We had so much fun developing holiday recipe, thanks to Newfoundland Chocolate Company for giving us some of their amazing chocolate to use in this recipe! We truly love this local artisan chocolate factory that makes delicious chocolatey treats for all tastes!

This is such a quick gift to assemble. And when you bake this brownie mix, you get this super chewy double chocolate brownie that is so decadent!

Decadent Newfoundland Chocolate Brownie Mix in a Jar

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

Enjoy the holiday season with this original recipe that will allow you to create the perfect gift for your friends and family: a jar filled with all the chocolaty ingredients required to make fudgy brownies. These decadent double chocolate brownies that melt in your mouth will certainly please the crowds!

Author: Homemade Hearts and Fine Food Factory

Serves: 1 brownie mix

Ingredients

• 1 x 1 liter wide mouth Mason jar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup white sugar
• ½ cup Newfoundland Chocolate Company dark chocolate shavings or pebbles (or semi-sweet chocolate chips)
• ½ cup Newfoundland Chocolate Company white chocolate shavings (or white chocolate chips)
• ¾ cup pecans

Instructions

1. Using a large canning funnel, place all ingredients in the Mason jar in the order that they appear in the ingredient list above.
2. Place lid on jar.
3. Create an instruction label that includes the instruction in the Notes section below.
4. Attach label on jar with a ribbon. The jar is now ready to be gifted to friends and family!.

Notes

Text to include on the jar:
Decadent Newfoundland Chocolate Brownie Mix

To prepare brownies, you need the following ingredients:
• 1 jar Decadent Newfoundland Chocolate Brownie Mix
• ¾ cup butter
• 3 eggs
• 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
1. Preheat oven at 350oF.
2. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan or in microwave.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in eggs and vanilla extract.
5. Stir in contents of jar.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes.
7. Cool down and cut into 12 brownies.
8. Enjoy!

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When her mom asked me if I could come to Québec for her baby shower, I immediately booked my plane ticket and started thinking about a fun and crafty activity that would get all the guests involved in creating amazing and personalized gifts for her daughter. The first thing that came to my mind was an activity that involved painting since this is how we met. I read about painting personalized onesies and thought: Wow, this could be really fun! However, after thinking about the logistics of this activity, I realized that this could get pretty messy, no one would enjoy staining their gorgeous summer dresses with paint, and also, some people might get intimidated by the idea of painting a blank onesie! After doing a bit of research, I read this great article which explains how to make onesies with iron-on appliques. I thought the idea was brilliant and this might just be what I could organize for Marie! All the guests, no matter what their crafting skill level is, would be able to create a unique keepsake for the future baby.

Below, I go through the various steps and materials needed to create this fun and creative baby shower activity.

How to set up the best Onesie Decorating Station with Personnalized Iron-On Appliques:

1. Supplies – Here are the supplies that you will need:

– Onesies : Purchase enough onesies for all the guests, and a few more just in case! For Marie’s shower, I purchased about 20 onesies and we had just enough. You should get different sizes so the baby will always be able to wear different onesies as he/she grows. You can take white onesies, but for a more funky look, you can select various colours and small patterns (stripes, polka dots, etc). The onesies I got came in packs of 3 and each one was a different colour/pattern.

– Heat’n Bond Ultrahold Iron-On Adhesive: This is what you need to make the iron-on appliques. You can purchase this on Amazon and at most fabric stores or superstore. I got a 5 yard roll of this strong iron-on adhesive and that was more than enough to make 20 onesies.  A roll costs less than $20, which is a pretty good deal if you think that you can make hundreds of iron-on appliques with only 5 yards of adhesive! We only used about half of the roll for this shower.

– Fabric: You will need about 1/2 meter of 7-8 different types of fabric (preferably cotton). It is nice to have a few plain colours and a few fabrics with patterns. I have a huge bin of fabric that I keep for my food photography, so I found all the fabric in my bin, but you can also buy some at your local fabric store.

– Iron-On Appliques (optional): If you want, you can get a few store-bought appliques. I got a small bag of animal iron-on appliques to add variety to the fabric appliques. You can see them on the pictures, the monkey, lion, owl, elephant, etc. They are super cute and everyone loved them!  This is optional, you can stick with making your own appliques with fabric.

– Pencil and Scissors: You need to bring a few pencils and scissors for those who want to create their own appliques. They will draw the shape on the back of the fabric and cut it with the scissors.

– Iron and Ironing Board: You need to have an iron and board to set the appliques on the onesies. It only takes about 15 seconds of heat to glue the applique on the onesie (you can follow the instructions on the Heat’n Bond packaging). I love that it is super quick!

– Gift Tags, Wool and Safety Pins: I made little gift tags with simple cardstock and a tag punch so that everyone can attach a note to the onesie they create.

– Clothesline or Rope: You will want to display all the creations when they are completed, so if there is no clothelines (or if you do the activity in the winter), you can easily set a temporary clothesline with a rope. Make sure you get some strong rope! If you look at the pictures I posted, you may notice the makeshift clothesline that I made with wool because I had forgotten a rope. We ended up having to double the rope and add metal wire to support the weight of all these cute onesies. You can learn from my experience and make sure you have a sturdy clothesline

2. Preparation:

Before the shower, you will need to prepare a few things to make this activity easier for people.

First, iron one side of the Heat’n Hold adhesive to pieces of fabric that measure approximately 30 cm x 50 cm. Once this is done, you can cut some shapes, as seen on the picture below. To cut the shapes, I made stencils using a die-cutting machine at my local scrapbooking store. I cut all kinds of cute shapes into thick chipboard so they would be reusable. Here are the types of shapes I cut: circles, birds, fish, butterfly, teddy bear, flowers, hearts, clouds, music notes, etc (you can see some of them on the picture below). I tried to use about half of each piece of adhesive fabric to cut shapes and keep the other half of the fabric to bring at the shower. This way, each person could either pick pre-cut appliques or use the fabric to cut their own shapes to create unique designs. Once you have cut a few appliques, you should make a test and create your own onesie. This way, you will make sure you know exactly how to make it, and the best thing is that you will use this one as an example when you explain the activity during the shower.

The other thing you need to prepare are the gift tags (see purple and pink tags next to the onesies on the picture below). Making gift tags is really simple. You only need to take a sheet of coloured cardstock and using a punch, cut out enough tags for each onesie (and a few more since people may use more than one). Attach a short piece of wool and safety pin on each tag so people can easily attach them on their creation.

The last thing you need to prepare before the shower is to set up the Onesie Decorating Station. You can set up the crafting station on a table by placing the onesies, appliques, fabric, scissors, pencils and tags. You should also set up the iron and ironing board in a corner somewhere out of the way, where there are no chances of tripping on a wire. Finally, you can set the clothesline and you are all ready to go!

3. During the Shower: Now that you have done all this prep work, it’s time to enjoy the activity and discover everyone’s creative side. First, you can explain the activity to the group and invite guests to drop by the crafting table whenever they want during the shower. It is good to try and get about 2-3 people at the station, since it will be easier for you to help out everyone and walk them through the detail of the activity than if you get 10 people at the same time. You can stay around the station to provide guidance and advice during the process. Also, once someone has completed their design, you can take them to the ironing station and help them ironing their. If you want, you could also assign a friend to help out and supervise the ironing station to ensure it is done properly and safely. Once each person has completed their onesie, they can attach a personalized note on the tag and hang it on the clothesline.

Overall, everyone was so positive about the activity! Everyone had a blast and was so proud of each creation! It was amazing to see all the different designs that reflect the personality of each of Marie’s friends and family members. By giving the option of using pre-cut appliques or giving people the opportunity to cut the shapes that they want, it really helped tailor the activity to everyone, from beginners to avid crafters.

4. After the Shower: First, you can clean up and be amazed by all the beautiful onesies that were created. Then, you can start thinking about the practical stuff: Heat’n Bond Ultrahold is apparently the strongest iron-on adhesive out there, but unfortunately, the patches you iron-on will get removed after a few washes. Thus, to keep the patches on longer, I recommend that you do the new parents a favour and hand sew each applique on the onesie, using a matching colour thread. It is not as long and tedious as it may look, this is an activity that you can easily do while you watch a movie or TV show, and it makes a huge difference on the final product! This step is not required, but it definitely adds a nice finishing touch and ensures that the onesies will keep its lovely decorations while the baby is wearing them, and when the parents will wash them!

Marie’s sweet daughter Sofia was born a few days ago. She is gorgeous and I can’t wait to meet her, and I can’t wait to see her in all those colourful outfits!

This scrub is made with just a few natural ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen or pharmacy. It contains shea butter and coconut oil for a deep moisturizing and skin repair action. Sea salt detoxifies your body and help flushing all those toxins. It also helps with skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis and is just great to remineralize your dry skin during the winter. I like to use Dead Sea salt because it is filled with all kinds of nutrients.

The combination of peppermint and anise essential oil gives a surprising result. The scent is fresh, crisp and slightly sweet. It reminds me of drinking hot chocolate by a campfire on a cold winter day. It is just delightful and so refreshing!

To make this scrub (or any skincare products really), it is important that you first sterilize your instruments and jars by spraying a bit of rubbing alcohol, vodka or pure ethanol. You can then use a clean cloth or paper towel to dry the excess alcohol. Once everything is sterilized, you can start to prepare your product. It is important to weigh the ingredients, you can use any type of kitchen scale for this. You simply need to melt the shea butter and coconut oil together, and then you add all the other ingredients. Only a few minutes later, you have an amazing moisturizing scrub. You can test is on your hands as you clean your bowls and then jump in the shower or bath to test it out on your body!

Moisturizing Arctic Sea Salt Body Scrub

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

10 mins

 

This sea salt body scrub will exfoliate your skin and leave it soft and moisturized.

Author: Homemade Hearts

Ingredients

• 20 grams shea butter
• 10 grams coconut oil, extra virgin and cold pressed
• 10 grams avocado oil
• 5 grams jojoba oil
• 110 grams coarse dead sea salt (or Epsom salt)
• 70 grams fine sea salt
• 25 drops anise essential oil
• 15 drops peppermint essential oil

Instructions

1. Sterilize all your tools with alcohol (1 heat-proof medium size glass bowl, 2-3 mixing spoons and 1 glass container for storage).
2. In a heat-proof glass bowl, weigh shea butter and coconut oil.
3. Melt in a double boiler.
4. Once melted, add avocado oil, jojoba oil, sea salt and essential oils.
5. Mix well and transfer to a clean glass container.

Application Tips

1. With a spoon, scoop 1 tablespoon of scrub, place in your hands and massage on your skin while taking a shower or a bath. Rinse and your skin will be left soft and moisturized.

Notes

For external use only and for use on body as it may be a bit too coarse for the face.

You can keep this scrub for at least 6 months in an airtight container (provided that it does not come in contact with water). For that reason, I recommend to use a spoon to take it out of the jar.

If you want a relaxing salt scrub, you can substitute the peppermint and anise seed essential oils for the same quantity of lavender essential oil.

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Making your own vanilla extract is so easy and so delicious! I always keep a bottle on hand to be ready for use in my recipes. It only takes 5 minutes to prepare and you will enjoy it for months to come! You simply need to get some good vanilla beans and alcohol. Vodka can be used to make this, but I seriously love to use some aged amber rum – it gives the vanilla extract such an incredible flavour! Here is the recipe and procedure :

Homemade Aged Vanilla Extract

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

This aged vanilla extract made with amber rum will add a very distinctive flavour to your baked goods for only a fraction of the cost of real vanilla extract. And the best part is that it only takes a few minutes to prepare!

Author: Homemade Hearts

Ingredients

• 5 vanilla beans
• 350 ml aged rum
• Glass bottle or jar

Instructions

1. Cut open the vanilla beans with a sharp knife lengthwise.
2. Place the vanilla beans in a glass bottle or jar.
3. Fill the jar with aged rum.
4. Seal the bottle and place in a dark cool place for 4-5 weeks.
5. Shake the bottle a few times per week to ensure the flavours of vanilla beans are blending with the alcohol
6. After 4-5 weeks, pour a small quantity of the alcohol in a small bottle for use in other recipes and refill the bottle with alcohol to the brim to continue maceration.
7. You can keep refilling your bottle for at least 6-8 months.

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Did you know that chocolate is filled with antioxidants and that when applied to the skin, it will help in keeping your skin clear and hydrated? And believe me, how amazing is it to get all these great benefits with no calories! But wait, there is more: this mask also contains detoxifying clay as well as seeds and botanicals to exfoliate your skin.

I like to keep my face masks in a powder form to maximize its shelf life and avoid having to add preservatives and other chemicals. When you want to use it, you simply need to mix it with fresh yogourt and apply it on your face. Here are the key properties of the ingredients included in this face mask:

• Rhassoul Clay is rich in minerals and is known to help improve skin clarity and elasticity. It helps detoxify and tone the skin.
• Cocoa Powder is filled with antioxidants and help protect skin cells from free radical damage.
• Sesame Seeds are rich in vitamins and minerals, and will gently exfoliate your skin.
• Rose Petals are soothing and have a beautiful fragrance
• Chamomile is anti-inflammatory and helps with healing skin. It has also a relaxing and calming aroma.
• Yogourt moisturizes your skin and also contains lactic acid which helps unclog pores.

And now, I am not going to make you wait any longer, here is the recipe! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Chocolate Lovers Exfoliating Face Mask Recipe

Yield: about 6 face masks

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon Rhassoul Clay
• 2 tablespoon rose petals, dried
• 1 tablespoon chamomile flowers, dried
• 2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoon sesame seeds

Preparation

1. In a coffee grinder or food processor, grind rose petals, chamomile flowers and sesame seeds until they are in the form of a fine powder.
2. In a small container, mix Rhassoul clay, cocoa powder and ground plants.
3. Store in an air tight container and label the jar with name of recipe and date of fabrication.

Application Tips

To use this face mask, mix 1-2 tablespoon of the powder with 1-2 tablespoon of organic yogourt. Apply the mask to your face and neck, avoiding the lips and eye area. Leave the mask for 15-20 minutes. After 15-20 minutes, I like to remove the mask in the shower by massaging gently under warm water to exfoliate. Your skin will feel so clean and refreshed after this treatment!

In the winter, my lips get dry and I love to apply a rich and creamy lip balm that soothes your lips while smelling wonderful. I wanted to develop a luscious lip butter for the winter and since I have been really enjoying lattés this winter, I decided to make a latté inspired flavoured with hints of vanilla, chocolate, coconut and herbal tea.

This lip butter is made with rich coconut oil and luscious cocoa butter to deeply moisturize and repair your lips; beeswax to protect your lips against the harsh environments; and sweet almond oil for a nice gloss. I also added vanilla absolute and chamomile essential oil for a sweet vanilla herbal latté flavour. When all these ingredients are blended together, you get a rich and smooth balm that will leave your lips moisturized, a bit glossy and just beautiful!

Vanilla Latté Lip Balm Recipe

Yield: 5 lip balm tins (0.25 oz each, as shown on picture) or 8 lip balm tubes (4.5 ml each)

Ingredients

• 12 grams sweet almond oil
• 10 grams cocoa butter, organic and non-deodorized (it smells just like chocolate!)
• 10 grams beeswax, organic
• 8 grams coconut oil, organic, virgin and non-deodorized (it has a lovely coconut scent )
• 8 drops vanilla absolute (do not use vanilla extract as it does not dissolve in oil)
• 3 drops Roman Chamomile essential oil

Preparation

• Clean and sterilize your tools and working area.
• Weigh sweet almond oil, cocoa butter, beeswax and coconut oil in a heat proof container. I use a small glass measuring cup with a spout for easy pouring.
• Melt these ingredients in a water bath on low heat. Mix and wait until everything is melted – the beeswax takes the longest.
• Once everything is melted, add vanilla absolute and chamomile essential oil.
• Mix well and pour into cute lip balm tins, pots or tubes.
• Label with name and date, and use as needed. The lip balm will last a really long time, probably about a year. They will be gone before the oils go bad!

This bath soak is made up of an array of great mineral and botanical ingredients that will detoxify, moisturize and nourish the skin. Here are the main ingredients I picked for this recipe and some of their key properties:

• Epsom salt is known to improve circulatory health and help flush toxins. It is therefore great if you are trying to detox! It also helps reduce inflammation and is great for sore muscles. After a long and stressful day, Epsom salt also helps to relieve stress.
• Rolled oats will sooth and soften the skin. They contain antihistamines which reduces skin inflammation and will also create a very milky water. On top of all that, I find that they release a delicious fragrance that just makes you want to soak in the tub for hours!
• Soy milk powder makes for a really silky bath – sometimes I also use goats milk powder, but I have to admit that I love the vegan version.
• Baking soda will exfoliate and polish your skin. It also helps balancing your skin’s pH.
• Tapioca starch is great for sensitive skins and it will add extra smoothness to the water and to your skin. If you don’t have tapioca starch, you can replace it with cornstarch.

I put a few different flowers, but don’t hesitate to personalize your bath soak by adding your favourite flowers and leaves. Here are the ones I included:

• Calendula is a beautiful yellow/orange flower which is great for healing as it stimulates the production of collagen.
• Cornflowers are so pretty with their bright purple hue. They are know to be astringent and help reduce skin irritation. They also help to relax and unwind.
• Chamomile is one of my favourite – I love its apple like scent and it does some magic to soothe and heal the skin.
• Verbena has an amazing lemony scent and helps relieve stress.
• Juniper berries help detoxify your body, relieve your joints and relax. They are also known to help with arthritis.

With such an amazing blend of plants and minerals, you will have one of the most relaxing and rejuvenating baths!

Oats and Herbs Bath Soak Recipe

Yield: 5.5 cups (approximately 15 baths)

Ingredients

• 2 cups Epsom salt
• 2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup powder soy milk
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
• 2 tablespoon calendula petals, dried
• 2 tablespoon cornflowers, dried
• 2 tablespoon chamomile, dried
• 2 tablespoon verbena leaves, dried
• 2 tablespoon juniper berries, dried

Preparation

1. In a medium mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together.
2. Store in an airtight container and keep it close to your bathtub!

Tips for Use

Put approximately 1/3 cup of the bath soak in a muslin bag or in a large tea bag. I like to place the muslin bag in my bath while the water is filling the bath. This allows for all the ingredients to blend with the water and will release the botanicals and minerals. I leave the bag in as I soak and I even use it to scrub my body. It really moisturizes and softens the skin and allows me to get even more of the beneficial properties of the amazing plants and minerals in that soak.

After use, I empty the contents of the muslin bag by turning it inside out. I then rinse the bag, let it dry and it is ready for another bath!