Neutral Fall Mantel

Sep 23, 2014 · 3 Comments

Neutral Fall Mantel: For all who love to decorate with whites and neutrals, no matter what season it is, here's how to bring a fall feel to your mantel with out any orange, yellow, or red. So pretty, simple, and calming.

Happy first day of Fall! It's been a busy day around here, but I wanted to share my Neutral Fall Mantel with you before the first day of Fall drew to a close.

Deer Head

I found this great deer head last Christmas, and he's hung out a few different places in my house since then. I decided to use him in the living room this fall, for a bit of woodland feel. He's made of paper mache, and I spray painted him in a glossy white. He's light enough to hang easy on my vintage window pane, which makes a great backdrop for my corner fireplace.

More Neutral Fall Mantel Decor

I used these pretty log inspired white vases to hold some dark sticks, and love how it came out.

I thought this book page pumpkin tied in well with the neutral colours too. It's made from a faux pumpkin with simple book page flowers hot glued on, click here to see all the instructions.

On the other side of the mantel I used this fun white ceramic squirrel and put him in my vintage drawer. I love how it acts kind of like a frame, and then another white pumpkin, this one ceramic.

Oak and Acorn Garland

Along the front of the mantel, I made an oak and acorn inspired garland, with an old stick.

I just cut out some simple, oversized leaves from brown kraft paper, white paper, and old book pages, and tied them on with some twine.

The acorns are my favourite. I made them a few years ago, and they would have to be my most popular project ever. They are made out of a plastic Easter egg, with burlap and pinecones -click here for all the instructions to make your own. I love how they look here as part of the mantel.

I really like how it turned out, and how simple it is -neutral colours, lots of texture, and nature inspired. With a fall mantel like this one, life really is a party!

More Inspiration

20 Fall Project Ideas

Sep 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment

20 Fall Project Ideas: great diy's, projects, and recipes for fall.

I love fall. Today I'm sharing a round-up of 20 Fall Projects to inspire you -and they are some of my very favourites! To see all the instructions on how to make any of them, just click on the title or the picture. I hope these past Life is a Party projects inspire you to take on some new projects for fall!

20 Fall Project Ideas:

Pumpkin Blondies with Pumpkin Frosting

Paper Flower Pumpkin

Ombre Pumpkin Tower

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

String Pumpkins

i20 Fall Project Ideas: great diy's, projects, and recipes for fall.

Pumpkin Chocolate Truffles

Fall Leaf Book Page Garland

Fall Front Door -in Lime Green and White

Mini Pumpkin Donuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

DIY "Give Thanks" Plates

Simple Inexpensive DIY Fall Pillows

Pumpkin Filled Cream Puffs with Carmel Sauce

Burlap Acorns made from Easter Eggs

I hope these ideas get your creative juices flowing. Can't wait to share more great projects and recipes for fall with you.

With 20 Fall Project Ideas, life really is a party!

Aqua Themed Pool Party Birthday Ideas

Sep 5, 2014 · 1 Comment

Pool Party Birthday Ideas: aqua themed pool party with ideas for DIY decor, party games and activities, and an aqua dessert table.

Pool party dessert table, favours, and activity ideas.

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Today my daughter's turning 10! Happy Birthday Paige! I can't believe we've hit the double digits! This year Paige requested a pool party, so last weekend we got together with friends and family to celebrate. Today I'm sharing all my pool party birthday ideas with you.

We were so blessed to be able to borrow a party venue and have the party at my sister-in-law and brother-in-laws house, since they have a lovely pool and live only a few minutes away -thanks Keers and Steve. I did worry about rain -since it's rained on Paige's parties for about the last 3 years, but the forecast was for sunny skies. Despite the forecast about 15 minutes before we were set to begin, guess what? It started to rain. Picture me holding an umbrella over the desert table and praying. The prayers were answered, and it only rained a few minutes. By the time the guests arrived it stopped and it was time for the fun to begin.

Weather is one factor that you can't control for a pool parties, but other than that it's the perfect summer birthday theme. But, a summer pool party is a great idea even if you aren't celebrating a birthday.

Pool Party Birthday Invitations

Paige's favourite colour is aqua, and it went great with the pool party theme, so it became our color scheme for all the party details. For the invitations, since Paige loves art, we came up with the idea of ombre watercolours. I designed the invites, and then printed them onto watercolour paper with our home computer. Paige then painted with watercolours to create the aqua ombre effect. These were really simple to make and perfect pool party invitations.

Pool Party Activities

Water Table

The main event at the party was, of course swimming. But I had a couple other little activities set up, just in case. One was this fun water table. We've had it for years, and every spring I bring it out and it's like a new toy. This worked great between lunch and dessert, when the kids were done but the adults were still eating. We set it up near the pool area and especially the youngest party guests really enjoyed it.

DIY Paper Boats

We also set up some origami to make paper boats. The paper boat idea became part of the decor and went well with our water theme. I just cut up some pretty aqua scrapbook paper and printed the instructions. Paige had fun teaching her friends how to make them and it was one of the unique ideas that everyone loved.

Pool Party Centerpieces

I wanted to add some centerpieces to the tables for part of our pool party decorations. We used the paper boats and some water -coloured with a few drops of blue and green food colouring to make aqua, to make easy centerpieces for the tables. Luckily we'd tried it at home first, and discovered that paper boats actually absorb the water and sink fairly quickly. We used parchment paper, and some basket liners that had a waxy finish to make the boats for the centerpieces and they worked great and lasted the whole party. These would be a fun addition to a beach party as centerpieces too.

We continued the origami boats into a bouquet of paper lanterns and pom-poms. I made lots in different aqua paper, and sizes, and strung them into a few fun garlands. I love how this turned out and gave a real wow factor to the party area, and was a nice reusable alternative to balloon garlands. We hung them from the deck and over the lunch table.

We also picked up some pool floats that matched our aqua color scheme. It was fun to scatter beach balls in the pool for the party.

One more tip, when your setting up your next pool party is to buy some extra swim goggles and beach towels, and have them available in a basket in case any guests at your kid's pool party needs to barrow them. It's also a good idea to have some extra sunscreen on hand and remind guests about constant sunscreen reapplication throughout the party.

Pool Party Lunch

For lunch, we had hamburgers, hotdogs, and salads around the pool. It's always good to stick to the classics that are kid friendly for birthday parties. And an easy way to make it adult friendly too was with a variety of really yummy salads as side dishes.

Pool Party Games

We also played a few typical swimming pool games at the party, like Marco Polo, and colours. These are such fun games, that most kids are familiar with. It's always nice to add some age-appropriate games to your child's birthday party, as well as some free pool time.

Paige also wanted to have a "diving contest". It was such a fun idea. The kids had to name their dive and then jump in -with marks for creativity.

Before the party, we printed out a few number signs and designated some judges. There were a couple younger kids who didn't want to jump in the deep end so they helped judge. It was hilarious, and I highly recommend it for a birthday pool party.

Pool Party Dessert Table

After lunch it was time for dessert! We had a lot of fun putting together the aqua/blue dessert table. Weeks and weeks before the party, I happened to see at One Krieger Chick, an adorable ombre "Make a Splash" sign, so Paige and I gave it our own twist and used it as the pretty backdrop for the dessert table (and now it's in her bedroom).

To add some height to the table I used my vintage suitcases. I was reminded again how great it is to have serving pieces in white and glass -it doesn't really take too much of your colour, here mainly just the actual food, to really create a great effect.

I also made a little drink table on the side, with cold drinks.

Now, for the desserts! -our favorite part.

Cupcakes

I made vanilla cupcakes and decorated them with different shades of aqua blue icing. I just started out with the lightest shade, and then kept adding more gel food colouring as I went along. The little flags are made out of toothpicks and washi tape. I always like cupcakes instead of birthday cake because you don't have to worry about cutting it up to serve it. Finger foods are always easier with kids or with a crowd.

Blueberries

I found fun mini Chinese takeout containers and used them for blueberries. It's always nice to include some fresh fruit on a dessert table, and the blueberries fit our color scheme.

Rice Krispie Treats

When it comes to blue food, you have to get a little creative, so just think of your favourites and add a little blue chocolate. We made Rice Krispies and dipped them in blue candy melts. They were the first thing gone, and a fun way to include a blue treat.

Sugar Cookie Bars

I also made sugar cookie bars -they were a first and so, so much easier than sugar cookies, but with all the same great taste. I used the same icing as the cupcakes to make them ombre too. And the pom-pom pics are just pom poms from the craft store hot glued to a toothpick -love is in the details, and little touches like these help take your dessert table to a whole new level.

Candy

I also wanted to include some candy, and there were little bags so our friends could take some home too as party favors. We served:

rock candy
gummy sharks
homemade lollipops.

For the lollipops I used the same recipe and technique I used for our homemade lollipops here, except we used aqua food coloring, and added lemonade flavoring this time. They looked so, so pretty. And this a really great make ahead treat for a special event. You can make them in any color or flavor to match your party theme.

Homemade Macarons

I also tried my hand at making homemade macarons for the party. They were my second attempt and still not perfect, but they were still really good. We made them blue and filled them with a raspberry butter cream. What I do love about these special little cookies is that you make them a couple of days before you need them and let them mature in the fridge, so it's great for a party since it isn't last minute.

Jello

Last, and almost forgotten in the fridge, which is why they aren't in all the photos, classic blue jello, with a squirt of whip cream. All the kids loved them and they were certainly easy peasy.

Pool Party Favors

One last detail, I used another vintage suitcase to hold the little goodie bags with the origami boats, bookstore gift cards, and candy from the sweets table.

Miniature Boat In A Bottle

The tiny little bottle, beside Paige's picture, is a little origami boat in a bottle. We used Pudding Fish Cakes AMAZING video to make them and they turned out great.

One little issue, cause nothing is ever quite as easy as you hope it will be, was some of my boats started to sink. I followed the instructions on the video, but maybe because I had a different kind of resin or because of the heat and humidity when I was making them, after waiting the two hours for the resin to harden to a certain consistency I added my boats and noticed about 15 minutes later that they were sinking into the resin. After all the work of finding mini bottles, finding resin and chalk pastel, and then folding all those tiny, tiny boats I was feeling beyond sad to see the shipwreck.

I put on my timer and used tweezers every 15 min. for about two hours to pull them up and reposition them, since they weren't totally submerged, and I thought I could still rescue them. Some did sink too far, so I pulled them out and waited to add in new ones. At the end of the day it all worked out, but if I were doing it again, I'd do a test one to make sure before making 10 of them! Here's a shot of the one beside my camera lens cover, just to show you the scale of how tiny they actually are. We put them into tiny organza bags and included them in the loot bags for our guests. These are not your standard goodie bag fair, but I thought they were a really special addition.

We really had a wonderful afternoon and successful bash celebrating Miss Paige turning 10 with an outdoor pool party. With warm weather it really was the perfect to celebrate our girl. Happy Birthday Paige.

With all these great pool party birthday ideas, life really is a party!

More Birthday Party Inspiration

You might also like our Rainbow Art Party here.

Also check out our Rock Climbing Gem Party here.

Rock Climbing Gem/Jewel/Geometric Birthday Party -rock climbing party with DIY gem decor, rock themed dessert table, and favour ideas.

You might also enjoy our Ice Cream Themed Birthday Party here.

Back to School Family Dinner

Sep 3, 2014 · 4 Comments

Back to School Dinner -start a new tradition with a Back to School themed dinner after the first day of school. Lots of easy decor ideas here to help create some special family memories.

It's become a bit of tradition around here, to have a special dinner on the first day of school to celebrate -see last year's here, and the year before that here.

Vintage Back To School Decor

This year I wanted to set the table with a bit of a vintage vibe. I started out with the fun table runner. Using an old dictionary I found at a second hand store for a dollar, I sewed the pages together to make the table runner. I love how it turned out. I think it might stick around and work it's way into my fall decor.

Back to School Family Dinner -start a new tradition with a Back to School themed dinner after the first day of school. Lots of easy decor ideas here to help create some special family memories.

The centre of the table is decorated with different vintage inspired pieces -a few old books, some old fashioned wooden rulers, and some crayons, and pencils, and chalk.

The vintage globes were the perfect finishing touch, that I borrowed from my friend's collection. I love them, and I think they might be on my garage sale list for next year. 😉

I found the sweet little chalkboards at Michaels. Love how the metal edge looks with the gold cutlery. The little milk bottles and paper straws were a sweet detail too.

Along with new school supplies, back to school always makes me think of "an apple for the teacher". So I added apples around the table, and piled some into a tin lunch box.

One other little detail, and a sweet one, was this adorable vintage inspired alphabet card banner. I found the free printable at Rook No. 17, and

Vintage Menu

We had old fashioned meatloaf and apple pie for dinner. As we ate we also heard about everyone's highs and lows of the day, and the details of the first day of school.

Family Tradtions

I wasn't sure on the weekend that I'd have time to put a back to school dinner together for them this year, since we were super busy on the weekend celebrating Paige's 10th birthday -see all the details of her pool party here, and then we were busy getting back packs sorted and laundry done for school. My daughter Maddie's face literally lit up when she saw the table after school. It reminds me of how we're making memories these days, and little family traditions are to be treasured. As I always say, but am feeling more than ever, life is what we make it, so we may as well make it a party.

If you love this Back To School Dinner, click here to check out this one from last year:

Here's another great idea -click here for Easy Back To School Marshmallow Treats:

Here's a another great idea -click here for Note Book Sugar Cookies:

Flamingo Party Ideas

Aug 28, 2014 · Leave a Comment

A fun Pink Flamingo themed dinner party with ideas for a signature cocktail, menu and recipes, and fun flamingo party decor.

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Why We Love This Party

Flamingos are such a fun summer party theme, and make everyone smile.
Pink!
Simple decor ideas that really fit the theme.
Great menu ideas and recipe links.

I've always had a thing for Pink Flamingos. It seemed the perfect whimsical theme for a fun, end of summer dinner party!

We are a part of a super club, you might remember me sharing our last "fiesta night" at our friends house, and this time it was our turn to host. We love a themed dinner party, like our toast themed dinner party, and fondue themed dinner party.

The Strawberry Flamingo Signature Cocktail

We started off the night with a signature cocktail, which I named "the strawberry flamingo", which consisted of a half and half mix of cranberry strawberry juice, and ginger ale with a shot of vodka, and a garnish of fresh strawberries. They were a sweet start to the evening.

I love setting up a little drink station, and my daughter did the fun feather art with pink chalk on a small chalkboard, to go with our theme.

I picked up the flamingo straws at the Dollar Store, and just swapped out the plastic straws for pretty striped paper ones.

Pink punch flamingo party drink station.

Party Appetizers

We set up appetizers in the kitchen, and asked guests to help themselves, while we finished cooking the main course.

Cheese, cracker, and charcuterie appetizers for a flamingo themed party on a wood table with flowers and napkins.

I made a batch of my easy homemade crackers, which I have to say, never fail to impress. We also picked up some nice bread. At the farmer's market I found some lovely cured meat, in spicy and mild options. We served this along with some nice cheese, chutney, cashews, cherry tomatoes, grapes and a fresh, sweet melon, also from the farmer's market.

This is one of my favourite ways to entertain, and it felt casual and summery.

homemade crackers
cheese sticks
crusty bread
Swiss cheese
marble cheese
havarti cheese
spicy cured salami
farmer's market tomatoes
cashews
grapes
cantaloup
caramelized onion and balsamic jam
red pepper jelly

Flamingo Decoration Ideas

I wanted to incorporate some fun flamingos, so I used some flamingo confetti on the table, flamingo toothpicks for the melon, and some funny flamingo napkins.

One of my fav little details from the party was this sweet little flamingo jug.

I found him at a nearby antique mall, and couldn't resist bringing him home. I filled him with a few pink zinnias and coriander flowers from the garden. Love the pink feather too.

In the dining room, I used more pink feathers. On the chalk board "Birds of a feather flock together", seemed like a fitting saying.

I picked up the feathers at the craft store and made the simple garland. I also used these fun free printables, to add a little flamingo art.

It was all inexpensive, and turned out so cute.

Flamingo Party Tablescape

For the dining room table, I started with fun glittered pink flamingos, found at the dollar store. I spray painted their legs gold, and inserted them into a vase filled with floral foam, and lined with hosta leaves -which worked great to hold my little friends in place, and covered the top of the floral foam with a few flower blossoms.

These guys are big and bold and really make a statement, so I felt like I need some flowers that fit that bill too. I found the fun gladiolus flowers at the farmers market, and thought they were the perfect accompaniment to my flamingo friends -and they had every shade of pink to choose from.

Ribbon Table Runner

On the table I made a fun and easy runner out of different pink ribbon, just laid out across the table.

Look for ribbons at the craft store, dollar store, and fabric store. I just laid them along the table and they turned out looking great, and are reusable. Look for different materials like satin, sequins, glitter, and velvet.

I found just laying the ribbon on the table was fine for the evening, but another option would be to attach to a simple plain white or light pink runner using an iron-on tape, or liquid stitch product.

Everyone also had their own flamingo wine glass, picked up at the party store, and sent home as a fun little favour at the end of the evening.

Dinner Menu

salad with roasted potatoes and green beans
flattened chicken
marinated flank steak
butter garlic shrimp skewers

For dinner we served a big salad with roasted potatoes and green beans -a real favourite of ours. We also served a bit of a mixed grill, with marinated flattened chicken -recipe here. cooked and low and slow on the bbq, marinated flank steak -recipe here, and butter garlic shrimp skewers -how could you have a flamingo inspired evening without some shrimp, right?

Dessert

After dinner, it was time for a light, and summery desert. I made Pavlova -recipe here with whip cream and summer berries. And just for tonight, I made it pink to match by adding a little pink food coloring to the mix before baking -so easy and another fun detail.

We had such a fun time, with our whimsical and fun flamingo supper club night, the perfect way to celebrate the end of summer together.

With pink flamingo party ideas, life really is a party!

More Dinner Party Inspiration

If you try any of the ideas from this Flamingo Themed Party or any other ideas on my blog please let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make the food ahead of time?

Yes, prep your homemade crackers, salad, marinade for the meats, and dessert ahead of time. Right before the party set your appetizer table for guests to enjoy while you grill the chicken, steak, and shrimp.

Where did you find the pink feathers?

I found the pink feathers at the craft store (or look online), and they had the pink glitter embellishments, but you could add the yourself to plain pink feathers.

Where did you find the flowers?

The flowers were all from the farmer's market. If you are looking for gladiolus, check with your local florists. They may be able to order them in for you.

How To Train Your Dragon Party Ideas

Aug 19, 2014 · 14 Comments

How To Train Your Dragon Party with ideas for themed food like dragon poop, dragon claws, viking cupcakes, fire breathing dragon cake and more! Plus cute DIY decorations, and really fun kids games and activities.

How to train your dragon themed party food ideas.

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Why We Love This Party

Most of the food ideas are simple to make, or store bought.
The DIY decor was so cute.
The themed activities and game ideas were so fun for the kids.

Today I'm sharing my little friend Allie's "How To Train Your Dragon Party", and all the great How To Train Your Dragon themed food her Mom made for the party. Plus there's DIY party decorations. And the kid's favourite part were the themed party activities and games.

You might also like our Oscar The Grouch Themed Party.

How To Train Your Dragon Themed Food: perfect dragon themed food for a party -dragon poop, dragon claws, viking cupcakes, fire breathing dragon cake and more!

Drinks

Let's start with the drinks. The Dragon Drool was delicious -also known as lemonade, and the perfect Viking thirst quencher.

Dragon Drool -Lemonade

How To Train My Dragon Themed Snacks

And for anyone working up a bit of an appetite while training their dragon, there were some lovely snacks.

Dragon Scales -Doritos: Like these delicious Dragon Scales -also sometimes know as Doritos.

Viking Shield -Fruit Tray: All Vikings enjoy their fruit more when arranged to resemble a Viking shield.

Dragon Veggies and Dip Tray: And veggies and dip are so much better when they look like a dragon.

Dragon Food -Fish Crackers: And since Dragons always enjoy fish -even fishy crackers, it's always good to have some on hand.
Dragon Claw -Bugles: Vikings also enjoy Dragon Claws, you might know them as Bugles.

Desserts

We all enjoyed the snacks while we were training our dragons, but when that hard work was done it was time for some sweets. Every Dragon party needs some Dragon inspired desserts.

Viking Hats -Chocolate Cupcakes: The Viking Hats were made from chocolate cupcakes and icing toped with a two-bite brownie, and viking hat horns were made from white chocolate. They were adorable and they were delicious.

Dragon Eggs -Pudding Cups with Chocolate Eggs: There were also Dragon Eggs. They were made with chocolate pudding, that was topped with chocolate rocks (that were actually really delicious) and some Cadbury eggs.

I love the detail on the cups and the spoons wrapped with leather, plus the food labels with the "dragon scale" tape (found at Walmart one day). Everything was so very Viking-ish.

Dragon Poop -Marshmallows and Chocolate: A big hit with the kids was the "Dragon Poop" made out of mini-marshmallows, green chocolate and green sugar sprinkles. Yum.

Dragon Cake

My fav. had to be the amazing Dragon cake that my friend Heather made.

She used a round cake, cut in half and on it's side to create the main body, and than cut up another cake for the head, arms, legs and tail.

All the details were amazing. Loved the wings made from some tissue paper and chopsticks! Also loved the Toblerone triangles used to decorate the Dragon's back.

Best of all, had to be that this Dragon actually breathed fire! The orange and yellow birthday candles were inserted where his mouth was and looked amazing when lit.

How To Train Your Dragon Birthday Party: Make your own shield, train your dragon stations, sensory table, and dragon training survival loot bags!

How To Train Your Dragon Party Decorations

The theme was set as soon as we arrived with this fun wreath. It was decorated with dragon scale ribbon, moss, and a fun little toy dragon making a nest on top of the "A" for Allie.

And after the party the wreath moved to decorate the birthday girl's bedroom door.

How To Train Your Dragon Birthday Party: Make your own shield, train your dragon stations, sensory table, and dragon training survival loot bags!

Around the party space there were lots of plants and ferns with dragon toys tucked inside.

How To Train Your Dragon Book of Dragons

At the front door first we received our official "book of dragons".

It was a little blank notebook for us to take notes in. The front was decorated with some clipart and everyone's name was added in Viking Font. A leather cord and a "dragon tooth" charm wrapped the dragon notebooks. After we unwrapped our books, everyone used their dragon's tooth as a necklace.

How to train your dragon party games and activity ideas.

Make Your Own Viking Shield Activity

Our first activity was to design our viking shields.

The handles were made out of duct tape on the back. And the front was made with a round cardboard piece used for cakes.

The kids decorated their shields with paper plates, black HTTYD cutouts, washi tape and jewel stickers.

Everyone received a foam sword once the Viking Shields were finished. We were all ready to start actually training the dragons in the backyard.

Dragon Training

The backyard was full of fun activities for the kids to visit as they wanted to.

Feed Your Dragon Bean Bag Toss

One was a dragon feeding game. Heather used a bean bag toss game she already had, and decorated it with some dragon cutouts from the movie. The kids could throw the fish bean bags in to the holes to feed them.

Catch a Dragon

Next there was also a game to catch the dragons with a small net. The dragon toys hide in the rocks. There was a small net to use for catching.

Dragon Flying Practise

The favourite activity might have been the flying practice. Heather found a flying Toothless toy, and set up a ring of fire for flying practise. A hoola-hoop with streamers attached created the ring of fire for the kids to fly the dragons through.

How To Train Your Dragon Sensory Table

Meanwhile there were also some little ones at the party, so Heather set-up a great sensory play table for them. The kids loved the sensory table, including the bigger kids.

She filled the table with sand, rocks, moss, moss balls, paper shred, blue glass pebbles, faux plants, and dragon toys.

Find A Dragon

The backyard had lots of little dragon toys tucked all around. One of the final games was for everyone to find their own to bring home with them in their loot bag.

Dragon Training Survival Kit Loot Bag

There was also a piñata, and one of my favourite little treats was the Dragon Training Survival Kit.

The kit contained a cookie shield, chocolate rocks, a licorice lasso, a lollipop war hammer, and gummy eels.

More Party Inspiration

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are the candles from that you used in the dragon cake mouth?

We live in Canada and found them at the Bulk Barn. Look for something similar on-line.

How do you make the dragon poop?

Melt some green colored chocolate and stir in some mini marshmallows. Scoop it out onto some parchment paper and sprinkle with green sugar or sprinkles before it sets.

How did you make the viking hat cupcakes?

Start with regular chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing, add a two-bite brownie on top, upside down. Make some chocolate horns with melted white chocolate on parchment paper. When they are set, push them into the sides of the brownie.

Is the loot bag printable available?

Unfortunately, we don't have the loot bag printable, but you can make your own using the Viking font and some HTTYD printart.

If you try any of the How To Train Your Dragon Party Ideas, or any other ideas on my blog please let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!

Forest Tea Party

Jul 31, 2014 · 8 Comments

Forest Tea Party: tea and scones all set up in the woods with fun glamping camping accessories, and a camping inspired menu.

A highlight of my recent camping trip was putting together this forest tea party. I'm excited to share the oh so pretty pictures with you.

The Forest Tea Party Table

I started with layering some pretty vintage tablecloths. They are old ones vintage ones and they're prefect for glamping.

I found the pretty old aqua mason jars at a garage sale for 50 cents, bargain of the summer, and filled them with some wild flowers. The cute little lantern was another great garage sale find and the perfect camping piece.

I used some simple white plates, along with some pretty vintage enamel mugs, I've been collecting at antique sales since the spring. Still need one more.

The large napkins are cotton tea towels, from the dollar store. I bought the acrylic stemless wine glasses, because I thought they were perfect for camping, or just out on the patio this summer. The pretty pink candle holders from Ikea have citronella candles in them to help keep the bugs away.

Cutlery and Tray Makeover

I really loved Poppytalk's pretty cutlery for Target, and it inspired me to make my own re-usable version. I shopped some second hand stores, and collected some mis-matched cutlery. I tried to choose some that all had a similar swirly patterned handle.

I found the perfect hot pink spray paint for metal at Home Depot, and taped the cutlery to just paint the handles so that there's no risk of the paint coming into contact with food.

I also did a cute little silver tray, also picked up at the second hand store.

I love how it turned out. It's so, so pretty. Just make sure to hand wash.

And, the silver tray turned out great too. I used it here to hold some pretty paper napkins.

One of my other favourite details of the table was the pretty chandelier. My brother made this one for me years ago, and it's never looked prettier than hanging in the woods.

The pretty bunting in the background was made from some vintage sheets, and hung in the trees.

Forest Tea Party Menu

tea
scones with jam and clotted cream
shortbread
gourmet s'mores

On the menu for the tea party, scones with jam and clotted cream, and the left overs were great for breakfast the next day. Find our scone recipe here. We also had some yummy shortbread -find the recipe here. One of my favourite tips for a great camping trip is do some baking the day before you go.

I also made some yummy homemade marshmallows and graham crackers -find the recipes here.

And what's better for a gourmet s'more in the woods, than assorted chocolate bars in yummy flavours like oreo, cookie dough, caramel corn and peanut?

I really, really loved how this table came out. I bought a few new pieces, but most were thrifted, or found at garage sales. It's all perfect camping gear, non-breakage, durable, up-cycled, and pretty. It really made me think about how it doesn't really take too much more effort or money to make everyday beautiful.

With a pretty forest tea party in the woods, life really is a party!

You might also like S'more Charcuterie Board here.

S'more Charcuterie Board: this s'more themed dessert board is perfect as a summer treat around a campfire, or for your camping themed party.

Also check out our S'more Kit here.

Smore Making Kit -use a picnic basket to store everything for s'more making. Add different flavours of chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers.

You might also enjoy our Woodland Forest Party here.

Woodland Forest Party Food Ideas: Easy to put together woodland forested themed party food ideas with store bought ingredients that are cute and delicious.

Camping With Kids

Jul 28, 2014 · 1 Comment

Camping With Kids Ideas: ideas for activities for children to enjoy on a camping trip, including around the campsite ideas, and rainy day ideas.

Today I'm sharing all my fun camping with kids ideas.

Last week was a week of oozy, gooey homemade marshmallows roasted over the campfire, bug spray and after bite, and lots of lots of giggles, laughs and memories. We went camping with friends and had a great time, and I wanted to share some of the simple things we planned for the kids to do around the campsite. With a little planning ahead, you’ll hopefully keep everyone happy and out of trouble for hours. 😉

Camping With Kids Activity Ideas

The majority of our time was spent at the beach, bike riding, hiking, or enjoying the campsites activities, but for those times when you’re hanging around the campsite or cooking meals here are some great, and really simple ideas to keep the kids busy and happy. Before we left, my friend Heather and I planned out a few things and packed them all up into a big bag to be pulled out when ever we needed them.

Nature Scavenger Hunt

One fun and simple idea was a little scavenger hunt, my friend Heather printed them from here, and attached them to some little paper bags. The girls had a great time finding their items and checking them off.

Watercolours

I made a simple watercolour bag with some watercolour paper, paint brushes, and a couple sets of watercolour paints. Our girls had a great time painting, and were inspired by an artist painting the water and horizon at the nature centre. When we came back to the campsite, they went down to the lake and tried their own versions.

Then, they discovered feathers on the shore and started painting with those.

Then, they decided to paint some rocks. I loved their creativity!

Cup Stacking

Heather also packed some simple small plastic cups from the dollar store, for stacking and building. She pulled them out one night as we were cooking dinner and the girls played with them for ages.

Journals and Colouring

We also packed some journals from Stuck On You. The girls loved their personalized journals, and fun pencils and pencil crayons all personalized for our trip.

They had fun writing about the trip.

Adventure Backpacks

Another fun treat from Stuck On You were the sweet little personalized key chains. We put them on the girls backpacks, which they filled with treasures like flashlights, binoculars, and their new journals, and walked around the campground together playing a little game of adventure explorers.

Beading

Another fun activity for around the site was a bag of beads, for make your own necklace or bracelet -this one would have also worked inside the tent if it had rained.

New Magazines and Lego

The other rainy day activities that my friend Heather brought along and my girls LOVED, was a new favourite magazine for everyone, and a few new lego toys to build together. Luckily, we didn’t get the rain that they were calling for, and the girls enjoyed the activities outside.

Campfire Ideas

We planned a few fun night time activities too. We had amazing gourmet s’mores, with homemade marshmallows and graham crackers -see the recipes here.

But there were a few other little treats too. I picked up some glow bracelets, and Heather brought jiffy pop popcorn that we made over the campfire.

Matching PJs

The best treat of all though, were their matching personalized pj’s.

It was so much fun for the girls to have matching woodland themed pj’s, they looked so, so cute. I love the little deer and bunny on them, perfect for a camping trip, and lots of fun memories for them at home later when they wear them. They are very well made, from soft cotton, and speaking from experience, they wash very well too….and of course, they’re adorable.

With best friends, and so many fun camping with kids ideas, life really is a party!

Stuck On You generously supplied the pi's, journals, pencils, and key chains but all the opinions are my own -I really love their stuff!

You might also like our Orange Peel Candles here.

Also check out our Campfire Cinnamon Rolls here.

You might also like our Forest Tea Party here.

How To Make Orange Peel and Olive Oil Candles

Jul 25, 2014 · 1 Comment

Orange Peel Candles: the perfect camping activity. Make a candle out of just 2 items, an orange and some olive oil.

How to make a candle with an orange peel.

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This fun camping hack is sure to impress. Make an orange peel candle with only 2 ingredients: an orange peel and some olive oil. Yes it really works. It looks great at night, and the smell of the orange is great too. It only takes a few easy steps to create. We made our candles on a camping trip and used the candles around the campfire at night. This would be a really fun craft during the holiday season too. It uses all natural elements, and look really beautiful as it burns.

This craft only needs two materials. No need for paraffin wax, or natural soy wax, or a double boiler, or cotton wick for this easy craft. These natural candles are made with just regular zesty mandarin orange peels and olive oil. With these all natural ingredients they are naturally lead-free wicks, and even cleaner than soy candles, soy wax blend or beeswax candles.

Olive Oil

This is a wonderful all natural craft. Olive oil was used in ancient oil lamps. It is a clean burning fuel, and it doesn't spread toxins into the air as it burns. It is odourless and smokeless and makes a great fuel for our orange peel candles. Each orange peel candle should give you a burn time of about 3-4 hours, depending on the oranges size.

Oranges

We used oranges as the container for our candles. One trick is you must cut the orange in half in the right direction. The orange stem in the center of the orange becomes the natural wick for the candle. You must slice your candle so that the orange stem wick is in the center. Notice a small round circle on the outside of the orange where it attached to the orange tree, this is where the orange stem that we used for the candle wick is, so let it guide in which direction to slice the orange.

You can use any oranges for your orange candle. An orange with good thick orange rinds works well. You can also experiment with different kinds of citrus peel like grapefruit, lemons, or limes. Different citrus fruits will give you slightly different scents from the natural essential oils in their peels. And when you're all done with them, they can go into the compost bin.

Recipe

Orange Peel Candles

Make your own candles using orange peels as the base.

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Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 15

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Cost: $5

Equipment

knife
lighter

Materials

orange
olive oil

Instructions

Cut your orange in half and scoop out the flesh, being careful not to damage the white middle stem. This is really important, because the stem will become your candle wick.
Pour olive oil into the half of the orange, letting it flow over the white stem. Try to get the stem as saturated as possible, maybe even let it sit for awhile.
Light the stem and enjoy your candle.

how to make a candle out of an orange peel

Troubleshooting

I found it kind of hard to light the wick for the first burn.

We tried different oil, but the olive oil seemed to work best.

I had a good bbq lighter, and just kept it on hoping it would light…it would light and then go out. I tried to trim wicks but that didn't help. So, I kept re-lighting it with my lighter, until my lighter run out of lighter fluid.

My friend poured a small amount, like a spoonful, of lamp oil from a lantern over the wick and it lit very easily. So if you have lamp oil it might work great.

My sweet friend drove to the camp store for a new lighter. The orange had been sitting with the oil at this point for about 20 min. I tried again and after a min. or two it lit and stayed lit the rest of the night. Sweet success.

If you're having trouble you may need to let your olive oil sit a little longer so that the stem wick can soak up the oil through capillary action. It's best to make these a few hours before you want to make them.

The orange candles are super cool looking as they burn. Activities like this are such good things to do on a camping trip. It was totally a fun hanging out around the campfire kind of an activity. These would also be gorgeous inside as beloved year-round candles. They make a lovely orange-spiced fall candle. They're especially nice as a winter favorite at Christmas time. Arranged them with some dried orange slices for the holidays and enjoy the natural fragrances of the orange zest. No need for a tea light, wax melts, or orange essential oil when you have an olive oil and orange candle to enjoy.

With a homemade orange peel candle lighting up the night, life really is a party!

More Camping Inspiration

You might also like our Campfire Cinnamon Rolls here.

Also check out our Campfire Paninis here.

Campfire Paninis: make your own DIY campfire paninis press with a foil covered flat rock and enjoy a campfire panini in the woods.

You might also enjoy our Campfire Muffins here.

Homemade Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Jul 17, 2014 · 4 Comments

Slow Cooker Boston Baked Beans Recipe: once you've tried homemade baked beans you'll never want to go back to the canned version again.

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This Slow Cooker Baked Beans Recipe is a favourite of mine. These beans are sweet, and a little spicy, and definitely worth making from scratch.

A few years ago, we were at ribfest, and my husband ordered ribs that came with a side of baked beans. I didn't dislike baked beans, but they weren't on my fav. list either. Until, I tried homemade ones. They were sweet and spicy and awesome.Since ribfest is only once a year, it seemed like a good idea to try and make some at home. I've made these so many times since then, and tweaked them a little to perfect them.

Sweet and Spicy

I like them sweet, but if you don't like them too sweet, you can reduce the sugar alittle. I also like a little spice so there's a teaspoon of chili flakes in these, but you can adjust it up or down depending on your taste. They'd be great with fresh hot peppers in them too.

Soaking Beans

If you've never cooked navy beans from scratch, the first thing you need to do is soak them. I also like to give them a pre-cook to soften them up. If you don't pre soak and boil your beans as part of the cooking process, the beans can come out hard instead of soft and tender. Soaking and pre-cooking the beans ensures perfectly cooked, soft beans every time. Soaking your beans is easy. Just put them in a bowl and cover them with cold water, and let them sit overnight. In the morning drain off your soaking water and you're ready for the next step.

Pre-boil

Some people don't take the extra step to pre-boil their beans before cooking, but I've found that it ensures soft tender beans. There's nothing worse than going to the trouble of cooking beans in your slow cooker all day, and then finding out when you're ready to serve them that they're still hard. Pre-boiling the beans eliminates this problem. It's an easy step to include and ensures success. Transfer the pre soaked beans to a large pot and add water. You want enough liquid to cover them plus a few inches. You can check the water levels as they boil, to ensure they remained covered. We boil our soaked beans in a large saucepan for one hour before adding them to the slow cooker. They should be soft beans after an hour of boiling, and they'll continue to cook in the slow cooker as well. Drain off your cooking liquid, and add them to the slow cooker after boiling them.

Can you skip the pre-boil? The short answer is yes, especially if you did soak your beans overnight already. If you forgot to soak your beans overnight, then I would be sure to pre-boil them before cooking in the slow cooker.

One other factor that can contribute to your beans not getting nice and soft and tender is if they're old beans. Be sure to use new beans. Buy them from somewhere that you're confident they haven't been sitting on a shelf for too long. If you only make this recipe very occasionally, make sure you're using fresh beans to start off with each time.

Slow Cooker

This bean recipe is made in a crock pot so, once you add the beans and all the other ingredients in the crock pot, you can forget about them for awhile. This is perfect for entertaining or focusing on other foods at the last minute. This is one of my favorite slow cooker recipes. I love serving this dish in the summer as a side dish at summer bbqs. So many times, my guests have never had homemade beans before, they've only ever tried canned beans and not enjoyed them very much. After trying this recipe, they usually ask for the recipe because they're so good.

If you don't have a slow cooker, you an make this recipe on the stove top in a large pot or baked in the oven in a dutch oven. You will have to adjust your cooking times.

Pork

I'm not a big fan of pork in my beans. The pork braises in the beans and the fatty bits don't have a chance to render or get crispy. The texture of the pork is soft and it's often very fatty. If you love the flavor it adds to the beans though, you can add it in. You can use thick-cut bacon, or regular bacon. Just cut your raw bacon into small pieces and add to the slow cooker at the beginning of the cooking time.

Vegan

If you want to serve this recipe to a vegan, be sure to not add pork. Everything else in the recipe is suitable for a vegan.

Boston Baked Beans

What makes Boston baked beans difference from regular baked beans? The use of molasses. Traditional baked beans are often sweetened with brown sugar and corn syrup. Boston baked beans use molasses to add sweetness, but also a depth of flavor. They also often contain pork, although we don't add it to our recipe, but you could if you like it. And since I'm a Canadian, I've also added maple syrup to bring some more sweetness to our baked beans. I think it's a great addition to these. You could substitute brown sugar if you prefer.

Give the slow cooker boston baked beans a good stir after adding them and the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker. Then stir them occasionally during the cooking if you're around. As they cook you'll see the thick sauce develop. When they're done they're a perfect meal on their own, or serve them as a great side dish.

Store any leftovers in a airtight container in the refrigerator. These are delicious as leftovers. The flavors continue to infuse into the beans the next day, and the they are the most flavorful beans.

The first time I had homemade baked beans, I couldn't believe the difference between homemade and the canned stuff I'd had before. These are the best baked beans I ever had. If you're a fan of baked beans and never tried a homemade version you are going to love these and they're really easy to make in the slow cooker. We make these often to go with ribs, and this week I made them for fajita night. They're also a great make ahead for a camping trip, just make them at home and re-heat on the camp stove. Or make these for your next potluck. They're pretty much awesome any time really. You're going to want to add this to your favorite bean recipes.

Recipe

With this slow cooker Boston baked beans recipe, life really is a party.

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also like our Homemade BBQ Sauce recipe here.

Also check out our Homemade Montreal Steak Seasoning recipe here.

You might also enjoy our No-Cook Homemade Hot Sauce recipe here.

No Cook Homemade Hot Sauce: Make this sauce in minutes in your blender and enjoy the hot tangy homemade hot sauce. The perfect Homemade Father's Day gift.

Homemade Canadian Fried Dough -Beaver Tails Recipe

Jul 1, 2014 · 2 Comments

Canadian Fried Dough: Beaver Tails recipe for a Canadian classic, fried donut like flat pastries with cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.

Homemade Canadian fried dough beaver tails.

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Happy Canada Day! What better way to celebrate than with a beaver tails recipe. Beaver Tails are a Canadian classic! They are a favourite around here, so we thought we'd give our own version of Canadian Fried Dough a try -and they were a big hit!

This Canadian fried dough has few different names. It's something called beaver tails, and something called elephant ears. They are a large flat pastry that resembles a beaver's tail, thus the name. They're the kind of special treat that you get at county fairs. They're similar to funnel cakes -get our recipe for homemade fair funnel cakes recipe here.

The dough for these donut-like friend dough pieces is traditionally made from whole wheat flour, and adds a delicious flavour to them. They are made with a yeast dough, which makes a wonderful soft dough and tender treat. Baking with yeast can be a little bit intimidating, but for best results just follow the recipe closely.

The dough rises, to a lovely soft, and smooth consistency. Then the dough is formed into the beaver tail, or canoe paddle shape. Next it's fried to a lovely light brown and then topped with a delicious topping.

Toppings

After frying, there are all different ways to top these off, but we kept to the traditional and my favorite topping of cinnamon and sugar, and they were so, so yummy! This is my personal first choice when it comes favorite toppings. But there are lots of other fun possibilities. You might like to try one or a combination of any of these ideas:

chocolate hazelnut spread
powdered sugar
banana slices
caramel sauce
cream cheese
vanilla icing
mini m and m's
sprinkles
apple pie filling
maple butter
maple syrup
jam
chocolate bar pieces
chocolate chips
brownie pieces
cookie pieces

Recipe

This treat is best enjoyed the day that you make it. If you have more dough than you need you can store the un-fried dough in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a few days and fry it anytime you want it.

This is such a wonderful sweet treat. Weather you add lots of fun toppings or just use the traditional cinnamon sugar the best part is sharing it with family and friends. This is sure to become one of your favorite recipes. You might even want to set up a topping buffet so that your guests can top their own fried dough with their favorite thing each time.

With a wonderful homemade fried dough recipe like this, life really is a party!

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also like our Homemade Honey Cruller recipe here.

Also check our our Butter Tarts with Raisins recipe here.

Butter Tarts with Raisins Recipe: My grandma's famous recipe, a Canadian classic. We love our butter tarts with raisins added to them.

You might also enjoy our Donut Strawberry Shortcake recipe here.

Donut Strawberry Shortcake -the easiest, best Strawberry Shortcake ever! You'll never go back to your old version after trying this one.

Vietnamese Baguette Sandwiches -Banh Mi Recipe

Jun 25, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Vietnamese Sandwich Recipe: the Vietnamese baguette Banh Mi combines grilled pork, tangy pickles, cucumbers, pate, spicy lime mayo and cilantro for the perfect sandwich.

Vietnamese Baguette Sandwich Banh-Mi Recipe.

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I love this Vietnamese sandwich recipe. Love it. And I hope you will too. Every time I've made it, it's always a crowd pleaser.

I first heard of this sandwich on a cooking show quite a few years ago, but never had a chance to try it. Just from the list of all of the ingredients, I knew that it would be yummy. I really like Vietnamese food, so I experimented with a few different recipes and versions, to come up with all the elements of these amazing Vietnamese sandwiches. It turned out so great. I love this sandwich. It is hearty enough to be a meal in itself. The best part about this sandwich is that it has an amazing combination of textures and flavors. It's spicy and sweet and sour and savory and fresh. It's also crispy and smooth and chewy all at the same time. This version is not the quickest sandwich to throw together. But it's well worth the time it takes to marinate and grill the pork, and to pickle the fresh vegetables for this bahn mi sandwich recipe. If you're lucky enough to be in a Vietnamese neighbourhood you can pick on up. But you can also make it at home with this recipe and have it whenever you want.

French and Vietnamese Fusion

There's a lot of French influence in Vietnamese cooking, and you can see it in this sandwich with the baguette and the pate. This comes from the time when Vietnam was under French colonial rule beginning in 1858. French colonialism impacted the vietnamese people in many ways including their food. Some French cuisine was introduced including French bread. The crispy baguette become a stable. Over the years, there was a fusion between the French influence and the Vietnamese cuisine. The traditional banh mi sandwich is made with a French-style baguette, and bahn mi is actually the vietnamese word for the baguette bread this perfect sandwich is made in. Along with the crusty baguettes, it also usually has French influenced pate in it. A Vietnamese banh mi is also filled with asian style pickled veggies, spicy mayo, some kind of Vietnamese pork, and fresh herbs. This delicious sandwich is the perfect fusion of French and Asian influence. This Vietnamese street food is perfect for on the go eating. It usually contains some kind of pork meat. We've used lemongrass pork for ours, but it's also served sometime with pork meatballs, pork loaf, or roast pork.

Pork

We used pork shoulder for our lemongrass pork for the sandwich. It has a good bit of fat in it, which makes the grilled pork nice and moist. You can also use pork butt, pork belly, or pork tenderloin for this. Don't skip the lemongrass in this recipe. Look for it at any asian or Vietnamese grocery stores with the fresh veggies and herbs. Be sure to marinate your pork for at least a few hours, and up to overnight. If you're making this sandwich for a party or company, you can do this step the night before so that all you have to do is grill it the day of. You can also freeze the pork in the marinade. Do yourself a favor if you're making a batch of this and do an extra one at the same time, place the marinade and pork in a ziplock bag and freeze it. The next time you want to enjoy this yummy sandwich, all you have to do is take the pork and marinade out of the freezer, let it thaw and grill, and then assemble the rest of your sandwich and enjoy.

Pickles

The pickled carrots and daikon radish don't take long to make. Use a mandoline chopper to make slicing them much quicker. Let them sit in the pickling liquid at least a few hours before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Enjoy this pickled crunchy vegetables on the sandwich, with more on the side for pickle lovers.

I served this sandwich on the weekend at a summer get-together with some old friends in the backyard. This sandwich really is perfect for summer entertaining.The pork is done on the bbq and the pickle can be made the day before so all you need to do the day of is assemble.

These pork banh mi sandwiches are something different and really fresh. They have a great balance of textures and taste. The crusty Vietnamese baguettes is contrasted with the velvety smooth texture of the pate. The pickled carrots and daikon have the perfect sweet and sour taste, Along with the taste, the pickled vegetables add more of the great crunch. The cilantro leaves add some freshness. And the spicy element is covered with the spicy mayo. The pork is perfectly seasoned and also sweet, and a little bit fatty in the best sense and wonderfully unctuous. This really is one of the best sandwiches. I hope you love it too!

Recipe

How to make a Vietnamese sandwich -banh mi

With this yummy Vietnamese pork sandwich recipe, life really is a party!

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also this recipe for Marinated Flattened Grilled Chicken.

Also check out our recipe for Scotch Eggs here.

How To Make A Fairy Garden

May 23, 2014 · 14 Comments

How To Make A Fairy Garden with ideas for small plants to use, and how to make your own DIY fairy houses out of bird houses. Plus a DIY fairy arbour, mailbox and fairy garden accessories.

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Why We Love Fairy Gardens

They're so cute and adorable.
They attract fairies to come live in your garden.
They're like a hidden treasure among the plants.
These are really fun to make with kids and for them to play with.
For adults they awaken your inner child.
There's lots of easy DIY things you can make for your fairy garden if you're crafty.

It's that time of the year again, where my mind starts thinking about fairies and building little fairy miniature gardens. It's becoming a bit of a tradition for my girls and I to make them each spring -see this fall fairy garden, teacup garden, fairy garden camp ground, and our teacup fairy garden here.

DIY fairy garden in a large container with flowers, fairy house, moss, and pathway.

DIY Fairy Garden Houses

I usually start out making a fairy house with little dollar store or craft store bird houses, and make a few minor adjustments to make them into the perfect little fairy homes.

Start by using a little saw to cut off the bird perch. Then use your saw to cut off the end of a regular old paint stick to make little fairy doors for your houses.

Attach the doors to the tiny houses with a little finishing nail. When you hammer the door onto the house, leave the nail sticking out a little for the perfect tiny door knob. You could also use a bit of wood glue as well.

how to make a fairy garden house from a birdhouse

Then we usually paint the houses in pretty colours of acrylic paints and add a little glitter here and there for a the perfect fairy touch. You can use ordinary acrylic paint for an indoor fairy garden.

To make the houses work in your outdoor space, you can seal the houses with some spray on sealer.

It's also a great idea to get kids involved in in the painting. I often let my kids each make their own, with their own colors and their own fairy garden design.

This is a great way to let kids add a little imagination and create a really magical garden. You might even choose different themes for your fairy houses, and make an entire village.

Pinecone Roof Fairy House

This year I wanted to change it up a little and I've added a few more fun details to the house construction. I may or may not have watched a few too many Tinker Bell movies over the last few years since they're a favourite with my little girls.

I found myself thinking "what would the fairies use"?

They seem to use anything they can find -at least in the movies, so I incorporated a few things these magical creatures might have on hand too.

diy fairy house for a fairy garden with pinecone shingles

The first house I made this year has a shingle roof made with pine cones. I just bent little pieces of pine cone off with my fingers, and hot glued them in an overlapping shingle style to create the roof. Afterward I gave it a coat of glitter paint for a little fairy sparkle in our whimsical fairy garden.

The finishing touch was a front door made of twigs with a tiny little rock handle glued on. It is so much fun letting your imagination run wild with these cute fairy garden houses.

Birch Bark Fairy House

For the second DIY fairy house, I made some sweet little shingles out of some birch bark, trying to alternate colours and textures for a little variation.

The birch was just. a few pieces that were coming off of some birch trees in the woods that I found on a walk.

The door of this one is another piece of birch bark.

Birch bark is really easy to work with, and cuts really easily with regular scissors. All the birch bark is attached with hot glue, and finished with some glitter paint.

I found the hot glue held up well for the whole growing season. If you were worried though you could use a stronger glue like E6000 or Gorilla Glue.

This was such a fun project. It's a great idea to go for a little walk in the woods and find natural materials like this, and let them inspire you for your own fairy garden craft.

fairy garden diy fairy house with birch bark roof

Seed Package Fairy House

The third DIY fairy house might be my very favourite, with three sides of it covered in seed packages. I saved my empty seed packages this year after planting some seeds in my garden. They were just too pretty to throw away. I thought they'd be really sweet on some fairy houses. See more on how to make a fairy garden house with seed packages here.

I just trimmed the empty seed packages to size and mod-podged them onto the tiny fairy houses.

This one has a full glitter roof too.

Seed packages are so beautiful, and this is the perfect way to upcycle them. If you don't have any, look for free printable versions on line that you can print on your home color printer and use.

diy fairy garden house from a bird house

Fairy Garden Containers

After the houses were made it was time to place them into the container fairy garden. I like using old galvanized steel, and enamelware containers like a galvanized tub. I've picked them up mostly at antique shows. They make a great flower pot. Just make sure to add some drainage holes with a nail and hammer or a drill before planting in them.

Clay pots or terra cotta pots are a great option too.

You can also make your fairy gardens in your flower beds if you prefer.

I love using containers for my fairy gardens, because you can really get up close and see all the fairy garden details. Other great container ideas are to use an old wheelbarrow, or an old hollowed out tree stump.

I usually add one house to each pot and group them together like a little fairy neighbourhood. They make a great focal point on your deck or patio. This is a perfect location for plants that love sun.

I like them arranged on the stairs, so that you can really appreciate each one. Together they make entire villages of fairy homes.

Making your fairy gardens in pots means they're perfect even for a small space. You can even add fairy lights, and enjoy your fairy gardens at night.

Fairy Garden Plants

I've used some small annals in my gardens this year.

Try and pick flowers with smallish blooms, and remember they'll grow, so give them some room, and be sure to leave space for the houses and accessories too.

Small plants work best so look for miniature plants of your favourite varieties. We used some English daisies, miniature rose bushes and lots of filler container plants like bacopas, sweet alyssums, and lobelia.

You can also include tiny trees or bonsai trees like we did for our camping themed fairy garden here. Look for these at your local garden store.

Another option is to make a succulent garden. Succulent gardens are also a great choice for fairy gardens. Succulents are small and slow growing, so they work well in a fairy landscape. See how we used them for our teacup fairy garden here.

After the plants are in, I like to add moss to mine to make the fairies yard. I just dug up some from a shady spot in our side yard where it was growing.

Another great option if you want create a green fairy lawn is to plant something like creeping thyme. It looks great and stays nice and low and green. Irish moss or Scotch moss are also great options. Look for them at the garden center.

DIY Fairy Garden Decor

Next, it's time to add your houses, and pathways, and fun little fairy garden accessories. I used some that I already had from other years -you can save them and use them year after year. We also added a few new ones too. It's a good idea to invest in or make a few new tiny accessories each year and add to your collection.

Stepping Stones and Pathways

It's fun to add some stepping stones and pathways to your small garden. We've used different items in different gardens here. One path is made out of buttons. Another path is made of smooth stones. Glass gems work well too. Another path is small wood slices from the fairy accessory section of the store, but you can also of course use real wood rounds too. Tiny pea gravel is a good option too, or aquarium gravel if you want bright colors. Try to think outside of the box when it come to decorating your cute garden. Old toys can make great additions to your DIY fairy garden too.

Where To Find Fairy Garden Accessories

When I first started making fairy gardens it was quite difficult to find cute accessories. The best place to look was a speciality doll house miniature store, or in the doll house miniature section of the craft store. It's much easiy to find them now. Look in craft stores, plant nurseries, and dollar stores. And if you can't find what you want in the store be sure to look on-line for even more options.

DIY Fairy Garden Accessories

It's always fun to make a few of your own DIY fairy garden accessories too, and get a bit creative with things you might have around the hosue.

Every busy fairy household needs a clothesline for the washing.

We made this one for our fairy friends with some string and miniature clothespins, it's a great place for fairies to hang out their fresh laundry.

DIY Fairy Garden Arbour

I made this sweet little arbour by hot gluing a few twigs together, I think it makes a sweet garden entrance. And it was really simple to make. Find out how to make your own arbour or DIY fairy garden pergola here.

Tea Party for the Fairies

The arbour made the perfect entrance to a little fairy tea party in the garden.

I made the fairy cupcakes last year out of some polymer clay -see a tutorial on how to make miniature polymer clay cupcakes here. The polymer clay really held up great...makes me think about what else I could make using polymer clay for my DIY fairy garden next year.

The china tea set is from a miniature dollhouse store, I've had it outside in a fairy garden during the summers for three years now and it still looks great.

The table is a new addition from a local nursery selling some fairy furniture this year, and what better seats than a couple of thimbles, which I just picked up in the sewing section of a big box store.

DIY Fairy Garden Mailbox

The shell mailbox is new too. I used a seashell, and added the flag with a little piece of birch bark, coloured red with a sharpie and hammered in place with a little finishing nail. If the flags up -you've got mail!

Little ideas like this really make this into a magical fairy garden.

Fairy Garden House Number

And, every house needs a little house number so your friends can find you when they drop by. We just used a small wood round and a sharpie to make this and it's so cute.

I love making these little gardens and using them in pots along with some other flowers on my deck.

You might have noticed the black cords too, it's an irrigation system -read how we installed it here, that is on a timer, and will hopefully mean that it's impossible for me to forget to water these fairy gardens.

I hope these easy fairy garden ideas inspire you. Traditional fairy gardens like these are so much fun to make. Kids of all ages will love doing fairy garden crafts like these with you and creating their own beautiful fairy garden, and then waiting for the little fairies to move in.

With DIY fairy garden ideas like these, life really is a party!

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I attract fairies to my fairy garden?

Make sure to include a beautiful house, you might even want to add a vacant or for rent sign so they know it's available. Fairies love seeing wonderful up-cycles so be sure to include some household items worked in like buttons and thimbles for example. They are also know to have a sweet tooth. 😉

How often do I need to water my fairy garden?

If you make your fairy garden on a sunny deck or patio in a container like we did you will have to remember to water it everyday so that it doesn't dry out.

Is it expensive to build a fairy garden?

You will need a container with soil and plants. You can use small filler container plants, which are not expensive. Fairy garden houses and accessories can be expensive. Save money and get creative by making your own.

More Fairy Garden Inspiration

If you try making a Fairy Garden or any other idea on my blog please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!

Gold Easter Tablescape with Paper Flowers

Apr 17, 2014 · 1 Comment

Gold Easter Tablescape: DIY giant paper flowers, diy gold bunnies, and lots of pretty spring pastels create the perfect Easter table.

I'm excited to share my gold and pastel Easter table with you, and hope you find it as pretty as I do.

Gold Cutlery

I shared last time with you how I've fallen hard for gold. I'd been admiring this cutlery for ages, but wasn't sure I should take the plunge. My very sweet husband surprised me with it for Christmas. Unfortunately it was out of stock, but he again surprised me on Valentine's Day by arranging to have someone pick it up while they were travelling in the US, and bring it home to for me. He joked that he was getting very good mileage out of this one gift. I love it, and it inspired the gold themed Easter table.

Giant Paper Flowers

I also wanted to include the gorgeous paper flowers, like the ones I made for my mantel. Find our full tutorial with a video on how to make giant paper flowers here.

So I made more for the dining table and created a runner out of them. I love how they turned out.

I used all the same shapes, but this time I sprayed some of the brown paper ones with a little gold spray paint. I also painted some with water colours again.

I tucked in a few gold candles, and layered it all on a pretty pink runner.

DIY Gold Bunnies

One of my very favourite little details are the golden bunnies.

I found inexpensive toy bunnies at the dollar store, and spray painted them gold. I just love how they turned out. They look so cute on each plate and tucked amongst the flowers on the table.

I hope your Easter is golden too.

With a beautiful gold and pastel Easter tablescape, life really is a party!

You might also like our Black and White Easter Table here.

Also check out our Easter Table ideas here.

You might also like How To Make Giant Paper Flowers here.

Gold Leaf Easter Eggs

Apr 9, 2014 · 4 Comments

Gold Leaf Easter Eggs: how to make easy DIY Easter eggs. Perfect for your Easter decorating.

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These gold leaf Easter eggs are an easy and fun DIY project. They'll look great as part of your Easter decorating this year. And since they are made with craft eggs, they're long lasting so you can use them year after year.

Choosing Your Eggs

We choose to use light weight craft eggs from the dollar store or craft store for this craft. They're inexpensive and easy to work with. These ones have hanging strings on them, but they're also come without them if you prefer. These white eggs have a matte texture similar to real eggs, and take paint very well. These eggs are also durable and last from year to year, since they are plastic eggs. You'll be able to enjoy your gold leaf easter eggs for years to come.

You could do this craft with other eggs instead. I would not choose hard-boiled eggs, since they're not long lasting. If you choose to use real eggs, be sure to blow them out first. Use a long pin to create a hole on each end of the egg. Make sure the hole at one end is large enough to blow the contents of the egg out through. Then use the long pin to try and break up the yolk inside the egg by poking it. Next blow on one end until the eggs flows out the hole in the other end. Be sure to the egg inside and out before using for this craft. You'll want to also store this egg very carefully from year to year, since it's very fragile. One advantage of using real eggs, would be if you had eggs in beautiful colors like blues and greens. If you're using regular white eggs, you could dye them.

Wooden eggs would also be a great option for this craft. The only disadvantage of them is that they're more expensive than craft eggs and heavier for hanging if you wanted to display them that way. The wood would be beautiful showing through some sections of the gold leaf, but you could also paint the wood eggs. Paper mache eggs would also be a good option for this craft..

Gold Leaf

You will need some gold leaf for this project. Look for gold leaf online or at a craft store. You can use gold leaf sheets or gold leaf pieces for this project. Since we want to have some of the pastel paint showing through on our gold leaf eggs, using the gold leaf pieces which are sometimes less expensive works fine. I used imitation gold leaf for this project. Look for a gold leaf kit that includes the special adhesive, or buy it separately. We wanted to make a golden egg effect, but you could also try this craft with silver leaf, or rose gold leaf, or copper leaf for a different effect.

There's also liquid gold leaf available, but I don't think it's the best choice for this project, since you don't want full coverage, and the gold leafing makes a better pattern with cracks and edges than the liquid would.

Recipe

Gold Leaf Easter Eggs

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Cook Time: 15

Additional Time: 2

Total Time: 2 15

Servings: Gold Leaf Eggs

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Equipment

paint brush
soft brush

Materials

plastic craft eggs
acrylic paint in pastel colors
gold leaf
gold leaf adhesive

Instructions

Start by giving your eggs a coat or two of paint in any pretty Easter colour. And let them fully dry before step two.
The next step is apply the gold leaf adhesive to some parts of the surface of the egg, and let it set for 10-15 minutes, according to the package instructions. The key to remember is not to entirely coat the egg with the adhesive, so that some of the paint colour still shows through.
When the adhesive is set, it's time to apply the gold leaf. Use a dry paint brush to help maneuver the sheet of gold leaf onto the egg, wrapping it around the entire egg. Then using a dry brush or a paper towel, go over the top of the gold foil to smooth it onto the egg, and brush off the excess gold leaf pieces.

I hung my DIY gold leaf Easter eggs on some branches in a pretty milk glass vase. I'm smitten with this easy project, and I think it might be one of my favorite Easter crafts. You could also place eggs an Easter basket, or in a pretty bowl as part of your Easter decor or even attach your own eggs to an Easter wreath. I love easy fun projects that are such a great addition to your seasonal home decor.

With pretty DIY gold leaf Easter eggs, life really is a party!

More Easter Inspiration

You might also like our Marble Easter Eggs here.

Nail Polished Marbled Easter Eggs: easy water marbling with nail polish is the perfect modern touch to your Easter eggs.

Also check out our Cement Easter Eggs here.

Paper Flower Spring Mantel

Apr 3, 2014 · 10 Comments

Giant Paper Flower Spring Mantel: Very inexpensive project, just paper and a glue gun to make your own paper flower decorations.

Giant paper flower fireplace mantel decoration.

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These giant paper flowers are easy to make and you'll love using paper flower decorations around your home.

I'm so excited to share this project with you. It's my absolute favourite of late, and I hope you love it too. I worked on it for weeks, but at a leisurely pace, usually while watching tv in the evening. It was fun to do something creative and think of spring while the snow was still falling outside.

My sister gave me this rustic window frame for Christmas, and I love how it looks here on the mantel, adding height and displaying flowers.

Materials:

white paper
brown Kraft paper
book pages
glue gun
watercolours

I made all the flowers out of regular white paper, brown paper from the dollarstore, and an old book. And I glued them together with my trusty glue gun.

Once I started working on the flowers, I thought it might be fun to add a little colour to some. I used some watercolour paints to add a little spring colour to just a few.

Making Giant Paper Flowers:

You can find my tutorial for making giant paper flowers here, including a video. I used this tutorial to make some of them too.

They're quite simple to make, just time consuming. I had my little girls working on them too. One thing to remember when you're making this many flowers is they don't have to be perfect. Little imperfections won't be noticeable when they're all grouped together.

Adding Them To The Mantel

Along the front of the mantel, I mounted more flowers onto a cardboard backing to create a swag. I love, love how it turned out. I think the mix of colours, textures, and scale is really pretty.

Every time I look at it, I think spring. Won't this be beautiful for a wedding?

With a paper flower decorations, life really is a party!

You might also like Giant Paper Flower Tutorial here.

How To Make Giant Paper Flowers: see how to turn regular paper into beautiful and inexpensive flowers, from large to small in a video tutorial. This diy is perfect for a wedding, shower, or home decor.

Also check out Fresh Flower Chandelier here.

DIY Flower Chandelier: Easy to make,perfect for special occasions, the fresh flowers dry beautifully too. Perfect for Valentine's Day, weddings, or showers.

You might also enjoy DIY Rainbow Book Art here.

DIY Rainbow Book Art: Using old books as a canvas this DIY rainbow art in mustard yellow and pink is fun to make and inexpensive.

Easy Banana Cream Pie

Mar 24, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Easy Banana Cream Pie: so quick and easy, graham cracker crust, banana pudding, sliced bananas and whipped cream make this family favourite.

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Banana Cream Pie is an old family favourite. My mom used to make this pie when I was growing up. I know why she loved to make it, because it's super quick and easy. And it really tastes amazing too.

If you love bananas, and creamy desserts, you will love this easy banana cream pie recipe.

Pie Crust

The secret to it being so easy is that it uses a graham cracker pie crust. So if making pie pastry crust out of homemade pie dough is not your favourite, then you will love how quickly this graham cracker pie shell comes together. I've included the recipe to make the homemade graham cracker crust, but if you want to save even more time, you could buy the pie crust already made. The graham crackers make a wonderful buttery graham cracker crust, and it's very quick to put together. Of course, if you love traditional regular pie crust, you could use it instead. Just blind bake your favourite pie pastry in a pie dish. This pie is really delicious with a traditional pie crust too.

Pudding

The other big time saver is using a pudding mix for the pudding layer in this pie. You can use instant banana pudding, or a cooked banana pudding. Where I live, you can't find banana instant pudding mix easily, so I always use the cooked one. Some people like to substitute vanilla pudding, but I really thing the banana pudding adds a lot more banana goodness to this no bake banana cream pie. If you can't get banana pudding mix though, you can certainly try the vanilla pudding mix instead.

Bananas

There's a delicious layer of fresh banana slices in this pie. Bananas do oxidixe and turn brown after they're sliced, but sandwiching them between the cream and the pudding layer keep them from being too exposed to the air. Be sure to wait until the pudding is cooled if you're using a cooked pudding, and then add your banana slices and whipped cream at the same time. This is a great way to use up ripe bananas.

Whipped Cream

The whipped cream on top of the pie puts the cream in our homemade banana cream pie. I always use real homemade whipped cream. It really doesn't take very long to make it from scratch, and it adds so much flavor to the finished pie. Yes you can substitute whipped topping in place of fresh whipped cream, if you prefer cool whip. Do not use canned whipped cream for this pie, as it will deflate and turn liquidy soon after it's sprayed out of the can. I like to whip my heavy cream with sugar and vanilla to stiff peaks. And make sure to refrigerate the pie, especially in warmer months, so that your whipped cream doesn't start to melt and go watery on your pie.

Some People like to combine their banana pudding and whipped cream together into one single layer, but I like to layer it separately into the pie, and keep the two distinct flavors and textures.

[mv_video jsonLd="true" key="y0nhjfbo482gv5sitxbk" ratio="9:16" title="Banana Cream Pie"]Make this dessert in the morning on a weekend and put it in the fridge to set. Then, impress your friends with homemade pie for dessert. How easy it is to make will be our little secret. 😉

Store any unused portions of the pie in the refrigerator, in an airtight container or covered in a piece of plastic wrap.

Garnish

You can garnish this pie with a few fresh banana slices to garnish, but be sure to do this step right before serving as fresh bananas will oxidize and turn brown when exposed to the air. You can also try dipping the banana slices for garnishing the banana pie into lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. Some people like to drizzle the pie slice with a caramel sauce for garnish.

Chocolate Lovers

If you're a chocolate lover, you can garnish this pie with chocolate syrup or chocolate shavings. As another option, you can even try making this pie with chocolate pudding for a chocolate banana cream pie.

This classic banana cream pie such a great recipe. Made from simple ingredients and so quick and easy to make, it's sure to become one of your favorite desserts to make. It's perfect for family gatherings or entertaining and a wonderful recipe for anyone who loves delicious banana pudding pie. The fresh slices of banana, creamy texture, and buttery crust make this delicious dessert one of our favorite cream pies. If your look for a no bake dessert that's a really easy recipe, this one is perfect.

Recipe

Easy Banana Cream Pie

Graham cracker base, banana pudding, banana slices and whipped cream.

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Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 20

Additional Time: 4

Total Time: 4 35

Servings: pie

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Ingredients

▢ 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
▢ 3 tablespoon sugar
▢ ¼ cup melted butter
▢ 1 pkg. banana pudding -instant or cooked prepared according to the package directions
▢ 2 bananas
▢ 250 mL whip cream
▢ 3 teaspoon sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Combine the graham cracker crumbs and 3 tablespoon of sugar in a pie plate.
Stir in the melted butter, and then smooth the mixture in the bottom of the pie pan and up the sides to form a pie crust. Bake at 350 for about 8 min. Let cool.
Prepare the banana pudding according to the package instructions and pour into the cooled pie crust.
Slice the bananas and layer slices on top of the pudding mixture.
Place the heavy cream in the large bowl of a stand mixer and whip at high speed using the whisk attachment. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then and add 3 teaspoon sugar, and vanilla. Then continue whipping the cream until stiff peaks form. Top the pie with whipped cream. Let set in the fridge for several hours before slicing.

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Nutrition

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @LifeisaParty or tag #lifeisaparty!

With an easy sweet treat like this homemade banana cream pie with graham cracker crust, life really is a party!

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also like our Easy Banana Cake recipe here.

Easy Banana Cake Recipe: This one bowl, easy banana cake is a great way to use up your leftover bananas. The simple, sweet, fluffy vanilla icing takes this recipe from regular to a real treat.

Also check out our Banoffee Pie recipe here.

You might also enjoy our Mini Brownie Donuts recipe here.

Mini Brownie Donuts: the perfect little mini donut made from a brownie mix, with the perfect homemade glaze -super easy.

Easy Cinnamon Raisin Biscuits Recipe

Mar 17, 2014 · 1 Comment

Cinnamon Raisin Weight Watcher Biscuits Recipe: these are quick to make and the perfect sweet, low calorie breakfast or snack.

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This recipe is a real family favourite. These cinnamon raisin biscuits are actually an old Weight Watcher's recipe. Whether you're looking of a low calorie treat or not, these quick and easy biscuits are so delicious you will love them.

We often make this cinnamon raisin biscuits recipe on a weekend morning for breakfast. My girls love the sweet taste, especially warm biscuits from the oven, but my husband and I love them because they're an old Weight Watchers recipe only 3 ww.pts+ per biscuit. I love something so yummy, that doesn't leave you feeling too naughty. These are the perfect biscuits to enjoy over a second cup of coffee. The flaky layers and plump raisins and warm cinnamon make these sweet biscuits such a favorite.

These biscuits are very quick and easy to make. No stand mixer necessary. These easy cinnamon raisin biscuits come together in just a few minutes. Use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to cut in the butter. This process helps make these into delicious flaky biscuits. Stir them into until a soft dough forms, but don't over mix.

Another tip for making tender flaky biscuits, is to divide the dough into two, and then pat or roll out into two disks. Instead of using a round biscuit cutter to make the biscuits, just use a sharp knife to cut the disks into 4. This process means you don't have to reroll the biscuit dough to cut more biscuits, and makes more tender biscuits with no wasted biscuit dough.

Raisins

For juicy raisins, a little trick it to soak the raisins in some warm water for about 30 min. before using them in baking. This process rehydrates the raisins making them plump and juicy. If you are in a rush, you can speed up the process by placing the raisins in a microwave safe bowl and adding the raisins and water to cover plus an inch. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and then let sit 5 minutes in the hot water before draining.

Sweet Glaze

These cinnamon raisin biscuits are covered with a simple glaze. The glaze adds a sweetness to the biscuits. and is the perfect finishing touch. The glaze is very light, but easy to drizzle over the biscuits. Be sure to drizzle the glaze over the biscuits on plate, or piece of parchment paper, as the glaze will drip off of the sides of the warm baked biscuits.

cinnamon raisin weight watchers biscuit recipe

cinnamon raisin weight watchers biscuits

Storage

If you have any leftover cinnamon raisin biscuits, store them in an airtight container at room temperature.

Options

Instead of the glaze drizzled over the top of the cinnamon raisins biscuits, you could use cinnamon sugar. Mix together ½ teaspoon cinnamon with 2 teaspoon of white sugar. Before baking the biscuits, brush the biscuits with a little milk using a pastry brush and then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar of the top of them. The cinnamon sugar will add a nice little crunch to the top of the baked biscuits.

I love the specks of cinnamon and juicy raisins, and the sweet glaze is the perfect finishing touch for these cinnamon raisin biscuits.

These are the best cinnamon raisin biscuits and they're the perfect guiltless treat with and a hot cup of tea. They're are one of my favorite easy recipes to make on a weekend morning. This easy biscuit recipe is sure to become a favorite of yours too.

Recipe

With these easy cinnamon raisin biscuit recipe, life really is a party!

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also enjoy our Easy Food Processor Scones recipe here.

Easy Food Processor Scones: easy and quick to make in your food processor, these flakey scones are perfect for a tea party, breakfast, or snack.

You might also enjoy our Starbucks Copycat Blueberry Scones recipe here.

Also check out our Old Fashioned Almond Bear Claw recipe here.

Beef Steak, Guinness, and Mushroom Pie Recipe

Mar 14, 2014 · 1 Comment

This Steak Guinness and Mushroom Pie is comfort food at its absolute finest. Rich Guinness gravy simmers with tender beef and mushrooms, all crowned with golden puff pastry. It's the kind of hearty, impressive meal that makes dinner parties feel effortless because you can prep everything ahead and just pop it in the oven when guests arrive.

Quick Look

📋 Recipe: Steak Guinness and Mushroom Pie
⏲️ Ready In: 3 hours 30 minutes (mostly hands-off braising time)
👪 Servings: 4-6
🔪 Difficulty: Moderate
💭 Top Tip: Make the filling up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. Just top with pastry and bake when you're ready to serve for the easiest dinner party main ever!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Perfect for entertaining. Make the filling ahead and just top with pastry before guests arrive. No last minute stress.
Rich, deep flavor. The Guinness adds incredible depth to the gravy while tenderizing the beef as it simmers.
Impressive but approachable. Looks like you spent all day cooking, but it's mostly hands off braising time.
Budget friendly. Uses affordable chuck beef that becomes melt in your mouth tender with slow cooking.
Golden, flaky topping. Store bought puff pastry makes this so much easier while still delivering that gorgeous presentation.
Crowd pleaser. The savory combination of tender beef, earthy mushrooms, and rich gravy appeals to everyone.

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There's something special about a proper meat pie. This steak, Guinness and mushroom pie brings together everything I love about cozy, impressive dinners. In this traditional Irish recipe, the beef simmers low and slow in Guinness until it's fall apart tender, the mushrooms add that earthy richness, and the golden puff pastry top makes it look like something from a countryside pub.

I've made this for dinner parties more times than I can count over the last 10 years, because it lets me actually enjoy my guests instead of being stuck in the kitchen. The filling comes together early in the day (or even the day before), and then it's just a quick pastry top and into the oven.

I like to serve this dish with some nice bread, and something green like a fresh salad, or a bowl of buttered peas. If you love hearty comfort food like this steak Guinness and mushroom pie, you might also enjoy our Swedish Meatball Sauce, Mac and Cheese with Panko Breadcrumb Topping, or Braised Beef Ragu. This dish is also perfect for celebrating St. Patrick's Day!

Steak Guinness and mushroom pie in white ceramic baking dish with golden puff pastry crust and decorative toothpick flags.

What Makes This Steak Guinness and Mushroom Pie Special

I've been making this pie for years, and it's become one of my favorite dishes to serve when hosting. The Guinness does something magical to the beef as it braises low and slow. It tenderizes the meat while adding this rich, slightly malty depth and sweetness that you just can't get from regular beef stew. The gravy becomes thick and glossy, coating every piece of tender beef and mushroom.

What I love most is how make ahead friendly this is. The filling actually tastes even better the next day after all those flavors have had time to meld together. I'll often make it on a Saturday afternoon, let it cool, and then refrigerate it. When guests arrive on Sunday, I just top it with the puff pastry and pop it in the oven. The house fills with the most amazing smell, and I get to actually enjoy time with my friends instead of being stuck in the kitchen.

The golden puff pastry on top makes it look like something from a cozy countryside pub. It's impressive enough for a dinner party but comforting enough for a regular family meal. Using store bought puff pastry keeps it doable without sacrificing that beautiful presentation.

Ingredients

Full ingredient list with measurements in the recipe card below.

Stewing Beef or Roast: Cut into bite size pieces. The marbling breaks down during slow cooking, making the meat incredibly tender. Chuck roast or stewing beef work perfectly here.
Flour: Used to coat the beef before searing. This helps create a nice crust and also thickens the gravy as it cooks.
Mushrooms: A full 16 ounces add that earthy richness and soak up all the delicious Guinness gravy. Cut larger mushrooms in half so they cook evenly.
Guinness: One cup adds incredible depth to the gravy while helping tenderize the beef. The rich, slightly bitter flavor is what makes this pie special. Save the rest of the bottle to enjoy while you cook.
Beef broth: Two cups combine with the Guinness to create that rich, flavorful gravy base.
Brown sugar: Helps cut the slight bitterness of the Guinness with a hint of sweetness.
Puff pastry. Store bought makes this so much easier. Look for one that says "all butter" on the package. Just thaw it and drape it over your filling for that impressive golden top.

How to Make Steak,Guinness, and Mushroom Pie

Step 1: Coat the cubed steak in flour.

Step 2: Heat 2 teaspoon oil in large pan or dutch oven, and sear the beef on all sides, in small batches. Don't overcrowd the pan or the beef will steam instead of getting that nice brown crust. Remove the beef from the pan and set aside.

Step 3: Dice the onion and mince the garlic cloves, and cut large mushrooms in half. Add a little more oil to coat the pot, and sauté the diced onion, garlic, and mushrooms until the water comes out of the mushrooms and reduces. This takes about 15 minutes.

Step 4: Add in the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the beef broth and Guinness, and add back the browned beef cubes. Bring to a boil, and use a wooden spoon to scrape all the cooked bits off of the bottom of the pan, and incorporate in the dish. Simmer on low for about an hour to an hour and half on the stove top, until beef is tender.

Step 5: At this point you can put it in the fridge overnight, or top with pastry and bake. To make the pie, put the stew mixture into a pie plate, baking dish, or individual ramekins, and add the thawed puff pastry lid to the top of the filling.

Step 6: Bake at 400°F for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

Expert Tips

Brown the beef in batches. This is really important. If you overcrowd the pan, the beef will steam instead of sear, and you'll miss out on all that flavor from the caramelized crust.
Don't skip the simmering time. The beef needs that full hour to hour and a half to become tender. You'll know it's ready when it easily falls apart with a fork.
Let the mushrooms release their water. When you sauté the mushrooms, give them time to release their moisture and let it cook off. This concentrates their flavor and keeps the gravy from getting watery.
Use only one cup of Guinness. I know it's tempting to add the whole bottle, but trust me on this. Too much Guinness can make the filling bitter. Save the rest to enjoy while you cook.
Make sure your puff pastry is thawed. Take it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge before you need it. Trying to work with frozen puff pastry will just leave you frustrated.
Cut vents in the pastry. This lets steam escape so your pastry stays crisp and doesn't get soggy from all that delicious gravy underneath.

Plated steak Guinness and mushroom pie with golden brown puff pastry revealing hearty beef and mushroom filling in rich gravy.

Storage & Make Ahead Instructions

Refrigerator: Store leftover steak Guinness and mushroom pie in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The pastry will soften as it sits, but the filling stays delicious.
Freezer: Freeze the filling (without the pastry) in a freezer safe container or ziplock bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then top with fresh puff pastry and bake.
Reheating: For best results and crispy pastry reheat in the oven.
Make Ahead Timeline: This is perfect for entertaining. Make the stew filling 1 to 2 days ahead and refrigerate. On the day you're serving, just bring it to room temperature, top with puff pastry, and bake. Your guests will think you've been cooking all day when you've actually been relaxing with them.
Double Batch Tip: Make a double batch of the filling and freeze half for another night. You'll thank yourself later when you can pull it from the freezer, top with pastry, and have an impressive dinner ready with minimal effort.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this steak Guinness and mushroom pie ahead of time?

Yes! This is one of the best make ahead dinners. Make the stew portion up to 2 days ahead, let it cool completely, and refrigerate. When you're ready to serve, just top with the puff pastry and bake. The flavors actually get even better after sitting overnight.

Can I freeze steak and Guinness pie?

You can freeze the filling (without the pastry) for up to 3 months. Put it in a ziplock bag, freeze it flat, and thaw in the fridge overnight when you're ready to use it. Add to a baking dish, top with fresh puff pastry and bake as directed.

What cut of beef is best for this recipe?

Stewing beef or chuck roast work best. These cuts have enough marbling to stay tender during the long simmer time. Avoid lean cuts as they'll dry out.

Can I substitute the Guinness?

You can use another stout or dark beer, or even apple juice or non-alcoholic cider, but Guinness really does give the best flavor. The richness and slight bitterness balance perfectly with the brown sugar. Regular beer won't give you the same depth. Skip the brown sugar if you use apple juice/cider.

Why is my gravy too thin?

If your gravy seems thin after simmering, let it cook uncovered for another 15 to 20 minutes to reduce. The flour coating on the beef should thicken it naturally, but sometimes it needs a bit more time. Leave the lid off so the water can evaporate.

Can I use a different pastry or potatoes?

Puff pastry is traditional and gives you that beautiful golden, flaky top, but you could use shortcrust pastry if you prefer. You could also skip the pastry altogether and top with mashed potatoes instead, which would make this a cottage pie. Just adjust the baking time as needed.

What should I serve with steak Guinness and mushroom pie?

A green salad, buttery peas, or green beans are perfect sides. The pie is rich and hearty, so lighter vegetables balance it nicely. And bread for soaking up the gravy.

More Main Dish Inspiration

If you try this Steak Guinness and Mushroom Pie or any other ideas on my blog leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting today!

Steak, Guinness, and Mushroom Pie Recipe

Recipe

About Dannyelle

Dannyelle is a trained celebrant with over 15 years of experience helping people celebrate life's special moments. At Life is a Party, she shares recipes, party planning tips, and home decor ideas that make everyday celebrations accessible and beautiful. Her expertise in creating memorable gatherings without breaking the bank has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, American Farmhouse Style, and Apartment Therapy.

Starbucks Copycat Blueberry Scones But Better

Mar 7, 2014 · 4 Comments

Easy Blueberry Scones: delicious recipe using fresh blueberries, with the perfect sugar topping. Perfect for breakfast or with a cup of tea.

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These blueberry scones are the perfect easy recipe. Made with fresh blueberries, they're a perfect tea time afternoon snack or breakfast treat. If you're a fan of Starbucks blueberry scones, now you can make them yourself at home for a fraction of the price and they're even better! These are moist and flakey and full of blueberries. We like to top them with a sprinkle of course sugar on top, adding that perfect sweet crunch to each bit.

You migh also like our Sweet Cake Like Cornbread, or Food Processor Scones.

Copycat Starbucks Scones

I love the Starbucks blueberry scones. They're one of my favorite treats to get on a visit and my kids love them too. The cost of this favorite treat can really add up, so I decided to come up with my own copycat Starbucks blueberry scone recipe. These are even better than the Starbucks version. And they are so much cheaper to make for yourself at home. The cost alone is worth the effort, but the fact that they taste so good is the best. These delicious scones are easy to make, from simple ingredients. I love their flaky centers, and they're bursting with blueberry flavor. If you're a fan of blueberry Starbucks scones too, now you can have the best blueberry scones at home anytime I want them. And my kids love it when I make a batch of these copycat blueberry scones for us all to enjoy.

Blueberry Scones recipe with fresh blueberries

Fresh or Frozen Blueberries?

It's best to use fresh blueberries for these scones if you can.

If you can't get fresh blueberries or they're out of season or too expensive you can make these with frozen blueberries. There's a few trick to using frozen blueberries in baking. Number one, you don't want to thaw the berries before you use them. As berries are frozen the water inside the plant cells expands and bursts the plant cell walls. As the fruit defrosts, you'll see alot of liquid with them. That liquid will turn your scone dough blue, and change the consistency a little. When you bake with frozen blueberries you want to use them frozen.

Keep them in the freezer until you're ready to add them, and then work quickly to combine them with the dough.

You will inevitably see a little bit of blue streaks as you form the scone dough, but it should still work well, and make great scones.

Storing

These homemade scones are best eaten fresh the day they are made. When they're fresh baked they have the perfect texture of slight crunch on the outside, and soft and flakey on the inside. If you have any leftover scones you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

You can also freeze them. Freeze them before baking by placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet directly in the freezer. Once they are frozen through, remove the tray and put the frozen scones in a ziplock bag. Store frozen up to three months. To bake them, remove one or more from the freezer and bake according to the recipe, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time to compensate for them being frozen.

You can also freeze them once they're baked in an airtight container for up to two months.

Recipe

A perfect treat with a cup of tea, and a little butter. So, so yummy.

These tender scones have a wonderful flaky texture on the inside, and that delicious sugar crunch on the top, and buttery golden crisp edges, combined with the natural flavors of the juicy blueberries. You will love this copycat Starbucks blueberry scone recipe. They're much better made at home because they're cheaper and fresher.

With easy blueberry scones, life really is a party.

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also like our Nectarine and Blueberry Galette recipe here.

Nectarine and Blueberry Galette: literally make in minutes with frozen puff pastry, so easy and the perfect way to enjoy fresh nectarines and blueberries.

Also check out our Easy Food Processor Scones recipe here.

You might also enjoy our Sweet Cornbread Recipe here.

How to make sweet cake like cornbread from scratch.

Pancake Bean Bags

Mar 4, 2014 · 1 Comment

Pancake Bean Bag: easy DIY pancake bean bags, perfect for Pancake Tuesday celebrations, or Pancakes and Pjamas parties. Fun toy food for kids too.

Happy Pancake Day! We're having a few friends over for pancakes tonight, and I thought it might be fun to make a little pancake flipping game for us to play. I made this simple pancake bean bag with some felt and some left over dry beans.

Materials:

light brown felt
darker brow felt
yellow felt
dry beans
needle and thread

How To Make Pancake Bean Bags

I cut out two matching ovals to make the pancakes -a front and a back, from light brown felt. I made mine big enough to fit in a small, real frying pan for our flipping game, but if you were playing it with really little ones, you might make them a little smaller, so they'd fit in a toy frying pan.

Next, I cut out a piece to be the syrup from a yellowish-brown piece of felt, and then a small rectangle of butter from some yellow felt.

I stitched them together by hand with a blanket stitch. Make sure to start with stitching the butter to the syrup piece, then the syrup to the top pancake piece, before finally stitching the two pancake pieces together.

Just before your done, add a few handfuls of dry beans, and then close the hole. Easy peasy.

As soon as they were done, the flipping practise began. The beans give the pancakes a nice weight, and the sound of the beans moving sounds like the perfect sizzle, according to one of my little ones.

I'm planning on giving everyone one min. to flip the pancake as many times as they can. The winners get some maple syrup lollipops -cause it really seemed the perfect little prize for this game.

I just finished the pancakes a day or two ago, and they've already been used for teddy bear breakfasts, and in a little pancake restaurant that just opened in my basement...homemade toys are such a treat, and these really are quick and easy to make too. I hope your days includes some pancakes too!

With a pancake bean bag, life really is a party!

You might also like Felt S'mores Play Food here.

Felt Smores Play Food: these easy homemade toy DIY felt smores for children to use as play food are simple to put together and adorable for dramatic play.

Also check out Felt Chocolate Chip Cookies here.

Felt Chocolate Chip Cookies -easy to sew, and the perfect play food for kids to enjoy. The little faces with their different expressions are adorable.

You might also enjoy How To Make A Kid's Apron From Tea Towel.

Easy Almond Danish Recipe -Three Ways

Feb 26, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Almond Danish: make almond danish or chocolate almond danish or cherry almond danish all with this one easy master recipe. The perfect breakfast treat.

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I wanted to share this easy recipe for Almond Danish three different ways -Almond Danish, Chocolate Almond Danish, and Cherry Almond Danish. If you're a fan of almond danish pastries you will love any or all three of these versions. This is a quick and easy version made with store-bought puff pastry to save time. This recipe may be low on time but it's high on taste. It's easy to make and so delicious. These danishes are perfect for a special breakfast or brunch, or delicious enough to be a great dessert too. We love them for a special occasion and they'd be a great item to include on Christmas morning. With their flaky crust and sweet almond filling you will love this decadent treat.

Puff Pastry

They're made with store bought puff pastry, so they're really simple to make, but oh so yummy. I like a quick, but impressive recipe like this. No need to make your own danish pastry from scratch. Skip all that hard work with store bought puff pastry. Frozen puff pastry is easy to find in the freezer section of your grocery store and perfect for this recipe. Look for an all butter puff pastry, for the best flavor for your almond danish puff pastry treats. Puff pastry is very difficult and time consuming to make yourself, and the frozen version is so delicious. I highly recommend this great time saving way to make almond danishes at home, that cuts out a lot of work in making them with no sacrifice in flavor.

Almond Paste

I started with a master almond paste recipe, that I used for all three versions of my almond danishes. The simple almond paste is made from ground almonds, butter, confectioners' sugar, egg white, and ½ teaspoon of almond extract to enhance the almond flavor. This luscious almond paste is very easy to put together and it's so delicious. Work with room temperature butter to make it easy to mix together.

If you're making these first thing in the morning and short on time you can make your almond paste the day before, and store in the refrigerator overnight for the next day. The next morning, just take it out of the fridge in the morning and let it come to room temperature before assembling the danishes.

To make the almond danish we used the almond paste filling and then sprinkled some sliced almonds over the unbaked danish to add a little crunch.

Chocolate Almond Danish

For all my chocolate lovers we also made a chocolate almond version of our pastry with the addition of chocolate chips. We used semi sweet chocolate chips for ours. If you love dark chocolate, feel free to substitute dark chocolate chips instead. You could also make these with milk chocolate chips for a sweeter version.

Cherry Almond Danish

Cherry and almond are a match made in heaven. We made a very simple cherry almond verison of the pastries by using cherry pie filling. This make this recipe so quick and simple to put together. If you have leftover cherry pie filling after making this recipe, you can freeze the extra until you make it again or make some cherry tarts, or other cherry baked goods.

Almond Glaze

We choose to make a simple sweet icing to add to our cherry almond danishes. It's easy to put together, and the addition of the almond extract adds a little more almond flavor. It's a great compliment to the cherry danish.

We sprinkled our plain almond and chocolate chip danishes with a little confectioner's sugar. If you prefer, you could make some extra, and use the almond icing on the plain almond and chocolate almond danishes also.

These almond danishes are best eaten the day you make them. The fresh sweet danishes have the perfect crunchy and flaky pastry. If you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature, or wrapped in plastic wrap.

This simple recipe is so easy to make and so delicious. Make all three versions of this sweet pastry like we did and give your guests some options, or choose your favourite and make one larger batch of your favorite kind. This easy danish recipe is sure to be a hit with family and friends.

Recipe

With fresh, homemade almond danishes, chocolate almond danishes, and cherry almond danishes, life really is a party.

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also like our Easy Food Processor Scones recipe here.

Also check out our Blueberry Scone recipe here.

You might also enjoy our Peach Almond Muffins recipe here.

Peach Almond Crumble Muffins: Delicious recipe, can be made with fresh or canned peaches, with the perfect crunchy sweet almond crumble on top.

Mexican Fiesta Dinner Party

Feb 21, 2014 · 1 Comment

Mexican Dinner Party: be transported to Mexico for dinner with this Mexican inspired menu, drink ideas and party decorations.

What every cold, snowy winter needs, is a Mexican Dinner Party to brighten things up! We recently joined a supper club -where 4 couples take turns hosting a dinner party. We meet about once a month, and this month our friends Dan and Heather hosted this fun fiesta.

Fiesta Decor

We were greeted by this sweet wreath on the door, that set the tone for a fun filled night! It's made out of a foam wreath, with cocktail umbrellas stuck into it. So easy, and so colourful! Loved it.

Mexican Drinks

We were welcomed in with a drink -some fun Mexican beer, and tropical coolers.

Appetizers

Our hosts also made some lovely fruit salad, and served it in fruit bowls, before and during dinner.

I loved the festive setting they created for the night, with a few fun, colourful decorations.

On the side buffet, there were some bottles of water and straws for guests.

They also bought some delicious, fresh chips from a local favourite restaurant and served them in simple paper bags -love the presentation.

You can also see the amazing layered Mexican salad they made for the night -it was so good!

Mexican Dinner Party Table

I also loved the table setting.

Heather used a rustic burlap runner, and potted succulents for the perfect starting point. She added some colour with fun napkins and ribbons.

I loved the individual condiments and fixings at every ones place setting. Heather served salt and pepper in tiny wooden serving pieces, salsa in mini margarita glasses from the party store -could it get any cuter? and cheese, sour cream and guacamole in a side plate. It looked amazing.

Mexican Dinner Party Menu

The menu for the night was really perfect for a fun dinner party, since it was mostly all make-ahead. They started with the fruit salad, then served a Mexican casserole of soft tacos, beef, rice, veggies and cheese, along with corn on the cob, a Mexican salad, chips with all the fixings, a warm caso cheese dip, and corn bread. It was so yummy.

Mexican Dessert

For dessert, our friends served great cupcakes from a local cupcake shop, and all dressed up for the fiesta with some fun piñata inspired cupcake pics.

Heather also made some baked Churo Bites -recipe from here.

I really had such a great time. It was the perfect fun, colourful evening to take your mind off of all this snow. If you can't get away for spring break, perhaps a one night escape like this is the perfect idea -it was an amazing adult night out, but would be a wonderful family night in theme too. With a Mexican Fiesta dinner party with friends, life really is a party!

More Ideas

You might also like our Backyard Fiesta here.

Also check out our Valentine's Day Fiesta here.

You might also like our How To Make Your Faux Succulents Look Real here.

Salt Dough Valentines

Feb 12, 2014 · 1 Comment

Valentine Salt Dough Hearts: make this easy salt dough in heart shapes for Valentine's Day. Bake, paint and then give as Valentines or decorate with them.

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My little girls and I decided to make some Valentines salt dough hearts this year. A batch of salt dough was a simple and fun craft to do together, and I love how the cute salt dough hearts turned out. I hadn't made salt dough for years, and actually forgot how easy it was.

There's lots of different things you can do with this salt dough craft. We used our salt dough heart ornaments to decorate for Valentine's Day and make necklaces for classroom Valentine sharing. Another fun idea would be to make a handprint heart as a keepsake. You could add your salt dough ornaments ornaments to a Valentine's day tree. Salt dough handprint ornaments also make a perfect gift as Christmas ornaments for a Christmas tree, or as a great keepsake from small children for Mother's day.

Recipe

Salt Dough Valentines

Salt dough for crafting.

No ratings yet

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Course: General DIY & Crafts

Cuisine: Craft

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 2

Additional Time: 20

Total Time: 2 30

Servings: small hearts

Calories: 38kcal

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups flour
▢ 1 cup salt
▢ 1 cup warm water

Instructions

Combine 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of salt in a large bowl or stand mixer, and then add in 1 cup of water to the flour mixture and mix to combine into a dough. If the dough is too crumbly, add more slowly add more water.
Roll out the dough to about ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin, and use cookie cutters to cut them into shapes. Decorate with alphabet letter rubber stamps to add words or initials. Use a straw to cut out a small hole in the top of the heart before baking.
Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper at 200, for 2 hours until they are dry.
Once cool, paint desired colour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 38kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Sodium: 4716mg

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @LifeisaParty or tag #lifeisaparty!

salt dough hearts rubber stamped with the word love

Painting Your Baked Salt Dough Valentines

After we made our salt dough recipe and they'd been baked it was time to start painting the different shapes.

The next step after painting the hearts with a base coat of pink or gold acrylic paints, we used a marker to outline our letters and words, then we did a top coat of the glitter. It gave the hearts a great even coat of glitter, and also a nice sheen. I love how they turned out. You could also do a top coat of mod podge to seal them.

Another fun idea would be to make them into salt dough conversation hearts by painting them conversation heart colours and adding messages to the little hearts.

Valentine Necklaces

I was planning all along to use some of the hearts as place card napkin rings for a Valentine's Day table, but once we got started Maddie, my youngest daughter, decided to make Valentine necklaces for everyone in her class. She was so pleased about how they turned out. So sweet. We made a hole with straw in the top of each heart before baking and used a stamp to add their initial to each heart. After they were baked she painted each one and added some baker's twine to turn it into a necklace.

And then she packaged them up for her classmates in little brown paper bags. She had so much fun making these homemade salt dough hearts for all of her friends. She was so proud to hand out her simple crafts on Valentines Day.

salt dough valentine necklaces packed in paper bags for school valentine exchange

Valentine Decor

For our little Valentine's Day table for two, I strung up some of our hearts to create a little bunting and taped it with pretty washi tape. You can string the hearts with a piece of twine, ribbon, or baker's twine.

salt dough valentine bunting in pink and gold

salt dough hearts in pink and gold made into to a banner

I wanted to do the table in golds and pinks, so that inspired my choices at the paint colours for my Valentine's decor.

kids table for two decorated with gold table cloth, and flowers and a salt dough heart decorations

Some of the salt dough Valentine hearts were tied to the back of the chairs. This was a great way to add a little Valentine's touch.

valentines day table gold and pink with salt dough hearts tied onto the backs of the chairs

I used some monogrammed hearts for our napkin ring place cards. These turned out so cute.

pink salt dough heart napkin ring stamped with a name

top view of a pink and gold kid's valentines day table

This was such a simple and sweet craft to do. My girls loved how their special Valentine's table turned out. With a sweet little craft like Valentine salt dough hearts to make together, life really is a party! Happy crafting.

More Valentine Inspiration

You might also like DIY Nail Polish Marbled Hearts here.

Nail Polish Marble Hearts Valentine's Day Craft: use nail polish to water marble wooden hearts for Valentine's Day in any colour combination you like!

Also check out Yarn Hearts here.

You might also enjoy 3D Origami Hearts here.

Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops

Jan 31, 2014 · 2 Comments

Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops: a great dessert for Valentine's Day or anytime. Pretty and so yummy, the perfect strawberry party treat.

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These Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops are the perfect treat for you and your sweeties, big and small. And, they're really simple to make too. We love these for a party because you don't have to worry about cutting up and serving a large cake. Everyone gets their own little push pop. You can make push pops in many different flavors but strawberry shortcake is such a favorite. It looks great in the push-up pop containers too. We made our strawberry shortcake push pops for Valentine's Day, but they'd also be so sweet for a birth day, Mother's Day, perfect for June 14th, Easter, or a summer picnic, bbq, or get together.

You might also like our Valentine Breakfast Board here.

how to make Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops

Push Pop Containers

We found our push pop containers online. We ordered a set of 1 dozen. These are so fun because you just push the bottom piece up and the whole cake rises slowly upward so that it's easy to eat. They're also just a whole lot of fun. The containers are reusable, just wash them with soap and warm water and you can use them again to make more push pops for your next party.

The Cake

Every shortbread needs some cake for the base. I started out with a regular French vanilla cake mix, and added in a little red food colouring to make it pink for an easy twist for Valentine's Day to make pink push pops. You can make your cake pink too, or leave it white. Red velvet cake would be a great choice for Valentine's Day too. I baked it on a large cookie sheet, to make a thin cake, which worked out perfectly. You can also use some store bought pound cake for this step to make it little quicker and easier.

Use your push pop container like a cookie cutter, to cut the cake to the perfect size. I layered cake, then some strawberries that I cut up and sprinkled with a little sugar.

Strawberry Shortcake for Valentine's Day dessert

They got topped off with some sweetened whipped cream -yum. You could also use cool whip if you prefer, or a cream cheese frosting would be delicious with red velvet cake. And, since Valentine's day is fast approaching, I cut a little heart shaped strawberry to top it all off with.

Leftovers

I made 12 push pops, but I did have leftover strawberry shortcake ingredients. You can make more push pops, or use your leftovers to make an extra larger bowl of strawberry shortcake. This is a good way to use up the leftover cake pieces. Just cut cubes of cake and layer in a larger bowl as the base of the strawberry shortcake.

My Valentines loved them -big and small.

This cold, snowy day just got a little brighter!

Recipe

Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops

Tender cake, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 30

Servings:

Calories: 266kcal

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Ingredients

▢ white cake mix made according to the package instructions plus pink food coloring
▢ 2 cups fresh strawberries sliced
▢ 2 teaspoons sugar
▢ 250 mL whipping cream
▢ 3 teaspoons sugar
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
▢ 12 push pop containers

Instructions

Mix your cake mix together according to the package directions in a large bowl. Add a few drops of red or pink food coloring to colour the cake pink. Heat oven and bake according to the package directions on a large baking tray lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray, to create a thin cake.
In a medium bowl combine most of the sliced strawberries (reserve twelve to use as toppers for the finished push pops) and 2 teaspoons of sugar and set aside to macerate.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with an electric mixer whip the cream to soft peaks. Add 3 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, and fully combine.
To assemble to the push-up pops, use the container as a cookie cutter to cut out the cake rounds to the perfect size, and fit one in the bottom of each push pop. Next layer on the macerated strawberries. Top it all off with whipped cream. Use a plastic bag with the corner snipped off to pipe it, or a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Cut your reserved strawberry slices into heart shapes and top each push pop. Cover with the lid and store in the fridge until you're ready to serve.

Nutrition

Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @LifeisaParty or tag #lifeisaparty!

With Strawberry Shortcake Push Pops for Valentine's Day, life really is a party!

You might also like our Strawberry Cheesecake Pie recipe here.

Also check out our Donut Strawberry Shortcake recipe here.

You might also enjoy our Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream recipe here.

Homemade Rhubarb and Strawberry Ice Cream Recipe: creamy vanilla base, with tangy rhubarb compote and sweet strawberry compote ribbons throughout.

Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt

Jan 29, 2014 · 7 Comments

Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt: Fun, inexpensive family Valentine activity with frozen hearts hid outside in the snow.

Today our family did this amazing Valentine's Day scavenger hunt, and our kids LOVED it. We hid some frozen Valentines in the snow around our yard and our girls enjoyed hunting for them. It was great fun, and free, and I know your kids would love it too!

Materials:

heart shaped muffin or ice cube tray
red food colouring
water
buckets for collecting them in

How To Create a Valentine's Day Scavenger Hunt for Frozen Hearts

We used my dollar store heart shaped muffin tin to make my ice cube valentines. I added a few drops of red food colouring to the water to make them red. You could also use a heart shaped ice cube tray.

This afternoon, we did the hunt in our backyard. My husband and I hid them while the girls played on the deck. The hearts looked so beautiful in the white snow, hidden all around the garden.

A Valentine to the birds?

After we had them all hidden, the girls went searching, with a pail each for collecting.

Where should we look next? How about the play structure?

Tricky.

They found them all.

And then took turns hiding and finding all over, again and again. It was a lot of fun. Who knew a few ice cubes could turn be so much fun? Happy Valentine's Day!

With a frozen Valentine's to find and play with, life really is a party!

You might also like our Valentine's Day Pizza Party here.

Valentine's Day Pizza Party -DIY decorations, heart shaped pizza, mocktails, and a dessert pizza recipe make this the perfect family celebration.

Also check out our Valentine's Day At Home Spa here.

Valentine's Day At Home Spa: surprise your tween or teen daughters with face masks, manicures, fancy refreshments, candles, and a bubble bath.

You might also enjoy Valentine's Day Breakfast here.

Valentine's Day Breakfast: the perfect inspiration with decor and menu for celebrating Valentine's Day with family and friends.

Easy Beef Chili With Vegetables

Jan 24, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Beef Chili with Vegetables: this is not your average chili. All the awesome kidney beans, ground beef, and spices but loaded with other vegetables too.

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This beef and vegetable chili has got a little extra goodnesses with the addition of loads of vegetables. This chili incorporates all the traditional beans, ground beef, tomato, and spices that classic beef chili includes, but also includes corn, different types of beans, mushrooms, and peppers to make it extra delicious. These veggies add extra goodness. This is the best chili recipe and I'm sure you will love it.

Chili con carne is traditionally a beef stew with chili peppers that originated in southern Texas and moved north. The cowboys are credited with adding beans to the dish. Today it is a popular tex mex dish, made with simple ingredients of beef and beans and often very spicy. Our version adds in lots of vegetables to the popular dish.

Old Family Recipe

This is my version of my mom's chili, she got the recipe from Kerry, a family friend, although I'm sure his was much spicier. My mom added some tweaks, and I also added my own tweaks. This is real comfort food to me, and such a favorite. It's so, so good. I love it in the winter months. On a cold day I love to make a big pot, because it's even better the next day once all the favors have melded together. This is my go-to recipe for chili. I love that it's not only delicious but also a healthy recipe, with all the great veggies included.

Funny story, one of my brothers old girl friends wanted to make him a special dinner and asked him what he'd like. He said chili, thinking of mom's chili of course, the only chili we ever knew. She made him what I'm sure was a lovely, classic chili recipe of beans, and meat, and asked expectantly what he thought. He said "this isn't chili" which lead to quite an argument. So, this isn't indeed your traditional chili, but I promise this great recipe is delicious.

What makes this chili so different is the addition of green beans, yellow beans, corn, mushrooms and green bell peppers. It adds so much to the chili. And it's very easy to make because the green beans, yellow beans, and corn are canned. It also makes this a great pantry meal. All you need is a fresh onion, mushrooms, green pepper and ground beef to make this meal anytime.

This would be great easy recipe for game day. Make a big pot of chili or a double batch and enjoy while you watch the game. It's also always a hit a potluck, or a great easy recipe for entertaining since you can make it ahead of time.

Vegetarian Option

If you are looking for an easy vegetarian chili recipe, you can simply replace the ground beef in this recipe with a plant-based protein. It makes a very good veggie chili since it's so loaded with extra veggies which gives it such great flavor. It's also pretty easy to make a half batch of vegetarian and half batch of regular if you're serving a mixed group. Just replace the ground beef with the plant-based protein and make two pots at once spitting the rest of the ingredients between the two pots. You can offer the same dish with two versions, without having to come up with two different menus, and create an entirely different dish for each.

Spicy Option

If you like your chili on the spicy side, feel free to up the spice by adding in a jalapeno pepper that's been chopped along with the green bell pepper. You can also up the hot chili flakes in the recipe, or add hot sauce, chili powder, or cayenne pepper to the dish.

Healthier Option

If you're looking for a healthier option that is lower in calories and weight watcher points you can use lean ground beef for this recipe and drain excess fat after frying the lean beef. You can also turn this into turkey chili by substituting ground turkey (or ground chicken) in place of the beef. This hearty chili is loaded with protein and fiber, making it a great option as a healthy chili recipe. It's delicious served over a baked sweet potato as another healthier option.

Something to look forward to on a cold winters night. Make it this weekend, and enjoy the leftovers for lunches.

Recipe

With a big bowl of chili on a cold day, life really is party.

You might also like our Easy Lasagna recipe here.

Easy Lasagna with cottage cheese: this is a great make-ahead, and it freezes well. Easy to put together, and sure to be a family favourite.

Also check out our Butter Chicken Pizza recipe here.

Butter Chicken Pizza: use frozen naan bread and jarred butter chicken sauce from the grocery store, for this quick and easy butter chicken pizza recipe.

You might also enjoy our Tortellini and Italian Sausage Soup recipe here.

Tortellini and Italian Sausage Soup: this hearty soup is a real crowd pleaser with tender pasta, loads of veggies, and delicious Italian sausage.

Easy Winter Snowman Themed Party Dinner

Jan 15, 2014 · 24 Comments

Snowman Dinner -easy snowman themed party with snowman tablescape, and menu, kids will LOVE, perfect for a family dinner.

Snowman themed dinner with decor and menu ideas.

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It's January and there's lots of snow around here. So in the spirit of "love the one you're with" and since we're with snow, lots of snow, we had some friends over for a little snowman theme party for dinner the other day. It was a Friday night affair that was pretty simple to put together and a lot of fun.

This would also be a really fun themed for a holiday party, or just a winter party. I hope these snowman party ideas inspire you for your own get together.

You might also like our Winter Ice Skating Party Ideas.

The Snowman Themed Party Table

The best snowman decorations for our party were our place settings. My little girl and I made them with some simple supplies. It's a quick idea that is really easy to put together. We made snowmen for the table with our regular white dinner plates and side plates. The scarves were made out of paper napkins. We used some snowflake napkins, but you can use different colors. A red napkin would work great too. The face was a baby carrot nose, and raisin eyes and mouth. Chocolate chips would be a great option for the face as well. We used smarties for buttons, and positioned the fork and knife as snowman arms. You could add more snowman accessories, like a snowman hat.

You can use black paper napkins to add top hats. We didn't really have room for them, but they're a fun addition. Our party guests thought our table was extra fun and got so excited as soon as they saw it. It's a great way to welcome guests and get them excited about a winter theme for this time of the year. I always love how little things like this get kids so excited! The table was a huge hit.

I used a pretty snowflake runner, and some snowflake confetti on the the table. I also used lots of candles for a warm glow on this cold winter night. The centre piece was our donut snowmen, that we shared here.

Snowman Themed Party Menu

We added a few other snowman themed elements to the night for fun. This is such a great theme to get creative with your own ideas.

Snowman Noses and Dip

We started the evening off with some dip and "snowman noses" which were carrots. There just might have been some chips available to go with the dip too. This was such a simple and easy snowman themed party food.

Snowman Themed Party Pizza

It was "make your own pizza" night. I find this is so much fun for kids. They can add whatever they like, and everyone is happy. Of course for our theme, we encourage our guests to make a snowman pizza. We had store bought dough. Everyone made a circle and added pizza sauce and then covered it with "snow" aka mozzarella cheese. Then it was time to add their snowman faces. We had things like olives, mushrooms, zucchini and pepperoni for everyone to make their fun snowman face pizza. This was a really fun activity, and the parents helped the kids to make them.

Snowman Themed Hot Chocolate

I made the kids some snowman hot chocolate to drink. We started out with white hot chocolate. I found the packet of hot cocoa made with white chocolate at the grocery store and thought it was so perfect for our snowman themed. We also added whipped cream, and marshmallows that the kids made snowman faces on with edible markers, and a some mini marshmallows for good measure. They had a lot of fun drawing the snowman faces themselves with the edible markers on a large marshmallow.

Snowmen Donuts

For dessert we had our donut snowmen -you can find the full tutorial for how I made them here. They were really easy to put together and real hit with the party guests. I used three different powdered sugar donuts to make them. I started out with a jelly donut fo the base of our snowman. Next came a traditional mini powdered donut and we topped off our snowman with doughnut holes. Our snowmen got decorated with pretzel sticks for arms, and little noses made of orange mike and ike candies, candy corn would be a great choice here too. Our snowman donuts also had little chocolate chips eyes, and hats made from a peppermint pattie and a mini peanut butter cup. These made a great centrepiece on the table, and they were so yummy.

Snow Ice Cream

We also made snow ice cream. If you're looking for an outdoor activity you can get everyone dressed up for the snow and go out and collect it together. And while you're out there you might throw a few snow balls, and build an actual snowman, or turn it into a sledding party. We made our ice cream at the end of the party, so we just grabbed some fresh snow from the deck and made our ice cream inside. See how we usually make homemade snow ice cream here, but this time we used an even easier method. Just combine snow with sweetened condensed milk. We made individual bowls. A few tablespoons to a cereal bowl and add a few cups of snow. Each person stirs to combine, until it looks like ice cream. You can add more condensed milk to make it sweeter. You can also add on some toppings if you like. Our chocolate fans liked a little chocolate syrup to turn it into chocolate ice cream. It was fun and very yummy, and the kids really loved making their own.

We had a really fun night, and it was easy and very do-able even at the end of a long week, since a lot of the food was "make your own". This simple celebration was easy to put together. I always find this works so well with small children, since they can customize it, and the food making becomes the activity for the evening. I hope it inspires you. This would be a really fun get together over winter break, or even as a family Christmas party if you live somewhere where you have a white Christmas.

With a snowman themed party for dinner with friends, life really is a party!

More Inspiration

You might also like White Hot Chocolate Buffet here.

Also check out "Frozen" Inspired Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats here.

You might also enjoy Snow Bakery -Indoor Snow Play here.

How To Make Easy Donut Snowmen

Jan 13, 2014 · 1 Comment

Donut Snowmen: these easy to put together snowmen use jelly donuts, donut holes, and candy for a perfect winter treat kids will love.

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All this snowy, January weather has us thinking snowmen, and trying to embrace the season, rather than just waiting for it to pass. You know we love nothing more than a themed party around here, so we turned a simple dinner with friends on the weekend into a snowman party -you can read all about here. It's the perfect theme idea for the winter months and a great way of embracing this time of year.

I wanted to make a simple, fun snowman dessert and came up with this tasty idea that I thought you and any kids in your life might enjoy. It's perfect for holiday parties and would be a fun Christmas treat.

I put my donut snowmen together using all store-bought ingredients, so it's very easy to put these together. The key to making these little donut snowmen really delicious and not just cute is to get really fresh donuts. Be sure to pick them up the day of the party.

You could also have the kids make them for themselves, and choose their own candies to add to their little snowmen. How fun would it be to set up a little snowman donut making station at your next holiday party. Just place all the ingredients to make the cute snowman donuts and watch the kids having so much fun making their own version of this perfect treat.

Donut Snowmen Ingredients:

jelly donuts
powdered mini donuts
jelly timbit donut holes
chocolate chips
orange Mike and Ike candy
fruit by the foot
pretzels
mini peanut butter cup
peppermint pattie
white icing
shredded coconut

How To Build A Donut Snowman

I started out with some regular size jelly donuts, and some of the timbit donut hole version too. We also picked up some mini powdered sugar donuts at the grocery store. I stacked them together to make the snowman's body. You could use a toothpick to make it even more secure, but the small middle donut with the hole in the middle worked really well to balance the timbit head.

Then, I just embellished the snowman. To make the snowman face, I used chocolate chips for eyes, and made a nose out of a Mike and Ike orange candy. The scarf is a piece of fruit roll-ups, and the arms are made from pretzel sticks. The top hat is one mini peanut butter cup, and a peppermint pattie, held together and on the snowman's head with a little icing "glue", but melted chocolate would work well to put the hat together too. I rested my snowmen on a little coconut "snow".

These little snowmen donut desserts were a real hit with the kids and adults. They were the perfect addition to our snow themed dinner party. I hope you enjoy this really simple and really fun idea.

Recipe

With donut snowmen, life really is a party!

More Recipe Inspiration

You might also enjoy our Snow Ice Cream here.

Also check out our Gingerbread Extreme Milkshake here.

Gingerbread Extreme Milkshake Freakshake: Recipe for gingerbread syrup and gingerbread extreme milkshakes. Perfect treat for the holidays.

You might also like our Homemade Caramel Apples recipe here.

Caramel Apple Recipe: Easy, homemade Caramel Apples, perfect for Christmas gift giving, or anytime of year. Add your favourite toppings.

Vintage Inspired Homemade DIY Christmas Crackers

Dec 20, 2013 · 16 Comments

Vintage Inspired Christmas Crackers: Simple tutorial for making your own DIY Christmas crackers out of inexpensive vintage Little Golden books -so adorable!

Homemade Christmas crackers made with vintage storybooks.

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If you've ever wanted to make your own DIY Christmas crackers, complete with the signature pop, these are a great addition to your festive season. These are fun to make and fill with whatever you like. Since our Christmas crackers are vintage inspired, I used some vintage Christmas storybook pages as the paper. They turned out so cute. I don't think I can ever go back to store bought Christmas crackers again.

You might also like our Salt Dough Gingerbread Recipe.

Christmas Cracker Tradition

Christmas crackers are a Christmas tradition, first created in London. They're traditionally used for table decorations during the holidays. Everyone holds the ends of the cracker and pops them open. They have a special cracker snap inside, so they pop with a real crack. Inside the shop-bought Christmas crackers there's always a few different treats. These always add a little wow factor to your table settings, and a tradition that many people look forward to. An easy way to make sure the party crackers fit your own personal color scheme and Christmas decor is to make your own. They're not hard to make and so much fun to personalize your own crackers.

It's that time of year when we're all running out of steam. Christmas is almost here, and most of us are ready to start celebrating, instead of finishing last minute projects. When I decided to do a vintage inspired Christmas theme this year, I came up with the idea of using old Christmas Little Golden Books to make some DIY Christmas crackers for the table this year. Today I put them together and I really love how they turned out. Luckily they are pretty simple to make -so even if you're getting tired like me, this one is pretty doable. 😉

DIY Christmas Cracker Materials:

Little Golden Christmas Books
Christmas cracker snaps
toilet paper rolls
paper hats
jokes
chocolates
confetti
ribbon or yarn

Little Golden Christmas Books

You need a few supplies to make your homemade Christmas crackers, the most important for ours being some Christmas Little Golden Books. We upcycled these books, by using the book pages to wrap our handmade Christmas crackers. I have to admit I did feel a little guilty tearing the pages out of the books to make these. Must be the teacher in me. 😉 But, since I found them for .99 at a second hand store, they were probably even cheaper than buying pretty scrapbook paper, or wrapping paper. If you were really opposed to ruining a book, you could colour photocopy them, which would also work for someone who couldn't find them second hand. You could also use colour photocopies of any favourite holiday book, or even a library book as your decorative paper.

The little golden books are really common at the thrift store. They're easy to identify too, because they all have the distinct gold book spines.

Crackers

Along with the books, you'll also need the cracker part of the Christmas cracker. Good news, they're available at craft stores around the holidays. These craft supplies are usually sold in a pack of 12, perfect for holiday entertaining. The craft store also sometimes offers some treats for inside the crackers, like the signature paper crown hats, jokes, and prizes. Look for those, or make your own. You can also look for the crackers on-line. The party poppers are inexpensive, and make these homemade crackers feel so authentic, so I strongly suggest that you don't skip this party.

Other Supplies

If you want to make homemade Christmas crackers, then get saving your TP rolls. You can use toilet roll tubes, but you can also use paper towel rolls, or wrapping paper cardboard tube, cut to the right length.

DIY Christmas Cracker Fillings

Paper Hats

The cracker fillings are an important part of Christmas crackers. The contents of the cracker usually include fun paper party hats, a joke and a treat in them. I made some simple hats out of tissue paper (let's hope my head size is average) for my own version of the traditional tissue paper crowns. You can also sometimes buy the traditional paper crown insert, where ever you buy the cracker insert pieces.

Christmas Jokes

For the cheesy Christmas jokes, print our free Christmas jokes here. They're available free to subscribers, in our Free Resource Library. Subscribe for instant access, download, print on your home printer, and tuck them into your own homemade Christmas crackers.

Little Gifts or Treats

The little gifts were a little trickier for me. I always love the weird stuff you get in store bought crackers, but I have to admit, when was the last time I used a mini screwdriver, magnifying glass, or tape measure? I love a small gift, so what's as good as a mini gadget? Booze and chocolate.

I know you want to come to my house for Christmas dinner. 😉 I picked up some boozy chocolate, cause what would be better to start off a Christmas dinner with your whole fam damily than a shot and some chocolate?

For the kiddos I used some mini chocolate bars. Any kind of candy is a great addition. Candy canes feel very festive. Any kind of wrapped candy would work well.

Any small gift would be a great addition. Get as fancy as you would like. You could even personalize the gifts for the whole family. Just be sure to add a name onto the crackers. If you go to the trouble of adding personalized small trinkets for everyone you want to make sure they get the right one. This is such a fun personal touch. Your guests would love thoughtful gifts.

For small children, small toys would be a great little prize inside. Anything small enough to fit in would work well. Things like a mini car, toy jewelry, a small ball, or marbles are just a few fun ideas.

Lastly, I also threw in a bit of sparkle with some glittery confetti...cause I love a little glitz, and I'll have to vacuum after anyway.

How To Make DIY Christmas Crackers:

To make the cracker, just tear out a piece of the book, wrap it around your cardboard tube and glue it to secure it. We used a glue stick. Double-sided tape would work well for this step too.

Next, tape the cracker inside of the cardboard tube. You need to use tape to hold the cracker in place. Position the cracker strip so that the ends are sticking out, and they'll be easy to hang onto when it comes time to pop them open. The cracker strips that I used were a little long, or my book pages were a little short, so I just trimmed them at the ends.

Now, tie one end of the cracker, by gently gathering in the paper at one end. You'll want to do this step gently so that you don't accidentally tear the book page as you gather it together at the end of the tube. I used pom pom yarn and trim and tinsel to add more of the vintage vibe. You could also use a piece of ribbon for this step. Choose some that isn't too thick, in a color that compliments your paper.

Then, at the open end of the cracker, load in your paper hat, joke, and treats. You can also include a little fancy Christmas confetti for added fun. The next step once your goodies are all inside your homemade Christmas crackers, tie up the other end.

Recipe

Vintage Inspired Homemade DIY Christmas Crackers

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Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 20

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Equipment

scissors

Materials

Little Golden Christmas Books
Christmas cracker snaps
toilet paper rolls
paper hats
jokes
chocolates
confetti
ribbon or yarn
glue stick
tape

Instructions

To make the cracker, just tear out a piece of the book, wrap it around your cardboard roll and glue it to secure it.
Next, tape the snap cracker strip into your cracker, with the ends sticking out at the ends.
Tie the paper at one end closed with some ribbon, yarn, twine, or tinsel. Be careful as you gather the paper together not to tear it.
Then, load in your treats, hat, and joke and tie up the other end.

These turned out so well. They're such a great addition to our Christmas table on Christmas day, and a great way to personalize things with your color scheme, or theme. They turned out almost too pretty to use. They'd be to make for your Christmas dinner table, or any Christmas party you're hosting this holiday season.

With pretty Vintage Inspired DIY Christmas Crackers, life really is a party.

More Christmas Inspiration

You might also like our Christmas Diorama here.

Also check out Vintage Christmas Ornament Wreath here.

You might also enjoy our Birch Christmas Wreath here.

Birch Christmas Wreath:-full tutorial to make your own square wreath from some gathered greens, birch logs, and a coat hanger. Perfect for Christmas.

Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas Christmas Home Tour

Dec 16, 2013 · 5 Comments

Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas Home Tour: lots of vintage ornaments, and Christmas decorations, a handmade Christmas village and more!

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Welcome to my Christmas Home Tour. Today I want to invite you in to see my vintage inspired Christmas decor ideas. So, grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and come on in.

Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas Home Tour: lots of vintage ornaments, and Christmas decorations, a handmade Christmas village and more!

Front Porch

The front door got a little colour this year, inspired by my turquoise Christmas lights. I usually lean towards white, but I must say this hit of colour is making me smile this year. The old skates, and vintage enamelware pots are setting the tone for my vintage inspired Christmas decor theme this year. And on the front door, one of my fav. little projects ever -the pot scrubber wreath -see how I made it here, made from dollar store pot scrubbers and adding a little sparkle.

Entrance

Well, come in out of the cold. At the entrance of our home we have a console table, and here it is all decorated for Christmas.

I found a few vintage decorations at a second hand store. As soon as Halloween was over I started hunting. I think this little guy might have originally been a cake topper?

These pretty postcards are from a craft sale. They're vintage Christmas images printed on wood veneer. So pretty.

Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas in the Dinning Room

This is the entrance of the dining room, and it's all dressed up for Christmas too. Here's the view of the dining room table, looking into the living room.

Christmas dinningroom table centre piece

I love getting out all my little table top trees each year, and adding a few new ones -although I certainly don't need any more. This year I wanted to add a little gold into the mix.

I have so many silver trees, it's been a real favourite, but I'm loving the tread of mixing in gold. The addition of a little pink and turquoise help add the vintage feel. I love the sparkle of the mercy glass tea light holders too.

On Christmas day, I'll move all the trees to the buffet to make room for dinner. We're hosting this year!

Buffet

Right now the buffet has a few candles, with the pretty chalkboard above it along with a couple of vintage Christmas cards in simple white frames.

I found this pretty metal snowflake garland years and years ago at a boxing week sale. I thought it looked old and vintage-y too.

This little Santa was another fun find at the second hand store.

The Stairway

The dining room leads into the living room, and the stairs -up to the bedrooms or down to the basement.

I love how the stairs turned out this year. I usually use just the glitter garland, but this year my sister did it for me, and added in the real pieces of pine -thanks Heather. 😉 Then we added in some simple, long satin ribbon ties. Here's the view, looking back at the dining room.

Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas for the Tree

And the tree, has the perfect little spot at the bottom of the stairs. I like it here, since you can see it from the living room, and also when you're eating Christmas dinner in the dining room.

The tree turned out great this year...even if it did take a few tries to get right. I decided on a vintage theme fairly early, and started shopping for decorations. As I accumulated them, I thought they'd really look better on a white tree. I found one at a good price and brought it home and set it up. It was 6 ft. but with the tall ceilings, and since we need a skinny tree for this little spot at the bottom of the stairs it just wasn't big enough, and didn't have enough presence to hold the space. After staring at it a few days, I reluctantly took it all apart and returned it. I went with my old tree and I'm so glad I did. It really is perfect for this space.

I had some vintage decorations, but I didn't think I had enough for a whole tree. So I started checking second hand stores as often as I could. My greatest find was this Shiny and Bright tree topper -it's perfectly pink. Love it.

Using Reproduction Ornaments

It was hard to find vintage ornaments. I found some that were old, but not antique, but I just mixed them in with the rest, and even dabbed a few with nail polish remover to age them a little more. The pretty silver ball garland with bells is a reproduction. And a few were from an antique store, but they can get really expensive. The easy way to tell the vintage decorations from reproductions is to look at the top, if it's old looking it probably is old.

These vintage foil balls were a fun find -love the bright pink one!

I did notice that Target has some really pretty reproduction vintage ornaments this year, and at The Bay you can buy brand new shiny and brights, inspired by the vintage ones. I wanted a vintage "inspired" Christmas look this year, but I'm not a stickler for everything being authentically vintage. I'm not trying to re-create a Christmas scene from the 1950's -I'm just using old things mixed with the new for an updated look. I love mixing vintage with contemporary for a fun look, with a nod to the past.

Red Wagon and Vintage Little Golden Books

Under the tree, we used a little red wagon that has a bit of a vintage look to it. Love it filled with little Christmas packages. In my visits to second hand stores I was also keeping my eyes open for some Christmas Little Golden Books.

Living Room

From the tree, into the living room -where it's snowing!

I thought it would be fun to make it snow in the living room by stringing cotton balls behind the couch.

To make the hanging snow I used fishing line, and around 500 cotton balls, but the effect is magical. I thought they looked so old fashioned and fun.

Above the shelf is the pretty vintage ornament wreath I made this year.

I love the pink, and the glitz -with more little trees.

Vintage Christmas Decor Ideas for the Mantel

Over at the fireplace, more snow is falling.

Christmas Fireplace Mantel Christmas Villiage Putz Houses

I put this village up every year, but this year it was certainly perfect with our vintage theme. You can see how I made these DIY Christmas glitter houses or putz houses here -all made out of old cereal boxes!

Christmas Fireplace Mantel Christmas Villiage Putz Houses 2

Christmas Fireplace Mantel Christmas Villiage

It's a little wonderland.

And the pretty banner is a free printable from here, with a little silver and gold glitter -the perfect finishing touch.

Kitchen

And now into the kitchen.

On the table, another little glitter house. This one with simple battery powered street lights, just hide the battery pack in the snow. 😉

Add a cloche, for the perfect little centre piece.

And one more.

Look it's snowing outside.

This might be the longest post I've ever written. Hope you enjoyed the tour and Merry Christmas! With you stopping by for a Vintage Christmas decor house tour, life really is a party!

More Inspiration

You might also like our Pastel Christmas Living Room here.

Colourful Pastel Christmas Family Room: Inspired by Anthropologie, with bottle brush Christmas trees, mercury glass, vintage ornaments, macrame, & pastel colours.

Also check our Green Christmas Decor Home Tour 2019 here.

Christmas Home Tour: Rustic Scandinavian Christmas Home Tour, with bit of modern boho.

You might also enjoy Christmas Table here.

The Twelve Days of Christmas Love Notes

Dec 11, 2013 · 4 Comments

12 Days of Christmas Love Notes: write your partner a love note for them to read each day as a Christmas countdown.

12 Days of Christmas love notes for your partner at Christmas.

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Create a display of Christmas Ornaments that hold 12 Days of Christmas love notes, as the perfect countdown to Christmas for your partner.

This year my husband only asked for one present. I love giving presents. I did find more than one thing to buy for him, but nothing too major this year, so I thought it might be fun to add something else this year, something special.

12 Days Of Christmas

I pondered different versions of the twelve days of Christmas. Strictly speaking, the twelve days start with Christmas day and follow on from there, not before. But I'm taking a little creative license and beginning on the 14th, with one each day until Christmas day. One what you're wondering? I thought about a naughty little count down, then contemplated gifts that followed the required numbers -one of something the first day, two of something the next, and so on up until 12 -both just seemed like too much.

12 Days of Christmas Love Notes

Then I decided on twelve days of love letters. And the letters consist of thanking my sweet husband for twelve gifts he's given me over the years. They're things like the gift of love, steadfastness, and fun, to name a few. Each little note identifies one of the gifts, and the ways in which he's given it to me over the years. They're just tiny little notes, jotted down and rolled up into little scrolls, and held with a little gold washi tape.

12 Ornaments

I decided to put the notes in little glass ornaments, and hang them over our bed. Each night he can read one.

I decorated each ornament in gold, with different fillers in the balls.

Some were filled with sequins, others with gold bells, others with gold glitter, and some with a little gold paint.

Each ornament has a little tag with the day, from one to twelve.

I hope he loves it. With a sweet husband like mine, life really is a party.

More Ideas

You might also like our Printable Advent Calendar Activities here.

Printable Christmas Advent Calendar Activities: with over 60 different activities to choose from pick 24 and make some special memories with your family this Christmas.

Also check out our Little House Advent Calendar here.

DIY House Advent Calendar: A pattern for 3 sizes of paper houses, and printable number labels to make your own advent village.

How To Make A Christmas Diorama

Dec 9, 2013 · 5 Comments

Christmas Diorama: rustic Christmas decoration made from an up-cycled old drawer, simple and fun to make.

DIY Christmas diorama made in a wooden drawer.

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Christmas dioramas are such a fun and beautiful Christmas decoration. You can make a diorama of any scene, ours is a woodland scene, and it's a perfect as a rustic Christmas decoration during the holiday season.

You might also like our Salt Dough Gingerbread Recipe.

What's A Diorama?

A diorama is a 3-D model or miniature scene. It's often detailed. like a miniature world or replica. You could make a diorama depicting any scene. For our Christmas diorama scene, we created a snowy woodland scene.

Supplies:

old drawer
drawer handle
red wood twigs
bottle brush trees
toy plastic deer -mother and baby
cedar pine cones
cotton snow
faux snow
snowflake plastic ornaments
hot glue

The Diorama Frame

I've been wanting to make a little Christmas diorama for a while now. I remember making a shoebox diorama as a kid. For this diorama I thought it would be cute to make it in an old drawer.

Turns out old draws can be hard to come by, they're little vintage treasures. They are usually part of a dresser or desk, as in 'not sold separately'. So, I'm giving you the heads up to put one on your mental list for the next time you're at an antique store. You might also find one at a yard sale or a thrift store. I managed to find one in the fall at an antique fair -this project's been in the works for a while. It was maybe 5 dollars, but was missing the handle.

I found a handle that seemed suitable at a craft store and attached it to my little drawer, or the outside of the box.

I love how banged up and old this vintage treasure is. It's the perfect size Great colour too, kind of a greenish-cream.

If you didn't have a drawer to use for your diorama base you could use a shadow box frame, or a small shallow wood box, like a tea box. You could even make something similar in the small box from your old Christmas cards.

The Forest Scene

I filled my diorama with a little forest scene. I used my diorama for the Christmas season as part of my holiday decor, but since it's a snowy forest scene you could really enjoy it all winter long. Since a diorama is a miniature scene, you need small items.

To create the forest I started out by adding in some real dogwood branch clippings. I placed them at the back of the scene and used a little hot glue at the base to attach them. We also used three different bottle brush trees, in different sizes. I tried to create a little depth, by staggering the placement of the trees. These are attached to the drawer with a little hot glue on the bottom also. You don't need a lot of hot glue, just enough to hold it in place.

In the center of the scene I placed two plastic toy deer, and a mama and baby facing in different directions.

I also added in some tiny pinecones from a cedar shrub. These were perfect tiny size for our scene, and glued some into one of the bottle brush trees.

I used some cotton for snow, along with some fake snow sprinkled on top, and added a few of the cedar pinecones on top of the snow also. The last detail I added was gluing some and plastic snowflakes to the back of the diorama.

Recipe

Christmas Diorama

No ratings yet

Print Pin Rate

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 15

Author: Dannyelle Nicolle-Ramjist

Equipment

hot glue gun

Materials

old drawer
drawer handle
red wood twigs
bottle brush trees
toy plastic deer -mother and baby
cedar pine cones
cotton snow
faux snow
plastic snowflakes
hot glue

Instructions

?Start with your diorama box base. We used an old vintage drawer, and added a new vintage looking handle to it. You could use any box, or shadow box for your base.
Next build your scene. Start by hot gluing some twigs in the background. Add in some small bottle brush trees.
Then add the deer toys to the center with some hot glue on their feet.
Add some cotton snow on the bottom, and sprinkle some faux snow on top.
Glue a few mini cedar pine cones in one tree, and add some on top of the faux snow also.
Glue the plastic snowflakes to the back of the diorama box.

The drawer makes the perfect frame. It looks great on a little table, but I might hang it up on the wall. I don't think I'll manage to take it down after Christmas -we'll change it's name to -a winter diorama. 😉

Diorama Variations

There are so many different variations you could make on this craft. If you want to change the forest scene, you could choose different animals to include. Or you could create different subject areas all together. A great idea would be an indoor Christmas eve scene around the Christmas tree with lights, and gifts, and milk and cookies for Santa. The possibilities really are endless. Just be on the lookout for miniature items you could use to create your scene, and try to make sure that the scale of all your pieces works together so that the scene looks realistic. That's the only real guideline when it come so to creating your own handmade Christmas diorama.

Ornament Variations

A variation on a Christmas diorama is to make diorama ornaments. To create a Christmas diorama ornament version of this scene, you would need a very tiny deer and bottle brush tree that is small enough to fit inside of the ornament. Look for clear plastic ball ornaments that open by splitting if half so that you can more easily add the diorama items inside. Glue the twig and or tree and tiny deer to the bottom of the ornament on one side and then add in your faux snow, before adding the other side back on. These make adorable homemade ornaments for gift giving or adding onto your Christmas tree.

Deer Snow Globe Christmas Ornament -DIY your own cute deer snow globe, with a glass or plastic ornament, and a few other inexpensive supplies.

This Christmas diorama project was so much fun to create. Mine was really simple with just a few items, but you could make it more elaborate if you wanted to.

With a Christmas diorama, life really is a party. Happy Crafting!

More Christmas Inspiration

You might also like Gumball Machine Snow Globe here.

Also check out our Snow Globe Christmas Ornament here.

You might also enjoy Mushroom Christmas Ornament here.

Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Christmas

Dec 6, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Christmas: make your own Christmas outdoor arrangements, Christmas wreath, and door mat with a star theme.

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Decorating with white for Christmas is a favourite of mine, and I love how this outdoor Christmas urn, planter, wreath and mat with a star themed turned out. I hope it inspires you with some front porch decorating ideas for Christmas.

Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Christmas

I offered to put this look together for my friend Heather. My secret weapon was my sister (also a Heather -I know it's a little confusing around here) helped me out, and she's a florist. But, I'll give you all her simple tips so you can make one too. 😉

Lantern Christmas Urn

The inspiration for the starry theme came from these pretty Ikea lanterns. I loved the colour, size, and little star cut outs. They're under $10, so I loved the price too. 😉 These were jumping off point for our front porch decorating ideas for Christmas. My sister had the great idea of making the lantern the centre of the urn arrangement.

We stared the urn by filling the container with soil, and then adding two pieces of floral foam on top. We used some sticks to drive through the foam and into the soil to anchor them. Then we anchored the lantern, with three more sticks pushed into the floral foam, tightly around the base of the lantern. Next we tied wire to the sticks and around the lantern to hold it firmly in place.

The next step was to add a layer of cedar, then pine, and finally fir, with each layer using slightly shorter pieces, and angled slightly downward.

Then, around the base of the candle we did a layer of silver sticks angled upward, and finally some pretty pinecone picks.

I found some remote control flameless candles, so Heather can turn them on and off each night with the touch of a button -how great is that!

Birch Stick Outdoor Christmas Arrangement

Beside the urn, Heather had another container -a long, wire basket, about the size of a window box found at an antique fair a few years ago. And, I did this one on my own since my sis had to head home, so you really don't have to be a florist to pull these off. If I can do it, you can do it.

Since I knew the arrangement would be visible from both sides, I did a line of white birch logs down the centre, and did greenery all the way around. I used the same greens as we did for the urn -cedar, pine, and fir. I also added the silver sticks, and little silver pinecone picks again. This arrangement also has some larger painted white pinecones.

A little trick my sister uses is to flip the fir over and use the back which is kind of silver-blue, and adds another dimension.

DIY Star Doormat

Another fun front porch decorating ideas for Christmas is to personalize an inexpensive doormat. The pretty stars in the lantern inspired our matching simple doormat. I bought a plain mat for around $7 while I was at Ikea. Next I made a simple stencil to make it match our star theme.

I used a cookie cutter to make stencils out of some old cardboard and some white craft paint to add the stars.

So simple and so pretty with everything else.

Christmas Wreath

For the front door, I picked up a wreath at the store, and added in a few extra sprigs of greens, and a pretty metal star garland. Then we added a very simple starry ribbon.

I love how the stars, white and silver tied everything together.

It turned out so pretty, I think I might need to do this next year at my house. 😉

Hope you're enjoying this season of light. With front porch decorating ideas for Christmas, life is really a party!

More Front Porch Decorating Ideas For Christmas

You might also like our Christmas Front Porch here.

Christmas Front Porch: Rustic greens, large pinecones, and lots of birch logs create a rustic Scandinavian feel with brass lanterns for Christmas.

Also check out our Outdoor Decorating Ideas for the Front Porch here.

You might also enjoy our Christmas Outdoor Planter here.

Homemade Bailey's Irish Cream Marshmallows Recipe

Nov 29, 2013 · 17 Comments

These homemade Bailey's Irish cream marshmallows are fluffy, sweet, and full of real Bailey's Irish Cream flavor. They're perfect for melting into hot chocolate, gifting in mason jars, or toasting over a fire pit. With just a stand mixer and candy thermometer, you can make these impressive treats that look and taste way more complicated than they actually are.

A Quick Look

📋 Recipe: Homemade Bailey's Irish Cream Marshmallows
⏲️ Ready In: 4 hours 30 minutes (30 minutes active, 4 hours setting)
👪 Servings: 24 (2-inch) marshmallows
🔪 Difficulty: Moderate
⚠️ Note: Adults only, contains 1 cup Bailey's Irish Cream, not for kids or anyone avoiding alcohol
💭 Top Tip: Cut them with a pizza wheel instead of a knife for cleaner edges!

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Real Bailey's flavor. With a full cup of Bailey's Irish Cream, these taste genuinely boozy, not like artificial extract.
Easier than you think. Your stand mixer does all the work during the 12 minute whipping time.
Perfect for gifting. Package in mason jars with ribbons for teacher gifts or holiday treat boxes that actually impress.
Multiple uses. Melt into hot chocolate, toast over a fire, dip in chocolate, or eat them straight.

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IIf you're a Bailey's fan, you're going to love these marshmallows. I made several different flavors when I created a hot chocolate buffet a few years back, and these Bailey's ones were such a hit they needed their own post.

These aren't your basic marshmallows with a splash of flavoring. With a full cup of Bailey's Irish Cream whipped right in, the boozy flavor really comes through. They melt beautifully into a mug of hot chocolate and make stunning gifts packaged in mason jars. I sent some to school with my kids for a teacher treat and let's just say they were very well received.

The best part? They're way easier than you'd think. If you have a stand mixer and a candy thermometer (which only costs about $10 to $20), you're already set up for success. The mixer does all the hard work.

You might also like our Homemade Coffee Marshmallows Recipe and our Marshmallow Mug Toppers. They'd be a great gift with this Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix, or a great addition to this Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board.

Ingredients

The ingredient list is surprisingly simple for how impressive these turn out.

Unflavored gelatin: Three packages (usually found in the baking aisle). This is what gives marshmallows their signature texture.
Bailey's Irish Cream: One full cup. Since this isn't cooked, the flavor really comes through. Don't skimp or substitute here.
White sugar and light corn syrup: These create the sugar base that gets cooked to exactly 240°F. Temperature is critical for proper setting.
Powdered sugar and cornstarch: Mixed together for coating the pan and finished marshmallows. This prevents sticking.
Vanilla extract: Added at the very end with the Bailey's for extra flavor.

Equipment

Stand mixer with whisk attachment. This is really important for getting the right texture. A hand mixer can work but be prepared for an arm workout during that 12 to 15 minute whipping time. This isn't a good recipe to whip by hand.
Candy thermometer. Essential for getting the sugar mixture to exactly 240°F. These only cost about $10 to $20 at any kitchen store, or online, and they're worth having.
9x13 inch baking pan. This is the perfect size for getting 24 marshmallows at 2 inches each. But you can use a 9 x 9 for thicker marshmallows, or even a cookie sheet for thinner marshmallows that you can cut out with a cookie cutter.
Sharp knife or pizza wheel. For cutting your finished marshmallows into squares.

chocolate dipped Homemade Flavoured Marshmallows

How to Make Bailey's Marshmallows

Step 1: Put the gelatin and ½ cup of ice cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Let it sit while you prepare the sugar syrup.

Step 2: Combine the other ½ cup water, white sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a small saucepan. Cover and cook over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Step 3: Remove the lid and clip your candy thermometer onto the side of the pan. Make sure the tip touches the mixture but doesn't touch the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 240°F (about 5 to 10 more minutes).

This temperature is critical. If it doesn't get hot enough, your marshmallows won't set properly. Watch that thermometer carefully as it approaches 240°F and take it off the heat right away once it hits that mark.

Step 4: With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour the sugar syrup mixture down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Then increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, about 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla and the Bailey's during the last minute of whipping.

Step 5: While the mixture is whipping, prepare the pan. Combine the powdered sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture and move it around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

Step 6: When ready, pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan.

Step 7: Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Let set overnight, and then slice into marshmallow pieces, and use the leftover powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture to coat the cut sides.

how to make your own Flavoured Marshmallows

Cutting and Storing Your Marshmallows

Once your marshmallows have set overnight, it's time to cut them. I cut mine fairly large at 2-inch squares, but you can make any size you want from giant marshmallows down to minis.

Use a sharp knife or a pizza wheel to cut them into squares. If your knife gets sticky, wash it off between cuts. Roll the cut edges in more of the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture to keep them from sticking together.

You can also try using a cookie cutter for different shapes like hearts, or stars. This works best with thinner marshmallows. For this method, you might want to use a cookie sheet instead of a 9 x 13 pan.

Store your cut marshmallows in an airtight container so they don't dry out. They'll keep for about 1 to 3 weeks.

Expert Tips

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows: After your marshmallows are set and cut, melt some chocolate and dip them for an extra special treat. This works great with milk, dark, or white chocolate.
For Gifting: Package these in mason jars or clear bags tied with ribbon. Include a card noting they're for adults only.

Homemade Flavoured Marshmallows lollipops with chocolate

Frequently Asked Questions

Do these contain alcohol? Are they safe for children?

Yes, these contain alcohol and are not safe for children, or anyone avoiding alcohol. The recipe uses a full cup of Bailey's Irish Cream, and since it's not cooked, the alcohol doesn't burn off. These are adults only treats. Keep them away from children.

How do I know when the sugar syrup is ready?

Your candy thermometer needs to read exactly 240°F. This is called the soft ball stage and it's critical for marshmallows that set properly. If the temperature is too low, your marshmallows will be too soft and won't hold their shape. Watch the thermometer carefully as it gets close and remove from heat as soon as it hits 240°F.

Why didn't my marshmallows get fluffy?

Adding the Bailey's does make these a little less fluffy and more dense than regular homemade marshmallows, so that's normal. Make sure your sugar syrup reaches exactly 240°F. If it's not hot enough, the marshmallows won't set or fluff properly. The mixture should whip for about 12 to 15 minutes until it's thick, glossy, and lukewarm.

Can I toast these like regular marshmallows?

Yes, you can toast them over hot coals like regular marshmallows. They're softer and more delicate than store bought ones though, so they'll slide off a toasting stick pretty easily if you're not careful. Do don't over do it.

How should I cut them without them sticking?

Use a sharp knife,pizza wheel, or cookie cutter that's been greased with a bit of oil or cooking spray. If it gets sticky, wash it off between cuts. Immediately coat the cut edges with the powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture to prevent them from sticking together.

Can I freeze Bailey's marshmallows?

Yes! I've frozen these and they thaw beautifully. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag and they'll keep for several months in the freezer. Let them thaw at room temperature.

Do these really taste like Bailey's?

Yes! Since the Bailey's isn't cooked, the flavor really comes through. With a full cup of Bailey's Irish Cream in the recipe, you get genuine boozy Bailey's flavor, not just a hint. That's why these are definitely adults only treats.

More Marshmallow Recipe Inspiration

If you try these Bailey's Irish Cream Marshmallows or any other recipe on my blog leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting Life is a Party today!

Recipe

DIY Advent Calendar

Nov 27, 2013 · 6 Comments

Tree Advent Calendar: IKEA hack, inexpensive cardboard advent calendar that's been silver leafed, and filled with printable activities.

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This tree advent wreath is a fun project to take an inexpensive paper advent calendar up a notch with beautiful silver leaf.

I really liked a mirrored advent calendar I saw out shopping on day, with all the cute little doors, and the sparkly, shiny mirror. I didn't really like the price. So, when I saw this cardboard version at IKEA this Christmas for only $10 I had an idea.

Silver Leaf

I had some left over from another project so I broke it out again. And again I fell in love with it...this might be the beginning of a silver leafed Christmas. And of course you could use gold leaf if you're more of a gold person.

Materials:

cardboard advent calendar
silver leaf
adhesive for silver leaf
number stickers

How To Make A Tree Advent Calendar

1.The silver leaf is really easy to apply. Just follow the directions. For mine, I applied the adhesive with a paint brush, working in sections. It has to sit for 15 minutes, then you apply the silver leaf.

I removed the individual boxes and did the front section of each one.

2. After the silver leaf added everywhere, I used scrapbook stickers from the dollar store for the numbers.

You can see a little bit of the green base in some sections, if I had to do it again, I might spray the whole thing gold before I started so that it was in the little spots showing through.

It only took about an hour or so to do all the silver leaf.

We started the tradition a few years ago of doing an activity advent calendar together as a family. It's a great way to make sure that the busyness of the holiday season doesn't take over and prevent us from doing all those fun memory making activities we all want to do, but might not get around to without a plan.

It's also a way to emphasise that doing things together is more important than just buying more and more stuff.

Free printable advent activity cards for an advent calendar, with gold stars on them. — Free printable advent activity cards with activities printed on them and a star pattern.

I've made over 60 suggested activity cards available in three different patterns. You can purchase and download them here and then print them at home and add them to your calendar.

Some of them are simple, and others are more elaborate.

My big tip if you're putting one of these calendars together for your family is to do it with a little calendar print out beside you. Because the holidays are so busy, we don't need to make more work for ourselves, so I try to include lots of things we'd be doing already. You're likely going to decorate a tree this year, and give your kids a bath whether you do an activity calendar or not. Schedule a bubble bath with holiday music for their regular bath night, and schedule tree decorating for when you're doing it anyway.

Then, fill in with some of the other activities that catch your eye, and might help you be a little more intentional about making some memories this year, like a picnic under the Christmas tree.

Make sure that busy nights have easy activities and save the big projects for when you have more time, like on the weekend.

Along with the activities you might choose a few little treats for some days. Or, if the activities don't fit your family, you could simplify it with just treats. What ever works best for you.

This year, I tied up the activities as little scrolls and added some treats for certain days.

With a pretty DIY advent calendar like this, life really is a party!

You might also like our Children's Story Book Advent Calendar here.

Also check out our Activity Advent Calendar here.

You might also enjoy our House Advent Calendar here.

Christmas Party Food On A Budget

Nov 25, 2013 · 9 Comments

I've been sharing all the details of the Christmas Craft Party here with you and today I want to share the Christmas party food on a budget with you.

$100 Budget

I love to entertain, but especially around the holidays, things can really start to add up. I wanted to share with you the great food I made for the party, and how I did it on a budget -all for about $100. Admittedly $100 isn't cheap. But, I made two hot appetizers, plus other cold nibbles, a dessert table, and drinks. For this quality of food, I think it was a great price.

Plan Your Menu With What's On Sale

I know that some people just don't have time to look for sales, and stop by multiple stores for a party, but if you have a little time, here's how I did it on a budget. Start out by browsing the grocery store flyers the week before the party. I found a few things on sale, and thought about some budget conscious items that would still be great.

A cheese tray seems like a stable for a Christmas party, but cheese is expensive, so right away I tried to think out side of the box little. I found pork shoulder on sale for a $1 a pound, so I decided on mini pulled pork sliders for the main appetizer. I went ahead and shopped the week before for some of the things I needed that I knew would keep. The next week, I hunted the flyers again, and what I couldn't find on sale I bought at a cheaper grocery store.

I used what I had in my fridge and pantry, and didn't include it in the cost breakdown, since you would probably have things like vinegar, onion soup mix, and sugar too. Where I did need something -like eggs and onions, I included it. I did over buy, so in this break down, I only put down the one bag of chips we ate, rather than the 2 we bought, for example. There is a big lesson here when you're trying to save money -don't buy too much food. I never want to run out of food and always seem to err on the side of too much, but at least the food gets eaten as leftovers -we had pulled pork for days. 😉

The Savoury Appetizers

I started out with the pulled pork since I found the pork on sale. This was my main hot item for the party. I found a good crock pot recipe here, which also meant it could be made ahead.

I served the pork with a homemade coleslaw on slider buns, that were the perfect size.

For a vegetarian hot option I served perogies. They were simple frozen ones, garnished with a little sour cream and some fresh chives. They looked great, and were super easy. Simple food dressed up with a garnish and served individually is always a hit.

Make Dips From Scratch

I also made some homemade humus and served it with some chips I made from pita bread, and rice crackers for my gluten free guest. Humus is really inexpensive when you make it yourself and always a hit. I also made a veggies and dip platter, and offered some kettle chips to go with the dip. Both were good vegetarian and gluten free options.

The Sweet Table

I wanted to offer my guests a few nice sweets too. Vanilla cupcakes are a fav. of mine. My go-to recipe for vanilla cupcakes has become the Barefoot Contessa's coconut cupcakes, with the coconut left out, and with a plain vanilla icing.

They were delicious. I loved how retro they looked with the cute little Santas on top. I found the Santa ornaments at the dollar store, and added a toothpick to the bottom to make them into cupcake pics. Then I added a sprinkle of edible glitter.

Since the theme of the party was retro Christmas, I thought it would be fun to do some no-bake cheesecakes, since they're a little retro too. I used this recipe. I served them in little mason jars, with some antique little spoons and they were really cute.

Some Heathy Options

For a healthier but still sweet option I wanted to offer some fruit. I bought some berries -which everyone always seems to feel are a treat. By shopping the sales they weren't too expensive and they looked great too.

One of my favourite additions to the dessert table were these walnut stuffed dates. I wanted to do at least one gluten free dessert and this was what I came up with. It was also a great option for anyone watching their weight. They were really simple...except for slitting the shell exactly in half. I found a tutorial on-line here, that suggests baking the shells first. I bought about 20 walnuts and ended up with about 16 good halves -which is less than 50% so...plan ahead and buy some extras.

At first I wasn't sure how to serve the dates and make them look pretty. I ended up used an olive tray to serve them, and filled it with coarse sugar to keep the empty walnut shells from tipping over. To make them I stuffed a walnut piece into half of a date, and placed it in the shell and added a little edible glitter (I promise I don't have any shares in an edible glitter company, it's just my new fav. Don't worry I have enough room in my heart for it and spray paint.) 😉

The Drinks

The last expense was the drinks. The homemade hot chocolate was expensive to make, but I think you could really taste that it was homemade from real milk -get the recipe here. A bunch of the items for the hot chocolate buffet were from the dollar store. I didn't include the cost off the marshmallows in the breakdown, since I made them earlier in the week and didn't keep the bill. Find my flavoured marshmallow recipe here. All I had to buy was the gelatin -so probably a couple of bucks. I already had the Bailey's and Kahlua, which helped. I picked up a couple of bottles of wine. The punch was a just juice and ginger ale, both found on sale. I already had some bottled water. I probably didn't need this many drinks, but some of everything was used.

Budget Breakdown

Here's a break down of roughly what I spent, if you're interested. As I mentioned, I used items from my pantry and fridge as well, but this is basically what I bought for the party.

pork $5 + onions $2 + eggs $3.25 + $3 slider buns = $13.25

perogies $2 + sour cream $2 + chives $1.50 = $5.50

chips $1.50

rice crackers $3.25

carrots $1 + tomatoes $1 + cucumber $2 + peppers $2.50 + radishes $1 = $7.50

chick peas $1.25 + lemon $.50 + pitas $1 = $2.75

raspberries $3 + blueberries $2 + blackberries $2 = $7

dates + walnuts = $4

cream cheese $3 + lemon $.50 + cherry pie filling $2.50 +condensed milk $2.50 = $8.50

foil cupcake liners $2.50 + butter milk $3.50 + icing sugar $2 = $8

milk $4 + cream $3 + choc. chips $2.50 + condensed milk $2.50 + candy canes $1.50 + cinnamon sticks $2 + caramels $1 + choc. spoons $1 = $17.50

cranberry juice $2.50 + ginger ale $1 = $3.50

wine = $20

In Total:

13.25 + 5.50 + 1.50 + 3.25 + 7.50 + 2.75 + 7 + 4 + 8.50 + 8 + 17.50 + + 3.50 + 20 = 104.75

Basically $100 -Not bad for two hot apps, dessert table, and drinks!

With Christmas party food on a budget, life really is a party!

You might also like our Christmas Fondue Party here.

Also check out our Christmas Gift Wrapping Party here.

Christmas Gift Wrapping Party: DIY personalized party decorations, dessert table, party drinks and DIY gift tags and gift wrapping ideas.

You might also like our Berry and Bright Christmas Party

Christmas Craft Party

Nov 18, 2013 · 1 Comment

Christmas Craft Party: ideas for a girl friend get together with decorations, drinks, appetizers, sweet table, and ornament making craft.

I had a little Christmas craft party on the weekend....I know you're thinking it's a little early. I'm not even going to try and deny it. But, I heard someone say years ago that November should be for getting ready for Christmas and December for celebrating it. I like that. So this was a getting ready for the Christmas season kind of a party.

I got together with some girl friends for some great food, conversation and Christmas ornament making. It was a really lovely evening and I'm excited to share all the pretty details with you. It's such a great idea to get together with some girlfriends and do a fun activity together. You want to choose simple Christmas crafts, that aren't too difficult, so everyone has fun doing their Christmas project. We made DIY Christmas ornaments together and it was such a fun project.

Christmas Craft Party Decorations

Let's start out with all the pretty holiday decorations and party decor. I worked all week on getting my Christmas decorations up on the main floor of our house for Christmas celebrations. This year I decided to go with a vintage theme for my Christmas decor. I found the perfect party decor from Minted. The different colors of pink, blue and grey color scheme looked great with all my own vintage inspired Christmas decor.

When guests arrived at the front door the dining room was all set up for our easy Christmas crafts and with a pretty dessert buffet for snacking.

The pretty paper fans, paper confetti for the table, and fun circle bunting were really great additions and added lots of holiday spirit.

The Buffet Decorations

I dressed up the buffet area with a few fun touches. I wrote out the lyrics of "Have a Holly, Jolly, Christmas" on the chalkboard. My favourite easy addition for this Christmas was printing a few vintage Christmas cards I found for free online and putting them in these simple white frames. This is a really great way to add some vintage Christmas elements even if you can't find the real thing.

Craft Party Drink Station

Every fun party needs some fun drinks, and especially for Christmas you need a little holiday cheer! I set up the drinks station in the kitchen, on my kitchen table. Not the greatest for photos on the blog, but really practical in real life, since you can set up so guests can serve themselves from all sides, depending on what they're having.

I started out by placing a pretty wooden sleigh on the table. I thought it would be a fun Christmas-y piece to use, a bit different, and since it's nice and flat, it worked great as an elevated serving piece -different heights always add interest to a buffet. 😉

Christmas Craft Party Centre Piece

On the sleigh, I set up several cloches as a centerpiece, and the gumball machine snow globe that I made here. The cloches looked like snow globes with little glitter houses and faux snow inside. They looked great along with a mini silver Christmas tree.

Cold Drinks

I wanted to offer my guests a few cold drink options. The cranberry-raspberry punch is made from juice and ginger ale. Cranberry always seems perfect for the holiday season. I set-up some champagne glasses with pretty striped paper straws and straw labels.

I also offered some wine, and water to guests.

Hot Chocolate Bar

The star of the show was the hot chocolate bar. I made homemade hot chocolate, using this crock pot recipe. It was very chocolaty, maybe even a little too chocolaty for me -although admittedly I'm not the biggest chocolate fan, and you could certainly just increase the milk.

Since my crock pot was busy making pulled pork -more details on the food to come, I made the hot chocolate on the stove, and when it was ready put it into a large thermos for serving. This worked great, since it stayed really hot, and I didn't have to even think about it all night. Along with the hot chocolate, I put out some Irish Cream, and some Kahlua -in case any of my guests wanted to make their hot chocolate a bit special. 😉 There was also some caramels that could be added in, and some whipped cream. Yum.

I also offered some cinnamon sticks for stirring, or for those who can't get enough chocolate -chocolate spoons! I picked them up at the dollar store, each package had a few milk and a few dark chocolate spoons. These were a big hit. I also put out some candy canes for stirring, in pretty mason jars.

Flavored Homemade Marshmallows

The highlight of the hot chocolate bar was the homemade marshmallows. I made three kinds -vanilla, chocolate, and Baileys. I have to say they were so yummy. You can find my flavoured marshmallow recipe here.

The Crafts

The highlight of the Christmas craft party was of course the crafts! We all made DIY Christmas decorations together. I set up the dining table with all kinds of great craft supplies and invited my friends to each bring some clear glass, or plastic ornaments that we could fill together as the craft for our Christmas craft party.

Ornament Making Supplies

I used my milk glass collection to house all the little craft supplies for the evening. This worked great to keep all the different materials organized and still make it look pretty. 😉 The milk glass worked great with our vintage Christmas theme too.

Ornament Fillers

I had a few ideas of what the fillers could be, and as a personal touch I even checked in with my peeps to hear what some of their Christmas colour schemes were this year, so we could have some options that would work for everyone. We had some neutral tones, some bright colors, traditional red and green, and some pink options.

If you're thinking of setting up an evening like this, here's a few ideas of what you might want to include as filler a plastic or glass ornament. One friend was working on a woodland, and nature theme, so I found some simple birch bark, tiny cedar pine cones, and white feathers. Everyone liked the idea of snow globes, so I put out some faux snow and a few fun options for fillers. There were twigs to decorate, little mini white Christmas trees, and few tiny plastic deer too.

My sister picked up some plastic balls that split in half to fill. These worked the best for the snow globes and allowed her to make some snow globes with some little toy animals. They turned out so cute. Another friend is planning to pick some up and put some lego men in for her little boys this year, which is such a great idea to personalize your DIY ornaments.

I also had some letter beads. Some people used them to spell out someone's name. I glued the letters together to write the word "snow" and added some faux snow. So cute and so simple. These make such great DIY Christmas gifts too.

I had also picked up some rhinestone buckles, and a little black velvet ribbon. We used these to make a cute Santa ornament, with some simple red tinsel inside.

We also used lots of glitter, sequins, beads, paint, music sheets, and ribbons. The possibilities are really endless.

Ornament Making Craft Supplies

Here are the supplies we used for our craft projects, plus a few glue guns and hot glue. Of course you will also need some plastic or glass ornaments to fill. We used:

birch bark
feathers
tiny pinecones
faux snow
mini trees
twigs
mini deer
letter beads
rhinestone buckles
black velvet ribbon
glitter
sequins
paint
music sheets
ribbons
tinsel
pom poms
wooden beads

You can see from the smiles on the faces of my friends that we had a great time together -eating, drinking, crafting, laughing, and connecting. This was a really easy craft and perfect for a night like this. Everyone had so much fun making their own ornaments for their Christmas trees or to use as great gifts for the whole family. This was the perfect way to enjoy a crafting day or night together.

Christmas Craft Party Food

For this party I made a few hot and cold appetizers as well as a fun dessert table. You can read all about how I did all the food and drinks for the party for around $100 here if you're interested in party food on a budget.

Crockpot Pulled Pork Sliders

I started out with the pulled pork sliders. This was my main hot item for the party. I found a good crock pot pulled pork recipe here, which also meant it could be made ahead.

I served the pork with a homemade coleslaw on slider buns, that were the perfect size. These were a real hit, and everyone loved them and the small size was perfect.

Perogies

We also had some homemade hummus and pita chips, veggies and dip, and potato chips for nibbling and snacking while we crafted.

The Sweet Table

I made really simple vanilla cupcakes and they looked so cute. The cupcake toppers were ornaments from the dollar store that I added a tooth pick to, and they we adorable for our vintage Christmas theme.

I also made some mini cheesecakes -see my recipe here. These were easy to serve and perfect for our retro theme.

For some healthy options we served some dates stuffed with walnuts and a fresh berry tray.

This holiday party craft night making handmade ornaments was so much fun. It was great to spend the evening making simple crafts and eating great food with girlfriends and get us all into the Christmas spirit. It was so fun, I think it might become one of our new favourite Christmas traditions.

With a Christmas craft party to enjoy with friends, life really is a party!

More Christmas Party Inspiration

You might also like our Christmas Gift Wrapping Party here.

Also check out our Christmas Fondue Party here.

You might also enjoy our Merry and Bright Christmas Party here.

Marshmallow Fairy Wands

Nov 15, 2013 · 5 Comments

Marshmallow Fairy Edible Wands: homemade marshmallows and a candy cane make the perfect fairy wand stirring stick for hot chocolate.

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If you have any little fairy princesses around this Christmas, this might be the sweetest little edible wands treat ever. I know I'm going to be the "best Mom in the world" after school, when mine get home and discover this.

how to make a Marshmallow Fairy Edible Wand

I made some marshmallows yesterday. I've made them before. They're really not that hard if you have a stand mixer, a candy thermometer, and a little time. My sister has been wanting to learn how to make them, so last night we made some. I used what's become my go-to recipe for marshmallows -Alton Browns find it here. This morning the marshmallows were ready to cut. I made a few of these marshmallow fairy edible wands for my little girls. I thought you might like them too.

Making Your Edible Wands

I cut them out with a little star cookie cutter, and coated the sides with more of the powdered sugar.

I also got out my edible glitter. If you don't own any, you need to add it to your Christmas list. It is the perfect socking stuffer for anyone who loves to bake. You can find it at cake decorating suppliers or on-line.

Add a little sprinkling of glitter to the marshmallows, and if they're too dry for the glitter to stick, just dap with a drop or two of water on them to make them sticky again.

Then, I used a candy cane, that I broke the curve off of, to make it straight for the wand part, and inserted it into the marshmallow. If your fairy princesses' aren't big fans of peppermint there are all kinds of other flavours of candy canes now, or a stripy straw would be really sweet too. Another great option would be a candy stick, and they come in all kinds of fun flavours too.

Then, make some hot chocolate, and use the fairy wand for stirring, dipping, and making magic!

With marshmallow fairy edible wands, life really is a party!

You might also like our Flavoured Marshmallows recipe here.

Homemade Flavoured Marshmallows Recipe -Bailey's, Chocolate, and Vanilla -how to make your own flavoured marshmallows, perfect for gift giving!

Also check out our Frozen Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats.

Frozen Themed Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats: inspired by Disney's Frozen these snowflake rice krispie cookies are perfect for your Frozen themed party.

You might also like our Homemade Lollipops recipe here.

Homemade Valentine Lollipops -the perfect sweet treat for Valentine's Day. Including a free printable Valentine to go with it.

How To Make A Gum ball Machine Snow Globe

Nov 13, 2013 · 19 Comments

How To Make A DIY Snow Globe out of a Gum ball Machine: Easy Christmas decoration using a mini gum ball machine and turning it into a waterless snow globe.

Turn a gum ball machine into a DIY snow globe.

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It's Christmas time, and time to decorate. I'm loving all things white, vintage and cute this year, and this little project ticks all three boxes. This might one of my cutest ideas ever. Let me show how to make a DIY snow globe using a gumball machine.

how to make a snow globe out of a gumball machine

Materials:

gumball machine
cardboard
mini Christmas tree
beads
hot glue and hot glue gun
faux snow
glitter

How To Make A DIY Snow Globe

1. I started out with a little plastic gum ball machine. I've seen them at second hand stores, and traditional red would be cute for Christmas too. I wanted a little white one. I found this one, recommended as a wedding favour, in white for $2.88 I like the mini size -this one is about 12 cm tall.

The plastic top comes off, so it's easy to make a little snow globe scene inside. Since it's a real gum ball machine, I used a little white paper to make a base for the tree.

2. I decorated a little bottle brush tree with a few pretty beads, just glued on with some hot glue. Then I glued the tree onto the paper base. It's great to be able to create that vintage feel, with the bottle brush tree. It would be cute in other colours too.

3. Next I added the clear plastic piece back in place, over the tree. Then I removed the white top to add in some faux snow and some glitter (because Christmas needs a little sparkle).

Then, just twist the white lid back on. So simple. So sweet.

I love how the beads I used look a little gumball-ish too. We've had a light dusting of snow here, yesterday afternoon, and there's still some on the ground this morning. This little snow globe seems perfect for today.

With a pretty DIY snow globe like this for Christmas, life really is a party.

Have you started your Christmas decorating yet?

More Christmas Craft Inspiration

You might also like our Christmas Diorama here.

Christmas Diorama: rustic Christmas decoration made from an up-cycled old drawer, and some woodland animal figures.

Also check out Snow Globe Christmas Ornament here.

You might also enjoy DIY Christmas Crackers here.