Winter Wonders & Holiday Happenings Features!!

It time for our Features!

Thank you all for linking up to the 
 Winter Wonders & Holiday Happenings Link Party!

Today it is time for all of us to share our features from the the Winter Wonders & Holiday Happenings Link Party!

Claiming Our Space along with Black Fox Homestead, Life with the Hawleys, Lilacs and Longhorns, Practically Functional, The Thrifty Rebel and Yellow Spool are sharing our favorite link ups today! Since each of us will have selected our own two features you will so make sure to stop by to check out which link ups we selected.
 

I had a hard time picking my features.  But here they are!

Felt Wreath 

from Making It Feel Like Home

I love the shaggyness of it. It reminds me a little of poinsettia leaves.

Candy Cane Cupcakes

from Just My Crazy Kitchen

Chocolate, mint, buttercream all from scratch.  What isn't to love?

Grab the button if you were featured!


<a href="http://www.claimingourspace.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/gooch100/Decemberbutton-Feature_2_zps4e78dd54.jpg" /></a>   Thanks again for sharing all your great projects, recipes and posts!

Homemade Holiday Party - Features!

I want to thank everyone who linked up and voted during the

Homemade Holiday Party & Celebration!

If you missed it, here is the post with the three voting winners. 
Congrats to you three and your great link ups!!!

Now it is time for the Features!! 

Christmas Photo Tutorial
from The Crafty Woman

I love the look of total concentration on the little one's face.

Since I purchased my DSLR, I have been avidly reading tutorials on how to make my photos better, take certain types of photos, etc. The only problem is that many are full of jargon that a newbie isn't quite familiar with just yet which makes this tutorial so fab. Everything is crystal clear.  Now I can't wait to try out some of these as soon as my new lens comes in.

Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn
from It's Not Just About the Recipe

This stuff looks like heaven in a bowl. Added bonus, it is made in the micorowave! How great is that?  I do have to say, heed her warning about watching the popcorn if you make it in a brown bag in the microwave. Many years ago, before they had the prepackaged popcorn for the microwave, my dad filled our kitchen with the horrible stench of blacked popcorn when he wasn't paying attention and put it in for WAAAAY too long.  The house smelled for days!

DIY Christmas Trees
from I Love Doing All Things Crafty 

I have several pieces of cardboard in my craft area that are going to be made it trees.  I know I need a forest on one of our side tables.  I bet I could spray paint the cone first if I wanted to add a peep of color to show through the garland wrapping or the snowball version.

Make sure to grab the Featured button!

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Marilyn has also picked her own set of Features.  Visit 4 You With Love to see if you are one of her picks!

Homemade Holiday Party - We have the Winners!!

You linked up your amazing "Homemade Holiday Projects"

You (and your friends) came and voted.

The votes have been counted.

Drumroll, please.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The winners!

Our first place winner is....

DIY Deer Glitter Canvas Tutorial from Tales of the Scotts

<a href="4you-withlove.blogspot.com" target="”_blank”"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3YE0JhRtN_FZWfYEkHiB0xgIi-vvNBUvV7giCi2WWxizmmEy2qCFkpJoJWAnRB1IT73MhM-WsHE9Pf3lGIdH1qQUFETfKl3R2GkbB5qnDB4B1gbubTfeRoVNDv1VDXKVjyZjrCz34K_R/s320/homemade+holiday+link+party+button.png"/></a>

Our second place winner is....

Snowman in a Bottle from Seven Alive

<a href="4you-withlove.blogspot.com" target="”_blank”"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3YE0JhRtN_FZWfYEkHiB0xgIi-vvNBUvV7giCi2WWxizmmEy2qCFkpJoJWAnRB1IT73MhM-WsHE9Pf3lGIdH1qQUFETfKl3R2GkbB5qnDB4B1gbubTfeRoVNDv1VDXKVjyZjrCz34K_R/s320/homemade+holiday+link+party+button.png"/></a>

And our third place winner is.....

Polymer Clay Gift Tags from Happy Hour Projects

<a href="4you-withlove.blogspot.com" target="”_blank”"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc7nsPtHmqsXPk9GqoSat8P_baZANJTFx-iKiZ-zGYlV0r33vzcnlGM1-EJPAPC1-Zwez77ZY4JP4tN9OUORSqHh_dzQoRR1c6BAndn77ow41Vu2biKX-5HEHHxVz8L3hc8BV_K6FMbVri/s1600/third+place+winner.png" /></a>

But that's not all!

Nope!  A link party isn't complete without features!  Come back and visit Claiming Our Space and 4 You With Love this evening where we will both reveal which project received the most views along with our personal favorites!

Congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who participated.  Your creativity is truly amazing!

Winter Wonders and Holiday Happenings Link Party

Welcome to the

Winter Wonders and Holiday Happenings Link Party!

December is here and that means Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa are right around the corner so it is the perfect time to share all your delicious holiday dishes and decor, along with your favorite Winter treats and projects.  

Help get us inspired!

Claiming Our Space has joined up with Black Fox Homestead, Life with the Hawleys, Lilacs and Longhorns, Practically Functional, The Thrifty Rebel and Yellow Spool. Each of us will have our own project or recipe to share so make sure to stop by to check out what we have each created as well as to link up your own winter or holiday inspired posts.

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My project is a canning lid snowman. I call him Liddy the Snowman.

I started canning last year, jams, applesauce and tomato sauce, and so have been gathering the canning lids since it seemed a shame to throw them out. Yikes, that was just a little bit Horder-y wasn't it.  Well, in any case, I have a good number of the lids saved up. 

I have reused some to seal up some chalk paint jars but thought that they would work great for creating a snowman.  Thankfully, it turned out pretty cute!

 This is an easy project.  Once you get the lids painted, it takes only about 15 minutes to whip up your own Liddy the Snowman.

Materials Needed

1.  three canning lids

2.  glossy white spray paint

3.  ribbon or heavy twine

4.  black marker - I used a Sharpie

5.  orange marker - I used a Sharpie

6.  red felt

7. white felt

8.  cotton ball or sherpa type fabric

9.  hot glue gun

Directions

1.  Wash and dry three canning lids

2.  Using a flat head screwdriver, dig out and remove the reddish stuff that seals the jar.  If this step is skipped, the paint on it will never dry. I didnt' do this on my first go and over a week later, it still comes off on my fingers.

3.  Paint lids, both sides, a glossy white. Let dry. It may take 3 light coats to cover completely.

4.  Cut one piece of ribbon about 5" in length and cut another piece 8" in length.

5.  Cut a quarter circle with a 4" radius.

6.  Cut a piece of white felt 1/4" wide x 3 1/2".

7. Glue the red felt to a lid, with the "nice side" to the front, wrapping it around the back, to make a hat.

8.  Glue the white felt to the bottom of the hat, covering the edge so the red doesn't show.

9.  Glue fluffed cotton ball or a small piece of sherpa fabric to the point of the hat.

10. Using the black marker, make three dots on one of the lids then draw the eyes and mouth on the lid with the hat.

11.  Using the orange marker draw the carrot for the nose.

12.  Lay your lids, nice side down, spacing them out how you would like. 

13. Glue the 5" ribbon to the back of the tree lids so they are now all connected.

14. Use the 8" ribbon to make a loop to hang your snowman, glue it to the back of the hat.

15.  Hang your snowman.

I made a hanger using a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" scrap wood, 1" x 4" scrap and a cup hook.  I sprayed it all green so it would fade into the background. You can use whatever you have hanging around your scrap pile to make a hanger if you want.

I would love to see you version of Liddy the Snowman, so if you make one, let me know so I can check it out.

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Now that you have seen my project, it is time for you to share your projects, crafts, recipes, whatever you have come up with that is Winter or Holiday related via the linky tool below.  

Your project will show up on all the host's blogs so you only need to link up once but, remember, all of us are sharing something different for the party. So make sure to visit Black Fox Homestead, Life with the Hawleys, Lilacs and Longhorns, Practically Functional, The Thrifty Rebel and Yellow Spool and Claiming Our Space to check them all out.

The party will be up until Thursday, December 20 and then on Friday, December 21, each host will pick their favorite two link ups. So mark your calendar to check back to see if you were feature. 

Just a few guidelines

1. If you aren't already a follower, we would love it if you would add each of the hosts.

2. Link ups should be Winter or Holiday related. (No shops or other link parties please)

3. Try to visit some of the other link ups and leave a comment. Everyone loves visitors!

4. You don't need to link back but we would appreciate it if you would display the button on your blog or in your post tolet your own readers know about the party.

<center><a href="http://www.claimingourspace.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Winter Wonders & Holiday Happenings" border="0" src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/gooch100/Decemberbutton-3.jpg" /></a></center>

With that, it is time to party!!

It's Voting Time! - Homemade Holiday Party

Marilyn and I are totally blown away by everyone's creativity!  All your projects are A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Now it's just time to cast your votes for your favorites!!  Here's the deal on the voting - everyone gets 5 votes.  Yup, 5 votes.Whether or not you linked up a project, you're eligible to vote for your 5 favorites.  So make sure to check them all out!

You have until 11:59 pm December 9 to vote.

The top 3 projects are eligible for prize packages listed here.
The winners will be announced at noon (eastern time) December 10!

It's Time to Party - Homemade Holiday Party

I am so psyched that today is finally here!  I LOVE parties and I LOVE winning things!  Don't you?  So why not do both?  This party is being co-hosted by Claiming Our Space along with 4 You With Love and it is going to be a blast!

Here's the highlights!

Link up your homemade holiday projects now through Dec 3, 2012, 11:59 PM eastern time.

Come back and vote for your favorites between midnight Dec 4 through Dec 9, 11:59 pm eastern time.

The winners and features will be announced Dec 10 at noon, eastern time.

Here's the prize packages for the winners!

First Place Prize Package

 A $10 Gift Card to either Hobby Lobby or Michael's (winner's choice), a $5 Gift Card to Starbucks, 4 spices from my advent spice box, along with these items from my 20 days of Homemade Holiday Inspiration.  

Second Place Price Package
A $5 Gift Card to Starbucks, 4 spices from my advent spice box, along with these items from my 20 days of Homemade Holiday Inspiration.  

Third Place Prize Package
4 spices from my advent spice box along with these items from my 20 days of Homemade Holiday Inspiration.

Are you ready?  Let's get this party started!  (Also, this is my first time running something like this.  If you run into a snag, please e-mail me at your earliest convenience).  

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<a href="4you-withlove.blogspot.com" target="”_blank”"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM3YE0JhRtN_FZWfYEkHiB0xgIi-vvNBUvV7giCi2WWxizmmEy2qCFkpJoJWAnRB1IT73MhM-WsHE9Pf3lGIdH1qQUFETfKl3R2GkbB5qnDB4B1gbubTfeRoVNDv1VDXKVjyZjrCz34K_R/s320/homemade+holiday+link+party+button.png"/></a>

Thanksgiving Treats & Fall Fun Features

It's Time for Our Features!!

Thanks for Linking to the 
 Thanksgiving Treats and Fall Fun Link Party!

Today it is time for all of us to share our features from the the Thanksgiving Treats & Fall Fun link party!

Claiming Our Space along with Love and Laundry, House on the Way, One Creative Mommy, Mamal Diane, Jane's Adventures in Dinner and 4 You With Love each have selected our two most favorite link ups! Since each of us has our own favorites, you need to stop by each co-host to see you were featured.

It was so hard picking out which link ups were my favorites. There were so many amazing projects and tasty looking recipes. 

I have two great projects I will be featuring - one craft project and one recipe. Both are going on my To Do list for sure!

First up is an easy and tasty looking apple hand pies made using corn tortillas from Crafty Journal. How clever. I bet this would be delicious with other fruits too. I have some sweet cherries in my freezer that I think would be prefect for this.

Better Organized Living shows how to make a beautiful DIY Fall Leaf Bowl using artificial leaves from the Dollar Store. Gorgeous and so I love the colors.

Grab the button if you were featured!

 

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Mark you calendars for Friday, December 7! That's when the Winter Wonders & Holiday Happenings link party starts.  Just like this party, each of the hosts will have our own projects we will be sharing.

Thanksgiving Treats and Fall Fun Link Party

Welcome to the

Thanksgiving Treats and Fall Fun Link Party!

November is here and that means Thanksgiving is right around the corner so it is the perfect time to share all your delicious Thanksgiving dishes and decor, along with your fun Fall-themed treats and projects.  

Help get us inspired!

Claiming Our Space has joined up with Love and Laundry, House on the Way, One Creative Mommy, Mamal Diane, Jane's Adventures in Dinner and 4 You With Love to bring you our own Thanksgiving Treats and Fall projects!  Make sure to visit each of the hosts to see what they have created for the party after you have linked up your post.

I am sharing what I think is the best ever turkey recipe.  This is my absolute "Go To" recipe when I am in charge of the turkey.  I have made it three years in a row (for turkeys ranging from 10 to 26 pounds) and it hasn't gone wrong yet.  Everyone raves at how moist the meat is and how brown and crunchy the skin is.  The secret is the 30 minutes at 500 degrees - it seals in the juices.  The only problem with 500 degrees is that if you don't have a clean oven, you WILL set off the smoke detectors. (Ask me how I know.) Plus, the repeated success of this recipe just reaffirms my crush on Alton Brown.

Alton Brown's Brined Turkey
Source: Alton Brown, also featured in Food Network Magazine

Ingredients
    1 (14 to 16 pound) thawed turkey

For the brine:
    1 cup kosher salt
    1/2 cup light brown sugar
    1 gallon vegetable stock
    1 tablespoon black peppercorns
    1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
    1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
    1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
    1 red apple, sliced
    1/2 onion, sliced
    1 cinnamon stick
    1 cup water
    4 sprigs rosemary
    6 leaves sage
    

Canola oil

Directions

• In a large stockpot, combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve solids.  Bring to a rolling boil. Remove brine from the heat and cool to room temperature. Note: This can be made in advance and refrigerated for a couple of days.
• The night before you will cook the turkey:
• Line a large bucket (we used a clean 5-gallon bucket from Home Depot) with a kitchen garbage bag.  
• Pour the brine, water and ice into the bag in the 5-gallon bucket. 
• Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine.Close the bag. If necessary, weigh down the bird with a plate and a large can of soup to ensure it is fully immersed. Refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining. We put our in the garage since it is chilly here in Michigan in November. Let brine overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Note: Make sure your oven is clean since heating it to 500 degrees will make things smoke - a lot.
• Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard brine.
• Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan.  Pat dry with paper towels.
• Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Pour mixture into the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. 
• Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
• Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast.  Place the turkey on the lowest level of the oven and roast at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. 
• Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F.
• Roast the bird until it reaches 161 degrees.
• A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting.
• Once it reaches 161 degrees remove from oven and let it rest, loosely covered with foil for 15 minutes before carving.

Now that you have seem my go to turkey recipe, it is time for you to share your projects, crafts, recipes, whatever you have come up with that is Thanksgiving or Fall related via the linky tool below.  

Your project will show up on all the host's blogs so you only need to link up once but, remember, all of us have different things we are sharing for the party. So make sure to visit Love and Laundry, House on the Way, One Creative Mommy, Mamal Diane, Jane's Adventures in Dinner, 4 You With Love and Claiming Our Space to check them all out.

The party will be up until Thursday, November 15 and then on Friday, November 16, each host will pick their favorite two link ups. So mark your calendar to check back to see if you were feature. 

Just a few guidelines

1. We would be appreciate if you would follow all the hosts.

2. Link ups should be Thanksgiving or Fall related. (No shops or other link parties please)

3. Try to visit some of the other link ups and leave a comment. Everyone loves visitors!

3. You don't need to link back but we would appreciate it if you would display the button on your blog or in your post tolet your own readers know about the party.

<center><a href="http://www.claimingourspace.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/gooch100/NovemberButtonv3-format_zpsa8ac9b9a.jpg" /></a></center>

With that, it is time to party!!

Fall Fun & Howling Halloween Link Party - Feature Reveal

It is Feature Time! 

The Fall Fun & Howling Halloween Link party is over so now it time for me, and the other co-hosts (The Chic Geek, Second Chance to Dream, Makin My Apt a Home, Condo Blues, The Cookie a Day Challenge and Domestic Randomness), to pick our favorite link up to Feature.

OK, I have to stop you right now and admit that I picked two features, one food related and one project related. I just couldn't help myself. We had almost 100 link ups of great recipes, crafts, projects and other Fall or Halloween related posts.  So how could I pick just one?  When you see how great these are, I hope you will fogive me.

First up, the project.

EcoKaren shared how to make eco-friendly ghosts to incorporate into your decor.  I think these are so darn cute! Whoops, what I meant to say is that these are so horribly scary!

Now for the recipe.

The Brady Girls at Cookin up Good Times shared their recipe for Homemade Caramel Corn. I love this salty sweet stuff and I could eat tubs of it and with their tip to add chocolate chips...oh my hips will never be the same size again! 

If you were featured, make sure to grab the button. 

 

  

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Don't forget to stop by The Chic Geek, Second Chance to Dream, Makin My Apt a Home, Condo Blues, The Cookie a Day Challenge, and Domestic Randomness to check out which link ups they are featuring!

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Also, make sure to mark your calendar for Friday, November 2.  That's when the next holiday/season themed link party starts!

The Thanksgiving Treats & Fall Fun Link Party is a chance to share your favorite Thanksgiving and Fall recipes, crafts, projects and posts here on Claiming Our Space and the rest of the co-hosts. Hope to see you then!

Fall Fun & Howling Halloween Party

Welcome to the 
Fall Fun and Howling Halloween Link Party!

Fall is here and Halloween is right around the corner so that means it is time to share all your fun Fall-themed dishes and decor, scary costumes and terror-able treats.

Claiming Our Space has joined up with The Chic Geek, Second Chance to Dream, Makin My Apt a Home, Condo Blues, The Cookie a Day Challenge and Domestic Randomness to bring you our Fall and Halloween projects!  Make sure to visit each of the hosts to see what they have created for the party.

Wow, isn't Fall moving quickly.  It seems like Labor Day was just last week. I had a whole other project planned by time got away from me and the weather wasn't cooperating at all.  But when it is cold and rainy outside what is the thing to do inside?  BAKE!!

We got some apples in our CSA basket yesterday. They were unexpected since we had a very early spring and then a lot of frost that decimated most of the tree fruit crops here in Michigan. These apples were small but very very sweet. I thought they would be perfect for a apple turnover. Turns out...I was right! Yay! D and I each had one and then split another before packing up the rest. We rationalized that it wasn't that bad for us since there was fruit inside. (Yeah, I know, the sugar totally counteracts any healthiness but, that is why they call it rationalizing, right?)

Apple Turnovers
Source:  modified from Taste of Home

Ingredients
TURNOVER & FILLING
1/3 cup sugar (combine white and brown sugar)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7 small choppedd peeled apples
1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed

TOPPING
powdered sugar
milk
vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon.
Add chopped apples, stirring to coat the apples completely.
Lightly flour your counter so you can roll out the pastry sheets into a 12 x 12 square.
Cut each into four equal pieces.
Spoon a heaping spoonful of apple mixture into the center of each square.
Fold over on the diagonal, crimping the edges with a fork.
Place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown.
In a small bowl combine several heaping spoonfuls of powdered sugar, enough milk to make a creamy consistency and a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Drizzle over turnover. 
Serve warm or cold - either is delicious.

Now that you have seem my project it is time for you to share with us your projects, crafts, recipes, whatever you have come up with that is Fall or Halloween related.  Your project will show up on all the host's blogs so you only need to link up once but, remember, of us have different projects we are sharing. So make sure to stop by The Chic Geek, Second Chance to Dream, Makin My Apt a Home, Condo Blues, The Cookie a Day Challenge, Domestic Randomness and Claiming Our Space to check them all out.

The party will be up until Thursday, October 18 and then on Friday, October 19, each host will pick their favorite links. So mark your calendar to check back to see if one of your link ups was featured.

Just a few guidelines

1. It would be great if you would follow all the hosts
2. Link ups should be Fall or Halloween related. (No shops or other link parties please)
3. Try to visit some of the other link ups and leave a comment. Everyone loves visitors!
3. You don't need to link back but we would appreciate it if you would display the button on your blog or in your post. 

<a href="http://www.claimingourspace.com/2012/10/fall-fun-howling-halloween-party.html/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg186/gooch100/OctoberPartyButton_zpsbe486aa3.jpg"/></a>

With that, it is time to party!!