All posts filed under: DIY

DIY Handles!

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So I saw this very pretty closet door handle on one of my favorite sites and was about to purchase it when I realized that it’s probably very easy to make on my own. Off I went to Canadian Tire, bought 6 handles for the price of one of the pretty ones and completed my entire project in under 30 minutes. I simply used hot glue on one end of the handle, then wrapped twine around the entire handle and used the hot glue on the other end. It literally took me less than 5 minutes per handle and I saved lots of money, can’t go wrong with a craft like that one.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough!

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We decided not to leave our house on New Years Day, which was an easy decision since it was cold and grey outside. Since we were home all day, homemade pizza seemed like the best thing for dinner. The dough was easy to make and then I made all sorts of toppings, sorted into little bowls. A great way to get your kids involved in making dinner as they can make their own pizzas. I used this recipe for making the dough, I substituted half a cup of brown rice flour instead of a full cup of white flour. The pizza was delicious and the crust was perfectly thin. I couldn’t get over how many slices my little guy ate, little did he know how many vegetables he was eating.

Cinnamon Buns

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  I woke up this morning thinking about cinnamon buns, I went about my day but the thought of warm, sticky, cinnamon bread just kept popping into my mind, eventually I couldn’t ignore it. This is the problem with cravings and being 5 months pregnant. So I went online and found an easy, no fuss recipe, I did a couple adaptions and voila! Ingredients 1 packet instant yeast 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 1/2 cup butter 1/4 tsp salt 2.5 cups all purpose flour (plus some extra for rolling) 1 Tbsp cinnamon 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar, divided 1 tbsp of brown sugar Instructions In a large sauce pan (or in a bowl in the microwave at 30 sec increments), heat the almond milk and 3 Tbsp of butter until warm and melted, never reaching boiling. Remove from heat and let cool to the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast. Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle on yeast. Let …

Linzer Cookies

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I absolutely love Linzer cookies, they have that perfect hint of lemon and nutty flavor all rolled into one cookie. They are slightly time consuming but they’re definitely worth it, not only are they pretty, but they make a fabulous holiday gift. Follow the recipe below to make these delicious cookies. Makes approximately 36 cookies Ingredients 2/3 cup almonds 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, plus more for the work surface 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 large egg zest from one lemon 1teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1tablespoon confectioners’ sugar 1 12-ounce jar raspberry jam Directions Heat oven to 350° F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes; let cool. In a food processor, process the almonds and ¼ cup of the brown sugar until the almonds are finely ground. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and …

Gingerbread Cookies

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Gingerbread Cookies are a staple at Christmas time as far as I’m concerned. I’ve been using the same recipe for years and it always gets rave reviews. I usually double the recipe so I can get twice as many cookies out of it. The best part about gingerbread is that it keeps for a while and thus can be made ahead of time. This year I made a ton of cookies for our Santa event, I particularly liked the mini gingerbread men because they can be used in so many different ways. You could string them for garland on your tree or use them as cupcake toppers.  

DIY Advent Calendar

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Growing up in a Jewish home I was always fascinated with the commercialized side of Christmas. I slowly started to buy decorations but could never quite bring myself to buy a tree. Till I met my husband, who happens to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. Well in all honesty mostly just Christmas as his mother is Catholic and his father is Jewish. So, now I had real reason to buy a tree and my son will now celebrate both holidays! Which is very exciting for his Jewish mother who loooooooves Christmas! I made him his first Advent Calendar and enjoyed every minute of it. It was relatively easy and not that time consuming. Materials: Canvas Board (16×20) Hot Glue Sharpie Brown Paper Bags (small size) Construction Paper and Patterned Paper (with gingham print) Glue Stick Twine 25 Clothespins Christmas Decorations   Directions Decorate your little bags, I used the gingham paper for the numbers and cut out green hearts. Then glue one strip of twine to your canvas board (use the glue on the back …

DIY Under the Sea Birthday

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This past weekend we hosted a wonderful birthday for a little girl who turned 8 years old. She requested “under the sea” as her theme and we had so much fun with it! The guests made “Under the Sea” treasure boxes and decorated cupcakes with fondant dolphins and seashells. For the decorations, we made lots of beautiful fish and used tissue paper for seaweed. The hanging Jelly Fish were made from a paper bowl and a cut up table cloth. If you want to skip all the work you can always contact us to host your Under The Sea Birthday Party – visit our Birthday page for more information!        

Happy Halloween!

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Everyone seems to love Halloween, from little children to big grown-ups. This past Sunday we had our annual Haunted House and it was a hit! We tried to serve as many healthy snacks as we could, which included Clementine Jack-O-Lanterns and bran muffin cupcakes. We were left with only crumbs at the end, so I’m guessing our Halloween Sweet Table was a hit! Here are some pics from the big day! We’ve really enjoyed getting into the Halloween spirit this year, we’re particularly excited about going trick or treating for the first time!! My little one is dressing up as a monster (or a shark, we’re still undecided) and will be walking the Halloween streets for the first time! I’m slightly nervous about the temper tantrums that may ensue regarding the eating of candy, but I’m bracing myself for them. Happy Halloween everyone, wishing you a safe and fun evening!  

Halloween Treats

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Our Annual Haunted House is just around the corner and we’re getting ready by making all our own treats for the event. We are trying to stay on the healthier side of things but it’s not so easy at Halloween. We made organic gingerbread dough for our Skeletons and used a very small amount of brown sugar in the recipe. I did find a recipe after the fact that had no sugar in it, so if anyone has a chance to try it please let me know! For the Ghost Pops you could definitely use sugar free Lollipops. We’re also going be decorating bran muffins to look like yummy cupcakes! One of our healthier snacks will be the return of Clementine Jack-O-Lanterns. A quick and easy DIY project to help decorate your treat table are Mason Jar Mummies. This took me all of ten minutes and most of that time was waiting for the glue gun to get hot enough. I simply wrapped the jar in gauze (which I purchased from the dollar store) and …