Christmas Greetings

Here it is, Christmas Eve.  I am excited, because I don’t have to work today.  Since quitting my retail job back in June, I have really enjoyed having Saturdays, holidays, and special days off.  I keep so busy with projects and family that I wonder how I had time to do anything when I worked.  Anyway, I want to send to all of you a very Merry Christmas from all of us here at Fabulously Frazzled.  We will be taking a few days off to spend time with family, but will start back again after the first of the year.  After all, we have lots of ideas to share with you, and look forward to a fun filled New Year.  

Stay at Home Grandma

After working at a local bookstore for several years, I decided a few months ago to quit work to become a ‘stay-at-home’ grandma.  I feel very fortunate that I was able to make that choice.  One of the many things I had wanted to do with the grandkids was to make holiday treats.  I guess there is a bit of my mom in me that way.  At Halloween, I had two of the kids come over and we made treats.  Using pretzels, candy melts and a few other things, we made “pumpkins” and “bones.”  I wish I would have taken pictures. I found the ideas on Pinterest.  Anyway, the kids had fun and were good helpers.  We even made ‘mummy dogs’ with hot dogs and crescent roll dough for dinner.  Yummy!

At Thanksgiving, other grandkids were here, so we decided to make turkeys out of sandwich cookies, malt balls, peanut butter cups and frosting.  I had seen these on Pinterest (of course!), and one of my daughters was given some by a friend.  So, the day before Thanksgiving, 5 kids helped me to make the turkeys, making enough to put one at each person’s plate for Thanksgiving dinner.  We had quite an assembly line, ‘glueing’ the pieces together, then refrigerating them overnight.  In the morning, we added finishing touches (beaks and eyes).  When it was time to set the table for our feast, there was a cute cookie turkey at each place.  Not everyone ate theirs, as the frosting had made the cookies a bit soggy, but it was worth the time and supplies to have that time with some of the grandkids.

I saw a cute gingerbread type Nativity stable made from graham crackers, frosting, marshmellows and candy on Pinterest.  I think next week I will recruit some grandkids to come make them with me.  Then, maybe snowman cookies in January, hearts in Feb, shamrocks in March…..

~Gayle

Reindeer & Sleigh

I love Christmas!  I love to decorate for Christmas.  The best part about Christmas decorating is making the decorations.  A few years ago my mom came across a blog called Craft Goodies that has a lot of fun crafts.  Over the years we have made several versions of her blockheads - which she includes tutorials for.  This year we finally got around to having Dad cut the wood for the reindeer and sleigh.  I followed her tutorial.  I only added a few embellishments.  I added a bow to my female reindeer.  I loved the glittery picks I found at Michaels, so I made the wreaths for their necks from those.  I thought my sleigh needed presents, so I used a package of tiny presents from Michaels to put into the greenery on the sleigh.  I red & green bells, and a little more of the glitter branches along with pine cones.  I really like how it turned out.  Thanks to Craft Goodies for the fabulous idea!

~Amy

Oreo Truffles

Our family has great traditions that we have done for years.  One of my favorites is our annual Red Elf party.  My Grandparents started it when we were quite young.  I honestly don't remember a year without this party.  It included a pinata, fish pond and a room with a bed filled with Stuffed animals that we would all take turn picking from.  When it was time to pick stuffed animals my cute grandparents would come out dressed up in red long johns topped off with elf hats, a big red nose and Christmas striped toe socks.  I still look forward to this party all year.  My kids now enjoy going, even though the details have changed.  I love sharing this tradition with my kids.

A new tradition I love is making Oreo Truffles every year.  A friend of mine gave us Oreo Truffles for a neighbor gift one year and I couldn't get enough of them.  I get so excited thinking about these truffles, they are so yummy!  The best part is, that they are quite simple to make.  Just a few ingredients.

Here you go:

Oreo Truffles
1 package Oreos (just traditional type)
1 package Cream Cheese, softened
Milk chocolate chips


Blend up the Oreos, I use my Bosch and blended them until pretty smooth.
Pour the blended Oreos into a mixing bowl and add the cream cheese.  Mix the Oreos and Cream Cheese until mixed well.  I usually end up having to use my hands to get it mixed all the way.  Yes, wash them first!  Next, I roll them into small balls  maybe about 3/4 inch.  I just grab and roll the mix around my palms until it forms a ball.  While you are doing this, you can have the chocolate melting.  I usually just use a pie pan and put it over a pan of boiling water.  Stir fairly often so it doesn't get burnt at all.

Once the balls are all ready, roll them in the chocolate and lay on wax or parchment paper to cool.  If you want to make them more decorative, you could use white chocolate or colored candy melts and put them in a cake bag or even just a ziplock bag.  Cut the tip and drizzle it over the Oreos.   You could also try other chocolates to dip them in.  Have fun!

I was hoping to post a picture but have had a yucky cold bug so I haven't been up to making them.

Hope you love them as much as we all do!

~Andrea

Thoughts on Christmas

I have been thinking a lot about Christmas lately.  Who hasn’t?  While I am not “old” yet, I have been around for a lot of Christmases.  There are a lot of things which have changed over the years, and a lot of other things which are the same.  One thing that hasn’t changed over the many Christmases of my life time is the interest in special treats for the holiday.  My mom was one who loved to make holiday treats.  She made holiday breads, candies, cookies, and even a sweet roll Christmas wreath.  I was usually her helper, being the only daughter, and have fond memories of making treats with Mom.  Many of the treats were gifts for the neighbors.  She would even leave a loaf of sweet bread on the mailbox for the mailman and one on our garbage can at the curb for the garbage man.  I don’t make many of those treats any more, but one of my daughters really likes the cookies we used to make with a cookie press (which I now own) and my other 2 daughters love the peanut butter fudge.  Occasionally we make some of the treats that my mom did, and we always think of my mom when we do. Even my nieces and nephews think of Grandma when they make the family’s traditional treats.

Shopping for gifts or making gifts is still the norm for Christmas, even though malls were not around when I was younger.  I would have enjoyed going to the mall just to see the decorations then, now I try at all costs to avoid the mall at Christmas time.

Christmas lights are the same and yet different now.  I used to love when we would pile into the car (without seatbelts) to drive around the wealthier parts of town to see the decorated houses.  I loved one house that always looked like a castle from a distance.  Now, we go to a place that has light displays, where we pay to drive around slowly and let the grandkids ohhh and ahhh over the lighted reindeer jumping over the road and a large Santa waving at us.  I would probably make my husband take me each year to see the lights even if we didn’t have grandkids around to go with. 

As our lives become more busy and hectic, it seems harder each year to take time to remember the reason we celebrate the season.  I pulled out some nativity storybooks today to read to my grandchildren tonight as we go to see the lights, so that we can talk about the real meaning of the things we do at this Christmas season. And when we are done, maybe we will come back here to drink hot chocolate and eat peanut butter fudge.

~Gayle

Pinecone Ornaments

I love these Pinecone Ornaments.  I honestly don’t remember where my mom learned to make them.  I think it was a craft night she went to.  Anyway, they are pretty simple and a fun ornament.  They can be done fun, cute, or pretty depending on what colors you use.

What you are going to need:

Styrofoam eggs- There are two sizes that work: the 6 pk of 1/2 inch, and the next size up (not sure the exact size because I didn't have any packing left on the bigger eggs).

Wrapping ribbon- The type that is about 3/4 inch wide.  I have rolls that have 4 colors.  It is fun to use different colors and textures. 

Straight pins- They don't have to be real long.  Probably at least the 1 inch.

Scissors

Narrow wrapping ribbon or normal ribbon to do a loop to hang them from.

 To get started, get out one of your styrofoam eggs.  I like to put a pin in the top of the narrow end where you feel center is.

Next, you will need to cut the ribbon.  I usually eye it. They should be about 1 1/2 inches long.

Once your ribbon is cut, grab one of the pieces and fold over the edges into a triangle.  The top corners should meet at the middle on the bottom of the ribbon.  Make sure you fold with the wrong side of the ribbon facing you so the right side is facing once folded.

Once folded, you will flip it over so the folded edges are down.  Put the narrow tip of the triangle against the pin you put in the top center of the egg.  Use another pin and pin the point down.

Do this again with 3 more pieces so you have 4 points meeting in the middle.  On the 4th triangle, I pull out the pin in the center of the egg and use it to pin down the point.

 Now you will need to pin down the outer corners.  They will need to overlap a little as shown in the picture above.  You can put one pin through the corner of both overlapping corners so it hold them both down.  Repeat around, there should be 4 pins total the lower corners.

 You will add more rows now.  Continue folding triangles then pin on the next piece.  Each row will have 4 triangles.  It will be much easier and lay better if you make sure you stick to that rule.  Center the next row over the line between two triangles on the first row.  You will do this with each of the 4 pieces.

 Continue in this same technique.  Add rows centering between the triangles on the row before, always using 4 triangles per row.  Make sure you are covering the gap that you can see in the photo above so no styrofoam is left showing.  You will also want to make sure you are pinning the triangles in the outer corners so it won't be hard to cover the pins from showing.

 As you get close to the top of the egg, you will have to put each row closer together to cover the styrofoam and keep the pins from the row before from showing.

 Once you get to the point where the triangles line up in a square you will need to change the triangles a little.  As you can see in the photo below, the edges of each triangle are lining up along the edge of the triangle next to it.  Does that make sense?

 At this point, you will need to overlap the edges of the triangle when you fold it.  The edges won't stay even across the bottom of the triangle.  Hope you can see what I mean in the photo below.

 Here is what it looks like when you pin them on.

It is sometimes easier for me to do the 4 triangles in 2's.  I still do 4 per row, but I do one and then instead of going next to it, I go across and then do the other direction 2 across from each other.

 When you are at your last row and can see that the next triangles will cover the gap between the other triangles, I trim off the overlap along the bottom of the triangle.

 Here is what it should look like finished:

 Here you go!

 Here is what it looks like done and the two sizes of eggs you can use.

Now the final touch.  Cut the narrow ribbon how long you want to make a loop to hang it from.

I just loop them around into a knot.

Then I stick 3 pins in staggered across and push them in.

Now hang on your tree and enjoy!!!

~Andrea

5 Dollar 5 Minute Christmas Wreath

Last year after Christmas I bought a wreath on clearance for $2 and never got around to doing anything with it. This year when I pulled out my Christmas decorations I saw and decided I needed to make a new wreath for my front door. I went to the dollar store and bought a tube of ornaments, a glittery bow, and a door hanger that had three ornaments hanging down on ribbon. I arranged everything how I wanted it on the wreath then used my hot glue gun and glued it all in place. It only took me about 5 minutes to make it and it only cost me $5!

These are all of the supplies I used for this project:

This is the finished wreath! I love how it turned out and it looks so good on my front door.

~Megan

Snowman Ornament

Today we experimented with making Christmas ornaments.I bought this little wooden shape at Micheal's for $0.29 and painted it dark blue. I then traced the shape onto a piece of scrapbook paper, cut it out and attached it to the wood using mod podge. When it was dry I put the snowman on, which was cut out of black vinyl. My awesome husband drew the snowman for me and then I cut it with the Silhouette machine. I painted a little bit of the dark blue paint around the edges and then added a little glitter on top. Now all I

have left to do is attach a string so it can hang on our Christmas tree!

~Megan