Chocolate Gingerbread House

Happy Friday evening! I can honestly say I am exhausted. I want to go to bed right now, but if I do, I fear I'll be wide awake at 3am! So, I'm posting because my eyes need a break from the projects I'm still working on.

I volunteered in both girls' classes today for their Winter Parties. Amy's was first thing this morning (breakfast type foods) and as the girls and I entered the school, we were greeted with a crowd in the lobby by the office. I mean wall to wall people! It turns out the teachers decided to sing carols to the people entering the building. It was SO cool! The kids thoroughly enjoyed it, as did all the parents. What a festive way to start the day.

I had all the stuff I needed to bring, but wouldn't you know...I forgot my camera! Gasp! It's because I had ALL that other stuff to bring and on my mind. Oh well. The kids had fun and enjoyed making the marshmallow snowmen. I realized in my effort not to give the kids too much frosting...I actually gave them a bit too little and some of the snowmen looked a tad 'interesting' shall we say? They didn't really care, all they wanted was to eat them! LOL

When I brought in the goodies for Jessica's party (which I was too early for...my mind is so scattered) I remembered the camera. And here's why I wanted to be sure I had it.

Look at this!

And NO, I didn't make this! LOL Amy's teacher made it, actually, for the class. What is so cool about this (other than the fact she made something like this for the class) is that this gingerbread house is made of chocolate!!!! The walls, roof, and even the Santa! She told me that she has chocolate molds that she used to create it. She's had the molds for a long time, and I sure have not seen anything like this (she thought I could find it/something similar at Michaels. She also told me that inside the house was candy for the kids. They were going to break it open and eat it later in the day. I just think this is a very cool idea and wanted to share.

Jessica's party was at the end of the day and they had sundaes in addition to the marshmallow snowman activity. After the kids were done her teacher put some music on and the kids started dancing off some of the sugar. Then she played a song that you move to according to what's sung. Thumbs up, thumbs back, feet apart, knees together, bottom up, tongue out, eyes closed, and turn around. But it built up each time. By the time one is done, the legs can sure feel it. And because it's such a silly sight, the kids LOVE it. Jessica's teacher encouraged the parents to join in and I was the only one who took her up on it (because I think it's fun to act kid-like and goofy).

So, it was a pretty good day. But I'm absolutely pooped. So, I think I am going to close this post and head to bed.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the sweet comments and emails about the critters I've been creating. I was worried I might bore you with them. I'm glad you are enjoying them. Have a great night and start to your weekend!

Jeanne

Daisies, Kitty, & Cupcake...

Happy Friday! It's Friday? Seriously? Where did this week go? It whizzed by so fast, my head is spinning. LOL

Jessica got pinned yesterday and is officially a Daisy. It was cute to see the girls say the Girl Scout Promise. We had a potluck after the little ceremony and I must admit, the cake pops were a hit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of pictures of the girls working on the cake pops, which went MUCH more smoothly than on Tuesday. (Mommy got smart with a little experience under her belt-LOL)

Notice the larger pans for the sprinkles. Ummmm yea, I had a ton on the floor the other day. Those little puppies can BOUNCE! I also moved the melted chocolate TO the table to be closer to the girls when they were ready for sprinkling. But again, we barely got done in time to head to swim class. But at least I didn't have to rush to get them done for Daisies!

And for your viewing pleasure a couple of more critters I've made:

The kitty is for Amy's friend, Hattie, who adores kitties.

And technically, I guess this one isn't a critter, but it's still cute, no?

I am getting closer to being done with all the hustle and bustle of getting gifts ready for the holiday. I still need to work on getting my cards addressed, but getting to today is a huge accomplishment!

I didn't mention it the other day, but I also put together a digital project, but I don't know if the recipient reads the blog, so I'll have to wait to mention more.

Okay...that's it from me for now. I have to finish getting ready to help out at the school today. Whew!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great TGIF!!!

Hugs,

Jeanne

Brownies and Cake Pops

Happy Wednesday morning!  LOL Both girls have scout meetings this week and they include investiture ceremonies and a potluck. I had been seeing Cake Pops show up in the blogosphere and thought they were a really cute idea. Reading how to make them sounded pretty easy, too. Since I can't take home-made goodies to school, I thought they'd be fun and festive to make for these pot lucks. What was I thinking?! LOL

Basically to make these you bake a cake and let it cool completely. Then you crumble up the cake. Then you mix in a can of frosting and let the helpers help themselves to the leftovers.

Then you chill the mixture (for 15 minutes supposedly-but we had to but the mixture in the freezer for longer than that because we were on a time crunch to get them done in time for Amy's meeting. Roll the batter/mixture into little balls and jab a lollipop stick into them. You melt chocolate, and dip the cake pop into the chocolate (praying it doesn't fall off into the melted chocolate-don't ask). When the chocolate has dripped off and before it sets decorate with sprinkles. Stick the pops into some styrofoam so they can cool/set upright and this is what you end up with.

Sorry I didn't take more pictures of the process, because it was kind of funny, but it was taking longer than I thought to get the pops dipped into the chocolate because it took longer than I thought for the mixture to chill. These are the three that were left over after the potluck. We still have Jessica's to make, so maybe I'll take more pics then.

And here are some shots from the ceremony. Don't mind Amy's messy face...she had spaghetti and always enjoys it very much!

 

 

 

 

 

 

She earned her first few badges last night and was quite excited.

Okay...I had wanted to get this posted last night, but was distracted by other things. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by.

Jeanne

Sweet Apple for the Teacher

Hi! I'm back again. LOL I finished up an apple for the teacher. I will be making a second one so the girls can give them to their teachers later this week.

I simply thought it too cute to resist. For those of you who are wondering how I am getting these things done. First of all, they are small projects and I can crochet them up pretty quickly. Second of all...you don't want to see the state of my house these days! LOL This is the last week of school before winter break, so once I get through this week, I can focus on keeping up with the house again. (yea, right...I'm having way more fun making these critters) It helps that I have a fairly tolerant family. The girls are loving playing with the goodies I'm making, and my hubby? Well, he just shakes his head in bewilderment. LOL

I have to give a weather report. I know you most likely don't care, but I think it's impressive. On Saturday our temps were in the upper 60s, which is pretty wild for December. On Sunday, however, we didn't get above zero! I heard it was -15 at the airport (official weather station) as a high! Yep, that's quite a shock to the system. This morning I heard we got as low as -19. When I took Amy to school it was -9 according the to gauge in the van. When I took Jess a bit later, it was 0. Picking them up it was 2! I got a phone call from the school district saying that they are having problems with the busses because of the temps. I guess they were going to be running late to get kids home. We are to watch in the morning to see if there is even school tomorrow!

Then as I was waiting to pick the girls up outside the kindergarten, parents were telling me that there was NO heat in the kindergarten wing today! Oh my goodness! Jessica said she was fine. I guess they moved them to other parts of the building. What is sad is this is the newly constructed wing (built the year Amy was in kindergarten). I wouldn't have expected the heat not to work on that end of the school. I also heard one of the busses was stuck on a main street for two hours due to road conditions.

Pretty wild, huh?

That's it for now! Thanks for stopping by. I hope I am not boring you with these projects.

Jeanne

Marshmallow Snowman

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Happy Monday to you!

Here's a cute idea I found here on the wonderful world-wide web. There is no picture on the web, but here's my version. I'm going to help the Jessica's class (and hopefully, Amy's when I hear back from her teacher) make these on Friday. I've copied and pasted what you'll need below the picture. The only things I added were mini chocolate chips for the eyes, Kissables for the nose, (though maybe mini ones would have been better) and the plate to put it on. I got regular frosting and put a spoonful in a baggie with the corner snipped off. You use the frosting to attach the pieces. The "snow" at the bottom is leftover frosting with some sprinkles.The scarf is pull apart Twizzlers that I picked up at Target (only because Walmart was out).

 

Marshmallow Snowman

Need:
Three large marshmallows
Tube of white icing with small tip
Miniature M&M's
Red skinny licorice
1 toothpick
1 pretzel stick
1 Hershey kiss

Directions:
Place three marshmallows together with icing and toothpicks. Count out M&M's (your choice of number). Add dots of icing to glue on candy. Break the pretzel stick in half for arms. The kiss becomes the hat and wrap the licorice around neck for scarf

 

I think it will be lots of fun for the kids to make, don't you?

Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow, I will hopefully be able to post another cute project we will be making for Brownies and Daisies this week.

Have a great day. Stay warm if you are in a cold climate. It was -9 when I took Amy to school this morning...BRRRRRRRRRRRR

Jeanne

More Seriously Cute Crocheted Critters...

Happy Sunday to you! We have been bone-chillingly cold today, but that's okay, I spent a goodly portion of the day crocheting. I think we were close to 50 yesterday and today the high was in the teens. We also got about 2-3 inches of snow. Brrrr.

I finished the penguin yesterday, but just took his picture. I'm calling him Pingu, after the funny character on Sprout(kids' channel that we get via Directv. My girls think their friend will really like him.

He's about the same size as the doggie I made, which I incorrectly said was about 7 inches long. I actually measured him and he is really 9 inches long (I crochet a little bigger than the pattern calls for, but with these critters, I don't think it much matters).

I was able to find the size of eyes that I needed yesterday when I went to that craft store. But, I had the head of this guy finished on Thursday, so he's got the smaller eyes. I have plenty of eyes and suspect there will be more cuteness to come. These are surprisingly addictive to create!

And, per Jessica's request, I give you Cheepy, her little chick, complete with the egg she arrived in.

 

The egg measures 3 1/2 inches and Cheepy measures 2 1/2 inches. I have a feeling before long, we'll have a "clutch" of chicks as both girls have taken turns playing with her this afternoon. Oh and she fits quite nicely in an egg carton.

 

 

That's about it from here for now. I'm still working on other projects and will share as I complete them.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you have a great start to your week!

Jeanne

PS-Kathi, if you are reading this...I sent you and email yesterday and am not sure if you've been super busy like me, or if it got plunked in your junk mail. I'd love an answer to the question I asked in it. Thanks!

Finished Poncho and Neckwarmer!

I decided last night would be the night  to finish up the poncho and neckwarmer. Two more gifts done! Yea, me!

I thought Jessica should have a turn modeling the poncho (since she is patiently waiting for Mommy to make hers).

It's not the best photo, but you can definitely see the colors I chose for this one. I used just the variegated yarn for the fringe and I think that was a good choice. I cut the yarn for Amy's fringe individually and that's partly why I was taking so long to do the fringe for this one. I realized though, that wrapping the yarn around a DVD movie case (width-wise) would net the perfect length after cutting the hanks in half. That cut down the amount of time needed to get that fringe cut. Why I didn't think of it while doing Amy's I have no idea!

Both girls wanted to show off the neckwarmer, so enjoy my little models:

  You can see how long this project is this way. It is sized for an adult of course. But aw heck, aren't they cute?

 

 

I feel pretty good that I am making some progress on my projects.

I've got lots of things I want to get done today, so I'll close for now. I'll be back if I manage to complete anything worth sharing.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great day!

Jeanne