Posts

Chonky Boys: The Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that Scream Summer!

-
Image
Featuring my thick and nuggy Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookies, these ice cream sandwiches are the stuff that summer dreams are made of.  If you've ever had the Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich at Disneyland , you are going to LOVE these!  These big and bold chocolate chip cookies are based on a recipe from my culinary school studies at Auguste Escoffier, but with a few modifications to give them that Jennuine touch.  They make the perfectas book for a fat slice of real vanilla bean ice cream.  And those mini chips?  You just gotta have that extra cronch! Thank goodness this recipe only makes 8 sandwiches, otherwise I would be eating them for breakfast lunch and dinner.  This way, my big family can help save me from my inner child diet-saboteur.   Print With Image Without Image Chonky Boy Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches Yield: 8 Author: Jenn Erickson Loaded with chocolate chips and buttery, brown-sugary vanilla flavor, these mall-sized cookies form a perfect partnership with a
Read more

10 Ideas for the Ultimate Minecraft Birthday Party

-
Image
This post was sponsored by One Way Novelties -- a great online source for party supplies!   One Way Novelties -- Distributing Fun & Excitement Are your kids crazy for Minecraft?  Mine were a bit late to join the frenzy, but are now firmly entrenched in the pixelated world of building and adventure.  In the past two months, the girls have each attended Minecraft parties.  I was really impressed by the way my friends captured the spirit the game in every minute detail of their parties.  They've very generously offered to share some photos and tips on how they made their parties a success. TREAT BAGS: With personalized skins Minecraft players customize their character by creating a custom "skin".  So, to personalize the goody bags, my friend Krista collected images of each of the guests' skins.  She printed them out on paper and glue-sticked them to green paper bags.  She found the bags at Party City. Favors:  Freshly "Mined" Treats
Read more

Holiday Magic: Fancified Borax Crystal Snowflakes
{and Candle-lit Centerpieces}

-
Image
You don't need to be a scientist, an artist, or Jack Frost to make these easy (and inexpensive) real crystal ornaments! Making crystals from Borax is one of the most magical, easy and satisfying classroom science projects.   I had the pleasure of seeing it done by a teacher friend in a classroom of second and third graders just a few weeks ago.  It got me thinking about experimenting with a way to take the project from classroom to craft-room for the holidays.  Search online and you'll come up with hundreds of tutorials, all calling for the same simple solution of hot water supersaturated with Borax and snowflakes or other shapes made out of pipe cleaners.  I mused, "I wonder what would happen if I used a plastic snowflake, instead of a pipe cleaner, as a base for the crystals to form."   So, I headed off to the Dollar Tree and found two different types of snowflake ornaments.  They look cheap and they are cheap.  Perfect for this pr
Read more

Holiday Giveaway: Win a $300 Visa Gift Card

-
Image
Season's Greetings, friends! Some of the sweetest gals in Blogland got together and decided to pass the hat around in order to put together a sparkling, spectacular holiday giveaway for our loyal readers and fans.  So, here it is, with love from us to you...a chance to win a $300 Visa Gift Card.  Wouldn't that make a cheery little stocking stuffer? Wishing you best of luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway Only one lucky person will win, but everyone can take advantage of the free recipes, crafts and inspiration from these talented ladies:   504 Main | Dukes & Duchesses | The Taylor House | Flamingo Toes | Cupcakes and Crinoline The Silly Pearl | The Scrap Shoppe | Clean & Scentsible | Yesterday on Tuesday | Rook No. 17
Read more

Easy Bakery Style Coconut Macaroons {chocolate-dipped}

-
Image
If you can whisk together a few ingredients, then you can make delicious bakery-style coconut macaroons.  This past weekend, I spent the day preparing a big Hanukkah meal for my family complete with Motzoh Ball Soup and golden latkes topped with corned beef and slaw.  It was a labor of love. Since the menu was fairly labor intensive, I wanted dessert to be something that I could whip up quickly.  I'd never made macaroons, but had heard that they were a cinch to make.  I looked at dozens of recipes online -- there are so many variations.  I wanted a macaroon recipe that was quick and easy, but tasted just like the chocolate dipped macaroons that I get at our local French bakery -- lightly toasted on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and slightly caramelized on the bottom.  I didn't want a recipe that relied on too many eggs, too much sugar, or a can of sweetened condensed milk. So, I took bits and pieces from a handful of recipes and came up with
Read more

Thanksgiving Craft: Crayola Mayflower Place Cards #ColorfulThanks

-
Image
Howdy Pilgrims! Many thanks to Crayola for inspiring and sponsoring this last-minute Thanksgiving craft! It was so easy to put together because I already had all the Crayola supplies on hand.  After all, Crayola products have been a part of my crafting repertoire ever since I was old enough to hold a crayon! In fact, you could go so far as to say that Crayola crayons are something of a treasured heirloom in my family.   So, for the kids at this year's Thanksgiving dinner, I designed a simple project that captures the spirit of the holiday and performs many tasks -- place card, activity, and take-home gift!  The sails of my Crayola Mayflower Place Cards provide the inspiration for each child to doodle and draw the things that they are most thankful for.  I can't wait to see what my girls come up with! Here's how to make a whole fleet of Crayola Mayflower Place Cards of your own: DIY Crayola Mayflower Place Cards (ins
Read more

Free Printable: Wide-mouth Mason Jar Labels, Fall Colors

-
Image
This is the first year, in over a decade, that I haven't made it to my mom's for Thanksgiving.  It's also my mom's first big holiday since my grandmother passed away.  So, my brothers and I thought it would be a nice idea to come up with a way to bottle all our love and thankfulness for our mom.  In that way, we can all "be there" for Mom, even though, physically, we'll be spread out hither and thither.   I hadn't planned on writing about this project, but since I created some custom mason jar labels in the process, I figured I might as well share the printable with my readers. You can download these labels from Google Drive for free.  I posted them as an MS Word document, so you can personalize/customize each label inside the text boxes.  You should also be able to use MS Word to convert the colors to match your project or season!  To download the labels, click HERE .   You won't be able to see a preview of the labels in Google Dr
Read more

Upcycling: Dreidel Treat Boxes for the 8 Nights of Hanukkah

-
Image
Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel You're a sparkly little one A box made out of paper that was easy and so fun For Hanukkah this year, I decided to fiddle around with some tissue paper tubes to see if I could come up with a way to turn them into dreidels. As you can see, my tinkerings were a success! What I love most about this project is the versatility.  You can paint and glitter them any color to match your home or table decor.  They make a great treat for guests at each place setting: They can be filled with a different small gift for each night of Hanukkah and strung on a garland -- a Hanukkah spin on the Advent Calendar! I sterilize my tissue tubes in the microwave, but if tissue or paper towel tubes make you squeamish, you can still use my template on basic cardstock. This is a fun family project.  When done assembly line style, you can whip up a whole party's worth of dreidel treat boxes in an afternoon.   The tops of the dreidel boxe
Read more