17 December 2012

Christmas Buttons - Yum

Here's a great easy, edible gift idea!  Christmas Buttons!
  1. Preheat oven to 350˚
  2. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet
  3. Put pretzel rings spaced at least 1/2" apart
  4. Unwrap Hugs and place in the middle of the pretzel
  5. Put cookie sheet in oven for 3-5 minutes - until the hugs get shiny, don't let them start to brown!
  6. Remove cookie sheet and immediately press M&M's onto the middle of the Hugs
  7. Chill and store in an air-tight container until gifting (or Enjoy!)
Yum yum yum yum yum yum...

11 December 2012

Craft for Christmas: Glass Ornaments

**Sorry no pictures yet!**
Looking for last minute crafty ideas for Christmas gifts with a little personal touch?  How about these...
[Pic]

Needed Materials:
  • Glass Ornaments - at least 3" in diameter
  • Ribbons - plastic and cloth
  • Wrapping paper
  • Music strips or Old book pages
  • Tacky Glue
  • Scissors
  • Glitter (optional)

All Inside:
  1. Remove the top of the ornament
  2. Cut ribbons desired, music/book strips, wrapping paper strips, etc. - strips should be 1/4-1/2" wide and 6-10" long, depending on how much overlap you want, and ribbons varying lengths but staying under 1/2" wide
  3. Curl ribbons with scissor (not necessarily all of them) and tie them together with a small (3-4") ribbon at the top (I made my ribbons long enough to fold in half and tie in the middle)
  4. Gently fold some of the paper pieces in half and put them in the ball to cover the bottom
  5. Stuff ribbons inside the ornament; you can put some loose ribbons in too, but in order to suspend them, they need to be attached to the top
  6. Slip remaining paper strips between ribbon and glass in the arrangement desired
  7. Ribbons and paper will settle some, so don't place the strips too close together
  8. Add a bit of glitter for some sparkle on the bottom (it will stick to the ribbons/paper and glass sometimes, so if the ornament is shaken, it gets a new look!)
  9. Bring the tied ribbon piece across the ornament's hole, put the top back on (make sure it is tight), and trim the ribbon ends
  10. Tie decorative ribbon around the top if desired

Decorate the outside too:
  1. Remove the top of the ornament
  2. Measure the ribbon around the ornament and cut (be sure it will be long enough to get under the metal top of the ornament)
  3. If ribbons will cross, glue the spot with Tacky glue
  4. Line the crisscross up with the bottom and glue to the ornament
  5. Starting with the ribbon on top, glue the ribbon to the ball 1-2" at a time, flattening the ribbon as much as possible
  6. Fill the inside with the instructions above
  7. When attaching the top, spread the metal pieces out to fit the ribbon underneath, then tighten again.  You can add a ribbon around the top the help insure it will not flare out

*DO NOT use glue inside the ornament, it will cause it to cloud.

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