Matching Gift Tags

Gift tags made to match gift wrap are so cute, aren't they? (And pricey, IMHO!)

 But it you are like me, and most of your gift wrap is clearance stuff you put away last year, you probably don't have matching tags. Here is an easy solution!

You always have to trim off some of the 'wrinkled, ripped end' (after all, the paper's been sitting up in the attic for almost a year) to make the package look nice. What you do is to cut around the motifs on that 'throwaway' piece.

You aren't using the paper itself for the tags! It would be too flimsy. Instead, place them on the scanner bed of your printer. I'd cut as close to the motif as possible (unless the background is white) so you aren't wasting ink on something you're going to cut off later. I know you could cut around exactly, but who wants to do that fussy cutting twice? 

Load your printer with white cardstock and make copies! Then cut out, punch a whole, and string with ribbon. Done! Or really go to town and add some glitter! (How much would you pay for those?)

Oh, sorry there are no pictures. Obviously, gift wrap is copyrighted material. While I doubt anyone from Hallmark is looking at my blog, I don't want them to get mad that I didn't spend a few dollars on two cents worth of paper tags.

Another Cookie Recipe

 (This is also a reprint from my old blog. I thought about it 'cause I made up the dough today.)


SPRITZ COOKIES AND A HINT:

1 C butter, softened
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 Cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Colored sugar for decorating

In a bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture.
Fill cookie press and press dough 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Decorate, then bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown.
Cool on a wire rack, then enjoy or freeze for later.

Now, my hint: get some zipper type bags and measure out your flour, baking powder and salt. Label the bag! Do this for any cookies you plan to make, and you will have all your messy dry mixes ('cause you know flour makes a mess) ready when you want to bake. You can use quart-size bags to measure out your sugars, too, and put this right down into the flour bag. Another mess taken care of ahead of time!

And another hint: use your weekly 40% off coupon for Michael's or A.C. Moore or Joanne's and get yourself a good cookie press if you don't have one. Wilton makes a nice one. Trust me on this, you want a decent toy to play with, not some piece of junk that is hard to 'press' and will only frustrate you. Consider it an investment! Oh, and something else: I had a battery operated cookie press and hated it. You had to squeeze it really hard, so what was the point of the batteries? Go for the old-fashioned, non-electronic, squeezey handle one!

A Favorite Cookie Recipe

 Truly one of the most delicious and easy cookies, ever! I have also heard them called Butternut Balls and Mexican Wedding Cakes.


MELTAWAYS

Butter Nut Cookies

1 Cup of butter(please don't use margarine--ick!)
1/4 Cup of sugar
2 Cups of flour
1 Tablespoon (yes, that's a Tablespoon) vanilla
1 1/2 Cups of chopped nuts--I like walnuts, but pecans would do if you can swing them
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. (Yes, that's 300, not 350.) Cream the butter. Add everything else except the powdered sugar. Roll into balls about the size of a walnut. Put on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 35 minutes.
Let them cool until you can handle them (they'll still be a little warm) and then roll them in the powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

PS--if you ever read my old blog, "Sorta Frugal," this is a copy and paste from that. But yummy is worth repeating!

A new sweater for Shadow

 

Shadow's new sweater is based on a pattern from the December issue of Crochet Today magazine. It is made up of little granny squares. I used a lot of 'leftover' yarn for it, which was a great way to get rid of those last little pieces. It is nice and 'cozy,' which is perfect for a small, short-haired dog who gets very, very cold!

Simple Xmas Decorating Idea

 

These poinsettias are made from red felt. I downloaded a free printable from online and cut two patterns from it. You could even do it freehand. Just make one layer with 6 petals (they are kind of flame-shaped), then make a second layer a bit smaller with 6 petals. You could get ambitious and add a few green leaves, but that might be too thick to fit behind the knob.

Cut a small slit in the middle of each piece, remove the knobs on a cabinet, then attach the flower behind the knob.

Red looks great on a white background, but you could think about snowflakes for a dark cabinet! You could even make those out of cardstock, since there's a lot more cutting involved.

This is the first of my Christmas decorations to go out. I have too coordinate with my boys to get all the boxes down out of the attic, which I plan to do ASAP! Good thing Thanksgiving fell early this year (hope you all had a Happy One!) because it gives us more time for Christmas decorating!

Progress

I've got a few more rows done on the snowflake blanket. It's doubtful I'll have it done for Christmas, but I am going to show it to Katherine on Christmas Eve and finish it ASAP. I just have too many other things to do.

Today I made Jamaican Beef Patties to put in the freezer for a Christmas Eve Appetizer. The recipe is in the October 1st-ish issue of Family Circle. Not sure of the date but there are Jack O Lanterns on the cover. They taste pretty good. 

I've already started my Christmas cookies, which are also in the freezer. There are just too many kinds I want to make to wait!

Meet Mr. Giraffe!

Here is the giraffe I designed and made for my nephew. He came out pretty good, I think! Nice and goofy, perfect for a 7-year-old! I'm going to give it to him on Thanksgiving so it doesn't get 'mixed in' with the 8,000 Christmas gifts he'll probably get. I think he'll like it!