Look at this beautiful handmade ornament I won from Lynda Moseley at Diva Designs when she hosted a giveaway during the Art Bead Scene Ornament Hop. She used an image transfer technique on polymer clay. I've done that technique myself and know that it can be tricky, so I was especially impressed by the crispness of the image. It was so nice to get this in the mail. I love to buy ornaments as gifts, but rarely buy any for myself. Is there any group as sweet and generous as the crafting community?
Speaking of sweet, I'm sharing my favorite candy recipe for this year, a variation of the cherry-pistachio
chocolate bark from Health magazine. Of all the types of candy I make, I love bark candy the best. It is so easy and quick—melt the chocolate, stir in something crunchy or sweet, and spread the mixture into a pan to cool. You just break off the pieces to serve, no fussy cutting or wrapping. (I made handmade caramels for the first time this year and nearly passed out during the endless cutting and wrapping phase.) Best of all, you still have time to make this candy. It takes about 10 minutes and
it's wonderful to nibble on while you finish up your last-minute
creations.
The original recipe calls for dried cherries, dark chocolate, candied ginger, and pistachios. I skipped the ginger and substituted dried cranberries for the cherries, since that's what I had on hand. You'll notice the recipe asks you to save some of the ingredients to sprinkle on top. This will make it look prettier with the red/green mix of the fruit and nuts showing. I skipped that step and stirred everything in because I didn't care about looks—I just wanted everything coated as much chocolate as possible. Either way, I think you'll love it. Happy snacking!