Handmade Holidays. . .Christmas Cards 2010

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My Christmas cards are done and were sent last week.  For the last 10 years or so I have made my own Christmas cards.  Usually I use scrapbook paper & rubber stamps, but this year I decided to do it all on my computer.  I used a program called GIMP.  I use Photoshop at work but don't have a licence to use it on my home computer.  My IT guy at work recommended GIMP.  I find it pretty easy to use, but that might be because I have some experience with Photoshop.  If you are looking for a free photo editing software, it's worth a try.

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Sources:

- The green chevron paper came from Tracy Ann Digital Art on Etsy

- The frame set came from Gingerworld on Etsy

- The fonts were all downloaded for free from dafont

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I printed out the cards side by side on 8-1/2" x 11" card stock paper and then cut out using a paper cutter.

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I also designed this envelope wrapper with a space on the front to write in the delivery address and my address already printed out on the back.

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I printed these out on 8-1/2" x 11" adhesive backed label.  The ones I used are made by Avery.  I've used these sheets for lots of other things too.  They are great because you can print out lots of different shapes and cut to size and then peel off the back sheet and stick.

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The front of the envelope looks like this with the envelope wrapper attached:

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The back looks like this:

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{Looks a little ridiculous with my address blurred out...}

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Anyone else loving the new Holiday forever stamps?  Seriously, I am going to stock up on these...

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So, to all the blog readers out there, I wish I could send each and every one of you a card to thank you for following along and for all your sweet comments.   
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Happy Holidays and a Joyful New Year to You!
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Merry Christmas!

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{ see my 2009 Christmas card right here }
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Handmade Holidays. . .Honey Vanilla Marshmallows

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Have you noticed that everyone is talking about and making homemade marshmallows this year?  Darby made them.  Joy the Baker made them.  Smitten Kitchen has made them.  They seem to be quite the trend and it is one trend I wasn't about to miss out on.

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{ The recipe I followed was mostly from Joy the Baker, with a little of Smitten Kitchen mixed in; click on the links above to see their original recipes }

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Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup cornstarch

- 1/2 cup powdered sugar

- 1 cup cold water

- (3) 1/4-ounce packages unflavored gelatin

- 1-1/2 cups sugar

- 1/4 cup honey

- 2/3 cup light corn syrup

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

- half of a vanilla bean; seeds scraped out

.In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and powdered sugar. Coat a 9×13 baking pan (metal or glass) with non-stick cooking spray.  Dust pan with small amount of powdered sugar and cornstarch mixture. Set both aside.

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Pour 1/2 cup cold water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Pour the gelatin packs over the water and let sit for about 10 minutes.

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In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar, honey, corn syrup, salt, and remaining cold water to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Attach a candy thermometer the the side of the pan and bring mixture up to 240 degrees F (labeled as "soft-ball" on thermometer). Don't stir - just watch the pan carefully to make sure mixture doesn't boil over!

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When the sugar is heated to 240 degrees, turn on the mixer with the gelatin and water on to low speed. Carefully pour the hot sugar mixture in to the mixer bowl. Be careful not to pour the mixture onto the whisk - you don't want the hot mixture to splatter. Gradually increase the speed of the mixer until you have added all of the hot sugar mixture. Beat on high for several minutes until a thick, fluffy, white marshmallow batter has formed (about 8 to 9 minutes).  I'm sure you could also use a hand mixer for this - you just will be holding the mixer for a while!

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Pour in the vanilla extract and vanilla bean and beat for another 2 minutes.

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Spread the marshmallow mixture into prepared pan. I tried using a spatula to smooth out the mixture but found that it was too sticky and made more of a mess.  I ended up just shaking the pan around a bit to level out the mixture. Top marshmallow with small amount (about 1/4 c.) corn starch and powdered sugar mixture and let set and rest, uncovered, for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

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After marshmallow has set, run a knife all along the edge of the pan to loosen marshmallow, and turn out on to a cutting board dusted with powdered sugar.

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Use a pizza cutter to cut the marshmallows.  Spray the pizza cutter with non-stick cooking spray so that it doesn't stick.

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As you cut, toss the marshmallows with remaining corn starch and powdered sugar mixture.  This helps the marshmallows not to stick.  Trust me, they will be sticky!

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I ended up with 90 or so 1" marshmallow cubes.  Marshmallows will keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

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I made this gift tag on my computer:

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I divided the marshmallows up among treat bags that I found at Michael's.

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Add ribbon and a tag and you're all set for gift giving!  Who wouldn't enjoy a few homemade marshmallows to top hot chocolate?

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For me, making things is definitely the best way to find the Joy in Christmas. 

I designed a free printable tag.  Click HERE to download and use for your own gifts.

Making Homemade Pasta and a Recipe

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You might remember me posting recently about the opportunity to review a product from CSN Stores.  If you aren't yet familiar with CSN Stores, and what they have available, they offer almost anything you can think of in their online stores.  Are you looking for new barstools to update your kitchen?  Check out their Home Bar Furniture.  Looking for cookware?  Check out their huge selection of cookware, which includes a great selection of Le Crueuset and All-Clad (two of my favorite brands).  Are you in the market for a pasta machine?  They have those too! 

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After much deliberation, I finally decided on this pasta machine.

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I did some research before deciding on this particular model.  It had great reviews (both on CSN and other sites), and it is made in Italy.  If you are going to buy a pasta machine, it might as well come from Italy, right?  The machine comes with an attachment to make both spaghetti and fettuccine, and also has optional attachments for other types of pasta.  I'd love to add a few more attachments in the future.

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The ingredients for fresh pasta are surprisingly simple.

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- 2-3/4 cup flour (I used my special Italian "00" flour)

- 3 eggs

- 1 teaspoon salt

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To make the dough, do not use a bowl.  Put the flour right on your counter or baking mat.  Make a well in the center of the flour.  Sprinkle salt on top.

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Slightly beat the eggs and add pour into the center of your flour well.

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I didn't get many pictures of the dough making process because when I poured my eggs in the flour they started leaking through and I had to be quick and make sure I got everything incorporated! 

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Work the eggs into the flour, at first with a fork, and then your hands.  Knead until dough is soft and pliable.

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Look at that pretty dough!

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Let dough rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

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Cut dough into 6 equal parts.

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Now it's time to use the pasta machine.  To use the machine it needs to be clamped to a table or edge of a counter.  My machine has 6 different settings on it.  You start by passing through a piece of dough on the widest setting a few times and then reduce the setting one by one until you reach the desired thickness of pasta.

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You will end up with dough that looks like this:

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Next, I attached the pasta cutting part of the machine.  I decided to make fettuccine.

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Just start turning the crank and out comes perfectly cut pasta!

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At this point, I was pretty much in awe of this little machine - I couldn't believe I was making pasta and it was actually turning out!

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This was so much easier than I thought it would be.

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I laid the pasta on a towel draped over one of my dining room chairs to dry.  It was a funny sight to see all this pasta drying on chairs around my kitchen!  They actually sell drying racks like this one at Sur La Table.  I can see myself needing one of those!

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Let pasta dry for 20 minutes.
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{ If not eating cooking immediately, keep strands flat on baking sheet lightly dusted with flour ; cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. }
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So the pasta is done, now on to the recipe.  Actually, it's not so much of a recipe as it is a list of ingredients.  I make this pasta quite a bit because I usually have all the ingredients on hand and I don't have exact measurements for everything - I just sort of throw everything together depending on what I have and how much I have of it.

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Ingredients:
- olive oil
- two or three cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 yellow pepper, diced
- kalamata olives, sliced
- 1 can of artichoke hearts, chopped
- tomato sauce*
- freshly grated Parmesan
- -fresh basil for garnish
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*Tomato Sauce - I used a jar of my homemade, canned tomato sauce, but a jar of store bought sauce will also work.
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Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and garlic and to a pan.  Cook for a few minutes or until the garlic starts to turn a golden color.
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Add red and yellow pepper and cook until peppers are soft.
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Add tomato sauce, olives, and artichoke hearts.  Cook until everything is heated through.
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{It appears that I stopped taking pictures of the sauce at this point; I must have been really hungry!}
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In the meantime, boil your pasta.  Isn't the fresh pasta beautiful?
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Here's what the pasta looked like when it was finished:
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Drain pasta and return to pot.  Add sauce to pasta and mix together.
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Top with Parmesan and fresh basil.
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If you are looking for more detailed information about making homemade pasta, Martha Stewart's Cooking School book has great, step by step photos.
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The fresh pasta was delicious (and easy!) and I know I'll be making a lot of it in the future.
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Buon Appetito!

I'm linking to:
Remodelaholic

Fancy Prints Winner....

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Comment #100 was the lucky number.

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Congratulations to Emily of Frilly Details!

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A big thanks to Fancy Prints for hosting this giveaway.  If you weren't the winner, visit Fancy Prints on Etsy to purchase your very own print.

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Thanks to all who took the time to enter!

P.S. - Does anyone know of a simple to follow tutorial to number your comments?  I tried once before but I couldn't figure it out.  I always get nervous when I do giveaways and have to count the number of comments - I end up counting several times!

Handmade Holidays. . .Easy Centerpiece Idea

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Click HERE for the new and improved version of these centerpieces.  The new post includes new ideas and much better photos!

Last week my friend Sandy and I went to a holiday shop-hop in Grand Rapids.  A floral shop had really beautiful centerpieces on display.  My Mom had a party last weekend and I decided to recreate what I saw for her.  I don't know why I am calling these centerpieces - I guess I don't know what else to call them - but they would look great anywhere, not just in the center of a table.

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Supplies:

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- Tall glass containers.  The two large containers I used here are actually apothecary jars (without the lids) that I usually have on my mantle. 

- fresh berries.  We used rose hips but I think any fresh berry would work just fine.

- floating candles

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These are so easy to put together - just trim the branches and place in your container, add water, and add floating candles.

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The water sort of magnifies the berries and intensifies the red color.  Think of all the other things you could put in the jars.  I think pine branches would look really pretty.

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We also added fresh cranberries around a candle.

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These were a hit at my Mom's party - everyone commented on them and loved how they looked.

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I am off to Chicago to spend the weekend with my sister (if the road's aren't too bad.  I am writing the post on Wednesday night and right now they are predicting quite a few inches of snow for Friday.  Fingers crossed because my sister and I have a really fun weekend planned!).

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