Eniko's Playhouse

A Personalized Advent Calendar Using Scrapbooking Techniques

The first day of December was always exciting at our house because it was the first day of the Advent Calendar, a wonderful tradition that makes the countdown to Christmas realy fun. The calendars have 25 numbered windows that are "hidden" within an image, and the idea is to open the windows chronologically -one each day of December until Christmas- to reveal surprises behind them .

I decided to design personalized Advent Calendars for some special people in my life using my scrapbooking supplies and scrapbooking techniques. This one was made for my Jim, who simply adores his kitty, Shadow.

I chose this whimsical photo of Shadow lounging in the snow of our Christmas Village as the face of my Advent Calendar, so I printed it out on 81/2 x 11 matt photo paper. Then I gathered all my favorite photos of Shadow and Martha (our sweet kitty that passed away) and printed them out in thumbnails (like a contact sheet), after placing them all in a photo file folder. I cut 25 windows with a craft knife, leaving the top flaps intact, and adhered a tiny photo behind each one.

I've opened some of the windows here to show you how it works and how much fun it is to find the surprises. After all the photos were in place, I carefully glued the edges of the face of the Advent Calendar to a Christmas-themed scrapbook paper and then adhered that onto a solid scrapbook card stock.

The edges of the cardstock were perfect for writing a personal sentiment in colored ink -just like I would add journaling to a typical scrapbook page. Then I added a pretty coordinating ribbon with some decorative brads to hang it by. What do you think? Isn't it a lovely idea and a unique, personalized gift? If you'd like to try it, I will post step-by-step directions in my next post. Until then...happy scrapbooking!

It's a Cat's Life...

It's Good to be Shadow

One thing is for certain, our lives would not be the same without our furry little companions to amuse us.We didn't choose Shadow...he chose us. He was rescued from a shelter by neighbors who decided to get a dog -a big dog. Well, Shadow was not amused by their decision. He likes to be "King of the Castle" and he hates dogs in a big way. So after befriending Jim in the yard, a pathetically wet and cold cat appeared in my kitchen window during an ice storm as I was doing dishes and let out a blood-curdling howl. Jim will attest to the fact that I scare easily (I've nearly drawn blood from his arm with my nails during a fright at a horror flick on more than one occasion) so you can imagine how frightfully he startled me. But after regaining my composure, anger took over -I couldn't imagine who would let a poor cat out in this kind of weather. Well, his strategy worked. After recently losing three beloved dogs to old age, I was determined that my pet-owning days were over. Thankfully, this soaked kitty changed all that.

Before long, I was at the neighbor's house making a deal to be the cat's new owner (she was glad to be free of her dilemma) and our lives haven't been the same since. We named him Shadow for reasons that would be obvious to you if you observed the goings on around here. Whether in the yard, or inside the house, Shadow is where Jim is...at night, they cuddle and coo like newlyweds...and me, well I'm constantly in stitches at the sight of them.

When Shadow chose us, he knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. It's good to be Shadow indeed.

Just in case you were disappointed that I didn't include my fabulously delicious pie crust recipe yesterday with the Rhubarb Pie Recipe, here it is:

PERFECT PIE DOUGH      (makes two 10” bottom crusts and enough lattice strips for 2 pies)
3 ¾ cups pastry flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½” cubes
1/3 cup cold shortening, cut into ½” cubes
3/4 cup ice water

Mix the flour and the salt in a large bowl.  Add the cubes of butter and margarine and toss to coat well.  Working quickly, rub the flour and the cubes between your fingers to break up the cubes.  Continue until all of the butter and margarine is broken up and well blended with the flour, but be careful not to overwork.  (There should still be plenty of dry spots in the flour.)

Next, add the ice water and toss the dough with a fork until it is well mixed, but still flaky and coarse, and not yet completely incorporated.  Empty the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and gently form together with your hands.  (The dough should still not be smooth at this stage.)  Divide the dough into 3 sections, flattening out each with your hands.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before using.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for approx. 10 minutes before rolling out, section by section.  If small clumps of butter are visible through the dough as you roll it, you will have perfect, flaky pie dough.