Christmas Cookies

Made cookies and pumpkin bread yesterday to give to neighbors, friends, UPS Paul, the groomer, etc. I kept it pretty simple but I'm happy with how everything turned out. 

• Candied Cherries and Chocolate Chip - chopped up red and green candied cherries, tossed with a little bit of flour so they wouldn't stick together as much, folded them into my standard chocolate chip dough. 

• Caramel Apple - I doctored a Betty Crocker Salted Caramel cookie mix by adding a pinch of coarse salt and a teaspoon of vanilla. Stuffed with half of a soft caramel (seasonal flavor 'caramel apple'). I've done this before with chocolate cookies, click here to see the post and how to stuff the cookies. 

• Double Chocolate Chunk ~ doctored a Betty Crocker cookie mix with a pinch of coarse salt and a teaspoon of vanilla. After they cooled I pressed their top into powdered sugar. 

To finish - I designed a double-sided label using avery.com (free) and printed them out on index cards (avery #5388). 

I made pumpkin bread using my (very old tried-and-true) recipe. Click here for that post. 

12.19.22: grinch rice krispy treats 

12.19.21: 🔥 week 51

12.19.20: candy cane bag closure 

12.19.19: grinch fruit kabobs

12.19.18: curled paper wreath 

12.19.17: making a holiday newsletter and printing labels

12.19.16: snowman shadowbox

12.19.15: melting snowman cocktail

Crochet and Bead Bracelets (re-run)

This is from the first week of my beginning the blog - I think it's time for a re-run of it in case you are a crocheter and want a last minute homemade gift idea (I updated it a bit hopefully making it a little clearer); these do not take long and are so pretty!

From September 2015:

These bracelets are pretty simple to make, I don't have the pattern to share but if you can do a single crochet you can make them no problem! 

String some beads (approx 50) onto thin cotton yarn (make sure the holes in your beads are big enough to thread onto your yarn. I tried using embroidery floss but there isn't enough in a skein to complete the bracelet and with the beads strung on before you start it would be hard to add on). You are going to keep the beads together down a ways on the yarn and pull them up one at a time to crochet them into the bracelet. 

Chain 7 with a very small hook; turn, skip first chain, sc in remaining 6 chains, chain 1, turn. SC across 6 chains, chain 1, turn, repeat until you have an area big enough to attach a button for the closure. 

Then pull up a bead to your hook and crochet it into your sc's, I alternate 2 and 3 beads per bead row so they look a little more random. After you do one row with beads and turn, just do sc's across the next row (the "back side"), turn and do another bead row so all of the beads will be on the "right side" of the bracelet. Repeat alternating a bead row with 6 sc no bead row until it's as long as you want (mine are approx 7"). Last row I chained 5 to make a loop big enough for the button to go thru. Slip stitch into last stitch of the previous row and finish off. Sew button on the beginning end and weave ends in. Done. 

Doesn't take long at all and I think they are a nice easy project - I'd wear them alone or pile 'em on my wrist. Note: you could make this as narrow or wide as you want, just add more or less chain/sc's and beads.

I wouldn't wear these 3 together normally, just showing you how they all look on!

12.18.22: 🔥 week 51

12.18.21: cherry pecan chews

12.18.20: candy bows by B

12.18.19: how to make gift bows

12.18.18: melting snowman chocolate bark

12.18.17: stabilized whipped cream

12.18.16: cocoa snowballs

12.18.15: gift paper wrapping bag

 

🔥 Around the Campfire (week 51)

Dear Campers ~ 

Here's a quick recap in case you missed anything at camp last week:

Posts ~

12/10: 🔥 week 50

12/11: tiered Christmas tree skirt

12/12: plastic hanger snowflake

12/13: paper snowflakes 

12/14: button ornaments

12/15: cupcake wreath

12/16: words

What's Cooking ~

• meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies 
• baked breaded chicken, roasted broccoli, buttered noodles
• grilled marinaded pork tenderloin, roasted butternut squash, kale salad
• baked salmon, parmesan couscous, roasted asparagus

I cannot believe that this is week 51 already, the crunch is on for the week before Christmas!!  See you next week for more projects, crafts, recipes, whatever we can think of to make at camp with how little time there is to make anything haha!! 

Sincerely ~

Jill

camp counselor

12.17.22: hoop driftwood Christmas tree hanging 

12.17.21: grilled shrimp tacos

12.17.20: cork gingerbread man by B

12.17.19: TT: powdered sugar (how to turn granulated sugar into powdered)

12.17.18: wine cork angel ornament

12.17.17: cream of mushroom soup

12.17.16: chocolate dipped pretzel rods

12.17.15: homemade dog cookies

12/16 ~ Words

12.16.22: royal icing 

12.16.21: melting snowman cupcakes

12.16.20: peanut butter kiss cookies by B

12.16.19: felt poinsettia napkin rings

12.16.18: 🔥week 50

12.16.17: reindeer cupcakes

12.16.16: candy cane mice

12.16.15: sea salt body scrub

Christmas Cupcake Wreath

I'm looking for dessert inspirations for a Christmas party and saw this - don't know if I'll make it but it's definitely in the running! I'd make my filled white cupcakes which everyone seems to love, and either make and decorate sugar cookies to lay on top of the 'wreath' or buy premade from the store. The bow appears to be fondant which I don't like so I'll have to come up with a different idea for that - maybe fruit strips would work. I'm sharing because it's very cute and want to give you time to make this if you have a party or need a fun dessert idea. 

12.15.22: P's friend chicken

12.15.21: hambone, bean, and veggie soup

12.15.20: TT: holiday phone case by Brooke

12.15.19: 🔥week 50

12.15.18: rolled paper Christmas tree

12.15.17: Brooke's homemade ice cream/shake

12.15.16: sugar and spice mixed nuts

12.15.15: travel jewelry pouch

Button Ornaments

Well, well, well - here's one time when my wasting-time projects actually paid off - I sorted buttons for way too long last year (click here for that post), so how happy was I when I came across this idea in my to-do folder and my time-wasting actually made this go a little quicker HAHA!

I think these instructions are from Martha Stewart, I'll attach them below but you really don't need many details - fold a pipe cleaner in half, thread both ends thru button holes creating a stack of button ornament. I made a santa and a snowman in a matter of minutes and they are actually quite cute :)

12.14.22: confetti gift wrap #2

12.14.21: snowman poop 

12.14.20: plant pot bells by B

12.14.19: caprese chicken

12.14.18: Christmas pinecone wreath

12.14.17: bacon jam

12.14.16: Georgian cheese bread

12.14.15: Christmas bell door hanger

Paper Snowflakes

martha stewart or instructbles  have good examples of how to make a paper snowflake! Have fun :)

12.13.22: tt - muffin tin drink holder 

12.13.21: nantucket cranberry pie

12.13.20: 🔥 week 50

12.13.19: candy cane reindeer

12.13.18: felt Christmas trees

12.13.17: wood reindeer and snowman

12.13.16: glass block winter scene

12.13.15: cinnamon roll sugar cookies 

Plastic Hanger Snowflake

Scott made this fun project last winter but I didn't have a chance to post it - I don't know where he got the idea but it's so creative. It's just plastic hangers, hot glue, and zip ties. 

12.12.22: Christmas lights cupcakes 

12.12.21: 🔥 week 50

12/12/20: how to make a looped bow

12.12.19: santa gift card holder

12.12.18: Mary's painted ornaments

12.12.2017:  snowman pillow 

12.12.2016: marquee letters  

12.12.2015: fireball hot toddy

Tiered Christmas Tree Skirt

I don't put up a full-size Christmas tree anymore, I switched to a smaller one that I put on top of a table so it's still up high and I can sit by the lights and have space to put gifts underneath. Sometimes I drape the table with a blanket, sheet, tablecloth, furry throw - this time I made a 'skirt' that fits over the table out of felt and a plastic tablecloth and I love how it turned out. This is a pretty quick and simple project if you want to try it for yourself.

I cut strips of the plastic tablecloth and hot glued them in ruffled rows one on top of the other starting with the bottom row. Pinch and pleat the tablecloth while gluing to create the ruffled effect. I did 4 tiers, you can add or subtract depending how tall your table is and how wide you cut the strips. Because there's a visible-not-very-pretty glue line at the top I covered it by gluing on pieces of raffia. 

See the pictures below for reference, but really this is a wing-it kind of project! 

12.11.22: 🔥 week 50

12.11.21: sheet pan sausages and grapes

12.11.20: gingerbread cookie hugs by B

12.11.19: cucumber ranch salad dressing

12.11.18: bath salt ornaments

12.11.2017: tinsel wreath

12.11.2016: chicken marsala

12.11.2015: tomato cage Christmas tree