Handmade For The Holidays

Archive for Handmade for the Holidays

Handmade for the Holidays {yarn wreaths}

December 21st, 2011

Hi friends! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays. We have a very sick little boy. Noah was diagnosed with strep throat on Monday morning and he just doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I took him back to the doctor last night. They gave him pain medication just so he could drink water. I’m so sad for him, especially since he had to miss school this week. (such a fun week for all students.)

So, I’m late with my Handmade posts but better late than never.

This particular post isn’t necessarily a tutorial but more a resource for those of you who are good with a glue gun and not so much the sewing machine. (like me!)

Last weekend, my girlfriends and I had our annual handmade gift exchange. I decided to make them all yarn wreaths. They were pretty fun to make (sometimes tedious) but definitely easy. Also, the sky is the limit with what you can do with these!

wreaths

Here is a simple tip for you. The thicker the yarn, the quicker the wrapping process goes.

Aren’t these cute? So simple, cheap and very trendy right now!

Here’s a great post on how to make these. (and felt flowers, too!)

If you’re wondering how to make fabric flowers, here is a great tutorial!

And yet another post on making cute felt flowers.

And you can even make yarn Christmas trees! (I have the supplies for this in a bag in my garage the only thing I’m missing is time to make it. Perhaps there’s some in the bag?!)

Back to the wreaths, you can hang them using basically anything. I love to collect interesting fabrics, so I went to my stash and cut a 12 x 1.5 inch piece. I wanted to make it shabby (to hide my uneven cutting skills) so I just began pulling the threads from one end down to achieve the purposefully messy look. I love the purposefully messy look.

So tell me, which wreath is your favorite?

See some of my previous (EASY) Handmade for the Holiday posts:

Peppermint Bark
Ritzy Peanut Butter Cookies
Homemade Thin Mints
Ridiculously Easy and Delicous Truffles

December 17th, 2011

Hi friends! This is a repost from last year, in case you missed it or perhaps you forgot or you were hoping to crave chocolate today! I will have two NEW Homemade for the Holidays posts this week, one for chocolate chip pie and another for an easy and cute craft. So, check back!

I know quite a few people who do not like to bake, who say they don’t know how or who are just too busy to do so. So, I’ve decided to share one of my favorite recipes that is so easy, I guarantee ANYONE can do it. The best part? It’s a great gift…I promise it is.

Also? You need not turn on your oven.

First…take two cookie sheets and put them in the REFRIGERATOR. Don’t forget this step, it’s of upmost importance.

Do you have a double boiler? ( if you do not have one, that’s okay, I went without for YEARS and just used a regular saucepan with boiling water in it and a heat-safe bowl on top. It gets super hot, so be careful.

This is what a double boiler looks like:

You’ll also need the following:

what you need

Specifically, you’ll need-

16 oz (2 boxes) of Semi-sweet bakers chocolate
Peppermint extract (NOT mint, okay?)
2 sleeves of ritz crackers
some holiday sprinkles, of course!

Friends, what we are basically making is a nice little replica of thin mints…it’s not exact but they are very good. (some people say they are better, but I disagree and I am an expert.)

A cookie. Made with Ritz crackers. Can you believe it?

ritzy'

Begin boiling your water.

Cut up your chocolate, I cut each half in half

Once your water is boiling and your ingredients are ready (I believe in totally prepping before beginning the baking/cooking process, you should, too.) add your bowl or top saucepan to the boiling pan of water. I turn the heat down to medium.

Add the chocolate, stirring often. Once the chocolate is completely melted, add 1/2 tsp of peppermint (NOT MINT) extract. Stir thoroughly.

Use a fork to dip the crackers into the chocolate, scraping the bottom of the fork against the rim of the pan/bowl.

I also try to keep the flat side of the crackers as the top of the cookie but that’s just me, I prefer the way it looks.

Place on cookie sheet. If you do not put your cookie sheets in the refrigerator, your chocolate will pool up and your cookies won’t look as pretty, so keep em’ cold. If you do not use wax paper, your chocolate will adhere to the cookie sheet and you will not be able to get them off of the sheet without breaking them. I know this because I’ve done this. This is also known as FAILURE.

You should stir your mixture up nicely after every sixth cookie or so. K?

If you have a broken Ritz, do not use it, just cover it with Cheese Whiz and pop it in your mouth. The last thing you want are crumbs in your chocolate mixture.

ready for cold

I do not decorate all of the cookies because some people prefer non-decorated cookies but if you do decorate them, this is the time to do it, while the chocolate is still nice and melty.

Have your sprinkles ready. That’s important.

cookie decor

Once you have filled up the cookie sheet, place back in refrigerator. Take out other sheet and fill up that bad boy with more of the ritzy, chocolate, peppermint (NOT MINT) goodness.

Once the chocolate is all used up…you’re done. That’s it. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Remove and place in muffin papers and place in cookie tins. I was able to fill up six muffins liners, five cookies high and then filled up the other side of the cookie tin with Dove chocolate.

Who wouldn’t love this gift?

tin of yum

*if you use mint extract and not peppermint extract, your cookies will taste like toothpaste and that is disgusting.*

Ritzy Peanut Butter Cookies

December 20th, 2010

Here it is, another super-easy Holiday recipe for you!

Anna and I whipped these together this morning. From start to finish, these took about one hour and I can not stop eating them. But since they’re so easy, I will be making more.

They are so good.

This is what you need:

Grab a butter knife and make peanut butter sandwiches. I’m not going to lie, this really is so simple, uses just a few ingredients and there’s no need to turn on the oven but it can be pretty tedious.

Fortunately, I have a lovely helper, who was willing to take a break from playing Barbies to come and help her Mama.

She attempted the sandwiches, but we figured out the best way to do it was for me to spread the peanut butter on the bottom cracker and she would place the cracker on top.

Make sure you keep the flat side of the crackers facing out. (hint: the more peanut butter you use, the tastier the cookie.)

(duh)

In the meantime, take the almond bark and cut it up into pieces.

You want to melt the almond bark. I use a double boiler because I like the consistency and the consistency. (does that make sense?) You can microwave the bark, just be sure to take it out often to stir while melting, do not overcook and about halfway through dipping the sandwiches, you’ll want to place back in the microwave to keep it from becoming to thick and cold.

Brian helped take a few photos. He took one of Anna and I. (yes, her apron is an Anthropologie towel clipped to an ugly-ish apron using binder clips. So what?)

Once the bark is nice and melted, you’ll want to dip the sandwiches completely and place on a cooled cookie sheet. I definitely recommend placing the cookies on wax paper. Just trust me, it will make your life easier.

I recently purchased a candy dipping tool set by Wilton. I bought it at Micheal’s, it cost less than $10 and let me tell you, it made this process much easier.

However, for years I’ve used forks and spoons and it works just fine. So, you need not be fancy. (see binder clips.)

Once you’re done dipping, place the tray in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (feel free to decorate with sprinkles, etc, I prefer leaving these clean and simple. Feels super festive to me on a super cute plate.)

And then you’re done.

One pack of almond bark should cover about 50 sandwiches.

And then you’ll eat one and then you’ll agree with me that these are incredibly delightful.

I store these cookies in the refrigerator. I have no idea how long you should store them because they never last more than 8 minutes in my house.

I’m off to make another batch.

Enjoy, friends!

(Santa plate is from this Etsy shop, I could NOT be happier with this purchase and it’s not the only thing I bought, but the other item is a secret, but it’s equally awesome.)

Handmade & stuff

December 18th, 2010

Can you believe I’m posting on a Saturday?! Neither can I.

It’s not that I don’t like posting on Saturdays, it’s just that I never seem to have time. And not that I have time right now but I wanted to share a few things with you that I think are very important and it should not surprise you this important stuff has to do with food.

Below, I have reposted one of my most popular posts from last year. Remember my Handmade for the Holiday series? Really tasty food that is unbelievably simple to make? Well, see below for the repost and then early next week I will be sharing a NEW recipe. So, if you run to the grocery store this weekend, please pick up these THREE, yes, just three items. I’m all about preparing you.

Ritz crackers

Peanut butter

Almond bark

Do as I say and also as I do. You’ll be glad you did. (I promise.)

Also, Megan asked me to post the photo of my kids visiting Santa in color, I just can’t resist her, so I’m doing just that.

santa-in-color

Remember, I don’t use flash, I really cranked up my ISO for this shot. (ISO 3200)

A few other questions answered:

Anna’s boots are from Target. That Santa is at Bass Pro Shops. We take our kids there every year, not only is it free and they give you a free printed awesome photo, but you’re allowed to take pictures! And the staff is amazing and the Santa is perfect and there’s even a fake reindeer that looks really, really real. Like too real. Like maybe it’s real and I just put my kids’ lives in danger real.

Yes, I signed up for the discounts at Justice.

Now onto the recipe that you must try.

Also? You need not turn on your oven.

First…take two cookie sheets and put them in the REFRIGERATOR. Don’t forget this step, it’s of upmost importance.

This is what a double boiler looks like:

You’ll also need the following:

what you need

Specifically, you’ll need-

16 oz (2 boxes) of Semi-sweet bakers chocolate
Peppermint extract (NOT mint, okay?)
2 sleeves of ritz crackers
some holiday sprinkles, of course!

Friends, what we are basically making is a nice little replica of thin mints…it’s not exact but they are very good. (some people say they are better, but I disagree and I am an expert.)

A cookie. Made with Ritz crackers. Can you believe it?

ritzy'

Begin boiling your water.

Cut up your chocolate, I cut each half in half

Add the chocolate, stirring often. Once the chocolate is completely melted, add 1/2 tsp of peppermint (NOT MINT) extract. Stir thoroughly.

Retrieve one of the two cookies sheets out of the refrigerator and line with a single layer of wax paper. Dip a cracker into the melted chocolate covering just enough of the cracker that your fingers do not get burned, then use a utensil to dip the undipped side. I use the Pampered Chef skinny scraper, but you can use anything, really.

I also try to keep the flat side of the crackers as the top of the cookie but that’s just me, I prefer the way it looks.

Tap off excess chocolate (do not touch the chocolate with your fingers, you’ll burn your skin off) and place on cookie sheet. If you do not put your cookie sheets in the refrigerator, your chocolate will pool up and your cookies won’t look as pretty, so keep em’ cold. If you do not use wax paper, your chocolate will adhere to the cookie sheet and you will not be able to get them off of the sheet without breaking them. I know this because I’ve done this. This is also known as FAILURE.

You should stir your mixture up nicely after every sixth cookie or so. K?

If you have a broken Ritz, do not use it, just cover it with Cheese Whiz and pop it in your mouth. The last thing you want are crumbs in your chocolate mixture.

ready for cold

I do not decorate all of the cookies because some people prefer non-decorated cookies but if you do decorate them, this is the time to do it, while the chocolate is still nice and melty. (yes, that’s an official term)

Have your sprinkles ready. That’s important.

cookie decor

Once you have filled up the cookie sheet, place back in refrigerator. Take out other sheet and fill up that bad boy with more of the ritzy, chocolate, peppermint (NOT MINT) goodness.

Once the chocolate is all used up…you’re done. That’s it. Place the cookies in the refrigerator for approximately 30-45 minutes.

Remove and place in muffin papers and place in cookie tins. I was able to fill up six muffins liners, five cookies high and then filled up the other side of the cookie tin with Dove chocolate.

Who wouldn’t love this gift?

tin of yum

*if you use mint extract and not peppermint extract, your cookies will taste like toothpaste and that is disgusting.*

*trust me.*

Handmade for the Holidays – so easy. Promise.

December 15th, 2009

Today we are going to make peppermint bark which pretty much tastes like heaven…in a tin. And what makes this recipe even more heavenly is that it’s so simple.

I’m serious, just try it, you’ll see.

This makes a great gift for a neighbor or perhaps a postal worker! You will need a double boiler for this. Remember, if you do not have a double boiler, you can just put a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water. But be careful, this is hot stuff!

What you’ll need:

peppermint bark

2 lbs of white chocolate baking chocolate (OH YEAH, BABY.)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
12 large candy canes

Before you do anything, start to boil that water and then take out a large cookie sheet (one with sides) and cover with wax paper. Then unwrap the white chocolate and the candy canes, this is by far the most difficult part of the recipe. (which says A LOT.)

white chocolate

Cut up the white chocolate into 1/2 inch squares, this make the melting process go faster.

Chop up your candy canes. Now, the size depends on your preference. Some people prefer larger pieces, others prefer smaller. I prefer smaller. I put all of the candy canes into a 1 gallon zip lock bag before crushing which keeps candy canes from flying all over the kitchen.

Add your white chocolate to the top part of the boiler, once the water is boiling, and begin stirring. Once smooth, add a 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract and stir thoroughly.

Then add your crushed candy canes.

pouring

Stir, stir, stir and then pour directly onto the wax paper covered cookie sheet. But WAIT, before you pour, grab a towel and carefully (it’s hot, man!) wipe off the bottom of the pot or metal pan to avoid water dripping into your recipe.

Spread evenly.

pour

Chill for about thirty minutes. Take out of freezer and break apart, placing the beautiful pieces into a cookie tin, on a plate or directly into your mouth.

mmmmm……

finished

Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one week.

ENJOY!

Archive for Handmade for the Holidays

Handmade for the Holidays {yarn wreaths}

Handmade for the Holidays

Ritzy Peanut Butter Cookies

Handmade & stuff

Handmade for the Holidays – so easy. Promise.

Geek Speak