Saturday, December 17, 2016

Pinterest style Christmas Table Topper tutorial for under $10 and Stained Glass Window Cookies-- with new giveaway and WINNERS!!

Hello everybody! Mary Jane here with an easy peasy Christmas table top tutorial for UNDER TEN DOLLARS, a recipe for delicious Christmas cookies, a giveaway AND winners!! *whew* That's a mouthful! Good thing I'm typing...
                               
First of all, we have a kitty ornament thief!! We saw him stealing ornaments off the tree and found his stash! Rude.
                                               
We have had the most AMAZING snowfall the last week. It's so beautiful!
                                          
Oh, teens...
 Just walking to the neighbor's house is so beautiful.
                                          
My daughter went out to cut greenery. She looks like something out of a fairy tale.
"Your sword, my liege!"
                               
But of course, with teens, it devolved into this.
 We went sledding on the property where I grew up. It was sunset-- well, it was three o'clock but it was basically sunset.

So, first of all, the table topper. I don't know about you but I LOVE fresh greenery around the house. It's absolutely a must at Christmas. We always have an Advent wreath but at Christmas, we like to have a display during our big family dinner.
                                   
This is so, so, so easy. All you need is a pair of scissors, some evergreen bushes, five white pillar candles from the dollar store, a few fake poinsettia blooms (also from dollar store) and some ribbon (ALSO from dollar store- see how cheap an easy that is?) All in all, it cost about ten dollars! Look at this gorgeousness!
 Ha! Love my little guy's expression here. "Mom, stop taking my picture!"
                                
The paper punch snowflakes are a wonderful touch but if you don't have the paper punch (I got it at Walmart, Martha Stewart brand), then you can cut some little snowflakes out of paper... or skip that part. 
                                      
Lay out the candles first. I set them on upside down ramekins or bowls to make sure they were higher than the greenery. Then I gently placed the greenery around it. I put a few folded towels down on the table to keep the branches from scratching the finish because it's a very old family table from the early 1900s.
                                                  
I put in a silver snowflake ribbon and had another ready, but it just didn't look right to me.
                                                            
 You're welcome to put the ribbon on and it might look perfect just like that, but I decided to take it off.
                                              
 Here it is, all finished. Total cost? $10 of Dollar Store materials! I love Pinterest. It made it really so easy to find a look I wanted for the table. I just browsed through the pictures until I found one that I liked. And now you can see how to make your own!
                               
Thrift store candle holders for .50 and that awesome paper punch plus some mod podge = some pretty votives for my kitchen! I'm all about the teal right now.These keep me company when I set up to work at the counter in the middle of the night. 
                          
Have you ever put out luminaria? We use paper bags, votive candles inside, and line our walkway. It's a delightful way to welcome people to the house! (I turned off the outside light for this picture. Otherwise they really WOULD need the luminaria.)

So, on to the stained glass cookie recipe!!
                                                 
What you see there is 15 cups of flour, 12 eggs, 4 1/2 cups of butter, 6 cups of sugar, 3 tsp vanilla, 3 tsp salt, 3 tsp baking powder. 
Edna was watching with bated breath. She had never seen so many ingredients put in one bowl. 
Boris handled it like a champ.... except for one small incident. Apparently, he is ticklish. I had just put in the 12 eggs, the 4 1/2 cups melted butter and the 6 cups of sugar. I started him up, and thought it was a bit too high so I felt around his ribs for the little lever... He started to twitch and giggle, and I somehow pushed it all the way to the right.
Eggs, butter, sugar.... EVERYWHERE. Boris has power, no doubt about it. It took us 20 minutes to clean it all up. My daughter and I were laughing at how far we found globs of goo. A whole egg yolk was on the opposite side of the kitchen! Ok, once we changed, we started on the cookies...
 Stained glass window cookies are made by cutting out a regular cookie, then making another cut out inside of the first. Break hard candy like Life Savers or Jolly Ranchers and fill the hole. Bake as normal at 350F for 8-10 minutes, on a cookie sheet with tin foil.
When you take them from the oven, let cool on the counter for a few minutes. Then put them either in the freezer or leave them on the counter for ten minutes. Since we only have two cookies sheets, I put them in the freezer for 3 minutes or so to save time.
 OK, so now for this week's giveaway!

I'm offering one paper copy of Season of Hope
And one copy of Good Housekeeping's The Great Christmas Cookie Swap cookbook! 

Now for the WINNERS from last weeks Twelve Days of Christmas Treats!!

* drum roll *


Marilyn R. is the winner from Mindy's post! She wins the THREE mini recipe books, an inspiring Christmas book, and a woman's journal.  Congratulations, Marilyn R!

Debbie Rhoades is the winner from Jan's post. She wins a SET of Sherry Gore books, a cookbook AND a memoir! Congratulations, Debbie!

Jennifer Hibdon and Karen Varrichio are the winners from Ruthy's post. They BOTH win an ebook copy of Ruthy's new book, Silent Night, Star-Lit Night. Congratulations Jennifer and Karen! 
Lisa Hudson is the winner of a copy of Cate's Christmas book, A Winter in Hiding. Congratulations, Lisa !

Deana Dick is the winner of my Cane River Romance series boxed set

And Gretchen Garrison is the winner of the Taste of Home recipe book!

Be sure to stop by my facebook author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway or Virginia Carmichael, or my website at The Things That Last!

I want to wish you all the merriest of Christmases! I read this quote the other day and thought it was just lovely. May the peace of the Christ child be with you all. 

“And when we give each other Christmas gifts in His name, let us remember that He has given us the sun and the moon and the stars, and the earth with its forests and mountains and oceans--and all that lives and move upon them. He has given us all green things and everything that blossoms and bears fruit and all that we quarrel about and all that we have misused--and to save us from our foolishness, from all our sins, He came down to earth and gave us Himself.”  ― Sigrid Undset




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34 comments:

  1. What a delightful post Mary Jane. I'm loving the photos. And stain glass cookies. What a great idea. smile Too funny that you've named your mixer but I see he earned his name.

    Thanks for the decoration idea also. I bet those greens really smell good too. Merry Christmas to you also.

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    1. Yes, stained glass cookies are some of my favorites! Merry Christmas to you, too, Sandra!

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  2. I cannot imagine that many ingredients in one bowl, but it worked!!!!

    Let me just say the table greens are gorgeous! What a great idea! I would have never thought of that, but it's kind of what I do in my window boxes.... fresh greens, bits of red and white and a string of lights. It's amazing how festive this is, and so perfect. Mary Jane, I love it!!!

    And the snowflake votives. LOVE THEM TO PIECES!!!!!! What a great idea for our next Bake and Make a Memory Day! Perfect present for Moms!!!!!

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    1. Aren't those votives easy?? I made different colored snowflakes for different people and gave them out as dinner gifts for our guests. I love snowflakes. the science behind them, the uniqueness, the magic of a first snow, the delight that comes from playing in it, everything.
      And I love modge podge. It's the stuff of dreams.
      And I need Pinterest to tell me how to make fresh greens and red berry table toppers. I honestly didn't know what I was doing, although I knew what I wanted! I lack vision. LOL

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    2. Oh, Ruthy, I forgot to say that Boris (I think we renamed him Thor before we gave him to our friend Cassey) was the largest Kitchenaid available. HUGE. But he was so big he didn't fit under our ancient cupboards. Poor Thor had nowhere to sit. So I was toting him from place to place and he was no featherweight!
      But he did manage huge amounts of ingredients. Loved that!

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  3. That is a ton of snow! It's been down in the teens here, and not enough snow to really saw we had snow.
    Thanks for sharing the recipe, and Merry Christmas!

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    1. It almost never snows that much here so we've been enjoying it all we can! I think next week it will be gone. For now, it's still amazingly beautiful and charming. :)
      Merry Christmas to you!

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  4. Hm. I'm seeing some visible code at the bottom but I'm afraid to delete or I'll lose my snowflakes! I'll just leave it for now. I do believe I need a class in programming. It always looks SO SIMPLE.

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    1. Hi Marsha! Thank you, and they're super fun to make!

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  7. Mary Virginia, I'm really into teal/aqua, too! I just bought those aqua colored mason jars and put micro-lights in them for decorations. I love it!

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    1. Ohhhhh, that sounds lovely!! It's just such a cheery color!

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    2. Missy, that sounds beautiful! Even I should be able to do that! Merry Christmas!

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  8. Snort -- laughing over the notion of a ticklish mixer. Kudos to Boris for working through the issue and producing a superior product. :-)

    Oh, I love the snow pictures. The one of your daughter looks like a book cover.

    I haven't made stained glass cookies in ages. But goodness that's a HUGE batch of cookies. But then I guess you have an abundance of cookie monsters with bottomless tummies so I guess they don't last long.

    Don't enter me in the draw I have Season oh Hope -- I miss your LIs, Mary Virginia. Happy Christmas!

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    1. We were taking the cookies to an ice skating function for lots of kids! But YES, cookies don't usually last that long in this house, for which I'm so thankful, lololol.

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  9. I love that table topper!

    We have such a crowd here at Thanksgiving that I keep the table decorations small and unobtrusive. But Christmas is a different story - just our family (and significant others). But with eight around the table, a beautiful topper like this is perfect!

    I'll head out to the Dollar Store as soon as our weather warms up. We have beautiful snow and sunshine - and a high of -4° today. We'll head out tomorrow!

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    1. That sounds like u! Clear skies and -1F. It almost never gets that cold so it's kind of weird...

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  10. Beautiful pictures!! Thanks for hosting the Contest!!

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  11. Your table decorations look so festive! I LOVE fresh greenery, although I've elected to use some artificial garlands around the house this year. But the tree is fresh, and there's a pot of greens on the front porch. A compromise of sorts. LOL. There will be 18 here for Christmas dinner (and four dogs...yikes!!) so the table decoration is going to be small...an electric candle in a crystal bowl, surrounded by small snippets of cedar and fir, with some miniature ornaments scattered in.

    I've never tried making stained glass cookies, although they looks yummy. My biggest effort this year was Almond Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprint cookies ... not particularly difficult, I know, but fussy is NOT my middle name.

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    1. Oh, wow, those sound delicious!! I'm not a fan of almond flavoring but I love shortbread and raspberry. It's one of my favorite pairings.

      Eighteen? Sounds like our house!! All we have to do is invite a few more people and we've got the crowd. LOL

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  12. Super. Simple. Splendid!
    Thanks for sharing these terrific ideas!
    MERRRRY Christmas everyone!

    (Love the fairy tale photo. THAT is cover-worthy, Mary Jane!)

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    1. Isn't it? Makes me wish I wrote fantasy!
      Merry Christmas to you, too!!

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  13. I enjoyed this so much and the cookies look so yummy. This year I am baking up a storm but these were not on my list of goodies to make perhaps next year.

    Merry Christmas!

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    1. Thank you so much for the beautiful Christmas card, Wilani! And I've only managed to make peppermint bark, oreo cookie balls, mini pumpkin loaves, sugar cookies, and gingerbread. I had so many more recipes to try but I always end up making the same things. :)

      Merry Christmas to you, too!

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  14. A great post and pictures. Thanks for new ideas to use in years ahead. A blessed and joyous Christmas filled with God's amazing gifts--joy, hope, love and peace.

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  15. Oh, MJ, there are just so many beautiful things in this post. The snowfall photos, the centerpiece, the luminaries, the cookies... Happy sigh. Just gorgeous.

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    1. So much beauty in the winter season, even though it's 7F degrees right now!!

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  16. Beautiful pictures, and I agree with Kav on your daughter looking like she belongs on a book cover! It has Narnia inspiration written all over it :-)

    I don't bake much anymore. I used to back a batch or two of cookies, but we just don't need all that sugar anymore. If I do bake, I usually have my husband take it to work or I share with the church for after service fellowship. Of course I make my pumpkin pies for both Thanksgiving and Christmas but that's about the extent of it.

    I'd love to be entered for your book Season of Hope. Such a festive cover! I can enjoy the snow just by looking at it and not having to BE in it...lol!

    Merry Christmas to you and all the folks here at Yankee Bell Cafe!


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    1. Hi Trixi! Our snow is all gone now so I'm really glad I got that picture.

      Merry Christmas to you, too!

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  17. The snow and tabletoppers are both beautiful. I know what you mean by hitting the gear on the mixer and making a mess. It has happened to me a time or two and is easy to do. That is a really large batch of cookies.

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    1. Hi Donna!
      Talk about a learning experience! I'll never do it again. :P
      Merry Christmas!

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