cranberry blueberry bars.

December 18, 2013 by mama lola

i found this delicious recipe from smitten kitchen, but tweaked it to fit the flavours i had in my cupboards.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold unsalted butter
1 egg or egg substitute
1/4 teaspoon salt
orange zest
4 cups cranberries and blueberries combined
1/2 cup white sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch

INSTRUCTION:

1. preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. in a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. mix in salt and orange zest using a fork to blend in the butter and egg or egg substitute. the dough will be crumbly, but that’s what we want! pat half of dough into the greased pan.

3. in another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. with a potato masher, crush the cranberries in a bowl, mix in the blueberries. then, pour the cranberry blueberry mixture evenly over the crust and spread remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. bake in oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

this is an easy recipe to complete. the cranberries are tart, so some may prefer more sugar in the recipe, but i decided not to add sugar. instead, i will add a scoop of ice cream or make a big mug of hot chocolate to go with my yummy bar.

enjoy!

christmas orange pomanders!

December 14, 2013 by mama lola

christmas pomanders are something i make every year. they are a wonderful gift for others and beautiful decorations in your own home.

they smell like christmas!

all you need to make these are oranges (or clementines) and cloves. i have made pomanders with different patterns; spirals or hearts, so pretty! adding a ribbon is a nice touch as well, just remember to add it first. some people suggest placing a rubber band around the orange to guide in making a straight line. just take a clove and poke it through the rind. it can get painful for your index finger after a bit, but it’ll be s worth it in the end… trust me!

i made a pomender three years ago and it tried beautifully and still smells yummy!

christmas cookie round-up!

December 10, 2013 by mama lola

the christmas season is full of yummy cookies. we love to bake all sorts of cookies this time of year. here is a round-up of decoration ideas from snowflakes to snow globes to hurt gingerbread men.

melting snowman cookies from simply stitched together

christmas ornament cookies from fresh cut flours

snow globe’s from hello naomi

christmas cookies from sweetopia

christmas cookie snowflakes from pasta princess & more

gingerbread cookie recipe from glorious treats

gingerbread men cookies from the national geographic

i am so inspired to roll up my sleeves and get baking! i love, LOVE decorating cookies!

what kind of cookies are you baking this holiday season?

do you prefer gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies, or do you bake both?

make your own pom poms!

December 3, 2013 by mama lola

look at these adorable pom poms i made. i will be using them as part of my gift wrapping this year, that’s why there are strings coming out of them. i bought cheap, acrylic yarn, deciding lovely wool wasn’t worth it in the long run.

then i picked through pinterest and discovered several different ways of making pom poms. i tried out three.

FIRST METHOD: this is by far the fastest and most efficient way, in my opinion.

it’s from DIY queens

SECOND METHOD: this one is best for tiny pom poms and is not my fave. but, it’s fun nonetheless.

get yer forks out! found this tutorial from small good things.

THIRD METHOD: this is the way my mum taught years and years ago. tried, tested and true, but more time consuming than the first method.

this tutorial comes from lark & linen.

i didn’t find that one method made better pom poms over another. the key to a pretty pom pom is using lotsa yarn and making sure you trim it evenly at the end.

do you have a favourite method of making pom poms?

december, the christmas month.

December 1, 2013 by mama lola

in finnish december is joulukuu, which when translated means christmas month.

and, at our house it sure is.

TERVETULOA JOULUKUU. WELCOME DECEMBER.

the advent calender has been hung up in our living room with great anticipation to see whether or not joulutonttu, the christmas elf, will leave any little surprises for the boys. joulutonttu is very discreet and the kids have never seen him. but, joulutonttu peeks in through the windows and from around corners to see how we’re all behaving, reporting back to his boss, joulupukki. speaking of him, the kids wrote letters to joulupukki with random wishes; bear asked for a hamster (as if) and 3 surprises (that’s easy). and, lion asked for a doll (again, easy).

dear hubby loves to bake during the holidays and after scouring pinterest he has bookmarked several yummy cookie recipes. this weekend he has been busy in the kitchen making lists, checking ingredients and just being darn cute.

we have been enjoying christmas music, as well. thanks to sirius radio, with it’s variety of different channels of holiday music.

and, then today joulu radio started in finland. i have been sitting, listening, feeling incredibly nostalgic for a finnish christmas.

it’ hard to sing along with this big ol’ lump in my throat.

christmas is a very special time in finland. it is not as commercial or based in consumerism, the way it is here in north america. there are traditions that are deep rooted in many families and i will write more about those later this month.

are you excited for december?

what are some of your holiday traditions this time of year?

this moment.

November 22, 2013 by mama lola

as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words, only an image to sum up our time as a family. one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this time in our lives.

(i’m cheating a little and adding two pictures!)

please leave link to your this moment from this week.

fancy festive bow ties!

November 19, 2013 by mama lola

my boys have their own sense of style and love to look fancy.

they love to look handsome for birthday parties, weddings and christmas festivities are no different. so, this season i am again sewing new bow ties for my wee trend setters, which they will discover one december morning in their advent calender! see previous tutorial HERE.

this is such a quick n’ easy sewing project.

SUPPLIES:

* festive fabric of your choice

* scissors

* thread, needle

* iron

* elastic

INSTRUCTIONS:

* cut two rectangles, one bigger than the other.

* fold fabric in half with the patterns sides facing each other, sew around the edges, leaving an unstiched opening at the end.

* sew all the way around your rectangle, except for a small opening at the end. you need this opening to get your fabric right side out.

* cut the corners and then turn the rectangles right side out. mine look wrinkly, because it’s a tight squeeze through the small opening! a quick iron will that!

* sew up the openings by hand.

* this time i used a small scrap piece to cinch up the two rectangles to create the bow tie shape. before, i’ve sewn specific pieces for the centre for cinching. you can find those instructions HERE.

* cut and measure elastic band. loop through the back of the bow tie and then sew the wends together.

here are some examples of other bow ties i have sewn for the boys. the top one is from bear’s 4th birthday. instead of making loot bags all the guests received a bow tie! the one on the middles is another x-mas bow tie and the purple one at the bottom is from a wedding the kids were in. now, my kids wear bow ties all the time; school pictures, just because or for looking fancy!

and don’t forget, bow ties are not just for boys!

christmas bucket list!

November 18, 2013 by mama lola

christmas is a very fun n’ busy time of year. the boys, especially bear, keeps asking when december will get here, because that is when we start our holiday festivities at our house.

we hang up the large advent calender i made a couple of years ago, DH battles with the lights outside and gets them up on our front porch, and within the first week of december we get our christmas tree purchased and decorated.

to make sure we get everything done this season, i made this bucket list. i couldn’t fit everything on there that happens, as christmas is a very busy season!

what’s on your christmas bucket list this year? anything new?

what are your x-mas traditions?

festive felt crafts!

November 16, 2013 by mama lola

felt is such a wonderful material to work with.
here is a festive felt collection of crafts, which will add a colourful touch of colour and warmth to any holiday home.

felt ornaments from fantastic toys

christmas trees from natural suburbia

twisted felt garland from purl bee

another holly garland from megan nielsen

felt pinecone, felt good from honeysuckle

make your own mistletoe from stay-at-home artist

half eaten gingerbread man from elsie marley

i must say that half eaten gingerbread man is hilarious and such a good idea!

holiday garlands!

November 10, 2013 by mama lola

i {LOVE} garlands.
i love how you can make them out of everything and anything. you can decorate a plain wall, a festive table, a banister or a window. i love the combinations of textures, colours and patterns garlands can hold, and i love the simplicity of the garlands included in this collection.