Dollar Store Wreath

I love cheap, cute Christmas crafts.  It's the 4 Cs.  I bought 12 tubes of 12 ornaments each at the dollar store.  Along with 2 coat hangers and some ribbon, I turned them into 2 wreaths.  

 I turned this basket of ornaments into this...

The task was simple.  I took the ornaments out of the package and glued the tops to the ornaments, just so they would stay.  Next, I shaped my hanger into a circle, then untwisted the top.  I began threading ornaments on, one at a time, letting them bunch up until I had filled the entire circle.  I re-twisted the top and tied a bow and viola!  For around $6 and an hour or so of time, you have a wreath.  I've made 3 of them so far.  They are so simple to do as you watch TV.
 

Rolo Turtles

One of my favorite things to buy after a holiday on clearance, is a box of Turtles.  I have been seeing these Rolo Turtles all over Pinterest lately so I decided I had to make them.  I went to the Safeway to buy some of my baking supplies with my groceries and my regular checker asked me what I was up to because there was a bunch of "weird stuff" in my order.  I guess I go there a lot. :)

Rolo Turtles

Pretzels (I used the square ones)
Rolos
Pecans
Place the pretzels on a baking sheet, with space in between.  Then place a Rolo on each pretzel.

Put the pan in the oven at 350 for 4-5 minutes.  The candy will look shiny but not be melted.  Press a pecan into each Rolo.  Be careful not to push too hard and work fast.

Homemade Cocoa Mix

A few years ago, I was an avid Food Network fan.  I was on that channel all the time.  Now, Cooking Channel peaks my interest more often but still, most things on there, let's be honest, I will never make.  You get more than 5 ingredients and my eyes glaze over.  Anyway, one show that I will watch over and over again is Good Eats.  The other day, there was a Chocolate episode on and he made his own Cocoa mix.  I thought it would make great Christmas gifts so I gave it a try.

Homemade Cocoa Mix
2 1/2 cups Powdered Milk
2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Cocoa Powder
2 tsp Corn Starch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Mix thoroughly and store in an air tight container.  Will keep for up to 2 years.
To Make Cocoa, put about 3 tbsp of mix in a cup and pour boiling water over to fill the cup about half way.  Mix well and then fill the cup the rest of the way and enjoy.

My first batch, I made according to the recipe above.  The cayenne added a kick but my husband hated it.  My next batch was made without it and we both preferred it.  (A little cayenne goes a LONG way so be careful.)  I have even added the cocoa mix to my coffee and it made a great mocha.  Give this a try, you won't be sorry. 

The 12 dates of Christmas

I don't know about you but around the holidays, our schedule gets so busy and hectic that we kinda forget to enjoy it.  I was cruising Pinterest, as I do daily, and came across a post for "The 12 Dates of Christmas".  I thought it was a great idea and came up with my own list.  We will start right after Thanksgiving.

When I introduced this to my husband, he wasn't too keen on the idea but he agreed to give it a try.  We shall see how many dates we actually get through.  Most of the "dates" are things that need to be done anyway, but I usually do them alone.  I am just hoping to get some quality time together, which is what is important anyway right?

Melted Crayon Art

Been meaning to do this project for a while.  Here are my supplies:

Glue Gun & Sticks
Crayons
Carboard
Canvas
Wax Paper
Hair Dryer

Glue crayons in a row on the piece of carboard.

Set up a booth of sorts with wax paper.  The crayons will splatter so cover more area than you think you will need.

Point the Hair Dryer at the crayons as close as you can get without touching them and just let them melt until you get the desired look.

Halloween Wrap Up

Each year we have an adult Halloween party.  When we started, none of us had kids, so it made sense.  I just wanted to share with you some of the projects my sister and I did for the party.  Thanks to my Aunt Stormy for taking the pictures as my camera is out of commission for good.

My sister, Kari, carved these the very first year.  They are fake, obviously but they look really cute all lit up.

Remember the stuff I posted here and here?  This is how I put them together.  Cute bowls, foam and moss form the Dollar Tree.  They looked nice on black table covering.

 

We made these from cardboard (thanks to Uncle Sean).  Kari cut the shapes, I painted the basic color and she added the pizazz, as she always does.

 

This giant spider is one of my favorite decorations.  The pennant, I just printed from here onto yellow card stock and hung with orange yarn. I got the bloody background at Walgreens for 99 cents.

 

Kari really wanted to make her own pinata but after 2 attempts, she had to go buy one.  We were trying to do things on the cheap so she bought a yellow happy face pinata at the discount grocer, spray painted it orange and added a jack-o-lantern face.  It was a hit, literally!

 

Here are the trophies.  I got the idea here and then we ran with it.  We used chunks of wood, Dollar Tree skeletons, gold spray paint and vinyl letters.  It was actually quite hard to get them to stay how we wanted but I think they turned out great.  Here is a closer look at all the trophies.

 

This is Molly and her amazing Peacock costume that won Best Overall.

I also flexed my sewing skills a bit and made my husband, Roger's and my costumes.  Here they are:

This is Roger with my cousin Chelsey.  He was Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.  I sewed the kilt and hat.  I also made the dangle balls on his hat and socks.

And finally, here I am as Honey Boo Boo.  I took a t-shirt and bedazzled it, made the sash and the tutu.  It was a really fun costume to wear.