Nail Polish Christmas Ornaments

When I saw these ornaments on Pinterest I knew I had to make them.  

Here is the tutorial that I used.

What you'll need are clear glass ornaments, available in several different sizes as well as shapes, (I got mine from Michael's), embellishments, ribbon and of course nail polish!  We chose mainly the glittery nail polish in festive Christmas-y colors. 

You'll need to remove the top and pour in the desired nail polish and begin to swirl the nail polish taking time to cover every bit of the ornament.

We also used clear glitter polish that we would swirl in the ornament first, once that dried we would go in with another opaque nail polish to create yet another look.

Below is the gallery of our creations:

We're pretty happy with the results!  

These ornaments now adorn our tree and will for many years to come!

Pumpkin Dip

A really easy and really, no I mean really, good dip for Fall!  It's so good that I could eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon... seriously, but is equally delicious with your favorite dippers.  We used Nilla Wafers, apples and pretzels, but there are plenty of options available.  Try some of your favorites!  

I found the original recipe here.  She has lots of other really good recipes that I will have to try, check out her blog!  

In the meantime, here's what you will need:

1- 15 oz can of pumpkin 

1- 5 oz box of instant vanilla pudding (use in it's powdered form, not as a pudding)
1- 16 oz container of cool whip  (full fat, low fat or no fat)

1/2- Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/2- Tbsp Cinnamon

 Directions:

1. Mix pumpkin, pudding mix, cool whip, and pumpkin pie spice together (by hand) in a very large bowl.

2. Chill for several hours before serving.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve with fresh apples slices, vanilla wafers or ginger snaps (or your favorite dippers).

Now, I must confess that when I made this, I added the cinnamon at the same time as the pumpkin pie spice and stirred it into the dip and sprinkled with additional cinnamon.  A happy accident, I don't think I'd change a thing, but I've provided you with the original recipe and will leave you with the choice to cinnamon or not to cinnamon! 

 I hope you enjoy!!

Valentine Pretzels

A Sweet (and Salty) treat for your Valentine!

Trust me when I say these are easy!  The hardest part is unwrapping all the Hugs and Kisses!  :)

 I found the directions, through Pinterest, here.  

All you need are 3 ingredients:

Square Pretzels

Hershey's Hugs and Kisse

Plain M&M's

Preheat oven to 200

Line baking sheet with parchment paper

Place pretzels in a single layer on baking sheet

Top each pretzel with a Hug or Kiss

(tip: Hugs and Kisses melt at different rates so don't mix them on your baking sheet)

Bake for 4-5 minutes until chocolate is shiny, not melted (you can see in the photo that I left one batch of Hugs in the oven a bit too long and they were a little too melted)

Place M&M in the center of the chocolate and gently press down (I'm particular and try to put the "M" side down!)

Let cool completely... the fridge works well for this!  :)

Enjoy!

Now the only question left... Would you be my Valentine?  :D

Cinnamon Roll "Waffles"

I've seen this all over Pinterest, and they're all the same so I don't really have a source to credit. 

Here's what you need:

~ Can of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls

~ Waffle Iron

~ Appetite!

What could be easier!?!

Coat your waffle iron with non-stick spray.

(or butter the grates... whichever is your preferred method)

Place the rolls on the iron, close the lid and...

... viola!  Cinnamon Roll Waffles!

Top them however you wish.   Some of us used the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls, and I preferred to use syrup.  Either way, they were a hit and so very easy!!

Try it... I think you'll like it!

Christmas Ornament for a Special Event

Want to have a keepsake from a special event?  Make an ornament!  You might remember the wedding keepsake ornaments that I made earlier this year, this is a similar idea.  You can do this with any event that you want to remember (a concert, a trip to the zoo, a movie, a dinner date etc) as long as all the pieces are able to fit through the small opening in the top of the ornament.  

In this case, I went to a Matchbox Twenty/Goo Goo Dolls concert, that's nothing new as I've been to several Matchbox Twenty or Rob Thomas concerts, but this one was special and wanted to have something tangible to remember that night.  

Look closely and you'll see that I've included my ticket, parking pass, pictures from the program and other words and phrases from the program and ticket packet.  I stuffed all these into the ornament, along with some crystal beads (on filament) and finished it off with a ribbon and a couple heart charms.  It's perfect... for me!!  Check out the other views of the ornament below:

I will look forward to unwrapping this ornament and placing it on my tree for many years to come!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Ornament In Memory of...

It's been almost one year since we lost our sweet Logan.  I wanted to have something in her memory for the Christmas tree and couldn't find any memorial ornaments that I liked.  I decided that I should try to make something.  This is what I came up with.  I liked it so much that I made 3 more, one for each of my kids to have for their Christmas trees.  

I found exactly what I was looking for at factorydirectcraft.com.  

I used this place card holder for the frame

         and these wings.

I took the backing off off the frame and removed the easel.  I adhered the wings to the backing with a good amount of hot glue.

Since it was going to be hanging by the wings I wanted to make sure that they were secure so I also used a heavy duty stapler and placed a staple or two right through the wings, glue and frame backing.

 Then I put her picture in the frame, slid the backing in place and put her front and center on the Christmas tree.

I know that for years to come when we decorate the tree it will bring back so many happy memories.

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Pumpkin and White Chocolate Cookies

 

More Pumpkin Cookies!

While looking for the perfect recipe, where else but on Pinterest, I found this recipe here.  Since I was already making the Caramel Frosted Pumpkin Cookies I was looking for another cookie recipe, but I wanted one that was quick and easy, and of course good, and this one fit the bill.  Let me let you in on a secret... this recipe uses only 3 ingredients.  Yes, you heard me right, only 3 ingredients. 

1 box of Spice Cake Mix

16 oz Pumpkin Puree

2 cups White Chocolate Chips

(divide chocolate into 2 - 1 cup portions, 1 cup for cookies and 1 cup for topping)

Here's what you do:

Preheat your oven to 350-degrees.

Mix your 3 ingredients together.

Drop on parchment or silicone sheet lined cookie sheet.

Bake at 350-degrees for 10-12 minutes.

 Once the cookies have cooled melt remaining white chocolate and drizzle over the cookies.

Pre-drizzle

Post drizzle

I hope you enjoy!  :)