Winter Wonderland Cakes

Since I enjoy cooking and baking so much, I often receive gifts related to these hobbies for Christmas. And last year I received this cute little cake pan from my husband...

What a great way to make a winter wonderland cake centerpiece! I pulled out this pan today and got a box of cake mix out of the pantry. Yes, today was more about the prettiness of the dessert, not the actual baking. I made the mix according to the box directions, but I only baked the cakes for about 30 minutes. I made sure to grease and flour the molds to try and prevent the cakes from sticking. When they came out they looked like this...

I had enough batter to make two batches. In my two batches I only lost one chimney. Success! I cut of the bottoms of the cakes, so they could sit flat. The bottoms also make for a delicious snack. 

Next step was to top with powdered sugar. I decided sifting the sugar would be the best way to make it look like the houses were dusted with snow.

This is what it looked like when I put it on the table...

It still seemed like something was missing, so I removed the middle house and added a Christmas tree candle.

Pretty cute! And I got to use my cake stand again!

Holiday thoughts

It's December! I love so many things about the holidays... the Christmas tree, the decorations, the music, the desserts... I could go on and on. But it seems lately as though there is so much more focus on the shopping. I love to give gifts, and yes, I definitely also enjoy receiving them. But I must say sometimes it just feels like it is getting out of hand. Some of the holiday commercials have gotten so obnoxious. There is a TJMaxx commercial that I just can't stand!! People dancing around the mall telling everyone to go buy their sweaters somewhere else. Yuck. And the latest Lexus car commercials are just ridiculous. Because we are surrounded by the commercialism of the season, it is pretty easy to become cynical. All this running around to get everything done can make it very easy to miss all the wonderful,  small things that the holiday season can bring!

My favorite things that my husband and I have started this year is our simple advent calendar. I made it thinking it would just be a cute decoration, but it has become my favorite thing of the season. We decided to fill it with fun little holiday events to enjoy together. He fills the even days and I fill the odds. It is quite fun to to open the little door and see what each other has come up with for the day. Our ideas so far have included watching a holiday movie together by Christmas tree lights, enjoying peppermint hot chocolate in front of the fireplace, and my favorite so far... perform a random act of kindness for someone. Just a simple way to remember what the season is actually about. Remember to slow down and enjoy the little things.

Peppermint Wreath

Well Thanksgiving is over, which means Christmas is coming! How does this happen? Every year it seems as though the holidays come faster and faster! Must be because I am getting older and older. Thanksgiving weekend is when my husband and I traditionally get out our Christmas decor and start decking the halls. This year I decided to make a few things including the previously posted advent calendar. My next project involved a glue gun and candy-- A peppermint wreath!! Doesn't that just sound adorable?

I bought a styrofoam wreath and covered it in red ribbon and then proceeded to hot glue on a bunch of red starlight peppermints, with an occasional green one thrown in there for whimsy. The green ones, by the way, are delicious!

It actually turned out really cute. Finally, I tied a bow with some fancy ribbon and glued it in place as well. I need to work on my bow tying skills, but it isn't too bad.

So I have this really cute wreath covered in peppermints. But I didn't plan ahead and figure out how to hang the thing. So if you decide to make this, perhaps add some sort of hanging device onto the styrofoam before you cover it in ribbon and mints! Also if you are planning to hang it outside, I would think you would want to paint it with some sort of sealant so it won't melt. I'm planning on hanging it indoors... if I can figure out how.

Advent Calendar

While it may seem that I am crafty, because I am slowly organizing my "craft room", I really am a newbie when it comes to things that require scissors and glue. I usually stick to making things that come in a kit, and that have directions... such as a cross stitch kit, or a paint by number type project. The farthest I have ventured away from prepackaged crafts is to make a wreath or two. I have been wanting to change that lately, and organizing my room was the first step. Step two was today when I discovered my new favorite store... Joann's super store! So much better organized than the Michael's near my house. And there were actual employees around to ask a question or two. Oh, I can see myself getting into plenty of trouble at this store...

I went in with a plan... to gather items to make an advent calendar for Christmas. This would be an even better project if I had a kid, but I'll figure out a way to make it fun for my husband and myself. Now I did not come up with this idea on my own... no that is what pinterest is for. But I saw an advent calendar made from a muffin tin, and thought that it was probably something I could handle. And I must say, although it is far from perfect, I LOVE how it turned out. It was a fun project that allowed me to practice using a paper cutter, as well as these fun things that punch out shapes. (I don't even know what these things are called!) And, since each day is magnetic, the "doors" can be removed and I will get to use the mini muffin tin year round, so that is a plus!

So what you need for this little project is a mini muffin tray, magnetic sheets, decorative paper, some stickers and decorations, and glue. I found a paper cutter very helpful, but if you have a steady hand, I guess it wouldn't be necessary. I also enjoyed using the paper punches. They were on sale, so I got a circle and a Christmas tree one.

I cut my decorative paper and the magnetic sheets into 2 & 1/2 inch squares and glued them together.

These were then easily applied to the muffin tin, each one covering a hole. I trimmed the corner pieces a bit, to make it look a bit better.














Then, the fun part of decorating each day. This is when I decided that I love paper punches.

Look at how it came out!! 

Not bad for my first attempt at something so crafty!! I think I will use a plate stand to display it in on my kitchen counter. Now I just need to decide what each day should hold. I'm thinking maybe my husband and I can alternate days, and fill every other day with either a treat, or maybe write down a holiday activity to do together. In any case,  I'm very happy with my new advent calendar!