DIY Handprint Hanukkah Menorah

 It's time to begin the winter holiday crafts!  Having Connor around does not make it very easy for me to get crafts done like I used to, but I loved doing this one with him!

It's pretty self-explanatory, so there's not much of a tutorial for it.  I used some blue patterned paper and blue acrylic paint (in the bathtub) to do his hand prints.  After the hand prints dried, I added the yellow flames with a small paintbrush.  You could do this with finger prints too, but that was a little too much for him to handle!

 I added his name and the date so we can pull this out each year to see how his hands have grown. 

 Really easy and a fun craft to do with the kiddos! :)

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So who feels overwhelmed now that the holidays are about to start?

:::raises hand:::

Me! Although, I really, really tried to plan ahead and get things done early this year so I don't get too overwhelmed.

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Enjoy & have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Lisa


This post is sponsored by Treat.

Reversible Patchwork Coasters

We've been spending a lot of time in Connor's room while he plays and so he can get more comfortable with being in there. For the first year, he pretty much did nothing but sleep in there!  I don't want to ruin the pretty white furniture so I decided to make some little coasters.  (Mommy and Daddy may or may not bring a beer in there every once in awhile!)

I had some extra fabric from the patchwork pillow I made earlier so I decided to make the coasters match.
The coasters are 4" x 4" finished, so I cut the pieces a little bigger for a .25" seam allowance. The back is thick quilted fabric and the front is made from some different fabric swatches.

I sewed the patchwork pieces together.

Then I took a piece of quilted fabric and pinned them with wrong sides together. Just like a pillow, I sewed 3 sides closed and left one open.

I flipped the fabric right side out and then irons all the creases.

I pinned the last edge closed and sewed it on the machine.

Love how they turned out and they match perfectly!

And they're reversible!

Holiday Card Time!

It's that time again!  I'm getting excited and working on ideas for our annual holiday card. As usual, I takes me numerous hours to pick out and perfect our card. :)  As a graphic designer, I'm kind of picky about the design of my cards, but I'm always so impressed by the designs that the Tiny Prints designers come up with. (Umm, can I work there? LOL!)  There's so many great ones that it's hard to choose just one!  And since we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, I always want to find something that I think works well for both holidays and their traditions.

So here I go...off to decide which of these gorgeous holiday cards we should use this year!

 Maybe one of these?

BTW, who wants to pay full price for holiday cards? Not me!  Check out these great promotions and deals here.  Snatch them up before the expire!

This post is sponsored by TinyPrints

Hidden Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

It takes some effort to get Hubby to eat his veggies. He'd prefer french fries as his source of vegetables if he could! I thought this recipe from Jamie Oliver sounded like a great way to add some veggie nutrition to mac & cheese. We were very happy with how it turned out and I didn't feel too bad about pigging out!

Ingredients:
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 oz. parmesan cheese
• bunch of parsley
• salt
• 16 oz. macaroni
• 1 cup sour cream

Cut the cauliflower into small florets.   

Finely chop the parsley leaves. 

For the pasta, boil your water in a large pot and then add the macaroni and cauliflower.  Cook according to the pasta directions on the box.

Pour all the shredded cheese into a small saucepan and add the sour cream.  Heat with a low flame and stir every so often until the cheese is smooth and melted.  Add all the chopped parsley to the melted cheese and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Drain the macaroni in a colander over a bow and reserve the cooking water. Return the pasta to the pan, pour in the melted cheese, and mix well. It should have a silky consistency, but if it’s too thick, add a splash of your cooking water to thin it.  (Mine did not need this, but I think everyone eats their mac differently)

To add a little extra crispy texture to the mac, I put the entire mixture in a 9x13 pan and baked it for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown on top.  You could even add some breadcrumbs for a crunchy topping.