Snowman Decoration

We’re taking inspiration from our “Snowmen Tobogganing” card this week and we are making a homemade snowman decoration to adorn your house this season.

You just need some basic supplies, some of which you may already have in your house and if you don’t, they can be very inexpensive to pick up. We went to the dollar store and found a few things that we needed.

You’ll need two-three Styrofoam balls (one bigger than the other if you’re using two or three different sized ones if you’re using more), white glue and something to apply it with, thick decorative ribbon for a scarf, a bread knife, assorted buttons, toothpicks, shredded snow, a glue gun, felt for a hat, and some popsicle sticks.   

Prep your work space because this could be a messy craft. We laid out some newspaper over our table and then we also got out a paper plate and placed all of our snow on that.

Our snowman is going to be a two baller so first of all, cut what’s to be the bottom of the smaller (head) ball and then the top of the (body) so that they can lay flat when connected together.

Now apply the white glue to both balls and roll in the shredded snow. Let it dry and allow the glue to harden.

Next use the glue gun to glue the top and bottom together.

Glue gun on buttons down the center and buttons for the eyes and mouth.

For the nose we have taken some orange cardstock and cut it into a triangle and glued it on.

Glue a cut in half popsicle stick on both sides as the arms.

Now it’s time for the hat. We’re using some felt pieces that we had left over from a Christmas blog craft that we have done in the past. Take a piece of felt, we chose green. Make it into a cylinder and glue the edges together; make sure it fits your snowman’s head. Gather about half of it as the top “pom” and secure it with an elastic band. Cut slits in the top half to make it look like tassels. Now cover the elastic band with string, pipe cleaner, or ribbon. Now you have a little hat. You can just rest it on top or if you'd like, put a little dab of glue on it to keep it in place.

Lastly, use a wider patterned/decorative piece of ribbon and tie/glue it around the neck of your snowman as a scarf.  

Here’s our finished snowman...

Really Easy Appetizers

With the holiday season approaching fast, it’s time to think about appetizers. If you’re going to a party, hosting a party, or making a big holiday dinner then you may need to make appetizers or bring them.

Appetizers don’t have to be super complicated. I’m sure there are many that are more elaborate and time consuming but we are going to look at making really easy and quick but yummy appetizers so you’re not in the kitchen all day making them.

Easy Appetizers:

1.      Toothpick Caprese Salad. Put a grape/cherry tomato on a toothpick then add on a bocconcini ball, and then piece of basil. Drizzle all of your Caprese toothpick salads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

2.      Jalapeno Cheese Crisps - Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook some slices of bacon until crispy and chop and put aside. On a baking sheet place a mound of Parmesan cheese and then on top about a tbsp. of cheddar. Place a jalapeno slice and sprinkle some bacon bits on top of that. Make as many as you’d like. Cook until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes.

3.      Garlicy Dipping Oil – Whisk together ½ cup of olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic, pinch of red pepper flakes and sea salt, ground pepper, 1/3 cup of Parmesan, and a 2 tbsp. parsley. Serve with a sliced baguette.

4.      Apple Bacon Crostini – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, place apple medium thick slices about a ½ inch apart. You can choose what type of apple you like (some may like the sweeter ones and some may prefer more tart ones like Granny Smiths). Top the apples first with a thin slice of sharp white cheddar cheese and then sprinkle some bacon bits on top. Bake until the cheese has partially melted about 7-9 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle ground pepper on top before serving.

5.      Bacon Brussel Sprout Skewers – Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place a metal rack inside a baking sheet. On a skewer pierce a piece of bacon then pierce a brussel sprout. Repeat two or three more times depending on how long your skewer is. Place on the baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper before serving.

6.      Pita Chips – Take some store bought pitas, whole wheat or white and brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fry in a pan until crisp and golden on both sides. Cut into triangles and serve with dip. To make it a sweet bite, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon instead of salt and pepper.

7.      Dill Dip (you can dip the pita chips in this) – Mix 1 cup of sour cream, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 2 tbsp. of dried dill weed, 2 tbsp. of dried onion. 1 tbsp. of dried parsley, 1 tsp. of garlic powder, and a pinch of salt. You can also make this with fresh dill and parsley. I’ve done it with a ¼ cup of each fresh.

8.      Baked Eggs in Portobello Mushroom Cap – Clean some Portobello mushroom caps. Rub them all on the outside with a little bit of olive oil and place a piece of  prosciutto inside them al. Crack an egg in a small bowl and slide into the mushroom cap. Sprinkle with pepper and fresh herbs of your choice. Bake for 20-30minutes at 375 degrees.

9.      Baked Wrapped Date – Slice a date lengthwise and remove the pit. Fill with goat cheese and close back up. Cut your back slices in half and wrap each date with back and secure with a toothpick. Arrange on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Turn onto the opposite side and bake for 5-8 more minutes. Keep turning and baking for 5-8 minutes until the entire thing is crispy and golden. Place on a paper towel to cool.

10.  Deviled Eggs – Hard boil 6 eggs. Once cooled, peel the eggs and slice lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and place in a bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork until crumbled. Mix in 2 tbsp. of mayonnaise and 2tsp. of mustard. Mix and mash until you form a paste. You can add more mayonnaise if you’d like it creamier. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Pipe the filling into the egg or spoon in with a small spoon. Sprinkle with paprika and fresh herbs.

DIY Cat Toy and Dog Treat

It’s a week dedicated to your pets. We’re showing you how to make a DIY cat toy and some homemade dog treats. Of course not everyone has cats and dogs so create something for the pet that you have. I have a bird so I know that they like millet treats and seed treats made with honey so you can find a recipe for something that includes that.

First up...a homemade cat toy.

We used a brand new chopstick along with some colourful feathers that we got at the dollar store, some of our card making ribbon, jingle bells, some string, and a glue gun.

To start off, wrap the chopstick with ribbon. We had a design idea in mind (a candy cane). We chose a white ribbon and we tightly wrapped it around the chopstick. Start by gluing one end with a bit of the ribbon and wrap it around; then when you finish, glue that last piece of ribbon.

Next we took red ribbon and wrapped it around the white like a candy cane. Glue the ends only again.

Now that you have your stick/handle wrapped, you can prepare you attachments.

We tied string to some green feathers.

Tie some jingle bells onto the ribbons. We threw in some green, polka dots, and sparkly ribbon to the mix. We did about three with the jingle bells and left the rest of the ribbons plain.

Now tie some string to the pointy end of the chopstick; make sure you tie a tight knot and use hot glue to make sure that everything stays in place.

Secure all of the ribbons and feather strings together with string tie a knot and glue once again to make sure that everything stays in place.

Here’s your cat toy present for your little fluffy friend.

Now for the dog treat.

You will need:

¼ cup of hot water

8 chicken bouillon cubes

1 package of active dry yeast

1 tsp. of sugar

1 ½ cups of tomato juice

2 cups of flour

2 cups of wheat germ

1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, pour the hot water. Then add the sugar and yeast and let it stand for 5 minutes.

After that, add in the chicken bouillon and crush them with a fork as you stir them in.

Add in the tomato juice, 1 cup of the white flour, and wheat germ. Stir until you form a batter. Then add in the rest of the white flour along with the whole wheat flour. The dough will be dry and stiff so use your hands to mix it the rest of the way.

Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and start to roll small balls of dough out to a ¼ inch thick.

Cut out shapes, a dog bone might be a good shape.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for about an hour.

Dry in a turned off oven for four hours or so.

Serve with a bowl of water or wrap up nicely for your pups Christmas present!

Stocking Stuffers

Now that we have your advent calendar ready for the lead up to Christmas, it is time to think about stocking stuffer gifts to get for your loved ones. I find that it’s always best to shop as far in advance as possible because the closer to Christmas we get, the more busy and stressful the shops get which is so overwhelming to me.

We’re gonna break this into two categories, humans and pets.

Everyone in the house deserves to have their own stocking with their name on it or decorated to represent them, even your pets! We have come up with some fun ideas for gifts to give to your pet friends this Christmas. You can also make them some toys and treats which we’ll be talking more about in the next blog.

Now time for you human loved ones. Here are some of our favourite things to fill up stocking with.