Here’s links to the past ‘Best Of’ Stagetecture years:

Best of 2015 – No 5 – How to Make Cork Wreaths 

How to Make A Cork Christmas Wreath

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Creative Cork Christmas Crafts

It is worth recycling corks all year just to get to enjoy their versatility as a building material in December. Using wine corks as creative outlets, you children will grow with a healthy idea on how to recycle and reuse objects around them. Valuable not only as a fun material, but as a set of building blocks – I have seen amazing bathroom mats made from cork – cork has also inspired designers to use it for building modern furniture, like the Pushpin by Kenyon Yeh.

Miniature Cork Christmas Trees

Cork Christmas trees are a joy to look at – their simplicity adorns any corner of the house and choosing differently colored corks (or paint them yourself), the mini Christmas trees will look like adorned with Christmas tree globes. A small branch at the base will give your miniature trees that earthy edge and the perfect excuse to go look for the branch in the nearest park or forest. Scavenger hunts with your children will be greatly appreciated before the start of the holiday season.

Cork Christmas Wreath for a Welcoming Home

Instead of buying more and more decorations that follow each year’s Christmas trend, mind as well create our own Christmas decorations. This activity saves money, encourages creativity and co-work, not to mention it’s an eco-friendly way of decorating the home this holiday. Cork Christmas decorations can be enjoyed especially by children – this is how they learn that our endangered planet is theirs to save for their own children.

Miniature Reindeer in Herds

A small wine cork reindeer herd can decorate your mantel, the stairs or a strategically placed side table. Cork craft is easy and fun and can successfully be the original elements you change each year for the holidays. These wine cork ornaments can be displayed alongside treasured inherited ornaments – they are be as artistic as you are.

Corks and family

Around Christmas, the home becomes a playground for the whole family, regardless of age. Wine cork Christmas crafts can be introduced as part of a special social time among family members. Use recycled corks to write a welcoming message in tone with the holidays. “Merry Christmas” sounds like a good start. Each letter will be worth the patience and you will definitely want to teach someone how to work their way around cork lettering after you’ve done this project. The impermeable letters can be used to decorate the outdoors, too – imagine a special message for the whole neighborhood to see.

A small army of wine cork snowmen

Chances are your kids will fall in love with this easy to make Christmas project. Painted corks can become a small snowmen army – use your imagination and stuff you have around the house to compose your own snowman design and multiply it in assorted details.  This will keep you entertained and spark up a conversation with every visit. Have fun and enjoy the holidays!

How to Create the Top 5 Christmas Desserts

Image: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Today, let’s kickoff our holiday DIY Saturday’s with dessert… hey why save the best for last? Do it first! I found Southern Living’s – Top 5 Christmas Desserts. Watch a You Tube video on the top 5, and then get the recipes below them. Many of these desserts you can make now, freeze, and have ready for Christmas entertaining, enjoy, and happy baking!

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You Tube – Top 5 Christmas Desserts from Southern Living

1. Rudolph’s Christmas Sugar Cookies

Recruit your children or grandchildren to help you decorate these festive reindeer cookies. Break pretzels into antler shapes and add chocolate chips for eyes and a red cinnamon candy as a nose.

Start with refrigerated sugar cookie dough to make these adorable reindeer cookies. Kids can help place Rudolph’s eyes, mouth, and antlers.

Ingredients:

1 (16.5-oz.) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
36 pretzel twists
36 semisweet chocolate mini morsels# 18 red cinnamon candies

Preparation:

1. Freeze dough 15 minutes.
2. Roll dough to a 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut dough with a 3-inch round cutter, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Using thumb and forefinger, pinch opposite sides of each slice about two-thirds of the way down to shape face.
3. Break curved sides away from center of each pretzel twist to form antlers. Press bottom of 1 set of antlers on each side at top of each reindeer face.
4. Bake at 350° according to package directions or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; press in 2 chocolate mini morsels for eyes and 1 red cinnamon candy for nose. Let cool 1 minute on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool 20 minutes or until completely cool.
5. Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies: Omit pretzels, chocolate mini morsels, and cinnamon candies. Freeze dough 15 minutes. Roll dough to a 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface, and cut with a 3-inch Christmas tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° according to package directions or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, and cool as directed. Frost tops of cookies with ready-to-spread vanilla frosting, and sprinkle with red and green colored sugars and sprinkles.

2. Pecan Squares

Use salted butter and bring the filling to a rolling boil before pouring it over the crust.

If you like the taste of pecan pie, you’ll love this easy alternative. Serve the squares with vanilla ice cream for an over-the-top dessert.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup butter

3 tablespoons whipping cream
3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Preparation:

1. Sift together 2 cups flour and 2/3 cup powdered sugar. Cut in 3/4 cup softened butter using a pastry blender or fork just until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool.
3. Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in pecans, and pour hot filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool completely before cutting into 2-inch squares.

3. Caramel Cream Cake

Enjoy tender coconut-pecan cake layers filled with caramel pastry cream. The top and sides of the cake are spread with cream cheese frosting and sprinkled with toasted coconut and pecans for an impressive (but super-easy) finish.

Ingredients:

1 cup finely chopped sweetened flaked coconut
1 recipe Pecan Pie Cake Batter
1 recipe Pecan Pie Filling
1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting
1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Garnishes: raspberries, fresh mint sprig

Preparation:

1. Stir 1 cup finely chopped coconut into Pecan Pie Cake Batter; spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cake pans.
2. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
3. Spread Pecan Pie Filling between layers. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting on top and sides of cake. Sprinkle top and sides with toasted pecans and toasted coconut. Garnish, if desired.

4. Chocolate-Mint Cake

This rich holiday cake is a show-stopper that will become a family holiday classic recipe.

Don’t be tempted to substitute peppermint extract for the peppermint oil used in this recipe. Peppermint oil, available from cake-supply stores, has an intense, highly concentrated flavor like that found in chocolate-covered peppermint patties.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Velvet Cake Batter
1/2 recipe Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil
Chocolate Ganache

Preparation:

1. Spoon batter evenly into 2 greased and floured 10-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.
2. Stir together Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and peppermint oil until well blended. Spread frosting mixture evenly between cake layers. Spread Chocolate Ganache evenly over top and sides of cake.

5. Chocolate-Citrus Cake with Candied Oranges

A rich whipped chocolate ganache filling is the happy surprise when you slice into this decadent chocolate layer cake. Frost with a 7-Minute Frosting and decorate with festive candied orange slices, citrus leaves and cranberries.

Ingredients:

Parchment paper
2 (4-oz.) bittersweet chocolate baking bars, chopped
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot brewed coffee

Whipped Ganache Filling
Seven-Minute Frosting
Candied Oranges

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 2 (9-inch) round pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease parchment paper.
2. Melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until smooth, stirring at 30-second intervals.
3. Beat butter and sugars at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.
4. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add to chocolate mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. (Mixture will be thick.)
5. Stir vanilla into hot coffee. Gradually add coffee mixture to batter in a slow, steady stream, beating at low speed just until blended. Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake at 350° for 38 to 42 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire rack, and let cool completely (about 1 hour).
7. Spread Whipped Ganache Filling between layers, spreading to edges of cake and leveling with an offset spatula. Gently press top cake layer down, pressing out a small amount of Ganache Filling from between layers, and spread filling around sides of cake, filling in any gaps between layers. Spread Seven-Minute Frosting over top and sides of cake. Swirl frosting using back of a spoon, if desired. Top with Candied Oranges. Garnish, if desired.

Whichever Christmas desserts you plan on making this season, enjoy the time making, baking, giving and eating! Happy Holiday baking to you and your family!

For more holiday ideas on Stagetecture, click here.