On the 3rd Day of Christmas...

Before our lovely project... the winner of yesterday's giveaway for the Beeginner Learning Cross Stitch Kit ~ Bee Kind is Lily of the Valley! Please email us and send your address! Congratulations!

(Please note this post will be up until Monday - no post for Sundays! All entries can continue through that time, sale is good until Monday also!)

Girl's Simple Bonnet

This bonnet can be used as a nightcap, but with ties and such use caution. A simple play bonnet for your little lady is a better idea! A quick and lovely gift!

15" x 36" cotton fabric - I used white for a simpler look, but pretty calicos work too!
1 yd. 1/2" Ribbon
1 yd. 1/4" Ribbon
Matching Cotton Thread

Tips: When beginning to sew a line, make sure to back up the stitch to lock it in place. You don't want stitches unraveling!

If you have a 1/4" presser foot, this helps to stitch close to the hemline for your top stitching.

1. Hem and press each short side of the fabric 1/4", hem again 1/4".

2. Top stitch both sides in cotton thread, very close to the edge.

3. Turn and press one long side 1/4", then press and hem another 2 1/4". Top stitch in cotton thread. Measure 3/4" from the stitched hem and sew a straight line to make a casing. This is for the 1/2" ribbon.

5. Turn and press the other long side 1/4", then hem 3/4". Top stitch in cotton thread. This is the casing for the 1/4" ribbon.

Here's what we have now:
You can see the extra line on the wide hemmed side for the casing.

6. Attach a safety pin onto the end of the 1/2" ribbon and insert through the 3/4" casing on the 2 1/4" hemmed side. Pull snug to make the front ruffle for the bonnet, leave even amounts of ribbon on each side for the tie. For a larger girl, make less ruffle and leave a longer amount of ribbon.

7. Repeat inserting casing on the other long side and tie a bow snug to making a little circle for the back of the bonnet.

Put it on the little girl and adjust ribbon. To make these comfy, it helps to have them put their head back while you tie the ribbon. Done! Very simple and fun for them play in!

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Giveaway Details!

We are keeping the daily giveaway as simple as possible. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment to that day's blog post and say that you want to be entered in the giveaway - one comment equals one entry. You can earn one additional entry by posting about the daily 12 Days of Christmas blog post on your blog, Facebook (add us, Theresa Powers or Jessica Munday, as friends on Facebook for verification) or twitter. Each day we will draw a winner and announce the winner the following day before the next daily post!

Today's giveaway is our Christmas 2011 Joyous Home Journal!



and the Daily Deal on Joyous Home is...

Seasons At Home Magazine Holiday 2008!
On sale for $5.00 - Regular price $10.00

On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

Before our daily post, the winner of yesterday's giveaway is Kim- fulltimer! Send me an email with your mailing address at: swtjes@msn.com.

~ As a note to everyone entering the giveaways, the giveaway for each day ends on the new post on the following day and the winner is announced. So, today's giveaway ends tomorrow on the new post! See what today's giveaway is at the bottom... we love these!

Easy Invitations or Cards

These invitations are pretty and easy to make. This is definitely for a beginner that wants to browse the scrapbooking isle!

You'll need:
Assorted Adhesive Christmas Chipboard - Kandcompany.com- We found ours at JoAnns
1 Pack of Adhesive Borders - Kandcompany.com
Christmas Scrapbook Paper - Background
Solid Colored Canvas Paper - To print invite on
Solid Tag Board - For Punched Corner background
1 Corner Punch - Optional, but pretty!
Paper Cutter - Optional but helps keep things straight, or use a ruler and scissors

Adhesive chipboard, borders and Christmas scrapbook paper

Cut the background 5" x 7". Cut the middle tag board 4" x 6". Go through the borders and pick which ones you'll use for the card.

Using your corner punch, punch the corners of the tag board.

Glue the tag board to the background Christmas paper.


Print out your text and invite on the canvas paper. Use something like Word and fit 4 to a page. CAREFUL! Print the out on plain copier paper first. Canvas paper is about .69 a sheet. It's not a cheap mistake if you mess up!


Glue the invite to the tag board. Now be creative and add your borders, chipboard and anything else. These came out so pretty, and looking like we spent a lot more time on them than we did! We are making them for our Christmas cards this year. You can add anything to the canvas paper, such as a picture or a pretty manger scene. Enjoy!

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Giveaway Details!

We are keeping the daily giveaway as simple as possible. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment to that day's blog post and say that you want to be entered in the giveaway - one comment equals one entry. You can earn one additional entry by posting about the daily 12 Days of Christmas blog post on your blog, Facebook (add us, Theresa Powers or Jessica Munday, as friends on Facebook for verification) or twitter. Each day we will draw a winner and announce the winner the following day before the next daily post!

Today's giveaway is the Beeginner Learning Cross Stitch Kit, Bee Kind!

and the Daily Deal on Joyous Home is...

Baby's First Foods
On sale for $7.50 - Regular price $15.00

On the 1st Day of Christmas...

Hello all!

Welcome to our 12 Days of Christmas! Over the next 12 days, each day we are going to feature a special daily post, along with a giveaway here on our blog and a Deal of the Day on a specific product on our website, Joyous Home. We will post each day's post on or before noon each day, and announce the winner from previous day. See more of the giveaway rules and details below the post!

Today, we are baking bread!

Twisted Almond Wreath

Sweet breads made into braids and wreaths, filled with jams and almond marzipan are some of our family's favorite Christmas season treats! This wreath is very easy to make. If you can make cinnamon rolls, then you will have no trouble with this! If you are a beginning bread maker, read here.

You can use any bread dough for this recipe, but for a real treat we recommend using a sweet bread dough recipe. This is our Christmas dough recipe:

In a saucepan, melt together until very warm:
1/2 cup melted butter
2 1/2 cups warm milk
1 cup maple syrup or honey

In the Bosch mixer with the dough hook:
melted butter/milk mixture
3 large eggs
2 1/2 cups warm water
2 1/2 Tbsp. SAF Yeast
1 Tbsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. LorAnn Buttery Sweet Dough flavor (optional, but very yummy!)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
2 1/2 Tbsp. dough enhancer (again, this is helpful but not always necessary)
4 1/2 cups freshly ground hard white wheat flour

Mix until smooth. Sponge the mix for 35-45 minutes. 45 minutes gives excellent results! As the dough mix rises to the top of the bowl, just jog the mixer to punch the dough back down.

Sponging your dough allows the yeast to develop and also gives some of the flour you've added a chance to soften and absorb some of the liquid. Allowing some of the liquid to be absorbed this way gives you realistic idea of how much flour needs to be added. Adding too much flour makes a very dry bread. After sponging the dough, add:

2 1/2 Tbsp. sea salt.
freshly ground hard wheat flour

Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing gently after each addition. Add flour until the dough is soft and sticky (but not too wet) and cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead for 4 minutes on medium-high speed. If you are a beginning bread maker, read here.

To make the Almond Wreath:
You need an 8oz. can of almond paste filling. The brand we use is called Solo and is available in most grocery stores in the baking aisle.

In the blender place 1 cup pecans or walnuts and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Spoon the almond paste on top of the nuts. Pulse the blender until the nuts and the paste are ground together.


On a greased surface, roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 10" x 25". Brush with 1/2 cup softened butter. Sprinkle 2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon over the butter and use the brush to blend it with the butter. Sprinkle the almond paste/nut mixture evenly over the top of all.

Roll up cinnamon roll style...

On a baking sheet lined with either a silicone baking mat or parchment paper, slide the roll on the pan and shape into a circle. Pinch the dough together to connect the ends.

With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut into the outer part of the ring, 1" away from the inner circle. Twist each cut to the side.

Brush the entire wreath with an egg wash (1 large egg whisked together with 1 Tbsp. water) and sprinkle with pearled sugar (available at specialty baking stores, such as Baker's Catalog).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Let the wreath rise for 10 minutes. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the wreath is a light golden brown. Cool on the pan completely.

Use large spatulas to carefully move the wreath to the plate you are going to serve it on. Drizzle with Butter Almond Icing!

Butter Almond Icing
In a bowl, mix together:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 Tbsp. half & half

Whisk together until smooth. Use a pastry bag or a plastic zip bag with a corner snipped off to drizzle the icing over the bread.

Finished!

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Giveaway Details!

We are keeping the daily giveaway as simple as possible. To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment to that day's blog post and say that you want to be entered in the giveaway- one comment equals one entry. You can earn one additional entry by posting about the daily 12 Days of Christmas blog post on your blog, Facebook (add us, Theresa Powers or Jessica Munday, as friends on Facebook for verification) or twitter. Each day we will draw a winner and announce the winner the following day before the next daily post!

Today's giveaway is the Seasons At Home Holiday '09 magazine!

and the Daily Deal on Joyous Home is...

The Girl's Embroidery Scissors

On sale for $3.50 - Regular price $6.50
I love these scissors, they are our favorite for embroidery!