Monday, December 27

Christmas Morning Makeover

Before


After


In Between







I think Christmas may just be the best thing ever, but this year wore.me.out.  But, all of my planning and shopping and wrapping and plotting and sewing and crafting was worth it.  The look on my kids' faces Christmas morning just makes my heart explode.  Things are starting to wind down.  The kids are happily playing with their new treasures and I am happily putting decorations away. 

 Now, I'm gearing up for the New Year... I've got to think of some predictions as per family tradition.  

Friday, December 24

Joyex Noel!


Merry Christmas to all
and to all a good night!

Tuesday, December 21

Just Cozying Up With Darth


Doesn't Darth look ominous AND inviting, sitting on the rocker?  I made this last minute gift for our sweet friend Cannon who turned 5 this week.  For some reason, I think it's hilarious!  

The last few weeks have been full of holiday parties, gift exchanges, birthdays and special sewing projects that can't be revealed until Christmas morning.  It has been a whirlwind-- but the fun kind of whirlwind.  Now, things are starting to wind down.  Projects are getting finished up.  Presents are mostly wrapped.  School is out.  Maybe now I can catch up on some blogging. :)


Darth and I hope you are enjoying the season as much as we are!

xoxo

Friday, December 10

Christmas Caramel

     
I really, really love homemade caramel.  Really.  It's a good and bad thing that it's so easy to make.  Good because I like it so much.  Bad because I will eat the entire batch.  When it comes to caramel, I find there are two groups: the chewy fans and the soft fans.  I am a chewy fan.  
 This year, I tried a new recipe that turned out really good.  Usually, I'm drawn toward recipes that use heavy cream, but this time I tried one that called for sweetened condensed milk.  Caramel is surprisingly easy to make.  The key is to have reliable, easy to read candy thermometer.  I have a simple mercury thermometer that has candy making stages marked on it (like "soft ball" and "hard ball").  It makes it easy to know when the caramel is ready.  

Christmas Caramel

  • 1 cup butter 
  • 1 pound light brown sugar
  • 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons real vanilla extract

Combine all of the ingredients, except the vanilla, in a heavy pan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until it reaches the "soft ball" stage (between 235 and 245 degrees).  Cook for one minute longer, then remove from heat.  The longer you cook the caramel, the chewier it will be.  But, be careful not to over cook it or it will turn in to rock!  Once removed from the heat, stir in vanilla.  Pour mixture in to a heavily buttered 9x13 inch pan.  Let it cool to room temperature before cutting it into bite sized pieces with a sharp knife.  Wrap with parchment or wax paper.   Enjoy!


Thursday, December 9

Another Train Case


This one is for Henry.  For Christmas.  I'm still trying to figure out what to put in it.  Any suggestions?

  





If you'd like to make one for someone special on your list, check out this tutorial!

Sunday, December 5

From Me, To You


Lately, I've been playing around with Christmas trees as a design element in my holiday sewing projects.  I thought you might like to have some fun with trees, too!  So, in the spirit of the season, I've made my tree templates available to download.  


Lucy's Christmas School Shirt

Tea Towels

P.S.  This is my first time to make a PDF, so it's kind of an experiment.  Please let me know if you have problems downloading or printing the pattern.



Friday, December 3

Amish Ginger Cookies

image from www.christmas-cookies.com

Looking for a new stand-by cookie recipe, perfect for the holidays?  Mom, the ginger lover that she is, said this recipe she found online is going to replace her ginger crinkle recipe she's used for as long as I can remember.  So, they must be good!  I think I'm going to make these for teacher gifts this year.