Crumb Cake

It is officially the winter here in England. Frozen windsheild in the morning, smells of wood burning in the wood burning stoves, Children watching their breath as they walk to school. You know all those lovely things which come in the winter. One of my favorit things in the winter is Hot Chocolate. I also enjoy a cake of some sort with it and this is one of my favorit cakes!! It is so moist and so delish! Honest try making it yourself and see if you can limit yourself to just one piece!!

Crumb Cake

Ingredients:

CAKE
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

TOPPING
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
2 cups biscuit mix
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4-1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar.
Beat eggs and milk; mix with butter.
In another bowl, mix flour and baking powder, then add to butter mixture.
Stir in vanilla.
Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
For crumb topping: Cut butter into sugar, biscuit mix, and cinnamon.
Sprinkle over batter in pan.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until done.
Top with the 1/4 - 1/2 C powdered sugar when cool.

Enjoy!

Candy Cane Reindeer

Every Christmas since my 6 year old has been in school she has wanted to make and take a gift for every child in her school class. So each year we make these bad boys and she gives them out to her friends at school. They are really cute and fun for her to make. She gives them out with her Christmas Cards.

I know that you probably all know how to make them but for those of you who dont here is how I do them:

What you'll need:

Low temp hot glue gun

Ribbons or yarn for hanging

1 wrapped candy cane (this has to be wrapped around the candy, not a 'bagged' candy cane)

1 tiny pom-pom for the nose

2 little wiggle eyes (or paper eyes drawn and cut out)

Brown pipe cleaners for the antlers

How to make it:

Look at the picture above - make antlers out of pipe cleaners, wrap them around the candy cane on the curve and glue them.

Add two wiggle eyes and a pom-pom nose.

You're done!

These can be added to packages or cards or used as table center pieces.

Thanksgiving M&M Turkey Place Markers

Love this idea!! You can also right the names of yours guests on the feet and use as place markers! Click here to get instructions.

Snowmen Handprint Ornament

found the idea here... i painted nathans hand white and pressed against the side of an ornament. painted each finger to look like a snowman and attached the following poem...

these aren't just five snowman, as anyone can see.

they're made from my handprint, which is a part of me.

now each year when you trim the tree, you'll look back and recall

christmas of 2009, when my hand was just this small.

Christmas wreath

Check out this adorable wreath. It was so easy to make. I still havnt put the finishing touches on but you get the idea. I just took a wire hanger apart and strung christmas bulbs on it then closed it back up. So easy. The wreath in the tutorial is way cuter than mine so check it out.
http://www.eddieross.com/eddie_ross/2008/12/no-wire-hangers-well-maybe-just-one.html

Soft Bowling Ball and Pins

i found this tutorial on london mummys blog and knew i had to make them! they're called skittles. i just call them soft bowling ball and pins :) but anyways, they were fun to make! the bottoms are filled with rice and the rest is polyfill, so they stand nicely. the top and bottom have white cordorouy for better grip on the carpet. what a great christmas gift idea right!

Rudolph Brownies

1. bake a pan of brownies

2. cut the brownies into triangles

3. use chocolate frosting to adhere the pretzel antlers and the red m & m nose on

4. then use white frosting to adhere the brown m & m eyes on

Oven Dress and Grocery Bag Holder

how adorable is this idea! the top part is the "blouse" and the bottom part is a dishtowel and it hangs over your oven door handle. i saw the idea at a craft fair and just kinda winged it with the design. if anyones interested in a tutorial, let me know and i'll see if i can put one together.
but how cute would the oven dress be with the matching grocery bag holder that i found over at the make it and love it blog. her tutorial is found here...

Car Cozie

introducing the car cozie. it's a perfect solution for storing your little mans cars on the go. it has 6 pockets on one side, and a road on the other side.

when it's not in use, you fold it up, roll it up, and tie it up. thanks sharla w/ my little gems for the idea and especially for sharing how to make it here.

Snuggie, Snuglet, Slanket, whatever you want to call it!

who hasn't seen the infomercial for the snuggie? if you're not familiar with the concept, it's basically a blanket with sleeves. i was totally sold on getting one! but i wasn't a fan of the basic blue thin fleece it came it. so i started googling for a free pattern and found the SNUGLET.

my dh "model" didn't want to show his face, lol...
i was even able to find the fleece on sale at joanns for only $5/yd! so i paid $15 and spent 1 hr making it and it's TOTALLY worth it! i also added a pocket at the bottom for your feet. my hubby says he wants one with a pocket for the remote, lol. again here's the pattern.