Celebrate, Celebrate, Celebrate > Be Mine, Valentine!

Love is in the air! Well "something" is in the air over here.  Love at my house must smell like bacon and boy feet...

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I've started thinking about the dreaded "school Valentines" dilemma. I love a holiday that revolves around the color red and any excuse to eat candy (oh yea, yea, and love), but picking out school Valentines is like a supreme court deliberation. Oh. The. Pressure.

I usually trudge around store to store, hunting around for the best deal for 90 Valentines (Yes, I said 90!) , and looking for a Valentine that does not violate the "boy code" of Valentine giving. There is a detailed list of criteria for school Valentines for boys that rivals NASA's liftoff check list:

• There can be no mention of "love" or "kisses" or "hugs", because that is so "ewwwww!" and you will be witness to a full fledged freak out of, "This one says love! I can't say love to my friend Cameron!  Moooom!"
• There can be no "girl" stuff on them.
• No pencils or erasers, or anything else that doesn't involve a piece of candy.
• Has to have some kind of candy directly attached - and it has to be the "good" kind of candy.  No peppermints, sweeties or tootsie rolls. No recycling of the dredges of your Halloween candy (darn)!!
• It has to incorporate something "cool" or "funny" like fire, superheros, crossbones, four wheelers, ninjas, burps, or any other things that would impress a 7- 11 year old boy, and maybe one or two girls.

Why don't I let them pick out their own, you ask? I tried that once and lets just say, that we would probably still be standing in the Valentine aisle from last year, and someone left the store in tears - it wasn't the kids.

So I got ahead of the school Valentines game and made some great valentines that everyone will love, including your picky kids:

TA DA!

What? You can't see them?! Oh, that's right, that's because my computer is a hunk of junk and won't read the disk that have these awesomely cool Valentines pictures on them. ARHGGG! So while I curse at my laptop and try to repost them, here are some great ideas other fabulous gals came up with:

Plumadorable  (Free printable!)

Fiskars

Fiskars

Zakka Life (Free printable)

Check back later for pictures of my ideas - or pictures of my computer in the garbage, whichever comes first.

~Angela

I Need Minions > Get Out Of My House Continued

I bet you're wondering who's Fred and what does that have to do with getting things out of my house?  Maybe I want Fred out of my house!  No, not really.  






I've been on a "GO" roll.  Things I've "GOed" out of my house:

• Cranberries 
• Candy Canes
• Pumpkin - Had big dreams of using this at Christmas - but as usual my "I Want To Do" list was bigger than the actual number of hours in the day.  Anybody else have that problem?

Now for the results:
*Cranberries:  I made Pioneer Woman's wonderful Pork Loin with homemade cranberry sauce.  First time I've ever cooked cranberries myself. Yup, that's right I'm a cranberry cooking virgin!  I blame that on my Mama because she always makes cranberries and gives me some of hers.
*Candy Canes:  Like everyone else in America I made heart suckers.
*Pumpkin:  I made dog treats for all my kids' dogs.

Fred

Everyone (except us) has dogs (all are rescued dogs.)  I wanted to make dog treats for Christmas but I ran out of time so those dog treats are now Valentine Treats.  These treats were made with pumpkin because it supposedly is good for a dog's digestion, and rice flour because some dogs are allergic to wheat.  Okay, that is someone else's blog saying that - not me.  These dogs come over to my house, eat stuff off the floor and sometimes I look outside and one of them will be eating something that they have found.  I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what that something might be.  I do want to be a good Grandma to these dogs so I made them healthy treats.  

Cleo’s Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons dry milk
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups brown rice flour 
1 teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs and pumpkin to smooth. Stir in dry milk, sea salt, and dried parsley (if using, optional). Add brown rice flour gradually, combining with spatula or hands to form a stiff, dry dough. Turn out onto lightly floured surface (can use the brown rice flour) and if dough is still rough, briefly knead and press to combine.

Roll dough between 1/4 – 1/2″ – depending on your dog’s chew preferences, ask first – and use biscuit or other shape cutter to punch shapes, gathering and re-rolling scraps as you go. Place shapes on cookie sheet, no greasing or paper necessary. If desired, press fork pattern on biscuits before baking, a quick up-and-down movement with fork, lightly pressing down halfway through dough. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully turn biscuits over, then bake additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely on rack.

Note:  I added more pumpkin so I could work in all the flour.  I also used white rice flour instead of the brown as that was what I had. The recipe came from Simmer Till Done.


I just realized that I make sugary, white flour treats for my Grandkids all the time.  Guess who got all those heart suckers?  Does that make me a bad Grandma?


-Laurie

I Need Minions > Christmas Dough

Who doesn't need some Christmas Dough?  

If you are looking for a gift this year, you can't go wrong with some cold, hard, "Christmas Dough." The extra thigh jiggles from all the calories alone are really a gift in itself, don't ya think?  But this dough is jiggle free!

I have a bunch of nieces and nephews who most of the time I can't remember how old they are so you know I really don't have any idea if they're into Hello Kitty or Transformers or whatever the new hot thing is.  Every year I give them a gift card to McDonald's or Burger King - the one size fits all gift.  This year I got this brilliant idea from all the other bloggers out there, wrapping up cookie dough in a roll, just like those New Year's Poppers.  

What? You don't think they want to bake up a batch of cookies?  Well, maybe they won't be all that excited about baking but my "Dough" is special - we're talking cold, hard, cash!  It might also be funny to watch their faces as I take their gifts out of a cooler and give it to them because you know they will be thinking, "Oh, wonderful, cookie dough.  Thank you so much. :("  


This is also a wonderful way to recycle all the paper towel rolls after you've used all the paper towels.

Cut your empty roll in half. You've heard measure twice, cut once - well I obviously didn't do that - check out that little piece I had to cut off because I don't know how to measure.   

Center roll on paper and attach roll to wrapping paper with double stick tape.

Start rolling until paper towel roll is almost covered, put another piece of double stick down and keep rolling - this will cover the ugly paper towel roll.  Put your money in and continue to roll.  Secure bottom with another piece of tape.  Scrunch ends, tie with ribbon and stick on your "Christmas Dough" label.   

Ho! Ho! Ho!
Or maybe Mo! Mo! Mo!
Ya know, as in...mo - money!

- Laurie

Frock Me Friday > Glitter and Feathers

My dining room looks like it was the scene of a fairy and angel dance off - glitter and feathers everywhere.  I'm sure Angela Glossy Flossy's house looks more like a fairy and angel rave!!  Today's Frock Me Friday was going to be all about the glitter, it still is, just a little different.  


Has anyone been watching Diane Sawyer on ABC News talking about the state of the economy?  I know that's not a very Christmasy topic but she has made a suggestion - buy each person on your gift list one gift "Made in America".  One way you can do this is to support your local handcrafters.  Etsy is a great source for "Made in America" as are your local Christmas Boutiques. You can buy jewelry, clothes, slippers, scarves and a variety of "Frock Me" items handcrafted by an artisan in America.


In the spirit of "Made in America", Angela Glossy Flossy has crafted these fantastic Angel Wing Wreaths made from recycled sheet music and will be selling them at a local boutique on Saturday.  

If you live in our area and you're out and about come out and visit with her.  There will be lots of other handcrafted items for sale like lace vests, jewelry, and Holiday arrangements.  Come out and support your local "Made in America" handcrafters!

Wherever you live, go out and support your local handcrafters this season.


-Laurie

I Need Minions > DIY Christmas Gift Calendar

Today we are showing you another great DIY Christmas gift idea that everyone will love: personalized calendars. I know you're thinking, why would I want to make someone a calendar when there are 1000's of cool calendars out there at a reasonable price?  This gift combines a cool calendar with a bit of you and your family and their "unique" style. (we all know what and who I'm talking about, right?!)


I'm not talking about just any calendar but a calendar that you personalize with those millions of pics just sitting around that no one ever sees or appreciates, the pics that you want someone to see.  Even better, if you are giving this to a loved one who lives in a different state, they will get to see what really goes on in your life.  Hmmmm, this could be either a good thing or bad thing.  

Let's get to the meat of the project.  Did you know that there are "holidays" for almost every day of the year - or maybe there is one for every day of the year.  I don't know how these were designated as holidays but there are plenty of sites out there that list them.  I searched around and I like Gone-ta-Pott because it has silly holidays like "Cuddle Up Day" or "Talk Like a Pirate Day" or "Holy Batman! Day" (sadly the last two fall on the same day, so you just have to pick one.)   The holidays listed in the pic above are: Step In A Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day,  Feast of Fabulous Wild Men Day, International Skeptics Day, and National Hat Day.  Yes, it's true, we are a silly family and I have pictures that can be used for these holidays, and so do you!


How to make your personalized calendar:
Pick calendar - I like the desk top ones with the spiral bound edge.  TJ Maxx has a selection of calendars at a reasonable price or any bookstore or Amazon has many.  Be sure to pick a calendar that they will love!  Check these out:

Start by writing everyone's birthday and anniversary on the calendar.  Find pictures for all those events, it doesn't have to be taken on their birthday or even taken recently (use some of those old pics), just put in a flattering picture of everyone.  I can't stress the word flattering enough as I have seen people given photo gifts with unflattering pictures of them or loved ones and it was not a gift they cherished.


Start to fill in the rest of the pages with pics that fit the "Holiday."  Start with the standard holidays like 4th of July, Christmas, etc, and then start reading the list of the other obscure holidays.  There is a "Hug Day", "Best Friend's Day", "Go Fishing Day", and "Chaos Never Dies Day" to name a few.  Once you get started you will see ways to work quite a few of your pics in.  Here is some inspiration:

Measure the area that is open on your calendar for each date and crop pictures that size.   I cropped photos in Photoshop Elements (PE). Open photo and set crop size.  This will open a crop box on the picture that you can move around and resize, but will still keep it the set size ratio.  Crop, save, print, cut out and paste to calendar.

I can't tell you how much people love these.  I mean really, puppy of the month in a basket is cute, but not as adorable as your grand kids in a mud puddle! After you finish up your amazing personalized gift calendars, wrap them up, and then wait for the rush of orders next Christmas, when everyone wants another one.


-Laurie  

I Need Minions > DIY Christmas Cookbook Gift

Okay, all of you amazing cooks with "secret" delicious recipes - now is the time to share the bounty with your family and friends.  A couple of years ago I made cookbooks for all my kids with all my recipes that I cooked while they were growing up, plus all the new things that I have added through the years.  This was appreciated by all - at least I think it was.  If you don't already have a cookbook for yourself this will help you out because while you're making everyone else's cookbook you can also make one for yourself.  Two gifts in one, woohoo!

This is a fairly easy project.

Supplies:
Lots of Paper and Printer Ink
Few sheets of Cardstock
All your recipes
3" 9X8 Binder - it's one of those smaller binders
2 Clear Project Files from Office Depot

I printed all my recipes out 2 to a page and cut paper in half so each recipe page is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2".  Then 3 hole punch each page to fit in binder.


Organize by category and put in binder.


Make divider sheet with tab for each category.   This one was made in Photoshop but you can make dividers in any program or you could cut scrapbook paper to the proper size and use that.

Leave the original cover or make a cute cover like the one above.

I also put 2 of these handy protectors in each cookbook so that they have a splatter free cover for easy use when they pull out a recipe.  I cut down a clear project file from Office Depot to 6" X 9" size and used my handy corner rounder to round the top right front corner.


As an extra bonus I am giving you this wonderful recipe for Pecan Tarts - I have been making these for about 30 years and they are the best tarts ever.  

PECAN TARTS

Shells:

½ c. butter                                1 tsp. almond extract

½ c. sugar                                 2 c. flour

2 egg yolks

Cream sugar & butter.  Stir in egg yolks, almond extract and flour.  Press evenly into tiny tart shells.  Bake in 400⁰ oven for 8 minutes. 

Filling:

½ c. butter                                1 c. chopped pecans

1/3 c. Karo dark corn syrup           1 c. powdered sugar

Bring butter, corn syrup and powdered sugar to boil.  Stir in pecans.  Spoon into baked shells.  Top with a pecan half.  Bake in 350⁰ oven for 5 minutes.

Note:  I don't usually top them with a pecan half before cooking.


Start printing & baking!
-Laurie