Christmas Hybrid Project

Wow! Where has December gone?! I have been super busy getting ready for the Harding Family Christmas.....which is today. LOL, yikes! If you've seen anything in the news lately about the blizzard we have been getting her in the Northwest, it really is THAT bad. It's been a great time to get thrifty and crafty. I decided to make my own Christmas treats for friends and family this year. I am 27 after all and attaching my name to the treats my parents make for their friends and family makes me feel like a little kid. So, here is the projects that I made and you can to with a single stop to your local Wal-Mart.

Dipped Candy cans & Hot Cocoa

You'll need:
candy canes, Wilton's Candy Melts (WCM), Box of Cocoa packets, Plastic Baggies, parchment paper, a stapler, computer and printer.

Lay out a large pice of parchment paper. Follow the directions on the WCM package, undo the wrapper on the candy canes halfway exposing the bent part of the can which you will dip in the melted candy by holding the wrapper covered end of the candy can. This allows for the candy cane to not get sticky from the warmth of your hand. Place the candy cane gently on the parchment paper and add sprinkles. Make sure to lightly press down on the sprinkles so as to adhere them to the candy cane. Repeat this process until you have the desired amount.....our you run out of supplies:) I allowed mine to dry for an hour.

While I waited I used photoshop and created Tags using a digital scrapbooking kit from Ellie Lash titled, "Countdown to Christmas." Scroll through the blog and you will see a calender with FREE downloads. Ellie and her CT are great and make the BEST kits ever! I printed the tags, assembled the treats and wahla! Here it is! Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.

Leafy Luminaria

By Excerpted from Christmas Customs: Hearth and Home (by the editors of Creative Publishing). Among the most beautiful sights of the Christmas season are streets and pathways lined with glowing luminaries.

This tradition dates back to 17th-century Spain, when townspeople lit bonfires along the town paths, symbolically lighting the way to Bethlehem for Mary and Joseph. The tradition spread to Mexico and later to the American Southwest, where parades of worshipers walked fire lit pathways to church on Christmas Eve. Eventually candles in weighted paper bags took the place of open fires, an idea that may have been inspired by traditional paper Chinese lanterns. In northern climates, luminaries are often fashioned by placing candles in blocks of ice or hollowed-out snowbanks, heightening the candles' glow. Many centuries after that first journey to Bethlehem, rows of flickering lights guide visitors all over the world and welcome them to holiday celebrations and worship services.

I've been doing some fun research for "green" holiday decorating ideas. I came across iced Luminaries and absolutely fell in love with it! The lovely Leafy Luminaries video can be found Here! Better.TV has great decorating, inexpensive holiday ideas (some are "green" and some are not). Enjoy the link to the video! Only two more weeks until Christmas!!!!

Christmas Tiles or Tiles Year-round

Part of my creativity sometimes stems from some other place other than my own brain. Here is a great example of that. I purchased these really great kits by Tilano Fresco (find it Here) to make picture tiles and figured that I could open the kit and find a way to make something very similar on the cheap. I have yet to do anything with the kits. Well, while I was cruising the blog network I found a similar project that CAN be done for far less money. Ellie's Angels CT Blog has a post dated on Dec. 6th that shows you (step-by-step) just how easy the tiles are to make with a few simple tools. Think glue, paint brush, a tile, paper, pictures and a computer. Could be WAAAAAAAAAAYYYY fun project to have the kids help with. Reminder: just watch out for sticky glue hands when they wanna give you a hug.....trust me:)

Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving was great this year! We had the best food with the least amount of stress. I decided to cook sweet potatoes. I was a little nervous because I have NEVER cooked them before. We has a couple of finicky eaters in our family and I don't mean just the kids! LMBO! I found a great recipe in the Good Housekeeping (GH) Nov. 2008 issue. Maple-Cranberry Sweet Potatoes. I combined a recipe I saw Emeril a few days before that looked much like a cranberry salsa without the kick. What resulted was a not too sweet best food of our Thanksgiving! Even the little kids liked it.

Here is the recipe as found in GH (my added ingredients are in red):

Here is what I did to save some time on the day of Thanksgiving. You can prepare the sweet potatoes (even arrange them in a casserole) and syrup up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate separately. Allow both to come to room temperature before baking. I chose to bake the potatoes with the 1 1/2 jars of Jet Puffed Marshmallow cream topping in the oven for about 20 mins to brown the puff. Top potatoes with hot syrup (or salsa mixture), and pop in the oven when the turkey comes out. Select sweet potatoes of the same size so they cook evenly.

4lbs. of sweet potatoes, peeled

salt

1 c. (I used 1 1/2 c.) pure maple syrup (I didn't have this so I substituted reg. pancake syrup)

1 1/2 c. cranberries (1/2 of a 12 oz. bag)

Salsa mixture: 2 diced apples, 2 diced pears, 1 diced orange with skin on, juice of one lemon

3 Tbsp. butter (no subs. but I didn't use butter at all:)

1 1/2 jars of Jet Puffed Marshmallow cream topping is optional

1. In covered 6-quart saucepan, heat whole sweet potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, about 30 minutes or just until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat maple syrup to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium, and boil gently 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 cup. Add 2 diced apples, 2 diced pears, 1 orange diced with skin on, juice of one lemon cook for 10 mins. Stir in cranberries, butter(I didn't use butter), and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook just until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes longer.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cooled sweet potatoes crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices and arrange in shallow 3-quart ceramic or glass baking dish, overlapping slices if necessary. Spoon maple-cranberry syrup evenly over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until hot.

To make Ginger-Almond Sweet Potatoes: Prepare sweet potatoes as above in step 1. In step 2, instead of maple-cranberry syrup, prepare ginger syrup: In 1-quart saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon margarine or butter on medium. Add 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring. Stir in 1/2 cup apricot preserves, 1/4 cup orange juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt; heat to boiling, stirring. Complete recipe as in steps 3 and 4, spooning ginger syrup over potatoes and sprinkling with 1/2 cup toasted sliced natural (with brown skin still on) almonds before baking.

Each serving is About 230 calories, 4 g protein, 45 g carbohydrate, 4 g total fat (1 g saturated), 5 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 210 mg sodium.

To make Butterscotch-Spice Sweet Potatoes: Prepare sweet potatoes as above in step 1. In step 2, instead of maple-cranberry syrup, prepare butterscotch-spice syrup: In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter (no substitutions), 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) to boiling, stirring until smooth; remove from heat. Complete recipe as in steps 3 and 4, spooning butterscotch-spice syrup over potatoes before baking.

Each serving: About 210 calories, 2 g protein, 43 g carbohydrate, 4 g total fat (2 g saturated), 4 g fiber, 10 mg cholesterol, 175 mg sodium.

Christmas Gifts On the Fly

I used to be prepared for the Christmas season. I would have ALL of my shopping done before Thanksgiving and I marveled in that fact. Well, with the economy taking its toll on my personal life, I decided to become a wise shopper and a wise gift giver. Over the past 6 months or so I would shop with Christmas in mind. "Put your talents to use Heather! For crying out loud, can't you think of things to create for people? Just keep looking, just keep looking.....ah ha! That will be perfect as __________ (fill in the blank)." I found myself in this internal dialogue about how to re-craft items I would see on clearance racks or on shelves at the local Goodwill/Salvation Army/Value Village. So, with that in mind this years gifts should be a ton of fun! Not just for me to make but also for friends and family to receive.

Perhaps the best gift to give at Christmas is the gift that keeps on giving (literally year after year as something new). You don't have to look far or deep to discover what something can be transformed into. Here are some examples of quick gift ideas for this holiday season.

1. Scan the clearance racks at your local Target/K-Mart/Sears and look for a basic, solid white shirt of some kind. Preferably not ribbed. While you are at the store buy some iron on transfer printer paper. Usually you can get this type of item under $10. Next go to any kind of fabric store and gather some "end of bolt" fabrics that the gift receiver may enjoy. If you have a sewing machine don't forget the thread to accent with. Try metallic thread! If you don't have a sewing machine but have an iron, purchase some bonding fabric/fusible web. These are permanent which means the shirt could be washed. To add more dimension to your one-of-a-kind shirt use your computer (Adobe photoshop) to make a graphic that can be ironed on as well. Bottom line.....have fun and once you have purchased the basics you'll be able to make 4 or 5 shirts for great Christmas gifts! Here's an example.
   
   
2. If you are fortunate enough to live in a city that has a Habitat for Humanity surplus store, this can be one of your greatest resources for finding reusable products. I'm sure you have seen them around, cupboard door chalkboards. The benefit of getting the doors at the H4H store is that the doors are inexpensive ($5 at the most!) and they usually come with pre-drilled holes where the door hing mechanism is supposed to go. Automatic wall hanging already done for you! How cool is that, no hammer or nails needed?! There is usually a great abundance of odd shaped and conventional shaped doors with great detailing. The next supply you'll need is chalkboard paint, a paint roller/pan, painters tape and 3 days to let the paint dry. It's that simple. The most expensive item will be the chalkboard paint. But again, once you have purchased the paint you'll be able to do more chalkboards. Another use for cupboard doors is to transform them into signage. Below, I use my Cricut Expression machine to cut out the letters that make up the alphabet. And a bag of buttons from JoAnn's to accent. Fun right?!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first post on Reused. Keep coming back for more fun, creative ways to save a little money and to learn how to give something of yourself.