Stuff

DIY Cute and Sexy Valentines

I am writing this post from an airplane (gotta love gogo internet!) flying home to Seattle. I arrived earlier today in LA where I meant to hang out with my brother and sister in law for the evening and then film a Valentines Day segment on “DIY Cute and Sexy Valentines” with Billy Bush and Kit Hoover for Access Hollywood early tomorrow morning.

When my plane arrived I found out that due to the tragic passing of Whitney Huston that not only my segment, but all of the segments that were set for tomorrow have been cancelled. The entire show will now be a tribute to her. Of course, this was out of everyone’s control, and while it was very disappointing for me, it was also appropriate.

So it turns out that my older brother and his wife drove all the way to LAX to give me a hug, and then I ran upstairs to book a flight straight home to see my husband and children. And now I am sitting on an airplane watching a Twilight movie and sucking down a bloody Mary while simultaneously eating Junior mints and writing this post. I didn’t say it was pretty.

I know that this is on the opposite end of the spectrum from my “Family friendly Valentines Day Breakfast” Segment, but I still want to share the crafts with you because I worked really hard on them, and if I do say so myself they are pretty darn “cute and sexy”!

Also, if you are a Seattleite, I will also be featuring them in 4 live segments on King 5 news Tuesday morning, so please tune in!

ADORNED CHOCOLATE BOXES

I purchased inexpensive boxes of chocolates at the drug store and embellished them with wrapping paper, origami and scraps of ribbon.

I also found some scrapbook embellishments that really made them pretty.

BATH and MASSAGE GIFT
I used 4 stacking boxes to create this gift idea.

1) Homemade Massage Oils: They are simply a combination of jojoba oil and essential oils, (the ratio is about 5 drops essential oil to every Tb of jojoba oil.) I used the scents of Jasmine: sensuality, Lavender: Relaxation, Grapefruit: Happiness. Combine in vials or bottles and cork or seal.

2) Homemade Bath Salts: 1 cup Epsom salt, ½ cup Kosher salt, 12 drops essential oil. Shake and store in an airtight container to preserve fragrance.

3) Bath Tea. I just chose some organic chamomile tea and attached two stickers (with the string in between) where the tag originally was. A few bags in a tub of hot water are lovely. I also love Jasmine Pearl tea.

4) A homemade gift certificate for a massage (to go with the oils) would undoubtedly be well appreciated by your loved one!

HOMEMADE CUOPON BOOK

These accordion style books were meant to be full of special mementos, gift certificates (homemade or purchased) and certificates for “romantic gestures” of your choosing.

I used a mailing box, card stock paper, double stick tape and then all different envelopes, note cards and items, quotes and poems that were personal.

Of course, these could also be made for your children and filled with sweet things for them, or for you to do together.

EDIBLE BODY PAINT

Ooh-la-la. This is where we get to the good stuff. Maybe it’s better I didn’t have to show Billy Bush how to use edible body paint- I might have died of embarrassment.

I used a wooden flower box and spray painted it red and then covered it in wrapping paper.

I used the four open compartments of the box to hold the goodies.

One was filled with paintbrushes, some small, some are big fluffy Japanese calligraphy brushes. I tied them with red satin ribbon.

The second and third compartments were filled with caramel sauce and hot fudge sauce. The perfect, ahem, edible paint.

The fourth is a little more exotic. I simply took a brand new (crayola) watercolor tray and popped the paints out. Then each empty color compartment was filled with a different color of luster dust. When you mix a few drops of vodka (I used dragon fruit flavored) into the luster dust, it become edible, (and beautiful) edible body paint.

Ok ladies and gents. Let your imaginations run wild, and have a wonderful Valentines Day!

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Melted Crayon Hearts

Pia and I made these ADORABLE melted crayon hearts the other day.

I saw the idea while browsing through pinterest. If you didn’t already know this, I have a serious pinterest addiction. Follow me and see the depths of my addiction issues.

Of course it’s all harmless fun when I go on binges filled with interior design lust, food porn and kids craft idea hoarding.

This was one of those kids crafts that I saw and frantically found the original idea on a site called messychef.com. She is awesomely creative.

Pia and I promptly started the project in order to make these valentines for her whole class. (Great alternative to candy in my opinion!)

Here is how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 230 degrees.

I got a mold- these silicone molds work great and just need to be washed before they go back to being cake molds. (But my mom used to make these crayons in muffin tins for us when we were little.)

I assume that anyone with kids also has a huge bin like this half full of stubby broken crayons?

Peel a bunch of old crayons.

Don’t be like us and spend 2 hours peeling your crayons. In the last 5 minutes of that 2 hours, we discovered that if you put the crayons in a dish of warm water, that the paper comes right off.

Break the crayons into different sized chunks.

Combine the chunks into each heart mold. Be creative or deliberate about your colors.

Place the silicone mold on a sheet pan.

Bake the crayons at 230 degrees for 15 minutes.

Pull the melted crayon hearts out and let them cool. When they have completely cooled, pop them out. Repeat with the mold if you need more hearts!

I glued them onto the envelope of her valentines and then we stuck them into a small cellophane bag and sealed it with a red sticker. SO CUTE!!

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Stuff

This post is aptly named. I have a bunch of “stuff” going on and I thought I would give you a peak into some of what’s happening around here.

MASON

He is so big you guys. I took him to the vet today just so I could weigh him out of morbid curiosity. When he was in three weeks ago, he weighed 39 lbs.

Today at 14 weeks, he weighs 50. Weird, my back could have sworn it was more than that.

I just love a big dog, but they are a puppy for only an instant. They do however make astounding messes when potty training, but that’s a whole other deal. Let me just say that my carpet cleaner is my new best friend. We spend a lot of time together.

VALENTINES DAY

My kids are as obsessed as I am, and Pia got up at 5 AM to work on her Valentines today. I’m tired. But I will share this awesome craft that we made later this week.

I am doing a Valentines Day Segment on New Day Northwest tomorrow, Wednesday the 8th at 11AM on KING 5 for all you Northwesterners. (I will put it on my blog later this week for those of you who are not.)

I have another Valentines Day Segment coming up on Monday the 13th on
Access Hollywood. Ha! Does that make you chuckle as much as it does me? I will share more details about that in the days to come, but I am SO EXCITED!!!

HGTV:

Are any of you HGTV fans? I am.

And I just spent the last week filming the first part of two different segments of their new show “I hate my contractor” out on the East coast.

It was exhausting, but it was awesome.

I am getting to design two different NEW kitchens for families who have been basically screwed over by contractors and left with the mess. Can you imagine? These poor people who shelled out a bunch of money and let people come into their home and then were left with crap-ola.

But John DeSilvia comes and saves them. For two episodes, I get to be his trusty design sidekick. Pretty Cool huh?

I will let you know when I go back and shoot the second half. Maybe that time I will be together enough to take some better pictures. All I shot with my I phone is pictures of the piles and piles of equipment.

Lame I know- but the amount of stuff is crazy!!

MY MOM and DAD

While Pete and I were gone for 6 days, my mother fixed all of my 4 year olds sleep “issues.” My dad stopped the dog from biting everything in site and I came home to perfectly adjusted children and an organized pantry. Thank You mom and dad.

The WEIRD WEATHER

Oh! Also, uh, as the weather has turned on it’s head this year. (uh, we had a blizzard two weeks ago?) and now it has been so warm and sunny that my crocuses are blooming.
??? what ???
**By the way- I had to crouch in a lawn full of dog poop to take this picture this morning. I hope you like it.

I feel an epic gardening year coming on…. Does anyone care about gardening here? Let me know….

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Please meet the newest Christo!

I would love to introduce you to a very special new family member.

Please meet Mason.

I am in love with him already.

He is an English Mastiff, and at 10 weeks old, he is already 43 pounds. He’s gonna be a big boy.

The girls are having the time of their lives.

We are busy snuggling with him and cleaning up puppy poo-poo right now- but I will be back tomorrow with cozy and delicious winter recipes!

Sunsets and Snow

After an almost unbelievably mild winter, and a very sunny week I went to bed after seeing this…

And woke up to this…

Now, just to clarify. We don’t ever have sunsets like this in Seattle.

The sunrises last week were also spectacular.

We also are not much of a snow town. Like it only really snows every couple of years.

Snowy days are my very favorite to get busy in the kitchen and it is supposed to snow all week. Hope your hungry!

Homemade Gift Ideas

Homemade Gift Ideas and creative packaging…

Here are some of my favorite ideas for edible gifts and creative packaging for your cookies, and other scrumptious treats!

*My very favorite! This is a vintage style lunch pail, spray painted with chalkboard paint. Fill it with chocolate ginger cookies- and you have an amazingly cool gift.

*Sterilized paint cans (available at container and hardware stores. Wrapped in paper, or just clear (I also love the traditional tin ones) make an amazing receptacle for Nutella cookies with dark chocolate and sour cherries.

*An acrylic jar that typically would have been used for cotton balls becomes the perfect coffee shop style biscotti holder. Add tea or a lb of coffee for a great gift!

*Make homemade caramel corn and package it in a cool tin for a whole new take on “popcorn tins.”

*They sell these paper boxes at craft store and packaging supply store. I let the girls decorate this one, filled it with white chocolate-cranberry cookies and gave it to a neighbor. Adorable cookie house! (and great project for keeping the kids very, very busy!

*One of my favorite gifts my husband ever got at the office was from someone who brought him a bag of scones and some homemade jam. We ate them all same day and I still remember it years later. AMAZING gift idea.

*Speaking of homemade jam- that is in incredible gift all on its own. I dressed these up with muffin liner hats and a little twine!

*Go a step further and add a loaf of homemade bread. People will freak out with happiness and devour immediately!

*Easiest fudge recipe in the world- treat the pieces like truffles, and create a very elegant gift!

*Have a favorite spice rub? Whip it up in bulk and pour into these little latch jars. Add an apron and a pair of tongs for your favorite BBQ master.

*Candied nuts make a wonderful gift. I put them in pencil tins wrapped in origami paper. Make it bigger with A recipe card for a great green salad with a balsamic dressing and add a bottle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

*Take your brownies (in mint, peanut butter or pretzel varieties) to a whole different level by slicing them into rectangles and laying them on display in a paper wrapped tie box. Sprinkle them with edible gold glitter for extra fanciness!

*Homemade Granola is a wonderful treat. Whip up a batch, and put it in this large latch jar with a scoop for your favorite health nut.

*Homemade Peppermint Hot Chocolate Kit! Toss together a blend of ½ unsweetened coco powder and half powdered sugar and put in a latch or mason jar. Follow up with marshmallows and peppermint candies.

*Chocolate dipped pretzels. A piece of cake to make, and totally cute when piled into a clear acrylic pencil box with a simple tag!

*Candy Cane meringues, easy and beautiful- one more solution for the acrylic pencil boxes!

*If all else fails, take a paper wine box and or regular gold box from the drug store. Wrap with strips of paper or tons of ribbon for an instant artistic update.

Winner of Party Pretty Giveaway!

The winner of the party pretty giveaway was:

Comment #117
Marianne Simon Design
Submitted on 2011/12/01 at 9:24 am
“Yep, I follow you on Twitter, too!”

Congratulations Marianne! Please get in touch with me by the night of the 7th with your mailing address!

Shutterfly “Edible gifts” book winners!

Shutterfly “Edible gifts” book winners!
These were the five winners, randomly chosen through random.org by their comment numbers.

1) Comment 71: Gianna
Submitted on 2011/11/29 at 10:58 pm
Well, being Greek, we make koulourakia, kourambiedes (my favourites! Greek style butter cookies), and melomakarona. Every weekend my nieces and nephews come over and we bake. Everything and anything from pancakes to cupcakes, from fudge to cookies. Our motto is “nothing from a box, everything from scratch”. We like to sit and create our recipes before we get started. They, and I, would love a copy of your book.

2) Comment 17: Tama
Submitted on 2011/11/27 at 8:03 pm
“Fudge made with marshmallow creme – the easy way! Everyone loves it here.”

3) Comment 90: JoAnn Xydis
Submitted on 2011/12/01 at 10:35 pm
“i’m already signed up for your subscriptions :)”

4) 33: Meredith
Submitted on 2011/11/28 at 5:22 am
“Heather, I would LOVE to win one of your books! I go online every morning to see if you have posted another beautiful photo and recipe to inspire me for the day! (I have even called your agent to see if you have any books for purchase yet!) I already subscribe to your posts. However, my favorite holiday cookie is a fruit drop cookie that my mother makes every year. They are loaded with fruit and nuts and even people who say they don’t like fruitcake love this recipe. Although I am in my 50′s, when I eat one of these cookies, I feel like I am reliving my childhood. I have made the recipe myself, but somehow, my mother’s batches always taste best!”

5) Comment 85: Cynthia Sasaki
Submitted on 2011/12/01 at 9:34 am
“Snowballs
2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 Tablespoons sugar pinch of salt 2 sticks of unsalted butter or 1/2 pound at room temperature
Powdered Sugar for rolling after baking
Preheat oven 325°F Use your hands or a wooden spoon to mix the flour, nuts, butter, vanilla, sugar, salt in a large bowl. Work the dough to combine ingredients until it forms a ball of dough, but do not overwork.
Make nuggets and roll into balls. Arrange on nonstick baking sheet or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from baking sheet and roll gently in 2 cups of powdered sugar. Place on rack to cool. When cool, dredge again in the powdered sugar.
To store airtight, wrap in mini-muffin cup paper liners or waxed paper.
You can make these larger in 2 Tablespoon portions for 18 cookies. I hope I win :^)”

Please email me at heatherchristo@gmail.com with your mailing address by Sunday morning to claim your prize. If your info is not received by 9am PT Sunday, your prize will be re-drawn.

Getting Party Pretty… a giveaway!

Hi guys. Welcome to my new section called “stuff.” Stuff pretty much sums it up. It’s just stuff I like, stuff I wanted to show you that it isn’t food and isn’t about entertaining.

Like today. Today I thought I would share something with you that I adore. Pretty makeup. Pretty makeup that is beautiful on all skin colors and happen to be my favorite lineup of colors right now.

(By the way- sorry to any gentleman reading this right now. However you want to get in good with your wife/mother/daughter/sister/girlfriend right now- keep reading.)

I use these products regularly when I hit the town:

Nars Blush in “orga*m” (pretty, pretty peachy pink color)
MAC “Ruby Woo” red matte lipstick
MAC eye liner in “graphic black”
MAC eye shadows in “tempting” and “honey lust”
OPI red nail polish in “even red gives me the blues”

This is a “My Favorite Holiday Makeup!” giveaway.

And because I love you all so much, and want you to feel fabulous over the holidays, I am giving away this entire beauty kit to one of you lucky glamazons! (or your wife/ mother/ daughter/ sister/ girlfriend.)

If you would like to enter to win all this gorgeous makeup, you can do the following: **And EACH one will get you a different chance to win! (so be sure to tell me in different comments to get your individual chances!)

1) Tell me your favorite go-to beauty item! (I am a product junkie who needs to know!)
2) Subscribe to HeatherChristo.com here
3) like “Heather Christo” on facebook
4) like this post on facebook
5) follow me on twitter @heatherchristo

This is over at 11:59 on December 4th (Sunday!) So I can mail it out to you in Monday, so you can get gorgeous by Friday! PLEASE make sure you leave a valid email address so I can email you that you won! If you don’t respond in 48 hours, I will pick a new winner!

Also! There is still another giveaway going on here!!!

*Obviously neither Nars, MAC nore OPI have any idea who I am, I just like their products and am giving them away because I like you!

Homemade Glitter Spider Rings

I made these rings for my Halloween dessert buffet and the Halloween segment I did a few weeks ago. But they are so beautiful, I thought I should do a quick “how-to” for anyone feeling the need for a last minute Halloween glitter spider ring. I’m sure some of you are out there that just HAVE to HAVE a homemade glitter spider ring? No?

I love these rings, they are so fast and easy, that they should win an award for best fast and easy Halloween craft. I also happen to think that these are so pretty, I am considering incorporating them into my costume this year. Too bad I still don’t know what my costume is going to be. Usually I am all over this, making homemade costumes every Halloween, complete with bad sewing and hot glue. I have just been so busy this year, that I let it slip through the cracks. And now here I am with no costume and a big party to go to on Saturday night. Can I have your help please!? What is your Halloween Costume this year?

Just for context, I don’t do sexy costumes. Only funny or goofy. In the last few years I have been: Scooby Doo, A ghoul, A giant orange chicken (homemade), Cookie Monster (homemade) and a giant, fat bumble bee with buzzer and wings. Hmmm… I should dig up some pictures.

Ok, onto the Homemade Glitter Spider Rings!!

First you get some cheap plastic spiders. My favorite are the black plastic spider rings, which are sold 99 for $1.79 at my local drugstore right now.

Then, you brush it with a little glue. (I had some “craft glue” around, but plain old Elmer’s glue will work just fine.)

Then I sprinkled it with some black and dark grey glitter. If you are going to make a bunch of these (like 99) then I suggest pouring the glitter into little bowl and dunking the spiders in.