Sunshine Cake

This recipe came in an email newsletter that I subscribe to and we were excited to try it.

We really liked it. I took some to work and it got good reviews there too.

It is more of a pound cake than a light fluffy cake, which is not mentioned in the recipe. We had all the ingredients in the house and my daughter and I had a great time making and tasting it, together,

We also used some of it to make bread pudding for dessert one night which was also very delicious.

 The recipe can be found here at the Eagle Brand website

Kids Craft - Homemade Wrapping Paper

We actually made this project for a birthday party but 'tis the season for wrapping and gifting so here it is.

I try not to buy wrapping paper for gifts whenever possible. Our city does not accept it in the blue recycling bins, which means it goes into the landfill and, to me, it seems like a lot of money to spend on something that is so short lived. We reuse gift bags, use the Sunday comics and I also use a lot of fabric gift bags. I love the fabric gift bags because they can be reused for gifting or other purposes indefinitely.

I do love a beautifully wrapped gift but there are ways to present something beautifully without commercial wrapping paper.

My daughter loves to be involved in organizing and wrapping the gifts that we give. We usually get some holiday baking and hot chocolate and make an afternoon of it. We have lots of fun together and at the end of the day, all the gifts are ready to give.

Making your own wrapping paper using brown kraft paper is very easy and inexpensive. It is a great project for kids of all ages.

I bought rolls of kraft paper, on sale for $0.49 each right after Christmas last year. We have used them all year for crafts and to wrap gifts and packages.

Materials:
Kraft paper (you could also use blank newsprint or newspaper)
Stamps and Ink Pads
Markers/ Crayons
Painter's Tape
Scissors (to cut the paper to size)

Instructions:
1. Cut the piece of kraft paper to size. We do this before we start stamping to keep the paper size manageable. If we have a large or heavy package, I sometimes wrap it in blank paper first and then we stamp the paper. It makes it easier to manage.

2. Tape the piece of paper to a flat surface. We use painter's tape to ensure that it will come off the paper with minimal ripping or tearing.

3. Get stamping. Decorate the paper with stamps and markers or crayons.

4. Allow the paper to dry. When dry, remove the tape slowly and wrap the gift.

Cupcake Christmas Tree

This cupcake Christmas Tree is one of our favourite holiday traditions. It is easy to make and no matter where we take it; school, the office or family gatherings it is always well received. It is a great project to do as a family or even to involve all the kids in a school group. We always save a few cupcakes to taste test after the tree is done.    

This year we made the tree to take to the Christmas party at my daughter’s school. 

It is very easy to make and can be adapted to make other shapes for Christmas or any other occasion.
 
Cupcake Christmas Tree

Project of the Month - December 2012

I love earrings, big, small, dangly, sparkly; all of them - I love them. I have multiple piercings in my ears so I can wear more than 1 pair at a time and I really like to mix them up and have some fun. When we go on vacation my favourite souvenir is always a pair of earrings. Right now, my two favourite pairs of souvenir earrings are from San Antonio, Texas and Eumundi, Queensland, Australia. When I wear them I remember all the fun I had on the trips that I made there.

I had some peacock feathers from birds that my Uncle Wes had on his farm. I have been storing them and keeping them safe for years waiting for a blast of inspiration to hit me. I finally decided that I was going to try my hand at making earrings with them. Peacock feather earrings, even though they seem to be all over in the shops now, seem exotic to me and these ones will be special because of where the feathers came from.

I bought some beads and findings from a bead shop in Saskatoon, SK the last time we were there for a visit and got some tips from the girl that was working there as well.

I had enough feathers to make four pairs of earrings, one pair for me and the other pairs as Christmas gifts.

I asked my friend Emily from Prairie Dust to help me make some earrings with my collection of beads and feathers. She said yes and they ended up being more her project than mine - which was okay with me. I had tried a few times before asking her for help and had ZERO luck trying to make them on my own!

She made me four gorgeous pairs of earrings - here are some pictures of her beautiful work!

A close up of each pair