yummy holiday treats

The whole point of Treat Week was to show you some cute, yet super simple, ideas for holiday gifts. My friend Lindsay, my mom and I made all of these treats last Sunday when we were assembling baskets for some of our clients at work. We figured the marshmallow pops, chai latte, pistachio & cranberry bark & christmas chow would please a variety of people and would also look pretty assembled into a gift basket.

On top of all those goodies, we made reindeer cookies! Want to make your own?

Reindeer Cookie Directions

Simply bake or buy sugar cookies (we bought pre-made dough) and decorate by piping antlers using melted chocolate. Use a little chocolate to secure an M&M nose and 2 mini chocolate chip eyes. You can't go wrong with sugar cookies and the extra decorations make them very festive.

Here is my largest basket with all of the goodies assembled. I threw in some napkins, a few other store bought & homemade treats and a granite cutting board with cheese knife (we are in the flooring & granite business) and my basket was complete.

What kind of goodies do you like to receive around the holidays? Will any of the goodies from Treat Week end up in your rotation of yummy gifts this year?

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

christmas chow

This is probably my FAVORITE treat that I've shared so far for Treat Week... Christmas Chow! Yes, It is your standard and beloved Puppy Chow recipe (AKA Muddy Buddies) with a cute name spin for the holidays. This stuff is like crack. Seriously. Once you start eating it it's hard to stop. Chocolate...peanut butter...powdered sugar...yum!

Chex "Christmas Chow" Ingredients

9 cups rice chex cereal

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Measure out Chex cereal and put into large bowl. Set aside.

In microwave, melt together the chocolate chips, peanut butter & margarine until smooth and well combined (30 second increments). Stir in vanilla.

Pour chocolately peanut buttery mixture over cereal and coat well. Move Chex into a large ziplock bag. Add powdered sugar and shake until well coated and dispersed.  Spread on waxed paper to cool.

Now that your Christmas Chow is made, what are you going to put it in? I was giving this chow as a gift so I wrapped some left over Slim Fast containers I had saved with some Faux Bois wrapping paper that I've been hoarding. I also created this fun little printable! The printable is for the Avery 2.5" round labels.

Check out the original "Chex Muddy Buddies" recipe here.

Download my personalized printable here.

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

white chocolate pistachio & dried cranberry bark

So far for Treat week, I've shared my Marshmallow pops & Homemade Chai Tea Mix. Treat week continues today with another fun & festive goodie... White Chocolate Pistachio & Dried Cranberry Bark! 

This delicious recipe was one that was recommended to me by my cousin Erin. She saw it last year around the holidays and thought it was so pretty. Neither one of us got around to make it last year so it was on my list of treats to make this year. The concept & ingredients are super simple.
Ingredients: 1 lb. of white chocolate 1/2 cup shelled pistachios 1/2 cup dried cranberries How to make: Over a double boiler, melt your chocolate until it is nice and smooth. Set a side for a few minutes to cool. Once slightly cooled, mix in the pistachios & cranberries. Spread chocolate mixture onto a pan prepared with parchment paper. Smooth chocolate mixture into a thin, even layer. The recipe I saw didn't call for this but I sprinkled a few extra pistachios & cranberries onto the top of my chocolate to add more color. Allow the bark to cool for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before breaking into pieces.

Another easy & pretty holiday treat completed! Are you getting into the Christmas spirit? [p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

homemade chai mix

Treat Week continues with this sweet & spicy holiday "how to"... (if you missed yesterday's post, you can check it out here).

When the temperature drops and it begins to snow, I immediately turn to my hot tea. Chai tea to be exact. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside. I love how it smells. When I stumbled across this recipe for homemade chai tea mix, I knew I had to try it!

To package the chai tea mix for gifts I simply bought a few ball jars at Target & printed out my own homemade labels using the 2.5" round Avery kraft paper labels. They are the best. 

As the label states, you add 3 tsp of mix into a mug of water. You can also add milk (to taste). These little jars of chai mix make the perfect gift for family, friends or coworkers. Enjoy!
If you'd like to make your own chai, you can find the recipe here. If you'd like to print out some of my labels, you can download the file here.

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

marshmallow pops

I'm calling this TREAT WEEK! This is post 1 of 4 of delicious and easy holiday treats.

You know those holiday treats that look easier to make than they really are??? These are not one of those treats. These babies are super easy & fun to make - and bonus... they are adorable! 

The process is simple: Slip 2 or 3 marshmallows onto a lollipop stick. Dip 2/3 of the way into a melted crock pot of chocolate of your choice (I like dark chocolate best). Push the base of the stick into a piece of floral or craft foam so your marshmallow pops can dry upright. After about 30 seconds, sprinkle each pop with crushed candy canes. Allow to dry for about an hour before packaging. Simple, right? Enjoy! [p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

2013 holiday cards

[this post is sponsored by Tiny Prints. All opinions are my own]

So... I've spent the past 4 hours few minutes thinking about our annual Christmas card. December really snuck up on me so I need to make a decision on holiday cards... and quick!! I should have had them in the mail days ago...

Luckily, Tiny Prints has THE cutest layouts, designs & card shapes. I think I browsed through all 701 of their "holiday card" options before mocking up these 3 options below (pssst...they also have a wide variety of christmas cards, holiday party invites & gifts).

My favorite thing about Tiny Prints is that their program is so easy to use. You simply select the style you like, upload your picture(s), personalize your shape & colors and you're ready to order. They also have adorable customizable envelopes to make your cards even more fun.

Please help me select which one of these cards I should send out this year by taking the poll below. It just takes one click. After you're done voting, head on over to Tiny Prints to start customizing your own holiday cards. 

Which Christmas card is your favorite?

card #1

card #2

card #3

Poll Maker

Thanks so much for your help!

and thank you  (for having such amazing cards)

cecil

Meet Cecil.  

I love him. He has to be one of the cutest monsters I've ever made from one of Danger Craft's patterns. If you haven't checked out here Etsy site, go there now. Seriously... She has oodles of adorbale monster & toy knitting patterns. Cecil is one of the patterns she offers from her first book. The book is filled with lots of adorable creatures to create.
  
I think I'll go start another knitting project...  

"look for less" design challenge

When I was contacted to be part of a "Look for Less" design challenge with some other amazing bloggers, I jumped at the opportunity. The idea behind this challenge was to find a look I loved but was too expensive for my taste or budget, then DIY it myself for less. 

Please meet the other girls participating in the challenge: Rachel | Like a Saturday

Kylie | Absolutely Arkansas

Sarah | Life on Virginia Street

Andrea | Life Love Larson

Gracie | Kitchen Table Art

Kayla | Home Coming

My "Look for Less" project: DIY Anthropologie Tee-pee Coasters

When I stumbled across these adorable linen coasters on the Anthropologie website, I was immediately smitten. I am a firm believer that you can never have too many coasters around. Even though I do shop at Anthropologie for unique home decor items, I couldn't justify spending money on something I knew I could make. My coasters turned out to be free since I had all of the materials on hand from other projects. If you were to buy the linen & embroidery thread to complete this project you'd probably spend around $5.00 - $7.00.
... what you'll need to make your own ...

(list below makes 4 coasters)

8 - 5"x5" pieces of linen 4 - 5"x5" pieces of fusible white felt brown embroidery thread sewing machine/thread pencil needle ruler
... instructions ...
STEP [1] Cut out 8 - 5"x5" linen pieces (2 pieces per coaster). With a pencil & ruler, doodle your tee-pee design on your linen. I didn't worry about making each tee-pee identical. 

STEP [2] Cut out 4 - 5"x5" pieces of fusible felt (1 piece for each coaster). Iron the felt to the back of the 4 pieces of linen that have tee-pees drawn on them. The felt will help stabilize your stitching and give your coasters some loft.

STEP [3] With your needle & embroidery thread, begin stitching the outline of the tee-pee. Once the outline is complete, fill in the center of the tee-pee with diagonal stitches across the design.
STEP [4] With the extra 4 pieces of linen, sew the right sides of your coasters together (your felt should be facing out) leaving a small space to turn your coaster right side out. Press flat & top stitch about 1/8" in around the entire coaster to close the space used to turn your coaster. Ta-da! You've completed your first coaster. Repeat all steps for the remaining 3 coasters.

Click on the images below to check out all of the other amazing "Look for Less" projects completed during this design challenge:

 

 

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]

fall party decor

My cousin got married a few weekends ago and my aunt put on one of the best rehearsal dinners I have ever been to. It was so well thought out and perfectly decorated. I thought I'd share some of these handmade decorations since they would work for more than just a rehearsal dinner. They could be the perfect decoration for your fall table, Thanksgiving dinner place settings and much more. Enjoy :)

[p.s. this post may be linked to any number of these blogs]