Friday, December 16, 2011

Quick, Easy and Cheap Christmas Crafts

I have been super busy sewing my girls Christmas dresses. With all the ruffles, they seemed to take forever. I haven't had much time for crafts. Yesterday I finally had a few free minutes and whipped together some super simple, easy and cheap Christmas crafts.

First up I made these "snow" covered candles.  This project seriously took me less than 5 minutes.  


I was inspired by this post over at Raising Oranges.

Next I made some ornaments from 2 placemats that my mother-in-law was getting rid of.


I cut them up made ornaments out of them.

 Some of them I just poked an ornament wire through ....


And others I hole punched and tied a ribbon to hang.

 
A few years ago I bought a couple 3' trees after Christmas on clearance. My kids have them in their rooms. These ornaments are for their trees.




I think this next one is my favorite.  I absolutely love it.


I like it so much that I think I'm going to replace the Christmasy ricrac once Christmas is over so that I can still use them.

I got the idea from Baby Berry. Head on over there to find out how to do it.  The only trouble I had was printing the music to the tissue paper. I ended up taping it to a regular piece of paper and then printing it.

The last project I have to share I actually made last year.  
Pipe cleaner snowflakes


I think I used three pipe cleaners for each snowflake. I cut them in half. I twisted them over each other at the middle and added beads. It was fun to make different designs with the beads.  

Stay tuned - next week is all about the Christmas goodies. 


Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas Skirt

My oldest daughter has been wanting to make a skirt all by herself for a while now.  I finally got around to helping her with it. It's going to be her Christmas skirt.  


I love the material. 
I'm going to buy a red top to go with it.


I cut out the material and she did all of the sewing and even the ironing herself.  I helped to stick the elastic in the waistband.

This is the first thing she has sewn and she did a great job!






Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas Dresses

I like to make my girls Christmas dresses each year.  
This is how they turned out.


I got the pattern from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop.
It's called the Vivienne Party Dress.

I added some ruffle sleeves just because I wanted too. I can't seem to just make something straight from the pattern anymore.


I think they turned out darling. What do you think?

Friday, December 9, 2011

Christmas Wreath

Last year I started a ribbon wreath and it did NOT work out.  It was hideous. I should have taken a picture. I took it apart and redid it. Here's how it turned out this year.  


I started with a wreath from the dollar store ...


wrapped it with ribbon...


and glued on some ornaments.





What do you think?  Do you like it?




Thursday, December 8, 2011

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree

When I saw this Rolled Paper Tree, I knew I had to make one. 


I grabbed an old 5x7 frame and some paper scraps from my Advent Calendar and in no time I had this cute little tree.  


To find out how to do it check out Kimberly's tree over at Simply Living.

I decided to make the rolls bigger in order to fit the frame better. 


A funny side note:  When my husband came home he said "Oh you decided to make a tree like the ones on T.V. "  I didn't see it, but I guess Good Things Utah had the same project. I guess great minds think alike.


Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Bead Board Christmas Trees

Remember the Reversible Bead Board Pumpkins I made in October. Well I decided to make some Christmas Trees for December.


   For in depth instructions check out the pumpkin post

Here's the paint I used:
Base:
Green Paint - (Folk Art's Thicket)
 Glaze:
Staining Antiquing Medium (Americana) (This can be found in the paint section at Roberts)
Brown Paint (Americana's Burnt Umber)

 Download the Christmas Tree Patterns here.


I love them, but I'm thinking they need a little embellishment. I need some ideas. What would you use to decorate them?  







Friday, December 2, 2011

Cinnamon Rolls

 Today I'm going to share my grandma's cinnamon rolls.

 I made these with my kids, so I didn't remember to get any pictures while making them.  Here's the recipe:

Dough:
1 T. yeast
1/2 c. warm water
 1/2 c. shortening
1 c. warm milk
3 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. salt
4-6 c. flour

Mix together yeast and water. Let sit a few minutes. Place shortening and milk in microwave and heat until shortening melts. Mix together all ingredients. Start with 4 c. flour and gradually add 1/2 cup at a time until a dough forms. I use my Kitchenaid and let it knead for 5 minutes or so.

Filling:
1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted
brown sugar
cinnamon
raisins, optional

Roll out dough into large rectangle.  Pour melted butter on top and spread out.  Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins. I don't have measurements. I just add what looks good.
Roll up the dough and slice into rolls. Place on a greased pan and let raise 1-2 hours. Bake at 400 for 12-14 minutes. Frost immediately. I like to use Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. margarine, softened
2 t. milk
1 t. vanilla
4 c. powdered sugar
 Mix together with beaters.
 
I think it's about time I shared a failed project with you all.  My husband was flipping through the channels and we saw the yummiest looking pecan rolls. I decided to try them using the cinnamon roll recipe for the dough.  I made half cinnamon and half pecan rolls. The instructions for the sauce were vague - butter, corn syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon. They placed the sauce in the pan and the rolls on top. Then they flipped the pan over when they were done.

This is how mine turned out.


Go ahead and laugh - I am!  I need to work on my flipping skills. 
Besides the mess, they actually tasted pretty good but my butter to sugar ratio was a little off. I used too much sugar.  I'll definitely be trying again sometime.



Here are some other recipes from my Grandma:
Effie's Sugar Cookies
Ginger Snaps
O' Henry Bars 
Pie Crust
Grandma's Rolls
Chicken Noodle Soup
Monkey Bread
Hot Fudge Sauce
Lemon Freeze
Best Ever Sugar Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cheesy Corn Chowder





Thursday, December 1, 2011

How to Make a Sugar Shaker

I love turning trash into treasure.  About a year ago, I made a Cinnamon Sugar Shaker out of an old Parmesan cheese container. It's held up really well. I love how you can either sprinkle it on or spoon it on depending on how you open the top. I use it for all sorts of things like cinnamon toast, or sprinkle it on crepes. I also use it to make my dried apples.


I decided that I needed one for plain sugar, since the kids are always getting out the big jar of sugar to sprinkle some on their rice krispies.

Update: I just made a powdered sugar shaker too: Powdered Sugar Shaker

 How to make a sugar shaker:



Step 1

First wash thoroughly and dry complete. Also take off the label.


Step 2

Next I cut a piece of thick scrapbook paper and attached it with glue dots. 


Step 3

Wrap the paper around and affix it at the other end.



Step 4

Next make a label. I used a template I've had forever.  Write on the label before attaching it.


Step 5

Affix the label using glue dots.


Step 6

For a more washable surface, apply two coats of mod podge. ( I would still only use a damp cloth to wipe it off. NEVER immerse in water or you'll probably ruin it.)