Festive Bokeh

Just a bit of fun. I created this bokeh using the same method I used when I made heart shaped bokeh. I love all the pretty lights at this time of year, and doing this just makes it even more special :) My Christmas trees are a bit wonky but that adds to the charm, right?

Christmas baking - melted snowmen biscuits.

I first saw these biscuits on Pinterest [now there's a surprise...] some time ago, and decided I had to make them come Christmas time. I have seen a couple of bloggers make them recently using marshmallows. As I'm a vegetarian, I decided to use Lindt white chocolate truffles in place of the marshmallows.



I used a very basic recipe to make the biscuits.

When cool, I made up some icing and covered the biscuit in it, plonking a truffle on top. I then used a black food colouring pen to make the face on the snowman's head [truffle] and then the buttons and arms on the biscuit base.

Nails - Rudolph

I had my Christmas meal with my friends last night so I obviously had to have some sort of festive nails for it! This time, I went for a little Rudolph face on my ring finger and a glitter gradient on the rest of my nails.



I love the colour I used for the base, and it was only a cheapie! It's a 2true one in shade 8. I just love this wine red colour, it's gorgeous. I used a similar technique I used for my Easter bunny nails for the little Rudolph. For the face I used Boots 17 Tigers Eye and I drew the eyes and antlers on using my Models Own WAH nail art pen. I finished off with the nose using the 2true polish again.
I used barry m Yellow Topaz glitter for the gradient - love this glitter! I love how it looks with the wine red too.

Are you all organised for Christmas? I'm pretty much ready! Until I've realised I've forgotten something else, that is. It keeps happening.

A holly jolly Christmas.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas Day? Mine was spent with my family during the day. My brother and his fiancé had stayed over Christmas Eve and my Grandparents came over around midday. We had The Bublé Christmas album playing pretty much all morning. My Mum did some 'nibbly' bits for lunch and we all then opened some presents! The rest of the afternoon was spent watching Monsters vs Aliens and drinking lots of bucks fizz. We had dinner at 5, it was sooo good! Quorn roast beats turkey ;) I then headed to my boyfriend's for the evening where we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 :)

Here are a few photos from our day.













I've been quite spoilt with presents, and there's still more to come! May do a post on some of them soon...

I hope everyone had as good a day as I did, and you all enjoy your Boxing Day :)

Going to go make a cuppa, got the boyfriend coming over soon to watch some dvds and perhaps overindulge in chocolate!

Stained glass window biscuits

I first saw these on pinterest a month or so ago. I had a day off on Monday and fancied doing some baking. Searched around for a recipe I liked the look of and, with my Christmas cutters at the ready, I got started on my stained glass window biscuits!


Ingredients
350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinammon [recipe said ginger but I swapped it for cinammon as I LOVE it!]
100g butter
175g soft brown sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup
A packet of boiled sweets [I used fox's citrus sweets, but red ones would look great!]

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a tray with baking paper.

Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinammon together in a bowl. Add the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

In another bowl, beat the egg and golden syrup together and then add it to the dry mixture. Mix to make a smooth dough, kneading with your hands.

Put the sweets into small plastic bags and crush them using a rolling pin. Don't beat around the bush, really give it some and whack them!

Roll the dough out on a floured work surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes using your Christmas cutters, then transfer them to the baking tray.

Cut out shapes in the centre of each biscuit, making sure there is a good edge left around each one. Completely fill the hole in each biscuit with the crushed sweets. Bake the biscuits in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove the biscuits from the oven - do not remove them from the tray straight away as the boiled sweets need to harden. Once the sweets have hardened, use a palette knife to lift them from the tray and move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree.

We put our Christmas tree up on Sunday evening. My Mum has always really enjoyed decorating the house for Christmas, and really prides herself on our tree. I think it has quite a traditional, Victorian feel about it. We never get a real tree, and have been using the same fake one for a good few years now, but I still think it looks good!

















Do you have an angel or a star on top of your Christmas tree? Angels are cute, but for us it's always got to be a star!