Being without one's dominant hand is downright annoying!  Had a whole week at home and couldn't even do anything crafty!! 

Even though I tried to plan ahead with freezer meals for recovery, it was just easier to drive-thru or order in.....especially after going back to work two weeks ago.  Now that I am able to use my arm and hand more -getting better each week- I am trying to get back into cooking at home.  But, by the time I get home, I'm exhausted and very sore. 

My son, T, prefers home-cooking and so does my waistline and pocketbook! We also like to use leftovers for our lunches.  With this in mind, I started looking through my recipes for quick dinners and things with few steps and easy cleanup. I also spent quite a bit of time on Pinterest.

Do you find yourself pinning recipes and never trying them?  I do that a lot.  I also hesitate sometimes wondering if they are really that tasty.  So, I thought I'd share with you a few of the recipes that we tried recently and really enjoyed.  They are easy to make and since they use minimal dishes, the cleanup is not a problem.

The first one is the "one pot pasta" that pops up in variations all the time.  T loves this easy Italian one from Domestic Superhero called "One Pot Wonder Tomato Basil Pasta":

http://domesticsuperhero.com/2013/06/24/one-pot-wonder-tomato-basil-pasta/

We've made this one with both chicken and shrimp added and loved both.

This past week, a similar dish came up on my Facebook feed.  It was for a Cajun pasta with andouille sausage and chicken. Certainly not as healthy (with the heavy cream), but awfully tasty!!  It is equally as easy to make and again...only one pot to clean. 

The recipe can be made by following along with a YouTube video from Tasty entitled "One-Pot Cajun Pasta":  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LAA-ipqbv14

The next recipe from Thirty Handmade Days is a super simple one-skillet dish that I have pinned and unpinned a few times. The recipe just seemed too simple and I honestly thought it'd be bland. 

I couldn't have been more mistaken!  This simple dinner is really yummy!! My son and I ate leftovers today (reheats well). 

Check it out at http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2013/10/dinner-ideas-porcupines-skillet/

Plus, the name is so fun!  Who isn't curious about a dish called: "Porcupines in a Skillet"? 

I've got a Dr. Pepper pork roast in the crockpot now...smells delicious.  Plan to use leftovers to make pulled pork sandwiches this week using my Uncle Juven's famous homemade BBQ sauce. Yum!   I'll let you know how it turns out.