Dresses from Shabby Apple
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Pssst! AWESOME Cyber Monday Deal

Monday, November 29, 2010

So I thought I would let you in on a secret if you haven't seen it yet....
is offering an amazing deal. DO NOT MISS IT!!!

$9 Letters to Santa Kit - Set of 4 cards, 4 envelopes & 4 labels - Free shipping to U.S. ($18 Value)



Are those not the greatest? They are so cute and professional looking. I love the designs!! I was rushing over to their site as soon as I found out! Don't miss out on this fun tradition for your kiddos. Go to GroopDealz and snatch this one up! This offer ends on Tuesday.

Happy Holidays!!

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The weather outside is...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

actually still pretty warm. But for some reason I am in the holiday spirit. It was somewhat a forced thing at first since I decided to do a craft fair with a friend. But now it has sort of stuck. I am not breaking out the Christmas tree or anything yet but check these out: Go check out even more cuteness HERE!!! Oh, and if you mention Fun to Craft when ordering, you get FREE SHIPPING!!!!



So are you gearing up for the Holiday Season yet? Or am I the only one?

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New Fave

Saturday, December 19, 2009

My new favorite addition to my Christmas decor this year came from inspiration from the Shanty sisters. I just love their blog. Such cute ideas!! The Joy plaques were something I knew I would make as soon as I saw them. (So were the apothecary jars but I am waiting for my mom's next trip out here!) I would have finished these up sooner but the weather was not exactly cooperating with me. If only I had a garage...but luckily for me, the snow melted and the sun shined, and that was the greatest day of my life. Well, maybe not really but at least I was able to go out and spray paint. Hallelujah!

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Wrap it up

Friday, December 18, 2009

I could probably think of 101 uses for this besides what it is originally meant for: printing newspapers on. Oh, wait! Did I mention I was dreaming about newspaper paper? That seems a bit redundant. Not sure if there is a different term for it but I love newspaper paper. Call up your local paper and ask if they have end of the rolls of their newsprint. A lot of them give it away for free. Some charge like mine but it was only about $3.50 for a huge amount of it. I use it all the time and it has lasted me forever! Here are a few things you could do with it: use it for kids drawing/scribbling tablet, paint on it, use it to wrap up breakables in a move, make sewing patterns (I have a great post for this one coming up sometime soon), use as a tablecloth to color on, drop cloth for spray painting and the list could go on and on.

My most recent use for it was Christmas wrapping paper. My picture does not do my idea justice where I am thinking you could take this. My two year old was quite proud of his drawings though so I wasn't about to change anything just for the blog and hurt his feelings. He even had me scribbling on a whim with him. So insert some of your own creative juices here. But I am envisioning stamps or beautiful writing across it in cursive letters. Wrap it up tied with jute, raffia (natural or colored), ribbon, yarn or string. The possibilities really are endless. Slap on a cutesy tag and wah-lah you have yourself a nice packaged package. Man, I am really into doubles tonight.

So run, no, drive down to your nearest newspaper in town and pick up some of that newspaper paper. Trust me, you will thank me later.

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GoInG NuTs!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

This week has been crazy busy. Not only did I have jury duty (which I got out of pretty quickly), the hubby had his last finals of the semester too. Life has been a madhouse but hopefully it will begin to slow down with the holidays. Hmmm, who am I kidding right??

Well we spent a good 4 hours last night making treats. Let me just tell you a small apartment sized kitchen is not conducive to making lots of treats at once with more than one person in the way. But we had fun and other than the vanilla they forgot to bag at the store, things were going very smoothly considering.

I thought I would share this yummy recipe for those scrumptious spiced mixed nuts that you can buy at sporting events or other random places like that. Well, you can make them for a lot less. They are also a great neighbor gift if you are still looking for something to give. This is really to hold you over until I can get a few of my other craft posts up here. Yep, that is right. I am bribing you with food.

Spicy Mixed Nuts
1 egg white
2 Tbl cold water
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup walnut halves
2/3 cup pecan halves
2/3 cup whole almonds

Beat egg white and water until frothy. Stir nuts into mixture to coat, then drain slightly in a colander/strainer for about 3-4 minutes. Mix sugar and spices in a plastic bag. (Smells SO heavenly!!) Add nuts and shake in the bag to coat. Spread the wet nut mixture onto a microwave safe plate; microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes or until its bubbly. (Watch out! It can bubble right off your plate!!) Stir. Microwave another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and stir separate. When cooled, store in a sealed container. Makes 2 cups.

You can always just do 2 cups of one type of nut. I also tried cashews halves which was pretty darn good. I did spanish peanuts and they were just so so to me. So pretty easy and yummy too. I wonder if we are seeing a trend of all of my microwave usage??! I swear I do cook things outside of that "oven." Enjoy!

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Linking up at:
giveaways

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The Tree.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I struggle with what to do with my tree every year. Let's be honest, we used a little tiny one last year because we were gallivanting all around last year. But it still had its charm. Well sort of.It is what you get when you are spending Christmas in a condo away from home. But it worked. So this year, I wanted to do a little more since we are just going to be staying at home. I say "do a little" only because we are still poor law students so I can't go all out like I would like to!

We got out the tree and it looked so pretty with even just the white lights on it. I was almost debating letting my lazy side take over and do nothing else to it. But I figured that wouldn't be very fun and a bit Scrooge-ish.

I took some burlap I already had...man, I love that stuff! And I cut it into strips that were about 4-6 inches wide. Seriously, don't tell my mom that they are not straight. She would be horrified to know I just lined the burlap all up and did not straighten it out like I know she has taught me well to do! Then I just draped it around the tree in strips. It instantly looked magical. I could have stopped here because, well it was better than last year but I figured a little more craftiness is always good.

I got some plain round bulbs from the store, half off just like a cheap girl likes.Some fake snow, which was actually a lot harder to find than I would have thought. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I was describing what it was. Then I grabbed some jute. That seriously could be my new best friend. I love it. And I think it could go on so many things. The wheels were already spinning the instant I set it in the cart.
When I got home, I started working magic with the bulbs. This turned out to be a little more time consuming than I thought it would be. I was glad I stuck with just the snow inside instead of some of the more expensive elaborate ideas I had. I used the very high tech version of pouring snow out on a sheet of paper and stuffing it in with my finger. Yep, very high tech. Then just cut some jute and tied it in a knot through the round thingy on top of the bulb. Look at me sounding so knowledgeable. haha

But I must say, I L-O-V-E the way it turned out. So simple and elegant but very much with the spirit of Christmas. And with a toddler and baby, simplicity is exactly what I need in other areas of my life!And with that, the tree is complete. Well, almost. It still doesn't have anything on top. I am in search of something that finishes it all off. Or maybe I will just leave it as is, like I said, simplicity in all things. Host unlimited photos at slide.com for FREE!


Linking up at:
Christmas Tour of Homes with The Nester



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Yummy Fast Peanut Brittle

Monday, December 7, 2009

Today, I am joining in the fun over here:

The Girl Creative
Absolutey LoVe her blog!!

One of my favorite Christmas recipes I have been making since I was a kid. It's that easy! Plus it tastes really good too!

Microwave Peanut Brittle
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup karo syrup
1/2 tsp salt

Cook 7-8 minutes on high in the microwave. Stir once or twice.

Add 1 Tbl margarine. Cook 1 1/2 min. Add 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp baking soda. Stir lightly. Pour onto greased cookie sheet. Let harden and then you can break it up into smaller pieces.

*Note if you are going to make more than one batch, either make it in a different bowl or cook for less time. Otherwise the heat of the bowl from the first batch will cause your 2nd batch to burn.

Enjoy!!
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