Happy Advent Love.

I know some of you already heard about this, but it's a must to repeat.

One day Tia was telling me about a family she knew who were new to town & it was around the Christmas holiday. They heard a knock at their door & opened it to find a basket of 24 goodies, all wrapped & numbered. An advent basket!  Each night, before Christmas, they opened the numbered present that corresponded to that day. What a special gift!

Did you see my happy advent basket from Tia? She gave it to me before we moved. Our road trip adventure began on December 1st. So, I got to start opening prezzies in the car along the way. It has been SO fun opening up a wrapped suprise every day. (Once I opened 2 in one day. *gasp* I couldn't contain myself.)

I do believe we're going to keep this tradition alive & do one for each other every year.

If you plan on doing one for next year, I say: shop early! It's fun to start getting items gathered throughout the WHOLE year. Sometimes cool little doo-dads pop up unexpectedly when you're out shopping. Or, how about MAKIN' STUFF too! (You'll need to buy/make 24 items.)

It's an especially fun thing to do for a faraway friend. I can attest to that.

My goody basket has been packed with: a blanket, a bookmark, mulling spices, an iTunes gift card (to use with my new iPhone. Wheee!), holiday paper plate/napkin/cup set, body wash, picture frame fridge magnets with our silly faces already attached inside (one of my faves!), cupcake fridge magnetic notepad & recipe cards, a book, a small set of yummy lotions, holiday notecards...You get the idea.

♥

Personalized Pillow

I started organizing my scary basement-slash-dungeon yesterday: cleaning with one hand & bug spray ready in the other hand. I am actually finding many cool things! (While squealing at every spider I see. EEEEEEK!) I thought one item I found was worthy of a crafty mention: This pillow, which became a sofa accessory about 10 years ago as a gift to the hubby. (Somehow in the move last year it ended up in the basement.)
I bought an inexpensive cream colored pillow (but you could make one too!) & a black fabric paint pen marker. And then I went to town writing out the lyrics to a song played at my wedding.
Simple. As. That.
Doodle.

Draw.

Spell your name.

Trace a handprint.

Graffiti anyone?

Write a poem.

Sketch a portrait.

Or a scene.

Have all the grandkids make designs & give it to the grandparents.

A housewarming gift.

Slumber party fun.

Buy 9 pillows & make a tic-tac-toe game out of it!

Spell out a word: one letter per pillow.

The possibilities are really endless!

In fact, I think I'll revisit this craft & have my girls get into the action.

Apricot Scone Mix

Enjoy this foodie craft tutorial!


I've received these jar mixes as gifts on a few occasions & I think they are super cool. I've never made one--until now! I'll be making this craft with my MOPS group (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) in the coming months. But, Fall is approaching & I thought that it would be a great way to welcome that lovely season that I call "favorite". And this morning when I woke up to a breezy & grey outdoors, I thought it was the perfect time to grab my jar of scone mix & bake up some warm breakfast treats for the girls & I.

INGREDIENTS:

-2 CUPS all-purpose unbleached flour

-1/2 CUP vanilla sugar** (I just used regular sugar.)

-1/4 CUP nonfat dry milk powder

-2 tsp baking powder

-1 tsp dried lemon peel

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/3 CUP shortening

-1 CUP dried apricots (or blueberries, cranberries, etc.)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stir together flour, sugar, milk, baking powder, lemon peel & salt. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Layer the dried ingredients & the apricots (or other dried fruit) into one-quart canning jar, tapping gently on counter between layers to settle before adding the next. (I just plopped my dry ingredients on the bottom & the fruit on top.) Stores at room temperature for up to six weeks, or freeze for up to six months.

**To make vanilla sugar, fill one-quart jar with sugar. Split vanilla bean in half lengthwise & add both halves to sugar. Flavor gets better after a couple of weeks, & it will keep as long as regular sugar.

I attached a circle piece of vintage fabric to the top of my jar with a rubber band. Then, to hide the band, I looped a piece of twine a few times around the top.

Print out the instructions for baking onto a gift tag. Attach it to the jar & you're done! It's ready for keeping OR gifting!

Now, to MAKE these goodies, simply dump the whole jar of stuff into a bowl...

..& add 1/4 CUP of water & 1 beaten egg.

Stir until just moistened. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface... ...& quickly knead for 12-15 strokes or until nearly smooth.
Pat to 1/2" thickness.

Cut into desired shape & place 1" apart on an ungreased baking sheet.

Brush with milk. Bake at 400 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Transfer to a rack to cool slightly & serve warm.

I brushed my slice with butter & quickly consumed.

I got the idea from the June 2008 issue of Crafts 'n things. Recipe courtesy of Recipe Goldmine.

For other jar mixes, visit:

-The Recipe Link

-Heart4home.net

-All Free Crafts

Nifty Idea

I have been collecting these mini-sized cereal boxes for a while because, besides being used for other funky & fun things, I think they would make super cute packaging for a fun little giftie. And yesterday-wouldn't ya know it!-I saw that one of my most favorite crafty people EVERS had a pic of the exact same thing on flickr. HAHA! So, I thought this would be as good a time as any to show you this nifty idea.


It's pretty self-explanatory. Just eat the cereal first before you fill it with goodies to give. Or not.





I've put together a gift for my MOPS (Mothers Of PreSchoolers) swap partner this month. The theme of the swap was "My Favorite Color". And green is my partner's favorite color so she's gettin' green stuff. And it's all so random. I only wish I had time to make it more cohesive. The notebook, round paper lantern, garden gloves & hot pad were dollar items from Joanne's, Target & The Dollar Store. I embellished the hot pad with a pear cut out of fabric ( using my favorite iron-on fusible stuff) & I also made her a ribbon & vintage button bookmark.

The wrapping totally made up for any weirdness I was feeling about how random the items inside are. And it helped me get over the fact that the box used to house crunchy corn dogs in my freezer. This polka dot wrap was clearance Martha Stewart. I LOVE it! Some of the brown polka dots are even FUZZY! I can't stop petting the fuzzy dots. They're so cute! And the crazy bright greenish-yellow ribbon is actually just a torn strip of fabric. I can't wait to get my goodies tomorrow! Guess what color they'll be?

And speaking of green things....For lunch I munched on a peanut butter & sweet pickle sandwich. Dee-lish.

Tomorrow I'll have to fill you in on how the ladies at my MOPS group enjoyed the candle craft I've got set up for them to make. I'll try & take pics. But, I may be too busy leisurely flipping through magazines while getting a massage....or dipping my hand in scented paraffin wax to bother taking photos......I can't wait for all the pampering at Spa-Day!