Hi all. Tomorrow is my birthday and I would like to celebrate with you.  I have decided that I want to give a little gift to you. For today only, 12/2/12, if you buy any pattern in the shop, you get one free. FREE! When you checkout, just leave a note for me in the ‘note to seller’ box and tell me which pattern you would like. How about that?

Why today? Well, my hubbie’s taking me away for a couple of days and I don’t want to work while we’re gone. That’s all. Have a grand day!

p.s. Stay tuned for some changes to Pattern Patti, hopefully in the next few weeks.

Well, we are. We are still here. We have tried, in vane, to sell the Hilltop House. That’s it, up there, with my girls and my nephew jumping a couple of summers ago. We have used 2 realtors and enjoyed 4 six month contracts over a 3 year period. We’ve accepted 2 offers, had 2 inspections and 2 bad reports followed by 2 buyers backing out. So, we’re still here. Our realtor stopped by this morning, before I was dressed of course, to pick up our sign and lock box. I’m sure our neighbors are totally confused, as am I. It stinks to have a plan that you are so sure of and watch that plan crumble. Friends and family offer advice. Neighbors ask lots of questions. Blah!

So, our response to this stinkiness is, we’re staying. We’re settling back in. We weren’t relocating, we just wanted to slim down. We’re unpacking, rearranging, hanging new curtains and making a plan for slimming down the budget without slimming down the house and house payment. We’ll have to save to fix the crawl space that wrecked 2 deals and make the house more attractive to potential buyers. Or, just stay. Blah!

Venting. Hope your Tuesday is good.

New pattern in the shop. The pdf tutorial and pattern features instructions to turn your favorite t-shirt into a bib for baby. Maybe you could win this one.

Hope you win.

I’m offering a free pdf pattern to anyone who “likes” me on facebook and sends a friend to “like” me as well. Your friend needs to leave a comment with your name in it for me to know that you referred them. Do that and I’ll send the Pattern Patti pdf pattern (say that 10 times fast) of your choice to you. Just visit the shop and make your choice.

Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday, February 14, 2011.

Pattern Patti is now on Facebook and Twitter. Like me  and follow me for shop news and updates. I’m feeling like I’m on a roll with turning out patterns. 3 in one week. I have so many more on paper and in my head. Hope to get them listed this month so stay tuned.

Have a great week.

They also did the penguin down the hill. 

So far, we still have power, so we can enjoy the down time. We’re playing Wii games, surfing the web, scootin’ around the yard and listing new patterns on etsy.

The PDF tutorial and pattern for this Earbud Pouch is listed in Pattern Patti’s etsy shop. My iPhone is in my pocket nearly every waking minute. I didn’t, however, have a great way to carry my earbuds. This little pouch is going to keep them clean and un-tangled. The finished size is 3″x3.75″. This is such a quick sew. Go. Snatch it up!

Need something a little bigger? This PDF is for a pouch that is big enough to hold an iPod shuffle/touch nano, earbuds and a charging cable. Or use it as a simple wallet. It’s finished size is 4″x4.5″. It’s in the shop. Hurry. Go!

Pattern Patti is now on Facebook & Twitter. Like & Follow for updates and maybe a deal or 2.

Stay warm, stay dry. Hopefully we won’t end up with an inch of ice like they predicted. Hopefully we’ll keep power.

Every year, during the holidays, we stock up on M&M’s in Christmas colors, Hersey kisses & pretzels that are round. These yummy ingredients make one of our favorite Christmas treats. We call them pretzel snacks. Our friends call them reindeer noses. Whatever. They are fabulous no matter what you call them. Salty. Sweet. Yum.

These are super easy. My kids can pretty much make them on their own. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Now, spread the round pretzels on a cookie sheet so that they lie flat. Fill it up. These treats are addictive and you’re going to wish you made more.

Unwrap about a million kisses, one for each pretzel and one for each kid’s mouth every few minutes. Place one kiss in each pretzel.

Now, place the cookie sheet into your oven. Allow the kisses to melt. Don’t leave the room. This really takes only 3 or 4 minutes. Maybe less, depending on your oven. I usually stand right by the oven and check them every so often. If you press on the kiss and it squishes all the way down, they’re ready. Take them out. If you leave them in too long, they will dry out and become hard.

Now, press one M&M into each kiss. Push them around a little so that chocolate touches all of the edges of the pretzels. This will make it harder for the kiss to fall out of the pretzel once it sets up.

Allow the chocolate to set up and enjoy. They will set up fine at room temperature, but we usually end up sticking them in the fridge to encourage the process. We’re impatient. Enjoy. Share them, you will be loved by all.

Merry Christmas to you all from all of us on Hilltop.

Note: I buy the Seyfert’s brand of round pretzels. I find them at Kroger. I’ve seen them at Walmart and Aldi as well. 

I found an easy little tutorial for felt stockings at MarthaStewart.com.

I followed Martha’s tutorial almost entirely. All you need is felt, ribbon, cardstock, sewing machine and thread.

Here’s what you do:

 Print Martha’s stocking template.  Trace and cut out 48 felt stocking pieces of whatever colors you choose.

I stitched my ribbon to one stocking piece. I didn’t like the idea of it being loose.

Next, I stitched my number circle onto the top stocking. Then, I stitched 2 stocking pieces together, using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Be sure to leave the top open for stashing the goodies. Once they are stitched together, trim them with pinking shears, if you have them. Now, don’t be confused by my pictures. You really must stitch the ribbon and the number on before you stitch the 2 stocking pieces together. I neglected to take pics during the process.

After that, I punched a hole in the back of the stocking and tied some ribbon through it.

Now do that 23 more times. You can read through Martha’s tutorial for a few more details.

I designed the numbers for the stockings to match my color scheme. I decided to share with you. Click the links below, print them (cardstock works best) and cut out how you like.

Numbers 1-12

Numbers 13-24

I’ve decided to hang these on our tree, one at a time, as the month goes on. Each morning the girls will find that day’s stocking, front and center, with some sort of little surprise in it and the previous day’s stocking moved to a new location on the tree. By Christmas, our tree will be covered.

Here’s today’s stocking. The girls found 4 little paper donuts in it.  We ran right out for donuts. Talk about motivation for getting dressed.

Now I just have to figure out what to put in 23 more stockings.

Visit The Thrifty Home for more frugal ideas.