Friday, December 31, 2010

Christmas Magic and Happy New Year!

So now that I finally found my Camera I wanted to share a bit of Christmas magic as it appeared at my house!  I really love to think of it in terms of how my children see it.. and it really is soo Magical!
Here is my daughter reading her brother's a bedtime story on Christmas Eve.

The cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer!

The stockings all hung by the chimney with care!

And then a little magic.. as the Big guy arrives with presents!

Here are the kids as they open their BIG gift!

For my big girl.. the hardcover Harry Potter series!
For my middle guy.. his DS and all the trimmings!

And for the little guy.. A HOT wheels so he can follow his brother around on his quad!

I hope that you all found wonder and joy in the holidays and that it follows through to the NEW YEAR!
Happy New Year!
Thanks for all of your kind words, encouragement and features of 2010!
With Love and Gratitude,
Pinkapotamus

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Upcycle those Christmas Cards!

Ever wonder what in the world to do with ALL of those Chrimtmas cards that you get?  Well here is a great example of how to upcycle them on a budget! 
How about a paper bag photo album?
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This was super fun to make and doesn't cost much at all! I'm pretty sure that you can buy a bag of paper bags for about $1 and have plenty leftover to make more! As for me this project was 100% free as I used all items that I had in the house: red bags, scrapbook paper, Christmas stickers and cards. The beautiful red bags were donated to my cause by my hubby!
I made this while that darn camera was still MIA so I will have to post a tutorial a little later when I get a chance to make another one.  I offered to make one for a friend so I will use hers as the tutorial!   So now on with the show!

This is the album with the cover open.. so you can see my whole Christmas card from this year.
This is my daughter's page with her name and pictures of her through the year
and her letter from Santa.

This is the page with all of the pictures from our Family.
This is my middle guy's page.
This our first friend page.
Then onto my Little Guy's page.
Then our last page of friends!
Also because the album is made of bags, I put all of the cards that we received inside of them so that I now have my Christmas card list ready for next year!
So this year save those Christmas cards from an untimely death in the garbage can and make yourself an album!
I am sharing this with


Love,
Pinkapotamus


Wednesday, December 29, 2010

That Darn Camera!

Okay my bloggy friends.. I may be MIA or just reposing some old things in a new way for the next few days as I have Once again lost SOMETHING! (Last time it was all of my 17,000 glue guns)  This time it is "That Darn Camera"!  I am thinking that my beloved friend was packaged up into a garbage bag in the unwrapping frenzy that occurred on Christmas morning.
If it is anywhere it is in the yard.. covered under about 2 feet of NJ snow wrapped in the darkness of a garbage bag.. and I am NOT allowed to bring it inside to defrost for fear of ruining the hardwood floors to water damage. 

No children were harmed in the making of this post.. they came in immediately to put on proper winter attire!  They just  run REALLY fast sometimes especially when snow is involved!
*Sigh*  What is a girl to do without her camera?   Well, I guess I will be crafting and the rest of you will just have to wait with bated (and yes I DID spell check that one!) breath for my return!  Right?
Love,
Pinkapotamus
p.s.  Don't forget to link up your favorite post of 2010!~
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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Top Ten Posts of 2010! (and Link Party!)

This has been a BIG blogging year for me!  I started my crafting blog.. gained 150 I mean 152 followers (2 more joined last night), got a couple of blogger awards and several features and of course started my own Pink Hippo Party!  So now here are my Top Ten Posts of 2010!
Number 10 : Pink Hippo Party #2
Number 9:  Upcycled Magazine Holder

Number 8: Craft Disaster!

Number 7: Crafting Day Challenges

Number 6: That Darn Hot Glue Gun!

Number 5: September

Number 4: Iron Crafter Cardboard Boxes

Number 3: Iron Crafter

Number 2: Pink Hippo Party
And the Number 1 Post of 2010 is ... drum roll please:
Diaper Trike Challenge!

So now it's your turn!  Link up here and show me what your top project was for 2010!
You have from today until January 1st!




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Monday, December 27, 2010

Pink Hippo Party #9

Merry Christmas everyone!  (a few days late!)  I hope everyone had as wonderful a holiday as I did with my family!  It was Super busy as we host both Christmas Eve and Christmas day and then spend time with family the day after also.  But here is a project that I mailed out just in time for Christmas to my giveaway winner.. a Superman mirror!
Here are my favorites from last week:
The cutest, most edible snowglobe by Suzy @
The coolest wreath with the most "star" appeal
The most festive cake stand ever by Dacia and Chelsea @
So now on to the party!
Ladies grab your featured button and let's get this party started!
Here are the rules to Party!
1. Grab a party button
2. Link back to this party
3. Link to your specific post and not your home page
4. Become a follower (cause it's just nice)
5. Don't forget some love to your fellow crafters.. everyone loves a compliment!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Italian Sprinkle Cookies~

I am totally in LOVE with this cookie!  We love to make it for the holidays but we make them a little different with a few shots of OJ!  It has the amazing texture of cake with a light orange glaze and lots of fun sprinkles to make it festive!
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So here's the recipe:

Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 eggs
6 cups flour
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp Orang Juice
2 Tbs baking powder
Cream the butter and the sugar. 
Then slowly add the eggs one at a time making sure to scrape the bowl betweeen each addition. 
Add the vanilla and the orange juice. 

Then in a seperate bowl mix the flour and baking powder. 
It helps to have a friend!
Add the flour mixture to the dough and mix until sticky

... and yes it will be STICKY!
Use your cookie scoop to make round balls and place on a parchment covered cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. 

Then bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 15 minutes depending on the size of your scoop.. again mine is BIG!  Oh and I am a cookie tray flipper so I bake halfway and then flip the sheet and finish it up!

While the cookies are baking make the glaze
Glaze Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbls orange juice
2 Tbls water
Mix the ingredients together and whisk until it makes a watery glaze.
Once the cookies come out of the oven give them a minute (or you'll be sorry.. my fingers certainly were!) or so and then dip them in the glaze
 and sprinkle with nonparels.
These cookies are soo versatile!  You can change up the liquid that you are using to change the flavor.  Sometimes I like to make strawberry flavored or almond with a little extract.  And for holidays you can always add a little food coloring to make them extra festive!

Hope you enjoy these happy little cookies as much as we do!
I am sharing with


Love,
Pinkapotamus