gingerbread house

Last night we decorated a gingerbread house. It was just one of those boxed set kinds, but it was a lot of fun. I made the wreath and my mom and sister did the icicles and "christmas lights".

It has a lot of cute details, like the little light by the doorway. It even has a recycling bin.



My brother is really great at drawing and made one for us. It has a shoveled walkway too. Don't want anyone to slip on the way in.



Snow hasn't been a problem for us though, while the rest of the nation has been under layers of snow it's been in the 60's here, rainy and grey. I do wish it would cool off and the sun would come out.

Sewing, Baking, and Crafting.

Yesterday we made a bunch more coffee sleeves, we are thinking about selling them in local shops. Making a little extra money would be nice!





Sarah and I also made these little pillow creatures.




they are just fabric filled with quilt batting. they are kind of cute in a bizarre way. haha.




i also made some ginger snap type cookies. i didn't really care for them, but everyone else loved them. we'll probably make some to give as christmas gifts. we are going to make a huge batch of different cookies and put them in cute packages instead of buying people things they don't really want or need. : )

here's the recipe:

3/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375.

Combing shortening, sugar, molasses and egg and beat with mixer.

Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices, add to to sugar mixture and mix well, Chill dough.
Form into 1 inch balls, roll in sugar (i used cinnamon sprinkles!) and place on greased (i used parchment) cookies sheet 2 inch apart. Don't press down!

Bake for 10 (mine took 15) minutes.

i really want to get out and just take some photos, but i haven't had time lately, plus it's been rainy and overcast every day. i'm going to try to do that this weekend.
Also, today is my one month blogging anniversary! It's been fun.

Oh yeah, I've been tagged again! This time by Hillary at The Gleam of Rose Tea

The rules are you have to grab the nearest book, go to the 123rd page and write down the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th sentences.

The book nearest to me was the cookbook Baking Basics and Beyond. I swear my blog is becoming one big ad for this book. hahha. But I have to follow the rules!

The same method is used to cut in the butter or shortening when making the biscuit dough for cobblers. The biscuit topping on cobblers needs to be baked until golden brown. Bake crisps, cobblers and brown Bettys until crisp fruits are fork-tender and the slightly thickened juices are bubbling away. Serve these homespun desserts warm with ice cream, whipped cream or creme fraiche.

Good to know. Confession: I like cobbler more than pie.
Thanks for tagging me, Hillary!

crafts this week.

this week i've been busy with crafts and baking.

today i baked chocolate chip muffins.



and my sister and i sewed reusable cup sleeves.



she sewed the sleeve it's self, i did the embroidery.



a couple of days ago we made a christmas wreath out of old christmas cards. it was really easy and it's really pretty. we got the idea from here.


sorry about the black and white, the lighting in our dining room is awful.



i think i might try this next.

table lighting.

today, my dad and i made table lighting. we followed these instructions, with a few modifications. it's not competely right yet, the light is a little too yellow, as you'll see in the pictures. i'm going to get some different light bulbs, and something more transparent than the tracing paper i used.

what we used:

100watt energy save bulbs, tape, tracing paper, cross stitch board, dowel rods, and a lamp kit.and particle board. first, dad cut grooves into the particle board.

then we did as the instructions said and cut a hole in the board and inserted the light socket.


but neither a regular bulb or a energy save bulb fit.

so dad modified.


he made a little ledge to put the light socket on and then cut a hole so we could put the wire through the back.


he then cut holes in the bottom for the dowel rods and and we slid them through. these are great, because you can lower the light if you need to.


i then taped the tracing paper on the cross stitch board. the tape didn't hold it well enough, so i ended up stapling it to it.


we taped white paper to the board behind the light so it wouldn't reflect the brown wood.


here's what the finished product looks like. i slid the cross stitch board in the grooves and then taped it.

like i said, it's not perfect yet, i'm still going to make some modifications. but overall we spent about 15 bucks. which is much better than the 250+ you'd spend if you bought it already made.
i'm going to post some photos i took using it in a seperate post.


thanks for all the help dad, you're the greatest!

my mother, sister and i have been making christmas garland! a little early, i realize, but we apparently want to get a jump on things. we plan on doing a lot of handmade things this holiday season. i'm going to go all out for thanksgiving, attempt to make a centerpiece for the table, place cards, etc. i can't wait! i never would have thought i was the crafty type, but it's come to be something i really enjoy.