A Christmas Breakfast Gift Basket

Who doesn't love breakfast?
With just a few fun and quick-to-put-together items you
can warm the cockles of someone's breakfast-loving heart!

Once upon a Christmas we had a fabulous neighbor
help us out with something a little challenging.
To thank them I put together this breakfast gift basket.

It was pretty simple and fun to do.

I picked up most of the non-food items at HomeGoods or TJMaxx.

Start with some really cute Christmas plates.

There are four in this set packaged in a nice box.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of them alone.

Pile in the goodies.

I've thrown in some maple syrup sporting a Santa hat.

Next add some ready-to-mix pancakes in a mason jar.

I can't remember which recipe I used, this one or this one...

but I'm leaning toward the one that adds butter.

Because butter makes it better, right?  Right.

Just mix up the dry ingredients and add a tag for

the instructions to add the wet ingredients.

If you want to deliver the whole package...

include some milk, eggs, and butter in the basket.

My basket also included a bag of Christmas Cappuccino mix...

perfect for chilly mornings...or evenings...or lazy afternoons!

If you can, add in a jar of homemade jam...this one's peach.

Stick some cute labels to the tops of your mason jars.
Make it festive!

Tuck it all in a basket with some tissue,

or as I have here, a snowflake canvas bin.

Add a fun dish towel - which may or may not ask a dubious question - and

some absolutely necessary red and green striped straws!

And there you have it...
A fun and easy gift you can throw together at almost the last minute.

Now, I just have to ask you...
Have YOU been naughty or nice?

I refuse to answer that question on the
grounds it may tend to incriminate me.

At any rate...
I hope you and your family have a wonderfully magical
Christmas surrounded by love and joy and the peace of the baby born in Bethlehem.

Snowbird Ornament Giveaway from Tree Classics

Hey, folks!
I hope you had a fun and safe Halloween and the only
bad spirits you encountered came from a bottle.

I know it's not quite Thanksgiving,

but it's time to start thinking about Christmas.

Making lists, checking them twice,

figuring out if you've been naughty or nice.

I can't really help with the naughty or nice part,

but I may be able to help with the decorating!

Tree Classics has asked me to help you make your

home into a winter wonderland this Christmas.

Founded in 1976, Tree Classics™ has a long history of
designing the World's Finest Artificial Christmas Trees.
We have since expanded our range of holiday offerings to
include artificial wreaths, garlands, and various accessories.
Our lasting success is a result of our dedication to quality
and personal service that delights customers year after year

I'm partnering with them to give away this

adorable set of Mini Snowbird Ornaments.

The splendor of the outdoors comes alive with

Tree Classics' Assorted Mini Snow-Bird Ornament Set.

These Christmas tree decorations capture the charm of

snowbirds perched on evergreens in the winter.

With a bristly finish & glitter embellishments,

these snowbird ornaments are perfect against the

rich green foliage of a classic Christmas tree.

Check out the Rafflecopter giveaway below and
enter to receive these sweet little snowbirds.
The contest runs through 11:59 PM MST on Nov. 11
and is open to U.S. residents only.
For more details, see the terms and conditions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for coming by...and good luck!

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Grandma's Butter Caramels

Hello, strangers.

How's your new year going so far?

I hope it's been great...sorry for you east coast folks...

I know the weather has been making life miserable.

Here's something to keep you busy and give

you something to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Homemade butter caramels.

They are soooooo amazingly delicious!

You'll hide them in your coat pocket so you can find them one afternoon

when you think they're all gone so you can have a sweet surprise!

Oh, wait...maybe that's just me.

These tasty caramels are part of the legacy that is my mother-in-law.

She passed away this past summer after a long battle with cancer.

This post is a tribute to her.

It was 16 years from her initial diagnosis to her death...

and let me tell you, she filled those 16 years with as much life as she could.

She traveled, she had good times with friends and family,

she spoiled her only granddaughter,

and just over 6 years ago she married a good man.

Who says you can't find love later in life?

She was tough, she was a fighter...but she was good-hearted and generous.

Did we always see eye to eye?

Of course not, we're family after all.

But we agreed on the tremendous love we had for her son, my husband,

and her granddaughter, our daughter, Sara.

She raised a son into a wonderful man whom I love more than

anything and I will forever be grateful to this woman.

Okay...on to the sugar.

You'll need a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature so

you don't end up with runny or rock hard candy.

I used a Pampered Chef silicone spatula to stir because they have a high heat tolerance.

You'll also need extra arms, because you'll be stirring and

stirring and stirring until you think the arms you have will fall off!

See? An action shot...of the incessant stirring...

Ahead of time, you'll want to prepare your cookie sheet or baking sheet for cooling.

I used a cookie sheet and lined it with parchment which

I also buttered so the caramel wouldn't stick.

Once they're cool, turn them out onto a large cutting board and use a heavy,

sharp knife to cut them to the size and shape you want.

Be careful.

Caramel is rather hard and you'll be using a lot of pressure on the knife to cut it.

I wouldn't want any of you to injure yourself in the name of sweets.

My MIL used wax paper squares to wrap her caramels.

I don't buy wax paper, so I have always used parchment squares.

The parchment I purchase has a silicone

coating so it works similar to the wax paper.

If you use a smaller pan to cool them, you'll get fatter caramels.

I kinda like them flatter...to me they're easier to bite...

but that's totally up to you.

You will have to excuse the Christmas tree and packaging.

I had fully intended to get this out to you in time for gift giving.

However, life gets in the way sometimes and we just have to adjust our sails.

So...just pretend these take-out boxes really have hearts

on them and give them away for Valentine's Day!

I asked her one time if this was a secret family recipe because I wanted to share it.

She laughed and said she had found it in some magazine

she could no longer remember and thought they sounded good.

She'd been making them every holiday season

since and loved to give them as gifts.

My husband's cousin's wife (got that?) got the recipe from

me in December so she could make some to take to Christmas dinner.

It was a heart-felt gesture and a wonderful surprise to her MIL,

my MIL's sister, and my MIL's husband.

They were very touched by her thoughtfulness.

A legacy of sweetness.

Grandma’s Butter Caramels

• 1 lb real butter
• 2 ¼ cups packed brown sugar (I used dark, she used regular)
• 1 cup Karo syrup
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla

1. Mix all but vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. Continue to stir and stir and stir until mixture reaches 243° on a candy thermometer.
3. Remove from heat, add vanilla, mix well.
4. Pour onto a well-buttered cookie sheet or baking pan, spread evenly.
5. Let cool; cut into squares or rectangles, or whatever your heart desires.
6. Wrap in wax paper or parchment squares.
7. Indulge often.

Printable recipe.

Make some caramels.

Hug the ones you love.

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My Fresh Christmas Fireplace

I'm back!

Just like I promised with the fresh cedar mantel.

It's simple and stunning.

I gave you a little peek in last week's post about my paper rose trees.

In case you missed them...go check 'em out!

I'm not doing a whole house tour...
like I said during last year's tour...most of my decor stays the same.

The main thing that changes is the mantel...

and apparently now the little dresser. :)

Home Depot had some fresh cedar garland in their ad for Black Friday.

Since I'm not nearly crazy enough to do the whole

Black Friday thing, and besides, I have to work...

we were out shopping Friday evening.

Well, of course, by the time we got there, the garland in the ad was gone.

The sales clerk was awesome enough to give us this other garland for the same sale price.

She totally rocks!

I love the drapey look of it...and so carefree.

Getting it to hang on my not real mantel was anything but!

I paired it with different size red and white poinsettias,

some fabulous angel wings, a couple of my handmade stockings,

along with a few I got from Decor Steals.

I love these glitter metal stars I picked up on clearance this summer.

I've spritzed it and spritzed it and it's still completely dry.

Welcome to Colorado.

It still looks beautiful and it might just be my absolute favorite thing this year.

I hope your Christmas season finds you enjoying family and

friends and remembering the reason for the season.

We are heading to OKC to see Sara perform in the

university's Christmas shows and can NOT wait!!!

Next stop: yummy Christmas treats!
Don't miss it!

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Paper Rose Christmas Trees

It's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTMAS!

And I am so excited!

Really.

Because I love Christmas!

And I love love love these paper rose trees I made...

that I'm going to share with you!

See them there...on the left?

And below?

Oh.My.Goodness.

Tons of paper roses all happy together.

Wanna make one, too?  Or two, too?

Or tutus.

But that would be a different post.

If you've never made a paper rose before...

never fear...I am here to help!

Cut a circle out of paper.

Very complicated, I know.

I used an image I found online somewhere...

and for the life of me I can't figure out where I got it.

Possibly the Graphics Fairy, but I can't find it anymore.

It's old sheet music...I printed it double sided on a draft setting so it was light.

Once you have your circle,

begin cutting a spiral to the center...

not too thick or too thin...

and make sure you leave a small "base" in the center.

Now, ignore my dry cuticles and start rolling the paper

rather tightly from the outside edge all the way to the center.

It will seem tight at first, but will end up looser at the end.

See? Once you let it go, it unravels slightly.

Now is when the center base is important...

using a good tacky glue...add a good blob to your base and

press the scrolls into the glue and let them dry.

I painstakingly glued them to some paper mache cone

trees that I painted with a creamy base color.

These trees are from Hobby Lobby and have a base that is

smaller than the tree and I like that it makes it sit above the surface.

You can adjust the size of your roses by making your

original paper circles smaller or larger.
I used about 3 different sizes on my trees.

From one sheet of regular paper, fold it to get either 4 or 6 circles...
if you do 4 even squares for your 4 circles, that leaves a
section that allows you a couple smaller circles...
that work great at the top of your tree.

I knew all along that I wanted to display them on
the little painted dresser in the living room.
I had fun looking for some pretty things to get the look I wanted.



I found the gorgeous velvet ribbon at TJMaxx and had
intended to use it on my little trees in the loft, but it just
seemed to work so well to tie together the little birdie and
the red mercury glass candlestick.

I think I'm going to leave it just like that!

Or I was...
until I threw in a few clippings from the fresh
cedar I got for the fireplace mantel.
Which I've decided to share separately,
so I didn't make this post extremely long.

Ugh.

This process was rather time consuming.
By rather, I mean very.
I cut, rolled, and glued roses in my spare time and while watching TV.

Then I glued the roses to the trees also while watching TV.

It takes longer than you'd think because you have to wait
for one row to dry before adding the next so they
don't shift when you get them close to each other.

I don't know exactly how long it took...but a good chunk of time.
As for me, I think it was totally worth it.
I love the way they look, they are perfect with my traditional
colors for red and white plus green,
and I really only had to purchase the tree bases.
Awesome.

So, what do you think?
Would you love to sit for hours and play with paper and glue?

December is always crazy busy for us...
but I will make sure you get to see my whole mantel...
and I've got a yummy treat to share if I don't run out of time!
Make sure you come back and see me soon!

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Glitter Glue and Paint
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Living Well Spending Less
Nancherrow
AKA Design
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Craft Dictator
The Answer is Chocolate
Crafts a la Mode
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Dwellings
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The Chicken Chick
Etcetorize
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Huckleberry Love
Skip to My Lou
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