Theresa's Mixed Nuts: December 2011

Friday, December 30, 2011

Sweet Treats- Make Your Own Doll Food!

My daughters received a few American Girl Dolls that their cousins outgrew a few years ago. They were super thrilled and immediately started badgering me for the accessories, mostly play food. We got online to start pricing these things, and I was shocked at how much they were charging for doll food! Thankfully I had just read an article in Family Fun or one of those similar magazines on how to make your own doll food. While I took a ceramics class in high school and played with clay a bit way back then, I am no artist when it comes to creating things out of clay from scratch! However, I did find that once you get the hang of twisting and shaping the clay, it's actually pretty easy! Here is a tutorial on making a few sweet treats of your own. Mine aren't perfect, by my kids don't seem to mind. They actually take all the food we made together and show it off to their friends!


What you will need:

Polymer Clay in assorted colors
A damp paper towel
Wooden Bamboo Skewer

First we went to Michael's Craft store and bought an assortment of 2oz polymer clay packets. They carry serveral different brands from Sculpy to Premo, but I don't think brand matters.



These usually retail for about $2 each, but they are often on sale. I just got these for $1.25 each.

First we will start with a lollypop. Break off a small chunk of the clay in the color of your choosing. Squeeze and roll it between your palms for a few minuites to get it warmed up and ready to be molded. Once it's pliant, roll it between your palms to get a strand about 8 inches long. Repeat this process with a seperate color of your choosing.

Next, wrap the two colors around each other, pinching the ends together once you are done. Roll the strand between your palms or a flat surface until the two pieces have molded together and there are no cracks or spaces between the colors.

Lay the strand on a flat surface and curl it around, pressing the end of the rope together where it meets the curl.

I broke off a small bit of wooden bamboo skewer and inserted it into the base of the lollipop.

If you see any cracks of finger prints, gently rub the damp paper towel over it until it blends to a smooth finish.








Now we will make a doughnut. Break off a small chunck of the clay in donut color of your choosing. Roll the clay into a tight ball, about 1 inch in diameter.

Next, poke a hole through the center of the ball. (I just used the skewer). Insert your finger into the center of the ball, pinching and shaping the ball with your finger and thumb until it is donut shaped. You will have to press down on the top of the ball to flaten it also.

Break off another tiny bit of another color of your choosing for the frosting. Roll it into a small ball, then flatten it with your fingers until it is very thin. Pull the edges out around the flattened bit to make it more like a frosting shape. Lay your frosting over the doughtnut and press gently to have the 2 pieces stick together. Poke a hole through the center of your frosting and press excess frosting to the insides of the doughnut. Repeat with the outer layers. *You can also top with different color sprinkles for a decorated look*



For an ice cream cone, break off some brown clay and shape into a cone base, about 1 1/2 inches in length. If you feel creative, draw some lines through the cone to make it have a waffle cone appearance.

Roll another colored clay ball, about an inch in diameter. Scoop out a small section on the top of the cone for your ice cream ball to sit. Gently press together. Repeat with as many different colored scoops as you like. Top with a small cherry.




To make peanut butter cookies, roll a small tan colored ball of clay about an inch in diameter. Flatten to cookie shape on a flat surface. Using a rounded tool (Again, I just used the leftover skewer) press lines into the top of the cookie.





Finally, we'll make a candy cane. Repeat the first 3 steps as you did with the lollipop, using red and white clay. *The red clay bleeds onto hands very easy, so I would shape the white strand first!* Bend top to shape into a candycane.





Now, place all your candy onto a cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 225 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes. Do not over bake or you will get scorch marks on your candy. It can also cause cracks. Remove from oven and let cool. I usually don't let the kids play with them until the next day when I know they are fully set and hardend.



*Note* Any kitchen items used while making your clay projects should no longer be used in cooking with real human food. The clay leaves a residue on the surface of these items.



Monday, December 26, 2011

Are your kids tired of their holiday toys already? Mine too!

As an early New Years Resolution, I have decided the finally print off all my digital photos. I am the WORST at taking them, but I never get around to printing them off. I have years worth stored on my computer, always intending to get around to them, never really doing it though. I figured with all the photo printing deals that come around after Christmas, this is the time to get them done and save money while doing it. As I was sorting through the pictures, one theme kept popping up that grabbed my attention. My kid’s love of boxes and baskets. It seems year after year, this is one plaything that never seems to go out of style and the kids never get bored with it.








Even the dogs have more fun with the boxes than their toys! Below Rocky is like "What????" when I told him to get out of my laundry basket!

This here is Adrian who dumped all her toys out to play with her toy bucket on the stairs.





I could have been saving so much money over the years if I had only realized this sooner. You can get boxes free all over town! But, since the kids do like to open real presents, next year I will remember to throw out the toys and save the boxes.


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Butterfinger Cake

I don't bake a lot of cakes, but since my husband's bithday is on the 18th, my daughter's is the 19th, and mine on the 23rd, buying a cake for everyone would get quite expensive, so we only get the fancy, decorated, store bought cakes for my daughter. However, I am one who believes everyone deserves a cake on their birthday, I decided to bake one for Jason this year. Butterfingers are one of his favorite candy bars and I found this recipe in my "to make" pile. It's been sitting there for 4 or so years, so I figured I'd dust it off and give it a whirl this year. I had my doubts on this one, but to my surprise, it was DELICIOUS!


recipe, candy, candybar, nestle, dessert
 


print recipe

Butterfinger Cake

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 (18.25 ounce) box German chocolate cake mix
  • 1 container Cool Whip
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 bag Butterfinger candy bars, crushed
  • 1 jar caramel ice cream topping

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Bake cake in a 13 x 9-inch cake pan or 2 8 inch round cake pans as directed on box. While cake is still warm, poke holes in cake and pour all the sweetened condensed milk into holes. Pour caramel sauce over cake and let cool.
  2. Spread Cool Whip over cake and sprinkle crushed Butterfingers over the top of cake. Keep refrigerated.
Created using The Recipes Generator
*Side note-I used a little less than a full can of the condensed milk. It can get soupy otherwise*

Pardon how unpretty it turned out. I'm not on the Ace of Cakes level when it comes to decorating baked goods. Besides, in our house, it only matters how it tastes, and this one tasted pretty darn good.


candy bar, candy, recipe, nestle, dessert








Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Kid Fun~ Reindeer Food! Don't Forget to Feed Them Too!

When my daughter Mariah was in Kindergarten 6 years ago, her teacher sent the cutest note home with a bag of "Reindeer Food" to feed those little sleigh pullers also. Why should Santa be the only one who gets fed? Sure, he's got to go down the chimney and put presents under the tree, but those reindeer do a lot of work also pulling him all over the world in one night! They deserve a little treat too, don't you think?

No other teacher has ever sent anything like this home, not even with my younger daughter, so I am glad that Mariah brought it home when she did. Feeding the reindeer has become one of our fun traditions to do every year, and the kids have just as much fun doing it as they do leaving out milk and cookies for Santa.

What you need:

Dry Oatmeal
Glitter (preferably red, green, silver, and gold)
Ziptop baggie (or something similar to hold the food in)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in ziptop baggie. Sprinkle on the ground outside.

It is said that the sparkles from the glitter will help the reindeer see your house better and they will be attracted to the smell of the oats!




This site has all kinds of cute Reindeer poems and bag toppers to go along with your reindeer food:


Visit the site for many different printables

Saturday, December 10, 2011

It's true, your idols are never as glamorous in person!



Love Rudolph. About peed my pants when I heard he was in town. Sadly, Rudolph was really “Randall” who gave me the impression he was an offspring of Bill or Ted when he broke the rule of no costume character speaking and told me my Rudolpf headband was “most excellent.” On top of that, I learned Jason is a crappy picture taker. My Christmas cheer has been knocked down by a few points :(