25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 22...Snickerdoodles!

Hi friends

I love Christmas baking and this year I've discovered a favourite USA Christmas cookie - the Snickerdoodle!!

These are a yummy sugar cookie that are rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking - they're kind of like the cinnamon donut of the cookie world :)

Now I won't even pretend to be the Snickerdoodle expert, so HERE is the recipe that I used. It's from Betty Crocker so it was bound to be yummy! And for my Australian friends...I know we don't have the same shortening products here than they have in the States - just use more butter instead of shortening.

This recipe makes a delicious biscuit......

Perfect with a cup of tea.....

And the recipe makes a PILE of cookies!!!

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 21....Relaxing Saturday Afternoon :)

Saturday.........

Christmas tree is still alive despite 40C heat......

Christmas shopping is done.....

Gifts are wrapped and under the tree.......

Baking is progressing nicely.......

Hmmmm....love Saturday afternoons.......

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 20....ooops

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we were unable to post yesterday.
here's a pretty picture to look at.....

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 19...Bo Bunny Silver & Gold Card

Another card today - this time using Bo Bunny's Silver & Gold....

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 18...Gift Wrapping

Hello friends!

Is it just me or has Christmas-time snuck up on us this year? I can't believe we're only a week away from Christmas
{quietly screams in utter panic}  :)

So today I went through my secret Christmas Cupboard today (the back of my wardrobe, just before it melts into the world of Narnia) and thought I'd better get some wrapping done. I think I might have a bit of fun with this, having discovered a most lovely blog - The Turquoise Home and in particular a great post on gift wrapping that has lovely ideas like this.....

You can find 15 great wrapping ideas (plus all sorts of other loveliness) right HERE

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 17...Christmas Treat Baking

Aunty Vera's kitchen has been busy busy today with lots of Christmas treat baking.

Here's what came out of my kitchen today......

Coconut ice (not a traditional Christmas treat, I know, but my son has just discovered it and was SO happy to find a stash of it by the hot chocolate bar)....

Christmas cookies.....

Christmas cupcakes....

Perfect with a cup of tea. But around here, you have to be quick before they're all gone!

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 16...Treat Boxes

Here's a fun little project that you can make in just minutes to bring a bit of fun to your Christmas table...

Aren't these little treat boxes so cute? I have to say I've totally plagiarised them from A Spoonful of Sugar (I SO love their blog!!).

I cut the boxes from some traditional coloured Christmas scrapbooking paper (from MiJeMoo - but sorry, that design is no longer in print) and used little Christmas stickers to embellish them....

You can find instructions and the template right HERE. 

I think I may put one on each plate this Christmas Eve.....

With a little treat inside each one.....

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Days 14 & 15...Happy Weekend!

Hi friends! Are you having a nice relaxing weekend?
I've been running around busy busy but still managed to find some time to do some cyber-surfing and found some lovely Christmas craft ideas.

The Bo Bunny blog has a lovely post today on decorating their Silver & Gold mini album ahead of Christmas. Great for the scrappers who plan their day around what their papers (you know who you are...lol)....

Have you been following the Graphic 45 blog? They have just finished a 12 day series of ideas and tutorials using their oh so gorgeous 12 Days of Christmas collection. Here you'll find amazing projects like these vintage Christmas houses...

Ok...time for one more..... how about this lovely Christmas Shadow Box on the Fancy Pants Designs blog? isn't it pretty? Using the Merry Little Christmas collection for a special Christmas memories project.....

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! And see you all tomorrow.

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 13...Christmas Paper Lanterns

It's been a while since we made paper lanterns here in Aunty Vera Land and Christmas time is the perfect time for making these lovely decorations. And the best bit - they're quick and easy! You can even get the kids involved.

For my lantern today I used a the What a Guy page from Bo Bunny's Silver & Gold collection...

A strip of red and gold paper for the top and bottom edges, a ribbon handle and you're ready to embellish and decorate.

Or you can pop a set of mini Christmas lights inside the lantern for a magical look....

Happy Friday! Hope you all have a crafty weekend.

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 12...Cookies!!

One of my favourite things about the lead up to Christmas is baking Christmas treats!
From now till Christmas, there's something cooking in my kitchen just about every day - treats for the family, gifts for friends and neighbours, old favourites and new recipes that look so good I just have to try them out!

Here's one of my old favourites - Night Before Christmas Cookies. I make up a batch and only bake half of them The others I freeze in an airtight container so I can just pop them in the oven to bake at a later date.

Here's the recipe...

Soak 3/4 cups of raisins in orange juice (or make them grown-up and use Cointreau) and let stand several hours or overnight.

Beat 1/2 cup of soft butter with 3/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in 1 large egg and 2 tspns grated orange peel.

Sift together 1 cup of plain (all-purpose) flour and 1 tspn baking powder and stir into butter mixture.

Add the raisins and any soaking liquid plus 1 and 1/2 cups rolled oats and mix really well.

Drop teaspoon fulls of dough onto lined baking trays and bake at 180C (350F) for 10 to 12 minutes.

Let cool on tray.

When completely cool, dip ends into melted white chocolate.......

....and enjoy! 

But don't forget to leave some for Santa!!

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 11...Webster's Pages Inspiration

Can I cheat today? Sure I can! Especially if cheating means sending you to a great blog with some lovely (and quick 'n easy) Christmas crafting!

The clever crafters at Webster's Pages are currently running a week of Christmas craft tutorials.
Look what's happening today.....

Aren't they just gorgeous!? For instructions and more Christmas inspirations, hop over to the Webster's Pages blog right HERE.

Have fun! But please remember to come back tomorrow :)

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 10...Christmas Frame

So many Christmas papercraft collections! So many pretty papers!! One of my favourite collections this year is Bo Bunny's Silver & Gold 

And one of my favourite papers in this collection is Silver & Gold & Gift Shoppes

I cut a piece of this paper and popped it into a shabby painted frame to make this pretty Christmas picture frame....

...I added one of the Silver & Gold Trinkets for a bit of bling....

Fits right in to my little Hot Chocolate Bar!

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 9...Cookie Cutter Ornaments

Cookie cutter ornaments are so popular in the crafting world this Christmas. Well, that's sure to get me excited 'cause when I'm not playing in my craft room then more likely than not I'm in the kitchen baking. So crafting with cookie cutters? Perfect!

Here's my take on a Christmas tree cutter ornament...

Materials used:

Wilton cookie cutter

Fancy Pants Merry Little Christmas - Carolling paper

Authentique Festive tag sticker

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Paper flower

Ribbon

Happy crafting!

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Days 7 & 8...Hot Chocolate Bar

Life has a way of getting so busy at this time of year, and as a result quite stressful too. But preparing for Christmas should be fun, not stressful, so in that spirit we have Days 7 and 8 rolled together today with.....a Hot Chocolate Bar! This is a little tradition that my family started last year and it's so much fun! Simply arrange together all the makings of a yummy hot chocolate somewhere in your home that's convenient for hot choccie making - I have a great big kitchen so I can afford to use a kitchen benchtop - and you're ready for hot chocolate at any time of the day (or night!)....

I love my little baker from Christmas in Hollywood. Isn't he adorable? He looks after the ingredients :)

So when life gets too busy and you're juggling what seems to be a million things and feeling the stress, take a little time out and enjoy a hot chocolate....

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 6...More Christmas Cards

I've been super busy making lots and lots of Christmas cards. This afternoon was Production Line Quick & Simple cards using Echo Park Reflections Christmas papers.....

Don't you just love the bingo card design from the Christmas Games paper? And I just adore the reindeer design on the Border Strips page....

A little bit of bling adds a special touch to even the simplest cards.

Here is one of the gorgeous Bo Bunny Silver & Gold trinkets.....

Sticky Bling Runners make laying out lines of gems so easy........

Embellishments don't have to come from Christmas collections - here is a lovely rose from the Prima 'Engraver' collection....

Aunty Vera :)

25 Days of Christmas 2013 - Day 5...Mini Puddings Recipe

I think these may have made last year's countdown list, but I have to share them again as they are such a popular treat in our home! They are super easy to make.....we actually discovered this recipe years ago when the boys were little as a great Christmas treat that they could make themselves, and the tradition has stuck. We go through quite a few batches every year....starting with the one made in early December....to kind of make sure they still taste good (sounds like an excuse doesn't it!)

So, here they are - Mini Puddings.....

The recipe is so simple it lends itself nicely to a 'Recipe in Pictures'....

You simply crumble up 400 grams of dark fruit cake (that's about 1/2 of a store bought cake)...

Melt 100 grams of dark chocolate with 60 grams of butter (and none of this bowl over simmering water nonsense.....the butter adds a high enough fat content that your chocolate will not burn as long as you melt it over a very low heat & stir constantly).....

Pour the melted chocolate mixture into the cake crumbs and mix thoroughly. Then form into little balls (I like to put on disposable gloves for this bit to keep messy hands to a minimum)....

Refrigerate until set and then decorate as desired. I've used white chocolate and then sprinkled crushed candy canes, sprinkles and Wilton Sugar Gems. And don't they look just lovely sitting in Wilton Christmas mini baking cups...

These make lovely home-made Christmas gifts....if they last long enough!!

Aunty Vera :)