Green Bunny: December Daily - It's Finished!

Here it is! My 2010 December Daily album is finished. And, as always, several things changed along the way. Such a fun project. I posted the first 12 days in mid-December here, in case you missed it. Starting with Day 13 today:

Day 13: I decided to list some of the current news happening locally and around the world. Always fun to look back at that kind of stuff several years later and say, "Oh yeah, I remember that!"

Day 14: Our tradition of Starbucks and lights on one side and a pretty card I've been hanging on to saying, "I'll do something with this some day" on the other. The mini Starbucks logo is from a small sample cup.

Day 15: Just a couple things around the house. I used my label maker to create the words.

Day 16: Logan's Preschool Program. I wanted to include the handout, but it was really big. I cut down the width and folded it in half to create a "lift here" tab. Then just added a photo on top.

Day 17: Completely lifted this journaling idea from Ali Edwards' blog. Loving the way she expressed her joy for the season. Followed suit with a list of my own (pictured below).

Day 18: I was out shopping all day and left Dan in charge of DD pics. He took this one of the boys hanging out in matching PJs. So sweet. (This is a cropped Heidi Swapp transparency.)

Day 19: Just another look at something in our home at Christmastime...

Day 20: Was a day of wrapping gifts!

Day 21: Our letters to Santa. I punched holes in an envelope and added it right in to the album. Slipped the letters inside along with Logan's map from the North Pole to our house (pictured below).

Day 22: Here is one of those 'moments' I've been talking about. Just before bedtime I gave Carter a cup of water and he plopped down right next to the island in the kitchen to take a drink. Logan was standing by and decided to plop down right next to him. Becoming little buddies!

Day 23: This is one of the 4x4 acrylic pages. I journaled right on the dark sky in the photo using Photoshop. Then, I adhered the photo to an Elle's Studio journaling card (discontinued, but similar to this).

Day 25: This is the page I added using a thick piece of cardstock to create a folder that opens out (pictured below) knowing there would be more than one Christmas morning photo I would want to use. I printed the pics on one matte photo paper page so it would crease and fold easily with the cardstock.

Day 26: I was only going to do 25 days, but at our second Christmas dinner on the 26th, Logan ended up in the ER (bit through his bottom lip while playing with his cousins). Had to be documented...

Extras: I cut a 6x12 divided page protector that had spots for three 4x6 photos to create small pockets for extra 'stuff' Again, used the Crop-a-Dile to punch my holes and added little bits and pieces. I love looking back at how things change and thought it would be fun to include tags, packaging, a coffee sleeve, etc. from Christmas 2010. The second sleeve has a couple of the boys' drawings and Logan's first hand-written Christmas tag to us (from preschool).

Hoping I've inspired some of you to join me in creating a December Daily for 2011!

Christmas Around the House

Just a couple of things around the house that make the season a bit more enjoyable. I only decorated about half of what I normally do this year. At 17 months, Carter is just too 'touchy-feely' right now to do it up the way I normally do.

This Santa wall hanging is one of my favorite new things this year! I bought this old cardboard Santa decoration from an antique store for $6. Bought the 16x20 frame from IKEA for $15 and had some green fabric at home...Voila! I hung it on the way up the stairs and the boys LOVE it. They say "Goodnight, Santa" every night on the way up to their rooms.

This was one of my day-after-Christmas purchases last year. SO GLAD I bought it. Logan really liked marking off the days this year and I am sure it will get plenty of use for years to come. I hung it in the kitchen so we could mark the days during breakfast.

I can't put wrapped presents under the tree yet, so I created a little kid area instead. Every year, after Christmas, I buy a bunch of little wind-ups and small toys and put them away for the next year. I fill the small "Ho Ho Ho" enamel bowl (on the left) with all the goodies. The kids love sifting through it. The red basket houses all the Christmas books and all the holiday stuffed animals have a home too (except for the ones that get taken up for bedtime on occasion).

The wrapping paper I am desperately trying to get rid of this year. I have WAY TOO MANY old, half-used rolls. I typically like to pick two matching papers and use them on everything. My 'particular' nature enjoys the way it looks under the tree vs. a little bit of everything. But, this year, I vowed I would not buy any new matchy-matchy paper until these are GONE! I guess I'll buy some after Christmas and I can look forward to next year's matching packages for 11 whole months.

(Yes, I am THAT particular about it)

Let's liven up those chicken nuggets, shall we?

Our Starbucks and Lights tradition...

SO fun to go driving with Christmas tunes and yummy drinks. The boys are at such a fun age and REALLY enjoyed looking at all the houses this year. Carter just started saying "Santa" so he was like a broken record the whole time we were out!

Cast Iron Gingerbread Mold

Side 1: Traditional

Side 2: Contemporary

Just some holiday fluff for the blog this evening.  I borrowed this cast iron gingerbread mold from a friend, who borrowed it from her mom, who has had it forever, and now I'm in love with it.  Must have one.  I've never seen anything like it!  The mold is two sided--one side has a traditional house, and the other has a more contemporary style.  And she passed along the recipe as well.  It was so easy--mix up the dough, press into the mold and bake.  Simple!  The gingerbread houses that result are gorgeous (and edible--yum!)and we had a great time putting them together.  I found several on Ebay for $15-$50 , and you can also buy them from the original maker, the John Wright Company, for $26.50 plus shipping; they have some neat stuff on their website.  I think it would be a great addition to any kitchen and a treasured heirloom for future generations.

Green Bunny: December Daily - Update

Here we are...11 days until Christmas and the 'halfway' point of my December Daily album. I'm including the pages I have finished so far. You may notice (if you paid a lot of attention to the 'getting started' post or if you go back and compare) that some pages have changed. That's why I love this project. It changes as you go. I start with my foundation and then I get to that day and I have a picture I want to use and realize I don't like the layout or the color scheme or it's just not gonna fit...

That's what's fun about it: It doesn't have to be PERFECT! Don't stress if you don't do a lot one day or if the album doesn't feel like it's coming together. This project is all about the complete album and the memories of the season as a whole. No one is expected to do something 'Christmasy' every day in December.

Day 1: Not the greatest start to December...we all had doctor appointments and felt blah. I added a strip of cardstock so I could write about the day and included a pic of the goodies we picked up at Target while getting our prescriptions...always a silver lining!

Day 2: Still under the weather, a simple Christmas fort was the only exciting moment of the day.

Day 3: There is always a story with the Santa picture, right? I added a vellum overlay so I could keep the picture large. (The oops of the day...I originally forgot Day 3 in the album and had to rearrange some things.)

Day 4: I originally made this a two-page spread because I knew it was the day of Logan's party. It happened to be a page with a tab, so I added alpha stickers to spell 'super', the theme of his party.

Day 6: This is the acrylic 4x4. I decided to make the picture 4x4 as well and added an explanation with alpha stickers.

Day 8: "Trim up the tree with Christmas stuff like bingle balls and Who foo fluff!" Here's a secret: We put up our tree at the end of November, but I felt it deserved a day in the album. See? Anything goes.

Day 9: I saved this little knit envelope from a Starbucks gift card a couple years ago knowing I would use it on SOMETHING...I glued it down and inserted a small note about the boys this Christmas.

Day 10: This is one of the Heidi Swapp transparencies. Got some adorable hats for the boys on this day. Enlarged the picture of Carter and just added a small holiday phrase 'joy to the world' sticker right on the transparency.

Day 12: The gingerbread train...Carter was so annoyed in this pictured because he just wanted to TOUCH THAT TRAIN, but that's all part of the experience, right?

Day 13: I haven't finished this page yet, but decided to list some of the current local & national news stories.

Plans for the second half of December: letters to Santa, our Starbucks & Christmas lights tradition, Logan's preschool program, wrapping presents, opening stockings, and more! Maybe one more post when it's complete?

It's the Hap - Happiest Season!

We're in the midst of the most wonderful season of all, and one of my favorite days is just around the corner.  Christmas Cookie Delivery Day!

Christmas cookies are a delish way to let someone know you're thankful for their presence in your life.  We take trays of treats to our neighbors, close friends and family, our beloved pediatrician... last year we gave a plate to the mailman and our milkman just to say, "Thanks and Merry Christmas to ya!" 

There's something very special about a homemade tray of goodies around the holidays... knowing that someone lovingly prepared them in their kitchen with you in mind.  Some of my earliest memories of my mom are in the kitchen at Christmas, watching her "fudge" the pistachio fingers and drizzle loaves of cranberry poppyseed bread with to-die-for orange icing, to take around to all our Emporia friends and neighbors.  I haven't nailed down the bread recipe yet but we're working on it.  :) 

I've made all of these recipes multiple times--they're tried and true and dear to my heart.  None are overly time-consuming, aside from the gingerbread men which I've decided to forgo this year in favor of extra sugar cookies.  I make all the doughs ahead of time and pop them in the freezer, and do all the baking the day before Delivery Day (using parchment paper to avoid all the pan-scrubbing).

Ina Garten's Jam Thumbprints (Mom's favorite)
Paula Deen's Ginger Cookies
Paula Deen's White Chocolate Cherry Chunkies
Charlotte's Caramels (If you've never made candy before, this is a delicious way to start.)
Traditional Gingerbread People (I made these two years in a row--totally yummy but a little time-consuming, might still make them with the girls, but not for delivery day.)

And I'll share a couple of our family recipes with you too...

Mom's Christmas Pistachio Fingers
You'll Need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 8 oz (1 brick) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 small package pistachio pudding
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 jar hot fudge ice cream topping

Combine sugar, butter, and cream cheese in mixer; mix until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla.  Combine remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl and add gradually to mixer.  Stick dough in the fridge for at least an hour.  Grease a cookie sheet (or use parchment paper) and shape dough into  1 1/2 inch fingers.  Bake at 350 for 9-12 minutes.  Cool and drizzle with warmed fudge.  At this point, I stick them in the freezer because otherwise it's impossible to get them on delivery plates in an attractive manner--freezing solidifies the fudge and makes them easy to work with.

Mom's Famous Sugar Cookies
You'll Need:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream

Combine butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs.  Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl and add gradually to mixer.  Add sour cream and vanilla last and mix well.  (Big recipe--use a big bowl!!)  At this point you could do one of two things: form into balls immediately and bake for 10-12 minutes at 375, or stick in the fridge and get the dough nice and cold for rolling out into Christmas shapes.  I'm trying this frosting recipe this year but I'm open to other ideas if you have a favorite--I'm looking for the perfect sugar cookie frosting that dries hard, stays nice and shiny, and tastes delicious. 

Merry Christmas-cookies from my kitchen to yours!!

Christmas Cookie Update:

Done and plated!  The girls "helped" (don't worry, saving the ones they made for Santa Claus).  Didn't end up doing the caramels...well, actually I did make the caramels, but the recipe flopped (must have been the weather, I've made those caramels 10 times with no problems) and I didn't have the heart to start over.

Here's the Sugar Cookie Glaze I ended up using.

Here are some pictures of the finished products: