2 Christmas Baking ~ Ginger Balls

Happy Holidays! I have been checking things off of my Christmas to do list. Have you? At the top of my list ~ Christmas Baking. I like to have a bunch of home made goodies frozen and ready to go for whenever we might have guests.

These Ginger Balls get gobbled up in no time ~ esp. by the teenagers!

The goods:

1/3c melted shortening
1/3c sugar
1c light molasses {or 1/2c molasses and 1/2c corn syrup}
1 beaten egg
1t soda {dissolved in 2t boiling water}
1/2t salt
3c flour
1t cinnamon
1/2t cloves
1/2t ginger

Mix shortening and sugar then add molasses. Add egg and soda. Combine dry ingredients. {I will often double this recipe}.

Roll the dough into balls the size of walnuts.

Roll into sugar.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Thank you all for stopping by!

I hope that all of my American readers had a fabulous holiday weekend! Gobble, gobble!

11 No Sew ~ Bow Tie Tutorial

My boys turned three in October. And so far, three is a blast! Don't get me wrong, we still have daily time outs and sometimes I feel like pulling out my hair. BUT having a three year old serenade you "twinkle, twinkle, little star" and being propositioned by blankie and puppy for a snuggle is totally worth it! Before now my perpetual motion maker, Isaiah, has not modelled, all by himself, for my blog. What age {and a little jelly bean bribery} won't do.

These cute little bow ties are all over blog land.

Here's my take:

So I started with a 10" x 4" piece of fabric {cut from a too small shirt} and 1 1/2" x 10" piece of cotton batting.

Glue the fabric together along the 10" seam.

Ta da! I used hot glue for this entire project.
Therefore these are hand wash only ties.

Glue one end into the centre.

Then glue the other end into the centre.

I measured the boys' heads and cut my elastic long enough to stretch around their necks. About 20". I glued the ends to the centre of the tie as well. You could use Velcro.

Now cut a 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" piece of fabric.

Glue one seam together then glue one end to the back of the tie.

Wrap the small piece around the tie and glue to the back again.

Cute eh?

These are sure to be a hit during the Holidays! Great for an instant 'dressed up' look. I make two of everthing ~ four bow ties took only one hour to make!

Thanks for visiting. I love having you stop by!

Linking to these fab parties!

1 Feature Friday ~ Caramel Apple Scones

Guys, seriously, I love to bake. But Jocelyn? Over at Inside BruCrew Life? Now that's a girl with some mad skills!

You've just got to stop by and check out these Caramel Apple Scones that she linked to my inspiring creativity Linky Party. Go! Go now!

But be sure to come back! I would miss you if you were gone too long! lol

Have a great weekend.

0 Inspiring Creativity {22}

Welcome to Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs! I just got back from a mommy trip and am still perusing all of the fab projects that were linked up last week! Thank you all for sharing. What have you been up to?

The guidelines:

1. All projects, parties and inspiration welcome.

2. Please no links to Etsy or online shops.

3. Link to your specific post.

4. Please grab my button so that others can get in on the action!

<center><a href="http://twindragonflydesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Dragonfly Designs" src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt81/heatherpainchaud/button.jpg" /></a></center>

5. We all love comments, please try to comment on at least two other posts.

I can't wait to see your projects! Here we go...

0 Test Kitch ~ Chicken Mushroom Alfredo

Hi Y'all! I threw together this dish for dinner last night... SO Yummy!

I sauted mushrooms and onions in margarine {with a splash of oyster sauce}. Then I added cooked, diced chicken and a jar of alfredo sauce.

Thrown together with pasta... Yummers!

Thanks for stopping by! It's been a while :)

0 Special Event ~ Mommy's Road Trip

Ahhhhhh. That's the sound of a mommy {while not well rested} rejuvenated.

I hit the road last weekend. Just me. No one else. No diaper bag. No portable DVD player. Just the sound of..... quiet {and some really old music tracks - forgot to update the cds}. This is a pic of the snow in "them thar hills".

A quick four hour drive took me to my SILs place in Vancouver. Picture shopping, staying up all night talking and high fiving over fab finds. Driving home through a bit of a blizzard was totally worth it!

Travelling companions. My first mommy trip with 3 nights {and mornings} of peace and quiet in 3 YEARS. Priceless.


Ahhhhhh.

0 Inspiring Creativity Wednesdays {21}

Welcome to Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs! What have you been up to this week?

The guidelines:

1. All projects, parties and inspiration welcome.

2. Please no links to Etsy or online shops.

3. Link to your specific post.

4. Please grab my button so that others can get in on the action!

<center><a href="http://twindragonflydesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Dragonfly Designs" src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt81/heatherpainchaud/button.jpg" /></a></center>

5. We all love comments, please try to comment on at least two other posts.

I can't wait to see your projects! Here we go...

3 Button Bracelets

Did you know that I have an Etsy Shop?!?!? No? Well I do! And I would LOVE to have you come visit Twin Dragonfly Designs on Etsy. Here's a peek at what you might find...

A bright array of spilled buttons is truly a jar full of Button Bracelets!

Peachy ~ child sized

Vert Flower ~ child sized

Purple Umbrella ~ adult

Sea Breeze ~ adult

Tealeo ~ all mine!

I have more. Truly. Made just for boys! My boys loved them so much that they are now forever in the keepsake spot. Wherever that may be.

Check out A Dusty Frame for my inspiration.

Thank you for reading my blog. I love having you visit!

2 Test Kitch ~ White Chocolate Cashew Apples

Oh my gosh! Can you believe that I almost forgot to post these goodies?!?!?!?

These were a last minute treat to bring to the boys preschool Halloween party. Whew. Literally the night before. From leftovers in the cupboard.

I used my melon baller to get perfect little apple balls.

Then I stabbed them with a candy stick.

And dipped them in white chocolate and crushed cashews.

Yummers!




Thanks for peaking in. Have a wonderful day!

0 Test Kitch ~ Leftover Peanut Butter Cookies

I whipped up a quick batch of Peanut Butter cookies for the boys the other day. The leftovers? M&M Halloween Candy!

The recipe was straight from the back of a box of Imperial Margarine. No family secret here.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous day!

0 Inspiring Creativity Wednesdays {20}

Wow! Can you believe it's been 20 weeks of fabulously creative ideas?!?! Thank you all so much for linking up! I can't wait to see what you've been up to this week...

The guidelines:

1. All projects, parties and inspiration welcome.

2. Please no links to Etsy or online shops.

3. Link to your specific post.

4. Please grab my button so that others can get in on the action!

<center><a href="http://twindragonflydesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Dragonfly Designs" src="http://i600.photobucket.com/albums/tt81/heatherpainchaud/button.jpg" /></a></center>

5. We all love comments, please try to comment on at least two other posts.

I can't wait to see your projects! Here we go...

0 Test Kitch ~ Dried Apples and Fruit Leather

We've been playing with a hand-me-down Food Dehydrator. So far... love it!

The boys are a little weirded out by the texture of these dried apples...

I pureed apple sauce, blueberries, banana and strawberries for home-made fruit leather.

Well it looked cool!

And was a hit with the boys. Yay!

Here are the wrinkly apples.

These are my fav. So Good!




Thanks for visiting! Have a great day!