Christmas Meringue Cookies

I've never made meringue cookies before. In fact, I'm not even sure if I had ever eaten them before, though I have seen them in the stores.

The other day, I came across a blog that had a little tutorial on how to make Christmas poinsetta meringue cookies. They were just so cute, I couldn't resist trying them out.


They turned out good. If I was to make them again (and I will!), I would probably whip it a bit longer. It seemed to have a hard time holding it's shape... not like the example off the blog I was following.
And can I say that I loved the way they tasted! Yummy! I put a couple drops of strawberry flavoring and it tasted so good. (now that I'm thinking about it... that might have been my downfall with these cookies cause I think the flavoring I used had oil in it which might have contributed to it not being as stable as I thought they should have been... maybe next time I'll try peppermint or some other flavoring?)

Anyways, give them a try. Be warned though, it takes hours to cook. So make sure you pick a day when you don't need your oven.
If you want to see the blog tutorial that I used, click here.

Christmas Pancakes

Tonight it was getting late and I still hadn't had a chance to start dinner. What to eat? Pancakes! And since it's almost Christmas, we had to have a little fun with our dinner. And of course, I had to take some pictures too.


The kids liked the Santa one best... probably cause it had a whole lot of whipped cream on it!

So, next time you make pancakes... make one or all of these! Your kids will love you for it!

Santa's Helper

Yesterday was a real special treat. Matthew and I had the privilege of being Santa's Helper for a while and accompany him as he visited some of our friends' homes.



There's something magical about Santa. I love seeing the reactions of the little kids when they come to the door and find him standing there, waiting to give out treats and little gifts and to talk to them. Some kids become very shy and just stand there or they hide behind their mothers. Some kids get very excited and can hardly stand still. I love it!



Thank you Santa for spending some time with us during this busy time of year.
Matthew and I had a blast!
Oh, and here's a little peek at what Santa drives around the city in... a mini van with a nice lit-up Christmas tree on top!

Funny Bookmarks

I came across a very funny idea for some bookmarks.... from you guessed it... Pinterest again.

Anyways, the second I saw them, I knew I had to make them.... Immediately!!

Here's a look and you'll see why.... SO FUNNY!

And my favorite....

I think these would be super cute for Christmas. And if you don't have a book lover.... then how about ornaments? Matthew took his and put it on the tree....


And a quick note about our tree..... our tree is definitely a KIDS tree. Most of the decorations are hand-made. It's really quite the scene. Sometimes I wish I had a beautiful, fancy tree like other people, but for now, we love our little kids tree. Take a peek...

Crocheted Slippers

Once again, I used my two favorite websites.... Youtube and Pinterest.
I found a blog through Pinterest that featured some cute slippers. It had instructions, but I wasn't sure how to follow them... and so I looked up details on Youtube.

I think they're pretty cute.
I've made almost 4 pairs now. One for each of my three girls and one for me. Funny enough, the ones for me are made from yarn that looks like camouflage. Ha ha. I just liked the colors and it wasn't until it was partially crocheted that the camo part of it popped out.

Anyways, here's a little look at the girls' slippers....

Jigazo

JIGAZO.
What am I talking about and what is Jigazo??
It's a very fun puzzle that I happened to come across at the store a while ago. If you're looking for a fun and unique Christmas gift, then maybe this is for you.

• This puzzle is 300 pieces big.
• Each piece can connect with any other piece.
• All the pieces are varying shades of brown.
• The puzzle can be made over and over again... and each time, your picture can be completely unique.
• Unique?? That's right. This puzzle can look like anyone. ANYONE!

Don't believe me? Check out the pictures I took of the puzzle... And just to clarify, all these pictures were taken with the same 300 puzzle pieces....

Matthew

My sister, Fern
Hmmm... kinda looks like ME

Okay, I've done one of all my kids, and at the time, I didn't think to take pictures. Darn. Some pictures turn out better than others, but they all look great from a distance!
Anyways, you can also make pictures of Animals. There's a few that come with the program, like this one....

And, if you'd like to see a cool youtube video that explains how it's done, check out this...

Oh, and each puzzle takes an hour or two to put together.
A lot of fun to do with the family. Great activity for the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

On the weekend, I had plans to do a lot of baking.... and it just didn't happen like I planned. A lot of things came up and so I'm left with a bunch of un-iced sugar cookies. Well, they've been taunting me. So, late last night, I sent messages to a few friends who have asked me if I could show them how to do "flooding" with royal icing and invited them over.

I enjoy decorating sugar cookies, but I am by no means a pro at it. I cut corners and I don't do a thicker outline. I'm lazy in that regard. If you want to see some nice cookies, check out this website.

Anyways, we had a good time. We decorated a few cookies.
Here's a little look at some of the cookies I decorated...

Well, I know some of you would like recipes. Yes?

Here's my favorite sugar cookie recipe. It's the recipe my Mom used to make when I was little...

SUGAR COOKIES
Cream together
1 c. margarine or butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Sift together and then add
3 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix together well. Form ball and leave in the fridge for 1 hour (to be honest, I never do this, but that's what the recipe says to do... it's up to you).
Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes. Personally, I like a softer cookie, so I tend to bake mine for 7. 8 or more will give you a more crispy cookie, which is good if you're wanting to bake them on sticks or anything like that.


ROYAL ICING
4 c. icing sugar
3 Tbsp. meringue powder
5-6 Tbsp. water.
Mix together and beat until it starts to loose it's sheen.
Divide and mix into colors. If you're wanting to flood cookies, mix in water a little at a time until you can drizzle some icing off your spoon and it disappears after 7 seconds or so. I know, not very specific, but if you're one of my friends who was here and watched me do it, you'll know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I apologize. Basically, you want it so that your icing is thick enough to stay in place and not run off your cookie, but thin enough that it will blend together and give you a nice smooth surface when you're done.

Well, it was fun. I'd love to hear if you make any yourself with your family.

Knitted Sashay Ruffle Scarf

Another Scarf (or two... and probably more in the future!)

The other Sunday, I saw a friend wearing a new scarf. I thought it was a pretty cool scarf and when I found out that her Mom knitted it, I knew I needed to find out how! So, I did some searching online and I found a tutorial (on youtube of course), found my knitting needles and I was on my way. I went out to Michaels yesterday and bought some yarn and got to work. Today I finished it. I love it!


So, with it being my sister's birthday today, I decided to make one for her too. I made another trip to Michaels and got busy knitting.

I hope she likes it and enjoys wearing it as much as I'll enjoy mine.
Happy Birthday Dawn!!

Knitting Santa Hats

I've been knitting A LOT lately. Not the traditional knitting with knitting needles... but with the knitting looms. I think I've blogged about them in the past.

In the last couple weeks I've knitted...
7 scarves
6 regular baby hats
6 "Santa" hats

I know. Crazy! But, they're fun to make and really, really easy to do. Even all 3 of my girls have been knitting stuff lately too. Plus, this was something I could easily do when Cam was in the hospital last week. I'd take my knitting stuff when I'd go visit him.

So, I thought I'd post some pictures of the Santa hats I've been making. I'm making them for everyone in my family... all 4 kids and Cam and myself. Some of my kids have already been wearing them to school. But, the reason I was making them, aside from being so cute!, is because I thought it would be super fun for all of us to wearing matching Santa hats on Christmas eve.

I know. You're looking at those and thinking you want to make some too!
If so, here's a link that will show you how to change colors, etc. for the Santa hat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9270DUjvDPw

Ruffle Scarf

Remember me saying, just a day or two ago, how much I enjoy finding new things to make on Pinterest?? Well, I made something else I found on there.... A Ruffle Scarf.

Let me first say, this was the most incredibly easy, quick scarf to make.

• It requires NO SEWING. Doesn't that sound good??
• And it took me only a 1/2 hour to make it from start to finish.
• And it cost me nothing. I used an old shirt that was in my closet (in fact, this particular shirt belonged to my brother and when he passed away, I brought it home. Now when I wear it, I can think of Scott). Even if you don't have a shirt to cut up, this project will still be pretty cheap even if you have to go buy a new shirt. Or next time there's the clothing and housewares giveaway... look for some shirts!
  

Want to have a look?

Ha ha. I'm totally not going to take a full picture of me today. I look like crap today. Besides, this picture is only to show you my new scarf, right?

Cute. Isn't it? I think it would be a great Christmas present for someone.
If you're interested, here's how you make it..... Click here for tutorial video

A Cake For Marley

Several months ago, my friend, Megan, showed me a picture of a cake that she said she would love to make for her baby's blessing. It was so cute. You think I can find a picture of that original cake?? Nope. I searched for a bit, but I knew I could remember how it was and we could make it look fairly close.
So, last week I helped Megan make her cake. I baked it for her, but I had Megan do all the decorating herself. I think she did a fabulous job!! Here's some pictures of her cake...



In fact, I loved the way this cake turned out, I'd like to make another one like it one day. I especially loved how the inside matched the outside... with the gradual colors. Something totally new for me. I don't think I've ever colored my cake batter, but I might have to do that more often. So fun.
Thanks Megan for spending an afternoon with me and letting me help you make such a lovely cake for Marley.