Nutter Butter Snowman Cookies

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I have been pinning Christmas ideas for months onto my Pinterest board.  When I first came across these in October while cuddling a sick kiddo and surfing while he slept, I couldn't wait to make them for the holidays.  Fast forward to a crazy couple of weeks of school holiday concerts, cub scout parties, Christmas shopping and yesterday I was going through the school papers and there was a reminder that tomorrow was the holiday party for Kindergarten.

I love making cupcakes and cakes, but have found that there are a lot of moms who send in cupcakes for a class party.  So many do so, and usually the kids only get to choose one.  I wanted to send something different, and if it was small I could put it in a tupperware in his backpack rather than having to drive in large containers of cupcakes.  I pulled up my Pinterest boards and there in my Food Fun board I found the picture of the original done by My Pretty Purse.

I made some adjustments to some of the materials I had on hand and went to the grocery store for the rest.  For this project I needed:

Nutter Butter Cookies
Wilton White Candy Melts
Orange Tic Tacs
Candy Coated Chocolates
Chocolate pre-made icing
Wax Paper
Double Boiler or Chocolate Melter
Fondue fork, toothpick or skewer

First I covered the Nutter Butters in candy melts.  I used my favorite tool for working with the candy melts, the Wilton Chocolate Pro Electric Chocolate Melter.  I purchased it at the Wilton tent sale this summer and have used it for everything from dipping pretzels and marshmallows to making candy coated pretzels.

My tips for dipping the Nutter Butters are from trial and error.  I used a fondue fork and turned the cookies sideways, placing the fork into the center.  Think like a bowtie with the stick out of the center.  Next I held the  Nutter Butter over the container and spooned the melted candy on top of it, letting it roll over the sides and onto the bottom.  If you dip the cookie straight into the candy pot one of two things will happen, the cookie will fall off into the pot or it will break.  It is just too much weight.

Tap the stick on the side of the pot as you hold it to help remove excess and get out air bubbles.  Then place it directly onto the wax paper.  I did three at a time and then paused to place the candies into the setting coating.  For the nose, place one orange tic tac right in the center of the upper part.  Then place two candy coated chocolates onto the bottom portion.

After they have set, it takes just over half an hour, add your facial features and arms.  I used a small amount from a ready-made tub of chocolate frosting I had on hand.  Using a disposable decorator bag and a #3 Wilton decorating tip I piped on the features.  You could also use a plastic baggie with the tip cut off.

I was able to package them up in the morning and send them off to school.  They were a huge hit!

I received the Wilton Chocolate Pro without charge, but was not required to post on it.  All opinions and views expressed are my own.

Making Wilton Candy Kits with the Boys and Girls Club of Sullivan County

I was invited to the Boys and Girls Club of Sullivan County's Liberty Chapter to come in and run a guest class.  I was happy to volunteer, and as a Wilton Mom Ambassador I began looking through the online store for project ideas.

I found these Christmas Candy Kits for Pretzels, and I am thankful that Wilton donated most of the supplies needed for me to teach the class!

Last week I went to the local chapter to teach the class.  Over the course of just over two hours I was able to teach basic candy making skills to just under 30 kids.  

The kids did a great job, as did the Boys and Girls club staff that assisted me.

The next day, after all of the molds had set, each child went home with two pieces that they had created.

Thank you to the Boys and Girls Club of Sullivan County for asking me to teach, and a huge thank you to Wilton for donating the supplies.  It was a pleasure to teach a new skill to so many eager young ladies and gentleman!

Our Christmas Mantle

I've been showing you parts of our Christmas mantle.  First I showed you the stockings I had cross-stitched for the boyz.

And then I showed you the ornaments I glittered for the apothecary jars.

Well, here is the full thing.  My favorite brown coffee filter wreath is at the center.  You can see the tutorial on that here.

I added some more glittered ornaments at the dollar store, as well as the gold glittered poinsettia.

I tied pieces of burlap and aqua calico fabric cut into strips around a string of LED lights.  I love how it is a unique alternative to a evergreen swag. 

I really love how it looks at night!

I added an all white nativity set that I have had for years and added a decorative box underneath to give it more height and presence and covered it with the burlap as well.

Do you decorate a mantle for the holidays?

The Santa Express Arrives

This weekend happened to be the one in six that Daddy D gets off.  I spent all day Friday cleaning so that we could just relax for the weekend.  When Daddy D got home that night we headed to the mall and finished the Christmas shopping, which was a huge relief!

Saturday was a wonderful day of sitting by a warm fire and spending some family time.  Then that evening we headed into town to watch the Santa Express arrive.

The Santa Express is a huge trailer pulled by a rig, completely decked out in Christmas decorations, a gingerbread village, elves and winter characters, a sleigh pulled by lighted reindeer and more.  It is done by volunteers and visits towns all over our county for two weekends in December.  Saturday night was our town's night.

We are not a huge Santa family.  But we do have one Santa present for all of the boyz every Christmas, a compromise between my no Santa upbringing and Daddy D's Santa heavy household.  But even though the boyz understand a lot more than most their age (and ABSOLUTELY understand that they are never to ruin the magic for others)  they still enjoy a bit of Santa excitement.

So off we went to see the Santa Express.  It was so much fun to watch the kids all light up.  We were also completely in awe of the fact that hundreds of people came out in our small town.  There was a sense of community and excitement.  It felt like Christmas!

Glitter Covered Ornaments Craft

Recently I showed you this picture I had found on pinterest.

Source: blog.craftzine.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I decided that I wanted to make some for my mantle, but didn't have any of the old, large lightbulbs that were used.  Instead I went to my favorite place for craft supplies, the local dollar store.

I found these that were similar in ornament form (not breakable, wohoo!).  Better yet they were a bit beat up and from last year, so they were marked down to 50 cents.  Win!

I bought several and I decided to try my hand at a product that swept the craft blogs around Halloween this year, Krylon Glitterblast.  I loved what I had seen, and I could not resist the lure of a fabulous glittered surface that it promised straight out of the can.

First I used painters tape to wrap the bottoms to avoid an entirely blue covered ornament.

Then I took them outside and sprayed away.

Except that I had the hardest time with the product.  It would spray even when I wasn't touching the can.  I shook and shook and did everything according to the directions, and yet I would get mostly the clear binder and no glitter.  Then when the glitter came it was kind of all over the place and uncontrollable.

After an entire can used to only cover the 8 ornaments, well-they weren't sufficiently covered.  One side was kind of covered.

Now I use Krylon quite a bit for various products.  I thought I must have a defective can.  I called the 800 number and they promptly sent not one but two replacement cans to me.

And it happened again.  After the SECOND can did the same things, and the ornaments were still not covered well I had to break open can number three.  So three cans later, if bought retail amounting over $20, I have decent looking ornaments.

I kind of really love them in my apothecary jar.

But if doing this yourself, skip the spray glitter.  Cover in glue, roll in some fabulous Martha Stewart fine glitter and be done with it.  You'll thank me.

Handmade Christmas Stockings

Our stockings have been hung by the chimney with care...

Today I wanted to share the stockings that I made for the boyz.  Each was made for their first Christmas.  I barely made it with Seth's, being up until the wee hours of Christmas morning finishing it.  They are all counted cross-stitched by hand.  I take great joy in hanging them each year.

The one I made for Seth has a Noah's Ark theme to it, as that was what his nursery was done in.  I loved the details like the ornaments on the reindeer antlers, or the wreath around the giraffe neck.

I chose Gabriel's pattern because of the angels along the top, as he was named for the angel Gabriel.  I loved the beauty of the shadings in the robes.

For Nathan I had to search far an wide for another biblical themed stocking pattern.  It seemed I could only find the two I had already done at the time.  I found this pattern on ebay.  I liked the night sky and the vivid colors that set it apart from Gabe's.  His name was also most challenging to fit onto the top, as he has two middle names.

Finally there was Eli.  Eli's middle name is Noel, as he was a Christmas gift to us.  Also, with John's french heritage he liked the reference to Papa Noel in making a Santa Claus stocking.  So Eli's is the only stocking I made without a bible theme to it.  But I love it.  The details in the bag and individual toys are beautiful, and I think it fits his name perfectly.

What are your stockings for your family like?

Scalloped Posies from Nest of Posies

I am very excited to show you a great stocking stuffer idea for the holidays!  I received my order of three of the these Nest of Posies Scalloped Posies today and I LOVE them!  They are simply beautiful and I can't wait to add them to the lapel of my winter wool coat.  The bright colors will brighten even the whitest winter day!  At $5 they are a great little something special, but hurry-last day to order for Christmas delivery is December 12th.

Because we all know that accessories make the outfit.
And 'tis the season for all things merry & bright.
Why not give the gift of handmade to your friends, family or yourself?

Delicious wool felt made into Scallop Posie Pins to coordinate with any outfit. 

15 yummy options.

You pick your colors.

Just $5.00 each.

Use 1, 2 or 3 to embellish anything. A perfect accessory to add to your coat, scarf, cardy, purse, hair & ________.

Hurry!  Last day to place an order for all wool felt products is Dec 12th.

Visit Nest of Posies Shop to see the entire collection & buy handmade for the holidays.

I received samples for the purpose of this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

My Birthday Project aka 34 Acts of Random Kindness

Yesterday was my 34th birthday.  I was feeling rather eh about it all, and then I came across The Birthday Project through Pinterest.  In a matter of minutes I was excited and looking forward to the day.

It took 5 hours and 5 minutes of driving around to get it all done, but I accomplished my goal of 34 acts of random kindness for my 34th birthday (and then some).  Eli, my youngest son, was a trooper.  Being 3 and my only boy not in school he was my sidekick.  He took a mini power nap between towns, but managed to stick the whole thing out without any major meltdowns.

So here they are, my 34 (+) acts of random kindness:

1)  I left a box of gingersnap cookies in the mailbox for our mailman
2)  Stuffed the Ronald McDonald house donation box at our local restaurant
3)  Had breakfast with my mom and stepfather and surprised my mom with a box of Peppermint tea
4)  Dropped off brownies to our local radio station, Thunder 102

5)  Stopped in to see the ladies at our county chamber of commerce and brought cookies
6)  Taped microwave popcorn to Redboxes with signs that said "a little something to help you enjoy the movie"

7) Brought a dozen cupcakes to our county HEAP department, where they have been working late into the night almost every day to make sure that people get heat.

8)  Dropped off coloring books and crayons for the room used for supervised visitation.

9) Gave toys to the Toys for Tots

10) Dropped off infant feeding items and food to the Sullivan County Pregnancy Support Center

11) Thanked our local police department with brownies

12)  Wrote each of the boys' teachers a handwritten thank you note and placed them in their mailboxes at school.

13)  Gave the elementary school secretaries cookies.

14)  Donated two boxes of dog food for the Kindergarten pet supplies drive to benefit the local shelter.

15)  Brought a batch of chocolate chip cookies with a note of encouragement to a family going through a parent with a serious illness.

16)  Left a birthday balloon on the doorstep of a friend who was born five minutes apart from me in the same hospital on the same day.  This ended up being one of my favorite things, as he opened the door before I left and invited Eli and I in.  We chatted and caught up for awhile and it was great!

17)  Put two bags of clothes into the donation bin

18)  Brought 20 Christmas cards that had been filled out with a handwritten message to our local nursing home to be distributed to residents.

19)  Loaded washing machines at the laundromat with quarters.

20)  Put signs up on bulletin boards:

21)  Parked far away from Walmart on a rainy day, leaving the up close parking spaces available.

22)  Put away carts left in between vehicles.

23)  Left quarters with a note on the soda machine

24)  Handed out candy canes to all of the kids who were holiday shopping with their parents in Walmart.  They were so excited!  And nothing beats Eli walking through the aisles yelling "Hey kids, I gots candy canes!"

25)  Helped a woman load her groceries into the car in the rain.

26)  Loaded all of the gumball type machines with quarters for some lucky kiddos!

27)  Mailed a postcard to a serviceman 

28)  Sent my in-laws school pictures of the boyz.

29)  Gave my favorite mailman one of his favorite candies and a kiss! 

(Daddy D)

30)  Left stamps on the counter in the post office

31)  Let a woman go in front of me in line

32)  Brought a bag of food to the Federation for the Homeless

33)  Gave cookies to the EMTs

34)  Left recent Better Homes and Gardens issues at the hospital for waiting rooms and patients.  The woman at the front desk was so excited, and emotionally told me how she had just been talking about needing new magazines and I had made her day!

35)  Brought cupcakes to my siblings (and nieces)!

and finally 36)  Purposefully spent extra one on one time with each boy in the afternoon and evening.

It was an absolutely amazing day!  I can say that I conservatively touched over 100 people yesterday, and probably a heck of a lot more than that.  But more than that, I walked away feeling happy, my soul nourished from within.  There were smiles.  There were hugs.  There were squeals.  There were raised eyebrows.  There was appreciation.  But most of all there was love.  From my heart to all of theirs.  And that makes for an amazing way to start my next year.  

**Want to see more of the my acts of random kindness photos?  Check out the album on my facebook fan page here**