Bill and I {mostly Bill} have been pruning and trimming the trees surrounding the area around our house to get them ready for the Spring season. These beautiful white flowers in the pitcher was taken from the discarded pile of cut branches of our plum tree. They weren’t blooming yet, but I “force bloom” them to get the result that you see above. The process took 3-4 days and here are the steps on how to do it.
Pinterest is a great place to find ideas and inspirations for Valentine’s Day, here are a few that I’ve gathered together to share. You can see more on my DIY & Crafts Pinterest Board.
Neon……… wrap simple gifts using bright pink twine and hearts, KROnPRINSEESSENE.
Straws…… red heart paper straws, Borrowed Blue Wedding.
Rings…..… DIY candy rings, Sweet Lulu Blog.
Lips……..… DIY lip balm, Style Me Pretty Living.
Garlands… paper heart garlands made from pages of an old book, dottie angel.
Envelopes.. Customize envelopes with poster paint markers, Martha Stewart.
Arrows…… Made from pretzel sticks and candy hearts, Organize & Decorate Everything.
Bags……… Mini treat bags made from notebook paper, White Gunpowder.
Charms …. DIY sweetheart charms, The Purl Bee.
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posted by: Kay
Get a start on Valentine’s Day cards for special people in your life. This was a fun project for me to create and design. These cards are simple and sweet, but still express a lot of love. To make it “sweeter”, I enclosed a few chocolate kisses with each card in clear cello bags.
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To download and print Valentine’s Day cards, click HERE.
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To give sparkle to these cards, a little bit of glue and pink glitter were added.
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Another idea is to send them out in the mail dressed in red or bright pink envelopes.
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Have fun!
{print cards HERE}
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posted by: Kay
{Hannah’s gingerbread house}
Decorating gingerbread houses is a tradition the kids look forward to every year including Bill and me. It’s a day of unlimited sweets and encouraging the kids to eat as much candy as they like! But often times, they are too busy decorating to take the time to eat the sweets that are in front of them.
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All the gingerbread houses were prepared a few days before the party. Once the pieces have been glued together with icing and hardened, the houses will be strong and easy to move around without breaking apart. I think there were about 30 houses total.
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The gingerbread houses are ready to be decorated.
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Gingerbread House
Ingredients
print gingerbread house templates, Here
{makes 3 gingerbread houses}
6 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molasses
Instructions
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
2. In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Mix in eggs and molasses. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until combined.
3. Divide dough into thirds and wrap them in plastic. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
4. Heat oven to 350° .
5. On a floured work surface, roll out dough {about 1/8″ thick}. Place the templates on the dough and cut around it with a knife. Transfer to baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm {10-15 minutes}.
6. Bake 8-10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
7. Assemble the gingerbread house pieces starting with the four walls and end with the roof. Be very generous with the icing when glueing the pieces together. The icing will also help hide any rough edges and uneven pieces.
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Royal Icing
Ingredients
{makes 4 1/2 -5 cups}
2 pounds of confectioners’ sugar
4 tablespoons meringue powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ – 1 cup of water
Instructions
In bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk attachment {or the paddle attachment}, combine confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, vanilla, and ½ cup of water. With the mixer on low speed, add the remaining water as needed a little at a time until the mixture reaches the desired thickness. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, whisk for about 4-5 minutes until soft glossy peaks form.
* I made the icing for assembling the gingerbread pieces a little thicker than for decorating.
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Disposable Pastry Bags make it quick and easy to decorate and eliminate messy cleanup. Fill a disposable pastry bag with icing and tie a knot at the top. With a pair of scissors, cut a hole {1/8″-1/4″ wide} at the bottom tip of the bag. It is ready to be used.
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Decorating the Gingerbread House
Use a cardboard cake circle as the base for the gingerbread house to stand on and to move it around easily.
Sweets and more sweets!
The party!
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posted by: Kay
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These simple felt wreaths came about because of my two bare walls in the house that needed some Christmas decorations. In less than an hour I was able to make two large felt wreaths from the supplies I have on hand. The mini felt wreath is even easier to make. Hang it on the Christmas tree or attach it to a package.
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I like the idea of hanging a wreath in front of a picture frame or a bulletin board.
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Tutorial for Felt Wreaths
Supplies
• double ring wreath forms {12″ diameter}
• felt sheets, assorted colors {9″ x 12″}
• ribbons and twine
• glue gun & glue sticks
• scissors
• simple leaf templates, print Here {approximately 2 1/2″ long by 1 1/4″ in width}
for mini felt wreath
• green cloth covered stem wire 18 gauge {18 inches long}
• strong paper tube {2 1/4″ diameter} or something similar,
to use as a tool to wrap and shape the wire into a circle – mine came from an empty ribbon paper tube
Mini Felt Wreath
Choose a felt color to be wrapped around the wire frame. Cut long one-inch wide strips from the felt sheet. There should be 9 strips total. Take one felt strip and dab a pea-size hot glue near the beginning of the felt and quickly wrap the strip once around the wire frame to secure it. Once the felt strip is attached, start wrapping it around the frame. Glue down the end of the strip and repeat the steps again until the wire frame is completely covered. It will take 7-9 felt strips.
Arrange the cut leaf pieces around the frame, but do not hot glue them down until you are satisfied with how they look on the wreath..
The finished felt wreath.
Mini Felt Wreath
step 1 & 2
Take the 18″ wire and wrap it around the paper tube.
step 3
Take the circular wire shape of the tube and twist it around itself 3-4 times to secure the circular wire shape.
step 4
arrange mini leaf shapes around the wire circle and hot glue them to the wire.
step 5
Attach twine to the felt wreath.
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Have fun making these felt wreaths for Christmas.
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posted by: Kay
