Cure the Winter Blues with a FUN Snowflake Breakfast!

[As always, CLICK ON any photo to view it larger & in more detail]

With the holidays behind us (booooo), I tend to get a little down 😦 so I came up with a fun, new Winter tradition to pick up mine and my family’s spirits … The Snowflake Breakfast!

STEP ONE – look for a metal, snowflake-shaped cookie cutter.  I just found a 4-pack at Wal-Mart for $2.88 that’s probably on sale now (woo-hoo!).  The reason you need a metal cutter is so it can withstand the heat of your frying pan or griddle.

STEP TWO – dust off your favorite recipe to whip up a batch of pancake batter.  Mine is chocolate chip!  🙂

STEP THREE – spray your frying pan or griddle AND the “inside” of a large snowflake cookie cutter with non-stick cooking spray.

STEP FOUR – Spoon some pancake batter into the snowflake cutter, spreading it evenly into each arm of the snowflake.

STEP FIVE – Brown the pancake on 1 side and use a spatula and the side of your pan to help you flip the pancake AND snowflake cutter (together) to begin browning the opposite side of the pancake.

STEP SIX – While the opposite side of the pancake is browning, use a knife to begin loosening it from the side of the snowflake cutter.

STEP SEVEN – Gently remove the snowflake cutter, and when done, remove the pancake from the pan.

STEP EIGHT – Make an inexpensive snowflake tree to use as a centerpiece on your Snowflake Breakfast table!  Gather branches from outside and spray paint them white.  HINT:  Leave any berries or buds on the branches for added texture and detail.  Cut a piece of styrofoam to fit in the bottom of a vase you have on hand.  Arrange the painted & now dry branches in your vase to create a winter tree, using the styrofoam to hold them in place.  Disguise the styrofoam with inexpensive Epsom Salts to simulate fresh fallen snow.

STEP NINE – Hang snowflakes in any windows and on the branches of your new winter tree and place in the center of your breakfast table.

STEP TEN – Years ago, I was lucky enough to find snowflake plates at J.C. Penny (on clearance.. whoo-hoo!) and snowflake glasses at Target, but you can use paper plates with a snowflake theme to duplicate this look on a budget.  I found the over-sized white snowflakes at a dollar store…. they make great place mats!  Finally, I recycled my snowflake pillows, lantern and snowflake candle (used in the family room at Christmas) to create more wintry ambiance on the  side table underneath my window of snowflakes.

Check out the entire Snowflake Breakfast setting… it’s festive and happy and because it’s “the unexpected”, it will provide everyone in your home with the perfect prescription for the post-holiday, winter blues!!

Enjoy the Creativity!

EILEEN

The Seasonal Home’s STORE debuts! :-)

EXCITING NEWS!!!

For a long time, I’ve been trying to find the time to open a little store and it has finally happened… The Seasonal Home’s STORE is only 2 clicks away (see SHOP! in the top tool bar of my site or click HERE).  Once there, you’ll find:

• One-of-a-Kind, Holiday Designs.  I’m thrilled to add my own creative originals!
• My Favorite Seasonal Decorative Accents.  These are favorite “finds” that I’m excited to share with you and many of them have been (or will be) featured in my blog posts, for inspiration!
• My Publications (Book and DVD), productions of Creative Families, LLC (The Seasonal Home’s publishing company) featuring hundreds of family traditions (my book) and easy-to-follow decorating secrets & shortcuts (my DVD).

New items will be added as items sell out and the seasons change.  And closer to the holiday season, the store will grow to offer you even more of my favorite seasonal finds and original designs.

Very soon, you can look forward to a GRAND OPENING SALE, but if you see something you like, grab it as soon as your budget permits because some of the items in the SHOP are limited or one-of-a-kind.  In other words, once they’re gone…..

So, check it out to see what goodies are in STORE…  I’ve done the shopping & creating for you! 🙂

Enjoy the Creativity!

Eileen

Early Valentine gift to Mother Nature

[click on photos, for larger view]

During Christmas, I purchased a small, inexpensive Frazier Fir tree to place inside a beautiful winter sled-tree stand given to me by one of my clients.  I loved the idea of having a fresh tree on The Seasonal Home’s front porch (close to the front door) so I can enjoy a wonderful pine smell each time I pass by.

It just so happened that I placed the tree in front of the kitchen window and one day, while doing the dishes, I noticed a sweet bird, who landed in my fir tree to rest.  I would have been thrilled if my feathered visitor had stayed long enough for me to take a photo, but as quick as it landed… it was gone.  I immediately started thinking about ways I could encourage more birds to visit the tree (it’s just too wonderful to recycle yet!), but it wasn’t until I was about to throw out a stale loaf of bread that the solution came to me… fill my tree with welcome winter bird treats!

Even though I’m still filtering my way through organizing holiday decorations, my thoughts are already heading towards St. Valentine’s Day.  And based on the huge amount of visitors, to my site, who are searching for Valentine, St. Patrick’s Day & Easter ideas, I must not be alone in that thought process (lol)!  Anyway, those thoughts gave me the idea to pull out my Valentine cookie cutter and use it to create several winter birdie (treat) ornaments to hang on my tree.

So, after gathering my jar of peanut butter, a roll of thin ribbon, my container of bird seed and the loaf of stale bread, I was ready to go into production.  First, I used my cookie cutter to create heart-shaped pieces of bread.  Next, I spread peanut butter on one side (of each piece) and using a toothpick, poked a hole in the center of the top/middle of each side of the heart.  Now, it was time to feed the ribbon through the 2 holes and tie a knot.  (HINT): I found that the bread dries out quickly, so it would be best to create the 2 holes & feed the ribbon through, as soon as you’ve spread the peanut butter.  The last step is to dip the side of the bread with peanut butter on it into a plate of bird seed and your ornaments are complete and ready to hang!

I hope lots of feathered friends visit my tree of winter treats and allow me the privilege of photographing their beauty, in exchange.

 

Enjoy the Creativity!

Eileen