12 Days of Christmas Event: Day 1

On The First Day of Christmas My Crafty Friends Gave to Me.......


Thank you for stopping by and joining us in the 12 Days of Christmas event! Remember to visit us everyday through out this event and leave a comment to win our daily giveaway! Winners will be announced the next day at the bottom of the blog post.

A gift idea: Altered Vintage Bottle

Suzie from suziecrafter10  on You Tube decorated a Vintage Bottle that can be an awesome gift for a special loved one!

Suzie Crafter

A Vintage Design Studio

http://suziecrafter10.blogspot.com

Here is a recipe for homemade bath salts that you can add to your bottle to make it an extra special gift for someone special!




 Bath Salts Recipes -

• epsom salts or sea salt, or both
• food coloring
• 1 or 2 teaspoons of glycerin per jar - optional, but glycerin is an effective skin moisturizer and a nice addition
• essential oils - mandarin orange, lavender, sandlewood, and patchouli

General Instructions:
1. Collect your jars, remove labels, then wash and dry thoroughly.

2. For most bath salts recipes you can use your choice of epsom salts or sea salt, or a combination of these. I used to like adding a tablespoon or two of baking soda as well, until I read about jars of bath salts that had exploded because of baking soda reacting to moisture inside the jar. One good mix is one cup of epsom salts, with 1/4 cup of sea salt but a little more or less of each ingredient is fine for most bath salts. Epsom salts and sea salt are soothing for tired muscles, while both will gently soften the water for a luxurious bath experience. You could also add a tablespoon or two of finely ground regular oatmeal (not quick cooking) for silky, skin-softening water.

3. Fill each jar to the top with the combination of bath salts that you plan to use. Empty the salts into a mixing jar and add a drop or two of glycerin, if using. Add your choice of essential oil - how many drops you use is a personal preference, but start with two or three drops and see if you like the fragrance. The same goes for the liquid food coloring; sometimes I use quite a few drops of food color to get the strong hue that I like, but so far it hasn't stained the bath tub or anyone's skin. Remember that the color and fragrance will be much diluted in the bath water. Stir the salts vigorously until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. 

Check out

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/giftinajar/bath-salts.shtml

For a free printable decorative label for the jars.

A Creative Baking Idea:

Christmas Tree Cupcakes and Holiday Pot Holder Recipe book by Gina O. (scrappinology on You Tube, owner of www.myscraproom.ning.com)

Happy Holidays everyone! Today I want to share with you a couple recipes for Chocolate Chip Muffins (an easy version and one from scratch). Then I will show you how to serve it in a festive manner to guests during holiday get togethers.

Here are the recipes

From Scratch

Chocolate Chip Muffins 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon fine salt 2 large eggs 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 3/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips Serving suggestions: strawberry jam Special Equipment: 12 (1/2-cup) capacity muffin tin, paper muffin liners, cooking spray Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with paper liners and lightly coat with cooking spray. (This may seem like overkill, but otherwise the muffins will stick.) Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then whisk in the butter, brown sugar, milk, oil and vanilla. Quickly fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula. Just before the batter comes together, fold in the chocolate chips—don’t mix the batter too much or the muffins will be tough. Divide the batter among the muffin cups (1/4 cup of batter per muffin). Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Turn the muffins out of the tins, cool on a rack.

Easy Version

Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 18-ounce package chocolate cake mix 1 small package (4 servings) chocolate instant pudding 4 eggs 1/4 cup oil 1/2 cup water 1 cup sour cream 1 cup chocolate chips 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Suggest Edits In a large bowl mix the chocolate cake mix with the dry chocolate pudding mix, eggs, oil, water, vanilla and sour cream until well incorporated. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. Lightly grease muffin pan(s) with spray grease -- or line with muffin papers -- and fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes for jumbo muffins, 15 minutes for regular muffins, or 10 minutes for mini muffins. Insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin and remove. If the toothpick comes out clean, the muffins are ready. If not, bake them for another minute or two and check again. Remove the muffins from the oven and pan, then allow them to cool for 15 minutes before serving.

To Make Christmas Tree (will have a You Tube video showing this)

1 chocolate chip muffin

Cool Whip (I suggest just using Cool Whip as it is stiff and can withstand the weight of the muffin)

1 Hershey Kiss

Green Sugar Sprinkles

Cut top of muffin slightly so when inverted it will sit flat. Cut the muffin into 3 slices. You will be inverting the entire muffin. Start by placing the largest piece on the plate, top with cool whip, add next section of muffin and top with more Cool Whip, then and the last piece of muffin and top with Cool Whip. Sprinkle with sugar sprinkles and top with wrapped Hershey’s Kiss. Serve.

A Gift Idea: Potholder Recipe Book

Holiday Pot Holder Recipe Book (Will have a You Tube video showing this)

Supplies Needed

2 potholders

6 extra large eyelets

Crop-a-dile

Corner rounder (optional)

2 binder rings

Chipboard

Cardstock and patterned paper

Ribbon

Adhesive (paper glue or sticky strip)

Recipe cards (I used Stampin Up Recipe card stamps for mine)

Embellishments

Punch two holes in each pot holder on the side for binding. Insert eyelets in each. Punch 1 hole in each pot holder opposite from binding and add eyelets to each (for closure). Cut chipboard into 6 x 6 pieces for each page you want to have. Cover with cardstock on both sides and corner round all four corners (optional), For each page (front and back) you will need four 1 x 6 inch strips of patterned paper. Add adhesive to three sides of each strip (both 1 inch sides and 1 6 inch side) to create a pocket for recipe card. Adhere strip to chipboard page. Mine were placed at 2 ¼” and 5” (refer to photo or video) You will need to measure the distance depending on the size of your recipe cards. Punch holes in each page add binder rings to pot holders and pages. Add ribbons to eyelets that will be used for closure. (it is necessary to have some sort of closure so that pot holder recipe book can be hung from hook in kitchen) Embellish as desired.

To see the step by step instructions please visit Gina's You Tube Channel   http://www.youtube.com/user/Scrappinology?feature=mhee

I hope you enjoyed Day 1 of our 12 Days of Christmas Event and we are so glad you stopped by! Remember to stop back tomorrow for more amazing ideas!!! Thank you to Suzie and Gina for their amazing projects! You Girls Rock!