Thumbprint Reindeer Cards

Merry Christmas from my three little reindeers to yours!

Best wishes,
Gabrielle

The Nightmare Before Christmas Pedicure

My daughter and I have a tradition that we started last year, a mother-daughter pedicure before Christmas. Last year we did red polish with snowflakes but this year we wanted something VERY different.

Our uber talented esthetician was thrilled at the suggestion of Jack Skellington (and my daughter insisted on adding his love interest Sally, of course!).

I absolutely love, LOVE, our toes.

Crayola Model Magic - Ornaments

The children and I had two productive afternoons crafting our snowman ornaments for the Christmas tree. I decided to try out Crayola Model Magic which took about 24 hours to dry, and then painted on the details.

We also made gift tags for our friends and family. I discovered that the paint and marker combination on the tags weren't very effective.

Candy Cane Rudolph

It's that time of year in our household, Christmas crafting! This idea was a slight rendition from our Hallowe'en creepy crawler spiders. My daughter and I picked up a few supplies from Michaels earlier this week with this project in mind. It's a perfect way to spend a Sunday morning. 

Here's what you'll need:

1. Candy Canes

2. Red Pom Poms

3. Royal Icing

4. Wiggle Eyes

5. Scissors

6. Brown Pipe Cleaners

I love how they turned out and the children were also quite pleased with themselves.

The household crafting continues...

Oat Fudge Bars

I started my holiday baking last weekend and I've been holding onto this recipe for a while now so I decided to bake a batch of oat fudge bars for a few 'mum' friends of mine. They ended up rather thick since I didn't have the right pan size so I'll have to make a few adjustments next time. 

Another friend of mine decided to make her holiday baking look more packaged this year so I happily offered split a bulk quantity of white window front bakery bags with her. 

Presenting my packaged Christmas Oat Fudge Bars!

Ninja Birthday Party

It's another, much anticipated... Muppet cake! 

The birthday theme this time was "ninja" inspired by my now 6 year old son. We invited a handful of his friends to celebrate at a martial arts centre and they all learned a few new skills. The children did a 45-minute martial arts class followed by a 15-minute circuit training session and a Samurai sword cake cutting - the highlight of the party!

 My mother-in-law found these cute cutters so I baked up a batch of simple sugar cookies. I used a recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies book and our friends & family seemed to really enjoy 'em.

I also used the cutters as a template for photo booth props - it was a great opportunity to capture some moments.

After 1.5 hrs of excitement, my son handed out Ninjago Lego party favors to each of his guests.