fridge tree with magnet leaves.

i'm practically giddy thinking about september 22nd. it begins the seasonal wonderfulness that i look forward to every year and i'm so ready for emery to be a part of it!

i absolutely refuse to decorate for fall 1 day before fall actually begins. that being said, i couldn't help but start this project for emery so i could get it ready in time! if you're looking for seasonal fun for your little one, read on!

incase you want to get into my brain, here's how this project evolved. i was looking through my preschool curriculum, writing down anything that would be age appropriate for my 15 month old. when i got to the Fall curriculum, i remembered i had taped a tree to a cookie sheet for the kids and made magnet leaves for them to place on the tree. i immediately wanted to make one for emery and wrote it down on my list.

a few minutes later, i remembered this 

that i found on pinterest from solandrachel.com a few months ago and thought was super cute. i loved the idea of making it huge and decided to do it on the fridge. it would save a cookie sheet from being held hostage for a few months, and a bigger tree equals more fun.

being the project-obsessed girl that i am, i immediately got started. {i'm the kind of person that has to start right when i think of it, or it will never get done} 

i taped construction paper to the fridge and then sat on the floor and stared at it in fear for a few minutes. flashbacks of a highschool self portrait came to mind when i tried to draw myself climbing a tree. my eraser was my best friend that semester. 

 after a good 5 minutes, i finally got on pinterest and found this

thank you, thank you, to whoever made this. my branches don't look as ridiculous now. {i always want to draw trees with the trunk being one massive arrow with awkward branches coming off the side, rather than splitting it halfway up into a few different branches. this gave me a good visual on how to split them.}

i used clear tape and secured each place on the paper where a part of the tree overlapped from one page to the next.

then i got to work, cutting the tree out while it was still on the fridge. i didn't like the idea of wrestling with it and spinning it around as i cut each branch at a different angle. i'm lazy like that.

hmmm. it should be a little taller up top
{i've never seen a flat-top tree in real life}, but overall, i'm satisfied.

i took it off the fridge and tucked it away to keep it safe from curious hands until i could get it laminated. and then i cleaned the gobs of brown paper off the floor so my husband wouldn't know our kitchen had been a disaster.

next, i found clipart for leaves at this link. i printed them off {you should use cardstock. i didnt. it was harder.} and traced them on red, orange, and yellow construction paper. i used markers to highlight them and make them more interesting.

{i did 45 leaves.}

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: mardel will let you laminate stuff for 25 cents a foot. true story. i went and got these bad boys and a christmas tree version with ornaments laminated for $2.44. i walked out of the store one happy mamma.

see that fairly innocent bowl of chocolate chips?
i most definitely forgot they were there after emery woke up.
i went to clean the kitchen and came back to this:

good thing you're cute...

 the magnets i had on hand were really thin and i was nervous they weren't going to hold, so i went ahead and broke my "don't decorate early rule" put it all up just to make sure. it was a hit!

we are now sporting a diaper because her
chocolate drenched clothes are soaking
in oxyclean. does chocolate stain?
i dont know, but i keep ruining her clothes
so i wanted to play it safe.

love and leaves,

amber.

the first post ever - loaded orange chocolate bites.

so, i've always wanted to have a blog but had the illusion that every blogger is completely original and comes up with all their ideas on their own. clearly i don't read blogs very often. thanks to pinterest, i quickly realized plenty of bloggers copy other people’s ideas, tweak them to fit their preferences, and simply give the original poster credit. Now that, I can do. 

So here we go: my not-so-original creations, with full credit to the idea sparker. hopefully these projects will spark some ideas for you! (if they do, please share, i would be sooo excited to see what you’ve made!)

creative idea #1: loaded orange chocolate bites

idea sparked by: Hershey

 

I started making these in high school after eating a delicious Hershey chocolate bar. I don’t remember what exactly was in theirs, but after a failed attempt and a few tweaks over the years, this is how my version’s ended up –

{Super important side note – this makes a zillion chocolates. I make them to give out for Christmas presents and actually, this year, i doubled the recipe. so clearly, if you’re making them just for you, don’t buy in bulk. or maybe you should. they’re addictive…}

ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs Ghirardelli Candy Making and Dipping Bar {I get this at Sam’s Club}
•      13.5 oz Dried Fruit Mix, sorted into separate bowls {I get Peterson Farms Cherry Berry Blend (blueberries, cranberries, and cherries) Also from Sam’s Club.}
•       4 oz Almonds, ground in food processor {or smashed with meat tenderizer}
•       Orange Extract

Tools:

•      1+ mini muffin trays
•      wooden Spoon
•      metal Spoon
•      medium pot
•      butter knife
•      ½ tsp measuring spoon

Directions:

•      Cut chocolate bar into small pieces.

{I chop the chocolate and store it in a ziplock because 

I make these in batches throughout the month}

• If you want to do it the right way, melt your chocolate like this. if not, just stick it in the pot on low, stirring frequently. {I’ve never had any problems melting it this way when using Ghirardelli}

• When melted, add Orange extract in ½ tsp increments, tasting to find desired intensity. If too strong, add more chocolate.{darn.}

•      Bring chocolate to work station. Fill each ungreased muffin tin with a small amount of chocolate {I do 1/3-1/2 spoonful, depending on size of spoon. it’s better if it’s not too thick.}

{My station.} 

{random info - i was out of the normal fruit mix and 

almonds, so i improvised for the pics. There are 

golden raisins and cashews in this batch}

•      Gently wiggle muffin tray to spread the chocolate evenly. You want the whole base of each tin to be covered.

{Also, I have 2 mini muffin trays I use, but I only fill one at a time with chocolate. Once I tried to fill them both before adding the fruit and nuts but the chocolate in the second tray hardened by the time I got to it. I recommend just filling one tray at a time.} 

•      Working quickly, add one cranberry, one cherry, and one blueberry to each cup. Then sprinkle with almond crumbs.

•      Gently press fruit and nuts into chocolate to make sure they’ll stick. {When I don’t do this, I have a lot of almond crumbs fall off when removing them from the tins.}

•      Place tray in fridge or freezer for 10ish minutes, or until hard. Gently remove from tins with a butter knife. I prefer to store these in the fridge, but they can be kept out at room temp also.

{tied up and ready to hand out for Christmas!}

• Need your pot for something else, but it's still full of chocolate you haven't finished making? Pour your chocolate into paper muffin cups, and let it harden in fridge or freezer. Peel paper off and add to the rest of your chocolate stash to remelt later!

Questions or comments? i'd love to hear them!

linking up at:

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love and Christmas treats,
amber.