Ice Cream Ornaments

Oh man, the mother of all snow storms is hitting us. Yesterday, not a flake of snow on the ground.

This is what I woke up to this morning:

This blizzard is supposed to drop an entire 14 inches on us. Oh well, that's what you get for living in the U.P.

In honor of the area starting to FINALLY look festive, I have a fun, festive treat to share with you.

Ice Cream Ornaments

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This one's perfect if you have kiddos.

Supplies

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-Ice cream (I used vanilla)

-Sprinkles

-Twizzlers Pull N Peel

-Mini Resses peanut butter cups

-Wax paper

-Cookie sheet

Directions

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1. Lay out a sheet of wax paper on your cookie sheet.

2. Scoop some ice cream into a ball and place on your cookie sheet (try to make it as round as possible!)

3. Stick it in the freezer while you are getting the other parts ready.
4. Start making the tops. Unwrap a peanut butter cup and turn it upside down.
5. Make two holes on the top with a skewer.
6. Break off a piece of Twizzler and shove each end into the holes.
7. Pop those into the freezer also, to harden.
8. Once you have waited about 30 minutes, get the sprinkles set for your kids (or yourself!). Bring out the cookie sheet.

9. Let them go nuts!

10. Refreeze if you are using them for a party, or let everyone dig in right away! This is what ours looked like in the end:
Festive, right?

Now I'm about to throw on my shoes (because for some reason I haven't owned boots since I was 10........dumb......) and I'm going out to shovel the porches and driveway for a free workout! Toodles!

Beaded Icicles and Snowflakes

Sorry I've been gone lately. My new reveal has been consuming me. I wanted to get it done by this Saturday, for "The 6th Annual Festival of Lights," but I don't think I'm going to hit that mark. BUT it WILL be done for Christmas! lol

Anyways, I did a couple more ornaments. These are really fun to do with your kids.

Beaded Icicles

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-Clear beads

-Crafting wire

-Wire snips

Directions

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Cut off a length of wire. Make a very small loop at one end. Start piling on your beads. Make a large loop at the other end. Done. =D

It may not look like much, but with tons of these on your tree, it really makes everything sparkle!

I also made one more

Beaded Snowflake

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Basically the same as above. Make a bunch of icicles of varying lengths and twist all the ends together. I ended up looping the large icicles for more of a "bow" effect that I liked much better.
Sorry for all the fake tree shots. We are getting our Christmas tree on Thursday, so I've been using my fakey tabletop tree to display my handmade ornaments temporarily.

Anyways, I need to get some sneak peeks up from my reveal yet, don't I? Soon, soon.

But coming up:

-Highlights of the Festival of Lights

-Christmas recipes

-A dressed table

-some awesome deals that I might be getting off Craigslist

-some more Christmas decor and ornament how-to's

-sneak peeks on the reveal

-more ;)

Pine Cone Ornaments

I'll say it again: I love free stuff.

Simple. Fast. Free.

Pine cone Ornaments

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-pine cone

-staple gun (equipped with long-pronged staples)

-twine

Directions

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Staple twine to the top of a pine cone and make a bow. Wow, that took a whole 2 seconds! lol

I LOVE using natural elements on my trees. Unfortunately, my tree is very hodgepodge from the kids' ornament they make. This year I believe I will be buying a second, smaller tree for my dining room for me to gussy up.

Wintery Pine cone Ornament
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-pine cone
-white spray paint
-staple gun (equipped with long-pronged staples)
-white ribbon

Directions
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Same as above, but spray painting it and using white ribbon. These ones are nice if you don't want a rustic looking tree but still love natural elements.


If you're a big crafter, like me, then you should have all of these objects already.

I saw a bag of pine cones for sale at Walmart!!!
Okay, I'm boycotting this! The packaging used, and the cost of shipping!! Why are companies doing that?! My lord, anyone can drive at MOST a few miles and hit at least ONE pine tree!

What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

What wouldn't I do for something free?!

At work last night, we were promoting our Karen Neuberger line of intimates. Buy a pair of pajamas or socks, you get a free gift.

The deal was that if I wear the pajamas to promote them, I got to keep them.

5 hours of humiliation for expensive ($72 to be exact) pajamas? Where do I sign up?!

This is me working. Sorry for the quality. Can't complain when I only had a camera phone with me.

The best part was that I originally came to work in high heeled boots (of course not knowing about the promotion).

Yep, I got strange looks, some giggles, and a whole lot of stares, but as I type this, still wearing my Karen Neuberger pajamas, I can honestly say: TOTALLY WORTH IT! lol

So what would you do for some free loot?

Table Setting Etiquette

With Christmas coming up, I'm sure many of you will be hosting parties. So I will be showing you different ways to set your table depending on your needs.

Breakfast/Lunch

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This is a casual setting. You can take out the large soup bowl if it is not needed.

A- Dinner Plate

B- Soup Bowl

C- Bread & Butter Plate

D- Teacup & Saucer

E- Water/Juice Glass

F- Napkin

G- Dinner Fork

H- Dinner Knife

I- Teaspoon

Dinner

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This is similar to the Breakfast/Lunch setting, just with a few extras. Notice there is no soup bowl. It is usually served as an appetizer, so begin by taking the salad plate off the dinner plate, placing the soup bowl on the dinner plate, then returning with the salad (place next to the bread plate).

A- Dinner Plate

B- Salad Plate

C- Bread & Butter Plate

D- Teacup & Saucer

E- Napkin

F- Water Glass

G- Wine Glass

H- Salad Fork

I- Dinner Fork

J- Dinner Knife

K- Soup Spoon

L- Teaspoon

Formal Dinner

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This is where the big guns come out. You can add more stemware than I have pictured, if necessary. You can have: red wine, white wine, water, champagne flute, and a teacup. You can also add a charger underneath the dinner plate. If you do, NOTE: CHARGERS ARE TO BE REMOVED BEFORE THE MEAL BEGINS!

A-Dinner Plate

B-Salad Plate

C- Small Soup Bowl

D- Napkin (with napkin ring!)

E- Teacup & Saucer

F- Bread & Butter Plate

G- Water Glass

H- Wine Glass

I- Salad Fork

J- Dinner Fork

K- Formal Butter Spreader

L- Steak Knife

M- Dinner Knife

N- Soup Spoon

O- Teaspoon

P- Dessert Fork

Q- Dessert Spoon

Helpful Hints

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-If you're not sure which fork/spoon to use, start from the outside and work your way in.

-Knives should always have the cutting edge facing in, towards the plate.

-The host/hostess should always sit at the head of the table (but we already knew that, right?)

-Charger plates are for decoration only, so it should be removed before the meal begins.

- The meal begins when the host unfolds their napkin, then the guests do the same. The napkin stays on your lap the entire meal, but you can use it to gently blot your mouth. If you need to leave the table, place your napkin to the left of the dinner plate or your chair. Once the meal is over, the napkin goes to the right of your dinner plate (don't refold it though, but don't wad it up either!)

I hope this helps when you host your holiday dinner parties!

Have a beautiful December day!