Boxing Day (and money boxes)

Today was Boxing Day - not a holiday here in the States, but celebrated in many countries around the world. Here is a LINK to the Wikipedia entry about Boxing Day if you are not familiar with this holiday.

It was a very busy day for me. Tomorrow my mother and father in-law will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary.  We usually have all of the family here on their anniversary, but this year we needed to do it a day early since our older son is leaving (already!) to go back to San Francisco early tomorrow morning.

Just so you won't think that I have totally abandoned my Cricut during the holidays, I thought I would quickly show you the "money holders" I used for some of the teen to young adult Christmas gifts.  They are tricky to buy for and we tend to end up giving the gift that always fits...

Instead of making a flat money holder, I used this pillow box from the wedding cartridge.  There are two swirls that reminded me of winter storms.

By using Design Studio, I could quickly determine the largest size that I could use and still cut four boxes from a sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock.  I used the five inch size and cut the boxes exactly as they appear on the cartridge.

I normally do not care for the "tick marks" or score lines and eliminate them using "hide selected contour," however, in the case of pillow boxes, they do make the folding of the ends much quicker and easier.  I used a heavy textured Bazzill cardstock for the boxes.  It is important to use a strong adhesive for the flap that connects the long side of the box.  I use Scor-Tape for most boxes - it is very strong and quite a bit more economical than the red liner tape.  Here is a LINK to the Scor-Pal site page for Scor-Tape.

I measured the opening and cut squares of a coordinating patterned paper to adhere inside the boxes.  To give the boxes a bit more pizazz I added a snowflake punched from glitter cardstock.

 On the way home yesterday we enjoyed all of the Christmas lights - this house is not far from us and always has an "over-the-top" display.

 Most of today was taken up with preparing food and enjoying time with family - over 2 dozen people!  We had lots of yummy food.  My husband and sons found a recipe for a root vegetable salad and did an enormous amount of peeling, chopping, blanching and roasting to make a triple batch.

Here is a closer view of the root veggies - they were absolutely delicious!

We had quite an assortment of desserts.  Fortunately, I was able to send lots of the leftovers home with various people so I will avoid some of the temptation - there are still dark chocolate peanut M and Ms left in the house so I'd better start walking with my friends again!

If you are interested, here is the recipe for the root vegetable salad:

Marinade ingredients:
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups olive oil
2 1/4 teaspoons chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon fresh basil - chopped
3/4 teaspoon fresh parsley - chopped
salt and black pepper to taste

Salad ingredients:
Butternut squash - 1/2 inch cubes, 8 ounces
Rutabaga - 1/2 inch cubes, 8 ounces
Carrots - 1/2 inch cubes, 8 ounces
Golden beets - 1/2 inch cubes, 8 ounces
Red beets - 1/2 inch cubes, 8 ounces
Celeriac - 1/2 inch cubes, 8 ounces
Fennel - Julienne, 8 ounces
Shallots - Julienne, 4 ounces
Balsamic vinegar, 1/2 cup
Olive oil, 1 cup
Mesclun greens, 8 ounces

Prepare marinade by combining all ingredients
Blanch squash, rutabaga, carrots, beets and celeriac in boiling water, drain well, shock in ice water to cool quickly.
Combine blanched vegetables, fennel and shallots in a bowl.  Toss with marinade.  Transfer to a sheet pan in a single layer.  Roast in a 350 degree oven until tender (but not soft) and lightly browned.
Toss with balsamic vinegar and olive oil to taste
Arrange on mesclun greens.