day 194: terracotta pot reindeer

our latest christmas decoration, so sweet!

day 194 and we are crafting with the peeps for today's creation.  these terracotta pot reindeer are so cute and a great idea for making with the peeps.  the idea comes from rhonda at dollar store crafts and is pinned to my 2011 advent crafts board.

you need some terracotta pots, googly eyes, pompom noses, brown pipe cleaners, a sharpie, ribbon, and a hot glue gun or craft glue.  we didn't end up painting them or putting the bells underneath to make them ring because the peeps didn't want to wait for the paint to dry (see, totally buzzed about christmas!)

what you need :)

glue on some eyes and a nose

add ribbon for hanging

finally add a brown pipe cleaner fashioned
into some antlers :)

our set of reindeer is growing!!

outcome:  these were lots of fun for the peeps to make and not too taxing which is good for over excited little ones who are madly counting down the days to christmas!

a big thank you to rhonda at dollar store crafts, what a great website, plenty of inspiration for budget crafting and the terracotta reindeer is just one of the cool ideas they have for christmas :)

day 193: gift wrapping

sweet, right ... these gifts are for my mum :)

day 193 and i DESPERATELY need to do some gift wrapping ... desperately!  so off to pinterest i went in search of ideas to make my presents look pretty :)  these gift wrapping ideas from design aglow were so gorgeous i pinned them to my gift wrapping and gift ideas board, found the brown paper and my ribbon box then set to work.

the collection of bits and bobs

the first one done ... love the brown paper :)

so pleased ... all are going to be wrapped in brown paper
next year!

outcome: i am still going ... hence this short post.  however, the progress is great and i am loving the brown paper, especially with the lace, so cute and who knew!  this is why i love my life so much, pinterest makes me do things SO much better than i used to :)

thanks so much to design aglow for all the inspiration and if you want to take it a step further, the website has wonderful instructions on how to use gift tags in photoshop :)

these are the presents that need sending tomorrow ... not as pretty as the brown paper ones, i am now a brown paper convert ;)

day 192: reindeer bottles

the completed reindeer, aren't they cute!

day 192 and i am adding a little decoration to a gift for the peeps grandpa today.  i loved these reindeer bottles of beer and thought that grandpa would appreciate a gift like this from under the christmas tree ;)  this idea is from kim at life of a modern mom and is pinned to my christmas is coming board on pinterest.

for this creation you need some form of beverage (mines beer!) in bottles, some brown pipe cleaners, red pompoms, some googly eyes, and a hot glue gun.

the bits and pieces required for this project :)

what do you call a deer with no eyes?
no idea!
my husband made me put that in...

my happy little reindeer bottles :)

outcome: perfect for a little something extra to put under the tree, especially if that person likes this type of beverage, which grandpa does!  they look really cute, and very festive, an ideal addition to under our tree.

my thanks to kim for making something everyday be fabulous for the festive season ... totally love projects like this, when the ordinary turns into awesome :)

day 191: s'mores caramel popcorn for our polar express sleepover

the festive looking popcorn for the sleepover

day 191 and the peeps are having a sleepover ... 2 friends each for a polar express sleepover!  every good sleepover needs comfort food and their is no better comfort food for movie watching than popcorn.  today's creation goes a little further and puts the s'more into popcorn ... yummo!  this delightful idea is from leigh anne at your homebased mom who was guest posting on thirty handmade days and is pinned to my 2011 advent crafts board.

leigh anne makes her OWN caramel popcorn, i didn't want to go THAT far today so i am using store bought and the other change i am making is actually a fundament to s'mores but not available in nz.  we don't have graham crackers or cereal here so i am omitting that ingredient as well :(  i wish we did have them and i'm not sure what to substitute them with, so luckily we have the popcorn to hold the melted chocolate and marshmellows together!

what you need

lay out the popcorn

top with marshmallows 

drizzle over chocolate

wait for the chocolate to harden, then break into a bowl
and serve to hungry peeps!

outcome:  the peeps and their mates thought it was awesome.  i thought it was really good too until i got a lolly headache from all the sweetness, not complaints from the peeps in this area though ... like i would have got any fessing up about that anyway.  the peeps had a great time with their friends, the popcorn was perfect for the polar express sleepover and that was all that counted!  i had some fruit and felt much better ;)

my thanks to leigh anne from your homebased mom for this cool kid friendly, treat popcorn ... it was perfect for a movie that features lots of hot chocolates!

day 190: christmas cookies in a jar

this was so much fun to put together!

day 190 and it's time to make some more gifts ... this time in the shape of christmas cookies in a jar :)  i see these all over pinterest and have been desperate to make one.  christmas is the perfect time of year to give such a gift because people love home-made baking but don't always have time to organise and shop for baking.  i pinned this christmas version from make it do and the recipe and layering calli uses comes from bakerella who does an awesome cowgirl biscuit jar.

i had the helpful assistance of pollyanna today to add the layers to our jar.  once all the layers are in the jar, we added a top and then some christmas fabric to make look pretty.  calli also provides these printable instructions to attach to your jar so the recipient knows what to do :)

the printable labels, i printed on some patterned paper
i had ... it's actually green not grey ... need to work on
my photography :)

fitted into this jar perfectly!

the filled jar with it's christmasy lid!

outcome:  these could become my new addiction! so clever and a great thing to give family and friends that want to bake but don't have the time to organise themselves :)

sincerest thanks to calli at make it do for the christmas version and labels and to bakerella for the fantastic idea and layering needed to complete this creation ... you girls rock :)

day 189: candy cane reindeer

a very cute candy cane reindeer :)

day 189 and we are off to do a big grocery shop today for christmas ... so today's creation had to be quick!  i saw these reindeer made out of candy canes and thought the kids and i would really enjoy making them.  we have had such a great time this festive season making all sorts of crafty things together and it has actually been my favourite part of december so far.  the candy cane reindeer are pinned to my 2011 advent crafts board.

for this pinterest creation from jean's crafty corner you need candy canes, googly eyes, brown embroidery floss, and some coloured pompoms.  i am going to use a hot glue gun for the assembling of these cute little reindeer.

what you need

hot glue canes together and then wrap with
embroidery floss to make the face

add eyes, a nose, and some christmas cheer and you are
good to go :)

outcome:  fast, fun, totally kid friendly craft ... perfect for the peeps to give out at their polar express sleepover this weekend as party favours!  seriously though, what's not to love, i am constantly amazed at peoples crafty ability to make the cutest things out of everyday items.  these little beauties would also be perfect for gift toppers on peeps presents instead of a bow :)

my gratitude to jean at jean's crafty corner for blogging about her candy cane reindeer so the rest of us can admire her talents and then recreate it with our peeps ... they are so cute and perfect for christmas favours :)

day 188: easy christmas truffles

christmas truffles

day 188 and we have had such a fun day today, ending with an awesome dinner out to celebrate steve finishing his student loan .... good times!  this evening i wanted to make something to take to our dear neighbours jocelyn and noel for their christmas get-together on saturday.  these easy christmas truffles by kerryanne at shabby art boutique were definitely the type of thing i had in mind!  they are pinned to my christmas is coming board on pinterest.

i used a packet of original tim tams for the biscuit base (as suggested by kerryanne) which you simply whiz up then add 80grms of cream cheese and whiz again.  roll into balls and chill for an hour or two before dipping in chocolate.  the lovely kerryanne double dipped hers to look like christmas puddings and they look so cute.  for now i have just coated mine in milk chocoate as i realised i had nothing red to adorn the top of them with so the white chocolate topping will have to wait until i do!

the ingredients

rolled ready for the fridge

chocolate dipped truffles :)

outcome:  ok these looked too good not to be tasted, so we did ... and then we ALL went back for another!  shame there is no longer enough for taking across the road on saturday.  not to worry, they are so easy to make i will buy another packet of tim tams and make some more! if you are in need of something quick and easy to take to a christmas party, i can definitely recommend these, but maybe buy two packets and double the recipe so you can be sure to taste them ;)

many thanks to kerryanne at shabby art boutique for a very simple christmas recipe that really does help put the home made back into the holidays, as this recipe is neither time consuming or stressful and i so appreciate both those things at this time of the year :)