Christmas Pictures

I think the idea of getting the perfect picture of the kids all together for a Christmas card is what a lot of parents dream of this time of year. The reality (for me) however is that this is a near impossible task to achieve. You take about 200 pictures praying to get just one "good" one that would be suitable for the family Christmas card. Thank goodness for digital cameras. I'm so glad that I can look through my pictures on the computer or even on the tiny camera screen and just delete the duds. No trips to the 1 hour photo only to discover that there are no "keepers."

Here is a sampling of what I came up with this year.

Cuttlebug Giveaway

I just entered to win a Cuttlebug over at SVGcuts.com. You can enter too by going to http://svgcuts.com/blog/?p=3672.

Good Luck!

My Bottlecap Project

This is my new favorite craft!!!
Well I finally made some of the bottlecaps that I mentioned in an earlier blog post. Can you say addicting??? I love these things, and so does everyone that sees them. They have become a big hit around here. I have gone a little crazy (OK maybe a lot) and made LOTS of them. They are so much fun to make. Even the kids enjoy making them with me (so you know it can't be that difficult). Check out my pictures and let me know what you think.I have sold a lot of these since I started making them (over the summer). If you would like one (or two or three) send me an email and I'll be happy to make whatever you would like. Thanks for looking! Don't forget to leave me your comments.

Chetzels (Chocolate Pretzels)

Ok... I "stumbled upon" this interesting looking recipe the other day and couldn't quit day dreaming about it. It looked so tasty! So... I talked the kids into working with me and together we put together these FABULOUS treats! They are SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!! We call them "Chetzels" because they are a combination of Chocolate and Pretzels.

Needless to say... they didn't last long. :) We shared some with our neighbors and devoured the rest within 2 days. Their flavor is slightly addicting (BTW).

OK... Here are the ingredients:

1 Bag of Hershey's kisses (we used a mixture of kisses and hugs)








1 Bag of M&M's (we used plain but peanut would work just as well)







1 Bag of Snyder's Pretzels (the square one's with the grid)(yum)








Step 1: Preheat oven to around 200 degrees.

Step 2: Spread out a bunch of pretzel squares on an ungreased baking sheet.



Step 3: Unwrap the kisses and/or hugs and put one on top of each pretzel square. (Hint: we separated the kisses and hugs onto separate trays because the hugs melt A LOT faster than the kisses do and will need to be taken out of the oven sooner)




Step 4: Put them into the oven for approximately 3-5 minutes. Just long enough to soften the chocolate but not melt it. Keep an eye on it because it doesn't take long at all.




Step 5: Take them out of the oven and press an M&M into the center of each one and let them cool. As they cool they will firm up again. (At least in theory... the hugs didn't want to harden again after we softened them, until we put them in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.)








Step 6: Eat and Enjoy!!!

Now go and get your supplies and get started.

This is a fun and easy baking project to involve the kids in. My kids loved every minute of it! Especially sneaking a kiss every now and again. :)