Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Chocolate, Music Paper, and Concrete



More and more of our friends (and family) are eating gluten-free. I don't want to fill my pantry with tons of alternative foods that I'll rarely use. These cookies are good alternative, containing no flour of any kind. I'm adding them to my Christmas baking list. I made them this morning and they are yummy! Chocolate Pecan Brownie Kisses - recipe found by clicking on the link.


Did you take piano lessons as a child? I did, for most of my school years, and later taught piano in Ecuador. I like using music paper in crafts, but have a hard time tearing up my own, definitely vintage, music books. I asked myself recently, "Will you ever play Czerny's Exercises in Passage Playing again? How about the Royal Conservatory Technical Exercises?" The answer was a resounding NO. So I cut them up to make the ornaments seen above.
 

I made a lot of them for the craft fair this Saturday. For a display idea - an inverted tomato cage. I still need to do something with the top. 
 

And a driveway report. The  concrete pour went well. We put up barricades to keep people off for a couple of days. But how disappointing to wake up this morning to discover cat prints in the fresh concrete. A whole trail of them. Grrrr. Next project is a new porch.

Time for another cookie. What's happening around your place today?

30 comments:

  1. Wonderful craft work, Lorrie, so imaginative.
    Obviously the cat felt he should have his feet preserved for eternity (film star mode?)

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  2. Anonymous4:14 PM

    Hello Lorrie: those ornaments look beautiful and the cookies - yum! Too bad about the concrete, I take it that it wasn't your kitty cat??

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  3. Very nice of you to consider your guests who must eat gluten free. These cookies look scrumptious. Chocolate and pecans... a match made in heaven :D.
    I did take piano lessons for a few years as a child. Sadly I haven't been near a piano in decades and can no longer play a note. I do like the new use you gave to your vintage music sheets. Very pretty and the tomato cage display is fabulous!!
    There is a portion of sidewalk in my neighborhood with big dog prints in it. It always makes me smile when I walk over it. Although if it were on my own driveway I don't think I would be smiling. Grrr.

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  4. Grrr for sure! Sounds like your making some big improvements there. What about my book page tree topper I made a while back? You could use the sheet music instead of word pages like I used. It could slip right over the prongs if pulled together. I'll look for a link for it because you probably don't remember it.

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  5. I'm back....if you're interested:

    http://www.jillruth.com/2012/12/book-page-tree-topper.html

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  6. I love your music paper ornaments. It is difficult to rip or cut music and books up.
    Love too that you displayed them on the tomato cage.
    Yummm! cookies look good and I agree I end up with alternative
    things in the cupboard that I don't use again. I try to remember to
    give them to my daughter who is gluten free.

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  7. I've got plans for stacks of my sheet music as well, especially my old RCMT books . . . but I doubt my projects will be as gorgeously intricate as yours. . .

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  8. How frustrating! I hope that your contractor will address it.

    The ornaments look very beautiful. Hope that they sell like hotcakes!

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  9. Can the kitty's paw prints perhaps be sanded out by your concrete guys? If not you could find a concrete cat garden ornament and make a feature of the prints - a story to tell visitors to your home and a bit of whimsy, I love whimsy! Glad the weather held up though or you might have had a real mess!

    The sheet music ornaments are fantastic Lorrie - did you have a pattern for these or invent/design them yourself? I really LOVE them!

    Hugs - Mary

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  10. My sister is the crafty one in my family and she made paper flowers for her daughter's wedding bouquet as well as the bridesmaids bouquets and other random arrangements. A lot of work.

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  11. I hope kitty didn't lick her feet. I love the cookie recipe - one of our grandsons isn't allowed gluten - no special reason - they just think it is not good to eat it - so I'm always looking for something yummy for him to eat. I'll definitely make him a batch or two of these.

    I had company all day - a friend came for our weekly stitch and tea visit, and then at 1:30 our two daughters and two grandsons came for an afternoon of ornament making. The table was loaded with craft supplies and we had a marvelous time - and many ornaments were made. I made a crockpot full of chili and we ate all but one serving (the guys all came up after work and joined in the fun and food.)

    I love the music paper ornaments. I now, at long last have a piano room and I thing it would be fun to have a music paper decorated tree in there this christmas.

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  12. The music ornaments are lovely!

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  13. Bonjour Lorrie
    quelle belle manière de commencer la journée, avec ces cookies qui ont l'air délicieux ! Je vais noter la recette et voir quand j'ai le temps de les faire.
    J'aurais aimé faire du piano quand j'étais jeune, mais mon père m'a dit "ce sera de l'accordéon ou rien !" Alors j'ai dit "rien". Au collège j'ai eu une initiation au piano et je me suis rendu compte que ce n'est pas si facile de jouer avec les deux mains, donc pas de regrets !
    Quant aux empreintes de chats... on connait aussi ici mais c'est moins grave : ils laissent des marques sur les voitures (mais ça s'enlève plus facilement). ça fait une "décoration" dans le béton !
    Je te souhaite une bonne journée, ici il neige à gros flocons donc je vais rester au chaud et corriger mes copies.

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  14. Very pretty but oh my, my mouth is watering...where oh where is the recipe to those luscious looking cookies...please e-mail to me, if you do not mind sharing it~

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  15. Those are amazing ornaments! Trust your craft sale will go well.

    Sorry about those kitty paws! :(

    Deanna

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  16. Lorrie your ornaments are adorable! I have made a large star but nothing as exotic as these are! They look hard to make. Beautiful use of your old music! and I think I'll try the cookies.

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  17. Grr indeed! Beautiful photos of those ornaments.

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  18. Did you notice the spam comment above mine? I love the paper ornaments you made. They are really sweet and should sell pretty fast. The no flour cookies look delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe. How disappointing that a cat wandered on your fresh cement! It's paw prints are forever engraved in it. :(

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  19. Thanks so much for the cookie recipe...I'm sending it on to my sister whose DH has to eat gluten-free. I love the music paper ornaments as well. Enjoying your blog! and wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. Cheryl

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  20. Oh Lorrie, I love the cat prints, I know you would much rather not have them, but they add a real touch of nature to your cement. Really!

    The cookies look delish, and the pin wheels are gorgeous, What about a giant one on top?

    Jen

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  21. Good luck at the craft fair Lorrie! Glad to hear that your concrete dried despite the paw prints. You were right those trees were some from the Festival of Trees at the Empress.

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  22. I would think your music paper decorations will be snatched right up, Lorrie. I like the little touch of the added button.

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  23. So pretty! I have been stitching up a dorm over the past few weeks!

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  24. Errrrrr- just in case you are imagining, after my comment above, that I have been doing surgery in a college residence, I should clarify.........I have been stitching up a STORM!

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  25. Oh, oh! Whose kitty was it? I'm taking note of your yummy looking GF chocolate kisses! Great job on your music paper decorations!

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  26. Oh, I love those paper flowers!!! I used to play a LOT of classical piano as a child. Unfortunately, I couldn't get everything packed into a small car when I went off to college, and I had to leave the music books at home. Sure enough, as soon as I left, my crazy mother either threw away or gave away anything I left behind. She gave away my music books to an ex SIL.

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  27. Very cute paper flowers :). I would like to know how you made them. I too went for piano classes but not the conventional way. But I'm happy that I can play some notes now :).

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  28. Loving your music pages turned into pretty flowers. Oh how I remember royal conservatory...the lessons and then going to the Parliament Buildings for our exams. Those rooms seemed cold and scary as we sat in the foyer waiting for our name to be called out. I should go into 'that' container in our crawl space and see what I could make from my own vintage pages.
    Cats.....I'm not a lover and I can imagine the disappointment when you saw those prints. Stand guard when you do the porch!

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  29. How pretty your festive decorations are, I wonder did the cat with concrete shoes ever make it back home again?

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  30. Thank you a delicious gluten free cookie recipe! My Daughter-in-law and one grandson are gluten sensitive and eat gluten free so I always appreciate a good recipe.

    Your music sheet sculpture is gorgeous! I've seen quite a few tomato cage creations lately --that is a clever idea.

    Aww..now Mr Kitty will be forever memorialized in your cement--at least his paws are small! :)

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