Cookies on parade

Today at work we're having a cookie exchange. I've never done one of these before, so I'm excited about trying all the different cookies. Everyone brings 3.5 dozen. The half dozen is for eating today (sharing with non-baking coworkers) and then we pick out 3 dozen to take home. I had always wanted to try decorating cookies with royal icing so this was my big chance. Jen and Scott joined in the fun, and it was a Sunday afternoon cookie icing party. I had some snowflake sugar cookies already made and frozen, and we baked some fresh gingerbread men and gingerbread snowmen as well.



I used plastic squeeze bottles from Walmart (98c) for the flood icing (solid background colors)



I was astonished when Scott offered to help...



Look at him go!



Naked gingerbreadmen.



Clothed gingerbreadmen.





Snowflakes, flooded and awaiting details:



Ahhh...pretty...



Thumpity thump thump



I had fun piping the scarves.

More baby shoes

I made more baby shoes, this time with ducks, or chicks, and a button closure.



I copied these from someone one Etsy. Hers are about a hundred times better looking so I'm not giving you the link. Ha. But I wanted to say I didn't invent these myself. I made them as a gift for my friend who could be going into labor at any time now, and she doesn't know the gender so yellow seemed like a good idea. Things I would fix if I made another pair: I would change my pattern so the seam of the lining matches the seam of the outer shoe; I would make the lining smaller so it's not so bunchy; I would make the buttons fasten symmetrically to each other, instead of the same way...oops.

I also made a bib. Sticking with the yellow theme for the pocket, I used a tropical fabric (baby will live in FL) to make my own bias tape. The pattern for the bib is here.



I love the little gable boxes from Papertrey Ink to package these.



The set:

Knitting stuff

Presenting... a knitted hat. This was my first time knitting in the round. And only my second time knitting anything. I started this hat on a size 13 circular needle. My stitches were a little too loose to start with so you can see the brim is a little loopy. As I began to descrease to form the crown, I had to switch to size 10 double pointed needles because the circumference of my hat was smaller than the circumference of the circular needle. I think I actually liked knitting on the DPNs better. I was getting tired of having to slide everything around the circular every few minutes. So here I am, modeling:



Here is Jen, modeling how securely it stays on the head, I suppose...



Remember the scarf?

It's quite warm and wide...

Thanksgiving photos

I busted out some impressiveness this year for turkey day. First was a cheeseball, which was actually really really easy to make. And I got to use my Tastefully Simple "Garlic Garlic" mix. It gave us all Garlic Garlic breath. Yum.



I just stirred up 2 blocks of cream cheese, one bag of shredded cheddar, and the spice pack. Then I rolled the whole thing in paprika, stuck a cinnamon stick in it, and added a bay leaf. People ooo and ahhh at these sorts of things.



Here are some other shots of the spread...





Pea salad has become a holiday tradition with our family. It has all the essentials... green vegetables, fatty mayonnaise, tasty bacon and salty cheese. Forget the turkey. Give me pea salad.



There were so many desserts we had to put some of them on an ironing board.



And there at the end of the table you see my other contribution for the year, turkey pops. Not made with turkey, now that would be disgusting. These are of course made with chocolate cake.



The heads are chocolate covered macadamia nuts (ah, Hawaii, I will visit you again someday...)



The waddles are bits of sour gummy worms. I started to add eyes and beaks but I got too weary.



Just be careful about eating too many of these. The sugar might make you do something like this...







I also finished up my first knitting project over the weekend. A blue scarf!

November Blog Hop

Welcome! Tonight is the monthly blog hop with Papertrey Ink. We have all been working hard on those Christmas cards for a while now, so it was time for a little non-holiday distraction, in the form of handmade floral embellishments. My idea is very simple, but I like the overall impact and have been using it on tons of cards for a couple months now. The jist is, you punch two flowers from contrasting cardstock or patterned paper and overlay them so that the petals alternate. I used a Marvy Super Jumbo (blue) flower punch.





Black and white make a bold statement. Just add a brad in the center and your ready to go. Keep scrolling for another (lighter, more feminine) example...



For my card I decided to use a scrap of Christmas patterned paper from DCWV (leftover from last month's blog hop!) and some Ripe Avocado cardstock.



I curled the petals of the patterned paper with my scissors for some extra dimension.



I decided this paper looked great with Berry Sorbet CS, and I happened to have a brad about that same color (Making Memories). A scalloped circle in Spring Moss makes a nice background for the flower. I cut a tag from Kraft cardstock and stamped a sentiment from Faux Ribbon in Berry Sorbet. Then I slipped the tag in between the two flower layers.

Voila!





Thanks for stopping by! Happy Thanksgiving!
Mindy

I've been tagged

My blog was tagged by Annette, who is a fabulous cardmaker and lives pretty close to me, as it turns out. Her cards are so detailed, with lots of beautiful hand stitching and beading. Thanks Annette!

Now I'm supposed to share 7 random facts about myself... look out!

1. I have shaken John McCain's hand (upon receiving my master's. I think it cursed him, poor fella. See pic at bottom of this page)

2. Thai yellow curry is my favorite food. I just ate some. Now I must nap.

3. I kicked my sister's 2 front teeth out when she was a toddler. Twice. Oops.

4. I got choked on a piece of butterscotch candy in second grade, on the bus, and the busdriver whacked me on the back until it came out (she missed the heimlich maneuver demo). They put an article in the local paper about it. Slow week.

5. I collect sea shells. I've been shelling in NC, SC, FL, DE, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the North Sea (if you count picking up a few shells from a beach in Holland whilst trying not to make direct eye-boob contact with topless sunbathers).

6. I helped find ~13 new genes for Lupus last winter. Here's the article (it works similar to counting sheep. Zzzzzz).

7. I have only been stamping and cardmaking for < 1 year.

Now I'm supposed to tag 7 other people, but I think I will just mention a few, because I'm lazy and introverted. :)

Check out Bakerella! She is the inventor of the now famous cupcake pop. As you can see from previous posts, I've tried my hand at these and they're so fun. I hope to try a few "character" ones soon, like her turkey pops (look like turkeys, not turkey-flavored!)

The Cupcake Project started as an experiment to explore various flavors of cupcakes to be made for a wedding. I never could have imagined all the possibilities... they all sound pretty yummy and I can't wait to try some of these.

Look at all the pretty things FeltSewGood has made from felted recycled sweaters. I am inspired now to make Christmas ornaments from my purse scraps.

I just recently found Anne-Marie Faiola's blog where she shares her homemade soaps. Check out the sushi soap!

Have a lovely weekend...

Second felted sweater purse

Here's my second attempt at a purse made from a felted Goodwill sweater. Actually this one was made from a man's sweater vest. I started by felting the vest in a hot wash and drying in the drier. Then I made up my pattern and got to work...





The flower is made from felt and will be a removable pin. Right now it's just attached with a safety pin because I was still undecided on final embellishments. I may add some embroidery to the button in the center of the flower. After the other projects of the weekend I had run out of steam.



I made a cell phone pocket inside...





The lighting is so much better in these last 2 photos. I hope Santa brings me a camera this year (since mine got stolen when we were robbed at gunpoint on our honeymoon in St. Thomas 2.5 years ago) because I don't like Scott's all that much and he's always afraid I'm going to drop it in a toilet or something. Where is the trust.

More cupcake pops

I made more cupcake pops over the weekend. Recipe and how-to video is here. To see some really cool ones, check out Bakerella's blog.