Sweet Cookies!

 Today's post may be a bit like Deja Vu........since I've been on the baking theme this week.  But these photos are actually from last year's baking experience!  You'll notice the peanut butter cookies are a favorite and are baked every year.  You may have also noticed how Kyle has changed over this past year.  I couldn't believe when I saw last year's photo how much younger he looked! And as always he is dressed in his Sunday best to bake......  ; )  

I used the Sweet Shop Lite cartridge to cut my lil' cookie.  I added some glossy accents to the chocolate chips and found this cute little spatula in my stash.

The title and cookie jar were also cut using the Sweet Shop Lite cartridge.  To add a bit of definition to the jar, I embossed it with the snowflake embossing folder. I added glossy accents to the title for a bit of added definition. The brad is by Basic Grey. 

Last year was the first year, Cortney took any interest in all in helping us bake.  So it was pretty exciting to see both of my children in the kitchen.  It was a sweet moment.  

We have a busy weekend filled with shopping and celebrating our first family Christmas party.  

What are you up to this weekend? Any plans?

Would love to hear!

Hugs to you all!

Joy*Love*Peace

Good morning and happy Thursday to you!  I have been trying to get caught up with a bit of Christmas shopping.  Hubby and I decided to go for a bit last night.  It was so much better than trying to fight the crowds on the weekend!  We aren't done, but at least we made a dent in our list! 

I have a card today that I made using the Snow Globe set by Crafty Secrets.  These gals were colored with Copic Markers and touches of glitter were added here and there.  The papers are from Paper Loft and uses the sketch from the this week's challenge. 

I added a few pops of red as my accent color.... 

Would you like to win Paper Loft products and become their next Guest Designer?  Just create a project using this sketch and upload it to your blog or online gallery. (If you upload to galleries use keyword  PLS01) Leave a link HERE using the link widget at the bottom of their post.  You may enter as many time as you'd like, just be sure to use Paper Loft products somewhere on your project.  Easy!

Have a great day!

XOXO

More Holiday Cheer!

Good morning to you all!  I am sure you are all crazy busy and starting to feel the holiday crunch?  Or maybe that's just me? ; )  I am trying to get organized and prioritize.......and try to take a deep breath to take it all in.  I don't want to miss the feeling of the season, I don't want it passing me by.  So in my crafty room, I have been making ornaments.  I guess you could say I have been on an ornament "kick!" 

I used this metal frame from Fancy Pants and used papers from Crafty Secret's Christmas CD.  The cardinal and candy canes are from the Christmas Express Stamp set. They were colored with Copic markers and a bit of glitter was added for some extra sparkle.  

The poinsettias were cut using my Silhouette. 

And the jingle bells were rusted naturally by yours truly. : )

I plopped several bags of jingle bells in an old baking sheet with salt, vinegar, a few rusty nails, and let nature do its work.  I've heard you can add steel wool in there to help speed up the process.  Once my bells were rusty enough, I sealed them with a clear, matte spray.  (Otherwise the rust will flake off everywhere!)  The process did take a couple of months, but I am nothing but a patient person! ; )

Here is my family all dressed up (Insert sarcasm) to bake cookies. Yep, this was a couple of hours of us taking a deep breath and enjoying the holiday as a family.  

I love that my guys are comfortable enough to bake......and use a pink mix master! ; )

Cort was sugaring the peanut butter balls....... 

Kyle made sure Cort wasn't wearing most of the sugar....... 

Why yes, it is a necessity to wear headphones while I bake with the family!  

And here were our little peanut butter masterpieces! (Along with the eggnog cookies from yesterday's post)

As I write this there are literally 5 cookies left.  I guess we won't be passing them out to anyone.  

I am off to work!

I have my 5th graders' music concert tonight.  It's cute to see them all dressed up and excited to sing in front of their parents. 

*Just breathing it all in* 

; )

Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies

This year we decided to try a new recipe.

Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies.

Yum.

: )

Eggnog Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

 3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups of all-purpose flour 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter

1 cup confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon rum

1 pinch ground nutmeg

Directions:

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together 3/4 cup butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine flour and salt; stir into the creamed mixture by hand to form a soft dough. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie using your finger. 

3. Bake for 12 minutes. Cool completely.

4. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup butter, confectioner's sugar, and rum. Spoon rounded teaspoonfuls of filling onto cookies. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Let stand until set before storing in an airtight container.