Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Handmade Christmas II

December 30th, 2008
12 Comments

Em, Marc, if you haven’t opened your presents yet, READ NO FURTHER!!

[SPOILER ALERT]

My brother-in-law is a huge Steelers fan, and when I saw him wearing my sister’s apron for grilling, I thought he could use his own, manly, butcher-style apron. Hope it’s the right size.

Emily said she wanted something that was fun that she could use everyday, so I made her a reusable grocery bag big enough to hold a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, eggs, cheese and some fruits and veggies. I also made her this lovely hair clip. It looks awkward on me because my hair is short; Emily has longer, pretty hair that she knows how to do very well.

I made Ayden this awesome winter hat which is just so fuzzy and soft, hopefully he’ll be able to keep it on his head for his wintery walks with GG. It sure looked cute on Penelope. She kind of looks like a boy in this picture. A little.

I was pretty sneaky with this one. My dad had mentioned the idea of buying her a new ipod, since her old one holds its charge for 20 minutes (sorry mom), so I made her the case. Simple, but useful.

I think [not sure] that Linda suggested I make recipe cards for her for Christmas. I’m pretty happy with how they turned out, except the fact that they’re not letterpressed [not enough time]. The printing still turned out great. Want these recipe cards for yourself? Download the pdf here. I also gave her the gift of blogging. An Esplin family blog.

Christmas was wonderful and I was truly spoiled. Hope you had a great one, too.

If you’d like a tutorial on any of these things let me know, comment or email.

Yule be glad you did it.

December 29th, 2008
7 Comments

Honestly, many thanks to my Mother-in-law for keeping me motivated for this mammoth DBers Challenge. I wouldn’t have been able to do it in 12 hours if it weren’t for her. Overall: I’ll likely never make this again, but it was absolutely delicious.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

If you want the recipe, go here (it’s 18 pages of hair-pulling, eye-gouging fabulousness) because I don’t want copy down the colossal recipe. Sorry. I will, however, tell you what the layers are. . .

  • Almond Dacquoise
  • Dark Chocolate Mousse
  • Dark Chocolate Ganache
  • Praline Feuillete
  • Vanilla/Nutmeg Creme Brulee
  • Dark Chocolate Icing

It was great to have my mother-in-law’s help, plus her enormously huge kitchen and sweet glass servingware.

Brother-in-law, Eric, seemed to like it.

Also, thanks to Chris and father-in-law, Cordell, for getting me the amazing D200 and 50mm Lens for Christmas. You can almost taste the creaminess of the mousse and the crunchiness of the feiullete through the screen.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

December 10th, 2008
7 Comments

So, the ghost of Christmas Craft came to our house a couple of nights ago and convinced me that I need to decorate. And just after I threw away last year’s ornaments in a fit of hormonal frustration. Blerg. Never fear, though, Walmart yarn is here to save the day. I was so inspired by ambrosia girl’s entry on kid-friendly decoration (thanks, Jenn & thanks Martha!), I decided to make little pom-poms. 25 of them.

Now I’m ready to cuddle up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and crank up the Christmas tunes.

Handbound Ornaments

December 5th, 2008
19 Comments

I found a great tutorial a while back for an accordion bind that could double as a Christmas ornament. After teaching the bind to my class, I’m in love. It’s a simple bind, no sewing, and perfect for Christmas ornaments, gift tags or mementos.

I want to know. . . what are your traditions?!?

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