DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

Five Tips for Better Holiday Photos     This season is the stuff that cameras are made for: holiday lights and decorations, brightly wrapped presents, kids anxiously darting around the tree. Your camera is probably getting excited just thinking about the opportunities you're going to give it in the next few days. So as you get ready for the veritable Olympics of personal digital photography, consider these five tips for taking better pictures. Also, if you're shooting outdoors, don't forget my  advice on winterizing your camera . And since you'll be taking a lot of pictures indoors, be sure to review my  tips for taking better pictures of people  and how to  get better results in difficult lighting .    Finally, before I get into the nitty-gritty of this week's holiday photo tips, I want to wish each of you a warm, safe, and happy holiday. 1. Set Your White Balance There are few lighting situations trickier th...

   Christmas is a time of presents, anticipation, excitement and goodwill virtually anywhere in the world. In different parts of the world, however, the specific traditions used to celebrate Christmas can vary widely. 10. United States    Here in America, a typical tradition at Christmas time is to leave a tray of cookies and a cup of milk out for jolly old Santa Claus. Santa makes his list of the boys and girls that have been either naughty or nice, and comes to their home on the night before Christmas. Santa will leave the good children a gift made by the elves at the North Pole, and he will leave the naughty children nothing but coal in their Christmas stockings. 9. Venezuela    During Christmas time in Caracas, Venezuela, from December 16 to December 24, the streets are closed for the roller skating mass. Yes, that is exactly what it sounds like: a mass of people roller skating together th...

Last Minute Gift Tags- Recycled Crafts Last week at craft day, Karla reminded me of some Christmas gift tags I made last year with the Cuttlebug and old ornament boxes.  Karla was going to make some from her boxes, but we didn't get around to it- so I made some for her.  Some vintage ornament boxes have great graphics, and I hate to throw them away, so I cut the pictures from the boxes... .... ...get out my Cuttlebug and Sizzix tag template. ...cut the boxes so the pictures will line up with the outline of the tags. ...crank the Cuttlebug and see what comes out. Sometimes, it's a good idea to proof read the tags before you tie them to the package. Case in point:   I'm pairing up the tags with some bakers twine and slipping them in a white burlap bag for a hostess gift for Karla...she's having a dinner tonight.   Want to make some tags, but don't have ornament boxes or a Cuttlebug? I scanned some tags so you can print them o...

  This was found at  www.southernasbiscuits.com  .   I've bought the sculpy clay and it's not very cheap.  Nothings better than making it yourself and saving a few buck at the same time.  Good luck!   There are many things during the holidays when this stuff will come in handy. Homemade Model Magic My second-grader recently had a school assignment to make a model of an African animal. Two pounds of model magic costs around $20. I thought perhaps those nifty DIYers would have a recipe or tutorial online and I wasn't disappointed. We whipped up a batch at home, using only two ingredients and water! Since I had these on hand, it didn't cost me, but I'd estimate it at around almost $3, especially if buy generic. We had fun making the modeling clay and the model! I added food coloring to tint. It worked, but know that for strong color, you'll need stronger coloring gels. We painted our model with craft paint. DIY Model Magic Ingred...

Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies I’m all over the place with desserts lately, aren’t I? But you should know by now that I switch between whimsical and rustic desserts like the Kardashians go in out of the news. These are easy to make and even more fun to receive, because-who doesn’t like a bit of whimsy during the holidays? For shipping, I would suggest finishing the meringue  cookies with something less fragile like a red M&M or Sixlet, rather than the piped chocolate stars. Meringues are one of those desserts that I always associate with the holidays, even though I don’t eat them. Nope, this is one of the few desserts that I don’t like. But guess who does? Matt, the p-i-c-k-i-e-s-t eater I know. Seriously, five out of ten meals gets a no-pass, as in it never sees a second breathe of life. So how is it that he likes meringue? I have no idea, but thank goodness someone in our house likes meringues to test them for me. I’m happy to say these got...

 This diy comes from  www.acaseofthemundays.com  .  These look really cool and "old world".  Use them on your tree, in a wreath or hang them with some fancy ribbon in a window. DIY: mercury glass ornaments I am slightly obsessed w/ mercury glass this year!!! {lovely globes from  pb } {pretty pretty candlesticks - also from pb} which got me to thinking about mercury glass christmas ornaments. ... lovely, right? {and again pb} okay okay. so apparently - based on my googling - mercury glass was sort of the thing last christmas. but this is one bandwagon i don't mind jumping on late. the problem :  i'm cut off on decor this year. {okay not true. but we did just get married a little over 2 months ago ... i have plenty of new decorations around the house w/out going overboard for christmas.} the solution :  i decided to make my own! supplies: * clear glass ball ornaments. (hurry to michael...

This comes from  www.cooklikejames.typepad.com  .  Enjoy! Best Traditional Scottish Shortbread Cookies Best Traditional Scottish Shortbread Cookies Another classic Christmas cookie - Shortbread is a traditional Scottish dessert that consists of three basic ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter. According to Wikpedia, this cookie resulted from medieval biscuit bread, which was a twice baked, enriched bread roll dusted with sugar and spices and hardened into a soft and sweetened biscuit called a Rusk. Eventually, yeast from the original Rusk recipe was replaced by butter, which was becoming more of a staple in the British Isles. Despite the fact that shortbread was prepared during much of the 12th century, the refinement of shortbread was actually accredited to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the 16th century. The name of one of the most famous and most traditional forms of shortbread, petticoat tails, were named by Queen Mary. This type of shortbread was baked,...