You're a superstar!

I have been struggling a bit this year...it would seem as though...my older two Creative Kids just might be, I mean, may be...well there is a possibility that they are "crafted-out". I know...it hurts doesn't it? I admit, things have gotten pretty crazy this year with me having some time off in December I have been doing some extra crafty stuff and a little baking...but I have been taking it pretty hard when the kids turn down crafts so they can go play.

It's a "Cat's in the Cradle" kind of moment for me...but alas, I still have my baby and he rarely says no to Mummy's crafty needs!

Today we made a simple Sugar Scrub using things that you will find in your kitchen. Right now.

Well, maybe you won't find Simon there but he is here if you need him. Helpful. Cute. Two. Remember the 2 part because otherwise it doesn't always work out...

SO, we filled our jars (these are mini-jam jars that were given to us but look out for baby bottles, relish jars, etc) with sugar and topped it up with some oil.This seemed like a wise idea until Simon and I started stirring...and I have to tell you something...my side of the table didn't look much better! Add oil until you are happy with the consistency...keeping it a tad on the dry side...
As you may want to add a scent. We tried vanilla. And we tried the scrub. It was lovely, my hands felt great after...so did Simon's...see?
And here is the somewhat finished product...I hope we have time to pretty them up!
So, Simon...you are my Superstar! Thank you for helping me and keeping me on my toes. And thank you for being so lovely...

Enjoy!

Heather

One Pretty Thing, leads to another and another...

So, I knew from the start that I was going to get my friends The Happy Baker Cookbook for Christmas this year. I love my copy but then I got to thinking...how could I kick it up a notch and make it extra special.

I decided there was no better thing than to heed the words of The Happy Baker herself and made 3 aprons to go with the cookbooks I had bought.

And boy, do I ever hate that I didn't make one of these babies for myself! I don't often sew for myself so I need to get back to this asap and make one for me too!

I mean, how much better does it get? This pattern is from Sew Liberated on-line. The only problem was it took about 4 weeks for the pattern to ship. They sent me another one by US Express Post and that one came after the first and still took about 10+ days. I have never had such trouble with mailing.
So, to the three beautiful ladies that I made these aprons for...I hope that they make you feel beautiful and remind you how much you mean to me. You help me get through each day...you have all been wonderful to me. So, if you are feeling a little down...I hope you can put your apron on and remember that you are loved and that you are fabulous!

Enjoy!

Heather

3 Kids. 3 Trees. 3 Flavours.

We're coming down to the wire here...what is it? 5 more sleeps until Christmas. Everything is coming together but I know I am going to have to slow down the gift making so that I can focus on this week's T'was the Night Before Christmas Workshop...it's time to prepare for that. But maybe, we can squeeze in a few more goodies first...what do you think?

This is another tradition here...we don't do Gingerbread Houses we do Sugar Cookie Trees...Sarah is working on a Cinnamon Tree...

Sean is working on a Chocolate Tree...

And Simon? He is working on an Orange Tree!

Because there has to be decorations!

Here they are...in all their glory...

We filled one of the trays with goodies and then brought it with us to a friend's house. Sean was so proud...and everyone was impressed!

Enjoy!

Heather

A Comedy of Errors...

Well, I decided that I would like to make wreaths for the kids' teachers this year. Plan A was to make them with dried citrus fruit. I ran my oven for hours drying those lemon and orange slices I had painstakingly cut up...I had a bowl full of oranges done...and was finishing up the lemons when Grama CB arrived.

She took one look and said "Do you think they are dry enough" (remember this is my mother)

I replied: I followed the directions

She said: I think they need more time...you wouldn't want them to go mouldy.

So, after she left I put the lemons back in the oven. And they got burnt. Then, short attention span and all...I left the oranges for about a week...then I looked at them and saw some small (really small) dark spots. Don't you hate it when they are right?

So, on to Plan B. I found this while we were out shopping...

So...we got to work (that is after a friend delivered some wire hangers).
It was a serious job...Well, maybe not for everyone!Then we ran out of ornaments before the wreaths were done...so Mr. CB kindly picked up another container and we finished the job. I added bows and took a photo.When I took the wreath down ornaments went flying...All. Over. The. Place. I was SO sad. So, I consulted my panel of experts on Facebook...Grama CB happened to come over this afternoon so she finished the wreaths up. Then the kids and I made tags for them tonight...
These are some of the tags we made...Sorry the photo is sideways...technical difficulties.
SO...can you tell which tags are Simon's? All of the kids had fun making them before heading to bed.

Enjoy!

Heather

The loveliest of all...was the birthday girl!

This isn't the birthday girl but she's cute too, don't you think?Shrink art! When I suggested Shrink Art to this mom she had never seen it before...I sent her photos from another party and she was right in there!
Happy Birthday!
Did I mention this was a Unicorn Party?
With Unicorn Cupcakes? These were super fun to make!
And Unicorn Purses!
They turned out really cute...the girls loved them!
And finally, here are the girls! A number of them were here a while back. I love seeing old friends again...they were so sweet!
Enjoy!

Heather

Double or Nothing...

There are a couple of things you should know about me when it comes to cookies;

1. I almost always do a double batch - that's what my mother told me and you don't question your mother!
2. I always take them out of the oven before they are fully baked. I like a soft cookie...not a crunchie one...the only crunchy cookie I like is an Oreo...and I sure do love Oreos!

Simon was distracted while my mixer was running (I had turned on Sesame Street this morning). So he was pleasantly surprised to find the oven on when the show was over. He insisted I turn the light on so he could take a proper look!

I followed the Redpath Sugar Recipe (video is below) with a couple of modifications so that my Creative Kids could enjoy them too (this means they are lactose-free now!) I substituted butter with a lactose-free margarine and white chocolate chips with semi-sweet chocolate chips.
And this made for a very happy boy this morning! Who doesn't love a gooshy cookie right out of the oven?
So check out the video! And make sure you watch for Erin's undercracking egg method! You should totally check out Erin's cookbook her website is here... http://www.thehappybakerchick.com/home.html it's a fun to read beautiful cookbook filled with fabulous classics with some twists!

I hope you enjoyed the video! The one with me in it will be out in the spring...I can hardly wait!

Want the recipe all written out? Here is a PDF of the recipe on a Redpath Recipe Card.

Enjoy!

Heather

It Takes 2 to make a thing go right...

I was asked to make a zebra cake...there were 2 things that stuck out in my head when I was looking for inspiration on-line. This cartoon! I found him here.

And the photo below is the other thing that I discovered...there is an actual cake called Zebra Cake and it looks like this...

And it looks really neat baked too.
And the finished product was fabulous. Except for one thing...I made the cake 1 week early. Yep, 1 whole week. I have never done anything like this before.
I felt sick...I had this cute little guys just looking at me. And for the first time ever, I didn't want to cut one of my own cakes. SO....I posted this photo on my personal Facebook profile. And I was lucky enough to find a buyer...he was picked up and enjoyed. Thank goodness!
And then I started again this week. I changed a few things...I added more shape to his ears.
And I added a medallion around his neck.
This guys just cracks me up. I didn't mind doing him a second time because well, he makes me happy. I hope he made the birthday boy happy too. This cake was for the boy who had the lion cake last year. He had it all planned out...his Auntie would bring him a Zebra Cake this year...just like the Lion Cake last year. I am liking this boy...I can't wait to see what he comes up with next!

The cake is a Zebra Cake with Cookies and Cream filling. Yum!

Enjoy!

Heather

Corporate Christmas!

I feel like I just can't catch up lately! There is so much to do with Christmas just around the corner and I am posting photos from last week still on both Facebook and here! I am not sure where all of my time is going these days (could be the daily trips out to do errands and shopping...nah!)

I met up with a really great group celebrating the holidays together last week! They wanted to do something fun together so I was invited out to help them get into the Holiday Spirit!

There were so many variations on the Snowman Pouch, it was really fun to watch them have fun with the punches!
This is a gift card holder...
And a gift tag...isn't he cute???
Here are my samples...one of my Creative Kids felt the need to accent Rudolph with some tears and a mouth...guess he wasn't having a good day?

It was a lot of fun and there are lots of things I can do with corporate groups including cards, hostess gifts (soap, bath bombs, flavoured sugars)...the possibilities are endless!

Enjoy!

Heather

Hawaiian Days...on a winter night!

I have been meaning to post these photos for a few days. Time seems to be slipping by on me lately! I had so much fun with this group of girls...

The birthday girl requested Tiki Necklaces...I googled it (what else wouldyou do?) and found my inspiration. See the photo below, it came from here.

But before we made the necklaces we had to colour and shrink our charms...

Then the girls carefully laid out their beads of choice and created their own works of art...
We made my favourite beach cupcakes! And did I mention the hair bands...how cute are they?
Some more cupcakes...I love cupcakes!
Enjoy!

Heather

Hey Santa!

When Simon saw Santa on Saturday...there wasn't a moments hesitation...he just seemd to know that this was a man to get to know!

Time for a group shot! This is our first visit of 3 planned visits this year! We have a busy December!
Oh I almost forgot...this one wasn't about my kids! We went to Breakfast with Santa at Willow Creek Parlour here in Beamsville where I did a craft with all of the kids!
If you are local look out for us in the paper! We had so much fun with Santa and the other children!

Enjoy!

Heather