Holiday | 8th Continent Soy Milk Blog

How to Transform your Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Article by: Sara Lopez

I buy fake trees.

There, I admitted it.

There are several reasons: there is no pine needle cleanup party after disposing of the tree, I’m pretty sure my dog may attack the tree, etc. etc. But the main reason is because my older brother is allergic to real pine trees and if I had one in my front room, not only would he not be able to come over for Christmas, but neither would my adorable 2 year old niece and my sister-in-law. And that just won’t do!

I bought a little white, pre-lit, 5 ft. tall Christmas tree. Now I knew exactly how it was going to look out of the box… not that impressive. But I also knew I could work with it and transform it into something beautiful and stunning! So here are my tips on how to transform your small little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree into a fabulous and luscious tree that won’t cause allergic reactions!

Poor Thing…

First thing is first, get that tree out of the box and start fluffing those branches! Run your hands against the grain of the tree limbs and let the pines come back to life. Try to keep the limbs evenly spaced out.

Once you have fluffed enough, take some artificial flowers and arrangements and start sliding those into places that seem to need more girth.

Already looking a little better

I used all silver flower arrangements to contrast and compliment the white of the tree. After you have poked your flower arrangements into the middle pole of the tree, you can then string your garland.My garland is made of some adorable little silver and blue bells. After I strung my garland, I started to get out the ornaments!

My mother taught me a tip growing up that you hang the smaller ornaments at the top area and your larger ornaments at the bottom to create an effect of the tree looking much larger at the base.

Once you have hung your larger ornaments, you can now hang the smaller ornaments throughout or wherever you see needs a little extra something something.This is also the time when if you have long dangly ornaments you can place those. I typically also keep snowflakes or something else lightweight for a final decoration touch to add to any gaps that may not have yet been filled.

Now plug it in and enjoy!

Next we will make a topper for the tree! Keep an eye out for that upcoming craft!

Do you have any Holiday traditions you do every year? Let us know about it on Twitter and on Facebook!

Also check out our other Holiday Inspired Crafts:

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Create Something Saturday- DIY Bath Salt Ornaments

With the holiday coming up everyone is stressing out about gifts, shopping family get-togethers and everything that comes along with this time of year. How about you make a gift to give that is not only gorgeous, but can also sooth the soul.

These DIY Bath Salt ornaments are simple to make, look beautiful on a tree, and once the holiday is over, you just take the tops off and sprinkle the contents into a bath, sit back, and finally get a chance to relax.

Supplies:

Epsom Salt
Sea Salt
Glycerin
Soap Colors
Fragrance Oils
Clear Glass Ornaments with removable tops
Ribbon

Directions:

Combine the following ingredients into a bowl and mix together

1 cup of Sea Salt
1 cup of Epsom Salt
3 drops of Glycerin
3 or 4 drops of colorant
3 or 4 drops of Scented Oils

Once everything is mixed together take a funnel and pour some of the finished Bath Salts into one of the glass containers to about half way.

Put your top back on the ornament and decorate with ribbons and a card.

You can gift these as individual ornaments or as a set in a basket! It’s a perfect gift to relax after the hustle and bustle of the holidays.

Are you making your own gifts? Tell us about them on Facebook and on Twitter!

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Planning Gifts on a Budget

Article by: Megan Stremick

Tis the season for giving gifts which means those of us on a budget are starting to sweat as we make our lists of everyone we need to shop for; friends and family, co-workers and neighbors, the list seems to grow longer every year. But last year I decided to change up the traditional gift giving for everyone and relieve the stress on my wallet. My ideas worked so well I thought I would share them with all of you.

Mine is a large family when you account for my husband, his parents, his sister then my four siblings, their spouses and all of their children (9 collectively at this point) and my parents. I’m exhausted just thinking of the idea of finding the perfect present for all of them. So last year we came to a decision together to do Secret Santas. My sister-in-law found a perfect website, www.elfster.com , where once you’ve entered everyone’s name it randomly selects your Secret Santa for you and sends the selection to you in an e-mail. You can anonymously send your wish list as well—taking the stress out of gift ideas for everyone. Then we took this same concept and applied it to the kids so that each adult was a Secret Santa for a niece or nephew. This was perfect—two special gifts instead of 15 less meaningful gifts. For my parents and my in-laws, an up-to-date picture of our son in a nice frame is always well received. Last year we got my dad a wine club membership for a year. Split between all of the siblings it was a inexpensive and a gift that kept on giving all year long.

Last year my friends and I decided to start a new tradition to do a holiday pot luck and each person brings a wrapped gift that cost no more than $20 and we play the white elephant game—you can find directions to the game here.

For younger kids think about refurbishing hand-me-down toys from friends and family. Think about your friends and family that have kids that are older than yours and ask if they are getting rid of some of the toys that their kids don’t play with anymore. Choose the toys that are in the best shape and clean them up and wrap them up. If you start this when you’re kids are young enough you will be able to train them that ‘new’ toys don’t always come in cardboard and plastic packaging. This is also a great way to go ‘green’ for the holidays—less consumption and less waste.

Another diamond in the rough of the internet is www.restaurants.com and I am in-love with this new find. This website offers gift certificates for participating restaurants and you pay up to 70% less than what the gift certificate is worth. For example you can buy a gift certificate worth $100 for your sisters favorite restaurant but you only pay $40 for it! You print it right you’re your computer.

If you have any great ideas for giving gifts on a budget please share them with us on Twitter or Facebook. I know I’m always looking to give the perfect gift for a perfect price.

Family Megan Stremick

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Create Something Saturday- Pumpkin Photo Holder

Family is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Thanksgiving. Everyone gets together to ooh and aah over all of the delicious creations coming out of the kitchen. Parents are in the front room watching football, kids are chasing the dog around the house, and moms are setting up the table and putting the finishing touches on the pumpkin pie. And when the family comes together, they look around and remember: this holiday is all about coming together.

Here is a cute craft that is easy to make with kids. It makes a perfect centerpiece for any Thanksgiving table!

Supplies:

Foam Pumpkin (these are on clearance right now at any craft supply store)
Green pipe cleaners
Foam letters with adhesive backs
Pictures of your family

Directions:

Decide what you want your pumpkin to say and pick out the letters.
Apply the adhesive letters to the front of the pumpkin.
Take the pipe cleaners and wrap around your finger.
Stick one end of the pipe cleaner into the stem piece of the foam pumpkin.
Take your favorite family pictures and allow the pipe cleaner’s curls to pinch them into place.

Now you can enjoy your Thanksgiving meal with an adorable Pumpkin as a centerpiece!

Need more recipes and tips for Thanksgiving dishes, crafts and meals?

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Having a Safe and Fun Halloween!

Halloween is known as a holiday for having fun, getting candy, dressing up and spending time with friends and family. Whether you are going out trick-or-treating with the kids or staying at home and passing out candy to all of the cute dressed up witches and super heroes on your front porch, there are some things you should keep in mind to have a safe holiday.

Younger kids should always have an adult escort. But keep in mind that they don’t want to be haunted by a boring parent. Take this opportunity to tap into the fun of your youth! You can wear a costume too! Maybe even match the theme of the children you are escorting.

More mature trick-or-treaters can go without supervision, but make sure you and your independent snack seekers have set up a route and boundaries of where they can go. It should be an area everyone is familiar with, and make sure to set a curfew.

Make sure your trick-or-treaters wait to dive into their candy loot until they’ve come back and you’ve had a chance to look through it to make sure no candy has been tampered with. A way to help encourage this is giving them a few pieces before they go out so they aren’t as tempted.

After your little ones are all dressed up, but before they hit the road, make sure their costumes are safe. Make sure they can see out of their masks and they won’t be tripping on any ghoulish draping. Equip them with glow sticks so when they are out and about they aren’t invisible and other children, cars and adults can see where they are.

If you’re staying at home and passing out candy, make sure your spooky decorations are easy to see and are out of the way so trick-or-treaters don’t trip on them. If you have carved jack-o-lanterns, try to use the electric faux tea lights instead of real fire for safety.

Teach your ghouls and goblins to only accept candy from people outside of their houses. Do not go into an unfamiliar house. Another way to ensure this is to give your child a cell phone to keep on them during trick-or-treating so that if there are any “awesome looking haunted houses!!!!” they can call and ask permission before acting and that way you can also call and check in on them… or just tell them you are asking to see how much candy they’re scoring.

Before your children set out, ask them “what if” questions. Make up scenarios that they wouldn’t typically encounter every day, but would sometimes on Halloween. “What if someone invites you to come in and try their Halloween punch? Or watch a creepy movie?”

Halloween can be fun and spooky without being scary! Follow these safety tips and make sure to have a safe and happy Halloween!

Have any great trick-or-treating tips or stories to share with us? Let us know on Facebook or on Twitter! And Happy Halloween from the 8^th Continent Soymilk family to yours.

Family

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Vampire Bitten Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

What are two of the best things ever?!? If you said dressing up in costumes and cupcakes then you win! Every year I try to make something delicious with a Halloween theme to take to my annual family Halloween party. This year, I figured I would make a vegan treat. And just to try it out, I handed some of these devilishly delicious cupcakes to my neighbor and didn’t tell them they were vegan until afterwards.

“Vegan?!? No way! But… they are good.”

That’s the best compliment you can get after preparing a vegan dish.

This week’s Create Something Saturday is a recipe instead of a craft. I had seen this idea and adjusted the recipes to make it vegan. I present to you: Vampire Bitten Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups Vanilla 8^th Continent Soymilk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 ounces red food coloring (make sure it is vegan red food coloring, not all coloring is created equal.)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Add vinegar to soymilk, and set aside to curdle.
Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Add vegetable oil, food coloring, and vanilla extract to the curdled soy milk, and mix.
Pour liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix.
Fill cupcake liners ¾ full.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes or until done.

Frosting

Ingredients:

½ cup margarine, room temperature
½ cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:

Cream margarine, cream cheese, and vanilla extract.
Slowly mix the confectioner’s sugar into the creamed sugar, and then beat until smooth and fluffy.
Frost cooled cupcakes.

Ideally, always decorate your cakes with ingredients that complement their flavor. These cream-cheese frosted red velvet cupcakes are topped with “blood” made from pulped black cherries and dotted with pomegranate seeds or redcurrants.

Cherry sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup black cherries, very ripe and de-stoned or canned
1⁄4 cup superfine sugar
1⁄2 cup water or juice from the canned cherries, if using
1⁄2 teaspoon lime juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch (cornflour) or arrowroot

Directions:

Blend the cherries in a bowl using an electric hand blender
Place in a medium-sized heavy-based pan with the sugar, water, lime juice, and cornstarch or arrowroot.
Heat on medium until the cherries begin to release their liquid, and then slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Reduce to a simmer and heat until the cherry mixture has thickened to the desired consistency (runny enough to pipe but thick enough to prevent bleeding into the frosting).
Allow to cool.

Now bite into your Vampire Bitten Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes and enjoy!

What is your favorite recipe for Halloween? Let us know on our Twitter or Facebook!

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Halloween Decorations

Article by: Megan Stremick

I enjoy Halloween as much as the next person with the dressing up and the trick-or-treating, but I’m not one to decorate the house with fake cob webs, rubber bats and orange lights. I’ve grown up with a mom that decorates for every holiday and Halloween is no exception. She pulls out all the stops with the jack-o-lanterns and the witches on their broomsticks and bowls the size of bath tubs filled with candy. I think it’s because I know the effort that it takes to do what she does and I just can’t seem to make the time. I don’t want to be know around the neighborhood as the home owner that leaves the lights off and doesn’t leave any candy out but if there was a phrase like “bah hum bug” that could be used for Halloween I’m sure I would hear it.

But this year is going to be different. This is the first year we will be taking Charlie (my 16 month old son) trick-or-treating so I feel a responsibility to be a good neighbor and not only hand out candy but get into the spirit with a few decorations for the front porch. I was inspired by Sara’s Create Something Saturdays post for Glowing Halloween Jars—sooo cute and super simple. I had my 5 and 6 year old nieces help me which really got me in the spirit of things. Next up…a jack-o-lantern carved out of a real pumpkin (truthfully that’s only because I love making baked pumpkin seeds).

Any other ideas for simple and scary Halloween decorations? Let me know on Facebook or Twitter!

Crafts Megan Stremick

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Celebrate St. Patty’s Day! Safely!

Today is St. Patty’s Day! Now I know you are busy munching on your Vegan Irish Chocolate Cupcakes and Colcannon Potatoes and Cabbage, but take a moment and read over the following tips on how to keep you (and your family) safe on this awesome green holiday!

Avoid places that are known for rowdy and/or young crowds and heavy partying. Opt for a more mellow pub or restaurant to celebrate with your friends and neighbors.
Designate a driver if you decide you’re going to drink.
Roads can become more filled with drunk drivers after midnight when bars start closing, so set a safe curfew for yourself and if possible head home sooner than later. If you find yourself on the road late at night please pay extra attention and utilize your defensive driving skills.
If you feel tired or under the influence, call a friend or a cab. You can also plan ahead to take public transportation!
To avoid those awful hangovers and any regrets, opt out of those all day pub crawls and instead find safer and more natural ways to celebrate Ireland, such as checking out any neighborhood festivals, watching an Irish band play, baking cupcakes, or watching Irish-inspired movies with friends.

It is easy to stay safe on this holiday as long as you play it smart!

That being said- have a great St. Patty’s day from all of us here at 8^th Continent Soymilk! Next up- the L.A. Marathon!

Family

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