Buche de Noel

Friday, December 22, 2017 No comments
 I made this cake last year for Christmas.  Instead of retyping the recipe, In case a yule log is on your Christmas list,  I got the original recipe here.  There are a lot of steps, but it really turned out to be easy to follow.  The only changes I made...
I trimmed off both ends so you could see the 'log' and then I put one side at an angle to make it look more like a log with some character.  I ran my knife over the buttercream to make it the typical wood texture, and I ended up with a lot of left over frosting, so next time I'd be more generous with my icing inside.  The icing turns out to be more like a mousse, which is delicious!  I also made some holly leaves and berries out of fondant and I bought a little sugar Santa from a nearby cake store.
Sunday, December 17, 2017 No comments
I'm slowly, kind of sort of, getting my life back together after chaos hit these last few months.  This December I've been doing something called December Daily. Eventually, I'll go into full detail, but for the sake of time right now, I've been videoing the pages.  Here is one of several videos.  
I love it b/c it's a smaller album, and it goes well with my photo a day project (housed on Instagram).  I'm of for two weeks, so my goal is to finish up some projects around the house I started 4 months ago and start updating my blog again.  

Christmas Golden Book Album

Friday, December 15, 2017 No comments
I made this golden book album for a friend of mine.  I did a full video on youtube walking through the whole thing.  You can find it here.  
 I borrowed the photos of her boys sitting with Santa for the last 16 years and made pages with tags she can write on embedded in an book I cut off the binding and rebound after decorating.
 She loves vintage things too, so I think this should be a hit!

December Daily

Wednesday, December 06, 2017 No comments
This year I'm doing something called December Daily  The idea is that you do a page for each day of the month, which goes well with my photo a day.  
I'm going to do some videos on youtube b/c ther are so many 'pulls' and 'flips.' Here are a few phots of the first few pages.  The first day was all about my Christmas cards. 
I made a list of who all I sent cards to this year and I'm going to write who all I get them from on the back so that I can make my list for next year.
Day 2 and 3 involvd a short trip to San Antoni.  I'm not sure I'm done yet, but you ge the idea....and I have the next few weeks to add when the mood strikes.
The 6x8 size and little sleeves a lot f these albums house is throwming me of b/c it really does make it easier...so I keep thinking I need something more.  So far I'm loving it, and if I continue to love it I have enough supplies to scrapbook the next 50 Christmas seasons, so.....there is that.

(Vegan) Sweet Potatoes

Sometimes I like a little sweet potatoes with my marshmallows, so....I wasn't sure what I'd think about this recipe with a pecan topping instead, but I ended up really loving it.  It still had the fun sweet flavor with a little extra kick, and I was able to share left overs with the vegans that attend holiday dinners at my house, so anytime I can share calories is a good thing.
Vegan, or not, this is a keeper!  I just made a few adjustments to the original recipe from meaningfuleats.com
Sweet Potato with Pecan Topping
Ingredients for Filling:  3- 4 large sweet potatoes (enough for 3 c. once mashed), 2/3 c. soy milk, 1/3 c. maple syrup, 1/4 c. melted vegan 'butter' or coconut oil, 1 t. vanilla, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 c. apple sauce (I used unsweetend)
Ingredients for Topping:  1 1/4 c. chopped pecans, 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. brown suar, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. vanilla, 1/4 c. vegan 'butter' or coconut oil (solid form)
Instructions:  
1.  Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into 2 inch chunks.  Place in pan and cover with cold wate.r  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer until they are fork tender (about 20 minutes). 
2.  Heat the oven to 350 and oil a 9x13 casserole pan.
3.  Combine the pecans, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla, and cut in vegan butter with fork until the mix has pea size chunks. 
4.  Drain potatoes and mash until smooth.  Use 3 c. and ad soy milk, maple syrup, vegan butter, vanila, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple sauce, and salt.  Whip to combine.
5. Place in pan and top with pecan mix.  BAke for 25-30 minutes until top is brown and bubbling.

Fabric Garland

Monday, December 04, 2017 No comments
 Last year I made a series of garlands for Good Morning, Texas, but I didn't have enough time to post them all before Christmas.  This was one I put together using some old scraps I cut up into 1 inch by 8 inch pieces and a strand of lights from the dollar store.
I just tied one knot in each piece of fabric along the strand of lights until it was filled up.  I actually used it for Valentine's as well.  Not too shabby for a buck!

Thanksgiving Bible Journal

Friday, December 01, 2017 No comments
I recently saw a tutorial using a napkin on bible pages.  I decided this Thanksgiving to use the napkins from our family dinner.  I cut out the portion of the picture I wanted to use...
     And then I peel off the back of the napkin so it was only one layer.  Sometimes napkins are three ply, so...just something to watch for with napkins.  I then used Gesso and spread it on the page and pressed the napkin down while it was wet and smoothed it out.  I took a paint brush and pressed it down some more.    If you try to apply it to the napkin it may tear the napkin, so this was an easier approach.  The nice thing is that if the napkin is a light enough color you can still see the words below the page.
     This time I journaled about a recent verse my pastor covered from 1 Peter 1:25.  The gist of the sermon was about the everlasting power for the gospel and the history of the bible and all the ways man has tried to destroy it, yet the words remain.  I started reflecting on the fact that a few hundred years ago I had ancestors that cross the ocean to America with these bibles.  Based on the timing of their voyage and what was going on in the countries they left it's highly likely they left for religious reasons.  I don't know all their names, or their stories, but they read these exact words once upon a journey and because of those decisions I sat down for Thanksgiving with my family....and my faith and the mystery and wonder of how God works and how He ties us all together with a bible that points to His son.  It's an overwhelming and comforting truth I can never truly understand or express on this side of heaven.