Goody, Goody, Pumpkin Gumdrops

For those of you looking for a fun Halloween treat, or a treat that would be fun for Thanksgiving, I've got a cutie for you.
These little pumpkins are made of candy orange slices and green gum drops.
That's it, all you need is the candy, some kitchen shears and a rolling pin.

For each pumpkin you will need 7-8 orange slices and 2 green gumdrops. Using your shears you will cut your orange slice on both sides to exaggerate the wedge shape. The slice on the right is before cutting and the one on the left is after cutting. You need to do this for 2 reasons, one to expose the sticky candy (it works as the glue), and 2, to make the pumpkin lobe shape.  Push them together and don't be afraid to mold them and push them into a pumpkin shape. If one of your lobes is too big, just trim more off with your shears. For the stem, roll out one of the green gumdrops until it's nice and sticky. Now use that as the glue to hold the other gumdrop in place on top of your pumpkin.  That's it, your done.

Wouldn't these be adorable wrapped in a cellophane bag with a pretty ribbon for special goblins, or as a Thanksgiving Day favor for your guests?  Enjoy!

Delicious Dishes by Debbie: Spotlight On A Wonderful Cook, Decorator, and Lady: Shannon Imlay

Delicious Dishes by Debbie: Spotlight On A Wonderful Cook, Decorator, and Lady: Shannon Imlay

The First Give-Away

Hi Everyone,
I'm very excited to announce my first giveaway.  I've noticed on the quiz that most of you will be going to someones  home for Thanksgiving so I've decided to review my favorite host/hostess gifts, and best of all, give them away for you to enjoy!
Remember what our mothers always told us "Don't show up to someones home empty handed".
First on my list is Philosophy's 3 in 1 Shampoo/Shower Gel & Bubble bath in the Cinnamon Buns Fragrance.
This shower  gel has been a favorite of Oprah's for years and it's easy to see why. This is a thick creamy formula that smells fantastic and gives you plenty of lather.  It's like a warm sudsy blanket in the shower that surrounds you in the fragrance of cinnamon buns on a Sunday morning. It contains glycerin and tea so it's soothes dry winter skin. 16 ounces retails at Ulta for $16.00 so it's a great gift to give your host/hostess and stay under the $20.00 mark.
This bottle will come to you wrapped in 2 Laura Ashley Egyptian Cotton washcloths nestled in a fun jewelry box with a removable top shelf.
Now for the rules.  You receive an entry by becoming a follower. All current followers will automatically be entered.  You can recieve extra entries for posting this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter.
I will have a random drawing on November 6th (2 weeks from today).
Best of luck to all.

Cranberries, Candycorn, & Candles, Oh My!

I think you can guess by the title what we will be doing with our candles today :)

I know we've covered fruit and candles but I put cranberries in a separate category because of their size.  Although we will be focusing on cranberries and candy corn, don't let your imagination stop there.  Think  jelly belly's, or kumquats.  Like I said    before, food can be beautiful, so just look at it in a different light (pun intended :)

This is done by setting a rose and greenery in

a cylinder vase and then floating cranberries and a candle in the water. You will probably have

to anchor the florals with a small kenzan, floral frog, or floral adhesive, these can all be found at the hobby store in the floral section

Clip Art

Candles and Free Clip Art

Today I have a real treat for you!  A fun, easy, and inexpensive way to dress up all those plain votive candle holders.  I don't know about you, but I love scented candles and some of them come in very nice glass containers.  This is a great way to recycle them.
We will be using Vellum  paper.  Vellum is the semi-transparent paper that sometimes has a metallic sheen to it.  You can find it in the scrapbook section of your hobby store.

I will be giving you several Free Clip Art selections.  You can use the ones I've already written up for you, or you can personalize them and use them as illuminated place cards at each table setting.   You can also print them out on card stock and use them that way.   Just copy, paste and enjoy!

I used gold vellum, but you can use any color your like.

Have fun, Shannon

Just wrap your votive in vellum and secure with double sided tape.  On the one votive I wrapped a cute ribbon around the bottom and secured it in the back with a maple leaf sticker

Autumn Candles using Fruits & Vegetables

I must confess, I love using food to decorate with.
 Let's face it, food doesn't just taste great, it can be really beautiful.  This is one of my favorite ways to make candles and I've been doing it for a long time.  The technique is simple, cut a hole in your produce as wide as the candle that you'll be inserting into it.  You can use a small sharp knife, an apple corer, a melon baller,  even an electric drill.  The drill is great for hard gourds and squash, you just need to make sure that the drill bit matches the size of your candle.
You may need to cut along the bottom of your produce if your candle is not stable or flat. The last thing you want is a live flame rolling around your table. If your using fruit, just make sure you set a saucer, or plate underneath so you won't damage your table with the juice.
I'm giving you several pictures for inspiration, but don't be limited by my photos, try artichokes, persimmons or green apples.  A really pretty way to dress up your produce is to rub it with edible glitter.  You'll find this at your hobby store in the cake decorating section.  It adds a subtle sheen to fruit that really glistens in the candlelight.  It also adds a sweet flavor if you decide to eat your artwork after dinner.
I hope you enjoy making these, and again, let me know how it works out for you.

This is a fun project because by just carving, or piercing to outer skin of a white pumpkin, the orange flesh will show through.

Happy Shanonigins

Autumn Candles

Candles add so much to a table, ambiance, romance, nostalgia, not to mention the flicker of flattering light.
Starting today we are going to feature a new way (everyday) to add candlelight to your Autumn table. I've chosen easy, fun and inexpensive ways to use votives and tea lights.
These can be lined down the center of a long table for drama, or one put at each place setting to distribute the light and heat. Please remember to use candle safety and never leave candles unattended.
Remember to always use unscented candles at a dinner or food buffet. You don't want the scent of the candles to compete with the smell of your food.
Our first candle today uses corn husks simply wrapped around a glass votive. These votives can be found at your local dollar store or found at target for 99 cents (I checked today:). You may even have several of these laying around your house. Since they'll be wrapped with corn husks, they don't have to be perfect.  I would suggest using clear double sided tape to keep the corn husks in place.  You can use regular corn husks or if you want to make your life easy you can purchase tamale wrapper corn husks from your grocery store.  If you want to add color to your corn husks you can either paint on some food coloring or use a floral spray paint from your hobby store. These are neatly finished with a string of raffia. Raffia comes in so many colors these days, you could even pick up a color from your dishes or napkins. You may notice in the photo that the small vase is wrapped in the same way.
Just remember to cut the corn husks to the rim (not above) your container, since dry corn husks would be very flammable.
I hope you enjoy these, and I would love to see any photos if you make them,

Happy Shanonigins

Welcome to Shannon's Shanonigins

Well, I've finally done it.  I've finally started a blog.  This is my favorite time of year and it's so beautiful right now  in Colorado.  Fall gives me a new energy, maybe because it's the beginning of the Holiday Season. First is Halloween, that fun holiday that really brings out the kid in all of us.  I love seeing kids all dressed up in their costumes (especially the little ones) and I love throwing Halloween parties.
Then there's Thanksgiving.  I LOVE Thanksgiving!  A holiday all about eating, spending time with loved ones and taking time to count your blessings.  It all ends with pie, so how can you not love Thanksgiving?  Please let me know what you'd like to see in future posts?
I really want this to be the place you go to if you have any questions about Celebrations.
So here we go!
I wish you Joyful Celebrations,
Shannon