Gluten Free Baked French Toast Casserole {dairy and soy free too!}

I made this yummy french toast bake for Christmas morning because I wanted something I could simply put in the oven while we opened gifts and played with our new toys. What a success! I'll definitely be making this again--probably long before Christmas.

The best part? All of the prep work happens the night before. You simply remove the baking dish from the fridge, sprinkle on the topping, heat the oven, and bake!

You'll Need: 
1 Loaf Gluten Free Bread {I used Udi's}
6 eggs
2 Cups Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tbsp. Vanilla
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

1/3 Cup GF Flour {I used Bob's Red Mill AP Blend}
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/3 Cup Earth Balance Spread

To Make:
Cube the bread into bite-sized pieces, and spread evenly in a greased {I used coconut oil} 9x13 baking dish.
Combine the eggs, almond milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon {first set of ingredients} in a mixing bowl, and then pour over the top of the cubed bread.
Cover your baking dish, and place in the fridge for several hours, or overnight.
In a small bowl, combine GF flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon {second set of ingredients}, and then cut in cold Earth Balance with a pastry cutter, potato masher, or even a fork.
Put the flour mixture in the fridge in an air-tight container or zip-top bag.
In the morning, remove the casserole dish from the fridge. I suggest letting it sit on the counter for a bit, because I'm leery of putting a very cold dish into a hot oven.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and prepare your french toast for the oven by sprinkling the flour mixture over the top of the bread.
Bake for about an hour, until the top is crispy and golden and the eggs are set.

Adapted from Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Ornaments

We put together several of these cute little reindeer the other day. They've been a big hit! Camden asked that we make a couple without strings for hanging, so he could play with them. You betcha, kiddo.

A tutorial really isn't even necessary, but here are the basics:

You'll need three "old fashioned" clothes pins. Size doesn't matter, but they should all be the same size. These are about three inches in length.You'll also need a tiny little red puff, a little brown or white puff {for the tail}, two wiggly eyes, some string of ribbon for hanging, and a glue gun.

Begin by gluing two of the clothespins side-to-side to make the body and legs. Next, attach the third clothespin in the opposite direction to make the face and antlers. {if you'd like a ribbon or string hanger, I suggest sandwiching the cut ends in between the body and head pins as you're gluing the pieces together.}

Use glue to attach the nose, eyes, and tail, and you're set! Our ornaments are hanging on our tree, of course. They would also make adorable little gift toppers.

As with my other projects, a word of caution... please use your best judgement with a glue gun and your small chid(ren). Same goes for the tiny puffs and eyes.

{DIY} Twine-Wrapped Christmas Ornaments

These ornaments come together quite easily {are you noticing a trend?? this mama needs simple, but with a big impact in the end!}, and are another perfect addition to our nature-inspired tree. All you need is a roll of twine from the hardware store, some plain glass bulbs {or old, recycled bulbs in funky colors}, and a glue gun.

The pictures below show the process pretty well, I think:

A couple of things worth mentioning:
1. Work in small sections. Lining up the twine can be a bit fiddly at times, and I'm forever amazed at how quickly that glue dries!
2. You might burn your fingers. I apologize. {also, for that reason, this is probably best reserved for adults or big kids.}
3. Notice that I didn't cut the twine until the very end. This way, I was guaranteed not to run out.
5. Stick the end of the twine down very well. This will keep it from looking ragged on the bottom.
4. Try other materials! Yarn? Sure! What else can you think to use?

Woodland-Inspired Christmas Stars

I absolutely love the way these star ornaments turned out. They're a bit whimsical, but still so nature-inspired, and their puffiness makes me smile. They're quite simple to put together, too!

Here are the supplies I used. The moss is from Hobby Lobby, the star is from Michael's, and the twine is from the hardware store.

The monarch butterfly isn't pictured, but is the type found in the floral department--with a wire pick at the back. I removed the wire pick and attached the butterfly with a dab of hot glue.

Begin by wrapping the edge of the paper star with twine. Attach the twine at one star point by gluing it to the side of the star, and then wrapping it up and over the edge. This will hide the tail of the twine and make sure it stays put.

Glue and wrap, glue and wrap, over and over until you've covered the entire edge.

Working with small chunks of moss, apply glue to the edges of the star as pictured above. Press the moss onto the glue, stretching it a bit if you need to cover the entire surface.

Repeat on the other side, so the ornament is finished all the way around. Apply extra moss to fill blank spaces until you're happy with the appearance.

Stop here, if you'd like. Adding the little butterfly is completely optional. 

Woodland-Inspired Monarch Butterfly Christmas Ornament

I'm in the mood for a 'new' Christmas tree this year. For the last few years, we've decorated our tree in a bright, almost over-the-top, playful, toy theme. I love my collection of ornaments, and plan to keep them in our rotation, but a change is in order this year. Enter the woodland-inspired tree.

My goal is to fill the tree with as many handmade ornaments as possible... and my plan is to share each of them with you as a tutorial.  I really love clear, glass ornaments because of their endless possibilities, so I've already scooped up several shapes and sizes for the coming season. If you think you might like to make some of these ornaments along with me, I'd encourage you to watch for sales and begin stocking up now.

This ornament is the first of many. Not only is it ridiculously simple, it would also be very easy to customize!

To make your own, you'll need:
Clear glass ornaments with a removable top
Craft moss in whatever variety you like most
Small butterflies, birds, toadstools, etc. {usually found near the floral department}
Something to "poke" with, like a chopstick or pencil
String or a ribbon for hanging

A tutorial is hardly necessary, but the steps go something like this:
Remove the top from your ornament.
Partially fill the ornament with moss. Break the moss into chunks and use your 'tool' to compact it a bit in the lower half of the ornament.
Add something cute. This monarch butterfly was a bit larger than the opening at the top of the ornament, so I gently curled the wings in on themselves to guide them through the opening, working first with one side, and then the other.
Using your 'tool' again, turn the butterfly so that it looks like it's resting on the moss.
Replace the top of the ornament.
Add a loop of string, thread, twine, etc. to the top for hanging, and you're done!

On Christmas...

It's been a good day. Merry Christmas!!

Just in time...

Ok--so maybe not just in time. The Christmas cards will be a bit late this year, but I think a stamp from the post office on Christmas Eve is kind of fun!

Confession:

Ok--so I did it. I put my tree up. Before Thanksgiving.

Hubby wasn't a fan of the idea, and we've been, ehem, conversing... about the topic for several days now. But on Sunday, as the snow fell outside and I worked inside on my Christmas crafts, I couldn't stand it anymore. The final straw was when that same hubby put up the lights outside.

So I asked once more. And I won.

What about you? Is your tree up already? Do you refuse to even *think* about Christmas until you've slept off your Turkey Dinner? Or do you fall somewhere in between?

I'd love to know :)

Mess-Free Glitter Ornaments

These ornaments are fun and simple, with SO many possibilities for customization. I love that they're so glittery and  bright, but even more, I love that the glitter is forever trapped inside the ornament. No mess on my hands! 

When I had the opportunity to visit Hobby Lobby today, I snapped up the necessary goods to make some of my own. In case you'd like to make some yourself, you only need a few easy-to-find supplies:

The effort is so minimal for big results!! In case you're a visual person, take a peek below. If you're more interested in a list of steps, well, take a peek below the below.

1. Pop the hanger/top off your ornament.

2. Fill the ornament with a bit of floor wax.

3. Swirl and slosh the wax around to coat the inside, covering the opening with your finger to prevent a spill.

4. Tip the excess wax back into the bottle, allowing a minute or two to drain.

5. Using a small funnel, dump a hearty amount of glitter into the ornament.

6. Swirl the glitter around a bit, then cover the opening with your finger and give it a SHAKE!

7. When you're sure the inside is evenly coated, use your funnel again to pour excess glitter from the ornament back into the glitter container.

8. Replace the ornament hanger, and you're ready to go.

See? Big results. 

Minimal effort, too, and there's something to be said for a simple project.



UPDATE: A few of your questions, answered...
Do these hold up over time? We're going on year number two with our ornaments. I just unpacked them today! They look just as nice as the day I made them. The glitter is still very well adhered.

What happens if an ornament breaks? We experienced this last year. Sure, there was a mess of glass, but no loose glitter! Hooray!

Where do I find that floor wax?? I've only seen it at Wal*Mart, so far. I look when I think about it. But never seem to spot it in other stores. Maybe a hardware store with a large cleaning section?

Do I have to use fine glitter? No, but I think the results are nicer with fine glitter.