Design Crafters

Only one more day until New Year’s Eve!  I am not planning a large party this year, instead I am visiting family and relaxing, but in case you are planning a soiree, I wanted to share some of my ideas for party themes and decorations.  Here are some of my favorites.

• Arabian Nights
• Las Vegas Nights
• Black & White (guests can only wear those two colors)
• Tropical Paradise

Another great idea is to have a Murder Mystery party, where your guests get to play detective and guess “who done it.”

No matter your theme, don’t forget that you will need to still cover the party basics in order for your guests to have a good time.  These include:

• Food & Drinks
• Music & Dancing
• A Sitting Area to Gather
• A Present Table

Lastly, don’t forget to collect everyone’s keys and make sure they all get home safely.  As the host/hostess this is the most important job of the night!  Have a Happy New Year!

If you are like most families around the holidays, the time period between Christmas and New Years serves as a wonderful opportunity to clean up after the holiday chaos, and begin to prepare for the upcoming year.  Goodness knows organizing all of your decorations can be a lot of work, so here are some helpful hints to get you started.

• Go through all of your left over holiday cards and wrapping supplies and purchase what you will need for next year this week.  Stores are selling old holiday wrapping paper and decorations at over 70% off this week.  Take advantage  of the steals while you can.
• Make sure you have enough storage containers for all your decorations. Storage supplies go on sale every January.
• Talk to your family members to see how this year’s celebration went from their perspective.  Ask family members what were their favorite and least favorite activities this season. Make a note to focus on preferences and eliminate the least-liked next year.
• To avoid a fight with the lights next year keep festive outdoor strings tangle-free and tidy with a cord wind-up. (In a pinch, a piece of cardboard should also do the trick.)
• Take care of your Thank-You notes immediately.  Rules say you have up to 2 weeks, but the sooner you get them done, the better!
• Recycle your tree, by turning it into firewood, and having a post-Christmas bonfire bash.

Hope these holiday clean-up tips make your new year bright!

For those of you who read my post on wrapping presents, here is a follow up on finishing your wrapping with a big, fancy bow on top of the present.

To begin, you will need a big roll of ribbon, about an inch wide, in a color that matches your wrapping paper.  Once you are ready, coil the ribbon around your hand about 15 or so times, so it’s all in one neat roll. The width of the coil when you press it flat will be about the diameter of the bow, so make it wide enough that the proportions are aesthetically pleasing when you take into consideration the size of the package and the width of the ribbon. Generally, the narrower the ribbon, the smaller you should make the bow.

When you have enough ribbon wound around your hand, cut the ribbon off the spool at a diagonal, and press the coil flat so it looks like one long strip, and then double it over.

Next, diagonally trim just the very corners of the doubled end, but make sure not to cut too much, or your bow will break in half and you’ll have to start all over again.  Now, unfold the strip. You should have a slightly hourglass shape in the middle.

Now, go get the package, and tape a strip of ribbon around the wrapping paper. Use the ends of the ribbon on the package to tie on your coil of ribbon. Tie around the hourglass part.  You should have a little bunch of loops on either side.

Lastly,start separating the loops on one side, and alternately pull one up and one down until you have fluffed the whole side. Do the same thing with the other half of the bow. What you should have is a puffball-looking thing tied on top of your gift.

This Christmas Eve, start a tradition with your family by making Christmas butter cookies as a family.  Each year, since I was a little girl, my mother and I would bake these cookies on either Christmas Eve of the day before.  It is a fun, easy way to spend some relaxing quality time before the hectic holidays begin. Here is what you will need:

• 1 cup butter

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Here is what you are going to do:

1. To begin, cream together the butter and white sugar in a large bowl, until light and fluffy.
2. Next, beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla.
3. Combine the flour and salt, and stir into the sugar mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least one hour.
4. Chill cookie sheets, and preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5. Press dough out onto ungreased, chilled cookie sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden at the edges. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

 Happy Holidays!

Every year on Christmas Eve, I used to leave out a letter to Santa, along with some cookies and milk for him, and some carrots for his reindeer.  I used to work for hours on the letter - it had to be perfect.  Now, I help my nieces and nephews write homemade letters to Santa, using this holiday craft.

To make your homemade letter to Santa, you will need:

• Colored cardstock (recommended: 4 different colors)
• Velvet fabric
• 1″ Ribbon
• 1/4″ Ribbon
• 1/8″ Ribbon
• 2 pompoms
• Tissue
• 1 metallic colored hair elastic
• White paper
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Thin colored markers
• Fabric scissors
• Paper scissors
• Glue stick
• Hot glue gun
• Sculpting scissors

How to make the cards:

1. First,  fold several pieces of paper into “cards” and have write your messages to Santa and his reindeer inside.
2. Then, cover card with glue stick, and cover the front and back of card with velvet fabric.
3. Trim excess fabric.
4. Cut a 10″ wide x 12″ long piece of velvet fabric and lay it face down.
5. Fold the 10″ side edge at 2″ and hot glue in place.
6. Fold the 12″ sides of the fabric so they meet in the center, with the right side of the fabric on the inside.
7. Gather the bottom of fabric together and tie with an elastic, and then hot glue center seam together.
8. Turn bag outside in so right side of fabric is facing out, and glue the bag to front of card.
9. Cut a long piece of 1″ ribbon. Tie it loosely around the hair elastic, making a bow. Hot glue bow into place.
10. Next, fold a piece of 1/4″ ribbon in half and glue to the center of large bow.
11. Hot glue a pom-pom on 1/4″ ribbon ends.
12. Tie a double bow with 1/8″ ribbon and glue on top of 1/4″ ribbon.
13. Tie a small bow with 1/8′ ribbon and glue on top of double bow.
14. Then, draw envelope seam lines on back of small, various sized envelopes.
15. Glue small stamps shapes on right side of each envelope.
16. Create stamp images using different colored markers.
17. To finish, hot glue envelopes to inside the opening of the bag.

Hope you and your family have a great time making these letters to Santa!

My grandmother on my mother’s side of the family is German, and every Christmas, she would bake her homemade German Gingerbread Loafs.  My family loved them - they were just the right combination of sugar and spice.  Before my grandmother passed away a few years ago, she handed down this recipe to me, and now every Christmas I am the one in the kitchen baking.

To moake my grandma’s german gingerbread here is what you will need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup orange liqueur
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup blanched slivered almonds

Here is what you will need to do:

1. To begin, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and spices.

1. Next, in a large bowl, mix together the butter or margarine with the brown sugar.
   
2. Then, beat in the eggs, then the honey, orange liqueur, sour cream, and orange juice.
   
3. Once it is all mixed well, beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture, and then stir in the raisins and almonds.
   
4. Once the batter is mixed thoroughly, turn batter into a greased and floured tube pan, and bake cake at 350 degrees F for 80 minutes, or until it tests done with toothpick.
   
5. Transfer to a rack to cool.

This is a really easy recipe…very little work for a great loaf of bread.

Yum -That sounds good just reading it, doesn’t it?  This is a great recipe for those big family dinners, because it combines just the right amount of sweetness, and it can be made a day ahead of time and re-heated, so it is super easy! The red cabbage goes really well with red meats, so try it with a Roast Beef Brisket.

• 2 tbsp. (30 mL) vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 small head red cabbage, quartered and thinly sliced
• 2 apples, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) red wine (any kind)
• 1/4 cup (50 mL) apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp. (15 mL) sugar
• 2 tsp. (10 mL) salt
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) apple jelly

What you will need to do:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook, stirring for 5 minutes, until softened.
2. Next, add the cabbage and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cabbage is thoroughly wilted and softened.
3. Add in the apples, wine, vinegar, sugar and salt, lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, stirring once every fifteen minutes or so.
4. Lastly, stir in apple jelly, then replace the cover on the pot and continue to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, and then you are done.  Either serve and enjoy, or refrigerate/freeze and save for later!

This past weekend, my little cousins wanted to have a sleepover at my house.  We watched movies, pigged out on popcorn, and decided that we wanted to make some Christmas decorations for our family.  One of my favorite activities from when I was little, was to make a paper cup reindeer.  It is really simple, but fun, and is a great activity for a rainy afternoon.

Here is what you will need:

• 1 plastic, paper, or foam drinking cup
• Brown and pink acrylic paint
• 2 3”-square pieces of tan felt
• 2 medium wiggle eyes
• 1 medium red pom pom
• 2 black chenille stems
• Strip of felt to fit the inside rim of your cup
• White craft glue
• Black marker
• Scissors

To make your reindeer:

1. First paint your cup with the brown paint and set aside to dry.  Get creative by using different shades of brown.
2. Once the paint is dry, glue two wiggle eyes on the front of the cup, about halfway down from the rim, and then glue red pom pom on for the nose just above the bottom of the cup, centered under the eyes. (TIP - you can also use red glitter for the nose.)
3. Use scissors to carefully cut a small slit in both sides of the cup where you want the ears to go. (If the kids are young, let an adult do this part.)
4. To make the ears, roll one of the felt squares up like a cone; insert the pointed end into one of the slits on the cup, and secure felt to the cup with white craft glue. Repeat on other side.
5. Bend each chenille stem in half. Form chenille ends into antlers by creating a couple of bends on each one.
6. Next, make the antlers by gluing a strip of tan felt inside the rim of the cup, then immediately insert the antlers under the strip on each side. You may need to hold these in place for a few minutes until the glue dries. (TIP - You can also secure the antlers with clothespins.)
7. To paint on some rosy cheeks, dip your fingertip in pink paint and dab the excess off onto a paper towel, and then dot the pink paint on the sides of the cup slightly above the nose.
8. Lastly, use a black marker to draw on eyebrows.

Let me know how your crafty fun goes!!

Although stories may vary slightly, history tells us that Santa Claus, the jolly man in red, who comes down chimneys once a year delivering presents for good girls and boys was indeed a real person.  Here is my version of the true story of Saint Nick.

Santa Claus, also known as Nicholas Claus, or St. Nicholas, was born in 2000 years ago, not too long after the days that Jesus Christ walked the earth, to wealthy parents in a tiny village in the country we today call Turkey. Since the day he was born, Nicholas was a very religious boy, following  Christian principles, and giving self-lessly to others.  When he was a young boy his parents past away, and Nicholas turned to the church for comfort, and soon started along the past of becoming a priest.  Due to his great devotion to Christianity, Nicholas became the youngest bishop in the history of the church. When the romans began persecuting the christians for their religious beliefs, he was imprisoned with many other followers, until the roman emperor Constantine the Great established the Christian Church as the official religion of Rome. 

Nicholas was very fond of childern, he was constantly caring for them and giving them gifts, soon causing the children of the region to start refering to him as “saint” Nicholas, which then developed into Santa Claus (Santa means “saint” and Claus is short for Nicholas).  One day, Nicholas met a kind man in town who was so poor that he had to send his three daughters to the streetes to beg for food and money. When Nicholas heard of this, he immeadiately knew he had to help, so one night, under a full moon, Nicholas crept up to the poor man’s house, and placed three sacks of gold and food inside the man’s open window (one sack for each child).  It is from this, that the lovely story of Santa Claus, the jolly old man who sneaks down the chimney on December 24th, was born.

This year, I am compiling a holiday wish list from my friends, family and colleagues to see what their top “wishes” are for next year.  This list can be purely fantasy, or reality, it is completely up to you.  What I am asking, is that you leave a comment to this post, and tell me what your top holiday wishes are.  I will gather all of the responses over the next several days, and then post them all to this blog, anonymously.

Here are my top holiday wishes:

• Peace in the middle east ( a little cliche, but still true).
• Bring our soldiers home to spend the holidays with their families.
• An economic uplift next year.
• All of my family coming together next Christmas.  My family is scattered throughout New York and Ohio, and this year it was too expensive to make the trek down to celebrate together.

Please add yours to the list, and maybe your wish will be granted!