Handmade Christmas: Advent Calendar Roundup

We had an advent calendar growing up that we pulled out of the attic (along with all of the other Christmas decorations) each year. It was a cardstock paper calendar with a beautiful illustration of baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph in the stable. There were little numbers on flaps and each one had a picture underneath of it. Each day we got to open one flap - so fun. As we got older, we had the calendars that had chocolate behind the flaps - each day we took turns on who got the chocolate :).

So today-- a round up of links to beautiful Advent Calendars from all across the www. I am always amazed at the beautiful creativity people have. I plan to make an Advent Calendar for our little family one day... maybe next year? :) Love all of the inspiration out there - so many different ideas! :) What a fun way to celebrate each day in December leading up to Christmas - the perfect opportunity to reflect daily on the meaning of Christmas-- with a fun little gift, activity, or Scripture.

Cardholder/Advent Calendar Idea by My Digital Art Studio

Do you have an Advent Calendar? Did you make it yourself?

I recently found this neat blog - oh Amanda - below are some fab ideas for what to put in each day of your Advent Calendar:
-- From oh Amanda
+ A Scripture that tells the story of Jesus’ birth
+ A small piece of candy
+ An ornament
+ A charm (that could be made into a bracelet or necklace)
+ A piece of paper with an activity (ie. “let’s make Christmas cookies” OR “we’re going Christmas light watching tonight!”)
+ A clue to an activity, craft, story (that’s kinda what we’re doing. I put in a sticker of a king yesterday because we read Isaiah 9:6-7)
+ A small toy
+ The title of a Christmas story to read

The Roundup: All of these are fabulous ideas to make your own Advent Calendar - Enjoy :)

1. craftastica - Recycle Bin Advent Calendar

2. Marta Writes - Advent - December Bookshelf (and a great round up of more Advent Calendars)

3. Stitch-Craft - Countdown to Christmas

4. All About You - Advent Calendar

4. Full Circle - Advent

5. Design*Sponge - Paper Holiday - Advent

6. Pink Blossom Events - Advent Calendar

7. Martha Stewart - Photo Advent Calendar (great idea to give grandparents)

8. Ali Edwards - Advent Boxes

9. Stitch Craft - Adventures in Advent Calendars

10. Pickles - Christmas Calendar for Sharing

+ Check out more Advent Calendar Round Ups here and here.

+ Debbie recently purchased a set of Holiday Number Tags from my etsy shop and was super sweet to send me pictures of how she used them in her handmade Advent Calendar. Isn't this so adorable!? Nice work! Thanks for sending the pictures Debbie :)

*All images in this post from their respective blogs/websites.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thursday :) And Happy Thanksgiving to those in the U.S. :) Loving spending time with family.... hanging out, laughing, talking, cooking, baking and eating. Have a fabulous day :)

*Image found in Google Images (image is all over www) - no original source found.

DIY Tuesday: Felt Leaves Napkin Rings

I wanted to help jazz up the table at my parent's house for Thanksgiving, and even though I'm terrified of working with felt (no really), I thought I'd give making some napkin rings a try :). These little cuties are super quick and easy to make and don't require a sewing machine. Perfect to make for Thanksgiving this week or to celebrate Fall.

Supplies:
+ Various colors of felt
+ Embroidery floss in a Fall color
+ Needle
+ Scissors
+ Pen or pencil
+ Template for leaves (see end of this post)
First, cut out the leaves from the template.
Next, trace onto felt using the pen or a pencil. Trace as many as you desire to make.
Cut out the leaves from the felt. Now stitch the leaf "veins" using the embroidery floss and needle.
Next, cut out the napkin ring strips. Mine were 6.5"x1". You can use a variety of colors for these strips, I chose to do all brown.
Next, the leaves need to be attached to the mid-section of the strips. I just made extra "veins" that also doubled as stitching the leaf to the strip (see the arrow in the picture below - that's an extra "vein"). You could also double up on some of the stitches you already made in the leaf (or you can use a hot glue gun ;)).
To finish them off, simply stitch the two ends together.
Voila! A cute and simple way to dress up your table! :)

Template for leaves: Click to enlarge, right click to save and then print.

Monday Faves :: Thanksgiving Goodies

Happy Monday :) For those in the US, Happy Thanksgiving week! Some fun Thanksgiving goodies for today :)

We are getting ready to head north to Virginia to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Super excited to see everyone :) If you are planning on ordering anything from the shop (like anything needed for December Daily) - be sure to order by 6pm EST today. All orders placed by then will ship out by tomorrow (Tuesday, November 23). Any orders placed after that will ship Monday, November 29.
1. Mother Earth's Vintage Tin Canisters from shavingkitsupplies
2. Wood Recipe Box by BoydemTreasures
3. Vintage Fabric Wall Art by merriweathercouncil
4. Cotton Potholders by xxxRedStitcHxxx
5. Magnetic Spice Kit by dellcovespices
6. Honey Amber Cluster Bracelet by waterwaif
7. Thanksgiving Place Cards by SoftDayStudios
8. Gobble Wooden Letters by JCBloomingBoutique
9. Pumpkin Rosette. Hair Clip by themustardseedco
10. Brady Brown and Orange Pin Cushion by minusOne

Right now.

+ Have purchased supplies to make a few more Christmas Art Journals. Don't forget to order yours soon :).

+ Trying to tidy up my studio workspace (I can barely see my work table).

+ Getting ready to head out of town for Thanksgiving next week - will get back to Menus. Groceries. Budget. Ideas. soon :)

+ For the shop (in the next several weeks):
+ Regular art journals (Christmas gift idea!) :)
+ Everyday vintage inspired flash cards
+ Everyday vintage inspired journaling spots
+ Handmade embellishments that include "found paper" paper rounds, buttons, paper flowers and fabric

Apple-Raisin Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce

I've made this incredibly yummy comfort food twice since I found the recipe at Taste of Home a little while ago. It is perfect for a chilly morning (or evening... or anytime in between :)).

Apple-Raisin Bread Pudding with Vanilla Sauce
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 loaf (1 pound) day-old cinnamon-raisin bread, cubed
3 cups chopped peeled tart apples (I used 2 large Granny Smith apples)
7 eggs
2-1/2 cups 2% milk
3/4 cup sugar
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Sauce:
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pour butter into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Combine bread cubes and apples; sprinkle over butter. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Pour over bread.
Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, salt and water until smooth. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Serve with warm bread pudding. Yield: 12 servings (1-1/4 cups sauce).

Catch Up: Shop Notes

My hubby was super incredibly busy with schoolwork and business last week, so Monday night we decided Jimmy and I would go down to Hilton Head, South Carolina and visit my in-laws who vacation there each November (yay for blog auto-post - bet you didn't even know I was gone ;)). It was a ton of fun, and crazy to be on the beach in the middle of November ;)

Being gone, I (naturally) had a bunch of orders come in from the shop (I need to leave town more often :)). Playing catch up today, all caught up on orders - heading to the post office, and now working on some free-lance and custom orders for quilted list takers for the holidays!

+ If you are interested in purchasing a Christmas/Holiday Art Journal, do it soon, I only have a handful left!

+ Anything else you would like to see in the shop for Christmas and the holiday season? Any sort of journaling spots or paper selections? Not-so-average gift wrap supplies?
+ Am working on putting together custom "Food Planning Binders" for Christmas gifts. Will have details soon - interested in possibly purchasing one? Let me know!

+ Am working on putting together regular art journals - these would be a great handmade gift for Christmas. Please contact me if you are interested in ordering one - each can be catered to your preferences - color scheme, theme (general, school related, office, home, family, baby, etc) vintage papers, new papers or a mix.

The journals are ring bound (so pages can be added, subracted and moved around) and generally contain around 25 pages (including things like envelopes, shipping tags, dictionary pages, ledger pages, high-quality scrapbooking papers, high-quality colored cardstock and other found and new papers). Cost is $15.00.

Three of the journals below had color schemes - lemon lime (all green and yellow type papers), watermelon (green and pink), and pink lemonade (pink, peach and tangerine).

Quick Note: Fabric Giveaway Link

Fabulous giveaway over at Retro Mummy right now - 14 beautiful fat quarters of Sweet Broderie fabric. Check it out here.

Friday Fun: DIY Fabric Scrap Wreath

I saw this fabulous tutorial by Elise Blaha over at A Beautiful Mess the other day and just had to make one :) You could make these to match any season or holiday- so versatile! :) All you need are fabric scraps (about 1.5"x7"), a wire coat hanger, and ribbon to hang it. Brilliant! I made this particular one for a dear friend, and will definitely be making more... Christmas gifts?! :) Have a fabulous weekend :)

Creating a Food Planning Binder

Creating a "Food Planning Binder" has been essential in getting my thoughts and such together about planning our meals, trips to the grocery store, etc.

I originally put the binder together as a regular planner/organizer, but it has since morphed into "My-Entire-Life Planning Binder". So now, mine contains several different categories such as: a month calendar, a week by week at-a-glance calendar, notes pages, to-do lists, shop/blog planning pages, and now month long meal planning, week-at-a-glance meal planning, to-try recipes and shopping lists.

For today, a few ideas on creating a Food Planning Binder. Feel free to make it more than just a Food Planning Binder as I have, however this post will focus mainly on what has worked for me related to food planning.
Different sections contained in the binder:
1. Month Long Calendar - I have this to keep track of my monthly appointments and events (along with some of my hubby's appointments) - but to also plan out when I am going to go to the grocery store or if a certain sale is happening somewhere on a particular day/week. It is also helpful to know if one of us is going to be out of town or out on business during mealtimes, to know how to plan accordingly (I won't need to fix as much food if my hubby is on business, etc).

* It is super simple to make your own calendar each month on a word processing program, online, or to find one on a blog that has them available for free download.
*I purchased a downloadable perpetual calendar for pretty inexpensively here.
2. Price Book - Creating a price book is a time-consuming process, but well worth it in the end. I printed off some price book sheets here for free. I then made a list of some essential ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, etc.) that I am always needing to have on hand (this list has since become longer, after making the Pantry Staples list). Over the course of several weeks, I went to 4 of our local grocery stores (Target, Harris Teeter, Kroger, and Lowes Foods) and wrote down each item's price (and ounces, if appropriate).

This is super handy to know which items are the best price where, and to know if you see an item on sale in the ad circulars one week, if it is cheaper to buy it at that store on sale (we'll talk more about ad circulars and other quick tips for sale items soon - it is just a good idea for now to get your price book going since it can take awhile to compile). For example, say that Gold Medal bread flour is $2.59 at Harris Teeter during a normal week - this is the cheapest place I can get it if I need it at any given time and am not able to wait for it to be on sale. But, say one week the ad circular comes out for Lowe's Foods, and they have it on sale for Buy 1, Get 1, so it is $1.50! I would then incorporate that into my weekly food budget. Yay! So you see? It's good to know what is what price and where :)3. Weekly Menu Planner - I also dowloaded these for free here and love them. It's super helpful to plan out the week's meals and write down the ingredients that I need to purchase if I don't have them already on hand (I also will sometimes write down where to purchase the item if I know it is on sale at a certain place). I will usually re-copy my list to a separate sheet (free download coming soon), or sometimes if I'm in a hurry, will take the whole sheet to the store(s). Sometimes it's helpful to see the menu while I'm shopping for whatever reason (if I end up purchasing an extra side dish or remember that I don't have an ingredient because I forgot to check, etc). 4. Weekly Menu Plan Sheet - my planning page (above) gets pretty messy with all the writing and changes I make while I'm planning. I like to re-copy it to this sheet (free download here) to have a nice, legible copy. I also take this out of my binder at the beginning of the week and hang it on the refrigerator for easy reference to know what to pull out of the freezer the night before, or so my hubby can see what's on the menu on any given day.5. To-Try Recipes - I am always coming across new recipes I would like to try. Whether it be on the internet, in a magazine or from a friend, I keep a section in the binder for recipes. This way, when I am ready to try the recipe, the ingredients are all right there to incorporate into my list and I know exactly where the recipe is (in my binder!) when it is scheduled :) I know for me, I used to print or jot down recipes and then they would end up disappearing. It's great to print off a recipe, punch it with the 3-hole punch and pop it in the binder (I keep a 3-hole punch right by my computer). I also keep blank sheets in this section to write down recipes or to paste in ones from a magazine.
6. Tabs - tabs are important so that I can know where everything is in the binder. A few of mine are missing (while I'm making fun decorative ones like these 2 instead of regular ones), but here are my tabs I have (I keep the calendar at the front for quick reference, thus, no tab needed):
+ Notes/Ideas (this is more related to blog/inspiration, etc) but wanted to mention it since it's in the picture)
+ Menus/Recipes (which I'm thinking about dividing)
+ Month Long Menu Plan
+ Price Book
+ Grocery Lists (blank, available to use after I make my list on the weekly menu planning sheet)Still to come in the Menus. Recipes. Budget. Ideas. Mini Series: Simple tips for grocery shopping. Week long menu ideas. Month long menu ideas. How I stretch the ingredients (meat, etc.) to get the most from my groceries. Recipe ideas for simple (and inexpensive) snacks. A fun downloadable grocery list page. And possibly more. :)

Recipe Day: CSN Stores Review

So I have a fabulous recipe for some big fluffy pancakes to share today. Now, I must share that I was super excited to make them in a really nice non-stick pan. All of my frying pans are, well, eh... let's just say super old. And there may or may not be parts of them peeling off (Eww! Isn't that not good?). Needless to say, I needed new pans, so I was really excited when CSN Stores offered to let me do a review on some of their products. I knew exactly what I wanted :) After browsing through their awesome cookware section, I found these beautiful non-stick Calphalon pans, along with a set of Calphalon wooden spoons.

Sigh. Aren't they fun? :)

I used to get a little nervous when making pancakes.... not anymore :) I even made an over easy egg. And it didn't stick. Ok. Can you tell how excited I am about these? It's always great to have tools and things that work to help make things easier in the kitchen :)

Beautiful pancakes. Nice and fluffy. Nice and golden. Yummy :)

Fluffy Pancakes (from allrecipes.com)
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

And a beautiful over-easy (almost, as soon as I flip it ;)) egg. No weird crusty stuff hanging out around the edges (ok am I the only one that that happens to?). A perfectly yummy egg from this awesome pan. Sigh.