DAY 11: peace and joy

wishing you peace and joy the whole year through!

to download a poster version, click the image above and drag it to your desktop.

DAY 9: dough ornaments

i've been ornaments every year for a long time now... maybe 15 years. i'd pick one style each year and pass them out when i was done. one of my aunts even has a "sam tree" full of ornaments i made. this year i decided to make dough ornaments.

and i planned to stamp the dough before baking with this custom stamp i had made. i uploaded my design to simon's stamps and they did an awesome job. great quality and fast service. i would definitely use them again.

but i made my design a little too intricate for using with the dough. and the design just didn't come out as clear in the dough as i wanted it to so i changed my plan a bit. i ended up using the stamp i ordered for some other paper projects, but for the dough i used some simple stamps. after stamping i used a snowflake and heart cookie cutters to cut them out. and i used a straw to punch the whole for the hanger.

i baked them following the recipe instructions....except they did take longer to cure than the recipe states. now, i was a little skeptical on how hard the dough would be considering how few ingredients were involved, but they're pretty tough. and they are pure white when they are done baking.

next, i decided to use glass paint because i wanted a translucent look as if they were a glazed ceramic piece. it has to bake at a higher temperature so the actual dough got a little yellowed from baking, but they kind of have an antiqued look because of that. here they are all finished and hanging on the tree.

DAY 7: repurposing

i'm lucky enough to have one of my favorite books from my childhood....but as you can see it was well loved.

but there was no way i was getting rid of it. i love the memories associated with it as well as the vintage illustration style....from the big illustrated letters to the colors used throughout. recently i saw someone cover a canvas in a sort of collage of old book pages, but i didn't really want that look and i didn't want the illustrations to be covered up. i decided to matt and frame my favorite pages and use them as holiday decorations. 

i love that they're up on display now and i don't have to pick up the book that was falling apart to look at them. the hardest part was deciding between the front and back of a couple of pages. 

DAY 5: carmel...perfect for sharing

the great part of the holidays is making someone else smile...and if you share these tasty carmels you'll be sure to do just that!

you can find the recipe here.

DAY 2: the ONLY gingerbread cookies

i'm usually not a huge fan of gingerbread. it's just ok. but this recipe from disney world is AMAZING! not using molasses makes all the difference! this recipe uses star anise instead. well played disney! it's become a new favorite at the holidays with my family. you can roll the dough out and use cookie cutters, but we like to use this wilton pan because you get thicker, soft cookies. then we just use a light glaze made of powdered sugar and milk for the icing. it dries a little white for a nice frosty look.

oh...and if you haven't made it to disney world around the holidays you have to check out their giant gingerbread house!

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Gingerbread Cookies

Makes 36 cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter

2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

2 eggs

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 2/3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground star anise

1 teaspoon ground fennel

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon ground mace

Ingredients for decorations optional

1/4 cup milk

1 cup colored sugar granules

Directions

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth using an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix until combined.

2. Sift all the remaining dry ingredients in a separate large mixing bowl and mix well. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until a dough forms

3. Remove dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap; place in refrigerator until firm, two to four hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease cookie sheets.

5. Remove dough from refrigerator and allow dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, until pliable. Divide dough in half and place on floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until about 1/8 inch thick. While rolling, flour the work surface and rolling pin as needed.

6. Cut out desired cookie shapes with cookie cutters. Transfer cookies to a greased cookie sheet, placing them 1 inch apart.

7. Lightly brush cookies with milk and sprinkle with sugar granules as desired.

8. Bake until firm and edges begin to darken, 10-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the cookie sheet for a minute, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

DAY 1: vintage holiday shirt

instructions for a frosty, vintagey shirt...

for a good vintage base, i went to old navy and picked up a shirt in a faded red color. 

next, i drew a snowflake and printed it out on regular tshirt transfer paper.

after cutting the snowflake out, i ironed it on according to the instructions that came with the paper. i also used a snowflake paper punch to make some little snowflakes and ironed them on the sleeve. since there wasn't any actual ink on the part that i transferred it just left kind of a frosty looking snowflake shape. 

i let the shirt cool and then used some fine grit sandpaper to sand the flake shape. i stayed on the flake as much as possible to avoid sanding the shirt. it also created a little dust so if you stay on the flake and wipe the dust carefully away it won't get on the shirt and cause a white area around the flake.

you could stop there if it looks the way you want it to, but i wanted a little holiday shimmer so i found some tshirt paint i already had and mixed a white glitter, white matte and white iridescent together in a 3:1:1 ratio. 

i painted a light coat with a brush staying on the snowflake shape and let it dry. then i sanded it again. 

next, i used the brush and a small amount of the matte white by itself and painted the edges while blending it in. it really doesn't take much paint at all. then i let it dry and sanded it again. 

last, i went over the flake with the brush using a little more glitter paint and let it dry. all done! :0)

a long time coming...

wow! has it been awhile since i posted! but i've been busy exploring fort collins! and i just finished my web programming classes! i'm certified! yay! so more regular posting starting now! at 79 parasols we're getting ready for the holidays and wanted to share our fun with you, so the countdown begins! stay tuned for more!

sunflower fields

today i stopped at a sunflower field on my way to work....

fun bracelets

sometimes it's good to get out from behind the computer and create something. i'm glad i took the time to make these colorful bracelets! i found this tutorial and made a trip to get some great fabrics. it's really a lot easier with four hands so i talked a friend into helping me. good times and fun results!

lyrics project

a little while ago i asked my friends about their favorite music lyrics and got some really great variety in their responses. i decided to make art for each one of them. i didn't really give myself any parameters. I thought about doing them all in the same style, but all the lyrics are so different i thought they deserved individual treatment. i've just started creating these so there will be more to come. here are the first 2 in the series...

Young the Giant - Cough Syrup

designed on the computer and printed on textured paper

Mumford & Sons - Awake My Soul

transfer letters with watercolor