We Wish You a Merry Christmas .....

...and a Happy New Year!!

Sarah and I would like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas spent with family and friends. We hope that 2010 is a year filled with many blessings, joy, and peace. We would also like to thank you all for stopping by and leaving us such wonderful and kind comments over the year - it really means so much to us.  Thanks for showing an interest in what we do and inspiring us to keep trying new crafts. Things will probably be a bit quiet here over the next few weeks as we relax over the summer holidays. 

Just before we head back to the kitchen for some last minute baking, I wanted to show you the Chocolate Bouquet that we made last night to use as a festive centrepiece. Armed with red and clear cellophane, a box of Ferro Rocher Chocolates, a white flower pot, and some floristry wire and tape, we made this arrangement. Sarah had never done any floristry before - she was a natural. I hope to refine our technique a bit next year - they would be also be cute for Valentines Day and Mothers Day.

Here are some little handbags that I made up - just because (when I should have been preparing the food!)

Hope Santa is good to you!!

Posted by Lisa and Sarah  

Gifts from the Kitchen!

Sarah has done all the Christmas baking this year - it is wonderful to have a daughter who is such a fabulous cook! We make a great team - she made the goodies and I worked on the packaging details.

First up, Sarah made some Chocolate Marble Bread that she baked into mini loaves. I wrapped them in cellophane, some scrap booking paper, and tied with a bow and tag.  Sarah made up some big loaves of this bread a few weeks ago and iced it with chocolate ganache and it is delicious!

Next was some Candy Cane Cookies which have become a speciality of Sarah's over the past few years.  I sewed up some little bags out of baking paper to hold each cookie and trimmed the edges with my deckle scissors, and added a sticker with the cookie name. I found the sweetest candy striped paper bags at Kikki K to pack the cookies into. 

Lastly, Sarah made some Chocolate Ginger Chews that she adapted from the Donna Hay Magazine (Spring Issue 47) She used some fresh grated ginger instead of ground ginger and they are delicious. I made some origami boxes that were lined with baking paper, and embellished with a simple punched tree.  The cookies were tied with bakers twine. 

We love giving some home baked goodies to our family and friends at Christmas! What are your favourite Christmas treats to bake?

Posted by Sarah and Lisa

Last Minute Christmas Projects!

With less than a week to go until Christmas Day - there is still time to make some last minute sweet treats and ornaments. Now that I have finished all my Christmas present shopping, I am enjoying making a few things to put my own touch on the festive season. As I have to work right up until Christmas Eve, I am a bit time poor so I love projects that are quick but are still packed full of Christmas spirit. Here are a couple of projects I made yesterday!

Rudolph's Red Noses and Christmas Snowballs

When I saw Junie Moon's Reindeer Treats  I was inspired to make my own Rudolph's Red Noses - such a fun little gift to put with Christmas pressies. I bought a set of mini jars from IKEA, filled them with candy and decorated them.

Button Tree

I was flicking through All Buttoned Up that I got out from the library, and fell in love with the Button Christmas Tree. I got out my collection of buttons, pins, and beads, and put this together while watching TV. More red and white!

Sarah has been baking up a storm this week - lots of delicious cookies to give to family and friends over Christmas. Stay tuned for a post about her recipes and some packaging ideas :)

Robin, from Robin Quilts, Etc has made up a big batch of Loyalty Card Wallets to give to her sewing buddies for Christmas - you should check them out - love the fabric she used!

Kelly, from Johns Daughter has also been busy hosting a Baking party for her daughter! check out the sweet houses the kids made - perfect for a party close to the festive season. 

Posted by Lisa

Christmas Biscuit House

After school this afternoon, Sarah, her friend, and I made some little Christmas houses. They are a twist on the more traditional gingerbread house, and are assembled with ready made biscuits such as Sponge Fingers, Hundreds and Thousands, Tina Wafers, and Milk Coffee, and then decorated with lollies. We found the recipe and inspiration here. 

They were lots of fun to make - I can see a whole village of these in our future!

Posted by Lisa and Sarah 

Candy Crafts

Sarah and I love to make things out of Candy to give as Christmas gifts - there are so many wonderful ideas around to present chocolates and lollies in creative ways. It is the one type of craft activity that kids are guaranteed to want to participate in!

Sarah's Guide leader gave all the girls a Santa and his sleigh for Christmas. It is made out of candy canes, a Santa chocolate, and small kit kat bars. It was a big hit with all the girls. 

Here are some of our favourite Candy projects:-

Candy Sticks (Image: Martha Stewart)

Candy Cane Marshmallows (Image: Martha Stewart)

Christmas Candy Carolers (Image: Martha Stewart)

I dropped into the Inglewood Artisans Market today for some Christmas shopping and managed to buy this gorgeous summery bag from Janelle! It is covered in pvc which makes it very practical as well as pretty! It was a wonderful Christmas present for myself:)

Posted by Lisa

A Lifesaver at Christmas Time.....

As Christmas is approaching, I made up some covered Lifesavers to give to my friends at school. I got the inspiration from the Candy Coins on the Martha Stewart site. 

I wrapped rolls of Lifesavers in white wrapping paper, and then wrapped some thin ribbon around the rolls and secured it with double sided tape. I finished it off with some clear cellophane, with the ends twisted, and then tied with pieces of ribbon. 

I only have 9 days of Primary school left - can't wait for the summer holidays!

Posted by Sarah

Monogrammed Gift Tags

Christmas is my favourite time of year and I really look forward to creating all the little finishing touches that add to the magic of the season. Simple is the theme for all my Christmas projects this year as I seem to be short on time.

To fit in with my theme of red and white wrapping, I have made up some monogrammed gift tags using basic white shipping labels, some polka dotted scrapping booking paper, some red and white cut outs, and silver letters. They were assembled in next to no time! 

I recently spent an enjoyable day with a special friend, teaching her to make a reversible tree skirt (something that has been on my Christmas list for years!).

Sarah and I were lucky enough to win a fantastic giveaway on Sheri Howard Designs recently. We won a copy of her book, Ruby Red Books, which features some wonderful applique designs. Sheri also included some fabrics that she used in her designs. Thanks again Sheri - it is a most inspiring book and will be a great addition to our quilting library. 

We also received a package of Christmas candy from Myriam - much appreciated!

Posted by Lisa