Cute little Christmas Tree Brownies

I made these little treats for my son's preschool Christmas party, and he loved them! I was trying to find a treat that was cute and fun for my son to be excited about, but also that I could reasonably produce over 40 of them. These were exciting for the kids and delicious for the adults there. My inspiration for these were my favorite mint brownies. It is basically a fudgey brownie with green mint frosting on top and decorated with a string of melted chocolate, some red sprinkles, and a yellow M&M star on top.

Like I said, I had to make about 4 dozen, so I wanted to keep it simple. Besides, I don't believe there is a from scratch brownie recipe that can beat a good boxed brownie, and believe me, I have been on never ending search to find one. I followed the box directions for mixing up the brownies, but put them in a pan larger than suggested to make them thinner. For example, instead of an 8x8 pan, bake in a 9x13, or instead of a 9x13 bake in a half sheet pan. Because they are thinner, you will need to reduce the baking time. Start the timer for 8 minutes less than the suggested baking time then check your brownies and add time from there if needed. (Probably not more than 3 minutes of additional time.)

While baking or cooling, you need to whip up the mint frosting. This recipe is really an approximate. It is the basis of my frosting, but I have done it enough, that I go off of flavor and consistency more than precise measurements, so taste and observe to make the frosting just how you like it.

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1-2 tsp peppermint extract 
• approximately 6 drops of green food coloring
• 4 TBL milk (more if needed)
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter until light and fluffy. Add milk, vanilla, peppermint extract, and green food coloring then beat until just incorporated. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and beat in each addition. Add additional milk if needed. Sample for flavor, and add more peppermint extract if needed, 1/4 tsp at a time.

When the brownies have cooled, spread evenly with the frosting. Melt 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave for 50-60 seconds. Stir and add 1 Tbl of vegetable oil to thin it out. Use a fork to splatter over the frosted brownies in a random, but decorative design. Then add the sprinkles for extra decoration if you'd like.

Let the chocolate set. (Just a couple minutes in the refrigerator will do the trick.) Then cut in a triangle pattern to maximize the number of trees you can produce. Every row will have a half a tree left on each end, but the rest is used perfectly. Carefully remove the triangles, then top with a yellow M&M and let the kiddos enjoy!

Photo Coasters

I made these as a gift for my husband because he has taken a recent interest in photography. It is a great way to use and display some of his beautiful photos. I love these because they can be so personalized. They make a great gift and a beautiful accessory in your home.  They also are functional and inexpensive to make!

I decided to make a set of 6 coasters, but you can start with however many you'd like. First, I selected the photos I wanted to use and ordered them in a 4x6 print. I then went and found these cute hexagon white wall tiles at home depot. These little guys only cost .47 cents a piece! I bought 6 of them, and was ready start my project.

I started by using a scrap piece of paper to make a stencil for cutting all of the pictures to the right size. I traced the tile onto the paper and cut it out. I then used this stencil to cut all 6 pictures to the same size.

I used my spray adhesive to initially adhere the pictures onto the top of the tiles. Once they were centered on there and securely attached, I whipped out the Mod Podge. 

I did two coats of Mod Podge, letting it dry completely between each coat. The second coat was a good thick coat. 

I finished it with a final thin coat of polyurethane to really protect them from moisture. 

I let these dry completely and finished them off with a soft felt bottom to keep the tiles from scratching my table or anything else. 

I bought two 8x11 pieces of this oatmeal colored felt. Each piece can fit 5 tiles worth of felt. I laid the tiles out on the felt and traced the exact shape of the bottom. I cut each one and measured it to the bottom. 

At this point, I used my favorite glue- E6000 to adhere the felt to the bottom of the tiles. (If you have not used this glue, you need to try it. It is my go-to for so many projects.)

Once the felt is attached to the bottom, you can flip the tile right side up and trim any pieces of felt that hang over the edge. Once that is dry, you are done!

Homemade Ornaments

I know this post is coming late, but December was a busy month to keep up with all of the fun and creative festivities going on.  I have a friend that hosts an ornament exchange party every year. I was skeptical at first because I didn't feel like I had the money to go buy 10 nice ornaments for exchanging just to possibly get back 10 different ornaments that I may not even want. Then I realized that I can make my ornaments to bring so that the cost isn't too much of a concern, and I can design one that is actually meaningful to share without shopping all over town to find one that speaks to me.

In the end I was very happy with the result. The cost was low, they carried a story or sentimental value, and they looked pretty. They were very simple too. I made all 10 of them, plus a few extras, in an afternoon.

The recipe is simple:

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup  baking soda
• 3/4 cup water

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until it starts to thicken and looks like instant mashed potatoes. 

At that point, remove the dough from the pan, cover it with plastic, and let it cool.  While it was cooling, I worked on my design. For the design you can use cookie cutters, cookie stamps, a number of different ideas such as a leaf or lace for imprints. I found a cookie cutter I liked for the shape and used the blunt tip of a mechanical pencil to trace a stencil for the design. 

Once it has cooled (about 20 minutes), knead the dough and form it into a nice smooth ball. 

Then roll it out to about 1/4" thick and cut your shapes.  Then add your design or impression if you would like. You can also just leave them smooth. Painting can be done later. 

You could use a straw to poke holes at the top for threading a string through, but I decided to make hooks to loop my string through. I made my hooks from paper clips.  I could get three hooks from each one. 

 I inserted these into the top of each ornament, carefully making sure the ends were secured into the center of the thickness of dough. 

Lastly the ornaments need to dry out and harden.  You can leave them out on the counter for at least 24 hours to accomplish this, or if you're more impatient like me, you can do this in the oven. Turn your oven on very low- like 170 degrees, and leave them in for about an hour. I repeated mine on both sides just to be sure. 

At this point they are ready to go. Use an ornament hook or ribbon to thread through each hook and hang on the tree. You can also paint them if you'd like. I brushed each of mine with a light gold metallic acrylic paint to give them some extra sparkle. 

Buying Containers????

I am definitely frugal and hesitant when it comes to purchasing anything...even small purchases. I put off my list of little things I want because I always feel like "I don't really need it" right now. This is not a wish list I'm talking about.  This is a list of practical household items like, a funnel for the kitchen, a mail organizer, and the biggest one....storage container for organizing. Maybe I have such a hard time buying containers because if I am going to spend money on one it had better be a good value, and be EXACTLY what I want and need. This criteria of exactly is hard to fill because either it is too particular or I have not yet identified exactly what that criteria is. On the other hand, if I can get containers without spending any money on them, then it is much easier to find one I like because I don't expect it to be absolutely perfect, I simply expect it to meet my needs.

As a result, my new favorite thing is to re-purpose those containers I get from things I am already buying. This is not exactly NEW; I have saved and reused containers before; however I always hated those labels that advertised what use to be kept in there. This project removes those unwanted labels, leaving a clean slate to store whatever you want in there!

This is for printed labels. (Post to come on removing sticker labels). Here's the secret:

All you need is fingernail polish remover- with acetone (or just straight acetone) and some cotton balls to do the scrubbing.

Saturate a cotton ball in the acetone solution. Rub over the entire surface or the entire section you are starting with. At this point it may not look any different, but let it sit on the surface as you go back and start to rub with the cotton ball. Rub in a small circular motion gently, then more firmly until the label starts to disappear and ink covers your cotton ball.

Replace with a new cotton ball as needed and continue to rub, until some vigorous scrubbing may be required in the end to finish it off.

Gently wipe it clean and its ready to be reused!

Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

I have made a variety of different cinnamon roll recipes and sampled a number of others as well, and these are definitely at the top of the list.

In addition to the recipe itself, another tip to a good cinnamon roll, is to actually get a good tight roll on it.  The tighter the roll, the more layers, and more layers make for more cinnamon goodness.


Start the dough with the active dry yeast sprinkled over warm water and let it sit for a couple minutes to foam and bubble nicely. Make sure the water is simply warm and not hot. Put your wrist under the running water to determine a good temperature of feeling warm without being hot.

Meanwhile, melt the butter and warm the milk. A microwave will do for both of these tasks.

Mix the melted butter, milk, egg, sugar, and salt together. Then add the foaming water and yeast to the mix. Add the bread flour 1 cup at a time, mixing between each addition, or running a stand mixer on low with the dough hook attached.

Let the dough rise for approximately 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Turn the dough out on generously floured surface. Roll into a 10x17 inch rectangle.

Spread softened butter evenly over the dough, and heavily spread the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture all over. (You may add chopped pecans spread on top of cinnamon sugar.)

Roll tightly along the long end into a tight log. Work your way slowly along the edge with a pinch and tucking method into the tight roll.

Take a piece of unflavored floss or multi-purpose thread, approximately 12 inches long. Slip under one end of the log, 1.5 inches from the edge, bring up both ends of the thread and cross them over the top. Pull tightly to cleanly sever, without squishing the log.

Place the disks about 1 inch apart in a glass 9x13 pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden, but not dark.
Combine cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and milk.
Spread or pipe frosting over warm rolls.

For the Dough:

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 of a 3.4 oz. package of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 Tbl white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 cups bread flour

For the Filling:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• (optional: 3/4 cup chopped pecans)

For the Frosting:

• 1 (4 oz) pkg cream cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1-1/2 tsp milk

Serves: 12-16            Total Time: 2 hrs. 40 minutes        

DIY Storage Box

This is my latest project in attempt to organize our play room. Some organization and rearranging was absolutely necessary to fit some new Christmas toys into our tiny space.

I loved this project because I didn't have to spend a cent (considering I had some extra fabric and basic craft supplies on hand), and it was quick enough to whip up 3 of them in about an hour. Now there are a lot of variations of this same idea, but I chose this method because it was the quickest and most cost effective for me.  Just using my handy hot glue, it is a no-sew method. (One day I may go back and sew a quick 4 seam liner for the inside of the box, but for now it was unnecessary, and therefore quicker to leave that out.)

For this project you will need:

• 1 sturdy cardboard box
• a square of fabric that covers the bottom and wraps up all 4 sides of box + 1 inch
• hot glue
• paint (optional)

I started by selecting a good sturdy box. Or in my case....3 boxes. Try to peel off the paper or shipping labels without damaging the box. If there are still markings or stickers on the box and your fabric is thin, cover the box in a quick coat of paint to give it an even tone under the fabric.

Lay the fabric out and set the box, right-side-up, in the center. Lay the box to one side, give the edge of the fabric a double roll towards the box, and glue inside along with rim. Roll to the opposite side, making sure the fabric lays smoothly over the box. Repeat the double roll and glue.

With the two opposite sides glued, lay the box onto an unglued side. Lay the fabric smoothly onto the side facing up, and tack down with some glue as needed.  stretch the corners out in a nice triangle fold, cross over the box, and glue it down. Make another triangle flap and cross it over the first, then tack it down. Flip the box over to take all layers of fabric into a double roll, glued along the edge inside the box.
Repeat with the last unglued side.

Just like that, the envelope wrap box is finished and ready for storage!

Best kept gingerbread house secret

This is by far the best way to construct gingerbread houses. Before learning this technique I feel like we would spend the entire time trying to get the walls to stand and just when you think you have it, they would all collapse again as soon as you attempt to put on the roof. It would just be an entire effort of frustration with little chance to enjoy decorating. This method has made gingerbread houses such a fun tradition with fun, happy memories to go with it.

I have used this technique both for classic baked gingerbread construction as well as graham cracker creations. The secret is simple: assemble the houses using nothing more than melted sugar. Don't hassle with frosting. The sugar hardens quickly and holds better than glue. It is perfectly safe to eat if the kiddies want to eat their creation when their done. For the little kids I even like to have the houses pre-assembled using sugar and then I give them each a bag of frosting to use with their decorating.

To start the sugar adhesive simply place a heap of sugar in a pan on the stove over medium low heat.

Watch the sugar constantly and stir frequently. It will crystallize into large chunks before liquefying. Just continue to stir and try to break up the clumps as they form. Be patient, but as soon as you start seeing liquid, it can start to burn quickly.

Because it starts to burn so quickly, I like to start to assemble the houses as soon as I start seeing some liquid sugar. Just dip one side into the sugar and quickly stick it to the adjacent side. Remember that the sugar is terrible hot and even the smallest amount can give a serious burn. Work quickly and continue to dip and stick until you are finished assembling while always keeping an eye on the progression of the sugar.

In the end you should have one or several good sturdy houses, ready for decorating!