kraf*T*y mama: christmas

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Foodie Christmas - a link up

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Today I am linking up with Christmas is in the Air for our favorite Christmas/Holiday foods. When I think Christmas I always think Christmas BAKING! Anyone else been watching Food Network's Holiday Baking Champion Series - my oldest son and I love it! When I think about Christmas and Baking TWO things come to mind...SWEETS and BREAKFAST! We ALWAYS wake up Christmas morning in OUR house. (It's a big deal to me) So that means we need BREAKFAST, and if it's Christmas morning it needs to be a SPECIAL breakfast! Grandparents usually come over sometime that morning so I like to whip up a BIG breakfast so they and anyone else that stops by can have a bite to eat. First up is a hearty Sausage and Biscuit Casserole - I don't usually prefer sausage but in this casserole it is perfect! This is even better the NEXT day! My mom always takes some home with her!

You can find the recipe from Plain Chicken HERE. The other casserole that I always make is the opposite of the one above -it is super yummy sweetness! French Toast Souffle with Pecans This recipe evolved from one I found years ago on All Recipes. Clearly I need to take a picture of this next time I make it! Recipe: 1 loaf French bread cut into cubes 1 pkg softened cream cheese 8 eggs 1 1/2 cups milk 2/3 cup whipping cream 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 c pecans (can toast these or use candied) Place bread cubes in greased baking dish. Beat eggs, mix in cream cheese, milk, whipping cream, syrup, brown sugar and vanilla, mix until smooth. Pour over bread evenly. Refrigerate over night. In the morning remove from fridge and let stand for 30 minutes while preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle pecans on top and Bake for 30 minutes or until knife in center comes out clean. Serve warm with additional syrup if desired. A must have on Christmas morning is hot chocolate! Not the powdered stuff either! A crock pot full of the yummiest hot chocolate ever! I first had this at a party at my friend Abbie's. She had a whole hot chocolate bar! It was so fun.

Creamy Crockpot Hot Cocoa. . .i have seen this as the polar express hot chocolate also. I have to say it was amazing. Definitely use good chocolate chips. The good ones melted, the cheap ones don't fully blend in. Also, it is very rich. Could use extra milk, or a little less chocolate. Either way, it was awesome. We have made it twice this week.

Recipe: 1 1/2 cups whipping cream 6 cups milk 1 can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips ( I like milk but some prefer the semi-sweet) 1/2 cup cocoa powder 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon opt (I like this, The Hubs does not) Stir together in crock pot and warm on medium until chips are melted and it is hot. Reduce heat to keep warm and serve with marshmallows, peppermints, whipped cream even a little booze (I promise I won't judge because I will probably do the same) If I have time I will also make scones or biscotti or muffins too! The second area of Christmas Baking I love is - SWEETS! 5 of us girls get together and all bake our favorite Christmas treats while watching movies and drinking wine! We then share the treats and everyone gets lots of different goodies!!! It is so fun! First up these little peanut butter cup bites! I am asked to bring these to EVERY gathering whether it is Christmas time or not!

And they are so easy! I totally cheat with all the Holiday baking going on and use store bought peanutbutter cookie dough! My kids pretty much make these! Unwrap Reese's mini PB cups Take Peanutbutter cookie dough and make 24 smallish balls. Place each ball in a mini muffin pan. Bake at 375 for 8 minutes! As soon as you remove from oven place a Reese's mini on each cookie. Carefully remove to let cool. Chocolate will be runny for awhile! Next up a personal favorite! Cranberry Bliss Bars!

Cranberry Bliss Bars (Starbucks Copycat Recipe) - otherwise known as White Chocolate- Cranberry Blondies

These babies are 2.35 each at our Starbucks! And while I love them I don't love the price! So when I saw the recipe on Pinterest I had to try! The turned out perfect! They are a bit of work but I just remember that price tag and I'm ok with it! Find the Recipe from Recipe Girl HERE! And the final sweet I HAVE to have at Christmas isn't a baked good. It's my Aunt Nettie's Bars - thinking I need to come up with a fancy name for these. Along with a picture! They are so easy and SO good! Recipe: 1 cup Kayro syrup 1 cup sugar 1 cup peanut butter 6 cups cornflakes 1 cup chocolate chips 1 cup butterscotch chips In a sauce pan over med-high heat bring syrup and sugar to a boil, remove from heat add peanut butter stir to combine and immediately pour over 6 cups of cornflakes, stir until well coated then press in a greased jelly roll pan. Melt chips together in bowl and spread over top of corn flake mixture in pan! Let cool and cut into small pieces as these babies are rich! Watch them disappear!

There you have it! Man I am in the Christmas mood now, and I wanna go bake something! Check back next week for the last installment! And be sure to click the image above for the full linky party! Find Joy in the Journey,
Tess

Labels:#ChrstimasBaking,breakfast casserole,christmas,Christmas Baking,Christmas breakfast,hot chocolate | 3 Loves

Chalk Countdown Charger

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Hello! How has your day been? Did you have to work today? I didn't! YAY! The kiddos were all off too. I have spend the day cooking, baking and crafting and I can't wait to share my creations with you so don't forget to follow me on BLOGLOVIN to see what I come up with next! My husband took my car in to be inspected and licence today before having to work tonight and tomorrow BUT it is his LAST week as a Patrol officer! He starts Detectives on Monday, December 1! We are pretty excited about it! But anyway on to the second craft from my Girls Crafting Day this past Saturday with my lovely friend Cheri in her new house!

To make this craft you will need:

Your choice of large plastic charger

Chalkboard paint

Foam paintbrush

Letter Stickers

Ribbon and Bow Tying Skills or Pre-made Bow

Adhesive Rhinestones (optional)

Plate Stand (optional)

First lay down newspaper or plastic bags to protect your surface. Be sure to mix chalkboard paint before starting,

Then paint the center of your charger with the chalkboard paint. We found dabbing it on thick for the first coat worked better than painting with strokes. Then go back and dab in missed areas. I then gave mine a second coat - it dries very nice and smooth!

Next I added a strip of adhesive red rhinestones around the center of the charger. I wanted mine to be really blinged out! It was super easy I just peeled off the strips of rhinestones and lined them up! I love how it added to the finished project and brought it all together!

After the paint dries add your letter stickers starting with "Christmas" and then centering the other words above it. You can see where I messed up and had to repaint! I hate centering letters! You can see this in my scrapbook layouts because I almost always but letter stickers for titles on a straight edge or purposefully crooked!

Finally use ribbon to make a bow if you are capable of doing so....or buy a pre-made bow (like me) and attach with hot glue gun!

And there you have it! A custom easy countdown charger! I love how mine looks and it will look great with my red, white, and silver, Candy Cane themed decor!

Here is Cheri's almost finished. I love hers too! She went with a more rustic burlap look but it is equally fabulous!

What do you think? Thanks for looking! Feel free to pin!

Find Joy in the Journey,

Tess

Labels:#Christmascrafts,christmas,Christmas Decor,countdown,DIY | 1 Loves

Wine Bottle Santas

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

How is your week going? Mine is GREAT! Only two work days this week! I tried a Chestnut Praline Latte at Starbucks this morning (because they were out of Salted Caramel AND Caramel Brulee) and it was pretty good!I am ready to start cooking the next few days for Thanksgiving. I don't have to do the whole meal because we are going to my Mom's Friday for Thanksgiving it will be our first Thanksgiving their since Dad died three years ago. Thanksgiving is so hard for me with the memories of Dad attached to it. We will g0 visit his grave site too. Anyway didn't mean to be a downer! Let's check out the craft I have to share with you today! This past weekend I got to visit my dear friend Cheri at her beautiful new house! We planned two pinterest crafts and each bought materials for one and then shared! First we chose these wine bottle Santas. I am sharing it first so you can start saving wine bottles!

For this project you will need:

Wine Bottles with the labels removed.

Red Spray paint - I LOVE the Red Shimmery one we used (from Hobby Lobby)

a dowel (to hold the bottles when painting)

Jute or Twine

Thick Black Ribbon

Small Crystals ( the strips work best!)

Large Crystals

Jingle Bells (optional)

First - Spray paint the bottles outside (on a NON-windy day preferably) using the dowel. Let dry.

Then wrap Jute or Twine around the top and bottom securing with hot glue. I found the bottom to be tricky and need hot glue all the way around the bottom first layer of jute. This really helps hold the base and keep it from coming off of the bottom.

Next Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to go around the bottle and glue down.

Finally add the bling "buckle" outline, and bling buttons.

You can also add a couple jingle bells if you would like. I left the jute off of the middle bottle and plan to leave off the buttons and maybe add jingle bells to it or black bling buttons.

What do you think?!?!? I love how they turned out! These would be cute on a buffet or mantle. You could also use them as candle stick holders!

Find Joy in the Journey,

Tess

Labels:#Christmascrafts,christmas,Christmas Decor,DIY,wine bottles | 1 Loves

Stockings - Doodlebug and Hero Arts

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Woo hoo another layout! This is actually the one for the sketch I picked LAST month for my little challenge with my friend Cheri. It is THIS sketch from Practical Scrappers. I changed it up just a bit by having 5 evenly spaced same size pieces in the background and only one rectangle matte. Also my three pictures are same size. They are phone pics cause we started Christmas morning WAY to early this year! Like 5 am! Ava was sick and I slept in the chair with her! Poor baby not fair to be sick on your first Christmas!

I used Doodlebug Designs North Pole Collection, Hero Arts Stamp and Cut Stocking stamp which was an Archivers Exclusive! I added some buttons that I tied a bit of PIT Bakers twine through, a poinsettia with a red SU bling brad in the center and the font for the title is Black Boys on Mopeds which I cut with my Cameo~!

Labels:cameo,christmas,Scrapbooking | 5 Loves

Late Christmas Layout

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Here is a layout I did of this year's Christmas photo (notice no Ava) using Allison Davis' One Page Sketch #16. I only used one picture and turned it horizontally. I also moved the title but the basic sketch is still evident. I used Simple Stories Christmas Collection for this layout and it worked great with the sepia toned picture. The photo matte is one piece with an overlay over the picture. Quick and Simple!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*

Labels:Allison Davis Sketches,christmas,Simple Stories | 1 Loves

PTI Blog Hop -TAGS - Day 25

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Design a holiday tag or two using all of your favorite goodies and share it with all of us! We will all have plenty of inspiration to create a large stash and try to get ahead of the hustle and bustle of the season!"

I love PTI blog hops! They are so inspiring! This challenge is something I do every year with my kids - they love stampin tags for their presents! I though about doing a super special fancy tag but let's be honest most people just throw the tags away! I really didn't want to put that much effort into something someone would throw away! So I decided to make a little box of tags! I started with my large SU tag punch and punched out 10 tags from PTI kraft cs - love love love that stuff! I then went through my PTI sets looking for images to make tags. I had so much fun! The small images from Believe and Holiday Treats were perfect for tags! I also used Merry and Bright, and my new Fillable Frames 8. On some I did a single image, some I created a background, it was so fun finding all these little images and using old sets! I wound up using SEVEN sets! I then added New Leaf and Dark Chocolate Bakers Twine to each one.

Of course my little tags needed a home! So I made a little box for them using THIS tutorial from Splitcoast. I just didn't make dividers inside. I love PTI's cs and how great it is for making boxes and things like this! It is so sturdy!

I added an acetate sheet over the top and added some ribbon and another tag! Hee hee! This would make a great little gift!

Thanks for stopping by everyone - have a wonderful Thanksgiving and drive safe!

Today I am thankful that Franklin Roosevelt had the presence of mind to make Thanksgiving a National Holiday and give us a holiday not about gifts or lighting things on fire, or candy, but a day to think about all we have and to be thankful for it! A time to spend with friends and family!

Supplies:

CS: Kraft, Pure Poppy PTI

Ink: Whisper White SU, Pure Poppy, New Leaf, Ripe Avacado, Dark Chocolate, Spring Rain all PTI

Stamps: Ambassador Monograms, Merry and Bright, Merry and Bright Additions, Believe, Holiday Treats, Snowflake Serenade, Take a Bough, all Papertrey Ink and Tags Till Chrismtas SU

Tools: ScorPal, TagPunch, Small hole punch

Other: Bakers Twine, SU Ribbon, Acetate

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*

Tessa

Labels:30 Days of Thankfulness,christmas,PTI | 29 Loves

Christmas Leftovers

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Well not really but it is a Christmas Layout so I wanted to get it in before to long after Christmas! This is a family picture of the first Christmas with my now hubby!
It is a pretty simple layout but there's a lot going on! For starters at the very bottom I stamped BELIEVE from Tim Holtz's Believe set across the bottom. Then the poinsettias I hand cut out of some BG patterned paper and added stickles and rhinestones to them to create custom embellishments. I matted the pic on some dark olive Bazzil cardstock and framed it to the right and bottow with strips of Basic Grey pp - figgy pudding or dasher I think! This is what happens when you have EVERY Christmas collection from Basic Grey - they start to run together when you're using up scraps! The gingerbread men are so cute! They are Martha Stewart - yes that's right MS! If you know me you know I am NOT a fan of hers but dang the cute stuff she keeps coming out with! And it was on sale at Mikes! It is NOT however self adhesive! The Christmas at the top was created using my friends Cricut Expression. It is from the Christmas Solutions Cartridge - I just love it! I layered it as well! That's it! TFL! I am trying to keep up with blogging this week as it is GRADE card week! That has VERY different meanings for different people! For me it means individually testing all my little kiddos on lots of different skills then hand filling out their report cards and hand writing comments! I miss you my blogger buddies and hope to *see* more of you soon!

Tools:
CS: Bazzil, American Crafts
PP: Basic Grey Christmas Collections -Dasher and Figgy Pudding?
Stamps: Belive Tim Holtz
Ink: Choc Chip

Other: MS Gingerbread Felt, Red Stickles, MME Rhinestones, Cricut Expression, Christmas Solutnions Cart
*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Labels:Basic Grey,christmas,Cricut,School,Stampin on LO | 5 Loves

Stockings

Sunday, January 4, 2009

I have been scrap happy over Christmas Break! This is a VERY good thing! A group of us on SCS called the PPPHM challenged each other to do 12 layouts over break (several of us are on vaca, or teachers etc). I must say I am doing better than expected! I have 8 of them done! I also got to spend a day scrappin and playing with my friends Cricut Expression! So it has been a very scrappy break!

This layout is of my boys opening stockings LAST christmas at my Grammies (our last one there sadly, she no longer lives on her own on the farm :C)

This is a sketch off of Got Sketch? Valerie has some GREAT sketches! I even did her mini class awhile back. This is my first layout that I used my new sewing machine on!!! Just a little stitching but I LOVE it! TFL!

PP: Basic Grey Figgy Pudding
CS: American Crafts
Embellishments: Strips, snowflakes Basic Grey Wassail
Stamps: Baroque Motifs SU
Ink: Ripe Avacado by Papertrey Ink
Alphas: Storybook cartridge for Cricut
Tools: Sewing machine, Corner Rounder
Techniques: sponging, sewing

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Labels:Baroque Motifs,Basic Grey,christmas,Cricut,Sewing,Sewing on layout,Stampin on LO | 14 Loves

Christmas Pics

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Here are pics from this year's Christmas! No order or rhyme or reason to them just my faves! I had a bugger of a time getting them to upload to blogger for some reason! GRRRR!

My sweet Baby Blake - this was him after mommy was trying to get a cute pic of him in a Santa hat - which totally didn't work! He hates hats! But this is precious and a pretty good trade off!

My silly oldest child - I can see the layout now - Have a cool Yule!

Me opening my custom stamp pad holder - so glad hubby actually got a pic of me for once!

My boys in front of the tree! Aren't they cute?

Blake opening up a present from Grandma Ray and Papa Tim - look at that bow! My MIL has given me a complex about wrapping and bows! (not really she is a VERY nice woman)

Blake and cousin (something like 2nd cousin once removed but you get the idea) Taylor - they are 3 weeks apart! She is my cousins baby girl! We HAVE to get them together more - they live less than an hour from us!

Mommy and Blake Christmas morning - after a very long sleepless night - apparently Blake wanted to stay up and wait for Santa! Silly boy doesn't he know Santa won't come unless you are ASLEEP?!?!? Even if it is on the couch after the 5th time getting mommy/daddy out of bed! Man I should have retouched that photo!

Family Christmas Photo 2008! Not too bad - using the timer on my camera! And of course I learn about the backlight setting AFTER this pic! Next year!

My sweet baby boy and my sweet Grammie - his great grandma - my dad's mom - the matriarch of our family! There are now 5 generations living! She has 4 children, 9 grandchildren, 11 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild - not counting the inlaws!