Holiday hot cocoa ornaments

My daughter wanted to make quick Christmas gifts so this is what we did.

Supplies

*plastic ornaments
*peppermint hot cocoa
*dozens of different festive *holiday candy sprinkles

Tools
*Spoon
*funnel
*Tray

Fill ornaments 4/5 full cocoa finish with different candy sprinkles recap add curling ribbon

Note decorative do not hang with hot cocoa in it too heavy will fall and make mess...

Scissors

Beaded hair piece and Boutannier

My daughter Starr and myself got together today to make a hair piece and boutannier for my youngest daughter to use for homecoming next weekend.


Her dress is sort of a peachy pink.


So we gathered my bead boxes that had those color sin it and some turquoise and some gold.

This is a side hair piece while it was under construction. The little flowers in the left photo are actually parts of the boutannier. This is the hair piece while it was under construction.

 

 

This image below is the piece all done with the silk leaves added we use twist pins to hold these items in the hairstyles  my children do.

This is the flower that is in the hair piece while it was under construction.

The boutannier

 

 all finished

 Below you can see the boutannier holder we mounted the boutannier into.  also more bits and pieces under construction in this photo.

 Some of the little pieces in the boutannier.

 Petals while under construction encase people like to see how the parts look.

 Once again the boutannier holder up close.

candy apples

Because fall is here this is a common treat to eat and make.

Supplies

•  2 quart sauce pan
• cookie sheet
• shortening
• granulated sugar 3 cups
• flavoring cinnamon or cherry optional ( my family is allergic to cinnamon  as of 3 years ago so we avoid that flavor which is sad as we all love it)
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• water 1.5  cups 
• 1/2 tbp red food coloring liquid or 1 tsp paste Wilton brand which i like  but use what you like best
• clean dry room temperature apples with steams removed about 8 to 10 depends on size tart apples work and taste best
• wood candy apple sticks the same number as apples

1. grease cookie sheet set aside
2.  prep apple by sticking  sticks into top of apples where the steam had been set aside
3. combine water sugar coloring in sauce pan stir well
4. bring water sugar coloring to a good boil  (300 to 310  degrees f ) do not stir while cooking
5. then turn heat to medium high and cook till hard crack state  you will know this state when candy liquid drizzled in a cup of cold water turns to candy strings
6. add flavoring stir in
7. tilt pan be careful very hot syrup and roll apples in liquid let drip above pan to get rid of excess place on cookie sheet repeat till all  are coated let cool  ( can coat cookie sheet with large granulated sugar to make a sort of crystal effect on bottom of apples I didn't do that but some people like it that way
8. share eat and enjoy

about 30 mins total time cooking not counting cool time another 30 mins
best to eat in the first 24 hours as the candy wicks moisture from the apple and gets sticky over time do not store in fridge makes sticky faster  dry area best

tips:

•  if mixture starts to harden while dipping just set back on heat to soften it back up and continue dipping again.
• also if you mix in 1/8 tsp solid shortening before you dip you won't get as many bubbles on your apples I didn't do that as I don't mind the bubbles but if you do  give that a go.

Internship leather sewing Yellow/green and yellow/black knights

This is the horse chest piece it was hand cut by Alex sewn by me.  This piece is for a horse rode by a male knight.

 This is one of the female knight outfits while it was under construction.

 This is the hose that has the dear head chest piece rode by the male knight.

The horse rode by the female knight

 

 

 

 

Contact McGrew Studios if you need some made