Too soon? It's closer than you think...

***WARNING!!! This is a longer post...but it has a sweet ending!!! (tutorial/recipe)

Ahh, August! The time when retailers completely skip Halloween and Thanksgiving and jump right into Christmas!

Ugh...

I still say it's too soon, but when it really boils down to it, I am ALWAYS running around at the last second trying to do my Christmas preparations. The shopping, the decorating, blah, blah, BLAH! This year, I am determined to get a head start on things. I wanna create some Christmas traditions, memories, and really have my kids appreciate the true meaning of the holiday.
We, with my extended family (nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters, parents), have a couple of traditions we do every year. One is the Bethlehem Dinner. We get together on Christmas Eve (or a day or two before) and we sit on blankets and eat what maybe they would eat at the time the Savior was born. For example:

Fish (we do tuna w/lemon, salt, & pepper for taste)
Cheese (technically it should be goat cheese, but usually it's cheddar)
Grapes
Olives
Flat Bread
Etc....

We do this all by candlelight. The kids love it! If there is ever any mention of it possibly not happening, there is great wailing, renting of clothes and so forth.

After the dinner, all the little cousins (our kids), dress up and act out the nativity. We read the story from Luke in the Bible and sing Christmas songs. Now, my parents have 38 grandkids, so you can BELIEVE this is quite an undertaking, even if only 1/2 are there!

I love this tradition, because we get to enjoy the company of our family, and the children are reminded that Christmas is more than just the presents, lights, and candy. It's about the birth of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord.

Another tradition that I started back when my husband and I were first married, was bringing goodies to our neighbors and friends. It helps me get into the GIVING spirit of the holiday. But not just any goodies. They are tasties I make with my own 2 hands. I've made strawberry preserves, homemade apple pie filling, the traditional cookies...but the thing that I've had people go ape crazy for, are my TRUFFLES! Mmm... nothin' says lovin' like a box o' homemade chocolate!

Now, I got this recipe from what my sisters and I call the Red Cooking Bible (mine is pink), or the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I tell my friends that they can make it on their own, but most people don't or won't. So, I will continue to use it as my own. I've tweaked it here and there and tried a couple different things, but here is the basic recipe w/ some of my tweaks:

Chocolate Truffles

1 12-oz. package of *semi-sweet chocolate pieces, or 1 11 1/2-oz. bag of milk chocolate pieces
1/3 c. whipping cream
1/2 tsp. **vanilla extract
12-oz. ***chocolate flavored candy coating, cut up

*I use Ghirardelli or Guittard chocolate. The better quality chocolate, the better the truffles. You can also substitute for white chocolate. Experiment! Make it your own! :)
**I change this up sometimes and use other flavor extracts like peppermint, orange, raspberry to change the flavor of the truffles
***Wilton candy melts work the best! They melt fast and smooth.

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine chocolate pieces and whipping cream. Cook and stir constantly over low heat until chocolate melts. Remove saucepan from heat; cool slightly. Stir in vanilla. Beat truffle mixture with an electric mixture on low speed until smooth. Drop truffle mixture by teaspoon onto prepared baking sheet. Chill about 20 minutes or until firm.


***I use a double boiler for melting chocolate. I usually cool the mixture in the fridge until it is slightly more firm and use an extra small cookie scoop (similar to this one) to spoon the mixture onto the baking sheet. This gives it a more uniform look and this way I can skip the first part of Step 2 . I then put the truffle balls into the freezer until they are hard.***
2. Shape truffle mixture into balls; freeze for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan melt candy coating over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Using a fork, quickly dip truffles, one at a time, into coating. Draw fork across rim of the saucepan to remove excess coating. Return truffles to prepared baking sheet. Let stand for about 30 minutes or until coating is set.

(If there are imperfections in your dipping, don't fret! the DRIZZLE will cover them up! :)***At this time you can drizzle candy melts over the truffles to give them a decorative touch (and hide imperfections). I will use different colors depending on the flavor of the truffle, i.e red=raspberry, yellow=lemon, orange=orange, etc... I have also used coconut, lemon zest, crushed peppermints, nuts...

I f you are not going to eat these right away, they can be refrigerated in a covered container for 2 weeks.

I place my truffles inside small cupcake cups and box them up. Wilton makes candy boxes. I can fit 16 truffles of this size into a 1/2 lb. box. I also decorate the outside of the box...It really gives it that extra love! ~♥♥♥~
Well, that's it in a nutshell. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! Have fun, and don't get too sick eating so many truffles!

I'm linking up the The Answer is Chocolate's:

And these other great parties!

Smiles and Happiness,

(Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated or endorsed by the products I used in this post. The links are intended for reference purposes only.)

How Charming! Stain Glass Charms (Semi-tutorial)

Okay~I know I said I would get this posted earlier in the day, but I guess it's better late than never... So, I call this a "Semi-Tutorial" because I can only get so detailed when not demonstrating first hand. So, if it's confusing... I'm sorry... A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me to make some stain glass charms for her jewelry. (If you want some custom jewelry you can check her out here.) Now I've done stain glass in the past, but it has been literally over a decade! It was fun giving myself a quick refresher. Now before I begin the step by step process let me add this little disclaimer... ***I am NOT a scrapbooker*** I seem to lack the visual eye and talent for matching different paper and color schemes together. So please don't judge my quirky designs ;).

So, I call this a "Semi-Tutorial" because I can only get so detailed when not demonstrating first hand. So, if it's confusing... I'm sorry...
Also, this is my first tutorial, so please bear with me. That being said, let's begin! :)

The first thing you need is the right tools.

*Safety glasses
*Small clamps or clothes pins (I recommend they be mounted to a large block. You'll see
why later...)
*Wood pencil
*Exact-o knife
*Basic paint brush
*Needle nose pliers
*Soldering iron (You will also want to have a heat proof stand for your iron.)
*Very wet sponge (not pictured)

You will definitely want to place a piece of ply-wood as your work area, so you don't scorch your table top like I did! :( Do as I say...not as I do!

Now, here is a basic list of supplies you need to make a pendant:

*Small pieces (in pairs) of cut glass or beveled glass. The above pieces were purchased from a local stained glass supplier here in AZ. (Sizes 1"x1", 1"x2", 1.5"x1.5", 1"x1.5"). You are free to
cut your own glass, if you so desire, but I find this much easier...(and I've cut A LOT of glass!)


*Copper foil. This is available at Hobby Lobby for less than what the supplier charges. Even better if you have a 40% off coupon!


*Safety flux for copper foil. Also available at Hobby Lobby.


*Lead Free solder. It is VERY important to use LEAD FREE solder if you are using the pedants as jewelry. We don't want to be causing people to get sick or anything like that. Lead Free solder is also available at Hobby Lobby, but I personally do not recommend the brand they sell. It is hard to melt and difficult to work with. I purchased the above solder from the supplier.


*Jump rings and lobster claw clasps.


*And lastly the design, image or photograph cut to the size of glass you are using for your charm. These are the designs I made. Make sure your insert is double-sided since it will be sandwiched between 2 pieces of glass. If you are using an image from the internet, make sure it is not copyrighted!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1st sandwich your image between 2 pieces of glass.


Keeping the glass and image aligned, carefully place on the center of the sticky side of the copper foil. Wrap around the entire edge of the glass. Fold down foil to frame the glass.


Take your pencil and firmly (but gently) rub down the copper foil on edges and face of glass (both sides). This will help adhere the foil to the glass and keep the flux (next step) from leaking into the pendant. (Did I overuse the parentheses? ;)


At this time, you can trim any imperfections with your Exact-o knife.


Once your copper foil is on and secure, brush flux onto the copper foil. Make sure you completely cover the foil, but do not slather! You do not want to flux to leak into your design!


You are ready to solder! You will have to experiment with the solder, because it differs from brand to brand. Play around until you figure out how to make it smooth. Make sure to reapply your flux as often as needed. Also, clean you iron between applications. This is when you will use your wet sponge. (I know this step can be confusing. If I get enough requests, I will post a video of how I solder.)

Solder the front and back first.

After it will look like this. At this time, it will be easier solder and smooth the edges.

***If your solder job isn't "perfect"...No worries!!! Part of the "charm" of these little beauties is how raw and imperfect they are!***

To attach your clasp, apply a small bit of flux to the closed opening of your jump ring. Then solder to your charm.


Clean your pendant with a wet towel. Your can use window cleaner, but do not spray directly on the pendant and do not emerge in water.

You're done!!! Enjoy your pretty charm!

There are so many possibilities with this project, so let your creativity run wild! You may spend a pretty penny to get started, but you will be able to make dozens upon dozens of charms with the basic supplies you purchase.

Fronts
Backs

I hope it all made sense... If your have ANY questions, please ASK! Have some fun with it and let me know how it goes!

I'm linking up here.

Have a lovely day!