Merry Christmas and Joy to The World

Merry Christmas to you all!

I hope that today is filled with… family, friends, good food, and thankful hearts.

May you remember the true reason for this wonderful season, the ultimate gift, our Lord Jesus come to earth… God with us. And most importantly… may your heart receive His precious gift of life personally!

I thought I would share one of my favorite Christmas carols with you today, as it means so much to me personally.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart, prepare Him room…

Joy to The World

Christmas Cupcakes – Decorated Christmas Art That You Can Eat

Snow couple cupcakes

Our family loves traditions! There are many things that we love to do every year, simply because we’ve always enjoyed doing them together. And yet, there are those few things that bring us enjoyment just because we like the surprise of not knowing what to expect… like our Christmas goodies!

Some years we will make sheets & sheets of different kinds of cookies (truth be told… my husband loves to do alot of this!), and some years we will simply make a special dessert.

I thought I would share a “sweet” idea that you may not have thought of for your Christmas gatherings… cupcakes!

This year, at my son’s graduation party, we decided it would be easier to have individual cupcakes – instead of one big cake that had to be cut & served. We were amazed at how well the cupcakes were received! As a matter of fact, by the time everything was said & done, there wasen’t one left!

Then, this fall we went to a friend’s wedding, where the mother of the bride made a beautiful multi-tiered cupcake tower. Not only did the cupcakes taste wonderful, but they were still being talked about weeks after the reception!

I must say… cupcakes are not your everyday – run of the mill little pieces of cake these days 😉 Instead, they are being looked at as very chic little pieces of art… that are also delicious to eat!

I wanted to spark your creative thinking, and thought these beautiful little cupcakes would give you some great ideas to start with.

Please click on each individual cupcake to learn more about it & it’s baker! Now these are my kind of artists 😉

Check out these next 5 beautiful cupcakes from Bakerella
The fist picture is also from her collection.

cupcakes

blue and white christmas cupcakes

santa cupcake

gift cupcake

small cup cake

The simple design and pale colors make these very chic!

angel cupcake

I love these Christmas tree cupcakes. The baker made the tops by baking the mix in waffle cones.

christmas tree cupcakes

You can make beautiful “jackets” for your cupcakes using pretty paper, or paper lace.

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snowman cupcakes

And finally… who says Christmas art should only be shared on gingerbread? 🙂

art cupcake


  • Here are some wonderful cupcake recipes from Martha’s website.
  • If you want to know more about how to actually make cupcakes, here is a great how-to website.

  • We Have a Winner

    Today we received the news that MicasaStyle.com has chosen the winner of the “Decorated Room” contest, that we were hosting for them on our blog.

    Christmas in the living room


    Drum roll please……..

    The winner is – Mary Carroll, from Little Red House

    Here is the link to her room on MicasaStyle.com – take a second & go take a peek. She has done a wonderful job getting her room ready for Christmas!

    Thank you to all who participated, and thank you to MicasaStyle.com for asking us to share it with our readers.

    And Mary…. enjoy spending the extra $100 for the holidays!

    Christmas Trees, Decorations, Ornaments, and Other How-to Articles

    My family & I are getting ready to go on our annual Christmas date, where we hunt for the perfect tree, stop by the animal barn, rest by the fireplace with some hot coco, then go out to dinner together. I can’t wait to share pictures of that day with you, but until then, here are some pictures & how to articles that I’ve written from the recent past. I hope you enjoy & have a blessed day!

    Christmas in my Living Room

    Our Christmas Pictures From Last Year


    Applesauce and Cinnamon Decorations

    How to Make Cinnamon & Applsauce Ornaments
    This is a wonderful project that you can do for pennies!


    Christmas Garland in My Kitchen Window

    How to Create a Window Display in 15 Minutes or Less


    Vintage Holidays

    Christmas Tips and Ideas for Your Holiday


    Christmas in The Parlor

    Christmas Tree Tips
    Finding & caring for the perfect tree

    Don’t Forget to Enter Our $100 Giveaway!

    I just wanted to remind everyone to take a second to enter the $100 that we are hosting with MicasaStyle.com! The only ones who have a chance to win, are those who participate from our blog… so you have a great chance to get an extra $100 shopping spree from one of these great stores:


    – Pottery Barn
    – Target
    – Crate & Barrel
    – JC Penney
    – Sears
    – Home Depot

    It’s so simple to enter!

    All you have to do is…

    #1 – Go to www.micasastyle.com and click “Add a Space”
    (They have a tagging feature so remember to tag a few things in your room to share with others!)

    #2 – Add the pictures of your room (Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas)

    #3 – Come back & leave a comment at our contest page: http://astorybooklife.com/home-garden-pictures/shopping-spree/ – & leave a comment with the url (web address) or name of your room/username. This is how we will know you are participating in the contest.

    For example: My country cottage living room was featured recently. The room name that I gave it was: French Country Cottage Living Room, and my user name is aStorybookLife

    #4 – You may enter as many times as you want, as long as each entry is a different space. Just follow steps 1-3 for each one.

    #5 – The pictures don’t have to be new – they can be ones that you’ve already taken (as was mine). So think of last year’s fall or Christmas for example.

    On December 17th we will name the winner, so try to have your pictures in by the 16th.

    Please tell your friends & family about the event, so they will have a chance to win, and so that we can enjoy their decorating talents 🙂

    We are all looking forward to seeing your space!

    Pearl

    May Your Thanksgiving Be Blessed

    Thanksgiving

    Never forget…

    Thankfulness is something that we must “cultivate” in our hearts & homes, because we can only reap what we have actually sown! I don’t know about you, but I want to have an attitude of Thankfulness in my children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and those that will come long after I’m gone. It’s never to late to start… and today is the perfect time 🙂

    May your table be…

    – filled with the wonderful bounty of the harvest
    – overflowing with thoughts of thankfulness
    – and encircled with many friends & family!

    “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”
    1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

    May your harvest table be filled with family & friends making memories that will last forever!

    To all of my friends… Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!