One last post...

I think I have posted the most in the last few days as I ever have. Must be because school is out!! Well, after the second day of baking cookies and candy with children under 8, I decided to whip up the "Rainbow snake" that Lil requested. I must be high from all the sugar. I am cooking, baking and sewing everyday!!! Anyway, baby girl is a bit under the weather. I think catching some of what Miss M had last week. Right in time for Christmas, don't you love it!! So, she kept requesting a rainbow snake, this afternoon I pulled out some scraps and this is what I came up with:


Lil loved it. She woke up from nap just in time to pick out the white button eyes. Why do we buy so many toys?? Lil played with this snake all night and Miss M played with her Rosie doll all night. They even slept with them.
Now, to come up with a clone trooper plan for the boy....

Dolls..

I don't usually make softies and dolls. I really love this Black Apple Doll pattern from Emily Martin. I got the pattern here on the Martha Stewart website. It was fun to make. I first made one a couple of weeks ago (no pic) and Lil took it. Then I made one the other night for one of my sweet little friends that come over to make cookies with us. We used leftover Christmas fabric. (I mean, how much of that Michael Miller fabric will I use!!!) Then Miss M just had to have one so she picked out some fabric and we tried to make the hair longer, which turned out o.k. Not too much experience with this. She loved it though and named her Rosie!
Of course now, Lil has made a request for a rainbow snake??? Not sure exactly how that will work out. And the boy has requested a stuffed Star Wars Clone Trooper?? Definitely, not sure how I will do that. He has it all planned out, though. So, maybe I will let him design it and I will sew it!

Have a Blessed Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to self...

I thought this year I needed a Christmas Apron. All my kids have Christmas aprons and I make them for my neices and my best friend's daughter when they come to bake with us. And I don't even have one. So, I had ordered this fabric this summer along with the fabric I used for the girls pillowcase tops. I also had been waiting to use the Emmaline apron pattern from Sew Liberated. I think it turned out pretty cute. It is a reversible apron. Big G took the pics, he really did pretty good!!!

More Recipe Info

I am new to this blog thing and I don't want to do anything I am not supposed to like print recipes from books that are still for sale. Not sure about the rules on that kind of stuff, but I am sure there is some sort of copyright law about it. So, I thought I could at least give you more info about the books. The one where I have gotten so many great ideas and recipes is Southern Living Our Best Christmas Recipes. I have linked it to Amazon where you can buy it used for around $2 or new for around $8. There are many homemade gift ideas in there, soup mixes, cookies, breads, etc. We are using the Hot Cocoa recipe to give out at Lil's preschool class in individual plastic Christmas cups I got for like 4/$1 at Hobby Lobby. You can tell I have been spending way too much time at that store this fall!!

The Nutty Snack mix that I have modified for our family is from Christmas with Southern Living 2002. I also linked it to Amazon so you can check it out too. There will be many more recipes to come from the Christmas with Southern Living Recipe books this Holiday season, I will try to share my favorites and which Years they are from. Many recipes can be used throughout the year, but I use them a ton during the holidays.
I think I may just have a cookbook addiction!

Peppermint Ice Cream Pie and Christmas Snack Mix

This was soooo yummy. Even my hubby loved it and he doesn't eat many sweets. I got this recipe from an old cookbook. Actually, one night last week I decided to look at some cookbooks my in-laws brought me that were my husband's grandmother's. They know I love to cook. Unfortunately, when they gave them to me I couldn't think about using them - so they went straight to the basement. As usual, instead of getting to bed early, so I wouldn't be tired, I thought, "hmmm, I wonder if there is a good recipe in those cookbooks in the basement" Three hours later I was still going through them! Anyway, the one for the Peppermint Ice Cream Pie came from Southern Living "Our Best Christmas Recipes". The copyright was 1995, but the forward says it shares recipes from their first issue in 1966. It was truly delicious and I must have marked 20 other recipes to try!!!



These are teacher Christmas gifts. I have been making this Christmas Snack Mix for a few years now. My inlaws actually made it for years, but a slightly different recipe. I took the recipe from "Christmas with Southern Living 2002", Nutty Snack Mix. I have made a few changes. Like I use TLC cheese crackers instead of Cheese nips. But with this base, my family has come up with a snack mix that they can't stop eating! I'm glad I only make this at Christmas time, because everytime I turn around the kids are eating it out of a tin. I thought this year I would use it for Dance teacher, gymnastic coaches, and piano teacher gifts. Found these great bowls for a steal at Hobby Lobby. Bought some green card stock, printed out a sweet message, traced a Christmas tree and voila! a Christmas gift. I think everyone should make homemade gifts, they seem so special. The kids can actually say they helped make the gift!
I love to hear about other's Christmas Homemade Gifts also!!

Christmas Ornaments and Dresses

Miss M had an Ornament Party in her Kindergarten class this week. We did 6 ornaments! They used their thumbs to make the polka dots on the glass balls, I used Scribbles paint to paint their initials.
I painted the trains. This is a picture of what the girl train looked like. The boy train was red with lime green stripes on the smoke stack.

This Reindeer is one of two they made:

It was really fun watching 20 little ones make so many ornaments!

Finally, I finished smocking and putting the girls dresses together.


Now, to get my Christmas presents done!! Not to mention getting my photo cards done. I feel more pressure everyday as I get another Christmas Card in the mail, I feel more and more behind!