Loose Ends

Two days from now I will be ringing in the new year, and I couldn't be more excited.  2011 has been an incredible year, and I am so ready to see what 2012 has in store for me.
I'm not going to bother making any resolutions...they'll just get broken anyway, but I will grow and learn and try to do better.
Before I leave 2011 behind, I thought I would recap the last few little tidbits of 2011.  For Christmas, I made three cute little crafties that were given as gifts.

This is my third braided scarf! I gave it to my aunt and she LOVED it!


I made both of these for my niece to match outfits that my mother bought her.
I used the incredibly simple (and precious) tutorial from Notes From the Patch.
I don't think I'll ever use another method to make a bow!
 
I am so happy with all of my crafties that I've made this year, and I am just itching to see what I can do next year!  I'll make sure to post a lot, so that you can all keep up with what's happening in my Cupcakes and Candy Canes world.

My final tidbit (which is not so much a "tidbit" as it is HUGE NEWS) of 2011...............I'm engaged!!  This was the icing on top of an amazing year.  I'm so excited to dive into wedding planning (with a long-ish timeline) and wedding crafting and all of the other fun details!  I'll be keeping you updated on all of that too!

Have a WONDERFUL last few days of 2011, and I hope that 2012 is wonderful!!


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Twas the Day Before Christmas

Merry Christmas Eve!  

I hope all of you are having an incredible Christmas so far.  I know I promised that I would tell all about the Christmas goodies that I made with my mother and sister, so here goes.

Every year, we set aside two days to make all of our Christmas treats.  One of the days is "Fruitcake Day," and my mother and Nana use my great-grandmother's recipe to make (at least) four cakes.
The other day is "Chocolate Covering Day."  We clear off the kitchen counters, put wax paper down on everything, and cover anything not nailed down in chocolate.


The pretzels are always a big hit!


So are the Oreos.

I know this isn't technically "chocolate covered," but I LOVE peppermint bark.
Normally on a post like this I would give a recipe or tutorial...but it's just chocolate.  We bought Kroger brand Kandy Kwik, melted it, and slung it all over everything.  Then we added sprinkles!

The peppermint bark has a few more steps.  For that we used actual bakers chocolate and Andes brand soft peppermint pieces for the top.  After we melted the chocolate we mixed 1/4 tsp. of peppermint extract in (both layers).  It is incredible, and the Andes brand  peppermint pieces are soft so everything is really melty.

It's all incredible...and mostly gone.  My very favorite part of making all of this is giving it away.  We filled 16 tins and 2 trays totally full to give as gifts! 
This kind of stuff is just perfect for coworkers, bosses, friends...pretty much everybody.

I hope y'all are all enjoying your Christmas as much as I am!  Make some goodies, eat some goodies, and have a WONDERFUL weekend!




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Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Christmas is in full swing at my house! The (five) trees are decorated, the stockings are hung, and the house is absolutely full of goodies (more on those in another post)!
Just in case you're wondering...the picture isn't crooked. The tree leans to the right. Those white blobs at the top are angels made out of paper doilies - one for me, my sister, and my niece. 

This has always been one of my favorites (we actually have two, but we only put one up). We only put vintage glass ornaments on it. It has a spinning color wheel that goes with it too!

This is my tree. I like for it to be the epitome of girly, sparkly, sweetness!

Toy Tree. My niece can take everything off this tree and play with it.

Also mine...obviously. You know about my love for cupcakes...the two in the front are the first two in a Hallmark series. I want to get enough of them to display them on my cupcake stand!

In addition to the tree forest, we have about a billion Santa Clauses, nativities, and a few more trees.
Christmas is a pretty big deal here...

On that note, last night we went to the Christmas music at our church, and it was incredible. I love all things Christmas, but there is just something about hearing a choir tell the story that gives it that extra oomph!

The last thing I wanted to show you is another new crafty something! It took seriously about twenty minutes start to finish.  You just can't beat that!



Tip Junkie handmade projects
There you have it, Christmas in a nutshell. I hope your decorations are sparkly and beautiful and that you hear incredible music and services. I'll be doing more Christmas crafts and cooking very soon! And I promise that I'll post about our baking day and Christmas goodies!

Merry Christmas!