Personalized Board Book Review

I have had this pin sitting in my (very small) gifts board for a long time. I love the idea of making personalized books for babies. I know JJ loves "reading" and it is so much fun when kids start "getting" that there is stuff to look at and stories to hear from books. I know I could make the standard snapfish photobook, but these are the tough board books that can withstand a teething baby. This Christmas, I decided to order up a couple of these for my niece and cousin's son.

Board Book from Pint Size Productions

Another bonus - these books from Pint Size Productions are made in America -perfect to help support World News' Made In America program (side note: I am a total ABC news junkie. From local NY news anchors, to GMA, to World News with Diane Sawyer. Shannon gets sucked in as well and we have been known to google some behind the scenes gossip. One day we will venture into Manhattan with JJ in tow so Josh Elliot talks to us). Back on topic: I gathered the pictures I needed from facebook, my own library, and asking for some random shots from my cousin. For both Emma and Sal, I used photos of their parents, their pets, their grandparents, friends/cousins, and of course, them. For the text, I simply described who was in the photo and where it was taken. There are some pics below in case I am not explaining myself well.

I decided to go with the "Simple Photo Book 2" with a photo on the right and text on the left. I only had a handful of pics for each baby so I thought this would be the best choice. Once you click which type you like, you add it to your cart and are brought to spread building site. Here's a screen shot:

It was pretty simple to use once you got the hang of it. Every time you add a new photo or change the text, you have to click "Update Preview" and then select the page at the top in the middle to see it. The good thing is you can save it and come back to it later if you can't finish it all in one sitting. You can also add a photo and message on the back cover. I think it would be helpful if Pint Sized Productions added a little gallery so those of us that are creatively challenged could be inspired by what others have done. The website said all Christmas orders had to be in by December 7th in order to arrive by Christmas. I placed my order for the two books on December 6th. The total was $50 and change for the two books and shipping.

I did get a little nervous about them arriving in time as I got the shipping confirmation email on December 17 and it stated that it could take 5-7 business days to arrive. I emailed customer service asking it was going to arrive on time and never heard back. Luckily, they arrived on the 19th (before I even had a chance to call the customer service phone number).

The results? They came out really cute. They did seem to have a chemically odor but I am not sure if that was the packaging or the books themselves. I knew the quality of some of the photos would be compromised (since I stole some from Facebook), but I thought some of the pics I had taken myself with my DSLR were a bit grainy too. Overall though, I was happy. Although $25 seems a little high for a 7 page book, it was worth it to get a special, personalized book for these special babies that they can keep for a long time.

On to some pics (graciously supplied by my cousin Katie since I forgot to take pics before I wrapped them):

The handsome recipient, Baby Sal

Back Cover

Sample of an inside page

Another inside page

The whole thing



I would definitely recommend using Pint Sized Productions if you are in the market for something similar. Their website has some other designs and some stuffed animals as well. Has anyone else out there made anything similar?



Belated Christmas Wrap Up (again) - Part 2

In Part 1 of my Christmas-stuff-wrap-up, I talked about hosting the Christmas dinner, but now I am onto a couple fun Christmas kids crafts. I have noticed for awhile now that "quiet books" seem to be pinned a lot. I never really knew what it was until I started browsing through the "Kids" boards. From what I understand, its a book full of things to keep kids busy and quiet. Felt seems to be a popular material used in these books. Apparently felt sticks to felt. I then started to notice felt wall hangings, and in particular, felt Christmas Trees:



Source

What a smart way to give kids their own tree to decorate without messing up the real one. Rachel from Sol and Rachel made this adorable little tree during her own little Christmas Pinterest Craft-a-thon. Since there is no actual sewing involved, I knew I could tackle this.

I started with a large rectangle of green felt and just free-handed a tree shape on one side with some chalk:

Then I cut it out, folded it in half and traced my edge on the other side and cut that too. I wanted it to be symmetrical so I figured that was the easiest way. After that I just plopped myself in on the floor in front of the tv (watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation) and started cutting out the decorations. I decided that it would be too hard to tape all the little edges of the tree to the wall, so I hot glued the tree to a rectangular piece of white felt. I also hot glued the details (the bottom part of the lights, the ribbon on the gifts, etc). Here is my final product:

I tried both 3m strips and masking tape behind it to keep it all up, but it just kept falling. So eventually I resorted to just taping with masking tape along the edges. JJ seemed to like taking all the pieces off, and it took a little help to get him to stick them back on. I am sure he will appreciate more next year, but it did keep him a little busy this year.

After it was attacked by JJ

I think before I try and hang it up next year, I will follow Amanda's advice from The Little Giggler and sew some D-rings on the top so I can hang it from hooks like her snowman:

Source

Onto the next craft: How could I let Christmas go by without using my baby's footprint or fingerprint on something. I mean its all over Pinterest:





Source: One Artsy Mama



Source: Beneath The Rowan Tree

Source: Kideas

I settled on this one (naturally its from Disney, I am a semi-closeted Disney nut):



Source: Disney Baby

  

I bought a brown stamp pad from Michaels and decided the best way to get a good print was while JJ was eating. So I covered the footrest of his highchair with plastic wrap (in case he set his inked foot down), gave him some Crunchies, and started stamping his foot.

Once they were dry, I attached a red pom pom for the nose, and some googly eyes. I tried to glue some brown pipe cleaners on for the antlers:

But they would not stay on no matter how much glue I used. On to Plan B, a brown sharpie:

Lastly, I glued it onto some Christmasy paper (also seen on clothespins on my Christmas Card Holder from last year). I made a bunch and used them as cards for JJ to give to his maany babysitters over the last year (and of course the grandmothers). They were a big hit!



Some were a bit more "smooshy" than others and my boy has a fat foot, but I think they came out cute. I had other grandiose plans to do a whole bunch more holiday stuff, like having a fresh bunch of Egg Nog Muffins ready for Christmas morning and getting the most adorable shot for a Christmas card, but in the end I am happy I could get these little things done, along with all the gift buying, wrapping, hosting, and oh yea, working I had to do as well. There's always next year!

Stay tuned, in my next post I am going to review the Personalized Board Books I ordered as a couple gifts.

Belated Christmas Wrap Up (again) - Part 1

I guess I just can't get a Christmas post together before Christmas. I didn't do it on time last year either. I realize I am super behind - I still need to recap JJ's first birthday party - which was almost two months ago. But I might as well recap some Christmas stuff first, right?

After a year off in 2011, Joe and I hosted Christmas dinner again this year. It was definitely a lot different than hosting pre-baby, but we had lots of help and it was sort of a light year. I used the same exact menu as in year's past, but instead of printing labels, I decided to make life a little easier for future entertaining. I got some wooden plaques from Michaels and gave them a couple coats of chalkboard paint:

The big ones I used for Joe's 30th Birthday Party (of course I have no pics from that), but the small ones came in handy for Christmas.

The menu included: baked beans, mashed potato and sweet potato bar, candied carrots, green bean casserole, and the traditional ham and turkey.



I also dressed up our pantry chalkboard door with some Christmas cheer:

Instagram photo - so the fuzziness is artsy, right?

I started instagraming a couple months ago and am starting to get addicted. I follow the YHL-ers and saw some comments about dipping the chalk into water first to make it brighter. It definitely worked!

Ok this post has the potential to get really long, so I will save the crafty baby things for Part 2. I will leave off with JJ's official meeting Santa pic:

As you can tell, he was thrilled! Happy New Year everyone!



Fudge Kiss Cookies

Today, I am gathering with a few friends to have a holiday potluck lunch and exchange secret Santa gifts. I volunteered to bring a dessert (surprise, surprise). I looked to pinterest and decided to try out these Fudge Kiss Cookies I've had pinned for over a year. The recipe comes from What Megan’s Making.

What Megan's Making

I gathered up my supplies, which seems to always be a difficult task for me. I went to Shaw’s first and they were completely out of Sugar Cookie mix (the shelf was wiped clean) and Hershey’s candy cane kisses. So I headed to Stop n’Shop where I was able to get the cookie mix but no candy cane kisses. I settled on getting a variety of other kisses flavors instead.

I melted the butter & chocolate per the instructions.

Added the sweetened condensed milk.

Mixed in the cookie mix & cinnamon.

Then using heaping tablespoons, I formed the dough into balls and baked at 350 for 7 minutes.

While the cookies were baking, I unwrapped the Hershey’s kisses.

Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, I pressed 1 candy into the center of each.

After letting the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, I tapped the tip of the kisses down.

And done!

The Verdict: These were super easy to make. They were really tasty but also very, very rich. Megan wasn't kidding when she called these fudge kiss cookies.

Things to Note/Consider: I wouldn't change anything about this recipe. It was perfect! I used three different varieties of kisses – dark chocolate, caramel, and white & milk chocolate hugs. The dark chocolate kisses didn't press down as well as the Hugs variety. Also, the caramel ones melted quickly. I would have preferred to have the candy cane kisses because they would have looked more festive but oh well! These tasted fine anyway.

Fudge Kiss Cookies

adapted from What Megan’s Making

1/3 cup butter

6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 pouch Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Mix

1 tsp ground cinnamon

60 Hershey’s kisses

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl, microwave butter & chocolate on high for 1 minute then stir
• Microwave on high again for 1 minute or until butter is melted & chocolate can be stirred smooth
• Mix in condensed milk
• Stir in cookie mix & cinnamon until well blended
• Shape dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets
• Bake 7 minutes (do not over bake)
• Once out of the oven, immediately press 1 candy into the center of each cookie
• Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes
• Lightly tap the top of the kiss down
• Cool completely

This will probably be the last post until after Christmas. But we should have plenty of new posts in the new year! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! [sung like N*sync]

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes: Re-Visited

Last February, I made some Chocolate Chip Cooke Dough Cupcakes using a recipe I saw on Kevin and Amanda. At the time, I wasn't very happy with how they turned out but I had some ideas on how they can be improved.

Last month, there was a bake sale at work and I thought that would be the perfect opportunity to try the cupcakes again but using my modifications.

I used the same technique as explained on Kevin & Amanda that I used the first time. The general gist is to make the eggless cookie dough, roll it into balls, and then freeze them. While the cookie dough freezes, make the cupcake batter and pour it into the cupcake pan. The frozen cookie dough balls go on top of the cupcake batter and then they get baked.

However, this time instead of using the cookie dough recipe on Kevin & Amanda, I used the eggless cookie dough recipe I used for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles that I made last year. I didn't take any progress pictures, but if you want to see how that dough is made, you can check out the truffle post.

I also switched out the boxed cupcake mix for the cupcake batter I used in the Cannoli Cupcakes I made last January. Again, I didn't take any progress pictures, but if you want to see how to make that batter, check out the Cannoli Cupcake post.

I was lazy and used store bought frosting instead of attempting to make my own.

These chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes came out much better then the first attempt! The cupcake batter recipe I used this time is honestly the best cupcake batter ever! It’s such a great recipe.

I will say that these cupcakes were still on the heavy side. But it was a vast improvement on my first attempt. If I every make these again, I would roll the cookie dough into much smaller balls. I think that would help with how heavy they are.