Christmas Gifts for Friends

Things are busy this time of year it seems, no matter where you are. My mom sent me a large bottle of vanilla extract (not essence, this is the real deal!) and by large, I mean 325mL/11oz large. I got it the latter part of September and with all the baking I've been doing for the holidays, I'm down to the last 75mL/2oz of my vanilla. Em and Coop have loved helping me cut out sugar cookies, or smash candy canes I've been hoarding. We've made frosting, decorated, eaten and then started the whole process over again. We still have the Wilro Park Annual Cookie Exchange and Decorating Day this afternoon (pictures to follow!), but with all the decorating we've been doing, I've found that I ran out of things to decorate with. I went to the shop to get more decorations, but nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price. So I came home and did some google searches, and found a great project for Em, Coop and me to do. A large quantity of sugar later and some food-colored stained fingers, and we were in business. I found a "how to" color your own sugar here but I used a sealed plastic bag instead of a fork and plate. The kids did a great job jumping up and down while holding said bags in order to mix the colors in, and I loved the vibrant colors. We finished by putting some in small glass jars to give to some friends. Our MOPS group recently learned how to decorate cupcakes and I thought this was a rather fitting gift. Always love making things for friends, especially useful things and being able to have the kids help was a wonderful bonus.

Both kids loved blending the colors and watching to see what the combination would make after a few shakes. I really think art teachers should teach the color wheel this way rather than however it is they teach it now.

Em loved the "bright, bright" green and the purple best. We had to let the purple dry out a bit, but all the others were ready to go straight off. Who would have thought?