Food for Luck- New Year's Eve

Cultures around the world have different beliefs that eating certain types of food will symbolize good luck for the next year. We have tracked down these interesting practices-- maybe you can try eating some of these food and see if your luck becomes even better!

In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: You can't break the noodle before it is all in your mouth.

Due to pigs' dining habits, many countries, including Austria, Cuba, and Spain, view pork as a good-luck food. As pigs root for food, they keep their feet planted and push their snouts forward, signifying progress and future properity.

Thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten throughout Italy for good fortune in the new year. Plus, the legumes plump (with water) as they cook, symbolizing growing wealth.

In North America, Asia, and Europe, people eat fish to celebrate the new year. In some countries, people associate fish with moving forward into the new year since fish swim forward. Other people think fish symbolize abundance since they swim in schools.

via delish

Classy New Year's Eve party ideas

Christmas has passed...now time to prepare ourselves for a grand new year's celebration! I have found some cute ways to celebrate this year's new year and party into 2011 with style. Some of these ideas are also great because you could recycle your Christmas decorations to make these!

Make Some Noise- Rattle in the New Year by dropping a few pink peppercorns, popcorn kernels or jelly beans into clear plastic ornaments.

Use those lights- For a festive New Year's night, hang strings of Christmas lights from the ceiling about a foot apart along a blank wall, using extension cords to plug each into an outlet. Hang semi-sheer fabric in front (not touching the lights) to create a light wall.

Blue Eyed- We never need an excuse to eat candy, which is probably why we loved those potted lollipops from Dylan Lauren (of Dylan’s Candy Bar). For a wintry version, just fill a small pot or planter with white gumdrops (or yogurt-covered candies) and “plant” some rock candy sticks. Your New Year's guests will love snacking on the candy all night.

via Rachel Ray mag

Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas!

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting our blog on Christmas Day! On behalf of our team at Home Seasons, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and thank you for all your support! We hope that our holiday decor has helped you make decorating a lot easier. Have a great Christmas Day with all your loved ones and we will see you soon!

Cheers, Rebecca


Cupcake Frenzy! Christmas Holiday edition Part 2

Hello again to Cupcake Frenzy Christmas edition! I hope you all tried out our part 1 of Christmas cupcake baking ideas, and are ready to tackle this one! I wouldn't say that this second batch of ideas are hard to implement, they are all relatively easy to try out! 

Since we don't want you to have to worry about baking three dozen cupcakes the day before the big family Christmas dinner, you can bake the cupcakes a week in advance and freeze them. However, do not decorate them until the night before. You have have your children or friends help you with this as a fun Christmas Eve activity! Remember that most of these cupcakes are Vanilla or Chocolate cupcakes, iced with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, which is perfect for spreading thin layers or sculpting into thick mounts of icing-- whichever you prefer.

Snowman Cupcakes

Snowman Cupcake How-ToThis snowman wears a fine winter hat: a chocolate-covered mint beret. His plump figure is two marshmallows -- cut a slice off the top one and squish to make it smaller. Dabs of icing hold parts together. His eyes are chocolate sprinkles (poke holes first with a wet toothpick), and his nose is cut from a gummy fish.

 White Christmas Tree Cupcakes

• 12 waffle cones (2 to 2 1/2 inches wide and 4 to 5 inches long)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, perferably Dutch-process
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Frosting for Christmas Tree Cupcakes
• Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Serve this snowy dessert this holiday season. Cupcakes are shaped like trees, covered with Snowy Frosting, and sprinkled with sanding sugar. Save some sugar to create beds of "snow" for serving. Makes 1 dozen!

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Invert two 9 1/2-by-3-inch disposable round foil baking pans. Using a craft knife or a paring knife, cut six X shapes in bottom of each, spacing them evenly, to make 1 1/2-inch openings. Fit a waffle cone snugly into each opening, standing the cones upright. Line each cone with parchment paper, and then place a dried bean or a hazelnut in bottom to prevent batter from leaking. Place pans and cones on parchment-lined baking sheets. Line a 12-cup mini-muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in a medium bowl. With a mixer on low speed, gradually add egg mixture to flour mixture, beating until just combined. Raise speed to medium, and beat for 3 minutes. Carefully pour batter into cones, filling each two-thirds full. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons batter into each muffin cup (these will be the tree bases).
3. Bake until a skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 15 to 18 minutes for cupcakes and 35 minutes for cones. Let cakes cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cakes from cones and parchment. Let cool completely on the rack. (Cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days before assembling.)
4. If necessary, use a serrated knife to trim top of each cupcake to create a flat surface. Place a dab of frosting on top of each cupcake, and position a cone cake on top. Insert toothpick through each cupcake base and into "tree" to support it (remember to remove toothpick before eating). Place frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip (such as Ateco #3) or a small plain 1/8-inch tip, and pipe frosting decoratively all over tree. Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Trees can be refrigerated, uncovered, for up to 6 hours before serving. 

Snowflake and Wreath Ginger Cupcakes

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup unsulphered molasses
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 recipe Butter Glaze
• 1 recipe Chocolate Glaze
• 1 recipe Meringue Buttercream

Use large cupcake papers and two jumbo muffin tins to bake these cupcakes. They are glazed with either a chocolate or butter glaze and then piped with meringue buttercream. Makes 10!

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 10 jumbo muffin tins with paper baking cups, and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to a boil. In a bowl, combine boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together flour, ground spices, salt, and baking powder; set aside.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in the brown sugar until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the molasses, baking-soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in the eggs.
3. Fill the cupcake papers three-quarters full, making sure that the batter is divided evenly. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of them comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let cupcakes cool a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

via Marthastewart.com

Christmas trees around the world

I wondered what christmas trees all around the globe looked like and how different people decorated them, so I went on to search for pictures of these trees. CBS News.com had some great pictures in their photo gallery. They had pictures of christmas trees in the United Arab Emirates, the White House...and all the way to Tokyo and China. Take a look at these Christmas trees and see if you become inspired to decorate your own tree in any way!

The Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The White House in Washington

New York City

 Strasbourg, France 

 Prague, Czech Republic

Tokyo, Japan

Shanghai, China

Sydney, Australia

Brandenburg Gate at Berlin, Germany

Stockholm, Sweden

Christmas Decorating DIY ideas

If you want to decorate your home with something more than a wreath, here are more crafts work steps to follow to achieve chic and affordable holiday decorating.

Card Garlands

The season's first greeting cards, arriving weeks before the family tree goes up, are enough to stir most people's decorative impulses. This year, festoon mirrors with Lametta tinsel and use the sparkly wire to display your collection of cheerful tidings. Under the garlands, nestled in compotes, ribbon-lined candy pouches make sweet, simple party favors.
Steps to making Card Garlands

1. Lametta tinsel -- thin, flexible wire covered in shiny tufts -- is available at crafts stores or by mail order. Narrow ribbon and twine work, too; use metallic finishes for maximum shine. Drape several strands across a mirror; affix to back of frame with thumbtacks. Hang cards with 1-inch double-ring paper clips.2. Our pouches recycle 2- to 3-inch-wide ribbon scraps. Align ribbons; we paired sheers with solids so the treats would be visible. Trim ends with pinking shears, and stitch together lengthwise. Cinch one end of pouch with narrow ribbon or yarn, slip in mints, gumdrops, or peppermint sticks; tie other end.

Everlasting Garland

 Steps to making Everlasting Garland

1. Measure the length of your mantel, and multiply by 1 1/4; cut ribbon to that length.
2. Using a ruler and a pencil, mark ribbon at regular intervals. (We marked the ribbon every 6 inches for the larger garland.)
3. To create swags, mark a second ribbon at regular intervals, with spaces at least an inch greater than that of the first ribbon; leave several extra inches on ends. Make creases on second ribbon wherever marked.
4. Apply hot glue to top of first crease, and attach it to the first ribbon where marked, holding crease at a 45-degree angle across width of first ribbon; hold in place just until glue sets. Repeat. (For additional swags, repeat step 4 with more ribbon, and use hot glue to attach swags at creases.)
5. Trim ribbon ends at an angle.

Paper Evergreens

Step 1 For large Christmas trees, use an adjustable circle cutter to make 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-inch-diameter circles from green card stock (for small trees, omit the 6-inch circle).

Step 2 Fold each circle in half 4 times with a bone folder. While circles are folded, snip off the tip of each piece, forming a very small hole in center.

Step 3 Place smallest circle on the pointed end of a wooden skewer (we used 12-inch skewers), letting the tip poke through the hole in circle. With a hot-glue gun, dab underside of circle, where paper and skewer meet. Hold for 10 seconds to secure.

Step 4 Working 1 at a time from smallest circle to largest, slide remaining circles onto skewer; secure with glue.

Step 5 Insert bottom of skewer into a spool; remove, and cut skewer to desired height (we cut ours to 6, 9, and 10 inches), keeping in mind that only spool should be visible beneath standing tree. Return skewer to spool; secure with glue. Add a dot of glue to top of skewer, and attach a gold bead.

Have fun crafting!

via Martha Stewart

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Cupcake frenzy! Holiday Christmas cupcakes edition

Once again, we are going to introduce our cupcake frenzy segment for all of you cupcake lovers to make! If you have been keeping up with our blog or have went back to October and read our previous cupcake frenzy posts, then you can see that we definitely have some very creative and easy ideas for you to make your holiday cupcakes. These fabulous ideas are not our own, but enjoy and hope you made the best cupcakes for your guests to try!

Jolly Santa Claus Cupcake

Cupcake

White and red icing

Mini marshmallow

Shredded coconut

Blue and pink gel icing

Red candy

1.        Frost the cupcake with a layer of white icing. Add the red frosting hat, curving it around the side of Santa's face, and a marshmallow pom-pom.

2.        Sprinkle on a ring of coconut to make Santa's beard and hair. Draw on his eyes and cheeks with gel icing, then top it all off with a red candy nose

Edible Ornaments Cupcake

Cupcakes

Colorful frosting

Red and green candy such as M&Ms

 Mini Reeses Peanut Butter Cups

 Pretzels

1.        To make them, frost a batch of cooled cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe) with colorful frosting.

2.        Decorate with festive icing and candies (we used red and green M&Ms Minis), then top each one with a miniature Reeses Peanut Butter Cup and a pretzel piece for an ornament hanger. Don't forget to save one for Santa.

Mistletoe Cupcakes

Cooled cupcakes (baked from your favorite recipe)

White icing

Grated coconut

Green gumdrops

Sugar, for sprinkling gumdrop leaves

Red candy for holly berries (M&Ms work well)

1.        Frost the cupcakes with snowy white icing and top with grated coconut.

2.        Then use a rolling pin to flatten green gumdrops on a piece of waxed paper sprinkled with sugar. Use an aspic cutter or butter knife to cut out holly leaf shapes.

3.        Arrange two or three leaves and a few red candy "berries" on top of each cupcake, pressing them into the frosting just enough to hold them in place.

That's all for now folks! I am off to make my own Christmas cupcakes! Enjoy! Part 2 of Christmas Holiday Cupcake frenzy will be up very soon!

Gift wrapping ideas for Christmas

Tis the season to be giving! We don't like wrapping our gifts in the conventional way. We like it unique and different to switch it up for this year's Christmas! Here we provide you some great ideas for this year's Christmas gift wrapping.

 

Recycle holiday cards as labels for presents. With a pencil, kids can draw (or stencil) the recipient's initial onto a card, and cut it out. Punch a hole in the letter, and tie to gift with yarn or ribbon.

 

Gift tags are all the sweeter when they happen to be crisp cookies. To make them, cut gingerbread dough into shapes or letters, punch with a small hole for threading with cord, and bake. The cookies can be eaten while the unwrapping takes place, or hung on a tree as ornaments.

Who doesn't love tinsel? Here's another way to use it: Twist wired tinsel into six-pointed stars. Cut three pieces of tinsel, two of equal length and one a little longer. Twist equal pieces together at centers, and wrap third piece onto the two twisted pieces, forming a star. Bend end of longer piece into a hook, and attach the star from the ribbon on a gift. Or hang as an ornament on a tree.

via Martha Stewart

A Red and White Christmas Day!

Christmas would be very classy if you do it with just the colors red and white. Look at these pictures of clean and well decorated rooms that can inspire you to do the same. Enjoy!

Wreath DIY for Christmas!

If you haven't yet decorated for Christmas, we have found some very chic DIY ideas that you can work with right away! Follow the steps and you will end up with a gorgeous wreath that no one else has at home. I think these wreaths look even better than store bought ones! Happy wreathing!

Present Wreath

Unwrap a new wreath idea this year. Cover small containers, such as old jewelry boxes, with weatherproof paper, which will hold up outdoors, unlike wrapping paper; seal with all-weather tape. Add decorative bands in contrasting colors, if desired, and tie with ribbon. Attach to a flat wooden wreath form (ours is 18 inches) using a hot-glue gun. Affix a satin bow.

Paper-Doily Wreath

 A delicate-looking wreath that creates the magical effect of candles flickering in the snow is easy to make and surprisingly sturdy.

Step 1 Working on a covered surface, lay a 24-inch wreath form inside a 30-inch one. Attach them with 24-gauge wire at 6 to 8 evenly spaced points.

Step 2 In a ventilated area, coat combined wreath form with white spray paint. Let dry.

Step 3 Wrap wreath form with a 20-foot strand of white holiday lights (test lights beforehand), leaving the plug end unwrapped (as much as is needed to plug in).

Step 4 With scissors, widen the center-hole slits slightly in paper bouquet holders (we used 10 8.8-inch ones, 20 6.4-inch ones, 20 4.8-inch ones, and 50 3.2-inch ones). Poke a finger through center hole of each bouquet holder (from front to back) to create openings large enough to accommodate a lightbulb.

Step 5 Beginning with largest ones, place bouquet holders evenly around wreath, slipping a light through each hole so that bulb bases, not bulbs, rest against paper. (From time to time, hang wreath, and step back to ensure that the arrangement is balanced and attractive.)

Step 6 Add remaining bouquet holders in descending size order. Use smallest bouquet holders to cover centers of larger ones and to fill in any gaps. Hang near an outlet. Unplug when unattended.

Ribbon-Poinsettia Wreath

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Satin ribbon provides a wide range of shades with which to form these beautiful facsimiles. Their hardiness makes them a delightful choice for a fine (and everlasting) indoor wreath.

Step 1 Cut three lengths of wide satin ribbon diagonally to form equal-sided diamonds. Pinch each diamond at the center, and pin to hold it. Hold all three together, staggering them to form the six-leafed blossom, then fix together by looping 26-gauge wire twisted at the back; using wire cutters, remove excess wire at the twist. Cut the stems from four store-bought stamens and attach them to the front of blossom with craft glue.

Step 2 Use green ribbon, about half as wide as the first, for the decorative leaves. Cut two lengths about three times as long as they are wide. With the back side up, fold half the ribbon over so it forms an L shape. Fold the other half of the L over the first so it covers the previous fold. Cinch the bottom of the resulting house shape and hold it with a pin.

Step 3 Shave the edges off of a 19-inch Styrofoam wreath form to give it a rounded profile. Wrap the form with satin ribbon, securing the loose ends with straight pins. Affix ribbon poinsettias and leaves to the wreath with large straight pins (which will be hidden within the folds) held firm with subtly applied hot glue.

via Martha Stewart

For the holidays

Christmas is just around the corner! We have provided you with some great ideas for decorating for the holidays, stylishly. Enjoy!

Wooden Stocking forms are the new, stylish way to sport your Christmas stockings.

 

Brighten a room with colorful bulbs. Even unplugged lights shine when gathered in a glass apothecary jar. For a container that truly glistens, top it off with a dusting of artificial snow.

 

Arrange branches in a vase for an easy, elegant tabletop "tree." This one is adorned with chandelier prisms and gold-painted walnuts.

 

Give cabinets a festive feel fast. We recommend dressing up kitchen cupboards with patterned wrapping paper (don't worry — it's a cinch to remove after the New Year). Just cut the paper to fit glass cabinet doors, as well as the back wall space between shelves, and use double-sided tape to affix.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

What a wonderful holiday today is, this is a good time for everyone to tell their loved ones, even enemies, how appreciative they are to have them in their life. I would like to take this chance to thank all of our loyal customers for supporting us! And if you aren't our customer just yet, take some time maybe this weekend and check out what we have ready in store for you to decorate your home for Christmas. Either way, thank you for stopping into my blog and giving me the opportunity to thank you for being here :) Have a great dinner with family or friends tonight and enjoy your long weekend!

Thanksgiving for the classroom!

1. Set the mood: add a fall feeling to your classroom by adding fall leaf arrangements to the teacher's desk, or hanging a fall border around the bulletin boards. Add some orange and brown throw rugs, and a Thanksgiving-themed welcome mat outside your classroom door. Set out some Thanksgiving picture books in the reading corner.
2. Review your Thanksgiving lesson plans. See if you can add in any hands-on, decorative activities to your lessons, such as making hand print turkeys or pilgrim hats. These can then be hung on the classroom bulletin board.
3. Use writing activities to help you decorate. Have the children write what they are thankful for on giant turkey feathers made from orange, yellow and brown construction paper. Then, place the feathers on the wall around a turkey body made from brown butcher paper. Alternately, have them write what they are thankful for on paper maple leaves, and string them together to form a garland. Hang the garland from the top of the white or chalkboard, or over a window.
4. Plan an art lesson. If you can't tie in craft activities to your lesson plans, try to find the time to squeeze in one craft activity just for fun, or make it into an art lesson. For example, a lesson on painting with watercolors can be a good opportunity to make fall leaves. Have the children paint watercolor paper in fall colors, letting the watercolors bleed into each other. Once the paper dries, have the children cut the paper into fall leaf shapes. Glue the leaves onto Thanksgiving place mats, or use them for the writing activity above.
5. Don't forget the outside of your room! Initiate a door-decorating contest with the other teachers. Have each class come up with a Thanksgiving theme for their doors, and then decorate the doors.
6. And...don't forget the desks! Tiny pumpkins can be used to make clever turkeys. Glue craft store feathers onto the pumpkins with a hot glue gun, and glue a construction paper turkey "head" to the stem. Use a permanent marker to write each student's name on the turkey and use them as name tags during the month of November. This can be a project for a parent volunteer or for the children if they are old enough to handle a hot glue gun.

via eHow.

Craft Time: Turkey Luminarias

Turkey Luminarias

Materials 

Scissors

Lunch-size paper bag

Tissue Paper (white, yellow, red, orange)

Glue Stick

Sand or Rocks

LED tea lights

Instructions

1.       Cut a circle from the seamless side of a lunch-size paper bag. Use the cutout circle as a guide to cut a slightly larger circle from white or yellow tissue paper.

2.       Cut skinny triangles of red, orange, and yellow tissue paper for the feathers, and cut two wing shapes from red tissue paper. Use a glue stick to affix the feathers and wings onto the tissue paper circle.

3.       Cut a turkey body from the brown paper circle, then glue it to the center of the tissue paper collage.

4.       Line the edge of the bag's circular hole with more glue, then lay the collage circle on top. Fill the bag with about an inch of sand or rocks and nestle an LED tea light inside.

via Disney FamilyFun

Craft Time: Turkey Napkin Holder

Turkey Napkin Holder

Create cute napkin holders dressed up like your favorite Thanksgiving bird, the turkey! The colors and googly eyes will surely please the kids and other present day pilgrims.

Materials
5- by 7-inch Colorful poster board
Craft knife
Double sided tape
Glue stick
2 Goggly eyes (craft stores)
Red and yellow construction paper
Instructions
1) Cut head and feet shapes in the top and bottom edges of a 5- by 7-inch rectangle of colorful poster board, leaving a 2- by 7-inch center band.
2) Use a craft knife to cut 2 wings near the center of the band.
3) Curl the cardboard by wrapping the ends of the band around something round, such as a rolling pin. Remove the band, overlap the ends, and secure them with double-sided tape.
4) Use a glue stick to attach 2 googly eyes, a red paper wattle, and a yellow paper beak. To adorn each mini tom with fancy feathers, simply fold a colorful napkin accordion style and tuck it inside the ring.
via Disney FamilyFun

Six Last-Minute Place Card Ideas for Thanksgiving

If you have no idea what to do for dinner place cards, we have the simple and cute solution for you here. We found these ideas from At Home and thought we should share this with you!

 + Pine cones and acorns are in abundance at this time of year. Pair them with a note of gratitude – either handwritten or printed on card stock – for a thoughtful place card option.

 + Simple is often the most sophisticated. Crisp leaves get a glittery touch by writing your guest’s names in gold ink in these two very different tabletop looks. The high contrast of sculpting your own conifers against a brown leaf – like Kate Pruitt did for Design*Sponge– is fresh and contemporary.

+ Miniature pumpkins are a versatile option for festive Thanksgiving decorating. Use a harvest-hued marker to write guest names on chic miniature white pumpkins, they layer them at each setting with a pretty napkin and scatter a few leaves. Alternatively, guests can claim their spot at the table with personalized flags created from festive ribbon or card stock. Cut them to size, glue them to a toothpick and stick in a gourd or pumpkin.
+ The Pilgrim caps were done by painting little miniature terracotta flowerpots.

+ The warm, tone-on-tone approach of writing the name on a simple leaf is more suitable for a casual gathering with friends.

I really love the idea of painting little terracotta flowerpots and leaves as place cards for a Thanksgiving dinner. Which idea would you take?