Win a copy of Big Book of Kids' Birthday Cakes

It doesn't matter how old we get, our birthdays remain to be a special day. For a child celebrating their birthday with a beautifully structured cake with something they like on it such as dinosaurs or castles will make their day even more special. Although my family and I don't do big birthday celebrations, each year for my children's birthday I enjoy making a cake with their favourite character or liking that tends to change each year. 

Step-by-Step Home Design and Decorating Ideas

This book Step-by-Step home design and decorating give us lots of ideas to get our home functioning in the style we like. We can renovate our kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, hallway, home office, laundry room and outside space within our budget by using the information from this book.

The beautiful pictures and instructions will encourage us to take on a project and complete it. My husband and I enjoy doing our own DIY projects as it keeps the cost low and once the projects are completed it gives us a sense of achievement. We recently renovated our outdoor space, backsplash in the kitchen and redecorated our entertainment area. We are always looking for ways to upgrade and add character to our home by doing small renovations, so we will be using this book as a guide before starting projects.

Usually when we do projects we come across problems we don’t know how to fix, which causes frustration so having a book to refer to will be helpful. This book gives us lots of details to help us when we are planning our projects. 

The book has information about creating focal points with picture frames and placing them in the correct way so it would suit our furniture and room. We got this Big Red painting from Lowes that adds character to our living room.

I think this book is a must for everyone interested in doing DIY projects as it gives detailed explanations.

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Gingerbread cookies and Celebrating the Joy of December

In the month of December more than any other month through the year, I feel that my family and I tend to be in a celebrating mood :)  The lights, snow, family gatherings, the relaxing feel, cozying up, baking, giving, getting gifts, making new plans, our son's birthday are some of the things in December that we look forward to.  

To keep our children occupied and to make the holiday season memorable we make holiday crafts, bake cookies and go for a drive just to see winter lights covered in blankets of snow.  We made these holiday Gingerbread cookies adapted from Joy of Baking site.  My children helped me bake and decorate, if you would like to make a batch with your little ones you will need...

3 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg at room temperature
2/3 cups molasses

We can use a paddle attachment in the stand mixer or hand mixer to make the dough.
Beat butter till it is creamy, add sugar and beat till the mixture is light and fluffy.  
Add the egg and beat.  
Spray the container with oil spray before measuring molasses so it doesn't stick to the measuring cup.  Then add the molasses to the mixture and combine.

Add the sifted dry ingredient 1/3rd at a time to the wet mixture.  After adding and mixing all the flour, gather the dough into a ball and cut it into two parts before covering it with a plastic wrap.  Leave the dough in the fridge to chill overnight or until it is firm so it can be easily rolled.

Flour the surface, rolling pin, cookie cutters and hands well with flour and roll the dough about 1/2" thick.  Keep turning and lifting the dough so it doesn't stick.
Prepare a tray with parchment paper and butter before placing the cut shapes.  Space about 1"between the cookies and leave the tray in the fridge for about 10 minutes before baking.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.  The cookies should barely brown around edges if baked too much it will become too crispy.  Cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
The cookies will stay well covered for up to two weeks if it lasts that long :)

For more holiday cookie and baking ideas check LMD Facebook page as Pillsbury will be sharing their ideas from December 3rd to the 15th and Betty Crocker will be sharing their ideas from December 17th to the 31st.

Disclosure:  I am participating in the Life Made Delicious Ambassador program and receive special perks as part of my affiliation.  All rights reserved on photographs and opinion of the written content Createwithmom © 2012.  Please Ask First