Best of 2012 ~ DIY Project Tutorials

I had a feeling 2012 would be a great year, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine all the opportunities that would come this year. I do not take any of it for granted and wake up every day feeling blessed and so thankful for all of this.

Now, more than ever, I believe that we have a great power in our destiny. I know my husband was rolling his eyes last year when, on the first day of 2012, I kept saying (out loud) that 2012 was going to be a great year! I believe if you put positive energy out in the world and work really hard, good things will come to you. So for the record, I think 2013 is going to be the best year yet! This might all sound a little cheesy to you and maybe it is, but give it a try and I think you'll be surprised.

I wanted to gather some of my favorite project tutorials from this last year to share with you all. It's always fun for me to go back through the year and look back at all that has happened here at The Cottage Home. And just in case you missed one of these projects, I've linked to each one below the picture.

Favorite Project Tutorials from 2012

Rick Rack Travel Tissue Holder

Toy Storage Labels

'I Spy' Fabric Matching Game

Happy Day Big Bow Dress Tutorial

Orange Themed Birthday Party

Will It Go Round in Circles? Free Quilt Pattern / Tutorial

Tulip Petal Sun Hat Free Pattern

Embellished Ruffle Hoodie Tutorial

Woodland Cottage Pincushion - Free Pattern / Tutorial

Charm Pack Baby Quilt

Fabric Covered Box

Summer Picnic Dress - Free Pattern / Tutorial

DIY Ribbon Holder

Embellished Onesie Dress Tutorial

Jelly Roll Quilt Tutorial

The Lolly Dolly Pillow Tutorial

Double Layer Twirl Skirt - Free Pattern

Fat Quarter Tote Tutorial

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Jewelry Tutorial

Beaded Fabric Necklace

Ruffle Headband Tutorial

Christmas Tablecloth Tutorial

Christmas Pillowcases

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for visiting my little corner of the internet world at The Cottage Home. It has been a pleasure getting to know all of you and I am looking forward to a great 2013! 

Happy New Year!

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Gingerbread Houses ~ Decorating Fun!

We had so much fun with my mom and Pepo visiting this past weekend. One of the holiday projects we did during their visit was decorating gingerbread houses. The girls had a ball with this holiday activity and I thought I would share some photos of their experience.

First we had to gather up all the candy.......lots and lots of candy.

These red ruby dishes are very special to me. My Grandma Ethel collected a large set of this dishes in all shapes and sizes for me. They are so beautiful and I always pull them out around the holidays. I really should use them more often because they really make me smile when we use them. The little dishes were prefect for all the different types of candy.

I did not make the actual gingerbread for the houses. Maybe someday, but for now, I felt lucky enough to find the time to gather up all the supplies and complete this project. I bought a kit for our houses that had this handy tray to help the house stand up. The houses are held together with a delicious white icing. I mean, what's the fun of a gingerbread house if you can't eat it, right? I know you can purchase these kits at many different big box stores.

Of course, you and I both know that the most fun part of decorating a gingerbread house is sampling all the candy. Miss Matilda certainly was in charge of quality control, but she did manage to get some candy onto her house.

Savannah was very focused on her house decorating and she had some help from Pepo and Grandma Jane.

Here is Matilda's completed gingerbread house.

To be honest, I wasn't sure how this little miss was going to do decorating her house. She has been giving us a run for our money lately, but to my pleasant surprise she was really into the task at hand.

Here is another 'quality control' photo. There were lots of those.

Savannah had to put her final finishing touches on her gingerbread house to make it look just right. And it did. Both of their houses were absolutely beautiful! We really had so much fun with this activity that I definitely think we will do this again next year!

So, do you decorate gingerbread houses with your children or grandchildren?

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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Homemade Popcorn Balls ~ Recipe

There is something very nostalgic to me about homemade popcorn balls. This year I decided to whip up a big batch of these sweet treats to share with our friends. These do not take long at all to put together and you can do a large batch of them in no time. Wrap each one up in a clear cello bag with some bakers twine and you've got a sweet little gift that anyone would be happy to receive.

Homemade Popcorn Ball Recipe

Makes 8 - 10

Ingredients:

8 cups popped popcorn

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup butter

Directions:

Place the popped popcorn into a large mixing bowl. In a medium sized saucepan, combine the corn syrup, water, salt, brown sugar and white sugar. Place over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook until the mixture becomes a thick syrup (about 15 minutes). If you have a candy thermometer, wait until the mixture has reached 260 degrees. But if not, just eye-ball it.....you'll be fine.

Remove mixture from heat and stir in butter. Once the butter has melted completely, pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir to combine. Allow the covered popcorn to cool slightly, you want to be able to handle it without burning yourself, but you don't want it to set up.....so don't wait too long. Shape the popcorn into fist size balls and place on wax or parchment paper. Allow to cool completely.

Wrap up each individual popcorn ball with some fun and festive wrapping. I used clear cello bags, green bakers twine and a 'Merry Christmas' washi tape........but there are all kinds of fun ways you could wrap these up!

Or you could just put them on a platter and serve them as is..........

Little ones love popcorn balls, so make sure you grab one for yourself, otherwise they will be gone before you know it!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

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