We had a wonderful time at the meeting making our Advent cookie sheets! They turned out so well.
For those of you who were unable to attend, here are the directions for the advent calenders:
1. Drill 2 holes in top left and right of cookie sheet. You can try this yourself or have your husband do this. Holes need to be large enough to string ribbon through.(Richard did it for everyone that was present)
2. Paint sides and rim of cookie sheet
3. .Cut papers and arrange as desired to cover back side of cookie sheet.
4. When paint dry, use a Sharpie marker to create a grid with 5 rows across and 5 rows down, evenly spaced. Note that the grid does not completely cover the sheet, the tops and bottoms are left blank for embellishing.
5. Use rub ons and add title: DECEMBER to top of grid. Another option is to cut a swag banner shape, paint it and add December rub ons to the banner when paint is dry. Glitter was added to the edges. If you add magnets to this banner, you can remove it and add other months later if you like! A monthly calendar, a birthday countdown, vacation countdown, or other holidays would be fun!
6. Add a smallish embellishment to lower right hand corner of calendar.
7. Add any other words to accent the calendar.
8. Now the fun and detail begins! Create those numbers. Use all the same numbers, or go a step beyond for more fun...and make them different and unique as shown above. Be sure the numbers you add aren't too heavy and that there is room to add magnets to the back. I found magnets at the dollar store.Use a glue gun to secure the magnets or magnets with an adhesive backing.
9. String ribbon through those top holes to hang.
10. Store the numbers behind the cookie sheet and bring out a new one each day.
We also swapped out the first set of recipes for the Recipe swap and discovered that we still have to make 11 copies each. For dinner, I made the recipe that I had done for the swap to try it out. It was called Turkey Dinner Shepherd's Pie it was a huge hit and a wonderful use of your holiday meal left overs!!
Turkey Dinner Shepherd's Pie 3 cups cooked stuffing ( you can use Stove Top)
1 cup cranberry sauce,
1 pound sliced cooked turkey (you can replace with store bought cooked chicken)
1 1/2 cups cooked carrots, (or another leftover vegetable. I used green beans)
1/2 cup of gravy over the top,
3 to 4 cups mashed potatoes
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, mound stuffing on bottom; layer with cranberry sauce, turkey, and carrots. Drizzle with gravy; spread potatoes over surface to sides of dish.
2. Bake until heated through and potatoes are golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly
3. Serve with cranberry sauce if desired.
