Christmas Stockings. Done. Finally.

 I cannot begin to tell you how glad I am to have these stockings finishes. They have taken several attempts and stitch unpicking until I am finally semi-happy with them. I tried them without the ricrac, which I wasn't happy about, and with embroidered names, which I was also unhappy with since embroidery is definitely NOT my forte. I was inspired by these gorgeous polka dot stockings over at living with punks. I decided to go my own way rather than follow the tute. Big mistake, but oh well, they're done now. Five identical Christmas stockings. So now I have to get wrapping the stocking stuffers and hang the little buggers up. I'm almost certain I won't like them next Christmas and will have to make new ones, but for now I am pleased. They match my felt tree decos and will match the wreath once I have actually
made it. I love being on holidays and actually having time to craft!

So busy!

I wish I had more time to blog. Really I do. I envy all these lovely ladies with their booming crafters blogs, but I just can't seem to find the time. This weekend I have put up our Christmas tree and made some cute felt decos for it. 
My son loves the lights and is adamant that they go on IMMEDIATELY after dinner each night. Hubby took a day off work on Tuesday so that we could go do our Christmas shopping. Over a grand later, (six kids plus large families) our Christmas shopping is done! Because the smallies were at daycare that day, I also finally got my new tattoo which I am super pleased with. If anyone has clicked on, yes I am LDS and yes, tattoos are frowned upon in the eyes of the church, but I just can't help myself. My husband's name needed to make it's way onto my skin, so here it is. So as well as all this Christmas prep (which has barely begun) I have also been making things for my Etsy shop - makeup bags and wristlets. I have finally mastered how to insert a zipper so I am taking full advantage of that along with my other freshly learned
skill of raw edge applique. I adore making wristlets, they are super easy and super cute! Any way, I should stop blabbering because there are still so many things left to do... make stockings and bunting and a wreath, make fruit mince pies and sugar cookies, as well as wrap all these gifts. So until I've achieved some of these things to blog about, happy holidays!

White Chocolate Christmas Balls (or blobs)

So my two little ones fought ALL day yesterday and I achieved pretty much nothing on my to-do list. Luckily they went to daycare today, so I've made and frozen a large batch of these scrummy white choc Christmas balls.

 For any of you who would like to have a go, here is the recipe:
Ingredients
200g glace cherries
1 cup of dessicated coconut
1 cup of skim milk powder
1 cup of icing sugar
9 cups of rice bubbles
1 packet of Copha (vegetable shortening)
200g white chocolate buttons

Method
1 Line 4 medium sized baking sheets with baking paper or foil.
2 Chop the glace cherries fairly finely, but not so small that you won't be able to taste them. I like to use the multi-coloured cherries for added visual appeal :)
3 Combine the cherries, coconut, milk powder, icing sugar and rice bubbles in a large bowl.
4 In a small saucepan, melt the Copha and then remove from the heat. Quickly stir in the white chocolate buttons, making sure they all melt. You can place the pan over the stove briefly if they are not all melting, just be very careful not to burn or seize the chocolate.
5 Pour the chocolate mixture into your rice bubble mixture and mix it all together with a spoon.
6 Using a dessert spoon, spoon balls of the mixture onto your lined baking sheets, then place in the fridge for a few hours to set.
Voila! You're done. These will keep in the fridge for about two weeks, if you can keep away from them that long. You can also freeze them as I have done for about two months in preparation for Christmas.