Snowflake Sugar Cookies

This sugar cookie recipe is an absolute favorite at our house!  It is simple to make and tastes delicious! 

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 C. butter
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. white sugar
• 1 C. powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 C. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 tsp. salt

1. Cream together butter, oil, sugar, and powdered sugar and whip until smooth and fluffy.  Beat in eggs (on at a time) and then stir in vanilla.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Stir into the sugar mixture until blended.  Cover and chill dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.

1. Roll dough into balls and roll into sugar.  Press ball with the open end of a plastic thread spool.  Dip the spool into sugar each time to prevent sticking.
2. Bake for 8 – 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Do not over bake!

 

Christmas Magic Sign

With Christmas quickly approaching, I’m glad I can say that I am FINALLY finished with my Christmas Magic sign.  This project was super simple to make and looks amazing in our living room!  Although, next year I’m going to start crafting in November so that my new crafts can be enjoyed for a little bit longer! :)  Anyone else feel like the holidays have snuck up on them this year?!

Want to make your own?

Materials Needed:

• 1/2” plywood cut into a 19” square
• Beadboard cut into a 11” square
• Black acrylic paint
• Wood glue
• Painbrush
• Ribbon
• Metal scroll
• Wreath
• White ornament
• White vinyl
• Mod Podge (optional)

After your wood has been cut to the correct dimensions, sand all of the edges so that they are smooth and slightly rounded.

Using a black acrylic paint, paint the front and edges of both the plywood and beadboard.  {I like to use a foam paintbrush because it is easy to use and they can be used for both the paint and Mod Podge part of this project.}

After the paint has dried completely, sand the edges down to get a distressed look.  Now, using wood glue, center the beadboard to the center of the plywood.  Let it dry completely.

Using a vinyl cutter, cut out the saying for the top and bottom of the project using white vinyl.  Weed the vinyl and adhere it to the wood.

To ensure that your vinyl does not come off, apply a thin coat of Mod Podge over all of the wooden surface.  Let it dry completely.

Using a few dots of hot glue, attach your wreath to the center of the beadoard.  And now for the fun part…

GLITTER SPRAY! =)  Love this stuff!  Spray an even coat over the entire project.  {And this stuff needs to be sprayed in a well ventilated area….I learned that the hard way! :)  }

Now for the last step…drill holes at the top of your project to attach your metal scroll {which I found at my sister’s local craft store}.  Using red and black ribbon, attach the scroll to the top of the project.  Wa-La!  Cute sign, ready to go! :)

I LOVE decorating for the holidays!  I have a few more quick projects to post in the next week so stay tuned! =) 

Christmas Book Advent

My children are still little….and in our home, we LOVE reading books!  This has been our Christmas tradition since we have had children old enough to un-wrap presents! 

Each year, I wrap 25 Christmas books, number them and put them in a basket!  Then, every night until Christmas, we pick a book, unwrap it and read a Christmas story!  My children absolutely LOVE this tradition!  I hope it is a tradition that they will carry with them and use when they have their own children.

Here are the books that we will be reading this year:

Merry Christmas, Curious George

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies

Mortimer’s Christmas Manger

Here Comes Santa Claus

Polar Express

Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad

Twas the Night Before Christmas

Room For a Little One

Up on the Housetop

The Night Before Christmas: A Visit from St. Nicholas

Tyrannocaus

The Christmas Humbugs

God Gave Us Christmas

That’s Not My Reindeer

Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Christmas

Christmas

That’s Not My Snowman

Merry Christmas, Splat

Merry Christmas Ollie

Bear Stays Up For Christmas

The Christmas Story

It’s Christmas, David!

A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas

Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas

Some of these books I own, and some of them I have borrowed from our local library!

What books are you reading for Christmas?  Do you have any recommendations for next year?

Santa Advent Calendar

I wanted to make a felt advent calendar this year…but of course ran out of time!  This is the story of my life….too much to do & not enough time to do it all in!  I knew that I wanted to make some sort of advent calendar & with not much time, I knew this was the one, when I stumbled upon it on Pinterest!  I found the idea here!  I remember doing advent calendars growing up….and I loved them!  I want to pass this tradition on to my children!

Isn’t he so cute?  Each night, we will glue a cotton ball onto Santa’s beard!  This morning, my daughter is still talking about how Santa will be here when we make his beard.  I love how excited they get about Christmas!

It is not too late to make this easy & adorable advent calendar for your family!