There’s no rule saying ornaments can decorate only trees, so think outside the fir and hang a few glass
and homemade orbs in a window for extra sparkle.
HERE’S HOW
Attach lengths of nylon filament to the window frame with a pushpin, and suspend the ornaments. To make the glittery d.i.y. snowballs, cover a styrofoam sphere with styrofoam glue and shredded mylar and let dry before hanging.
snowman cake
MAKES 24 servings
prep 15 minutes
BAKE at 350° for 43 minutes
EQUIPMENT
2 8-ounce ovenproof glass bowls 2 12-ounce ovenproof glass bowls 2 4-cup ovenproof bowls or
metal ball pans (such as Wilton) 9 foil cupcake liners
Chopstick or wooden skewer
INGREDIENTS
2 boxes (18.25 ounces each) yellow cake mix
8 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 bag (14 ounces) flaked coconut
1 roll strawberry fruit leather (such as Fruit by the Foot)
2 cans (16 ounces each) vanilla frosting
1 orange fruit slice
12 mini chocolate chips
2 cream-filled chocolate cookies (such as Oreo)
1 thin chocolate cookie (such as Famous chocolate wafers)
Heat oven to 350°. Coat bowls with nonstick cooking spray; coat with flour. Place foil liners into muffin-pan indents.
Combine cake mixes, eggs, buttermilk and oil. Beat on low speed until just combined. Increase speed to high; beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Spoon 2V2 cups batter into each of the largest bowls, 1 cup batter into each of the medium bowls and Vi cup batter into each of the smallest bowls. Divide remaining batter among the 9 prepared cupcake cups.
Bake at 350° until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean: about 17 minutes for the cupcakes, 22 to 25 minutes for smallest bowls, 30 minutes for the medium bowls and 40 to 43 minutes for large bowls. Transfer cakes to a wire rack and cool completely.
Meanwhile, place the coconut in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Cut fruit leather into a 6-inch and an 8-inch length. Fold each in half, pressing to secure, to get 3-inch and 4-inch lengths. Use scissors to cut fringe on short end of each piece.
Invert cooled bowl cakes onto work surface. Trim flat sides to make level.
Place one of the large bowl cakes, flat-side up, on a platter. Spread top with vanilla frosting. Place the other cake layer on top, flat-side down, to create a ball. Spread a thin layer of the frosting all over cake. Gently press the coconut all over to cover.
Repeat with the remaining cakes to make 2 smaller balls.
Place the medium ball on top of the large ball. Insert a trimmed chopstick or wooden skewer for support. Place the 2 pieces of fruit leather as the scarf on top of the middle cake. Add the small ball cake on top. Add more coconut, if necessary.
Cut the orange fruit slice into a %-inch triangle for the nose and attach in the center of the small cake. Add the mini chips, pointed-end in, as the eyes and the mouth. For the hat, attach the 2 cream-filled cookies to the flat chocolate cookie with some of the remaining vanilla frosting. Arrange hat on top of snowman.
Spread remaining vanilla frosting on top of the cupcakes, sprinkle the tops with the coconut and serve with snowman.
PER SERVING 530 calories; 25 g fat (8 g sat.); 5 g protein; 73 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 463 mg sodium; 73 mg cholesterol
Supplies
Glitter – Gold, Silver, Peridot
Clear Glass Ornaments
Coordinating Ribbon
Rubbing Alcohol
Instructions
Step 1 Remove hangers from ornaments.
Step 2 Place a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol inside each ornament, swirl, and pour out. Let ornament dry completely.
Step 3 Pour a bit of glitter into an ornament. If you are making a multi-color ornament, add a second color. Place your thumb over the ornament opening, and shake and swirl until the inside is coated completely.
Step 4 Turn ornament over and shake ball over a trash can to remove extra paint.
Step 5 Place in ornament box to let dry. Rotate the ornaments occasionally so they dry evenly.
Step 6 Replace hangers and tie with coordinating ribbons.
Supplies
Gallery Glass Window Color – Snow White, Kelly Green, Ruby Red
Gallery Glass 10″ x 18″ Leading Blanks
Large Round Glass Ornaments
Notebook Paper
Craft Knife
Cellophane Tape
Ribbon
Instructions
Step 1 Place leading blank over lined paper; tape securely.
Step 2 Working one color at a time, trace multiple lines with Window Color. To keep the lines of paint from getting too wide, lightly squeeze the bottles of Window Color as you move it along the lines.
Step 3 Let dry overnight.
Step 4 Clean and dry ornaments.
Step 5 Remove the ornament hanger. Carefully peel the dry lines of Window Color from the leading blanks as you use them and apply them to the ornaments.
Step 6 Replace hangers and tie with coordinating ribbons.
Supplies
Fluffy-Red, Black, Orange and White
Sculpey* Clay Tool Starter Set
Glass Ornament – make sure you only
use a glass ornament; plastic ornaments
will melt in the oven D Ribbon D Acrylic Roller D Quick Drying Glue D Disposable Foil or Wax Paper D 12″ Piece of White Tree Garland
Instructions
Getting Started: Do not use unbaked clay on unprotected furniture or finished surfaces. Good working surfaces include a glass or metal surface, disposable foil or wax paper. Knead clay for 2 minutes. Bake on oven-proof glass or metal surface at 130 °C (275 °F for US customers) for 15 minutes per 6 mm CA”) of thickness. Do not use in microwave oven. Do not exceed the above temperatures or recommended baking time. All baking should be completed by an adult. Wash hands after use.
Step 1 Remove metal cap/hanger from ornament. Remove wire hanger from the cap and set aside. Make a red clay disk slightly larger than the diameter of the ornament cap.
Step 2 Wrap the red clay disk around the edges of the ornament cap. Using the 2 mm pointer tool from the Clay Tool Starter Set, poke holes through the red clay so the holes in the cap remain open to replace the hanger later.
Step 3 Make 2 wide red strips for the headband and 2 large red domes for the ear muffs. Then make 2 medium black disks for eyes and 3 little disks for mouth. Make 2 tiny white eye highlights and an orange cone shape for the nose.
Step 4 Place the face pieces firmly onto ornament, making sure each piece follows the curve of the glass. With the blunt point tool from Clay Tool Starter Set, texture the ear muffs. With the flat knife tool, texture the nose. Make sure the clay covered cap will go back on and that the ear muff headband does not interfere with the fitting of the cap. Bake as directed.
Step 5 Allow to cool then gently remove all the clay pieces. Glue them back on permanently and allow to dry. The clay cap covering will not need to be glued on. Replace the wire hanger into the holes in the cap. Fill ornament with white free garland. Replace the cap and add ribbon.
Country & Victorian Times 