Very Cute Thanksgiving Crafts

Two more days to go!! I saw these on bhg.com and thought I'd pass them on (click the name for of the item for more details):

Many Blessings Box

Pumpkin Candle Centerpiece

Pilgrim Place Cards

Corn and Candle Centerpeice

Christmas Cards

Ok so I know it isnt even December yet. I also know that we haven't even got past Thanksgiving. But today I made our Christmas Cards. I tend to make them every year. It just makes them a bit more personal. Well to be honest I only give the homemade ones to Family and close friends. Everyone else get a cheap store bought one. I have had the stuff to make my cards for months. I only just got around to making them. Anyway so here is what I did:

What I used:

1 pack plain cards with envelopes

Velum Paper

Ribbon

Embossed Stickers

Computer & Printer

What I did:

I printed my message (which comes from a classical Christmas song) onto the velum paper. I then put the sticker in the middle punched holes in the card and the velum and tied them together with a piece of ribbon. So easy!! There are so many things you can do. This was just my idea and an easy idea so that it didnt take loads of time to do. Good Luck with your homemade cards!!

Christmas Gift Idea

I have been looking for something my daughter could make for family members for Christmas. My Husbands family all love to read so when I found these I thought they were perfect! I hope you like the idea too!

Bookmarks Made From Buttons!

Bookworms of all stripes will love these bright place markers. They make sweet stocking stuffers -- and they're fun and easy for kids to create. Simply cut lengths of ribbon (ours are 12 to 14 inches long, to fit a standard-size hardcover book), then attach buttons to the ends using tacky glue or a glue gun. Shown here are just a few of the decorating options: sandwiching the ribbon's ends between two buttons; stacking smaller atop larger buttons; and grouping several small buttons in a pattern.

Homemade Pancakes

This morning I made pancakes for breakfast but since we didnt have any mix I made it from scratch. I decided to try a new recipe then the one I have and this one is so delicious I thought I would share it with everyone. Plus by putting it on here I can always find it again. The measurements are British but I will try to transfer it into American for all the Americans too. These are so fluffy and honestly are so good!! A fantastic find!

135g /4 3/4 oz / 3/4 c. Plain Flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

3tbsp caster sugar (I dont recall ever seeing caster sugar in the states use granulated)

130 ml / 4 1/2 fl oz / 1/2 c. milk

1 large egg lightly beaten

2 tbsp melted butter (allow to cool) plus extra for cooking.

Directions:

Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. In a seperate bowl or jug wisk together milk and eggs then add melted butter. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes. Heat a non stick frying pan over medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it's melted, add a ladle of batter. It will seem very thick bit this is how it should be. Wait until the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1 cm (1/2in) thick.

Serve with butter and maple syrup or whatever you prefer. 

Quiet often when making pancakes I will add a bit of cinnamon and applesauce to the batter. I also love to put bananas on top with the maple syrup or mach bananas up and put them inside the batter. My dad always likes to put peaches and whipped cream on top. Sometimes we add fresh blueberries as well. So many different things you can do with pancakes it is unbelievable.  We Love them anyway. 

Thanksgiving Tree

I got this from a blog I read, and thought it was so such a nice idea! It's for a Thanksgiving Tree. Here it is copied over from http://conversationswithacupcake.blogspot.com/:

To kick off this season of gratitude,
I hot glue-gunned this
Thankful Tree
with cuttings from our lilac tree
and a few vintage buttons.
(ain't it cute?)
*
As a family, we're writing down our blessings,rolling them up, and tying them to the tree. Come thanksgiving day, we'll gather together and read them one by one.
*
I'm grateful I get to look forward to that.
I think I'll go write it down right now.

Price Matching at Walmart

I have done this a few times. Basically you take in your coupons from other stores and take them into Walmart and they'll price match it for you. If you're trying to save a bit of money using coupons, this is a lot easier and cheaper than driving to a billion stores. I've never had a problem doing it.

Here's an article on it too: http://myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com/2008/09/walmart-price-matching-few-simple-tips.html

Does anyone know if they do this at Asda in England, or any of the other supermarkets?

Orange Rolls

Here is the Orange Roll Recipe now too!

Orange Rolls

1Tbsp Yeast

1 C Warm Milk

1/4 C warm water

3/4 tsp Salt

1Tbsp Sugar

2 Eggs Beaten

1/2 C melted Butter

4 cups Flour

1/2 c Sugar

Filling:

1/2 cup Sugar

1/3 cup Melted Butter

1 orange peel, grated fine

Combine 1 Tbsp yeast, 1Tbsp Sugar and 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl, Mix and set aside. In a large bowl, combine warm milk, melted butter, sugar, salt and beaten eggs. Add yeast mixture; stir. Add flour 1 cup at a time (if dough is a little sticky you can add a little more flour) Knead for 5 minutes. Let rise until double in size about 2 1/2 hours. Roll out onto floured surface in the shape of a large square. Spread with Orange filling and roll up like a jelly roll. place on baking tray and let rise until double in size. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. This makes about 24 rolls. If you want to ice these I think the best icing is a simple mixture of milk powdered sugar and butter just to make a glaze. Anything more than that is too much as these are sweet in themselves and dont need to much sweetening. 

 

Picture with the icing if you choose to use icing.

Coloring Pages

I just saw this link on another website and thought I'd pass it on...

http://www.coloring-book.info/ is a website where you can print coloring pages from your kids favorite movies, i.e.. Wall-E, 101 Dalmations, Anastasia etc., so you don't need to spend money on coloring books and you can print off whatever they're in the mood for.

Another one that I have used before is: http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html, they have a wide variety of coloring pages too on many subjects.

Check them out.

Save a Few Pennies... with coupons of course

So I know that in todays world everyone is trying to save  a little so I have found some coupon sites for people in the states and in the UK. There are coupons for everything try these websites. I am pretty sure you will find some coupons that you like. Plus the site for national coupons so no matter where you live in which ever country you will be able to use the coupons.

USA Sites:

Wow Coupons

Family Coupons

Mommy Saves Big

Cool Savings

ValPak Coupons

UK Sites:

Wow Coupons

Voucher Codes

My Voucher Codes 

The UK doesnt have nearly as many. Plus they dont tend to use coupons for food which is a pity. Anyway I hope some of these sites help someone to save a little bit of money. 

Homemade Cinnabons

I have the most amazing Cinnamon Roll Recipe and as I made some tonight I thought I would share the recipe. This makes LOADS!! I always have so much dough that I freeze half of it. I love this dough recipe so much as well that I use it for Navajo Tacos and Homemade Pizzas.

Ingredients:

Dough

2pkg active dry yeast

1 c. warm water

2/3 c granulated Sugar and 1 tsp

1 c warm milk

2/3 c butter

2tsp salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

7-8 c all - purpose flour (more if needed)

Filling:

1 c. melted Butter, divided (2 sticks)

1 3/4 granulated sugar, divided

3 Tbsp Cinnamon

Chopped Walnuts and Raisins if you want (I dont add them but you can)

In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and 1tsp of sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add Half the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky).

Turn out onto a well-floured board, knead 5 - 10 minutes. Place in a well buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts until doubled in bulk about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled, punch dough down and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on well floured surface into a 15 x 20 rectangle.

To prepare filling: spread dough with 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix together 1 1/2 c sugar and the cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins if you want them.

Just getting ready to roll up covered with Sugar and Cinnamon

Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 - 15 slices. Coat Bottom of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan and a 8 inch square pan with remaining 1/2 cup melted butter. then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans. Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk about 45 minutes.

Just getting ready to rise!

This is them raised about ready to go in the oven

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly and frost with favorite icing. I always use the Betty Crocker vanilla or Cream Cheese Frosting. So Yummy. We always have them with Hot Chocolate as well (it is a Nelson Family tradition!)  

If anyone is interested I have an amazing Orange Roll Recipe as well. I might put it up another time!