December 18, 2011

One of the things I made for the Charity Bake Sale for In-Sync Exotics was a set of glittered paper mache gift boxes.  After they were finished, I filled them with paper shred and loaded them up with cookies.

They look like they’re covered in sugar or snow, don’t they?  There is still time for you to make them for Christmas, so let me show you how easy they are to do.

First, make a quick trip to the craft store for the paper mache boxes.  Mine happened to have the ribbon design as part of the paper mache, but if you can’t find this style, a plain box would work fine too.  I found 3 sizes of this same style.  The largest one was a bit bigger than I wanted so I got the smaller 2.

You will also need craft paint in white and colors, white craft glue, glitter and ribbon.  You probably already have those items laying around from other projects.

The first step is to remove any price tags or other labels that might be on your box.  Mine also had a hideous cardboard bow on the top that I pulled off.  Once you have a smooth surface to work with, cover the entire box and lid – inside and outside – in a base coat of white paint.  You don’t want that cardboard brown color showing through your sparkly glitter.

I added a second coat of white to the inside of the box and lid, and the bottom of the box since those areas wouldn’t get glittered, and I wanted them to look nice and not streaky.  Let the paint dry completely.

Next, I painted the ribbon design with one coat of a contrasting color paint. I chose silver, red and green since I was doing Christmas boxes, but you could do any color.  These don’t have to be just for Christmas, but you might have an easier time of finding the boxes at Christmastime. Let the contrasting paint dry.

Here comes the fun part!  Working with just one side of the box at a time, add an even layer of craft glue with a foam brush, and then heavily sprinkle/pour on the glitter and gently tap off the excess. Work your way around the box, being careful not to damage any wet freshly-glittered areas as you go.  Do the same with the lid. Allow the glue to dry overnight or until it is completely dry.  Don’t worry if a little glitter falls off as you touch the boxes; that’s normal.

When your boxes are absolutely dry, you can add a pre-made bow or ornament to the top, or make your own bows as I did.  I also used a dollar store snowflake ornament on a couple of mine for fun.

I went to a bow-making class at Container Store a few years ago, but I needed a refresher.  I found their Gorgeous Gift Presentation pdf on their web site, and it includes bow-making instructions with photos.

You just start with wired ribbon and follow the directions for the type of bow you like.  I’m not a pro, but it’s a pretty fun little holiday exercise.  When you’re satisfied with your bow, hot glue it to the top of the box and you’re done!  Voila and ta da!

Fill your boxes up with baked goodies as I did, or with any other gift.  Your recipient will love it and think you’re uber crafty!

~BigSis

December 4, 2011

Our bake sale for In-Sync Exotics is only a week away, so our ovens are in turbo mode and there’s lots to do!  Here’s a quick update:

• These glittery cookie boxes are finished and waiting to be filled with goodies.  I’ll give you a quick little how-to on making them as soon as I can get the chocolate and sugar off my hands.

• Remember these painted cross magnets I made around Easter? They make great Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, so I’m getting them dressed up in Christmasy boxes for the sale.

• SisMama has already baked oodles of pound cakes in vanilla, chocolate, lemon and brown sugar/caramel flavors. Go, SisMama!

• K & L have baked breads in apple cinnamon, spice, cranberry and blueberry flavors.  They’re also working on doggie treats and bunches of cookies this weekend.

• I have pumpkin walnut and banana chocolate chip gluten-free breads done, plus 3 varieties of biscotti (gingerbread, chocolate/chocolate chip and dried cherry orange), and 3 kinds of brownies so far.

• We have some nibbles on matching our sales, and continue to market the event as well as more baking this week.

• CityVet is graciously sponsoring our event for the second year in a row.  They have donated items for the sale, and are considering doing more for this worthy charity.  A huge thanks to CityVet for their support!

That’s it for now, I have cookies to check on!  Stay tuned for more!

~BigSis

November 20, 2011

How often do you shop online and find great selection, speedy shipping and excellent value?  Not often enough, if you ask me!  I have a site to tell you about that has all three of those boxes checked, and what’s even better; they’ll help you get ready for Christmas!

Thanks to Anna’s recommendation on CookieMadness, I found out about PaperMart a few years back and have been using them ever since.  PaperMart  says they are the largest and most complete packaging store, and I’m here to tell you their claim is justified.

What can you find at PaperMart?  What can’t you find might be a better question!  Here are a few of the items we ordered this year for our Charity Bake Sale for Animals (benefiting In-Sync Exotics, by the way).

Paw Print Organza Bags (5″ x 7″ $0.60 each)

Paw Print Wire Handle Boxes (4″ x 3.5″ $0.88 each)

Candy Cane Satin Ribbon (5/8″ 25 yds $3.94 per roll)

We got the red/pink variety and the red/green one.  Both are gorgeous! These ribbons have the design woven into them, not just printed on like you’ll find with cheap ribbon.

Narrow Christmas Satin Printed Ribbon (5/8″ 25 yds $5.96 roll)

We got the pink Christmas print and the white Christmas ornament prints, and loved both of them.

We loaded up on red and green solid color 5/8″ ribbon too, which was a steal at 100 yds for $3.52.  We were completely impressed by the high quality of all these ribbons.  They are shiny on one side, and matte on the back, but you can upgrade to a variety that is shiny on both sides if you’re even more obsessive than we are and don’t mind paying a bit more.

We also buy the hard-to-find cello bags that we use for breads and cakes at PaperMart.  I daresay that PaperMart carries pretty much anything and everything you might need for packaging gifts and food this Christmas and year-round.  Check them out and let us know how your shopping experience goes!

~BigSis

November 6, 2011

It’s official, we’ve chosen our charity for this year’s Bake Sale. Drumroll please…it’s In-Sync Exotics in Wylie, Texas!

In-Sync Exotics may be new to many folks.  It was to me and my fellow bakers until a year or so ago.  In-Sync is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the rescue of unwanted, neglected and abused felines.

And by “felines” we aren’t talking about little housecats. We mean BIG cats; much much bigger than my 16 pound Gaby whom LilSis calls the fat cat with the little head.

In-Sync was founded in 2000 and is currently home to 59 tigers, lions, leopards, bobcats, cougars, cheetahs, lynx, servals and one honorary cat named Nugget who is a Coatimundi.

This is the fifth year for our Charity Bake Sale, which has been held to benefit the SPCA of Texas for the last three years.  We decided to select a smaller charity this year – a bit below the radar – who might benefit from our little fundraiser and the attention it could bring to a group in need.  We still support the SPCA of Texas personally, and continue to appreciate the crucial work they do every day in North Texas.

Back to In-Sync now.  I had the chance to visit their big kitties last weekend, along with a couple of my fellow bakers.  We spent a few hours enjoying the annual Pumpkin Bash, where the cats all get a pumpkin to play with/eat/destroy/ignore.  We absolutely fell in love with the cats and the place, and the work that’s being done here.

In a perfect world, these cats would be running free in their native habitat but this world isn’t perfect.  Not even close.  These guys have suffered at the hands of humans, and needed a safe place to recover from the physical and emotional damage inflicted on them.

In-Sync is that safe place.  Big wild cats can’t be placed in furever homes like cats and dogs can, and they can’t be released into the wild.  Big cats need a place to live out the rest of their days, where they can receive medical care, a clean environment, nourishing food, enriching playtime, and love.

Since these cats will stay at In-Sync forever, and more cats continue to unfortunately come in, In-Sync’s need for funding will only grow as time goes on.  They are currently trying to raise $30,000 to build a home for the two cheetahs who recently joined them.

The four of us girls are going to bake our little hearts out to try to help in our small way.  Stay tuned for more details as we approach this year’s Bake Sale on December 12th.  Meanwhile enjoy a few photos of Jett the spotted leopard enjoying the Pumpkin Bash!

For the record, the final score was Jett 1, Pumpkin 0.  ^..^

Note: All photos were taken by BigSis and published with the permission of In-Sync Exotics.

~BigSis

September 16, 2011

Camouflage Cat

Camouflage:  I haz it!  You no can seez me!

~BigSis

September 15, 2011

Cerella the Cougar

You know we’re big cat fans at BigSisLilSis!  We talk about cats all the time.  But did you know we’re really BIG CAT fans?  ^..^

My favorite animal of all time is the mountain lion (also known as the cougar, puma, or panther), and I’ve been dying to take a little road trip to In-Sync Exotics to visit their mountain lions, tigers, lions, leopards, lynx, cheetahs, bobcats and servals.  In-Sync is a wildlife rescue and education center in Wylie, Texas which is only around 30 miles from North Dallas.  They’ve been around since 2000 and specialize in big cats.

I’m not a fan of zoos, circuses or any other organization that scoops animals out of their natural habitat to be used for our entertainment.  In-Sync isn’t one of those groups; quite the opposite actually.  They provide safe, caring homes for these big cats who need it for whatever reason.  It seems neglect and abuse are the common thread in many of these cats’ stories.  They will be loved and watched after for the rest of their days at In-Sync.

What that means is that In-Sync needs operating capital, and their needs for cash will only grow as they take on more and more of these big kitties.

Now for the good news!  Today only – September 15th, 2011 from 7am to 7 pm – is your opportunity to leverage a gift to In-Sync Exotics.  Your donation to In-Sync will be matched dollar for dollar via Donor Bridge.  Your $25 gift becomes $50, $50 becomes $100, $100 becomes $200.  You get the idea!!

Just do what I did.  Go to In-Sync Exotic’s Donor Bridge page and click on Donate Now.  You can also go to Donor Bridge and search for In-Sync Exotics.

If you have big love for big cats as we do, please don’t let this day pass without checking into this great opportunity before it gets away!

Moses the Bobcat

Note:  I saw on Donor Bridge that the company who processes credit cards for their charities charges a fee of 2.9% for the service. If you donate $50, your fee will amount to $1.45.  To me, that’s a small price to pay for an extra $50 for the charity.

Photo credits: In-Sync Exotics

~BigSis

September 11, 2011

It is inconceivable that ten years have passed since September 11, 2001.  9/11 is one of those landmark days etched into our souls; we remember where we were and how it felt when we heard the news that our country was under attack.

We can’t forget the days and weeks and months after that as the rescue efforts turned into long-term recovery of remains.  We heard eyewitness accounts, saw video, and learned the names and faces of people who perished that day.  We grieved for their families, for New Yorkers and for the death of our naive notion that no one would dare to attack us on our home soil.

We will never be the same.  And we shouldn’t be.

Evil reared its ugly head that day in New York, and at the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field.  Over 3000 people lost their lives and many thousands of other people were devastated by the loss of their loved ones.

In spite of the destruction and unbearable grief, evil did not win that day.  Ten years later, stories are still surfacing about people pulling together that day, working together, caring for each other, getting each other through unbelievable circumstances.

Today, the  “New York Says Thank You” Foundation chooses an important charity project every year.  New York firefighters and other volunteers devote themselves to pay back the help they’ve been given, and to try to heal a little bit.

Groups like Action America have arisen to turn the events of September 11th into positive action.  They ask “what will you do?” What will we do? How can we help our fellow man today?  How can we use our lives for good, and not just for selfish enjoyment? If we all did just one unselfish thing for someone else today, just imagine the impact it would have on our world.

The legacy of September 11th should not just be fear and sorrow, although we are absolutely entitled to those emotions after what has happened to us.  The lasting legacy can be that we care about each other a little bit more than we did before, and that we do something about it.

We can be upset and sad as we reflect on 9/11, but if we’re only upset and sad, then Evil has won.  We have to do something.  What will we do?

The pain inflicted by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 does not have to be suffered in vain.

May God bless our country, and continue to use for good what our Enemy meant for evil on this day ten years ago.

Photo credit: sizeofguam flickr stream

~BigSis

August 21, 2011

Our last full day of vacation was spent at Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island.  It’s a gorgeous Victorian hotel which was built in 1888.  It’s beautiful and full of old character and charm.

Oh, and one other little detail…it’s also said to be haunted.

In 1892, a young woman named Kate Morgan was found dead on the steps of the hotel, and her death was ruled a suicide.  In 1990, however, an author investigated the case and believes she was murdered by her husband, who then also murdered a hotel maid.

Legend has it that Kate roams the hotel; and there are numerous accounts of strange happenings that are credited to Kate’s unrest.  On one occasion, a woman’s face appeared on a television screen by several people…and the TV was turned off.

We all agreed the Hotel del Coronado was one of the most stunning properties we’ve ever seen, but at the same time it was slightly eerie.

Hay was so creeped out by the feeling he got in the hotel that he didn’t even eat anything when we stopped for a snack.  That’s pretty unusual for an 18 year old eating machine, don’t you think?

We love this property, but we definitely don’t want to spend a night in the third floor rooms where both Kate and the hotel maid spent their last day.  Here are some photos from the day trip.  We’ll talk later about what we found inside.

~BigSis

August 20, 2011

No words needed!

Next stop: Coronado Island!

~BigSis

August 14, 2011

This is what happens when you pack in too big of a hurry!  Think anyone will notice??

~BigSis