Monday, December 13, 2010

Christmas ornament wreath.

after 3 years of collecting Christmas ornaments at thrift stores...
i finally had enough to make this.
and i'm totally gonna brag about it, cause it's so sparkly and beautiful, and i love it!
my neighbor meg has been wanting to make one too, so we planned a craft day last week.
it was super fun and actually a little therapeutic...we totally channeled our inner martha stewart.
i took no pictures myself of the actual construction, so click here to meg's blog to read all about it.

Friday, December 10, 2010

the douglass family Christmas tree... take 2

remember this?
personally, i would like to forget it.
but it is what it is.
so after i yelled, cried, & threatened to forget the tree this year..
(and tape the cat to the wall)
i caved. 
sort of.
i benched the white tree and brought in "old faithful".
he has played the game for years and has never, NEVER been knocked down.
sure, he's not that glistening pearly white...but he's a lovely shade of green, lots skinnier and more stable.
...and stable is what i need right now people!
and just to ease my mind a little more, i may have secured him to the window latch with some fishing twine.
do you blame me??
trust me, it was easier than taping a cat to the wall.
and i have to say, i was a little shocked by the number of people that voted for that option!
in all fairness to the cat, the white tree only had 3 little feet on it's tree stand.
a Christmas mouse could of knocked it over... mmm maybe?
last year, this ornament was placed waaaay in the back because they were so terrible.
this year, it is smack dab in the front, because they are so awesome!!!!
last year i asked santa for a winning season...the chubby elf totally came through.  woo hoo!

miley has been keeping an eye on that cat, to make sure she stays away from the tree.
she's not taking any chances that her ornament might get broke.
if this tree falls, that's it.
no more.
i don't care if the 3rd time is a charm.
it's not happening.

take 1                                                                                    
take 2
the end.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

paper plate peppermint candy tutorial.

say that fast 3 times.

last year when i posted pictures of these paper plate peppermint candies, i had a lot of emails
wondering how i made them.
they are super easy...
here's your list of goods to get:
plain white chinet paper plates...you need the heavy duty paper plates for them to last.
(i used the smaller dessert size, but you could make the larger dinner plate size if you want giant ones)
red craft paint or big red sharpie
glue
red glitter glue...walmart
spray glitter...walmart
roll of cellophane... cut into 19x19 pieces.
holiday ribbon.
paint or draw your peppermints on the back side of the plate.
some i used the red sharpie, and some the craft paint.  they both turned out fine.
if you have no patience (you know who you are), then use the sharpie, otherwise you have to let the paint dry.

then outline and embellish with the red glitter glue.
sorry, no patience people...you have to let this dry!

if only one side is going to show, then  glue a plain paper plate to the back.
if both sides are going to show...yada yada. you know.

                   then take outside (unless you like to inhale toxic fumes) and coat with spray glitter.
wrap in cellophane and tie each end with cute ribbon, mine is from hobby lobby.
 where the cellophane meets in back, secure with a little piece of scotch tape.
that's it!
told you it was easy.
i tied mine to my outside garland around the front door with string around the ribbon.  the ribbon hides it.
they have been outside in the elements 3 season's now, and still look fine.
if your gonna use them outside, make sure they  have some sort of cover though.
you could make the big ones up and put cookies or candies between the plates and just staple around the edges if you want to impress your neighbors and friends or your kids teachers. 

happy holiday crafting.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

adios colors of fall.

when the weather was still nice, miley and i went walking and snapped some pics of the last remaining signs of fall.
it's too bad that winter has to show up and ruin all of this.
just another reason why i totally dislike winter.

Friday, December 3, 2010

toffee crack does not like me.

ever since julie made her famous toffee crack for meg and i in california, i have been trying to make it.

it has become very clear that God does not want me to make, let alone eat, toffee crack.

6 attempts.
1 perfect batch.
1 semi-ok batch.
4 major fails.

attempt #1
i forgot to line the pan.
i had to chisel it off.
toffee crack was being flung all over my kitchen.
no bueno!

attempt #2
i lined the pan, but used reg wax paper instead of the non-stick kind.
apparently i cannot follow directions.

i tried really hard to peel it off just so i could have a tiny bite, i gave up and threw it all in the trash.
no bueno!

attempt #3
this time i had the right pan liner (parchment paper) but burnt the sugar and butter.
i filled the house with smoke and had to open the windows when it was 20 degrees outside.
it was a nasty, sticky (cold) mess.
it resembled the gulf oil spill.
no bueno!

attempt #4
finally!
perfect toffee crack!

it took four attempts to get it right.
pathetic.
i took this batch up to craig's parents house for thanksgiving.
everyone loved it.
i didn't hide the fact that it hated me.
there was a few pieces left to take home...i forgot it in the fridge.
no bueno!

attempt #5
burnt it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
it's the stove, it's got to be the stove!

attempt #6
i didn't burn it, it did stick a little, it didn't taste like the perfect batch.
but it was edible and everyone ate it and liked it.
it doesn't take a lot to please a group of nascar fans though.

maybe it's time to walk away for a while...
goodbye toffee crack.
maybe someday we could be friends.
i would like that.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

not today.

you know your day is going to be bad when a horrible crashing noise wakes you up
one hour before your alarm goes off.
i wasn't sure if i had dreamed it or if something had really happened.
i only made it half way down the stairs to realize i wasn't dreaming.

take a beautiful white Christmas tree.
sprinkle in some shiny ornaments and lights.
then add  a cat.

and this is what you get.

the douglass family Christmas tree tragedy of 2010.

crapfreakintastic!



























just what i wanted to do this morning!





 pre-crazy cat:
after crazy cat:
i couldn't deal....so i cleaned it up and put it all away.
maybe when i get my sanity back i will think about putting it back up and duck taping it to the wall.
or maybe that was the cat.
ugh!