Merry Christmas To All....

I hope you all have a wonderful christmas full of joy and love with your families and friends.



And to all a good night,

MADE: Christmas Treats (and a recipe!)

I love Christmas! And I especially love Christmas Baking - but alas I am only from a small family (I'm an only child and single) and my mother does not really have a sweet tooth so to be able to satisfy my need to bake I decided this year to send little parcels of homemade goodies to my friends for Chrissie. I got some tins from the local $2 shop and filled them with these goodies and sent them off via Mr. Postman:

Gingerbread

White Chocolate Dipped Shortbread

Super Rich Chocolate Fudge (recipe below)

So I thought I would share with you the Super Rich Chocolate Fudge recipe so you can spread some Christmas Cheer.

Ingredients:

• 100 gram butter - chopped
• 1 x can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup brown sugar - firmly packed
• 2 tbs golden syrup
• 100 grams of good quality white cooking chocolate - chopped
• 200 grams of good quality dark cooking chocolate (preferably 70% cocoa) - chopped

Method:

• Firstly line a baking tray with grease proof paper.
• In a glass bowl put butter, condensed milk, sugar and syrup and put in the microwave on high for 1 minute.
• Carefully remove and give it a good stir, add 100 grams of white and 100 grams of dark chocolate and return to microwave. Zap the mixture for 30 secs and then stir thoroughly. The chocolate should melt into the mixture. If it needs to go for longer give it another 30 seconds and check. Do not over cook it as the chocolate will "turn".
• Carefully spoon into the prepared baking tray and refrigerate for two hours until solid.
• Melt the remainder of the dark chocolate and use a spatula to spread evenly over the fudge. (I finished mine with a drizzle of white chocolate to make it look pretty).
• Leave to set. Once it has set then cut into small squares (this is SUPER rich so the only need to be small) and wrap in baking paper and put in an air tight container.

A little tip is don't refrigerate the fudge because it goes super hard. I keep mine at room temperature. If you do need to keep in the fridge, remove it a couple of hours before serving.

Enjoy!

MADE: Christmas Decorations Part II

So as promised I am back with some more simple ideas to make your own decorations. Alas the photo's did not come out the best but I will still share how I did them.

This one is super simple - I just got styrofoam stars from Spotlight, spayed them with a spray adhesive and then dipped them in Marth Stewart glitter and you have instant twinkly stars.

The next one is a real easy one too. You can buy DIY clear glass ornaments (they also have good quality plastic ones in you have youngens in your house). All I did was get some white feathers, sprinking them with glitter and poke them into the bauble. Easy!

And here is my finished tree, I just put on some lights and a few of my sentimental ornaments that I have collected over the years. I'm very happy with it, now all I have to do is make sure Winston doesn't climb up it!

Be sure to come back on Wednesday when I will be taking part in the Epheriell 2011 Creative Odyssey Blog Hop.

MADE: Christmas Decorations

Hello everyone - sorry I have not been blogging lately, time seems to get away from me and then I realise a month has passed. Ooops :(

Time has gone so quick that I haven't even got my christmas tree up yet! So I have been working on that today and I have been making decorations for it this year so it has a nice handmade feel. Here is what I made:


These are so easy and fun that you can make them with the kids to keep them occupied in the first week of holidays (I don't have kids, I have cats and they also found this fun - by stealing them and using them as toys!).

All you need is:

• Pack of Styrofoam Balls (I got mine from Spotlight)
• Scrapbook Paper (but you could use anything - I think old novels would look cool)
• Ribbon
• A paper trimmer
• PVA Glue
• Hot Glue Gun.

All I did was measure the ball from top to bottom and cut strips of paper that wide and then cut that into 1/4" strips. Next you glue the paper strips onto the balls so the are sitting flush against each other around the middle and overlapping at the top and bottom (does that make sense? I hope so).

Once they are dry carefully put a dot of hot glue on the bottom and wrap your ribbon around. I cut one piece short and wrapped in one direction and another piece long and used that to go around the other side and tied a bow at the top.

If you own a hot glue gun you know it is an absolute nightmare and quite dangerous so I think if you are going to make these with kids that you should use strong double sided scrapbooking tape to adhere the ribbon.

And viola - christmas ornaments. Just put a ornament hook through the bow on the top and hang on the tree.

I will be back tomorrow with some more of my homemade ornaments.

Guift Guide - Tasty Treats Under $25

Food, glorious food! That is what today's Christmas Gift Guide is about and all these gifts are under $25 which makes them taste extra nice.

1. Tea Kit with DIY Teabags and Recipes by Cook Outside The Box

2. Spicy Maple Macadamia Nuts by Mara's Maples

3. Caramel Apple Preserve by Fogl's Kitchen

4. Mini Spice Kit by Purpose Design

1. Baked Goods Gift Box by Whimsy & Spice

2. Brownie Bites by Kay's Simply Homemade

3. One Gallon of Caramel Popcorn by Heavenly Sweets

4. Gourmet Hot Cocoa Mix by Teton Cocoa Company

I won't be posting a gift guide tomorrow because I am getting ready for the Modish Market on Saturday, so if you are in Melbourne make sure you head out to Malvern Town Hall between 10am and 4pm for some markety, handmade goodness.

Have a beautiful day,

Gift Guide - It's Personal

Sorry I missed the gift guide yesterday, I have been busy preparing for this weeks Modish Market at Malvern Town Hall so time got away from me (again!).

Today's gift guide is all about personalised gifts and I think you will agree that something personal AND handmade is just the greatist gift you can get, it shows that it really is the thought that counts and that the giver put a lot of thought into it by getting something made just for you.

For the little ones:

1. Christmas Decoration by Cut N Glue
2. Decorative Cushion by Tiges & Weince
3. Nursery Art by Graphic Spaces
4. Brag Book by Flymama

For adults:

1. Tile Coasters by Delightful Daisy
2. Acrylic Necklace by Sugar & Vice
3. Personalised Notecards by ME! (CityKitten Designs)
4. Shaving Bag by Queen Bee 55

Tomorrow join me for some edible treats.

Have a beautiful day,

Christmas Gift Guide - Madeit.com.au

6 weeks until Christmas! 6 weeks!!!! I am sure the years are just going quicker and quicker.
Anyway this year I am doing my Christmas shopping "handmade" so I have been searching online and decided to put together a week of gift guides just for fun.

The first is full of Aussie talent from the wonderful Madeit.com.au. Remember that just because we're in Australia doesn't mean we only ship there. Most of the sellers are happy to ship anywhere in the world and if they don't have a price for shipping to your location just email them and they will let you know the rate.

1. Babushka Toy from Mulberry Road
2. Hairpins from Citrus Pop
3. Soap from Bayside Rose
4. Fancy Dog Leash from Allana C

5. Lavender Scented Bird from Edward & Lilly
6. Jewellery Tree from Bird Of Play
7. Coin Purse from Lillie Kusine
8. Notebook from Nothing Sketchy

Have a beautiful day!