Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Nativity Story
Ok-My good friend Nicole would like some ideas for telling the nativity story to her children on Christmas Eve. What scripture passages do you read? What do you do? Lets post some ideas for her-and soon! It's almost Christmas!!! I can hardly believe it!
The Hobby Barrel
My sister sent me this link. A fun crafty site to check out!
www.thehobbybarrel.com
www.thehobbybarrel.com
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Comfy Couch
My sister wanted to see if anyone out there has any great ideas for a super comfortable couch that could use a little updating.
"We have some really ugly, ugly most comfortable couches ever. I have a love hate relationship with them. I tried to buy some slip covers but they fit horrible and always slipped off and get tangled.I hated them more than the ugly fabric on the couch."
Does anybody know what she could try? She is handy with a sewing machine but doesn't know much about reupholstering. She would love any suggestions!
"We have some really ugly, ugly most comfortable couches ever. I have a love hate relationship with them. I tried to buy some slip covers but they fit horrible and always slipped off and get tangled.I hated them more than the ugly fabric on the couch."
Does anybody know what she could try? She is handy with a sewing machine but doesn't know much about reupholstering. She would love any suggestions!
Friday, December 11, 2009
Ho Ho Holiday Baking
Recently my neighbor had the kids over to make gingerbread houses. They turned out so cute and she shared some great tips with me, so I thought I would share them with you!
First, instead of baking actual gingerbread, she makes sugar cookie dough and dyes it brown (because its easier to work with and the kids like it a lot more). Then she bakes it for a minute longer than a regular sugar cookie (so its not so soft and will be a sturdier building material). HERE is the recipe she uses for the sugar cookie dough.
Get creative with your decorations. Waffle pretzels make great windows and fences. Use lifesavers as wreaths. Make a marshmallow snowman in the yard. Do you have any ideas?
And if you just have too much to do already and don't have time to be baking in the kitchen-don't forget about the graham cracker gingerbread house. They are just as fun to make and its much easier on you. Just use a serrated knife to saw through the crackers and then design and build your structure.
A word about icing-You need to use royal icing so it will harden and luckily it is so simple to make. A lot of recipes say to use egg whites and I always get nervous about the raw egg thing, so I use meringue powder (found at Michaels with the cake deco stuff). Its still made from egg whites but it has been processed. Just mix 5 Tbl meringue powder and 5 cups powdered sugar. Slowly add 1/2 c. of water and mix until smooth. So easy!
You can pipe the frosting out of a decorating bag, or cut the corner off a ziplock, or get these awesome bottles (also from Michaels). This year I also used the bottles to decorate cookies with the kids and it was GREAT!!! Not nearly as messy and they could be more creative with them. (You might want to make the icing a little runnier so the kids can squeeze it out easily-use only 4 cups of powdered sugar)
And a tip for sugar cookies-Always watch them very closely while baking the first few batches, until you get the timing down. Do not let the bottoms brown like I did on a few batches. It really is so disappointing to have spent all that time rolling and cutting out!
First, instead of baking actual gingerbread, she makes sugar cookie dough and dyes it brown (because its easier to work with and the kids like it a lot more). Then she bakes it for a minute longer than a regular sugar cookie (so its not so soft and will be a sturdier building material). HERE is the recipe she uses for the sugar cookie dough.Get creative with your decorations. Waffle pretzels make great windows and fences. Use lifesavers as wreaths. Make a marshmallow snowman in the yard. Do you have any ideas?
And if you just have too much to do already and don't have time to be baking in the kitchen-don't forget about the graham cracker gingerbread house. They are just as fun to make and its much easier on you. Just use a serrated knife to saw through the crackers and then design and build your structure.
A word about icing-You need to use royal icing so it will harden and luckily it is so simple to make. A lot of recipes say to use egg whites and I always get nervous about the raw egg thing, so I use meringue powder (found at Michaels with the cake deco stuff). Its still made from egg whites but it has been processed. Just mix 5 Tbl meringue powder and 5 cups powdered sugar. Slowly add 1/2 c. of water and mix until smooth. So easy!You can pipe the frosting out of a decorating bag, or cut the corner off a ziplock, or get these awesome bottles (also from Michaels). This year I also used the bottles to decorate cookies with the kids and it was GREAT!!! Not nearly as messy and they could be more creative with them. (You might want to make the icing a little runnier so the kids can squeeze it out easily-use only 4 cups of powdered sugar)
And a tip for sugar cookies-Always watch them very closely while baking the first few batches, until you get the timing down. Do not let the bottoms brown like I did on a few batches. It really is so disappointing to have spent all that time rolling and cutting out!Now I have a question for you. Does anyone know how to make frosting in bold colors? Red is always pink and everything else is pastel. Do I need to use something other than traditional food coloring?
Please comment and share any holiday baking tips you might have.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Abbiesolutely
My sister Abbie just started a new Etsy shop. Check out her patterns for childrens soft chairs, (similar to Pottery Barn's Anywhere chair). She helped me make one for Tyson a few years ago and I wish I had video of when I gave it to him. He was SO excited. It would be a fun project if you can't think of a good gift for your kids for Christmas. She also has printable games to download that she has made. I wish I could be half as crafty as her!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/abbiesolutely
http://www.etsy.com/shop/abbiesolutely
Friday, December 4, 2009
Christmas Card Display Ideas
Do you ever wonder what you can do with all those Christmas cards you receive? I pulled together a few ideas for you. Please comment and share if you have any other genius ideas!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Choosing a School for Your Child
Her question:
"What criteria should I look at with the schools when making a decision. What do the different scores mean and what should I base the decision on. Do you have any good websites that will help me understand the test scores and what they mean and what I should really look at when deciding? Any help would be greatly appreciated!"
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