Phenix Salon | Folsom CA - Kaitlin Rife Master Stylist: December 2018

Life Lately + My Favorite Shoes for the New Year

12:19:00 PM

Easy Christmas Snack Crafts for Kids

7:42:00 AM

Beckam is really into crafts these days, and this time of year I love making easy Christmas snacks that B looks at as a craft he can eat! Does anyone else have way too much junk food this time of year! Can’t help it 😉 I printed out a bunch of easy holiday recipes for us to do together.

Beckam and I had so much fun making these Christmas tree brownies recently…and they were so easy! Thought I would share the recipe along with a few of our other favorites 🙂 Happy baking!

Easy Christmas Tree Brownies

Ingredients:

1 box Brownie Mix
1 tub white vanilla icing
green food colouring
small round sprinkles
small star sprinkles
candy canes

Instructions:

Line an 8″x8″ baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
Prepare the brownie mix according to the package directions and bake as directed.
Allow brownies to completely cool, approximately 1.5 hours.
Remove the brownies from the pan, and cut into triangles. (Cut in three rows, then cut in alternating diagonals, as in the photo shown above).
Unwrap the candy canes, and use a sharp knife to gently cut/break the candy canes into 1.5″ long pieces.
Press the sharper end of the candy cane into the bottom of the brownie triangles.
Spoon out approximately ½ of the tub of icing into a bowl.
Add green food colouring until you’re happy with the colour.
Spoon the green icing into a zip lock bag.
Seal the bag and cut off a small corner of the bag with sharp scissors.
Starting at the top of the brownie triangles, gently squeeze out the icing in a curvy zigzag as you go down the tree.
Add your favourite sprinkles and a small star sprinkle at the top.
Enjoy!

Source: One Little Project

DIY Reindeer Hot Cocoa Cones

Ingredients:

Hot cocoa (powdered)
Mini marshmallows
Large Piping bags (can be purchased at your local craft store). If you use smaller ones you will need less cocoa.
Red Pom Poms (can be purchased at your local craft store)
Brown Pipe Cleaners (can be purchased at your local craft store)
Googly eyes (can be purchased at your local craft store)
Chocolate chips *optional
Circle Sticky tabs or velcro circles to adhere the red pom poms

Instructions:

You will need two cups of powdered cocoa for each cocoa cone if you use the large sized bags.

Fill your Piping bags with the hot cocoa mix (2 cups worth per bag- I used larger bags)
Top with mini marshmallows, and then a small amount of chocolate chips.
Tie them off it a knot.
Wrap your pipe cleaner around the knot to make them look like antlers.
Using double-sided tape, or sticky circles tape the googly eyes, and red pom poms to your bags.

Source: Savvy Saving Couple

Snowman Chocolate Bark

Ingredients:

2 cups milk or dark chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening (optional)
White candy melts
Pretzel sticks
White non pareil sprinkles
Black and orange candy color OR black and orange food writers
Small paint brush

Instructions:

Line a baking tray with wax paper and set aside. Have your white candy melts, pretzel sticks and sprinkles ready.
Place the chocolate chips and shortening (if using, it thins the chocolate for better consistency, but it isn’t necessary) in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 90 seconds at 70 percent power. Stir and continue to microwave at 30 second, then 15 second, intervals until fully melted and smooth when stirred well.
Spread on the baking tray. Tip: Use a large offset spatula greased with shortening to help spread the chocolate. You won’t fill up the entire tray, just spread to fill about 80 percent of the tray. Immediately assemble three white candy melts for each snowman scattered across the chocolate. Add pretzel stick arms. Sprinkle white sprinkles over the chocolate.
Place a few drops of black and orange candy color on a piece of wax paper. Use the paint brush to paint faces and carrots on each snowman OR use the edible writers. The edible writers are much easier and dry more quickly, but they are less vibrant on the candy melts.
Let the tray sit at room temperature to set about an hour, or place in the refrigerator to set about 30 minutes. Cut the bark into pieces around the snowmen. Let set fully at room temperature or in the fridge.

Source: The Decorated Cookie

Christmas Banana Snowmen

Ingredients:

2 bananas
1/4 of a carrot
Handful of currents or sultanas chopped
3 strawberries
6 grapes
6 skewers

Instructions:

Cut the bananas into thick slices (approx. 9 rounds per banana)
Peel the carrot and cut into small triangular slivers for a pointy nose
Trim the stem from the strawberries and then cut in half. You should get two hats out of each strawberry
Cut the grapes in half. (We only used the smooth half and ate the stem end)
To assemble, thread three slices of banana on to each skewer followed by a strawberry hat and grape half. Gently press the currents into the banana slices to create eyes and the buttons on the body then add the carrot nose
Serve immediately
Tip: Chop everything up, place all the bits in separate bowls and then have the kids assemble the snowmen

Source: One Handed Cookies

Let me know if you guys try any of them! Who else loves baking during the holidays?

XX,

Christine

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Beauty Secrets

Oh Christmas Tree – Holiday Family Traditions Before Christmas

9:15:00 AM

How amazing are these boots?! They are 40% off now and would make such a great gift!

Holiday traditions are always so much better with him ❤️

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!! There are so many holiday traditions that I love doing with my family this time of year.

A few of my very favorites are:

Doing the Elf on the Shelf with the kiddos (if I can keep track of and find that dang elf each year!! haha) The kids look forward to this one so much — so just to warn you, once you do it one year…you have to do it every year! Even though I always run out of ideas, its worth seeing the look on the kids faces each morning when they find the elf! If you need help with ideas like me – there are so many cute ideas of what to do with the elf online, and the Elf also comes with a book with tons of good ideas too!
The 12 days of Christmas! This started yesterday and its something I have been doing since I was little with my parents. They would surprise me each morning with something new (socks, candy, etc) and each morning I would sing the 12 days of Christmas song with them counting down every day until Christmas. It was so much fun that I do this with the kids now too!
I grew up in Montana and went to cut down our Christmas tree with my family each year and its one of my best holiday memories. The smell of a fresh tree reminds me so much of home at the holidays now that I had to get a fresh tree this year too! Its another fun holiday tradition that I want to continue with the kids as they grow.

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?! I would love to hear! Hope you all have a great weekend!

XX,
Christine

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via Hello Fashion

Book an appointment with Kaitlin Rife (Vidal Sassoon Trained) expert hairstylist.
Call / Text (916) 616-4756 - View My Portfolio
Located @ 420 Palladio Pkwy Folsom, CA | Image Via Byrdie