Happy New Year!

Out with old and in with the new. That's what I've been feeling lately. I always feel a little let down I think after I have all my pretty Christmas things put away and not to be seen till next year. The house seems so naked without them but it also helps me get in the mood to declutter the place and shovel out some of those corners that you kind of pretend aren't really piling up as you walk by and trip on the shoes, books, and those lamps that you got for free this summer and still haven't done anything with. I want to rearrange furniture and freshen up the place. With the Christmas season done and a family vacation to Disneyland, the budget is pretty much kaput. Time to put the thinking cap on and get those creative juices flowing again. I guess it's also time to finish some of those projects that I put off and never got around to. I guess you could call that my New Years resolution. To finish what I start!

Speaking of resolutions, I had an idea to work on a Christmas craft or project once a month to beat the craziness that usually happens at Christmas time because I've procrastinated till the last minute and then I'm running around trying to finish it all. So hopefully I can find some fun gift ideas and hopefully that can help get my projects done in a more timely manner. I'm still working on that blanket from last summer!


As with a new look to the house, I hope that we can have a fresh start on our blog and ring in the new year with lot's of great tips and fun ideas along with our readers sharing their ideas as well. Happy New Year!

The Envelope System

Envelopes are a wonder for many things in my eyes! I love the internet but I still love sending letters and notes the old fashion way! So personal. BUT one of my favorite uses for envelopes are using them to save money! I'm in the process of setting my envelope system up for this coming year. I'll label them and start stashing money in them a few times a month. A few that I'll be doing this year are for birthdays, vacations and Christmas! Those are what I'll be starting with but I have a few idea's for a couple others. Put them somewhere you won't see and won't be tempted to sneak back from! Its a great way to save for those bigger expenses and not have to worry about money when they arrive!

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Can't believe we are already in 2010! Where has the time gone??? We are back in blogging action and hope you are too! We also LOVE having guest posters so let us know if you are interested! We'd love to hear your idea's too!!

**EASY** Embroidering

I have wanted to embroider my own stockings for YEARS. I wish I would have known how easy it was because I would have done this a long time ago. I took our stockings and LIGHTLY wrote our names in pen. The pen is really hard to get out so make sure it looks good. They do have fabric pens for light or dark fabric that wash away with water but I couldn't find any that worked on the velvet I was using. I then used this easy chain stitch and traced over our names. I think they turned out well... not too bad for my first time embroidering. Click on the link at the bottom of this post for a video that shows you how. The key is to make sure you are keeping your thread to the side and coming up through the middle of your chain. These stockings look cute hung above our fireplace and it makes it feel much more like Christmas. We even decided to use this as our backdrop for our Christmas cards. I love being able to make something and then show it off. Here is the video!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSiutCEc9VU

10 Favorite things about Christmas

10. Christmas lights all twinkly and bright

9. Hot cocoa and marshmellows

8. Finding the perfect gift for someone you love

7. Watching the movie Christmas Vacation over and over and over

6. The kids version of Frosty the snowman in the front yard

5. Warming your toes by the crackling fire

4. Fresh baked sugar cookies

3. Christmas jammies

2. Playing games with the family and laughin till tears come out

1. Christmas Vacation!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone has a fantastic Holiday season!

Dipped Chocolates Recipe

This is one of my favorites to make around the holiday's!

2 1/2 lb. powdered sugar
2 cubes margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla


Soften butter and add milk. Add sugar, salt, vanilla and stir. Divide and add flavorings. (I always use the orange extract and then put orange food coloring it as well) Refrigerate for a while. Use the directions on the back of the almond bark for melting. Form fondant into balls and dip into chocolate. Place the chocolates on tin foil to dry. Takes about a minute and then you can eat them!!! Once they are finished we usually keep them in the fridge, that's the way I like them and with a big glass of milk :)

Christmas collections

I was thinking the other day about how collections come about and what and why people start them. I have a friend who collects Santa clauses. Big, small, silly. Some would say I have a Christmas collection. I do have a lot of Christmas things. I can't help it. I LOVE Christmas! The lights, the colors, the music. Since I have been a little girl I have loved to look at Christmas villages. A little town stuck in a snowy winter wonderland. See the kids sledding down a snowy hill. Peek inside a little cabin and see the little family sitting down at the table.

When I was first married I mentioned how I loved these little villages so and there became my start of a collection of Christmas houses. Everyone started to add to my little town until is grew and grew and now it's out grown my house! The picture below is NOT my own, but isn't it pretty? I could look at these little towns for hours and imagine what the people are thinking and doing. I love to look at them when it is dark and the lights are on. I think I have outgrown my village collection or I should say it has outgrown me. My next collection I want to start is the Willow Tree nativity. Of course it has to do with Christmas! :)

So what kind of collections do you all collect if any?

Christmas Fudge

This project was so fun and super easy! I love this time of year especially with all of the crafts and creative projects that are out there! A few of my girl friends are getting these this year! You take a big chocolate bar, some scrapbooking paper and type out this little poem and there ya go!

Ella was helping me by playing with the ribbons Now...anyone want to help me clean up???The possibilities are endless with this project! I might go ahead and add some ribbon but you can do whatever you want! Super easy, creative and an inexpensive project everyone can love!

Here's the poem:

Dashing from the malls
With groceries yet to buy.
Lessons, work and housecleaning
Life’s so crazy! Why?

Bells on our telephone ring
The machine will take the call.
We have no time for family or friends,
It drives us up the wall.

How are you? How’s your life?
We really want to know.
Hope you’re ready for Christmas,
Now maybe it will snow.

A day or two ago,
We thought we’d make a treat,
For all our special friends-
A Christmas gift to eat.

Our intentions were top notch,
But our schedules would not budge,
Hence, here’s this year’s edition
Of homemade
Christmas Fudge…

Christmas cards

***The winner of the Ella Bella Bows is.....TAYLOR! Thanks for commenting Taylor. Alycia will send those out to you lickety split!****


It's that time of year again where it's time to send out those Christmas cards and share with those what's been going on in our lives. It's nice to see how the kids have grown, and what fun things have been happening through out the year. I try and send them out in the early weeks of December because if I wait too long then I'll get too bogged down with other things and they never get done.

In my quest to have some cute cards I try and convince my kiddos to participate and pose for a nice Christmas picture that we can share with friends and family. Easier said then done! Lot's of begging and threats (no dinner for a month! Your grounded for life!) to bribing, (candy for dinner, all you can eat!). Finally this year I came up with something that didn't require them to all be looking at the camera. Hubby and his family are huge hunting fanatics I like to say and I thought it would be fun to do something that had to do with hunting. This is what I came up with and the kids actually had fun acting it out.
*Disclaimer: Of course we would never hunt santa with actual bullets or anything. Just marshmellows and candy cane ropes. *

So how do you do your Christmas cards? Family photo? Home made? Cute box from a store?

Another give away!

Did someone say give away? That's right! Ella Bella Bowtique has given us a headbow and also a cute clip to give to one lucky winner! Making beautiful bows and clips while she was pregnant, Amanda started receiving requests from family and friends and eventually started Ella Bella Bowtique so many more could enjoy. These headbows and clips are handmade, safe and comfortable for you to put on your little girl or even newborn! Please check out her website here to view all of the headbows and clips that are available. (Perfect for Christmas pictures... :)

Let us know what you think! Leave us comments and we will announce a winnter on Monday!

Traditions

It's the season for some traditions don't you think? I grew up with a few traditions like always going to my grandparents, and holding our annual Christmas party downstairs. Always a bowl of spicy chex mix on the bar and punch made out of Squirt and juice.

Now that I'm married we've made a few traditions of our own. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Christmas. So of course the Christmas tree has to go up right after Thanksgiving. As soon as I can get away with it.

Another tradition is new jammies for the whole family that we open on Christmas eve. The whole idea was to have nice, warm, comfy jammies and of course to look cute for those Christmas morning pictures. No more half dressed shots! Another favorite of mine that I hide waaaay back in the freezer so no one can see, is a carton of Dyrers special addition Peppermint ice cream. This is sooo stinkin good! And half the fat of regular so that means we can have an extra large bowl of it right?

Another great tradition is Cottage Cheese cookies. Your probably thinking what the heck? Cottage cheese? That's not Christmasy. I'm not really sure why they became our favorite Christmas treat but they are so good you just can't eat one. People are always surprised by how good they are and really, you can't taste the cottage cheese. Promise!

This recipe came from my mil. A few years ago she made all of our families a cookbook with some of her best recipes for Christmas.

Cottage Cheese Cookies

3 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

4 tsp. vanilla

5 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/3 cup shortening

2 tsp baking POWDER

2 cups cottage cheese

1/2 cup walnuts (optional. We've never made them with the nuts but I bet they

wouldn't' be too bad.)

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl (when it means big bowl, get a HUGE bowl. This makes a lot!) by hand or heavy duty mixer. Chill over night. (I'll be honest. We're lucky if these make it into the fridge for an hour. Still good!)

Roll into balls. Roll into powdered sugar. Press down a bit (not too flat)

Bake at 325 for 10 minutes on greased pan. (or non stick)

This recipe does make quite a bit but you'll be glad you made it all. You can share some with your friends! Now that I've shared some of my Christmas traditions, why don't you share some of yours? And don't forget to check back on Friday for an awesome give away we are having!