Edie Wadsworth

And today, Darby’s back to show us how to create beautiful sticker tags from Microsoft Word so that our packages will be just perfect! I first saw this on her blog a couple months ago and made it right away. Her directions are flawless and even my sometimes technically-challenged self could follow right along. You must give it a try!

The following is a pic-tutorial of how to create your own labels in Microsoft Word.
A few words to the wise:
1. Print on plain paper first
2. Use solid sheets of “label paper” {so they will be stickers–that you can cut out in your desired shape}. Be sure you get ink jet paper for an ink jet printer or laser paper for a laser printer.
3. Make your margins smaller so you can squeeze more on a page

Hello to all fellow fans of Life in Grace! I’m Richella from Imparting Grace, and I’m so glad to be part of Edie’s 12 Days of Handmade Christmas! Wife to my college sweetheart and mother to three wonderful boys, I’m a woman who is blessed beyond measure. I am passionate about making a home for my family and living a life with God, learning to receive and impart grace as I go.

I’m excited today to be able to share with you one of my favorite Christmas projects. Each year, I like to give a little something to many people: neighbors, teachers, service providers. That list can grow long, but it’s important to me to be able to share a bit of the joy of the season in some small way. Like many of you, I bake cakes, make cookies, and roast nuts. But one thing I do every year is to make fudge. Lots and lots of fudge: at least 12 pounds every year.

My fudge recipe is special, I think. My mother’s family has lived in Kansas for many generations, and I inherited a few old Kansas cookbooks. My fudge recipe comes from one of those cookbooks. The body of the cookbook is long since lost, so I don’t know the name of the book; all I have is one yellowed and tattered page. The name of the recipe is Mamie’s Fudge, and under the recipe name is this note: “She made this to woo Ike.” Yes, indeed, this recipe originated with Mamie Eisenhower. President Eisenhower was from Abilene, Kansas, and Kansans proudly claim this family as their own. Just imagine sweet young Mamie Doud making this fudge for the handsome young lieutenant.

::Mamie’s Fudge::

4 1/2 cups sugar

pinch of salt

2 Tablespoons butter

12 ounce can evaporated milk

12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

12 ounces German sweet chocolate, broken into pieces

2 7-ounce jars marshmallow creme

2 cups chopped nuts

Butter a pan for the fudge. A 9 x 13 pan works well for thick fudge; a small sheet pan is good for slightly thinner fudge.

Place semi-sweet chocolate, German sweet chocolate, marshmallow creme, and chopped nuts into bowl. Set aside.

Combine sugar, salt, butter, and milk in heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Boil, continuing to stir, for six minutes. Remove from heat and pour immediately over chocolate mixture; stir until all the chocolate bits are dissolved.

The mixture will look pretty goopy for a moment, but you’ll soon be rewarded with the delectable aroma of those chocolates and the look of smooth, satiny fudge.

Pour into buttered pan. Let stand one hour before cutting.

The fudge costs me about $13 per batch, which seems like a lot, but it makes more than six pounds. Mamie’s original recipe actually says that it makes seven pounds. Six or seven, the per-pound price is pretty low.

I keep a eye out for containers for my fudge, such as pretty gift boxes, tins, or ceramics. Just last week I found this cute mitten plate at my thrift store for $1.

My favorite presentation of all is simply to put some fudge on a plate, cover it in plastic wrap, tie a bow with some pretty ribbon, and attach an ornament.

::Peppernuts::

This yummy little treat is of German origin and they are so wonderfully addictive! This makes a huge batch but they ‘keep’ forever—like months! Steve’s mom made these with the girls when she was here and then we made them again on Reformation Day.

2 1/2 c. butter (marg or shortening also work)
1 1/2 c. molasses
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. black pepper
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. cloves
1 t. allspice
1 t. salt
9 c. all purpose flour
1 qt ground walnuts

The dough should be stiff but not overly dry so add the last 1/2 c. of flour slowly to make sure the dough isn’t too dry.

Roll the dough into thin ropes, using a little flour to keep them from sticking to your surface. {the ropes should be about the size of your first finger—unless you have unusually large fingers} Apparently little Elea is unsure of this process—but I can tell you from experience that she loves these little cookies.

Then freeze the ‘ropes’ so that they cut easily. It takes less than an hour for them to harden.

We took one tray out of the freezer at a time and cooked those—then proceeded to the next tray.

Then slice them into little coin size pieces and bake at 350 until they no longer ‘give’ when you press them (in my oven–about 12-15 min). The longer you cook them, the crunchier they’ll be and my family likes them crunchy. I prefer them on the less crunchy side but you’ll have to experiment.

Then, wrap them up neat and pretty and Merry Christmas! Or Happy Reformation Day!

Even before I purchased my espresso machine, I had an impasssioned love affair with coffee. There are currently no words to describe how this torrid love affair has evolved. So, naturally when I saw this coffee cozy tutorial, I was compelled to try it. Kinda like making a quilt for someone you love. And well, I had to show off my new embroidery/sewing machine—-which is NOT a piece of cake to figure out.

Gather your supplies:

1 coffee mug cozy template {I used Starbucks}–make sure to use the kind that overlap

2 pieces of fabric ~ 5 x 12 inches

Insul-Bright or batting {I used warm and natural quilt batting}

1.75 inches of 3/4 inch velcro

I followed the tutorial pretty closely but found out too late that not all coffee mugs are made alike—so make sure that the template you use {I used a Starbucks coffee cozy} fits your mug–making sure to allow for the seams. For my travel mug, I should have made mine 1 1/4 inches longer than this Starbucks template. Just put your template around your mug and make sure it fits and if not, adjust—making sure to make allowances for both end seams.

Cut a piece of batting the same size as well.

Now, sew the velcro onto the fabric. To figure out where to put the velcro, it’s best the pick the fabric up {pretending like its’ sewn together} and wrap it around a mug so that you can see where the velcro needs to be. It’s easy to see if you lay the Starbucks template out and see where the adhesive has been. I read the directions here {which are good} but I’m a visual learner—so I just had to pretend like the cozy was sewn together and then wrap it around the mug. It’s easy then to see where the velcro must go—then sew it onto the right side of the fabric about 1/4 inch from the seam. Sew the other velcro piece onto the bottom fabric in a similar fashion.

With right sides of the fabric together and the batting on the bottom, sew all three pieces together using a 1/4 inch seam allowance—leaving a 2 -3 inch opening at the bottom center—so you can turn it to the right side. After turning it to the right side, fold in the raw edges and then topstitch at 1/8th of an inch all the way around to give it a nice finish and closure.

And after all that, here’s what happened to me! So beware: make sure the Starbucks template fits your mug and if not—adjust.

So what do you do with your cute little cozy if it doesn’t fit your coffee mug?

I guess you’ll have to decide for yourself.