Feature Friday - DIY Paper Ornaments

After our whirlwind trip to visit family for Thanksgiving, I promptly returned home and grabbed my Christmas boxes out of our storage unit to start decorating! We have moved many times over the past few years, and have not spent a single Christmas in our own house. Which meant that I stopped opening our Christmas bins about 5 years ago! I have been adding little things to them over the years, but never took anything out! Imagine my amazement and joy as I opened up each box- ornaments, nutcrackers, candles, snowmen - Christmas joy came early for me this year. The added bonus is that my daughter is now 3, and she had as much fun as I did digging through all the boxes, pulling out little Christmas treasures.

As I opened up the second box of goodies, I let out a little shout of glee when I found these - adorable, handmade, paper ornaments. They were made by my dear friend, Bekah, as a gift for me a few years ago. This is the first year I get to hang them up and show them off, and I can't wait to share them with you! I'm so inspired by them, I hope to make a couple of my own this year.

LOVE these gold ornaments!

And while I love the classic look of the gold ornament, I think the pink and green take on the darling little hanging ball is a perfect twist for the holidays! 

What I can't do is give you a step by step, picture tutorial on how to make your own little paper ornament, but I can send you over to Inkspirations for a GREAT tutorial.

Here's a few more pics, just for fun!

I'm featuring this project on :

Now you get to share your holiday projects for this season!

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Sweet Taste of the Holidays

I hope you're getting ready for a month of mouth watering goodies, inspiring decorations, and fun family activities because we have some great ideas hiding in our stockings to share with you!
We just finished baking up our first holiday batch of Peppermint Bark, and can't wait for you to start munching on this too!


One of my very favorite recipes is from the Joy of Baking, it is my 'go to' website for all my holiday baking!
The recipe is listed below, but head over to her Peppermint Bark page for some great tips

Peppermint Bark:

6 ounces (170 grams) semi sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

6 ounces (170 grams) white chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/3 - 1/2 cup (50 - 80 grams) crushed candy canes

Peppermint Bark Instructions

Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan with aluminum foil, smoothing out any wrinkles.

Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil

Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Makes about 25 pieces.