homemade box of chocolates

I love chocolate. Every year when Valentine's Day comes around I get excited to see all the chocolate that permeates the aisles at the store. There are so many boxes of chocolate, but I often find that unless you spend a large sum of money to get the good stuff, most of the heart shaped boxes just don't satisfy. You don't get much bang for your buck. This year I thought I would make a few of my own mini boxes of chocolate to give to some friends.

The process was really simple, and much cheaper than buying a box of chocolate. First, find yourself a box and some decorative paper you love.


Next cut a piece of paper that is big enough to fit your box. I picked two papers. One for my box and one for the lid. I then cut slits at each of the four corners so you can easily fold the paper up to glue one side at a time. Use a brush to apply mod podge to the sides of the box.


Pull the paper up and press it on the side of the box to cover it completely. Smooth any bubbles out. Repeat the process until every side is covered, trimming any excess paper as needed. Follow the same process to cover your lid.


I filled my box with my favorite chocolates. Oreo balls! They are so delicious and easy to make. I am not promising any health benefits, however. You can find the recipe at the bottom of a past post HERE.


Tie on a pretty ribbon and you are finished! A pretty, delicious, homemade box of chocolates for you to surprise someone with (it can even be for yourself, I won't tell!).

holiday peppermint mud pie recipe

Ones last recipe for 2010. An oldie but a goodie. My friend Vanessa (who doesn't really read this blog but always gets referred here by her mom and sister-in-law--hi Fifes!) asked me to make this for a church activity and I couldn't believe I'd lived this long without the recipe! It's easy and sooo yummy. Perfect for your New Year's celebration!

Holiday Peppermint Mud Pie Recipe

36 Oreo cookies, crushed (I ended up using the whole bag because you can never go wrong with more Oreos!)
1/2 cup margarine, melted (can use butter, but margarine works better!)
1/2 gallon ice cream, softened (we use Peppermint or Candy Cane for the holidays, or any mint chocolate chip ice cream is good for traditional mud pie)
1 jar fudge ice cream topping.
1 8oz. container Cool Whip

Mix cookie crumbs and margarine together. Press into bottom of 9"x13" pan, reserving some crumbs to sprinkle on top. Freeze 20 minutes. Spread 1/2 gallon of softened ice cream over cookies and freeze 20 minutes. Heat the jar of fudge ice cream topping for 10-15 seconds in the microwave and spread over the ice cream. Freeze 20 minutes. Spread Cool Whip on top and garnish with cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 20 minutes or until ready to serve (Vanessa recommends making it the night before).



You can't believe how fast this went. I also sprinkled crushed candy canes on top in addition to the cookies. Really cute. (Sorry, no pic--my pan was gone before I could get a picture!)

hand-cut snowflake banner tutorial

Yea! Something fun to do on Christmas day, courtesy of that crafty Jennifer. We'll be making a few of these for sure once the fun of unwrapping is over! Merry Christmas!

Snowflake Bunting Tutorial

I’ve been trying to think of a couple of fun projects to keep everybody busy on Christmas Day. As soon as I saw this idea at How About Orange, I knew that we would be cutting snowflakes.


I picked up a big pack of Christmas tissue paper at Costco a few weeks ago, so I had plenty of paper work with. I cut a stack of tissue paper into 6 inch squares and started playing with them while I was waiting for my husband to finish one of his projects. It was so fast to make them. I had a stack of about 6 or 7 in just a few minutes. Once I mastered the basics, I started looking for some patterns online. There were lots, but I really fell in love with the Christmas tree and snowman designs that I found here. I was able to draw the tree onto tissue paper and cut it out. I was pretty impressed with myself.


Once I had cut a whole stack of them, I was wondering what I should do with them next. I ironed them flat and then used baker’s twine to make them into a banner to hang in front of my window. So easy, so cute and so much fun to make, just watch out for all the teeny, tiny paper pieces that are left over from cutting. They are all over my floor and I think I will have to get the vacuum out to clean them up

favorite christmas stories for children

As we get close to Christmas, we hope you are all enjoying time with family (instead of madly sewing and crafting like we know some of you are!). Our friend Jennifer shares her favorite Christmas books for kids that she and her family have enjoyed over the years. We hope you'll enjoy them too, and maybe start your own Christmas book tradition!

Christmas at our House – Family Story Night

When our girls were growing up, one of our family traditions was to read a Christmas story each night before bed. It took me many years of buying one or two books each year before we had enough stories to read one every night in December. Each year as I shopped for the special book, I tried to pick something very special – the illustrations might be wonderful or the story was especially touching. When the girls were very little I wrapped each book and they took turns choosing one. The story was a surprise. As the years went on the wrapping fell by the wayside because it became a chore, but we read stories together every year until the girls left home.

Let me introduce you to just a couple of our very favorite Christmas stories.

Hoshmakaka, a camel, is the star of the book “The Last Straw” by Fredrick H. Thury. Hoshmakaka is an cranky older camel who complains about his gout and sciatica when he is asked to carry a load. He ends up carrying all the wisemen’s gifts to the Christ child. After adding more and more gifts during his journey, a small child gives him a piece of straw for the the Christ child’s bed. – This piece of straw ends up being the last straw for
Hoshmakaka and he falls to his knees in front of the Christ child. My children loved the illustrations and seeing Hoshmakaka loaded down with so many gifts. They also loved that he complained about his gout and sciatica, so much so that “my gout, my sciatica” became a code phrase in our family for being near our limit. Hoshmakaka, the grumpy camel, has to be
one of our family’s favorite Christmas characters.


Another family favorite is “Don’t Forget Me Santa Claus” by Virginia
Mayo. This delightful book has no words, only illustrations, so the story
changed every year depending on who was reading it. The storyline is
about a darling baby in red striped pajamas who is determined to get Santa’s
attention after having his Christmas stocking overlooked by the Jolly Old
Elf. The baby has darling expressions, particularly when he is letting Santa
know how he feels about being forgotten. In our family when Dad read the
story it was hilarious, with all the kids chiming in when he said “don’t forget
me Santa Claus”.


I’ll Be Home For Christmas is the title of this Toot and Puddle book by
Holly Hobby. Toot and Puddle are two dear piggy friends. Puddle likes to
stay at home and Toot likes to travel the world. When Toot promises to be
home in time for Christmas, Puddle starts getting everything ready at home
for a wonderful celebration. Toot has travel trouble and Puddle wonders if
he will ever make it, but in the end the two friends are together at Christmas.
Watching Puddle work so hard to make everything just so for Toot’s arrival
reminds me of how hard my mom worked to make Christmas a magical
time of the year. When my kids left home it was my turn to make sure
that Christmas at our house had all the magic that they girls remembered
from when they were growing up. Reading this book reminds me of how
much we all love each other and how hard we work to please our family at
Christmas time.


This list hardly scratches the surface of the many delightful Christmas books that we have enjoyed over the years. Everyone in the family has a different favorite. After the kids left home, I thought about dividing the books up among the girls, but this year I have read to a daughter in Germany and grandchildren in Oklahoma over the webcam. I won’t have to give away my collection. I can read with my family, wherever they are, for years to come.

fluffy pumpkin dip and cinnamon sugar chips recipe

A friend shared this appetizer (or is it dessert?) at a recipe swap recently and everyone gave it rave reviews. Try it for your holiday party--you won't regret it!

Fluffy Pumpkin Dip with Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas (via www.ourbestbites.com)


Pumpkin Dip
16 oz. light Cool Whip, thawed out
1 (5-ounce) packet of vanilla pudding (instant)
1 small can of Libby's pumpkin - (15 oz.)
1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a large bowl, mix together pudding, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Gently stir in Cool Whip.This takes about 5 minutes to get the mixture smooth. (After mixing, I usually stick this in the refrigerator
for a while before serving it.)

Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips
Flour tortillas (I used about 7 large tortillas) and holiday cookie cutters
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
Butter flavored Pam cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl. Use metal cookie cutters and a cutting board to cut your tortillas into desired shapes (use leaves for fall, gingerbread men, trees, stars, etc. for Christmas). Place them on parchment or foil-lined baking sheets.


Spray all of the tortilla cut-outs with butter flavored cooking spray on the top side that is facing you.


Sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar mixture. Tip: I put the cinnamon-sugar mixture in an empty spice bottle so my kids could help sprinkle it on. They loved it! Lightly spray again with cooking spray to make sure the cinnamon sticks.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Place the chips on racks to cool off. Serve with Pumpkin Dip.



This is so yummy! But make lots of chips--they'll go fast!