Annual Christmas Baking Day.

And by annual I mean this is the second year doing this tradition. But hopefully not the last. Since I moved my sister in law has been one of my greatest friends. So last year and today we got together for a Christmas Baking day. We made my mother in laws amazing molasses cookies. Of which I have eating 5 already today. Going to need to make another batch tomorrow if I want them to last the weekend. (On another note that diet for Christmas pictures is going well.) We also both made batches of that Christmas Cookie Bark that I shared the recipe for the other day. If you havent made it already seriously so easy and so good. Then there is also my big family recipe: mice or poor cookies. I have no idea what their actual name is. Its the most basic cookie with a hint of cinnamon. Rolled out in long strips and then cut into small pieces. I’ll dig out the recipe and share it with you this weekend.

And that special cookie on the right was a surprise from last year. My mom sent it in the mail to get us excited about Christmas. It’s a cookie you write on with a special edible marker. How super cute is that, the cookie and her. I just love Christmas baking days. Makes it feel like the season is here. Listening to my Christmas playlist on Pandora, smelling the spices in all the cookie dough. And all those crazy people doing last minute shopping at the malls. Good thing we do all ours online. Now I’m just the crazy lady stalking my mailman trying to make sure everything gets here in time! Luckily today this little box was sitting at my door when I got home! Eeek I do heart Modcloth so. If I ever win the lottery (that I dont ever play) I will spend a good chunk there. My little sister’s present is inside so I cant give anymore hints about the picture but I had to share because it made me so happy! I think I love giving specially thought out presents as much as receiving them.

Hope you guys are all ready and relaxing in this last week before the big day. Im working on all my handmade gifts at this point, but I cant share any pictures or else those people who know me best might peek! But I will have some awesome tutorials lined up after the 25th so check back often!

Christmas Cupcakes

Last night we had a big family dinner at my sister in laws house. Everyone brought their specialty so obviously I came with cupcakes! I made some red velvet with buttercream frosting. Yum. And don’t worry I stayed as far away as possible. I’m making sure no one else gets sick. Ive had to cancel some fun stuff this week, no fun. But Here’s some highlights from last nights family thing. I love how this season makes us get together more often.

And here’s to hoping the rest of the week doesnt look like this:

Wishing you guys a great crazy 10days before Christmas!

Game Night and a Recipe.

Hello all. Tonight we had some friends over for dinner and games. I adore game nights over anything! We started with Domino’s, which I always makes me think of all the games I played with my sister and grandma when we were little. Apparently I was much better when I was 9. I lost miserably, like as bad as you can, every round. I’m cursed! So we moved on to taboo. That’s our territory and me and b finally won something. Although Brandon seems to think a violin is a “mini guitar” ha ha. We finished off the night with some scattegories! My favorite, still didn’t win but I will get them next time. Above all there was lots of laughter and that means we’re all winners! Ha ha At Christmas time we’re allowed to say overly cheesy things like that.

So for dinner I made shepard’s pie. The best part is that there will be left overs all weekend. I also made Chocolate Cookie Bark. Big hit! I dont like Chocolate and I know I need to get it out of my house because I will devour the entire plate. It’s a super easy recipe and a great snacking dessert. Here’s the recipe!

1 box white Chocolate

1 Box milk Chocolate (or semi-sweet)

2 tbsp peanut butter

12 oreo cookies crushed

Melt both Chocolate separately, add peanut butter to white chocolate. Divide crushed cookies between both chocolates and mix well. Drop on wax sheet covered pan and swirl with a knife. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Break into chunks and eat as fast as you can because others will attempt the same thing!

O also while whipping everything up I was wearing my new awesome Christmas Santa apron. Found it in the dollar isle at Target! Isn’t it too cute! And again, only a dollar. <3 Target *sigh*

So to recap, fun games, good food, great friends. Perfect night. O ya and Candy Canes!

Inspired.

So after I saw Rachelle’s amazing tutorial about the Christmas ball wreath I thought I had better whip some out too! What a fun little craft this is! I made a trip to my favorite place in the world. Target! Hit up the dollar isle, and spent 25 bucks. Came home and an hour later we had two beautiful wreaths in our house!

I saw the bright colors right away and thought, even though these wont go at all in my house I need to make one. I love fun colors like that for Christmas, but I’m too traditional to not go all red and gold. So I made both. The bright one is outside and the red one (with the extra pattern ones I plucked off the bottom of my tree) goes in the kitchen on the pantry door. Neither have ribbons yet because I am making my weekly trip to Michael’s tomorrow, so I’ll add that later.

I couldn’t believe how easy they were to make. This bright one only took 20 minutes! I just kept shuffling them on not really making a pattern. I had thought the back stayed flat but you can choose which side looks better because both are full and can be displayed. My only issue I had was with my awesome memory. I went to grab my glue gun and realized I left it in Calgary on my last trip. But I only lost 2 balls total from popping off from the pressure when you tighten it. So even if you dont have a glue gun you can still make this awesome wreath!

This one is my favorite. I even got a wreath hook to match it. Again thank you target for being the best. I love the pattern ones mixed in. I think it gives it a bit more flair. Plus now it matches the rest of the house! Here’s another shot to show you how much it sits off the wall because of how full it is.

So if you have 25$ and 20 minutes. Throw a couple of these together. Keep one and give the other as a gift! Who wouldn’t love these! Has anyone else out there made one yet or planning on it? I would love to see some more! Seriously go make one!

First Guest Blogger! Meet Rachelle and a tutorial!

Hello All!

Alissa has asked me to be a guest blogger for today, and I have gladly/excitedly accepted! My name is Rachelle, and I have been married for nearly 3 years, a mother for 2 years, and a crafter since the day I received my first pair of scissors. Although my crafts have come a long way since the 80’s, my heart has always been a creative one.

I’ve been friends with Alissa for a handful of years now, and I’m happy to say that we both share that same creative heart. She is quite the inspiration to me as well actually! My hope today is that I might inspire some of you as well. So get out your glue, your ribbon, and let’s pull those creative heart-strings!

One evening, while searching for some way to satisfy my creative thirst, I came across this tutorial on how to make an ornament wreath. It is extremely simple, but looks absolutely extravagant when all is said and done. The tutorial doesn’t state what kind of ornaments to buy, but if you want to put your wreath outside eventually, I highly suggest using plastic shatter-proof balls… otherwise the glass ones are too brittle in the cold. However, if you plan on keeping your wreath indoors, then go for the glass ones (they always seem to come in a better variety of colours and sizes). Part of the fun in this craft is picking out the different colours, shapes, and types of ornaments. Some are glossy, matte, frosted, sparkly… you name it! I did one recently in black, silver, and lime, and it looked very chic. So have fun with this one… I still do!

Here we go!

Take a regular metal hanger and bend it into a circle like so. Next break out your glue gun and about 80 Christmas balls. (ps its a fun after the holiday craft to make because all Christmas decorations go on sale after the big day!) Remove the cap from the ornament and dab it with some hot glue and reattach. This will help secure it after its all put together.

Next untwist your hanger from the top, but leave the hook shape alone. You now begin to slide the ornaments onto the hanger varying the color and sizes as desired. You can use smaller ones to fill the gaps but the preference is all yours!

And voila your done! A beautiful handmade Christmas wreath! Now all that’s left is to hang it. You can re twist the top together and add a little wire to the hook and hang it from there. As well as taking it a step further and adding a charming big satin bow to hide it all! Simple, fun and gorgeous!

I invite and challenge you all to make this your own and post some links to your beautiful design. Because it can be done so many ways I love to see what others create! Good luck and have fun!

Just this…

This is the answer to all life’s problems. I know I promised to share some fun crafty design stuff today but like life usually is it took a different path today. I woke up thinking it was a normal day and I would file some papers and move on to my project. But first came the immigration package. Yup if you havent heard my story well I dont feel like repeating it here and now. Although Im sure it will come up again at one point on the blog. But today I applied for them to remove the restrictions on my greencard. It took a lot more driving around, printing, running out of paper (seriously! we have never run out of paper before but on the one day we need it!) And a lot of yelling at the person Im petitioning to prove Im staying in a happy marriage with. Yup I dont handle stress like that well. But come on after two years of blissful marriage and then being told if one single thing isnt filled out properly, they will first not tell you and second deport you at the soonest chance for them. Seriously, SERIOUSLY! But its all done, its in the mail and out of my hands. So tonight this is the answer to all my problems! I’ll tackle those other projects later. Have a good night all!

Its beginning to look a lot like…

CHRISTMAS!!! This is my favorite time of the year. I love when those boxes come out (and the shopping bags come in hehe) The whole house has a new cozy feeling. I decorate on the first of November every year. Always have always will. Its my little tradition. I feel that if you are going to spend that much time decorating it might as well be up for more than 30 days. So here’s a little peek into my corner of the world. Decked with boughs of holly!

And here’s a puppy corner. With two stockings! We doubled in size as a family since our last Christmas. Lets hope to add more next year too! And yes we do have presents for each pup haha. Gotta love target!

My favorite clock that I had been eyeing in my moms spare room. Last time I was home she said sure just have it. It had a broken face anyways. I am so in love with it and think it has a bit of Christmas charm to it. I think some mistletoe hanging from it would make a perfect kiss stop!

And here’s the whole set up with the tree. All the unwrapped presents are under it right now I couldnt go closer without ruining some big surprises!

And here is a double picture again to compare. I was undecided if I liked last years chandelier decorations more than this year. Let me know your opinion? 2009 is on the right and 2010 on the left.

And finally one last picture in this picture crazy post. My little corner from where I write these posts. That Im hoping one day many many people will read! This is my piece that is all mine.

And thats a tour through my Christmas town. Stay tuned I have some goals for tomorrow that are decorative and crafty!

Baby Cakes for a Baby Shower.

Today my sister in law hosted a baby shower for her sister in law and hired me to do the cupcakes! I had so much fun making a girly display of sweets. The whole shower was themed pink white and gold. So I ran with that. I think it was perfectly pretty and couldn’t have turned out better!

Brandon surprised me with making me some special matching business cards this morning so they could be displayed with the arrangement. And my sister in law being a perfect hostess had a special little spot ready for them!

And to let you in on a little decorative secret, that cake stand that I am in love with was a jumbled mess to begin with. I couldn’t seem to find the whole set but I bought the 12 inch plate at home goods. And then out of no where, the lovely lady I did a wedding for back in May emailed me and said she wanted to give me the matching 10 inch and 8 inch plates just because! What an amazing surprise and perfect timing! But they were not so pretty in color before hand. So I decided to rip that ribbon out and re string it. I love the elegance of pink and gold together but really whatever event comes I can change it to match and I will always have an amazing stand set for only 20$!

So next time your hosting a baby shower and want some simple elegant desserts beautifully displayed you know who to call!

Exploding Box – Tutorial

The first tutorial of lissables! How exciting. I made this box last year and its still one of my favorites. Its easy and looks beautiful and can be made over and over again and be unique each and every time!

You will need 4 pieces of paper, the first three making your layered box flaps.

The first a 12×12 piece that you will score 4 inches in from all 4 sides, and cut out the corners giving you 4×4 squares.

The second being 11×11 and scoring 3 3/4 inches in from all 4 sides and cut out the corners.

The third being 10×10 and scoring 3 1/2 inches in from all 4 sides and cutting out the corners.

Decorate them in which ever fashion you want! I prefer the vintage beat up look. Im addicted to inking all and every edge possible. Remember to keep it simple as you will want to add photos too and dont want it to get too busy.

After its to your standards glue the layers together from the middle square.

Your last paper is your lid. It is an 8×8 piece. Scoring the edges at 1 7/8 inches but this time only cut one side of the of the square on the edge. Giving you a flap which you can glue and create the inside of your lid. Embellish to match the rest of your box.

Put it all together and you can have an exploding box effect when the lid is lifted. I love watching people who do not scrap or craft opening it, because it really is a fun idea.

I like using it to wrap little presents. I still in my mind think aw what if someone used it to propose and a ring was tied with a ribbon in the middle square surrounded by pictures of them. How sweet. (Guys if your reading this I would so make that for someone just to have pictures of it!) So really like I said the possibilities are endless with it. Enjoy and have fun!