Country Time Acres Blog

This project is simple and elegant.

This week the girls at Country Time 4-H made tissue boxes. This box is one of my camp favorites because it’s simple and elegant. Because glue must dry, each side must be done separately. I like to use Elmers gel glue but the regular white glue is ok, too. Have a selection of noodles and each child does their own design. When all sides are decorated and dry (don’t do the back) the box can be spray painted with gold color.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!!

Lamb Construction is a proud sponsor of Country Time 4-H.

Makhi enjoys a muffin, I think he likes getting his picture on my blog!

The holidays are just around the corner and it’s time to start thinking about those home made gifts. Gifts in a jar  are a perfect gift for just about anyone. They are simple to make and very inexpensive. I always try my recipe before I give them as gifts. This recipe came from the book ” Muffins in a Jar” by Lia Rossner Wilson. It made so many muffins that I shared them with the workers at the day care my daughter, Tracy works at. They enjoyed them too. You will need:  For your jar: 3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Instructions for jar: 1) combine flour with baking powder and salt.  Spoon into jar. 2)  In separate bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon and spoon  mixture over flour. 3) Place lid on jar and decorate. Include baking instructions.

Baking Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put jar contents into bowl. In separate bowl mix 2/3 cup melted butter, 2 eggs, beaten and 1 cup milk. Add to  dry mixture. Stir till moist. Spoon into 24 muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven.  Option:  butter muffins and cover with cinnamon sugar or brush top of muffin with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar on top.  To get this book go to Cook Book Resources.

Country Time Creations is a horse lovers store. For performances and store showings see the side bar Pages/Events 2010 for a complete schedule. Did you visit?  Leave a comment! Visit me on Facebook!

Members of Country Time 4-H.

Delainey gives Dakota a big hug!

It was a wonderful day for the girls of Country Time 4-H and their special guest, Delainey Parsons.  Delainey is one of six children, four of which are miracle children. Her older brother is a cancer survivor and  younger sister Phoenox, survived cleft palate surgery. Her father is currently not working  due to an injury and mother, Misty  tends to their two year old who has a tracheostomy. The couple could not provide bithday gifts and posted a request in a Yahoo chat room requesting a ride on a horse for their little girl. We wanted to make this  a special birthady indeed so as well as a ride on Dakota, she would get a party complete with cake, candles and presents. The Parsons are a wonderful family. Their hardships with their children’s have made them a close knit family and they appreciate the kindness of others in their time in need. Delainey was all smiles during her ride on Dakota. After, the family was invited to visit with Savannah where little sister, Pheonix and Savannah hit it off immediately. Pheonix will make a great poster child, she is absolutely adorable! Lunch of peanut butter & jelly or turkey and cheese, peaches, grapes, chips and juice was followed by a “horsey cake”. As hot as it was outside, we were unable to light the candles so Delainey just “faked it”. There were plenty of gifts provided by the club members, special guest, Holly Kehler and the Shepherd Place Shelter. Holly took lots of great pictures so we can put together a memory book for Delainey. Delainey and the girls hit it off as if they were best buddies. I hope the Parsons family will visit us again.

For great horse gifts visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit?  Leave a comment!

Makhi and I dyed shirts too. They turned out great!

The girls show off their shirts.

I am a very crafty person but, believe it or not, I have never tye dyed. Last week the girls of Country Time 4-H and I did our first  project.  Tye Dye kits make this project very simple. The hardest part is wrapping the shirt. There are so many ways to wrap a shirt that I decided to have the girls do what ever was easiest for them. We folded the shirt in half (length wise) and then started at one side and bunched the shirt, something like a fan effect. Once we had a long tube we careful started at one end and started rolling it into a circle. It was almost like making a cinnamon roll. After we had a tight circle we took rubber bands and put them around the circle, it looked like a pie when it was done.  The shirt is then soaked in ash water for 20 minutes. Make sure you wear rubber gloves when using ash or dye. Once removed from the water squeeze to remove excess water. Wrap in a towel and squeeze some more. Once the shirt is as dry as you can get it start applying the dye, one triangle at a time. Do not take dye to the center of the pie, it can blend with other colors and make a big brown blob! After dye is applied to all the pie triangles on both sides, place shirt in plastic bag and let sit for 24 hours. Carefully remove shirt and rince dye till shirt rinses clear. Wash  and dry shirt immediately. Our shirts have a line design. Next time I’d like to try the twist method so we can get a spiral design. The girls look great in their shirts!

For great horse jewelry, embroidered towels, handbags, picture frames, figures, toys and more visit Country Time Creations. Did you visit? Leave a comment!

Makhi, my little artist!

It’s cute and so simple even  young children can do it. The horse scene tissue box makes a great gift too. Here is what you’ll need to make your box: tissue box,  can of  light blue spray paint, paint, foam figures, paint brushes.  Spray paint the box and let dry. I like to use the dry brush technique for my painting so, practice on a piece of paper first.  To dry brush, load brush with paint and then wipe most off on a napkin. Tap paint on box to make grass, tree and clouds. Dry brushing gives a nice light and dark effect. Add flowers or other scenery. Place foam figures on last. Let paint dry.

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The kids of Camp Lenape enjoy a hay ride.

Country Time Creations is proud to sponsor Camp Lenape.

This week was my last performance for the summer and I got to entertain the kids from Camp Lenape. Camp Lenape is located in Frederica, Delaware and is a camp for children with Cerebral Palsy. It was a beautiful day and it all started with a hay ride from the camp to Heartland Equestrian Center. My 4-H kids were excited and a bit nervous as they prepared to do the opening number with a hoop routine. Sundae and Cheyenne wowed the crowd with their jumps, spins and tricks. The audience was amazed at all the things Sundae did. All was done at liberty (no ropes). The campers enjoyed the performance and hope to see the horses again.  Each camper received their own horse as a reminder of the day.

Country Time Creations is a proud sponsor of Camp Lenape. Visit us for great horse apparel, toys, books, music, figures, jewelry, handbags and embroidered towels.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment.

Makhi loves cookies!

Hannah and Brittany show off their baking skills.

This week my kitchen had the smell of fresh baked cookies not once, but twice. Tuesday Makhi and I spent time in the kitchen and Thursday afternoon the kids of Country Time 4-H worked on their baking and eating skills. Here is the Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe we used.

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1 cup ( 2 sticks) butter, softened, 3/4 cup sugar, 3/4 cups brown sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 large eggs, 2 cups Nestle’ Toll House Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in large bowl. Add eggs, slowly add flour mixture and stir till mixed well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about  9-11 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for two minutes, remove and continue to cool.

Did you know: The Toll House tradition began at the Toll House Inn in the 1930′s when proprietor Ruth Wakefield who was known for her rich desserts was experimenting and cut up a Nestle’ Semi Sweet Chocolate into tiny pieces and put it in her cookie dough. So was born the Toll House cookie! Semi-sweet chocolate morsals are also a natural source of antioxidants. For 1000′s of recipes visit Very Best Baking.

Don’t forget, for great embroidered horse kitchen towels visit   Country Time Creations. Did you visit? Leave a comment!

Jenna and Rosalyn show off their cookies.

Peanut Butter Blossoms are always a hit with the kids.

The kids of Country Time 4-H were very busy this week with fun activities. One of those activities was making peanut butter blossom cookies. here is the recipe they used:

Hershey Kisses candy, 1/2 cup shortening, 3/4 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup light brown sugar, 1 egg, 2 tbs. milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 and 1/2 cups  all purpose flour, 1 tsp. baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt.

Preheat oven to 375. Beat shortening, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar in bowl. Add egg, milk and vanilla, beat well. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Shape into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar, place onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately place a candy kiss in the center. Cookie will crack around edges. Cool 5 minutes then remove from cookie sheet to finish cooling. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

Country Time Creations is proud to sponsor Country Time 4-H. For great horse gifts visit our web-site.  Did you visit?  Leave a comment!