Bunny Cakes

Our Christmas Vacation

I realize this is late.  I got sick and then never got around to posting, so here it is....We had a very cozy Christmas tucked in our home.  Family came over on Christmas Eve for a traditional dinner.  One of my favorite gifts was not having to cook (I love to bake, but not to cook), Chef M prepared a wonderful Beef Wellington and I prepared a festive Buche de Noel (it looked better than it tasted--need to work on a better recipe for next year) along with the family favorite pumpkin roll.  We were graced with an unexpected blanket of snow which made the holiday seem a litle more magical for all ages.  Baby B enjoyed his first Christmas and loved the extra attention from his big brothers.

-K

Holiday Cards

Even before Thanksgiving arrives I am already mentally planning our family holiday card.  When Thanksgiving comes I have already checked out online card sites for their latest designs and am ready to get snapping.  I don't select my card design until I have the photo I plan to use ready, but I like to get inspired.  For the last 3 years I've gone with two card designs because I can never decide on one.  Also for the past three years I have purchased our holiday cards from Paper Culture.  Their card designs are decent, but what I like most about them are their card size (not too big), card thickness (nice and thick) and rounded corners (looks so good).  They also plant a tree with every order, so they are an eco-friendly company as well.  Here are our two cards from this year (displayed in Baby B's room).

In addition to sending cards, I love to receive them from family and friends.  We currently don't have a great way to display them, we just arrange them on our sideboard.  

Next year we definitely have to upgrade.  Here are few inspiring ideas that I found...

And remember don't throw away your cards.  Bundle them up and store them till next Christmas, then you can marvel at how young everyone looked year after year.  We have cards back till 2005 and it is amazing to see how families have grown!

Happy Holidays!

K

Snowy Pecans

One treat which I always associated with the holidays are sugared pecans.  We have several names for them: Snowy Pecans, Heavenly Pecans and Pure Goodness (you can find the recipe here).  We have learned that if you are going to make them, then you might as well make a boat load.  They are great little treats to give to friends and neighbors.  They are also the perfect little homemade something to accompany an impersonal gift card.  This year we planned ahead and bought 12 oz. glass jars to package the pecans in.  To complete the packaging we added a label and baker's twine.  I have included the link if you wish to download our Snowy Pecan labels.  Simply print them on whole sheet adhesive label paper and cut them out.  To affix the label lay the jar completely perpendicular to you and position the middle of label on the bottom third of the glass.  Then smooth out the label from the center to each side.  If the label doesn't align perfectly don't sweat it, it just proves that it was homemade.

-K

It's a Wrap

It's that time of year again, time to get out your scissors and tape, but before you do take a look at some inspirational wrap jobs.  

I love to wrap presents and wish I had all day to spending embellishing my gifts, but usually I am in a hurry.  Having kraft paper (or a paper with a simple design), plenty of ribbon/bakers twine and little tie-ons on hand make it easy to make your gifts look good in jiff!

-K

Christmas Review

It is hard to believe the New Year is upon us...Happy 2012!  You may have noticed my sparse posting during December.  I wish I could say it was because I was so busy being crafty, but the truth is, I was busy not being crafty.  Hubby and I went on an amazing trip to Costa Rica in the middle of December and the rest of my time was spent shopping, getting ready for the holidays, relaxing, playing Apples to Apples and reading the Game Of Thrones series (I just started book 4).  Oh well, I have lots of ideas for next year.  I did manage to take a few pix of our simple Christmas table, decked with tartan and pine cones.

Here's my favorite picture of the evening...little O donning his new hand knit keyhole scarf from mama...

Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

K

How to Hang a Wreath

The wreath is one of my favorite Christmas decorations.  I love fresh boxwood wreaths, but I also like wreaths made from dried natural items that can be used year after year.  Wreath hooks and temporary hooks are easy ways to hang wreaths, but another easy method is with ribbon and a staple gun.  This method does require a little extra effort because you will also need a ladder and an extra set of hands, but produces a very nice, clean, professional look.

Start by cutting your ribbon a little longer than you will need.  Have someone hold the wreath in place why you staple the ribbon in place (I use three staples).  Trim any excess ribbon or add a bow if you wish.  It's that simple!  This method is great for hanging on a door or in front of a window (as long as you have trim around the window).  

A pretty natural wreath made from pine cones hangs on the door to our mudroom.

Fresh boxwood wreaths are hung in our kitchen.  I might add bows, but I ran out of ribbon.  3 yards doesn't go a far as you might think.

-K

P.S.  If you don't have a staple gun, add it to your Christmas list...it's a handy tool all crafters should have.

Christmas Crafts To-Do 2011

Here are some crafty projects I have my eye on...I am hoping to get around to at least one of these projects.

1.  Felt Ornaments - possibilities are endless.  Here is a sweet example from Rosie Little Things.

 

2.  Clay Ornaments - easy to personalize or capture a little hand print.  Here are some how-to steps from GardenMama.

 

3.  Pink Ornaments - I love this color scheme.  I need to buy some or make my own pink ornaments.

 

4.  PomPom Snowman - this little guy is adorable.  Here are the steps from BH&G.

 

 

5.   Shrinky Dink Gift Tags - I would love to use the boy's artwork to create some cute gift tags.  These would be great to add to their teacher gifts.

 

6.  Stamped Gift Bags - turn plain muslin bags into festive goodie bags.

-K

December End Catch-Up

It is hard to believe that Christmas was only a week ago.  I feel like so much time has passed and have lots to catch-up on.  Please forgive me as a ramble on, this is a very piecemeal post.  Our family enjoyed a really nice Christmas together.  Chef M prepared a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day was spent mostly in pajamas.  The Christmas table was low-key this year and I didn't even bother to iron the table cloth (as per usual).  

Baby O turned 6 months last week and is too cute for words.  This is a shot from his Christmas Card photo shoot.  We used the tissue paper pom-poms from the baby shower to create a fun, last-minute backdrop.  The other shot of him below is from his 6 Month photo shoot.  A. keeps me busy snapping away...'Paybacks', she says.  Paybacks for what?  *hee hee*

For New Year's Eve we almost had to postpone our traditional New Year's Eve Olympics due to illness, but there is almost nothing three back-to-back naps won't cure and the games went on as planned.  For our First Breakfast of the Year we had delicious 'Mommy' cakes.  I used the Daddy Cakes pancake mix for the first time (purchased at World Market, but also available via Amazon) and was much impressed.  I can't remember the last time I had pancakes so good.  They were light and tender and especially good with blueberries.

 Finally, my paperwhites bloomed.  Just in time for the New Year.  We are still enjoying them... 

I hope you had a good one too!

-K

Merry Christmas

-K

Almost...Christmas

Its Christmas Eve and I almost...

• got my Christmas cards in the mail on time
• finished my Christmas shopping
• got my paperwhites to bloom

At least I have my Christmas cookies ready for Santa...that should count for something.

A and I both ordered our Christmas cards from Paper Culture this year.  We were very happy with how they turned out.  Paper Culture used nice, thick card stock and rounded the corners of their cards (I love rounded corners).  Best of all, a tree is planted with every order.  A definite for next year, I just need to get my act together sooner.

I usually plant my paperwhite bulbs the weekend after Thanksgiving, but this year since we were out of town I delayed it by a week.  I also used a different source for my bulbs, so the timing of the blooming just didn't work out as desired.  I will still enjoy them whenever they bloom.  I also tried something new with the 'ground cover'.  Instead of covering the bulbs with moss like I normally do, I just tossed some pine cones over the top and in between the bulbs to cover the dirt and then added some juniper cuttings cover up the plastic edges of the liner.  It turned out pretty nice and was super easy.  Also a definite for next year.  

 Finally here is a shot of Santa's cookies before our Christmas Eve dinner.  Classic Toll House chocolate chip cookies are always a big hit in our house and I am lucky there are any left to leave out for Santa.  The Obedience School Cookie Plate is from Anthropologie and was a gift to myself.  When I ordered it, I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it, but it turned out to be a nice large size and really sweet.

I hope you got all you needed to get done this year.  Merry Christmas!

-K