Great Gift Ideas for Her

Check out the LJ Design & Photo blog today for some great gift ideas for the ladies in your life - all handmade by fellow Etsy moms!


While you're at it, take a peak at the LJ Design & Photo shop on Etsy for some more gift ideas of the photographic variety. I'm a proud owner of these two:

Boxing Day Sale!

Wordless Wednesday - Early Christmas Gift, Handmade by Grandma

Happy Holidays!

Apparently No Longer Out-of-Character Food-Related Post

Alright, I can no longer act like it's weird for me to post a recipe here now and then. I admit it - I cook. And it's actually kind of fun to share a favorite recipe via the ol' blog, don't you think?

So, this week's EtsyBloggers blog carnival theme is holiday traditions. Over the last few years, our family has been developing a Christmas brunch tradition (as opposed to a Christmas dinner tradition). The logic is pretty simple. First thing, Christmas morning when you've got eight adults trying to wrangle kids, coordinate the present-opening, keep track of the stockings, keep the baby out of the tree and the dog out of the kitchen, and keep your own eyes open after staying up WAY too late playing wrapping gifts and playing Wii (just sayin'...), the last thing you want to do is start the preparations for a big giant Christmas dinner that will take all day to prepare. Right?

Enter the make-ahead brunch. All of these dishes feed a ton of people and can be made the night before (quickly, I might add, so you can get right back to the wine and Wii), popped in the fridge, left overnight, and then baked in the morning. So the order of business Christmas morning is:

1. Wake up
2. Get the coffee on
3. Preheat the oven
4. Start opening gifts
5. Pop the brunch stuff in the oven
6. Finish opening gifts
7. Take the brunch stuff out of the oven
8. Enjoy a delicious family brunch
9. Relax and play with all the new toys for the rest of the day!

Doesn't that sound lovely? You might even squeeze in a nap.

This year, due to travel schedules and such, we're having our big family brunch today. I can say with confidence that each and every one of these recipes are fantastic, having tried various versions of each over the years and settled on what you see here. NOTE: Should you try these recipes, your brunch will look absolutely nothing like the photo at the top of this post. The photo has been provided solely for illustrative purposes - you know, to illustrate the general fabulousness of brunch. Casseroles, while equally fabulous and delicious, are not equally photogenic. Take a look at what's on our menu this morning:

Baked French Toast

5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk (for a more traditional "French toast" consistency - for more of a bread pudding effect, double the milk)
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 loaf French bread, cut in 1 inch slices

1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon maple syrup

The night before:
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, half and half and vanilla. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture and place into a lightly greased baking pan (9 x 13 or larger). Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine butter, sugar and syrup and spoon/drizzle mixture over the bread.
Bake for 40 minutes or until golden.

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Sausage and Egg Casserole

3/4 pound ground sausage (any kind)
1 tablespoon butter
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
10 eggs, beaten
1 (16 ounce) container low-fat cottage cheese
1 pound Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers, drained

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted

The night before:
Cook sausage and set aside. Melt butter in skillet and sautee onions and mushrooms until tender. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, and chiles. Stir in the sausage, green onions, and mushrooms. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend in the melted butter. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake 40 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

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Hash Brown Casserole

1 (2 lb) package frozen hash browns, thawed
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

The night before:
Combine hash browns, butter, salt, pepper, onion, soup and cheese in a large bowl. Pour into lightly greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Cover and refrigerate.

In the morning:
Preheat oven to 350. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

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Ambrosia Fruit Salad (my version)

1/2 container frozen whipped topping, thawed
8 oz. sour cream
1 (20 oz) can pineapple chunks, drained
1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1 lb. strawberries, sliced
blueberries (optional)
3 cups mini marshmallows

The night before:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix together well, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning:
Serve and enjoy!

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There you have it! And with that, I'm off for my final pre-brunch preparations. Merry early Christmas!

Join me in Wonderland at noon EST today!

Yep, just two hours from now! Join me today at noon in the Wonderland Holiday Boutique for some awesome savings on just a few of my most popular notecard sets - perfect for teacher gifts, secret Santa gift exchanges, the office white elephant exchange or as stocking stuffers. All are gift-wrapped and ready to give at no additional cost. Only one set of each design is available at this price, so be there at noon or you'll miss out! Plus, enter to win these pretty handstamped hang tags.


If you haven't been to Wonderland yet this season, you're in for a treat. This great community of work-at-home moms offer a wide variety of unique handmade gift options for your eco-friendly family.

Wordless Wednesday - "I Can Do It All By Myself"

Black Friday Specials -- Today's Super Saver Events

It's the most wonderful time of the year and the best day of the year to save on our holiday cards as well as our boxed blank note sets - perfect stocking stuffers or teacher gifts! Here's where to find the best deals on Macaroni and Glue paper goods today.


All weekend: Macaroni and Glue on Etsy -- Take $2 off any boxed holiday card set and get FREE shipping when you add any blank note set to your holiday card order


Today at noon EST: Wonderland Congo - Limited-edition items and some HUGE savings on Macaroni and Glue favorites to the first few customers. Be on time or you'll miss out!




Today only: Artiste Congo - Only one set left of these super cute Santa mini cards/gift enclosures with handmade envelopes!



Today only: 1000 Markets - First three holiday card customers get a second set FREE!


Happy shopping everyone!

EtsyBloggers Black Friday Sale!

Skip the mall this Friday and go handmade! The EtsyBloggers team is having a Black Friday sale with over 50 participating Etsy shops. From (ahem) holiday cards to unique and special handmade gifts, you'll find everything you need from the comfort of your own living room, and at amazing prices!

Macaroni and Glue is thrilled to be participating in this supersized event. Between 11/28 and 12/1, take $2 off any boxed holiday card set, and get free shipping when you add any blank note set to your holiday card order. Please include "Black Friday" in Notes to Seller at checkout. See my shop announcement for more details.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy post-Thanksgiving shopping!

Another Totally Out of Character Food-Related Post

I know, I know. If I keep doing this, I can't keep calling it "out of character."

This week's Etsy Bloggers Blog Carnival topic is Thanksgiving, specifically our favorite Thanksgiving traditions. Since, for most of the last 10ish years, our extended family has been scattered about the United States and we never know where or with whom we'll be spending our Thanksgiving, I'll have to confess that we have.... well, zilch in the way of traditions. So I thought instead I'd share with you one of my mom's recipes - a simple, sweet and tangy fruit salad - that is one of my favorite parts of ANY family holiday.

Supremely retro, this particular frozen fruit salad has been a staple at holiday meals since I was a kid. Since there's nothing complicated involved, and I have a three-year-old who adores a) dumping things in a bowl and stirring, and b) marshmallows, we usually prepare this dish at our house for any family gathering. And if we can do it, you most certainly can too.


Beat the cream cheese til fluffy. Blend in sour cream, salt and sugar. Fold in (drained) fruit and marshmallows. Pour into freezer-appropriate pan and freeze overnight. Voila!

Quaint? Certainly. Yummy? You betcha. Tradition? For us, anyway.

Holiday 2008 Preview

Holiday 2008 designs are here! Although they've not cropped up in the Etsy shop as of yet, the Macaroni and Glue holiday designs are now officially available (whew!). Look for these new listings, at early-shopper prices, to show up in the next few days. Here's a preview of what we've got cookin' for the holidays this year: