Tell us a Story

When ECA director Rob Hawk came to visit our club, he shared with us all the services available. He is an Earth steward and likes to help others become one. He stresses spending time with young people teaching them cultural heritage as well as stewardship and conservation. Hawk does many programs at schools and camps for young people. During his visit with the Kountry Krafters, Rob read us a story by Maile Meloy entitled "The Ice Harvester." It was about adapting to an ever-changing environment and a person's place in that environment. All the members thoroughly enjoyed being read to by this handsome gentleman, but most of all, they took his message to heart. We look forward to working with Rob throughout the years.

Pie Wheel

Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy?

Joann gave each of us an ingenious little device that she called a pie wheel. She designed the back to show the ingredients and cooking temperature. The front piece looks like an actual piece of pie with a wedge cut out. The example shown here is for a cherry pie. She laminated both pieces and attached them together with a brad. On the back, she attached a magnet. It makes a great reference tool and a unique refrigerator magnet. Joann said that she got the template from Martha Stewart in the 1990's.

Spicing Things Up in the New Year

Long, red cayenne peppers drying in the sun

She passed around a basket full of different kinds of spices and asked us each to choose one. "Let's spice up ECA this year," said Cheryl Beck, Jackson Co. North Carolina Extension and Community Association, Inc. (ECA) Agent who led our planning meeting on Nov. 2. She explained as we made our various choices a little bit about each spice. Cumin dates back to Old Testament times. It comes from the parsley family and can be used in meat and poultry dishes. Cinnamon was originally used in love potions, and has now been discovered to have many benefits including stimulation of weight loss. Pepper was once rare and valuable. People took great risks to find it. It stimulates gastric juice and is also the main ingredient in capzasin, an arthritis treatment. Paprika is made from sweet, red peppers and can be used in most anything, not just as garnish. Oregano is Greek for joy of the mountains. It is easily grown in these parts.

We have made plans for an exciting new year. Our meetings will continue on the first Tuesday night of the month at 7 p.m.  We are still congregating at the fellowship hall at the Tuckasegee Wesleyan Church up on the hill. To see our schedule, look at the sidebar to the right. These plans are not set in stone, however. We may change our minds and tweak the schedule a bit, but we'll be sure to let you know here on the blog in plenty of time to adjust your plans. We are looking for new members to join the fun and fellowship. Come join us at our first meeting on Tuesday, January 4, where we will meet Rob Hawks, the director of ECA.

Peppermint Tree

Peppermint Tree with Lighted Glass Block

I tried my luck with another one of the candy grams, the peppermint tree. First, you take a cylindrical styrofoam cone and a couple of bags of individually wrapped peppermint candies. I got them at the Dollar Tree for a dollar a bag. You need a box of pins with the little round heads on them. Starting at the bottom of the cone, go around sticking the candies in a ring. Continue with layers until the entire cone is filled. Embellish with ribbons. I discovered that you need longer pins for the ribbons. Also, it would be better to use a taller cone so that the graduation is more apparent. I used a 12 inch tall cone for this. I just experiment until I get the best design. A couple of things to remember are that if you give them as gifts, people need to be aware of the hazards of sharp pins around kids and pets. Also, and I learned this the hard way, if you are transporting candy grams, be sure to keep them at a cool temperature or they will melt. I was delivering some one day after work, so I put them in a basket in my car where they sat all day in September temperatures. When I arrived at my destination and began taking them out of the basket, to my dismay, they had softened and melted. I was out about $50 in supplies. Vintage candies like soda poppers and root beer candy are expensive, unless you plan to make a lot of candy grams and can buy in huge bulk. Even jolly ranchers can add up if you are only using one or two colors per bag. That's one reason I really like the peppermint tree. It is relatively inexpensive and cute and functional to boot. I have mine here with one of the glass block lights I made. I used teal to match my Christmas tree.

Feasting and Creating

The table was spread with all kinds of goodies made by members.

At our last meeting on Dec. 7, 2010, we all brought goodies and exchanged cards and homemade gifts. We also got our glass blocks to make lights for the holidays, and Ella showed Stella how to do it. We stuffed ourselves and caught up on the latest news. It was a great way to end the year. One of the most interesting dishes was sauerkraut balls made by Joann, but it was all beyond delicious.  (The recipe for these delicious treats can be found in the sidebar). I saved up all day for it!

The first step is adding the lights.

Ella demonstrates how to make a bow.

Here is the finished product.

Here is one of the necklaces Ella made us.

This is a red glass block light I made.

This is a green glass block light I made.

Calendar Creations

At our October meeting, the Kountry Krafters created year-long calendars from original photos on the computer, printed them and laminated them for protection. We used the Broderbund Printshop program for Macintosh, but it is also available for PC. Hallmark has similar programs on its Create a Card software. You can even save the files and take them or send them online to Walmart for professional printing.

Candy Grams

On Sept. 7, the Kountry Krafters made candy grams. We made lollipop malts, jolly rancher margaritas,butterscotch flowers, A & W root beer floats, and soda popper bouquets. These make wonderful gifts. One crafter plans to give hers to her grandson's teacher to use for candy treats. They are easy to make and lots of fun.