A few of my favorite things

Here's a glimpse at what I've been up to lately. Christmas seems like it came and went in a flash, didn't it? I only realized it was gone as I was walking through the mall today and saw Santa's empty chair. There is still New Year's but after that is the most depressing time of the year. I feel like an animal that goes into hibernation waiting for the first signs of spring! This year I won't be doing much hibernating - places to go, people to teach, weddings to plan! Anyway - here's a few of the things I've enjoyed the past couple of weeks.

My mother's beautiful mantle. Nothing makes me happier than these cheerful decorations! I have got to learn how to make these.

Home made sugar scrubs! They were really simple to make and smelled delicious (minus the ones I made in pickle jars... those had to be thrown out!)

You can find the tutorial I used here:

 http://www.maybematilda.com/2011/04/baby-shower-gift-homemade-sugar-scrub.html

Not sure what other people call these, but they are like homemade "turtles." Just pretzels, rolos, and pecans. SO easy and so delicious.

This is seriously my pride and joy! I am a sucker for all things involving Christmas ornaments. I've been wanting to make one of these for so long and finally got the courage to do it. I bought about 90 red ornaments from Family Dollar (less than $9), ribbon from JoAnn's ($1) and used an old wire coat hanger. It was a little more difficult than I thought but with the help of my handy-man dad it all worked out.

You can find the tutorial I used here (LOVE the six sisters' blog):

http://sixsistersstuff.blogspot.com/2011/12/6-dollar-wire-hanger-christmas-ornament.html 

These were just for fun because I thought they looked so pretty - and who doesn't love marshmallows? Just melt white or milk chocolate in the double boiler and dip them in. They would be cuter with more festive colors but these sprinkles were all I had on hand.

I made these "no bake cake batter truffles" for my mom's work Christmas party. They were deliciously easy and turned out pretty swell. They have a very different taste from real cake, so if that is what you are looking for stick to cake pops or the like. They are simple, pretty, and you can whip up enough to feed an army real quick!

You can find the tutorial for these pretty bitties here:

http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/2011/09/no-bake-cake-batter-truffles-take-2.html

How can you not enjoy slaving away in the kitchen when you have this sweet little helper wolf? He makes everything better. If you're looking for a precious furry friend check out your local animal shelter :) Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die!

This was a "during" picture of my first candle making disaster adventure. I forgot to take an after picture. I could tell from the very beginning that this wasn't going to be as successful as I had hoped so I was a little lax on the picture taking. After melting the soy wax in my double boiler I attempted to use liquid coloring - bad idea (see that red at the very bottom...). Next time I will stick with the wax coloring. Otherwise it turned out okay - next time I know to use more wax because I didn't account for the melting, use more oil (sweet pea for this one), and non-waxed wicks because of the heat. I'll definitely be trying this one again.

You can find the tutorial I used here:

http://ruffledblog.com/diy-eco-friendly-soy-candle-favors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Ruffled+%28Ruffled%29 

There are several other DIY projects I have in mind. What did we ever do before pinterest? Oh yeah, productive things! Any ideas what I should try next?

Alright, sleep time! Chris and I are going to the travel agent bright and early in the morning - let's see what we can get ourselves into...