Holiday tip for the movie buff

Good Morning!!!

Today I thought I would suggest an cute and easy gift for the movie buffs in your life.

If you are anything like me, a movie is a quick and easy and relatively inexpensive buy for your last minute gifts, but rarely are these ever bought as a main present, but more of a stocking stuffer or a movie in addition to...here is how you can make that one movie a main event that your favorite movie buff will love.

First, dig out that flat cookie tin you got for Christmas a few years ago. You know the ones, everyone gets them, but after the cookies are gone the tin sits around taking up space because it's just too darned nice to throw out. Yeah, that thing. Make sure it is a nice flat one. You are going to spray paint it silver to make it look like a movie reel case. To make it super pretty, sprinkle some fine glitter dust over the top while the paint is still wet. Next, you want to wrap your movie in black paper, then embellish it with a collar, a white triangle for a shirt front and a black bow tie to make the whole case look like an usher's shirt. Its a matter of triangles and a couple of black dots for buttons. Experiment-this is where anyone can be creative.

After the tin is completely dry ( I would wait a good 24 hours) fill it with some home made gourmet pop corn. I love to buy the extra super butter microwave corn, pop it up, sift all the unpopped kernels out (those are never any good) and coat the whole works in white chocolate. YUM!!

Put your creation in the tin, lay your usher's shirt (movie) on top and tie off with a black, wide satin ribbon that you drew silver dashes on the edges to make it look like movie reel. TA DA! A super cute presentation for a super great gift! Enjoy!

Happy Holidays!!!

It's that time of year again. Cold, cold, coldness. The leaves are gone and it's time to get out your roomiest pants because now-for the next 4 months-we eat!

Okay, okay, I know there are the disciplined few out there reading this that can turn up their noses at Halloween garbage, Christmas treats and Valentine chocolates. Oh and lets not forget the New year's drinks. Who knew that something so wonderfully good for you like orange juice can be so violated by a shot of vodka? I wonder if you benefit at all from the juice vitamins, or if your liver waves the white flag regardless of your choices? Well, at any rate...read on...

So, it being as cool as it is outside, I am able to really fire up the kiln and mean it in my secluded upstairs studio. It being my only heat source at the time, I enjoy my kiln time these days. Anyway, after a visit to my local dump and a short conversation with whom I have always called "The Dump Dude," I learned that wine is a mighty popular drink here in the woods and after a little glass bin manipulation, I was able to score quite a collection of awesome wine bottles!!!

Some scrubbing here, and scraping there-a little Goo Gone to help finish those pesky labels off, and some sauna time in the kiln-HA! Serving trays! I have daydreams about loading these little beauties up with Christmas cookies and leaving them on the neighbor's door steps, or getting some of those holiday shaped cheese blocks from the creamery, or CHOCOLATES...not that I like chocolate...you know, biscotti and coco is good, or coffee and creamers...sausage and crackers...

The options are ENDLESS!!! Yep, I'm excited. So, here are a couple of pictures so you have an idea of what is going on here:


This one I etched a little snowman enjoying his holiday cheer-you know, tis the season and all...




While I really like the etched stuff, mostly because it's top shelf dishwasher safe, you really can't see the prettiness when you have your snazzy cheese log on there. On the other hand, you have the beaded ones that are really nice, though you have to hand wash :(. I should make some stands for these...

What you see here and more is posted on my website. Feel free to browse :)
http://uniqueeuphoria.etsy.com/