Gingerbread houses 2012

This year we decided to change the recipe we used to make our gingerbread houses and make the gingerbread houses much smaller. We found that the bigger ones look prettier and can fit more decorations on them, but that the children just east all the lollies instead of eating the gingerbread. This recipe is one that the children like eating, so I was hopeful it would be more successful.

Ingredients:
125g margarine
1/2 cup of Caster Sugar
1 egg yolk
2 cups of plain flour
3 teaspoons of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon of bi-carb soda
1/4 cup of golden syrup warmed for 20 seconds in the microwave

-beat butter and sugar until creamy

-add egg yolk and mix thoroughly

- sift flour, ginger, pepper and bi-carb soda together and then add to the butter mixture along with the golden syrup. This should bring the dough together into a thick stick ball of dough

- knead dough on lightly floured surface and roll out to a 1/2cm thickness

-cut the house pattern out of the dough and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 1 house and a few tiny biscuits to taste test.

I used the computer to make house shapes to print out so I could use them as templates for cutting out my gingerbread house pieces.

It is a good thing that royal icing can make up for our wonky house pieces!

The children had a lovely time decorating the houses and then eating them.

Biscuit Wreath

This year my oldest son wanted to take in a gift to share with all the teachers from his school and he wanted it to be something edible. While we were sitting in a waiting room at an appointment he found a picture of a biscuit wreath and decided that this was exactly what he wanted to make.

We made a butter biscuit recipe with white chocolate added to the mix for a richer biscuit. Once we cut out the biscuits we 'glued' them together into a wreath shape with melted chocolate. I thought this was easier than a royal icing alternative and the children could manage without my help.

White Chocolate Butter Biscuits

200 grams of butter

1 cup of caster sugar

1 egg

2 1/4 cups of plain flour

100 grams of grated white chocolate

Extra 150grams  white chocolate for joining the biscuits

Icing sugar for sifting over the finished wreath

Cream the butter and sugar then add the egg and mix well.

Slowly add the flour and grated chocolate to the mixture. 

Once the mixture comes together in a big lump put it in the fridge for half an hour.  

Roll the mixture out and cut out various sized stars, place on a baking tray and put in the oven at 180C conventional or 170C fan forced. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they start to colour - these biscuits are not meant to be brown, so stay close to the oven when cooking as the chocolate in the mix ensures that they go from cooked to burnt in a few minutes!

Once the biscuits have cooled, melt the extra chocolate and use it to glue the stars in a wreath shape. Sift icing sugar over the top to finish.

Pasta Angel

When I was younger ... a lot younger ... I made pasta angels to give my friends and family for Christmas. I always intended to make more each year and then wouldn't get around to it. Since I have a few extra sets of hands this year I am determined to make them again.

The first materials that we need are a few different types of pasta. Rigatoni pasta makes a good body, while the bowtie pasta forms the wings.

My boys glued the wings to the body with PVA glue and left them to dry overnight. 

Next we used macaroni pasta to form the arms. These were slightly trickier to glue on, but we found that if we rested the arms on the wings then it would stay long enough to dry. Again, we left the arms to dry overnight.

Being slightly forgetful, I didn't photograph the next few steps. We found a plastic bunch of grapes at Spotlight and pulled it apart. Each grape was the right size to form a head for our little angels. We glued the grapes on to the bodies. Then we dipped the angels into a tin of enamel paint and used the stems to hang them to dry on a coat hanger. I made sure that this was over a piece of plastic so that the drips wouldn't fall onto the concrete.

Once the heads were dry we glued tiny star pasta on to form the hair.

Once all the glue was dry then we painted the hair  and the tips of the wings gold and drew on two black eyes. 

And here is one of the finished angels.

Gingerbread House

Here we have our Christmas gingerbread house. Last year I decided to just buy a gingerbread house kit from the supermarket (seen above). This year we are planning on making our own to give friends as presents, so hopefully I'll be able to post it before Christmas as well as this one. We  made some royal icing to glue the lollies on to the house as decorations. This icing dries really quickly, so it is ideal for small children to use as glue! I found that this recipe made enough icing for two houses. 

Royal Icing Recipe

2 cups of sifted icing sugar

2 egg whites

1 lemon

1. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks 

2. Gradually add the sugar with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Candle Making

Today I wanted to do something a little different. The children are very keen on painting but it is not one of my favourite activities. Since I know that they were painting this morning, I was determined to find something else to do. I came across some wax pellets and wicks in the cupboard for candle making. 

I'm sure you all know that candle making involves heating up the wax until it melts so are probably wondering why I  am crazy enough to try this with the children around. Well, I set the children up on the other side of the kitchen bench and had them measure out the wicks and cut them to size (the reason why all the wicks are different sizes!). They then had to work out how to hang them over the little glasses. With these two they have used a paint brush. 

James decided that we needed a heat mat (good idea - not sure why I didn't think of it first!)

Then all that was left was for me to melt the wax in the microwave for 4 minutes, add the colour and scented oil and pour it in.

 There are a few dips in the top of the candle - curious fingers testing if the candle was ready to use. Although I don't advocate poking fingers into setting candles, it does give it that extra something that says 'I made this just for you'

Clay Ornaments

At Majura Womens Group last year we had a session on making clay beads for necklaces. At the end of the session we took home the left over pieces of clay to finish making beads with. It just so happens that that day I was in a rush and my small packet of clay squares were hastily shoved into the cupboard when I came home and forgotten about until this week.

I wondered if it would be possible to roll out the clay and make little Christmas ornaments with them. So I set the boys to work rolling out the clay and cutting out shapes. Once the shapes were cut out the boys decorated them, using a toothpick to scratch drawings on to the clay. Then we simply popped them in the oven to cook for 20 minutes.

These ornaments are destined to decorate Christmas cards.

Glass Tile Pendants

I went along to the craft fair last month and was determined to find a project to make with the kids that could then be given as gifts. Sounds easy? Well, I discovered to my chagrin that the craft fair mostly caters to adults. After circling the stalls once I had to make my way around a second time scouring the stalls for something I could bring home for the boys to make. In the end I came up with a glass tile pendant kit. The lady on the stall assured me that it was extremely simple, suitable for all ages and hard to make a mistake with. It ticked all the boxes, and I was sold when she told me that each kit contained enough to make 9 items. 

On arriving home I inspected the kit closely and discovered that there were a variety of beautiful papers to chose from to decorate my jewellery.

To make the pendants there are only a few steps.

1. Pick a paper that you like and is larger than the pendant you want to attach it to.

2. Cover the back of the pendant with diamond glaze and press it onto the paper then leave it to dry

Waiting for the diamond glaze to dry

 3. Once the glaze has dried, take a sharp pair of scissors or sharp knife and trim the excess paper from the pendant. It is best to do this at an angle so that there is no paper left overhanging the edge
4. Coat the paper with 2 coats of clear nail varnish or diamond glaze and leave it to dry again

the trimmed pendants waiting to have a bail attached

5. Super glue a bail to the back of the pendant (or glue to something else!)

The only part I wouldn't let the children do was use the super glue. I told them it was strong enough to glue their fingers together and only adults were allowed to use super glue safely. It was then rather mortifying when I did accidentally glue my fingers together while finishing the tiles.

Here are two of the finished tiles.

Painting Gnomes

Floriade has a gnome knoll and every year I buy a gnome for the children to decorate. Just a warning - this is something I haven't done with the kids yet

This year Majura Womens Group decided to have a gnome painting session. I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint a gnome, but in the end joined in so I could spend the morning chatting to friends over paint and coffee (I had to keep reminding myself that my coffee was not the water for washing paintbrushes). The morning flew by and having such creative people around me inspired me to a more ambitious gnome - well, more ambitious than a plain coloured dress.

Did you know that this flesh colour on my gnome is pink and yellow? Thanks Kristen. I had to write it down so that I don't forget for when the boys make their ones.

I like to call this one my chameleon gnome. Okay, she does stand out a little on bare rocks, but put her near some flowers and grass, and she will disappear! She came out of a discussion on fashions through the ages. I thought that the early 2000s was iconic for the transparent dresses worn on the catwalk. Not everyone agreed with me, and perhaps it would be a little too risqué, so the chameleon gnome is the see-through G rated version of this.

Button Picture Frame

Imogen decided she wanted to make Dad a picture frame for Fathers Day. We raided my box of buttons for decorations after she coloured in the frame green. 

Beeswax Candle making

The kids were rummaging through the craft cupboard and came across some sheets of beeswax. They wanted to know what we could make with them and could they please use them. A quick search of the shelves also turned up some wicks, so we were set to make candles.

As you can see in the photos, beeswax candles only need 3 things - beeswax sheets, wicks and a hair dryer. We lie the wick along one end of the sheet with a little bit overhanging. Then we warm the wax with the hair dryer and tightly wrap the wick with the end of the sheet. Now we use the hair dryer to warm up the wax and tightly roll the wick up in the wax. The end of the sheet needs to be heated a little more until it almost melts so that the roll sticks together and doesn't unwind. Once we've finished making the candle, if we have wax in a different colour we cut out shapes and melt it on to the candle.

Depending on the age of the child making the candle, it may be tightly wrapped or loosely wrapped. It doesn't really matter. The tightness of the wrapping simply makes the candle last longer. So whenever I have a fast burning candle, I know my kids love me so much!