A Holly Bloggy Christmas Thank You!

On this day-after-Christmas, I just wanted to write a quick note of thanks to everyone who helped out or participated in this year's Holly Bloggy Christmas Event!

It was so great seeing all your recipes, decorations, and other Christmas ideas! I found so many inspiring things to try out, and I hope you all did too!  And I hope you'll all be back next year to participate again!

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Friday Favorites Party - Holly Bloggy Christmas Edition and Amy Cornwell Giveaway

 

Hello everyone! Welcome to the Holly Bloggy Christmas Edition of Friday Favorites! In case you're new here, Friday Favorites is my weekly linky party where you can link up your recipes, crafts, decor, and other projects.

Anything goes really!  But today for the Holly Bloggy Christmas edition, I'm asking everyone to only link up your Christmas and holiday ideas!  And since it's a special edition, I've also got some extra features and a giveaway to share with you, so let's get rolling!

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My Christmas Home Tour

Only 2 days for Holly Bloggy Christmas!  On Wednesday we shared Christmas Crafts at Just Sew Sassy, and for day 4 we are sharing our Christmas Decor at Shabby Creek Cottage. And then on Friday I'll be hosting a Christmas Edition of my Friday Favorites Party!
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Announcing the 3rd Annual Holly Bloggy Christmas

I'm very excited to announce this year's Holly Bloggy Christmas! 

 5 Days of Fun Christmas-themed Linky Parties!

 With 5 Fabulous Hostesses! 

 And Great Giveaways! 

Monday, Dec. 12 - Homemade Gift Party

Hosted by Jen at tatertots and jello.

Giveaway: 6 Pack of Twine from Twisted Sugar Twine

Tuesday, Dec. 13 - Christmas Recipe Party

Hosted by Nikki at Chef in Training.

Giveaway: Beanie of the winner's choice from Sweet Kiwi Crochet

Wednesday, Dec. 14 - Christmas Craft Party

Hosted by Staci at Just Sew Sassy

Giveaway: $25 Gift Certificate from AliLilly

Thursday, Dec. 15 - Christmas Decor Party

Hosted by Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage.

Giveaway: Hot Chocolate Candle Set from Good Neighbors Candle Co.

Friday, Dec. 16 - Friday Favorites Christmas Party

Hosted by Jerri at Simply Sweet Home.

Giveaway: $25 Gift Certificate from Amy Cornwell

Grab a button and join us for a Cup of Good Cheer!!

<a href="http://www.simplysweethome.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/JHRivers/Simply%20Sweet%20Home%20Graphics/hollybloggybutton.png" border="0" alt="hbcbutton" /></a>

Holly Bloggy Christmas: Thank Yous and Giveaway Winners

Hey everyone! I'm very excited to announce all the Holly Bloggy Christmas winners today!  But before we get to that I want to take a moment to thank a few people who helped to make our event a success.

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who participated in one or more of the linky events a couple of weeks ago.  Without your participation, none of us could have sucessful linky parties.  And on behalf of myself, the other hostesses, and our readers, I have to say that we loved looking at everyone's lovely recipes, crafts, decorations and projects. Thank you for sharing them with us!

Secondly, I want to thank Sarah Meyer for the use of her adorable artwork to create the Holly Bloggy button and graphic.

And of course, I want to thank the lovely ladies who took time out of their busy holiday schedules to host this event with me: Jen at tater tots and jello, Nicholette and Vanessa at Craft Envy, Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage, and Cheryl at Tidy Mom.  You guys did such a lovely job on your posts, and I really appreciate your work!

Finally, I wish to thank all of our wonderful giveaway sponsors (see links below)!  It really adds to the fun when you can give away great prizes, and I was so excited to have so many great people offer up their products for giveaways.

Now without further ado, here is the list of giveaway winners! All winners will be contacted by email (or blog) and they will have a week to respond and claim their prizes.

Sponsor: Yummy Cuppy Crafts
Prize: 6 Month Membership to the Cupcake Wrapper of the Month Club ($50 value)
Winner: Melissa at The Joys of Home Educating

Sponsor: Scentsy Consultant- Jonnie Mellen,
Prize: Plug-in size Warmer with 3 scents ($25 value)
Winner: Summer at Crosbie Crew

Sponsor: Best Bath Store

Prize: Holiday Soap Set ($13.95 value)
Winner: Jen at RoxyBonds Scrappin'

Sponsor: Up to My Knees in Crafts
Prize: $35 Gift Certificate
Winner: Ami at Ali Lilly

Sponsor: Scrapbook Circle,
Prize: December Kit ($29.95 value)
Winner: Allie at Miss Lovie Creations

Sponsor: Pure Sugar
Prize: Holiday Bow Set ($20.50 value)
Winner: Katie at Katie's Nesting Spot

Sponsor: Scentsy Consultant- Jonnie Mellen
Prize: Holiday Warmer with 3 scents ($40 value)
Winner: Anne at Life with Lianne

Sponsor: Lavender Cottage
Prize: Soaring Free Pendent ($32 value)
Winner: Michele at A Bushel and A Peck

Sponsor: My Dream Sample Box
Prize: Blogger Ornament ($14.95 value)
Winner: Megan at Sweet Sadie Marie

Sponsor: Lisa Leonard Designs
Prize: $50 Gift Certifciate
Winner: Tina at Mom's Crazy Cooking

Sponsor: Twelve Crafts
Prize: Pretend and Play Chef Set ($30 value)
Winner: Jocelyn at  Inside BruCrew Life

Sponsor: Hope Abound
Prize: Holiday Bow Set ($13.95 value)
Winner: April at Taking Time to Smell the Flowers

Sponsor: Hun...What's for Dinner?
Prize: Wilton Chocolate Pro Melting Pot w/ 2 bags of chocolate melts ($48 value)
Winner: Joanna from Mommy in Suburbia

Sponsor: Kinley Lane Designs
Prize: $25 Gift Certificate
Winner: Sunny at Life in Rehab

Sponsor: Simply Sweet Creations
Prize: Lavender Love Set ($17 value)
Winner: Danielle at Mostly Food and Crafts

Congrats to all of our winners!  And thank you again for participating in the Holly Bloggy!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Holly Bloggy Christmas Recipe Party

Thursday is Day 4 of Holly Bloggy Christmas, which means it's time to share our Christmas Recipes! For me, one of the best things about the Christmas season is the food!  I always enjoy munching on my traditional favorites and finding new favorites as well!

For the last few years I've been making Christmas candy boxes for neighbors and close family members.  For my gift boxes, I always try to include 3 or 4 different things.  I always include my absolute favorite Chess Bars, and then I try to do some type of candy ball or cluster, and then some kind of cookie. 

Today I'll be sharing recipes for the 3 treats that I gave away last year: Devil's Food Cookies, Chess Bars, and Peanut Butter Krispy Balls. Hope you enjoy them!

Recipe for Devil's Food Cookies:

Ingredients:
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup oil
1 egg
candy sprinkles (optional)

Directions: Mix eggs, water, oil, and cake mix. Refrigerate dough for a few minutes to prevent it from sticking to your hands.  Roll into balls or cut with cookie cutter and place on greased cookie sheet or cookie a sheet lined with parchment paper. Place about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. (Makes 2 dozen round cookies)

Recipe for Chess Cake:

Ingredients:
For Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick margarine (softened or melted)

For Icing:
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick margarine (softened or melted)
2 eggs
1 box powdered sugar

Directions:  For cake - Mix together the cake mix, eggs, and margarine. Press into a 9x13 inch pan. For icing, cream together cream cheese, margarine, eggs, and sugar. Pour over cake mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (It should come out lightly browned and gooey.) Cut into squares and enjoy!

Recipe for Peanut Butter Crispy Balls:

Ingredients:
1 cup Light Karo syrup
1 1/2 cups White sugar
1 1/2 cups Peanut butter
5 cups cereal (Original recipe calls for Special K cereal, but I used a combination of Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes.)

Directions: Bring Karo syrup and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until dissolved. Slowly mix in cereal. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto waxed paper. Then mold into balls.

Tip - You can also spoon the mixture into a 9x13 dish if you prefer to serve these as bars.

And if you'd like to know what's going in the boxes this year, check these out!

Homemade Samoas

Easy Chocolate Truffles

Place these treats in cute box or bag, and you've got a yummy Christmas gift!

HOLLY BLOGGY GIVEAWAYS!

Lisa Leonard Designs

Lisa Leonard is known throughout the blogosphere for her beautiful, one-of-kind jewelry. You can choose something cute that fits your style from her inspired necklaces. Or you can create a custom piece of jewelry! Each piece is hand-cut, hammered, antiqued and is polished sterling silver. Beautiful!

Connect with Lisa Leonard on Facebook and Twitter.

Prize: $50 gift certificate

Twelve Crafts

Twelve Crafts offers cute jewelry, flower pins, sachet pillows, and other fun gifts and accessories.  They come in bold, beautiful colors and designs that you just have to see! The owner of this shop, Elizabeth, also has a great blog where she shares her latest projects and tutorials.

Connect Twelve Crafts on Facebook and Twitter.

Prize:  Pretend and Play Chef Set

Hope Abound Boutique

Another cute etsy boutique!  If you like bows, you should definitely visit this shop.  Hope Abound offers lovely accessories from bows and clippies to brooches and pins.  These come in a variety of styles, colors, and materials, so you're sure to find something you like! 

Connect with Hope Abound Facebook and Twitter

Prize: A Set Christmas Bows

How To Enter:

Bloggers: If you link up a project, you will automatically be entered for all the giveaways.  (For an additional entry, you may leave a comment saying that you linked up.)

Non-bloggers: If you DO NOT have a blog, you may still enter. Just visit one of the sponsors and leave a comment telling me something you like.

Additional Entries:

1 entry for EACH sponsor you follow on Facebook or Twitter. (Links provided above)

1 entry if you subscribe to my blog by email.

1 entry if you follow my blog.

1 entry if you follow SimplySweetHome on twitter.

1 entry if you like Simply Sweet Home on facebook.

Linky Party! I can't wait to see what kind of goodies your cooking up this holiday season! Please link up the url to your Christmas Recipes below! The linky and giveaway will be open for entries through December 22. And winners will be announced the week after Christmas.

Christmas Kitchen Tour {Holly Bloggy Decor Party}

Here's the continuation of my home tour for the Decor Party at Shabby Chic Cottage. 

By the way, don't forget to stop back by my blog tomorrow for a Christmas Recipe Party!

For this part of the tour, we start with the fridge, which is topped off by my little kitchen tree. Last year it seemed to be everyone's favorite thing in my home tour (and my fave too), so it makes a return this year!

I added some cards to the fridge just to give it some color.  And I bought the Christmas Countdown Sign at the Dollar Tree last year for 50% off.  I added some magnets with a little hot glue, and it was perfect for the fridge.

This is one of my favorite displays for this year.  I had the cake place and the balls in cups last year.  Then I got the rainbow at the Dollar Tree (again for 50% off).  I had no idea what I'd do with the rainbow tree, until I found these adorable cupcake ornaments at K-Mart a couple of weeks ago.

 I used this rainbow garland above all the cabinets in the kitchen.

A bunch of different plates, figurines, etc. always seem to find there way on the counter this time of year.

The Christmas Tree Plate is one of my favorite pieces.  Hubby bought it for me from Cracker Barrel. 

The tour wouldn't be complete without a picture of my Mouse Tree! 

And here's the dining rom table.  It's the same tablecloth from last year, but the I added a bunch of stuff to the center.

More balls in cups and cone trees!  And if you check out my Christmas Craft post from yesterday you can see how I created the sign.

And that's it for the kitchen.  If you haven't seen the living room tour, please check that out too.  And don't forget to come back here tomorrow for the Christmas Recipe Party!

Also, linking up at these parties.

Christmas Living Room Tour {Holly Bloggy Decor Party}

Wednesday is Day 3 of the Holly Bloggy Event, and we're sharing decorations and Home Tours.  Be sure to go over to The Shabby Chic Cottage to share yours!  Also, come back here to Simply Sweet Home tomorrow for a Christmas Recipe Party!

I had a lot of stuff I wanted to share for this year, so I've actually decided to divide my tour up into two posts.  There will be one for the living room and one for the kitchen/dining room.

First I wanted to share this cute Teddy Bear set.  I got these at Hallmark a few years ago but I've never actually gotten them out till now. They were made to commemorate the100th birthday of the teddy bear.  

These are more Hallmark creations.  I put these near our front door so they can give our guests a warm welcome.

Cone trees and a Christmas Flower Arrangement! (Try to ignore the stereo.  It doesn't really go with anything in the room, let alone with the Christmas stuff, but it's kind of hard to hide. lol.)

If you visit regularly, you've already seen this wreath.  I have it hanging on the door of our coat closet. 

I always hang our stockings on my "treasure cabinet."

Happily I got 2 new cat stockings on sale last year after Christmas at Cracker Barrel. I also got the candy canes for half price at Dollar Tree!

One of my favorite things as of late is the fabric I used to cover the coffee table.

Back to the "treasure cabinet."   I decided to share my Rudolph figurines.  This is my third year to do a home tour on my blog, and I don't think I've ever shared them.  My best friend from elementary to high school bought me these several years ago because it was always one of my favorite movies!

Last in this room is the snow buddies and snowman candle set. 

I especially love this candle set. I always love blue and silver together!

Please check out my Kitchen Tour---coming up next!

Don't forget to link up your decor at The Shabby Chic Cottage. I'm also linking up at parties.