Search Results for: label/Emily

On the eighth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me…

…eight place cards so my guests will all know their seat.

If you are just joining our 12 Days of Christmas Event, go back to day one for all the yummy details!!!

Download Kristin’s printable for today by clicking on the image.

Everything about a pomegranate speaks Christmas to me. Its jolly red color, the sweet tangy fruit, and the fact that it’s December and I can still find these beauties falling off the tree. Why not turn them into beautiful place cards?

Supplies:

• Pomegranates
• Ornament hooks (from the dollar store)
• UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel)
• Embossing ink
• Embossing Gun Heat Tool
• Paintbrush
• Mod Podge
• Glitter or Dimaond Dust
• Hot Glue Gun

Paint the top half of the pomegranate with clear embossing ink. Pour UTEE over the ink to generously cover. Set with a heat tool. This gives the fruit a perpetually wet look, and makes the color pop!

Thin your Mod Podge with a few drops of water, and paint onto the lower half of the pomegranate. Sprinkle with glitter to give the pome a dipped-in-sugar appearance. I used Deco-Art’s Glamour Dust for this step because that’s what I had.

Secure an ornament hook to the top with hot glue. Now you are ready to attach your tag!

The best part about these treats? Your guests can still eat them! Nothing we did to them has harmed the inside in any way; all you need to do is slice open and serve.

And this whole project only cost me a buck (for the ornament hooks), everything else I had on hand. Love a thrifty project!

On the seventh day of Christmas my true friend gave to me…

…seven macarons for the Parisian in me!

We are in the middle of our 12 Days of Christmas event! Read all about it here!

Click the image to download Kristin’s printable tag for today!

Today we are joined by Melissa and Kellie, the wonderful ladies from Icing Designs!  They were sweet enough to bring you today’s gift: the macaron!

They have put together a three part tutorial on how to make the perfect macaron. Click here to become educated on this beautiful, and delicious, treat!

Aren’t they gorgeous? A HUGE thank you to Melissa and Kellie! We heart you so much! Go give them a little love from us!

On the sixth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me…

…six cookies because I deserve something sweet!

If you need all the fun details of our 12 Days of Christmas event, check back to day one, and see what’s it’s all about!

Click on the image to download Kristin’s free printable for today:

 

Whitney made these yummy cookies, and tells us how she did it:

These fun snowflake cookies are made using the same recipe as my airplane sugar cookies.  I love this recipe for 2 reasons.  The first is that the cookies hold their shape really well, which is perfect for intricate cookies like these.  The second reason is that they’re just yummy.  They really taste fabulous. 

Sugar Cookies (via cakecentral.com)
6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups unsalted butter
2 cups sugar (white granulated)
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract or desired flavoring (I like almond myself)
1 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients, and add a little at a time to butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.  Chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Cut cookies and place on greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Once your cookies are completely cooled, you can frost them. I like to ice a border of royal icing around the edge of my cookies first, so that I don’t have run-off.  It gives the cookie a crisp, professional look.

Royal Icing
3 large egg whites
1 lb. confectioner’s sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they reach the soft peak stage.  Add confectioner’s sugar, a little at a time, until stiff peaks form.

To ice your cookies, fill a zippered sandwich bag with icing and cut a little off the corner.  Frost your border and allow a few minutes for the icing to harden.  Finally,  you’ll want to fill in your cookie with regular icing.  I put about 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar in a bowl and add a little milk until I get my desired consistency (not runny, but not stiff).  Fill another sandwich bag with this icing, snip the corner of the bag, and fill the cookie.  To get an even consistency, use a toothpick or your (clean) pinky finger to spread the icing. 

The cookie cutters were bought at Williams-Sonoma last winter, but I was just in their store a few weeks ago and they still have them!  I love the cookie cutters because you can be creative with how you design them.  Every snowflake can be different.
I hope you’re enjoying our 12 Days of Christmas and check back for some more fabulous ideas.  We can’t wait to see yours!   -Whitney

I am so excited for our Link Party on the 13th, where we will see all of your creativity. There are going to be a lot of lucky recipients out there!

On the third day of Christmas my true friend gave to me…

Welcome to Day Three of our special event:

The Twelve Days of Christmas!

If you are just joining us, refer back to day one for all the fun details of this event!

Click on the image to download Kristin’s free printable for today:

On the third day of Christmas my true friend gave to me… three ornaments to put on my tree!

Jamie is sharing THREE ornament tutorials today:

Who doesn’t love a beautiful Christmas ornament? I must say, the Christmas tree seems to have elevated itself to a new level. Whether simplistic, or truly ornate, all other holiday décor is established according to the Christmas tree style. Following my heart’s desire, I decided to create our ornaments in this year’s surprisingly popular, yet fantastic, color scheme of black and white with just a hint of silver.

Ornament One—Silhouette Mini-Frame

Another rising trend seems to focus on facial silhouettes and various miniature photo frames. I took profile shots of my children, and my good friend Danielle (from Crafts by Danielle), transformed them into vinyl silhouettes. I framed the silhouette in a beautiful mini-frame, and finished it off with a ribbon hanger.

This is a lovely handmade, and also sincerely personal, gift to give—or if you’re like me, some I’ll give and some I’ll keep!

Ornament 2—Jeweled ball

It can’t get much easier than this! I spray painted a Styrofoam ball with black matte paint. I only gave it one coat because I prefer the textured look, but if you want a more solid appearance give it two or three coats. I secured silver jewels—in varying sizes—all over the ball with a hot glue gun. To attach the ribbon hanger, I stapled the ribbon onto the Styrofoam. To help secure the ribbon, I placed on a small dollop of hot glue just before stapling: then I tied a knot in the ribbon to hide the staple.

Ornament Three—Sparkle Bulbs

Oops, just when I said it doesn’t get easier than the “jeweled ball”, we outdo ourselves! These fillable glass ornaments are available almost anywhere. I simply removed the top and filled it with those same silver jewels I used before. Here’s that ribbon again that I used as the finishing touch.

We hope you’ll enjoy all the fun opportunities to simplify the ornament making this year, and save a little money as well.

Merry Christmas to all, and happy decorating!

–Jamie

Have fun making your ornaments, and check in tomorrow for Day Four!! I can’t wait!