Ahhh Love is in the Air

I took my original Christmas freebies and redesigned them for Valentine's Day! I included the pyramid goody box, pillow box and I added a new one...the matchbook notebook. These make great projects and can be used for a variety of things. Each PDF comes with instructions and the printable template. Print as long as your heart desires but I do ask that you keep this personal... no commercial resale please. I would love to see pics of how you use them. :) You can click the photo for the PDF and I have also included links on the sidebar for easy reference.

The Christmas Fun Post

Now, we get down to the good stuff....presents! ;) On Christmas Eve we went to my Mom's house where my sister, her husband and all of my nephews met us. We had snacks and opened presents...it was a blast! I think by now everyone knows that live in GA so I have a bit of a southern accent. I don't think it is as thick as anyone else in my family which is hilarious to me since we all grew up in the same house. My sister married a good ole country boy so I think hers is the worst. When we all get together we either end up making fun of their accent or The Baconators since he is from NY and is completely out of place. All in fun I promise! ;) A few photos from the night...

The Christmas Baking Post

This year, I didn't do a ton of baking but I did manage to make a few things. The big hit was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie I found courtesy of Bakerella. I was looking for something that would be good warm and with ice cream...this did not disappoint! I made one to take to my Mom's house on Christmas Eve and we like it so much I made another one for Christmas Day. Here is the recipe if you would like to make one of your own, it's super easy!
Ingredients:
1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell*
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped pecans
Serve with ice cream (optional)

* If using frozen pie shell, use deep dish style and thaw completely. Bake on baking sheet and increase baking time slightly.
(I sat mine out for about 30 minutes and it was ready to go. I did put it on a baking sheet but didn't need to increase the time. I tend to like my cookies more chewy and moist.)

Directions:
- Preheat oven 325 degrees F.
- Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high until foamy.
- Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter.
- Stir in morsels and nuts and spoon into pie shell.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (I actually baked mine for about 45 minutes and it was perfect.)

The Christmas Craft Post

I decided to break the Christmas posts into a few different ones because I didn't want to bombard you all at once. ;) I was able to make our stockings in time for Santa Claus to fill them up. I went very simple this year and used up some of the felt and fleece I had left from other projects. The kids got to choose the shapes and colors they wanted and they were happy to with end result (I have to say I was too).
Even though I wasn't able to make Gia as much as I wanted this year, I managed to put together some ribbon wands on Christmas eve. I was very happy that I bought a lot of handmade items for her this year (minus the zhu zhu pet and bike). Next, year I hope to do ALL handmade. These ribbon wands were super easy. I just took some wooden dowels that I got from Hobby Lobby and screwed i-hooks into the top of each one (actually The Baconator pulled out the pliers and did that part). Then I just gathered pieces of ribbon together and tied them into a double knot around the hook. I also heat sealed the ends with a lighter so they wouldn't fray.

Are you ready for Christmas?

This week has been great so far...lots of relaxing with the kids and other than them driving each other crazy it has been a good vacation. I finished up all the Christmas shopping yesterday so that is all set. I pitifully only have 4 gifts wrapped under the tree (three of which are The Baconator's and I only wrapped them today so he would have no chance of finding them if I hid them in the house). I also realized yesterday that we still don't have stockings so that is going on my list to do tomorrow. How could I have forgotten stockings? Geez it seems this year I am so far behind on getting everything ready. I am in the Christmas spirit so I know that isn't the problem...just good at procrastinating I guess.

I tried to go handmade with Gia this year so I was so excited that everything I ordered from etsy came in time. I was actually going to make all of her gifts but then came down with the crazy stomach flu that weekend and couldn't. I do have the stuff to make her a few fairy wands so I think I will have The Baconator help me with that tomorrow night. Not that he is all into making fairy wands but I need him to screw in the i-hooks on the end of the dowels so I can attach the ribbons. I will definitely share a pic if they turn out like I want them to.

The next few days are going to be hectic so I am going to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Well...

Heather you guessed it! I did make scarves but not just any scarves, these are funky fringy ones. ;) I was racking my brain on what to make this year for Gia's teachers. Last year, I made them tote bags so that one was out. I ran across a tutorial for these fringy scarves and knew they would be perfect. Ok, don't kill me but I can't remember where I saw the tutorial. I actually just saved the photo into my "Crafty Inspiration" file on my computer and called it a day. They are super easy to make and by the time I got done making 8, I had an assembly line going full speed. Why 8 you ask? Well, Gia has two main teachers (Ms. Alicia & Ms. Bonnie) then she has her after school teacher (Ms. Donna) then we always get the girls up front something special (Ms. Kim & Ms. Nicole) and then there is Gia's favorite teacher, which isn't really her teacher anymore but we love her just the same (Ms. Morgan). Oh wait that's only 6 right? Well, you know I had to make an extra one for me and Gia...yep, they match! ;)
Sorry if this photo isn't great, it was about midnight when I took this and my office is crazy dark at night.
Super Simple Tutorial:
1. Cut 3 strips of fleece about 5 inches in width
2. Lay them on top of each other.
3. Stitch straight up the middle.
4. Take your scissors and cut little slits on each side from the end to the stitch (of course don't get too close or you make accidently cut it).
5. Shake out and wear!

For the larger adult ones, I just cut them the width of the fabric so they end up being about 5 ft long. The small one I cut down to 3 ft. They are super cozy and even with all the "fringe" they will keep you warm.