An UNtraditional Christmas Card

In decorating & getting ready for Christmas, do you gravitate more towards the traditional red & green colour scheme or do you like to shake it up a bit & try something new every year or every few years? 

This year, in my Christmas card making, I decided to "shake it up a little" & try something completely UNtraditional! 

Bright, summery colours used in a Christmasy way was my starting point. And I love how these cards turned out!

Products used:

Cardstock - Michaels, Stampin' Up!, & American Crafts
Stamps - Stampin' Up! (ornament hanger) & My Mind's Eye (sentiment)
Circle Punch - Stampin' Up!
Glitter - Stickles

So, go ahead - I dare you! :) 

Try some untraditional colours this year & see if you don't just love the result!

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Double Banana Bread

Am I the only one who ends up with loads of rotten bananas in my freezer every few months? You wanna know what my go-to recipe is when that happens? This is it!

It's so full of banana flavour, I'm sure you'll love it too!

Double Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf or 4 mini loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cup mashed, overripe bananas (7-8 bananas)

Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, soda, & salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together butter & sugar. Stir in eggs & mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60-65 minutes (less for mini loaves - about 35 minutes), until a toothpick inserted into centre of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Come on & make some - you know you want to! ;)

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50 Stocking Stuffers For Teenage Boys

  

  I like to get my Christmas shopping done early. Do you too? Last month, I was trying to think of stocking stuffers for my teenage nephew & niece. I looked for a little help from Google, but other than a couple small lists, there really wasn't much help. After taking what little help I found, remembering back to my teenage days, & just making some lists over a couple of days, I came up with 50 stocking stuffer ideas for both teenage guys & teenage girls. I hope these are of help to you.

  If you have any more ideas, please feel free to leave comments so we can all help one another out! 

  This week, we'll start with the ideas for teen boys.

1. Magazine
2. Book
3. Small Nerf gun
4. flashlight
5. Small Tools
6. Shaving cream
7. Razors
8. Earbuds
9. Socks
10. Sunglasses
11. Tie
12. iTunes card
13. T-shirt
14. Cologne or body spray
15. Wallet
16. Men's hair products – shampoo, hair gel, paste, etc.
17. Phone case
18. Gloves
19. DVD
20. CD
21. USB flash drive
22. Watch
23. Card game or playing cards
24. Key chain
25. Belt
26. Chocolate, candy, or gum
27. Lip balm
28. Concert tickets
29. Movie tickets
30. Coffee card (Starbucks, anyone?)
31. Calendar
32. Hot chocolate packets
33. Mug
34. Guitar picks or strings for a guitar player, drum sticks for a drummer
35. Small sports things – golf balls, tees, tennis balls, ski goggles, etc.
36. Favourite sports team gear
37. Tickets to the game
38. Cap or knit hat
39. Small alarm clock
40. Video game
41. Christmas tree ornament
42. Body wash
43. Room freshener - or perhaps this is more for mom? ;)
44. Pen
45. A small package of their favourite snack
46. Woopie cushion or other practical joke
47. Magic tricks
48. Pocket knife
49. Sports poster
50. Car accessories, if they own a car
    
    
    Don't forget to check out my 50 Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Teenage Girls!
    
    
    

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Chocolate Chip Candy Cookies

  

  Do you still have Halloween candy kickin' around? Ya, we do too. :) This week, with permission from our kids, I harvested all the boxes of Smarties (similar to original M&M's for you Americans) they had & made cookies with them. Our kids were pretty excited to help out & be able to contribute one of the yummy ingredients! 

  I promise you'll like these chewy, gooey, chocolatey cookies!

Chocolate Chip Candy Cookies

makes 2 dozen

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Smarties or M&M's

Preheat oven to 350º F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter & sugars until fluffy & light in color. Add egg & vanilla & blend in.

Mix in dry ingredients & chocolate chips. Slowly stir in candies. 

Using a tablespoon, drop dough onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just lightly browned. 

Let cool, on the sheet for 5 minutes, then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Pour yourself a glass of milk & enjoy a couple. :)

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As well as The Weekend Potluck

and at:

This recipe featured on:

Christmas Place Cards

  

  Well, today is the day. I've been working very hard on Christmas crafts all month to get ready for today's craft fair. Of the things I've been preparing, one of them is Christmas place cards. 

  Place cards are a great thing to have on hand for your formal Christmas dinner. They're also great for buffets so you can label each dish.

Here is a set that I made a couple Christmases ago for my mom. She had started a bird theme with her Christmas decor & wanted some place cards to co-ordinate at the Christmas table. 

Sadly, they took quite awhile to make - lots of tiny pieces. I would have loved to make more of those for the craft fair, but just didn't have the time. Maybe next year.

Here are some simple ones I created for the craft fair.

I added a little bling to the gifts as well as to the snowflakes below...

'Cuz everyone loves a little bling, right? 

I'll be sure & let you know how things went today. 

I hope you're having fun getting ready for the holidays. :)

Thanks for reading. If you like what you see here on Silver Boxes, I'd love it if you would become a follower on Google Friend Connect, subscribe by email (sign up on the right sidebar), 

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And please leave a comment when you do so I know who my new friends are! :)

Enjoy your day!

Check out the great parties I link up to!