Fight Hunger

I purchased an item from Walmart yesterday that had a small peel off sticker labeled Fight Hunger spark change. 1 item = 1 meal. So I went to the website where Walmart and the companies listed below are going to donate $ to Feeding America.

You can participate by choosing the items with the sicker on them at the store or going online to the link below and clicking the "click to secure 10 meals" button below the number of meals they are planning to donate. You do not have to sign in or register to click the button.

www.Walmart.com/fighthunger


Here is a link to Feeding America if you are interested in what they are about.

http://www.feedingamerica.org

**I am not promoting Walmart or any of the products listed below. I just happened to purchase an item with the sticker while doing my regular grocery shopping and thought I would share with anyone who might be interested :) **

*No one should be hungry. We have so much food to share with everyone. 

Remember where your food comes from.

Thank a farmer, it's not an easy job feeding the world!*

(Below is info from the walmart site about the program)

Meals

For every participating product purchased at Walmart between March 28th and April 25th, 2016, the manufacturer will donate $0.09 to Feeding America® - enough to secure 1 meal on behalf of local food banks - up to each manufacturer’s maximum donation. Each manufacturer’s maximum donation is provided on the participating packages. See package or Walmart.com/FightHunger for details.

Online Donation

From March 28 to April 25, 2016, Walmart will donate the monetary equivalent of 10 meals ($0.90) secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks for every online act of support, up to $1.5 million. Walmart has made an initial $1.5 million donation in support of the campaign. With your help, we can reach a goal of donating a total of $3 million to Feeding America.

Participating Suppliers

Campbell Soup Company

For each purchase of participating Campbell Soup Company (CSC) product at WALMART from March 28 to April 25, 2016, CSC will donate the monetary equivalent of 1 meal ($0.09) to Feeding America®.  CSC guarantees a minimum donation of $300,000. Maximum donation: $1,000,000.  $1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. Visit Walmart.com/FightHunger for details.

General Mills

For every General Mills participating product purchased at Walmart between March 28 and April 25, 2016, General Mills will donate $0.09 to Feeding America® - enough to secure 1 meal on behalf of local food banks – up to a maximum donation of $2,600,000 in conjunction with this program. See Walmart.com/FightHunger for more information.

Kellogg

For each purchase of specially marked Kellogg’s items from March 28 to April 25, 2016, Kellogg’s will donate the monetary equivalent of 1 meal ($0.09) to Feeding America®. Kellogg’s guarantees a minimum donation of $150,000. Maximum donation: $1.5 million. $1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. Visit Walmart.com/FightHunger for details.

Kraft Heinz

For each purchase of participating Kraft Heinz products from March 28 to April 25, 2016, Kraft Heinz will donate the monetary equivalent of 1 meal ($0.09) to Feeding America. Maximum donation: $2,500,000.00. $1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local food banks. Visit Walmart.com/FightHunger for details.

PepsiCo

For each purchase of a participating PEPSICO PRODUCT from March 28 to April 25, 2016, PEPSICO will donate $0.09 to Feeding America. Guaranteed minimum donation: $150,000. Maximum donation: $785,000. $1 helps provide 11 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks. Visit Walmart.com/FightHunger for details.

Burns Night

Burns Night Dinner

Every family has traditions. Even if it's just the regular ones that everyone celebrates - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween and Easter. We want to make things fun and memorable by trying to create the "perfect" experience like we see in movies or remake the fond memories we had when we were young.

As time goes by it's harder to recreate them. Grandparents pass, children grow, things are never the same and they never will be again. We try and are disappointed by the results. We must remember that. To LIVE in the moment, not the past. Make new memories not just try to relive the old ones. Because every new memory will be an old one one day.

As my children grow they are not as interested or excited about the little things anymore. Like the Easter bunny leaving a basket to find or the egg hunt they loved when they were little. It is really hard for me to accept this. I want them to stay little, I want to hide eggs and help them find them. I want to see the excitement on their little faces..

So, I have to come up with new things that suit older children ( they are 12 and 14) and hopefully grow with them and they will want to carry them onto their children.* I have another post about Easter and growing children in the works.

 Being a Burns and of Scottish descent I wanted an interesting way to celebrate and start a new tradition with the kids. It is actually an old tradition but a new one for us. Burns Night Dinner.

 Robert Burns was a well known Scottish poet in the 1700's.  I won't tell his whole life story you can read it here or here. He was liked by many and they wanted a way to remember him. So his friends started having a dinner on the anniversary of his death the following year which was later changed to his birth date Jan 25. 

So for the past few years I have been making a faux "traditional" dinner. The reason it is not exactly the same is because for one I do not like the taste of Haggis :P  so I make my version of it using ground beef and a mix of spices.

 Part 1 (2015 dinner)

The first year I made "haggis" neeps and tatties, bacon wrapped asparagus and Parmesan -garlic carrots a cheese tray and brownies with vanilla ice cream and strawberries. 

I stacked the neeps and tatties on the haggis to make a tower, 

We had a cheese tray with sharp cheddars, pepper cheese and Irish Guinness cheese 

and a bottle of Drumguish Whiskey.

For a sweet treat we had brownies with vanilla ice cream and strawberries and more chocolate of course :)

We did part of the traditional dinner but tried to just enjoy making memories the rest of the time. Hopefully every year we can add more to it!

Part 2 (2016 dinner)

This year I wanted to try something a little different. Last year we had "Haggis" and it was good but there are other yummy Scottish foods to try.

So I chose a menu of Scotch Eggs, neeps and tatties.

Scotch Eggs

Scotch eggs are boiled eggs wrapped in sausage then fried and baked

They are delicious!

Neeps

Neeps are turnips peeled, boiled and mashed with butter and pepper

Tatties

Tatties are potatoes boiled and mashed with butter and spices. I added green onion

We had McClellands Highland whiskey 

and some sparkling juice for the kids.

We also went to a Burns Dinner hosted by the local Celtic society. They did an informal- formal dinner. This was their first and hopefully will improve each year as well.

Happy Robert Burns Night 

(January 25)

Friggle Fraggle

Crafting in a Winter Wonderland

Enjoying the snow but am wishing for warmer weather, soon.

This is one of the coldest winters we have had since we moved here - East Tennessee that is. So much cold weather and snow the last few weeks. The schools have been closed but the snow-covered hills are alive with children. They have not been to school in two weeks and have the rest of this week planned off because of the next round of snow starting. 

We don't mind. We are a close family and keep very busy with projects. Surprisingly we have not experienced "cabin fever" yet even though we have only been out of the house twice in the last two weeks just to stock up on water and groceries. We have plenty of firewood and good food. This is a good time of year to bake and try new recipes. We have had a lot of yummy food lately :)

Pinterest has been a good resource for new foods to try. I will share my food board with those interested. My daughter has just started baking on her own and has done an awesome job! She mostly bakes and lately has made chocolate souffle by herself and they turned out delicious. I am so proud of her.

We have lots of projects going on too ( we always do!)

On the table, I have Fairy Arm Cuffs and Fairy, Gypsy Pocket Belts. My daughter has dog dresses and collars in the making. On another table, I have my wand station set up. I have some new designs in the making and will be introducing those soon!!

This week I have added new items to the shop. Magic Wand Pens, Magic Wand KeyChains, Dragon Eye Pendants, and Wishing Stones and Harry Potter Barefoot Sandals.

Yes! I said Barefoot Sandals. I wore them all summer and LOVE them! I know it's too cold to wear them here, now. But, it's not cold everywhere! AND it helps me feel warm thinking about the upcoming warm weather as I put another layer of blankets on ;)

I will be making posts to introduce you to each of the items that I mentioned above and the upcoming ones.

It's cold in my office and I need to go sit by the fire to warm up,

Stay Warm!

Thank you all for your support!

Handmade by FriggleFraggle
purchases and requests
Available HERE!

April

~FriggleFraggle~

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12 Tutorials for a Bloody Halloween

Thirty-One Days of Halloween 

Day 9

Bloody Halloween

Happy 9th day of Halloween!

Only 21 days left until Halloween.

Have you thought of Having a Dexter or Vampire Party?

Here are some great tutorials for a bloody party.

Bloody Halloween Candles

Awesome tutorial by House of Dewberry

I have made quite a few of these. Many varieties, not just Halloween style.

Another fun craft using free products from around the house.

If you would rather have real candles 

Use a red waxed candle to melt bloody drips onto a white candle.

Bloody Cookies

Just melt some White chocolate and add red food coloring

-or-

use Wilton chocolate melts

then dip 1/2 the cookie then turn the dipped side up and let the chocolate run down.

Place on waxed paper to dry.

Bloody Candy Apples

also seen here

A fun and unique way to make candy apples.

Edible Blood Slides

Tutorial by Forkable 

Great for a Dexter Party!

Bloody Lollies

Bloody Eggs

Nice tutorial by PigPigscorner

These make me think of dragon eggs for some reason ;)

Blood Splatter Nails

Paint your nails white and add red blood splatter using red polish.

Here is a picture tutorial

Fake Blood Recipes

Blood Drip Earrings

tutorial by the Crafty Chicka

Bloody Zombie Nurse Costume

Here are lots more Bloody Halloween Costumes and Ideas.

Ciao

April

~FriggleFraggle~

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12 Fun Halloween Party Games

Thirty-One Days of Halloween 

Day 6

Halloween Party

Happy 6th day of Halloween!

Only 24 days left until Halloween.

Time to plan for a Halloween Spooktacular!

Getting ready for the HALLOWEEN PARTY.

Hay/Straw bales in a circle around a Fire Pit.

Smores and Hot Dog Station

Pumpkin Drink Station

PUMPKIN crafts and Recipes

Add glow sticks to drink station for a spooky glow

12 FUN PARTY GAMES

1. Witch Pitch

2. Witch Hat Ring Toss

3. Tin Can Pitch

4. Halloween Bingo

5. Poke A Pumpkin

PUMPKIN crafts and recipes

6. Doughnut on a String

Alternative to Apple Bobbing

7. Bobbing for an Apple

8. Skull Hoop

9. Mystery Bowls

10. Pumpkin Balloon Darts

11. Halloween Plinko

Make it look Halloween style

12. Guess How Many

I want to have a Spooky Halloween Carnival Party this year.

Last year we had a Harry Potter Halloween Party (Still working on the posts for that)

Looks like a lot of fun!

Ciao

April

~FriggleFraggle~

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North Carolina Renaissance Faire

Renaissance....

It's that time of year again. There is a cool crisp breeze. Crunchy leaves falling from trees. Apples and pumpkins. Hay rides and corn mazes. Bonfires and Renaissance Faires. Pumpkin flavored everything.
This is the time of year that I love to bake. It warms the house with delicious scents and fills the bellies of all who enter.

We took the weekend off and headed to North Carolina. It was Renaissance time! We have been planning to go for years and finally got a chance. It was worth the wait. We had a great time. There were so many beautiful costumes and people were friendly.

The first encounter after we walked in the gates was Twig the fairy. She was so happy to see us! As we were happy to see her. We have been following her on Facebook for years now and finally got to meet her in person.

You can find her here.

As we walked around listening to the music and talking to the people we heard someone heckling us. It was this guy.

He was insulting people as they walked by. But at the other end of the fence was a big bucket of nice squishy tomatoes to throw at him. People lined up to pelt the rude dude!

Then we stopped to take in some tunes by Jennifer Mayer playing in the Jamila Lotus skeleton house band, Band of Eternal Souls.

This band plays for Jamila Lotus Dance Carnivale where we saw belly dancing with fire!

After a bit of fiery dancing we ran into the GreenMan. He was quite tall!

We also saw various shows on different stages. There was the FairHaven Theatre, Palace Stage, The Haven,CasaFortuna Stage, Rialto Stage, Dutch Door Stage and Sherwood Stage. There were storytellers, comedians,belly dancers, sword swallowing, hypnotists, juggling and acrobats.

Here is Moonie tight rope walking while juggling with fire.

After a long day of walking around we grabbed some grub. They were offering a variety of ales and drinks. Foods were bread bowls filled with chili or soup. Fish and Chips, sweet potato fries, scotch eggs and pizza. Of course we got a turkey leg- who doesn't get a turkey leg at the Renaissance Faire? We sat and ate while we watched the live jousting show at the Queen's Arena.

We sat in the section for the Blue and Silver Knight-I can't remember his name. He supposedly had rabies-not sure why, maybe in the forest too long?

We saw so much and had such a great time! We will definitely try to make it a yearly event if possible :)

Goodbye my friends-until next year!