Thursday, December 30, 2010

* Faux Snowballs *
I've been wanting to make these for some time now, but just had to wait till all my Christmas decor was up. It was so quick and easy. I had everything on hand except for the Styrofoam balls, which I found at the dollar store. Super inexpensive...I love it!
What you need:
Styrofoam balls
Fake snow
Glitter
White glue
Scewers
Water down a bit of glue, put your Styrofoam ball on a scewer and paint on the glue quickly.
Once painted on, roll around in the fake snow.
Sprinkle on a bit of glitter.
Place them in a cup to dry. Mine are on top of the fridge so my boys couldn't get to them.

Finally, place them in a container to show them off. I use my glass hurricanes for everything. They look so pretty all stacked together. And better yet, they won't melt like real snowballs.

Here they are by my little Snowbird.
*HAPPY WINTER*

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Snowbird
{a dollar store makeover}

I found this little guy at the dollar store and decided to give him a little makeover. All I needed was some white spray paint, a bit of glitter for some sparkle...
And there you go. A simple, after Christmas project that can be used to decorate with for the Winter.
I added a bit of Epsom Salt + glitter to make it look like he's sitting in some snow.
Such an easy project.
Check out the snowballs in the back. There will be a tutorial on those soon.










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Friday, December 24, 2010


Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.

~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Merry Christmas to all my blog friends and followers.
Love, The Johnson Family

Monday, December 20, 2010

Homemade Salt Dough Ornaments
I started making these little salt dough ornaments in 2008 when we had our second son Easton. I knew our family of 4 was complete and I wanted to make both of our boys something special every year that I could one day pass down to them and their family.
It is a simple recipe:
1 cup Flour
1 cup Salt
1/2 cup Water(plus or minus)
So, So easy
You can either let it dry out or bake it at 250 degrees for about 2 hrs depending on how think you make the ornament. Mine are about 1/4 inch thick.
This was the first year...Santa! The classic Christmas Icon.
In 2009, I made a Gingerbread Man.
This year was the Penguin. I had a ton of Black Onyx Glitter from Halloween and thought this would be another great use for it.
I would love to know what other Homemade Christmas things you make!?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Martha's Magazine Trees
I saw this idea on The Martha Stewart Show last year and have been wanting to try it! This year I finally have the opportunity to make them. My husband needed some centerpieces for his Breakfast With Santa event and thought this would be perfect for it. The magazines were free and the only other supplies you need are some spray paint(whatever color you like) and some glitter. Very, very inexpensive.
First, start with the cover of the magazine and work your way to the back. Grab the top, right hand corner and fold it down to the center of the magazine.
Kind of like making a paper airplane!

Next, take the same page and fold it in one more time. It should look sort of like a tie.

Finally, you'll have a little triangle on the bottom that will need to be folded and tucked into the page.

This is so the tree will sit flat on any surface. Just work your way through the entire magazine till you have the shape of a tree.
* A little side note, the size of the Martha Stewart Magazine works great for this project. Anything smaller will make the tree look not so full!

Next up is the spray paint and glitter. I used white because I wanted minimal coverage. I like being able to see some of the magazine after being painted. However, you could use green, red, silver, gold or even pink if you wanted.

After spraying it, sprinkle on the glitter. I would've loved to have used Martha's glitter, but the budget allowed a coarse glitter from Walmart. It turned out great!

It ended up having a silvery hue to it when dried.

How fun are these bunch of trees. They make such an impact for so little money!

I also love how they look a bit vintage. Such a fun centerpiece for Breakfast With Santa. Hope you'll give them a try.










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Sunday, December 12, 2010

Chocolate Crinkles
These oh, so delicious cookies will always remind me of my Aunt Kathy. I loved these cookies when I was younger and the only person in our family that ever made them was my Aunt. I've never attempted to make them and decided this year I would give it a try. Trust me...this recipe is so, so good! They remind me of a gooey brownie, but topped with powdered sugar. How bad can that be?! I hope you'll give these a try. Here is the recipe.
MIX TOGETHER:
1 Cup Cocoa Powder
2 Cups Sugar
1/2 Cup Veggie Oil
BEAT IN
4 Eggs(one at a time)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
COMBINE IN A SEPARATE BOWL
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
ADD DRY INGREDIENTS TO WET INGREDIENTS
* Cover dough and let chill for 2-4 hours
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Either line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or cooking spray
-Roll dough into 1 inch balls and then roll in 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
Bake 12-13 min.
EAT AND ENJOY
I linked up to:
Uncommon

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Adding a little sparkle!

A few years back, my Grandma gave me a few of her old village pieces so that I could start my own. We've lived in apartments since then, and I haven't had a whole lot of room to set it up. So, this year I decided that I would make a mini-village in our wine glass cupboard. It worked out well because little hands can't get to it! What is Christmas though without a little sparkle?! This was really simple and took maybe 30 minutes.
All I did was take a clear glaze and paint over any areas that looked like they were covered in snow. After the glaze was painted on I sprinkled it with some glitter. I just love this little phone booth.
A cute little snowman...
A snowy little tree.
It makes the houses look so wintry...
And cold.
I love my little, sparkly village...
Happy decorating!