Snowflake Garland

if you are anything like me, you may not be ready to take down all the christmas stuff just yet.
i take advantage of the fact that january is the month of the snowman and this year i decided to
take the santa's down and go with a winter wonderland theme.

i found these snowflake ornaments {packs of 4} on sale for 30 cents at target.
i bought 20 packs...

i removed the tags and the strings...

and started threading them with this twine i found at michaels in the jewelry section

i tied knots to keep them seperated. i wanted about an inch in between each snowflake.

then i hung it on the hoosier...

enjoy your winter wonderland!

{note: shawn thinks it's hysterical that i am trying to turn the house into a {winter wonderland} while we experience a santa ana with 82 degree weather...blah!

Gingerbread House Cookie Kit

this is the CuTEsT thing EVER!
a friend of mine calls me last week and say's "you gotta go to eighteen 25 and see the cutest thing. you should do it for masyn's cookie party!" ok. so she knew i was probably the only crazy one who would attempt it days before the party and she was right.
but seriously! how cute are these!!!

they are sugar cookie houses iced in brown and decorated like gingerbread houses! so stinkin cute AnD you can download the cute card here at bee in our bonnet.

so...shawn and i set to work to make enough for the masyn & nolan's party guests.

{these are pics of our version, you can go over to the other sites to see the original}

and yes, i did say shawn and i. we had a baking date. he was making his famous chocolate dessert for a work party and when he was done, he decided he'd {help} me.

the first thing he did was make me a cookie cutter so that i didn't have to cut out houses with my homemade template. LoVE him!

then, after attempting to flood the cookies with a bottle and a toothpick, he disappeared yet again and came back with his {the icer 3000}

see what i mean...masyn comes by it honestly!

he's not happy with the {LoOK} but come on...

it worked great! lots and lots of perfectly iced {gingerbread} houses!

Christmas Trees!!!

my sister found these and i thought you'd enjoy it!

you can find the tutorial here!

polka dots, candy canes and quilting

saturday was the first of the three little ben's quilt class.
my theme was polka dots and candy canes



i got lucky that michaels had some of their christmas merchandise out.
the glittery picks and polka dot ribbon made for a good cupcake topper.

just a tip. i always put my cupcakes on a cooling rack over the sink to decorate them.
this way ALL the sprinkles go into the sink instead of all over my counter.

i made candy canes out of red and white chenille stems twisted together and soaked in a coffee bath.
i laid them out on the lawn to dry. if it wasn't so sunny and hot i would have put them in a warm oven to dry.



i {heart} candy canes...

clustered in groups of 3, and tied up with ribbon and pine

it was simply christmasy.
i'll definetly be making more of these.

Garland, Garland, Garland

don't we all love garlands?

this one is PERFECT for family night

(hmmm, this is where i got the idea)

Click here for the tutorial.

I love talented people who share with all of us!

What a Fabulous Find!

this one is for you, suz!

i know you'll LOVE it! i do.

click here for the tutorial and the

blog of some VERY talented ladies!

I Know, I Know...

christmas is over...i just can't help myself.

what's a gal to do when i come across these stinkin' cute ideas. just think of the possibilities. valentines, easter, st. patty's...the list goes on and on and on...

click here to go to the most wonderful blog EVER!!!
or click here and go directly to the post that holds
the key to these fabulous wonders of cuteness.

yeah, blogging...
yeah, talented people who share their talent with all of us!!!

It's So cute

i'm not sure i'd allow anyone to eat it.
here's how to make him.

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (16 ounces)

2 tablespoons basil pesto

1 tablespoon grated onion

1/4 teaspoon yellow mustard

2 drops red pepper sauce

1 container (4 ounces) whipped cream cheese, softened
Decorations (see Success Hint), if desired
Assorted crackers, if desired
1.
Mix 3 packages cream cheese and the Cheddar cheese; divide into 3 equal parts. Combine 2 parts to equal two-thirds of mixture; mix in pesto. Mix onion, mustard and pepper sauce into remaining one-third mixture.
2.
Cover each cheese mixture and refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm enough to shape. Shape each cheese mixture into ball. Wrap each ball, label and freeze.
3.
About 12 hours before serving, remove balls from freezer. Thaw in wrappers in refrigerator.
4.
Arrange balls on serving plate with smaller ball on top for head of snowman. Frost snowman with whipped cream cheese before serving. Decorate as desired. Serve with crackers.
Store covered in refrigerator.

This is WAY too cute

not to show you.

if your into paper crafts you'll love this guy.

there aren't directions, but if you go here, the talented lady who made him will tell you what products she used.

OH my Gosh!!!

i love this guy!!!

i'll be honest...i've had many a friend do this, but i have yet to try.

i will definetly be going here for the directions to make this guy.

if it turns out, he will be a cherished part of my holiday decorating!

Do you Love to Bake

then check this out!

how stinkin' cute is he!

i hear it's quite easy to make...so go ahead impress your guests! go here for the recipe. it's a william sonoma cake pan but i couldn't find it on thier site.

i'm sure you can get it on ebay, just google it.

let me know how it turns out!

For Those Who Love

primitive quilts, this one is for you.

here's a quilt by my FAVORITE quilt designer, Cheri Saffiote Payne.

Go here to view her patterns.

Do you need

an idea for next year's christmas ornament exchange?

here's one...or two.

I Love Happy Hour!!!

relax...i'm talking about the quilt book.

ummm, how cute are these quilts.

stinkin' cute.

i was visting thimbleannaland and saw her most recent posts about her beautiful christmas presents and i had to share them with all of you.

they are beautiful.

if you haven't visited her, you must! especially those of you that are knitters. the thing about this pattern (called snapshots) is that everytime you make it, it looks different. i've made several this past year and each one is completely different. i scalloped the border on my christmas one and loved it. if you don't have the book, get it, the projects are quick and easy.

happy quilting!!!

p.s. thimbleanna, your photography is fabulous! love it!

I'm SO Stinkin' Excited!!!

finally...i might actually get my christmas gifts done early! yeah for nannette over at freda's hive for coming up with such a fabulous idea!!! i'm not sure if i've shared this with you all before, but for the last few years (probably longer...sigh) i've attempted to make a christmas gift each month; thereby having all my christmas gifts made and ready to go by christmas. yeah right! hasn't happened. in fact, last year i attempted to teach a christmas midnight madness class each month hoping that that would force me to complete my undying task. didn't happen! this year i will once again give it a go. nanette has proposed that we post a link to all our wonderful handmade christmas gifts on her blog as a way to inspire and cheer each other on as we once again attempt the great task of getting christmas done early. you can click here or click the button on my sidebar and that will take you to a full list of ideas. and remember, keep checking back, as she will be updating often.

Punchneedle

is one of my favorite things.

have you tried it? if not, you should.

go here for a tutorial and here for some great patterns.

trust me, you'll LOVE it!

p.s. these are not my photos, i said i love it...i didn't say i finish it.

A Fabulous Christmas Find

that i have to share. (even though it's too late).

i first saw this tree and LOVED it because of the obvious...it's red and white. (my favorite) but...if you take a closer look it has these stinkin' cute letters dangling from it. and...if you take a second look, they spell out words. what a grea idea! i'm definetly using this one next year.

click here, for the blog post and link to the pdf file.

happy, merry christmas!

Giving Gifts

is definetly my favorite part of Christmas. if your like us, you have many friends and neighbors that you give a small gift to. most of the time i try to give a handmade or homemade gift, although, there are times when i come across an inexpensive item that is perfect for gift giving. i must admit it is, at times, difficult to come up with something that will be practical as well as pretty. the presentation is key. which brings me to the next photo.

this is the inspiration to my "presentation" this year. i hope she doesn't mind that i copied her. (it is the best form of flattery right?) anyways, i have a friend that is the most creative person i know. EVERYTHING she does is beautiful and well designed. i'm sure you have a friend like that too. the above photo was the gift she gave me. i LOVE it. but let me just say this...i'm not sure that even martha herself could've made the candle look as cute. perfect example of practical and pretty! thanks karen!

so once i had my pretty figured out, i set out to find my practical. i decided to make up a bunch of yummy banana bread and christmas trail mix (a favorite of "bob's"). i also found gingerbread lotion in gingerbread man bottles at the dollar tree that were super cute. i packaged everything up, loaded the kids in the car, turned on the christmas music and off we went, delivering gifts. it is by far one of my most favorite christmas traditions.

merry christmas.