italian sausage + mushroom stuff puff pastries ...

i hope your christmas went well!  ours was magical!

i ended up taking a little break to re-cooperate, and get things back in order... or trying to at least.

i've been baking up a storm today, my husband really pulled through this year, and got me a kitchen aid stand mixer for christmas!  can you believe i didn't have one?  i've been wanting one forever.  i got the yellow one {buttercup}, and i love it!  so, one of my new years resolutions is to bake more, that is for sure!

we are gearing up for new years day at our house, and i came up with a great appetizer to bring to your new years ever party.

these savory puff pastries are great, and you can buy the dough in your grocers freezer, making it that much easier!

check out my recipe on my zupas post today.  click here.

{photo by me}

chocolate cookies with candy cane kisses ...

what kind of cookies are you going to leave for santa claus this year?

i just love these festive looking chocolate peppermint cookies with candy cane kisses.

we made a few batches of these, and even saved some for santa claus!

check the recipe out on my post today over on the zupas blog.  click here.

here is how i packaged a few of them up  ...

dino gift toppers ...

i know my little guy would be obsessed with this metallic dinosaur gift topper.

see the directions on how to make them over on creature comforts.  {tutorial by britani of paper n stitch}

goodie packaging ...

here's a few more goodie packages i put together.
i loved using some pretty yarn, doilies, and ornaments with tiny tags.

i got these clear plastic boxes from paper mart.

and, remember the chocolate covered cinnamon santa's i made?
i put a few in a glassine bag, and topped it with a felt ornament, a doily, a tag and bakers twine.

tomorrow, i'm going to share another fun holiday treat we made, as well as the packaging!
are you sick of my packaging and goodie posts yet?

mini felt stockings ...

yesterday was ezra's last day of preschool before the break, so we decided to make a little something for his teacher.

we decided to fill a little stocking with goodies, so we got out my epic six die cut machine from quickutz, and used the stocking die cut and snowflake die cut.

ezra even help rolled the felt through the machine.

he was in heaven.  and, it was so cute how excited he was to give it to his teacher at pre-school.

and, i was happy it was a quick and easy little gift.  i just used wool felt, and stitched it up with embroidery thread, glued on the rest, then filled it with goodies!

goodie packages round up ...

there are so many great ideas out there on the web for goodies to give this holiday season.

here are a few of my favorites ...

chocolate stir sticks, via little big company, via little sooti

peanut butter chocolate chip biscotti, via the little red house

chocolate caramel marshmellows, via one charming party

fleur de sel caramels, via creature comforts

cinnamon almonds, via one charming party

homemade granola, via you are my fave

peppermint hot fudge, via say yes to hoboken.

so, what are your favorite goodies to give or make during the holidays?

any good suggestions on salty ones?  seems like there is an overload of sweets out there.

repost: christmas packaging ...

here is another re-post of my christmas packaging / wrapping from last year.

a big part of the fun of gift-giving for me is the packaging.

i used a lot of my favorite things: vintage music sheets, paper doilies, lots of lace, buttons, ribbon, kraft paper, my old school type writer, and bakers twine.

i am hopping to get all our presents for this year ready and wrapped in the next few days.  wish me luck!

how are you wrapping your presents this year?!

repost: christmas goodie packaging ...

just wanted to do a little re-post of some christmas goodie packaging i did last year, if you are still looking for some ideas.

i made some caramel popcorn to fill the bags for friends and family.

click here for the how to.  and, click here for the recipe for the caramel popcorn, it's delish!

this weekend i hope to get some goodies together and packaged up, so i hope to share those soon!

DIY: white nutcrackers ...

i really loved these west elm nutcrackers i spied in their christmas catalog this year.

then, of course i thought to just try to make my own version.
so, i headed to my nearest thrift store and found two handsome guys, for only $2 a piece.

i pulled off their hair and facial hair, sanding off the extra bits (sounds mean, huh?) and, one can of white spray paint later, here are the two handsome fellas now over my fireplace...

i thought they were pretty fun!
and, it all cost me less than $8!

pink + peach ...

i am obsessed with pink's and peaches lately.

forget winter, i just couldn't help make this new springy polly necklace.

now available in the armelle jewelry shop!

*i am now all caught up on orders.  if you have placed an order, as of now they are all shipped!  
if you would still like to order for christmas, there is still a little time, and priority shipping is available for $3 extra, inquire for details.

chocolate covered cinnamon santa's ...

i am a huge fan of chocolate covered cinnamon bears.  so, when i was thinking of a fun holiday treat to make, i thought, why not chocolate covered santa's?!  i've been seeing them around my local grocery stores, and thought it would be a fun twist.  although, i guess it's kind of hard to tell they are santa's, but the thought is there, right?

i used chocolate flavored almond bark, because i like it's smooth texture.

but, i am sure you could use any good melting chocolate, even white chocolate would be great!

you could immediately dip them in crushed candy canes, add sprinkles, or drizzle on other colored chocolate over the top, there are really a lot of options.

for all the details on how to make these yummy treats, head on over to my post up on the zupas blog today.

click here.

{photos by me}

DIY: easy christmas stationary ...

sticking to my metallics theme with my paper garland, place cards, and gift box topper, i decided to make some fun christmas stationary.  this would be a great addition, and personal touch to your christmas presents!

 i used my lifestyle craft / quickutz die cutting machine (the epic six tool) with the simple circles, fancy wrap around envelope tabs, and a small snowflake die cut.  i just took a kraft envelope and card.  for the card, i used my sewing machine to sew on the circles in gold and silver.

festive right?  these would also be great for thank you notes!

bloggers give back, auctions start today ...

the bloggers give back auction starts today!!

head on over and start to bid on some amazing items!  including the angelica earrings from my shop.

click here to head on over and start your bidding!

auction ends tonight at 10 pm mdt.

christmas gift boxes ...

packaging gifts is definitely on my mind lately.  i have a pile of gifts to be wrapped, and hopefully i will get to them soon.

here's a little pillow box gift box i made using my die cut machine from lifestyle crafts.  they have a fun little pillow box die cut that you can make any kind of paper into this little pillow box.  i topped the pillow box with a topper that i made from folding up vintage music sheets accordion style, then i glued on a simple circle and snowflake.

a perfect little box to gift your tiny treasures, like jewelry.   and, speaking of jewelry.  i've been working like crazy, but i have sent out all my orders that i have received since yesterday.  i still have been getting them out within about 1-2 business days, and it takes 2-5 days to mail in the usa.  so, there is still a little time for last minute gifts from the armelle jewelry shop for your holiday needs.

anyhow, i hope you are enjoying all the hustle and bustle!
i hope to share some more fun holiday packaging soon!  and, maybe some fun treats and other DIY's!

tiny prints giveaway winner ...

 

the winner of the tiny prints giveaway is comment #1!  

i was surprised with that was the result when i used the random number generator, because #1 hardly ever comes up.  so, that is pretty fun!

congrats jacqueline! who said:

Jacqueline said...

i LOVE the sweet script christmas cards!!!

i will sent your email along to tinyprints!

playmobil nativity set ...

while at story time at my local toy store i came across this darling nativity toy set by playmobil.  i just had to buy it.

we have been trying to teach our children about the true meaning of christmas, and while santa clause is fun and all, that we mainly celebrate the birth of christ on christmas.    i think this will be a fun way to continue to teach them about the birth of baby jesus, and they will actually be able to play with it without me worrying about it getting broken.

i love all the details on playmobil toys.  maybe not all the tiny pieces, but they really are cute!

giveaway: tiny prints ...

 i am excited to offer you readers a great giveaway opportunity from tiny prints!

tiny prints has everything from christmas cards, to invitations, to birth announcements, to photo calendars (great gift idea!).

and, they are offering one of you lucky readers a $50 gift certificate to redeem on their site!

they have a great selection of holiday cards among other things.  and, if you are like me, you haven't even begun to think about your christmas card this year.  so, this could really make your life easier.

here are a few of my favorite christmas cards they have to offer:

so, here are the details on how to enter the giveaway:

• head on over to tiny prints, and choose your favorite christmas card.   leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite tiny print christmas card is. *please be sure to leave an email address if it is not connected to your blogger id.
• the giveaway will close sunday december 12th, at midnight.
• a winner will be chosen at random from the comment entries and will be announced monday, december 13th.

*for an opportunity for up to 4 extra giveaway entries: (be sure to make a comment for each of your extra entries to be considered)

• become of follower of this blog (link on the right sidebar).
• subscribe to this blog in a feed or reader.
• become a facebook fan of armelle jewelry and like our page.
• blog about this giveaway on your blog, and leave the link to the post in your comment.

good luck!!