It's A Wrap!

 

 

It's all about presentation.  With just a little effort, you can make any gift look fun and festive.  Here are a few of my favorite ideas and techniques for a gift of food:

 



 Each Christmas, I bake 4 or 5 Amoretto Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes for gifts.  I place each cake on a holiday plate or platter, which is also part of the gift.  Then the fun begins!
The platter with cheesecake is positioned in a large cellophane gift bag.  To keep the bag from settling onto the top of the cheesecake, I place two or three "birthday" candles in the center of the cake.  You can barely see them in the photo above - they are white.

An assortment of ribbons to be used for the bow. The red handled scissors are for cutting the ribbons that are wired.

The base of the bow will be 6 or 8 loops of a selected ribbon.

On top of the base loops, add 6"- 8" lengths of a variety of coordinating ribbons.  The top ribbon will be the "ho ho ho."

Stacked ribbons, ready to be tied together.

Finished bow.

 

 The finished gift.

Another fun (and much appreciated gift for those who entertain during the holidays) is the Frosty the Snowman Cheeseball.  I just double my favorite cheeseball recipe, make one large ball and one slightly smaller.  Freeze until firm, stack the balls,  then frost with whipped cream cheese and decorate.

 Here he is, ready for gifting!  Looks almost like a snowglobe, doesn't it?
For very little effort, you can make a grand presentation.

I hope you enjoy using these ideas.

Ren

December at School

Debbie and I were known as Santa's Elves around campus during December.  Debbie purchased these aprons for us at Pier I Imports.  We often paired the aprons with our Christmas fascinators, which we made in December 2011, to complete our holiday ensembles!

Apparel I students brought in old jeans for a recycle/redesign project.  They made stockings of their own design.  Of course, their favorite part is the embroidered name.  We have new embroidery machines in the apparel lab this year and they are in use almost continuously.  After all, this is the South and we do love to see our monogram or name on everything!

 

 

Detail of another student's work.  She cut the gingerbread men and candy canes out of a Christmas fabric and appliqued them to the stocking.  I love to see the creativity and resourcefulness of our students.

Debbie's Interiors II students are also busy with a recycle/redesign project.  They are reworking donated and discarded chairs for a fashion show that Apparel and Interiors students will collaborate to stage in the spring.  Each chair is designed with a specific theme - 1970s, Shrek, music, etc.  Apparel II students will select a chair for inspiration and will construct a garment to accompany the chair.

 

A holiday dress created from giftwrap.

 

A winter themed display being created for the case outside the Media Center.  The lattice was rescued from a trash pile and sprayed white.  Painted sticks, a strand of lights and various snowflakes were added.

 

 

Necklace made from plastic dry cleaning bags,  ornaments and other trinkets.  Debbie's dog Lucy was the inspiration for the little dachshund in the snow.  The background is giftwrap.

 

 

Detail of the opposite end of the display.  The light reflected off the glass and we just couldn't get a good shot of the entire window.  Debbie with two of her creative students.

 

Waiting for Santa - and the winter break!

 

Happy New Year!!

Debbie and Ren

Christmas 2012

 Food is always an important part of the Christmas season.  Lauren and I enjoyed making a Yule Log for Christmas Eve dinner.  Here are a few of the steps:

We began by baking a chocolate sponge cake in a jelly roll pan.

After the cake cooled, we spread a homemade whipped cream over the cake

Next we carefully rolled the cake

Homemade chocolate buttercream frosting was then applied to the log (notice the smaller logs on the side.  We cut the ends of the cake and positioned them on the log).

Drag the tines of a fork through the frosting to create the bark effect and sprinkle with powdered sugar to add "snow."

 

The cross stitch ornaments are the first ornaments I made for Chip and Lauren.  The pasta ornament is a favorite of mine, Chip made it in preschool.

Santa left Reinbeer for the boys! Got the idea from Pinterest

 

My collection of glitter trees in the dining room

 

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

 

 

 



Belated Birthday

December is a month of celebration for our family.  This year has been extra special as we await the arrival of the first Baby Jetton. We started the month with a shower to honor Lollie and the baby.

Lauren and I celebrate our Birthdays together each year.  Lauren's Birthday is December 3rd and mine is December 4th.  This year Lauren was in town for work so we had lots of time together.

 

Lauren gave me this beautiful handpainted pillow (by Beth Wiseman, Lincolnton, NC).

We missed Chris at Lauren's Birthday dinner

 

 

Thanksgiving 2012

Our family enjoyed a tradition filled holiday.

 

The day began with the annual Turkey Trot.  Chip and Lauren ran the 5 mile race, with everyone else cheering them on!

 

Lauren baked the Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie featured in the November 2012 issue of Southern Living.  A good bit of work but so worth it.  Delicious!

 

 

Our chef!  Chris deep fried the turkey.  Lollie especially loved the crispy skin!

 

Another tradition.  Every year, I use this antique tool box for my dining room floral arrangement.  I purchased the box more than 30 years ago, while living in Columbus, Ohio.

 

The glitter wreath is a favorite.  Each year it makes its appearance for Thanksgiving and hangs over the mirror until the end of February.  I just can't bear to put it in storage after Christmas!

 



 

Here is another Thanksgiving tradition.  The pumpkin turkey greets guests as they arrive.

 

 

Someone ate too much - another family tradition!

After Chip recovered, everyone headed outside for a photo opp.  Hopefully one of the shots will make the annual Christmas card!

 

A wonderful day.  So many blessings.  So much to be thankful for.

 

 

 

 

First Post!

Welcome to the Polka Dot Apron! This is the spot where we will post our design adventures.

Here is a sample of what you will see in future posts.  Enjoy!

Seasonal Fall decorations

Debbie and some of her design students painted these pots for our front porches

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!