Wonderful Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas

I had with my family!

Here's a few fun pictures :-)

My 3 sons and my beautiful daughter-in-love :-)

Never a dull moment!

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♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Merry Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥

Merry Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Merry Christmas♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Merry Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪MerryChristmas ♥ ♥ ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪Merry Christmas ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ Tooo Yooooou¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪...

Do you need to smile or laugh...? turn up your sound and watch this feel good Pink Glove video for breast cancer awareness!

If you enjoyed this video and support breast cancer awareness please post a comment and let me know :-)

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Freebie New Years Card

A little early yet but here's a freebie digital card you can send to your friends and family. Just click on the picture, save and send.

If you'd like to make your own card,

you can click HERE to download some

freebie vintage images.

Happy New Years!

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Gifts from the Heart

I've been busy finishing up last min Christmas gifts.

I normally make fairy boxes, but instead I made this one a guardian angel box for my son's girlfriend. I used a picture of her playing with her mother on the beach. Her mother recently lost her battle to cancer. On the back of the box I printed up the following:

Your Guardian Angel

Everything is okay up here.

I may not be there with you,

but I’ll watch over you.I may

not be there to talk to you, but

I’ll watch over you.
Listen to me. Look for my signs.

For I am your guardian angel,

I will watch over you

with great care and love.

For my daughter in law I made a shadow box and put their wedding invitation along with one of their wedding favors (a bottle filled with pink sand and sea shells), a silk orchid branch, and a shell. To be able to get a decent picture I took it out of the black framed shadow box to take it. I then used photoshop to add a frame so this isn't the actual frame.

Last year hubby worked on a train he made for our son this year he's been making 2 more pieces to go with it. Click HERE to see last year's gifts from the heart.

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Gifts That Give Back!

I know it might be a bit late for some, but I thought I'd pass these gift ideas on that give back. Some of them 100% even how cool is that!

GIFTS THAT GIVE BACK

Choco-Logo for "HELP USA" chocolate and chocolate sets ($10-$55)

Several options to choose from: Sea Salt Turtles, Popcorn Extravaganza, 3-pack Caramel Almond Bars etc.
100% of net proceeds benefit HELP USA
HELP USA is a national not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower the homeless and others in need to become and remain self-reliant. Through the development of quality housing (including the Hickory Street Apartments in Buffalo) with on-site support services, HELP USA provides resources for its residents to become independent and productive.


Dancing Deer Company Sweet Home Cookie Pack ($35.95)

Includes a Dark Chocolate Sweet Home Project House Cookie, Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake and 18 pack of Molasses Clove Cookies
35% of the price goes directly to Sweet Home Project to help homeless mothers and their children fund educations, find jobs and move into homes of their own.
HELP USA is a national not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower the homeless and others in need to become and remain self-reliant. Through the development of quality housing (including the Hickory Street Apartments in Buffalo) with on-site support services, HELP USA provides resources for its residents to become independent and productive.

Ehlers Estate Wine ($25+)

Only non-profit winery in California
100% of profits support the Leducq Foundation for international cardiovascular disease research
Wine is certified organic, and is cultivated using biodynamic farming techniques to produce a small portfolio of exceptional estate-grown wines


FEED 10 Pouch ($25)

Made to be used as a clutch, makeup case, or pencil holder
With every purchase of this product, meals are provided to 10 women through the United Nations World Food Program's Food for Work program - which is a program in which community members are given food in exchange for work on vital new infrastructure or for time spent learning new skills that will increase the food security of households or communities.


FEED 5 Bracelet ($15)

Made out of corn-based plastic with a metal charm with the FEED logo stamped on one side and the number 5 on the other. Each bracelet comes in a mini FEED pouch.
With every purchase of this product, 5 school meals are provided to children in developing countries through the United Nations World Food Program.


Kiehl's Limited Edition KAWS Crème de Corps ($26.50/$44.50)

Rich body lotion with beta-carotene and cocoa butter
100 % of net profits will benefit RxART
RxART is a non-profit national organization, committed to fostering artistic expression and awareness through the challenging, yet rewarding task of engaging young patients through contemporary art in pediatric hospitals.
KAWS is the pseudonym of New York-based artist, Brian Donnelly, who has partnered with Kiehl's to create the label for this Limited Edition lotion.

Peacekeeper Cause-Metics Customized Care Package ($33)

Personalized gift box with three products: lipstick, nail polish, and lip gloss
100% of net profits will benefit women's health advocacy
Peacekeeper Cause-Metics is the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax, distributable profits to women's health advocacy and urgent human rights issues.

Tea Forté Rejuvenation Tea Set (Orig. $42, ON SALE for $32.99)

Gift set includes a Tea forté signature porcelain café cup with a ceramic tea tray and 10 pyramid tea infusers
Shop.stjude.com has a wide selection of gifts for virtually anyone. Plus, 100% of net profits benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

TOMS shoes ($35+)

For every pair of TOMS shoes purchased, another pair will be given to a child that would otherwise be barefoot: "One for One" philosophy.
Great gift for a kid or teenager
Since TOMS was founded in 2006 by Blake Mycoskie, over 150,000 pairs of shoes have been given to children around the world. Goal for 2009 is to give away 300,000 more
If you don't know recipient's shoe size, for $50 you can order a TOMS gift card (worth $50) that also comes with a DVD documentary about TOMS

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Starbucks Coffee Sleeve Project

Starbuck's Coffee Sleeve

Mini Photo Album

Here's another Starbuck's coffee sleeve project. Since I still had a stack of the Starbuck's coffee sleeves I figured I better do something else with them. I was inspired by a mini Christmas album my friend Christy made for me last year. Its a basic design.

Inside pages

I cut the sleeve in half, punched two holes through the top, bottom, and pages then tied them together with a ribbon. I glued papers on the inside of each cover front and back to give it a more finished look.

Backside

Click HERE to view my Starbuck's

Coffee Sleeve cards.

Chocolate Biscotti Printable Recipe Cards

I'm still busy doing my holiday baking and made
more biscotti yesterday. They are so delish!
As a gift to you I've created two 4x6 size recipe cards
for you to print and use.

Double Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti

Recipe Card side 1

Click on these 2 recipe cards to enlarge, save, and

print out. Then glue them back to back

or laminate them.

Recipe Card Side 2

Click HERE for my Gingerbread Biscotti Recipe

Happy Holidays!

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Give Thanks!

Give thanks to our troops by sending a e-card HERE

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Julie & Julia & Aileen

This morning seemed like the perfect time to take a morning off and watch the movie Julie & Julia. I figured the rest of my family wouldn't be interested in watching the movie. I had to chuckle because It wasn't too long before one of my sons got caught up in watching it with me before he had to leave for class. What a wonderful sweet movie, I highly recommend it. Not only did I enjoy the movie, but it inspired me to cook!

I ended up making Gingerbread & White Chocolate Biscotti (to give out as Christmas gifts), a Pot Roast in the crock pot (for dinner) and a pineapple upside down cake (for dinner).

Here's the recipe for the biscotti with some my own changes added to it. I think orange zest would be a great addition too. They're very easy to make.

Gingerbread & White Chocolate Biscotti

Ingredients

3/4 C. granulated sugar

1/4 lb. butter

1/2 C. dark molasses

1/4 C. fresh, minced ginger

tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

3 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 Tbs. baking powder

1 Tbs. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. instant coffee *optional

3/4 C. of raisins

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, molasses, and ginger until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Using another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves & instant coffee. Add to wet mixture and stir to blend.

On baking sheets lined with parchment paper, using floured hands, pat the dough into 2 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven until just browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes. Halfway through the baking turn the pans so they bake evenly. Allow biscotti to set until just cooled, then cut into long, 1/2-inch thick diagonal slices.

Loafs before baking

Loafs cooling on rack after baking.

Slice each loaf on a diagonal and arrange the slices close together on the baking sheet and bake again at 350 degrees until browned, 15-18 minutes. Transfer to racks to cool completely before dipping in white chocolate.

Melt white chocolate in the microwave (follow directions on the package), then dip one end of the cooled biscotti into the melted chocolate and allow it to harden on baking paper.

Grab a cup of coffee--dip, sip and eat or package them up and give them to friends with the recipe.

Click HERE to view my past Christmas recipes!

Bon Appetite!

Recycled Christmas Card Banner

Do you have a box of old cards and you

don't know what to do with them?

I found a great use for mine by recycling them

into a holiday banner!

Click HERE to see my simple tutorial

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Winter Pictures

While I was awaiting that fluffy white

stuff called snow, yesterday I took some pictures

(Hey getting snow here where we are below sea level

is a pretty big deal that only happens once every 10-20 years).

Unfortunately the flakes were quick and fleeting and never

quite made it to the ground.

Anyhow, here are a couple of pictures

of my Christmas trees...the small one

I always put up in our family room and is

full of ornaments of the kids and ones they

have made. Also hubby's Peanuts ornaments.

This year the boys decorated the

tree....you can definitely tell! LOL

Here's our beloved tangerine tree!
We look forward to them each winter!

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For the Ultimate Harry Potter Fan

If your looking for an original gift idea and or you know a big time Harry Potter fan, I've got the gift for you! Honestly, I don't think you even have to be a Harry Potter fan because this just looks like too fun! Which is why I had to share this with you after my son showed me! Curious? if so read the exert below that tells more about this unique gift.

"The Kymer Magic Wand is basically a universal remote control that is capable of learning up to 13 different infrared (IR) codes from your existing remotes and then replaying those codes when the spellcaster (OK, I got caught up in the moment, give me a break) makes any one of 13 different gestures. Among the gestures that the wand can recognize are rotate, left and right flicks, something called Big Swish, Push Forward and Pull Back. All are guaranteed to make you look like a complete tool when you are using them. According to the makers of the Kymera Magic Wand you can program any button on any remote control into one of the 13 slots. That mean you can have one gesture control volume up, the other volume down, the other channel up, the other…I think you get it.
So how does it work? Well, it’s magic, of course. No really, it’s your typical accelerometer technology that’s been found in electronics all over the muggle world for years. What makes it different, and, some would argue, much better, is that it has been repackaged in a wand that has been skillfully covered in “luxurious, Chinese Brocade Upholstery” and wrapped up nicely for storage in a box resplendent in faux dragon hide – because the real stuff is just too damn expensive.Read: Kymera Magic Wand Remote Control [Go All Harry Potter on Your Television, Buttonless Remote, Uses Gestures To Activate Up to 13 Codes] » TFTS – Technology, Gadgets & Curiosities

You can do a search online for the "The Kymer Magic Wand" if you want to buy one I'm sure a slew of them will pull up.

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More Starbuck's Christmas Cards

Here's a few more Christmas cards using Starbuck's coffee sleeves.

(Click HERE to view other cards).

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Christmas Card with Starbucks Help

Here's another Christmas card with a little help from Starbucks! (Click HERE to view my other Starbuck's Christmas Cards). With this card I used a Vintage bingo card and then another cardboard coffee sleeve to create the palm tree on the card. The backside of the coffee sleeve is corrugated and worked perfectly for a palm tree.

Just a FYI-Usually Starbucks will give you a handful of the sleeves if you ask for them :-)

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Starbucks Coffee Sleeve Christmas Card

I'm still on a mission to use things up that I've had for awhile and in the process try and go green as best I can.

Each year Starbucks Coffee comes out with Christmas themed coffee sleeves. I enjoy the challenge of using them to make Christmas cards with. Here's my my processing of turning them into Christmas cards using the sleeve and things I already had.

Of course your not going to have the same things I have, but I challenge you to use things you already have and create your own simple Christmas cards using a Starbucks coffee sleeve.

Starbucks Coffee Sleeve	CARD 1. Here I've assembled my supplies	A little trimming of the sleeve with pinking shears makes it just the right size to use.
A little ink around the edges will help pop the piece.	Using a stylus I embossed the veins in the leaves to give them some dimension. Use a hole punch to cut the berries from the holly paper.	More ink around the edges of the holly leaves.
Assemble your pieces using pop dots.	Here I added a rhinestone embellishment.	It seemed a little plain yet to me so I added a die cut I had from a Christmas card kit I bought after Christmas several years ago.
Card 2 Assembled	2 more card variations using the Starbucks coffee sleeve.	Card 3 Assembled

Click Here to view my newest Starbucks Christmas Cards