DIY: Hanging Christmas Trees

I found a perfect little DIY that you can do with your family on Christmas Eve. It’s simple, fun and will brighten up your room for Christmas morning. Thanks Ki Memories
 
Images found here

Instructions:
1.  Cut out three different sized circles out of patterned paper.  You can either use a circle cutter, or trace three different items (such as a cup, saucer and small plate) and then cut.

2.  Cut out a ‘pie shaped’ quarter sized section of the circle.  Either roughly draw lines to divide the quarters (on the backside), or just eyeball it.  You will not need the pieces you have cut out.

3.  Bend the circle around to make a cone, then glue it together (I just used regular glue stick).  Using scissors, make numerous cuts around the bottom edge of the cone.

4.  Using a pencil, roll the cuts around to make it curl.  Repeat for other two circles/cones of the tree.

5.  Thread a long piece of embroidery thread onto a sewing needle.  Make a big knot in one end.  Push the needle up through the big cone.

6.  Push the cone down as far as the knot.  Make another knot a little further up from the top of the large cone, and then slip the middle sized cone on.. repeat for small cone.  Note: if the knot slips through the hole at the top of the cone, you can use a piece of ribbon to tie a knot around the thread knot.. holds it in place, and looks super cute too!

7.  To finish off the top, you can add two stickers back to back (like the snowflakes pictures, or the softies as well), or hand cut 2 stars from patterned paper, and glue them back to back.

Sweet Little Details: Surprise Red Velvet Cupcakes

It is the most wonderful time of the year and I absolutely love all the goodies and sweet treats out there.   Jen Campbell from Sweet Little Details has given us a very yummy Christmas treat.  Thanks Jen, enjoy!

Surprise Red Velvet Cupcakes makes 2 dozen cupcakes

You can use a boxed Red Velvet Cake mix if you would like…just prepare as normal.

Filling

I like to use more than just a heaping teaspoon of filling…so I normally will double this recipe. 

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
8-10 ounces of white chocolate chips

In a small bowl, blend cream cheese, egg and sugar. Beat until smooth. Add white chocolate chips.

Red Velvet Cake

The cake recipe is from Bakerella

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 oz. red food coloring

Images by: Jen Campbell

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 standard muffin cups with cupcake liners.

Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside. Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.

Fill prepared pans 2/3 full and top with heaping teaspoon of filling. Bake at 350 for 20 -25 minutes.

If you choose to frost these cupcakes, cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 pounds confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, add confectioners sugar a little at a time. Once all sugar has been added increase to medium speed until frosting is creamy.

Christmas DIY

It’s time to get ready for Christmas!   I came across the cutest Christmas DIY from The Tortoise and the Hare.  I’m in love with the simplicity and the clean color this little decoration brings.

Image by The Tortoise and the Hare

What you need:

Clear jars
small Christmas trees (these are from Hobby Lobby)
Bleach
snow spray
glitter (optional)
table sugar

How to assemble:

I found all of my trees at Hobby Lobby for super cheap. When I bought them they were green. I came home and gave each of them a nice soak in some hot water and bleach. I let them soak for about 30 mins. Then I rinsed each one throughly to get off any additional bleach. I let them dry overnight. Once dried, I sprayed each tree with a little snow spray that I also got at Hobby Lobby, called “Snow” and sprinkled with a touch of glitter. I gathered all the glass jars around the house that I could, poured in a little sugar for snow, placed in the tree and ta da…pretty little Christmas jars.