Well, the road to hell was paved with good intentions..and so was my blog.  I knew it was going to be difficult over the holidays to keep up with all of the commitments (one of them being my blog) but I didn't realize it would be impossible.

At first I let my ideas accumulate, taking pictures and preparing to write and telling myself that as soon as I was on vacation I would dedicate time to my entries.  All sounds well and good right??

Well the time came and I was off on vacation.  I packed my bags and took off for Toronto and then to Panama.  I made the decision not to take computer because I had my trusty phone which had all my pictures and videos on it and I was taking my Ipad so who needs a computer...

I wrote my first entry in Word a couple of days later and then went to upload it. (I learned a few months earlier that it is not a good idea to write directly into your blog because too much can go wrong) Well guess what...I couldn't open my website because I couldn't remember my ID and password.  Of course it is saved on my computer but that was back in Vancouver.

So now I had to contact my host and find out how to log in.  Well that took a couple of days to resolve and now it was actually Christmas.  The entry I had written was on a pre Christmas dinner party I had hosted and it kinda felt old so I ditched it.

But that is ok because there is lots of material to write about at Christmas. However that didnt happen because Christmas came and went and it was time to pack for Panama.

I knew going to panama was going to be an adventure so there would be lots to write about on that beautiful country.  But here I go with the excuses again...I was having so much fun there, you didnt hear from me at all..

I am going to post the cutest cake ever here...a little Reindeer with tasty meringue antlers...but other than that you are just going to get my appologies and my whinning...

I am 8 days away from going to Puerto Vallarta (it sucks to be me)..so look for entries when I get home.  I promise to make a better effort and give you lots of new material mainly in the form of pictures!  

Christmas Reindeer Wall Art

 

So I used fairly large canvases from Dollarama but you can do these any size you want.  And of course any number of them.  I like the look of the 4 of them together and they would actually be really pretty grouped in a “square” pattern instead of a row.  But in this case my wall was too wide to do it in that format.

 

Here’s how I made them.

 

1. Download a template of your choice. I chose the reindeer this time but I have actually done letters so they spell out a word. You could choose something like “Joy” or “Peace”.  You get it...whatever you like.

 

Here is the link I used. https://craftbundles.com/freebie/82378-reindeer-head/3cNgDF1x7F/ ( sorry, for some reason I couldn’t shorten this URL)

 

 

2. Cut out the shape and place it on the canvas making sure you centre it and it is in the same position on all of the canvases. Trace it with a pencil. Don’t make the pencil line too dark because you don’t want to see it.

 

3. Fill the image with tacky glue.  I got this at Dollarama too!  Put a generous amount on the entire amount.

 

4. Now to keep the mess to a minimum, I put a piece wax paper on a large baking tray, placed the canvas with the wet glue on it in the middle and then gently spooned the glitter generously on it.  Don’t move it at this point but instead leave it to dry for a few hours.  If you move it your glue can run and your picture won’t be sharp.

 

5. Once it is dry you can gently brush the excess off onto the paper.  And Voila! Art! 

 

6 Note.  You can paint the overall canvas any colour you want before you do your image. 

 

 

 

Easy Gingerbread

 

5 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cloves

3 tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup shortening – melted

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup molasses

 

Mix all dry ingredients except ½ cup of flour well then add the wet ingredients and mix well. Turn out onto work surface and add the ½ cup of flour as needed.  Add enough to handle without being too sticky or wet.  You can add a little more if needed for rolling out. 

This dough can be difficult to work with so sometimes I turn my baking sheet over, add a sheet of parchment paper and roll it right on the baking sheet...It still is awkward but I I don’t have to move the cookies .  I can remove the waste instead.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 mins. This dough freezes well.   

 

  

Christmas is my favourite holiday.

Baking, decorating, parties, spending time with family...all things I love. But along with this comes added stress.  So I am going to share with you a few little things you can do to achieve some of my favourite things without the added stress.

Instead of filling by blog with long lengthy instructions and ideas I will do them often and keep them short and simple.

So here is one for today.

 Purchase a roll of pretty ribbon in the colour of your choice. It is best if you use ribbon the same colour as the balls you intend to attach.

Simply tie the ball to the ribbon, cutting the end off close to the ball so it is nice and clean. Then arrange in a “chandelier” style so all the balls hang at different lengths.  Finally tie a big bow at the top to secure them all.

I use the 3M Command hooks to put these up anywhere I want a pop of colour. They look terrific in front of the windows instead of the traditional wreath. It is so easy and is a big wow for your buck. 

I am sure you will love them.  And, you can hang them just about anywhere!  You are welcome! ;-)