Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Carol's Christmas Cookies: Whipped Shortbread

Christmas has the BEST recipes for sweet treats, or as my chef friends calls it "Sweet Shit". My mother always has put on a spread for Christmas of treats that are AMAZING! I love using her recipes each season, like THIS 'Dream Bar' Recipe.

One of my all time favourites are her Whipped Shortbread Cookies. They are easy to make and the literally melt in your mouth.

What you need:
1lb of butter
1/2 cup of cornstarch
1 cup icing sugar
3 cups flour (all-purpose)
*Candies is you want to decorate them - We garnished our with Canadian Smarties this year.


How To:
*Beat with electric mix master until the mixture is the consistency of whipping cream. 
*Remove mixture from the bowl using a tea spoon and place each cookie on the cookie sheet.
*Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Add decorations before baking!
*Let cool and ENJOY! 
My mom and nephew baked ours this year!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

LisaG's Gift Guide 2013

We are getting close to the big day and I composed this gift guide for all you 'last minute' shoppers who need a little inspiration!

I am in LOVE with this technology. We all have 35mm negatives lying around from days gone by. Imagine if you can have the images on your phone to share? AMAZING! Use it in conjunction with the Lomoscanner app. Shop now and save 10%  (its only $59) (Lomography)


SHOP InvenTORI Online or In Store.
There is a collection of fabulous finds from Tori as well as brands that she loves! 
There are only 4 Evolution Rewind Rings Left!!!
 For the Tori FAN they are offering autographed copies of her NEW book, Spelling It Like It Is

Pink Sugar Crystals: Does Santa need some sparkle? 
 There is no time before Christmas for a custom creation BUT you can e-mail them for a Gift Certificate for that special someones stocking!
Remember my custom, monogram phone case?
They have these and a wide range other other products.


Little Maven Clothing for the stylish tot in your life!!
* Baby to 6yr
It is great quality, stylish and an affordable price point.
Image: Tamara Wickstrom

Love Fashion & Fiction? This is the sweetest series for Tweens, Teens and any Fashion lover with an imagination! The Time Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky



Fabulous, One-of-a-kind Cocktail Rings and Hair Accessories from Evolution Rewind!
Shipping is ALWAYS complimentary!
Shop: REWIND RINGS (Image: Tom Fowler)

Give the gift of FASHION! 
Let EV Stylist LisaG (ME) help you re-style fashion's past current!

BEST STOCKING STUFFER:
(Found at most grocery stores and pharmacy's, wherever REVLON is sold)

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Remember, gifts are fabulous but the best gift you can give your loved ones is your time, attention and LOVE! 

Love your Stylish Santa,
LisaG
XOX

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Wrap It Up: DIY Wrapping Paper

I have a very specific vision when it comes to color schemes, especially at Christmas. My tree is a mix of Magenta, Silver, White/Pearl, with a dash of black velvet and rhinestones. We recently moved into a new home in April and as the holidays came closer I realized that my living room had to be re-painted in order to accommodate my Christmas decor (True Story) Bye Bye burgundy, hello magenta!
I have come to find out in lieu of using only silver paper which is easy to find I have a hard time acquiring corresponding wrapping paper. The prints and tones that are cohesive seem to be difficult to find and when I do they are so expensive. So I took on the task of creating said wrapping paper on my own.

I also love to include my kids in as much as I can when it comes to creating. Life is so busy and moves so fast that each moment I get to spend with them is really my ultimate goal (and subsequent reward).  My five year old daughter Kaleigh was thrilled to be my paper princess and help me paint our custom wrapping paper.
It took only a few hours and it was a lot of fun.

What You Need:
*Rolls of brown packing paper (buy from the dollar store as it seems to be a little thinner than the 3M brand and easier for wrapping). (Cost $2)

*Acrylic paints in a variety of shades and tones that are cohesive with your color pallette. I used metallic pink, pearl, matte purple, magenta, metallic silver acrylic paint and spray paint. Also brushes (I had on hand) and a small craft roller (Approx Cost: $10)

*Creativity

How We Made It: 
We decided on 4 designs/prints (3 pictured below). 
We painted and left the paper outside to dry. Acrylics are fast drying, especially outside.  
Once dry you can start wrapping. I got ribbon and tulle to use for bows and I printed off black and white photographs to use in place of traditional "tags".  I placed the image of the person who belonged to the gift on the front and in some cases signed who is was from. If I had an image of the two people together (from/to) I included that photo.
These are the first 3 gifts I wrapped with my custom paper. I have a lot of paper to come from the two large rolls we painted. I want to ensure that everyone in the family receives a custom wrapped gift Christmas Day! It is a great conversation piece and your gift recipients will be delighted with the thought and effort you put into their gifts AND how you WRAPPED IT UP!
How do you WRAP IT UP?  

Share your traditions and/or ideas in the comments below!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Family In Wonderland: Christmas Card Edition

Recently I spent an afternoon in Wonderland. A Wonderland of my own creation for no reason other than to get the perfect shot for my holiday Christmas Card.  I wanted a card that represented my family, a little mad, unique and a full cast of characters that fate has bonded together. I enlisted the help of my fabulous make-up artist, Hanna Fisher of HannaF Makeup Design,
 Photographer extraordinaire Tamara Wickstrom (BreezyBlue Studios) and my two BFF style partners in crime, Jensine and Sydney. They were 'on set' to help wrangle kids,assist with prop set up and champagne consumption. They were instrumental in having the shoot go off perfectly! Thanks girls! xo


The concept was MY version  of "Alice in Wonderland". I shared both versions/films with my children and envisioned something in between. I sourced and styled all the costumes, chose concepts for makeup with Hanna's professional input and acquired all the little details for the set that brought the shoot together.

My Family Cast:
Myself : The Queen of Hearts
Husband -David: The Mad Hatter
Son -Blake: March Hare
Daughter -Kaleigh: Alice
Step-Daughter -Danica: The White Rabbit
Step-Son -Dylan: The Cheshire Cat
THE QUEEN OF HEARTS




THE MAD HATTER




ALICE



 THE WHITE RABBIT



THE MARCH HARE


THE CHESHIRE CAT



~~ The Tea Party ~~

~~The Rabbit Hole ~~

~~The Picnic~~

I had a REALLY hard time choosing the image for our Christmas Card. But with a great background and some metallic paper I made it happen. They have been mailed so stay tuned. I have all ready starting planning next years!

Did you have a Christmas Card Theme? Did your family have fun?
SHARE in the comments below!