• What you need:
• heart-shaped doilies
• embroidery floss
• large needle
• candy

My 6 yr-old granddaughter who wanted to make her own Valentine’s Day cards for her friends at school. Came straight to me for help and I came up with a cute idea that was fun and easy enough for her to make on her own. We made tiny little candy-filled heart sachet, tied up with a bow. We started with a packet of small (3-4?) heart-shaped paper doilies, which can be found at most craft stores (and are readily available on

eBay). The first step was to write the “to” and “from” message on each heart. It is much easier to do the writing now, while the hearts are flat, rather than later when they are full of candy! (Fig 1)

Then we took two hearts — one with a message and one left blank — and put them back to back (with red sides out) and matched up the designs as closely as possible (Fig 2).

We then threaded some

embroidery floss onto a large upholstery needle (for younger kids, try a plastic needle).We decided to use the floss because it was smooth and thin, and therefore easy to run through the tiny holes on the delicate paper doilies. You could also use yarn or VERY thin ribbon, and you can choose any color you like. Once we had the floss on the needle, we poked the needle through one of the holes in the heart. Following the pattern of the heart and using every 3rd or 4th hole, we made stitches back and forth, about a half-inch long each (Fig 3). We kept going until we were 3/4 of the way around the heart. (Imagine that the heart is a clock and start stitching at 12:00 and keep going until you get to 9:00)

With the stitching almost done, we stopped and filled the sachet with candy (Fig 4). We used the classic

conversation hearts, but you could use anything that’s small enough to fit, such as cinnamon hearts, M&Ms, or Skittles. We used about 8-10 pieces of candy for each heart (Fig 5). Be careful not to put too much candy inside, or else your paper might tear when you try to sew it up!

After putting the candy in, we picked up the needle once again and sewed the rest of the sachet closed, ending at the same place where we started (Fig 6). We then tied up the two ends into a little bow, trimmed any excess, and we were done! (Fig 7)

 You could even expand this idea to other holidays, using different shapes of doilies.

Now that I think about it, this would make a pretty neat wedding favor, too. You could use white hearts, floss to match the wedding colors, and put

Jordan almonds inside!

To make these stronger you can always use a clear sticky one-sided transparent covering. You will have to use a small sharp-pointed exacto knife to cut the areas for the ribbon to go through if you do this.

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INGREDIENTS:

1 box Pillsbury or any refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box(you can also use a pre-made  pie crust .

1 1/2 cups cubed (1/4 inch) cooked ham

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (6 oz)

1 cup  frozen broccoli florets, thawed, well-drained on paper towel(you can use fresh broccoli,just pop them in the microwave with a little water for steam to soften them.Drain,chop  and add to mixture.

4 eggs

1 cup milk(I use half and half)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1-  Heat oven to 375°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie pan as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.

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what you need:

3 to 4 tins each a little smaller than the others.

glue gun

artificial flowers

All you do is glue each top to the bottom of the next tin with hot glue gun,add your embellishment,if it is flowers or any artificial decoration to each layer.Make sure you leave room to do this by piling them up in the store(I love Dollar general for this).Then you can add cookies to one tin,candy to another,any goodies you want to have for any occasion.It is a great room saver too!

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What you need:

1 over sized martini glass

2 to three ball ornaments

sparkle leaves or grasses or anything like that

Glue gun

How you make this:

clean glass and dry completely,then fill bottom of glass with any kind of sparkled grass(the kind you use for Easter baskets)

arrange ornaments the way you like and glue them to each other and around the rim.Add some votive around the glass when done to make an even more festive look!You can use all types of inexpensive Christmas bulbs and extras to create your own.Happy New Years!!!!

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What you need:

1 bag popped pop corn(I use microwave popcorn)

1 bag carmel corn popcorn(optional)

1 bag milk or dark chocolate disks for melting(the kind you use to make candy)

1 bag sliced almonds

1 bag dried cranberries

1/2 a bag of marshmallows(tiny ones)

1 cup if raisinHow to make it:

pop popcorn and let set in a large mixing bowl

mix all remaining ingredients,except the carmel corn

Melt the chocolate disks(yes the whole bag!)now pour all of it over the popcorn and dumb in all the rest of the ingredients(not the carmel corn,that comes last!)

once it is mixed well,place all of it on a large cookie sheet and spread it all out over the pan.Place in refriderator for 10 minutes until all is set.

Get all your bags ready,you can use cello bags(which I sell on my site by the way)or you can simply use sandwichs bags.

break up the mixer back in the bowl and add your carmel corn .Now your ready to fill your bags and place a bag topper on it and give it to friends,co-workers,family or anyone that you want to have a sweet treat.

I have included a bag topper with the recipe for you here!

Happy Holidays and may all your munches be sweet!

Here is a bag topper you can use for your Moose Munch.

Click on the image to enlarge.

I hope your family enjoys this treat as much as mine.

Happy Holidays

Karen Morgan

http://shandalin.com/store/

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This one comes from dandelionsanddustbunnies 

This Kiss Mas Candy Jar is from Here.  Be sure to check out these two sites for other great ideas.

These would make wonderful gifts for just about anyone.

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What you need.

A  Dollar Store vase.  Try to find a taller one.  They have many different types

A Dollar Store Glass Candle Holder (optional)

A Dollar Store “Fake Candle” battery operated candle)

Some Foil Shreds (Silver, Red) your choice.

Some Christmas Ornament Balls.   Every dollar store carries a variety of Christmas Ornaments so you choose the ones you want to use.  The smaller the better.

Here is a photo of Jan just randomly putting her new Christmas ornament vases together.

Jan is putting a few of the Christmas ornaments and some foil shreds into the vases.   There is no particular formula, you just mix it the way you like.

The above picture is the Dollar Store Christmas Project finished.  Each dollar store vase, has a smaller “Glass Candle Holder” inside of them with a Faux (fake candle light)  They look just fine without the candles.

If you would like to see more pictures of the project, please post a comment below.

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Party and Special Occasion, Winter Crafts

Every fall I start planning a couple of bulk gifts that I can have ready to hand out through the holiday season. They have to be easily constructed, inexpensive but still fun and preferably small so that storing them takes up little space in my small house. On my list this year are these cute little treats, chocolate filled cookie cutters. They are the perfect combination of a yummy treat with a lasting gift.

They have to be easily constructed, inexpensive but still fun and preferably small so that storing them takes up little space in my small house. On my list this year are these cute little treats, chocolate filled cookie cutters. They are the perfect combination of a yummy treat with a lasting gift.

Things you need:

Chocolate melts
Dried cherries, cranberries, chopped nuts or broken up bits of candy cane
Metal cookie cutters
Freezer or Parchment paper
Cellophane Bags
Ribbon

Things to do:

1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or by pulsing with heat in the microwave.(I use the microwave on a low setting for 5 minutes stirring every 2 minutes) Stir in the dried fruit, nuts or candy.
2. Arrange the cookie cutters on the parchment or freezer paper, making sure the sit absolutely flat against the paper so that no chocolate leaks under the edges.

3. Holding the cooking cutter in place with one hand, carefully pour the melted chocolate mixture into the center of the cookie cutter until it reaches the top rim of the cutter.

4. Continue to fill the cookie cutters until you have used up all the chocolate. Allow the candy to harden completely before peeling up from the paper.

5. Slip each filled cookie cutter into a small clear gift bag and tie at the top with a ribbon and tag. Store in a cool place that’s easily accessible when you need a quick gift.

You can also add sprinkles on top before it hardens to give a festive look!

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