Cookie Art

Christmas Treats

2011-12-27T14:27:00.000-08:00

My sugar cookie snowmen are always the first to go. This year I make some with cereal buttons and others with small m&m buttons. The nose is a small orange m&m cut up with a pill cutter. The eyes are brown m&ms cut into quarter pieces. The pill cutter works great!

Just a star sugar cookie with gold sprinkles,

These chocolate malt cookies were the next to go. Some were hesitant. They are not as Christmas(y) as the snowmen. They certainly have the flavor!

The chocolate roll out cookies are fun to. The first year that I made them I decorated them a lot. My sister's and mom sampled them and said they taste better plain. I just added a blob of chocolate frosting and added a pearl sprinkle to the angles and an m&m to the others.

I love orange slices. Since it was Christmas time, I went for the cherry slices. They taste really good dipped in dark chocolate melt. This is probably the easiest thing I made. It totally added color to the dessert table.

The round pretzels taste good with dark chocolate melt poured in them and a single mint chocolate kiss. Just don't put them on too fast. They can melt and make a mess.

These pre-bitten Gingerbread Boys were fun to make. My sister bought me cookie cutter Gingerbread Men a few years ago. One has an arm off, another has a foot off and the last one has his head off. They are fun, but I think they look best on a plate full of them. Then people get the humor of them.

I also made Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls. I guest posted about them here. They are so good made with Coconut Oil! I also loved them dipped in dark chocolate!

KitchenAid

2011-12-05T12:00:00.001-08:00

I remember when I was registering to get married, I didn't have a KitchenAid mixer on my list. My Aunt said, "Alissa you need to have one of those." She convinced me that I needed one. It's one of my top items in my kitchen. I make breads, cookies, cakes and bars with this thing.

Mom Spotted is giving away one $550 KitchenAid Mixer!

Thanksgiving Day Parade

2011-11-21T08:24:00.001-08:00

We have Christmas in November with my husband's side of the family. I decided to make some Thanksgiving cookies to take on our journey.

Meet Mr. Tom Turkey:

He was so easy to make. I love how I found one last bag of candy corn on clearance! I totally think they should sell them into Thanksgiving time! The colors totally say, "Halloween" and "Thanksgiving"!

Not my forte, but my husband says that part of Thanksgiving is about football. So I made some footballs for this Turkey day.

Reindeer Food

2011-11-21T08:20:00.001-08:00

It looks like I have a few more carrot cookies to make! I have to cover all the reindeer!

This was my Grandma's giant plate. It has all kind of scratches in it that I rubber stamped out of the first image. I just love the plate {scratches and all}!

These are now in my freezer waiting to be set out on Christmas Eve for Santa's reindeer.

I Heart Wilton Even More

2011-10-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Want to win this prize package by Wilton?

I do! I just love Wilton! They have such creative ideas. This is indeed the time of year I like to bake.

You can win this at Baby Loving Mama!

I Heart Wilton!

2011-10-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Do you want to win all this stuff?

You can win all this from Wilton by going to Mom Spotted to enter! This is the time of year for baking! The oven warms up your house.

The New Edition of The Big Red Cookbook from Betty Crocker!

2011-10-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

I really haven't dived into making anything new lately. Maybe it's the quest to being healthier that is preventing me from making yummy treats. Lately when I make something, it's a repeat of something I've made and posted on this blog already. I have been trying to experiment with replacing things in recipes. Like I used ground up apple in replace of butter in my muffins and banana bread. It tasted just as good, but much better for anyone who eats it.

My Organized Chaos is giving away the New Edition of The Big Red Cookbook from Betty Crocker:

I saw this recipe and so want to try it out with my own flair. I'd like to give the bird feathers.

Betty Crocker

2011-09-22T06:58:00.000-07:00

I love baking! I'd love to win this:

Dawn's Great Finds is hosting this sweet giveaway!

Campas Book Rentals

2011-09-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

I have been to college twice. The first time I went to Kansas City Art Institute to get my BFA in design and illustration. The second time I went to college was to Savannah College of Art and Design to get my MFA in illustration.

Now I'm an art instructor at the Creative Center.

When it comes to art, there are supplies and more supplies to buy. When it comes to classes, each book costs money.

Now there is a way to reduce that money. There is a company called Campas Book Rentals.

My top 10 loves about Campas Book Rentals:

They have a huge selection of books.
They have live help. I think this is so important because I can for see a lot of questions that people might have. Sometimes text books have version after version. It gets really confusing which version is the most current.
There is no fee to sign up.
They have a 1-800 number. It's very visible. :) It really annoys me when I go to a site and can't find a phone number to call.
College students spend only half of what they would if they bought the book full price. They sometimes save more then half! If the student loves the book they can keep it and just pay the difference.
The book can be highlighted or underlined in with no additional cost to the student.
Renting a book is kinder to the environment. Books that you don't want to buy, but need, is then reused by someone else.
The book can be returned in 30 days for any reason. I know instructors change their mind on books a lot.
The shipping is easy. The company actually gives the student a self addressed envelope for easy returning.
For every book rented, they donate money to Operation Smile. A nonprofit organization that helps children that are born with a cleft pallet.

Check out their video:

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the a basket of chocolate covered fruit. If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustrationAThotmailDOTcom

Superman Cake

2011-08-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

I made a chocolate cake in two round pans. Then I made 1/2 a batch of red velvet cake in a square pan. I was planning on having the two circle cakes as a base for the superman logo; cut out of the square cake.

This is where disaster struck! The red velvet cake crumbled to pieces when I tried to get it out of the pan! I was mad! A cuss word or two may have come out of my mouth. By the way I really do not cuss very often! I vow every year that I'm going to stick to cookies! It seems like once a year this happens!

Here's my process: I spray the pan first, sprinkle it lightly with flour before pouring the batter in. The cake is fully done; toothpick comes out clean! Then it's really cool before I decide to pop it out! I even help the edges with a spatula. What am I doing wrong?

I decided to wrap up everything {even the crumbled pieces} and go to bed. In the morning I had a brilliant idea. Why not use the crumbled up velvet cake? One of my worst pet peeves is discarding something that is perfectly edible! I crumbled the cake up even more, added frosting to the cake, and sandwiched the two chocolate cakes together with it. Then instead of using tons of red food coloring for the logo, I used red velvet cake/frosting mixture.

Chocolate Malt Cookies

2011-08-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

I found a new cookie recipe I LOVE! I found the recipe here. This is the second time I've made them. They are so yummy!

{Cookies}

- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup plain malted milk powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tablespoons hot water
- {Cookie Directions}
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, baking soda, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg, heavy wiping cream, and hot water. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture.
3. Space tablespoon-size balls of dough 3 1/2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
4. Bake until flat and just firm, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on parchment on wire racks.
{Filling}
- 10 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup plain malted milk powder
- 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

{Filling Directions}

Melt chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl. Stir. Let cool. With an electric mixer, beat malted milk powder and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Gradually mix in half-and-half, chocolate mixture, and vanilla. Refrigerate, covered, until thick, about 30 minutes. Mix on high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

{Assemble Cookies}

Spread a heaping tablespoon filling on the bottom of one cookie. Sandwich with another cookie. Repeat.

June Berry Crisp

2011-06-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

My son's and I picked a lot of berries off of our Service Berry tree a week ago.

I put them in muffins, pancakes and made a crisp that was yummy!

Recipe:

Ingredients

2 cups June Berries
2 cups of another kind of berry, chopped up apple or just more June Berries. I happened to use black berries this time.
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, gently toss together blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and white sugar; set aside.
In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press half of mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Cover with berries. Sprinkle remaining crumble mixture over the berries.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.

Served:
We served ours with ice cream. Yummy! Then for breakfast I topped off plain yogurt with June Berry Crisp. It was very good!

Sandcastle Bundt Cake

2011-06-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

I made a Sandcastle Bundt Cake last week for work.

It seemed to be a big hit at work. I think a few people thought I carved the castle out! Nope! I didn't tell them otherwise. ;) I did make the cake from scratch. You can buy the pan here.

Cold Stone Creamery

2011-06-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've never been there, but it looks oh so good! New Age Mama is giving away a $20 gift card to Cold Stone Creamery!

Custom is Cool

2011-06-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

I like things that are custom! It's fun being able to choose what goes in your food, or a product that fits your needs and wants.

One company that I really like is Chocri. It's a company where you design your own chocolate bar. They have lots to choose from. I know I'd pick dark chocolate with raspberry bits for sure!

New Age Mama is hosting a giveaway for Chocri. Ten winners will receive 3 customized bars!

The World's Most Artistic Marriage Proposal

2011-06-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Nordic Ware

2011-06-01T06:54:00.000-07:00

I like making a fun breakfast for my kid's. I recently got ceramic face plates. We often decorate their plates with all different foods. They love it! It's a great way to get them to eat what you'd like for them to eat. I find myself saying, "Mica eat his hair" when it's green beans. ;)

My kids are huge breakfast eaters. I've made heart shaped pancakes. One of my favorite breakfast recipes is here.

My Organized Chaos is giving away Nordic Ware - Kitchenware Products for you Home.

The products include: Zoo Friends Pancake Pan and Pro Cast Castle Bundt Pan. I have the Pro Cast Castle Bundt Pan; it makes really cool looking cakes! My sister and I have used it for birthday parties. I would like the Zoo Friends Pancake Pan! My kid's would really love taking a bite into a zoo animal pancake!

Hemispheres, Earth Cake

2011-05-31T07:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we hosted my son's third birthday party and my nephew's sixth birthday party.

Our theme was space, so I wanted to make a planet cake of some sort. I made a chocolate chip cookie sheet cake with stars as a base.

Then I used a Wilton Sports Ball Pan Set.

Photo found here.

We left the cake separated. That way each kid had a spot for their year.

I made the cake, put on the blue frosting and mixed up all the others. My husband put on the details. He's an artist, and you can see his work here. He's super into geology. If you looked at this cake up close, you can spot out most everything on the world. My Dad and Brother-in-law were like, "There is Madagascar!" and so on.

Top View

Calabsas Candy

2011-04-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

I love the art of making sweet treats!

Check out these yummy looking eggs by Calabsas Candy!

These look like glycerin soap. I don't mean that in a bad way!

Kostiuk Crew is hosting a giveaway for one winner to win $20 worth of candy from: Calabsas Candy!

Cakesters

2011-04-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Candy Stick Lane inspired me to make these Caksters. They are yummy!

How to make them:

In a mixing bowl mix 1 box of any cake mix, 1 egg, 1/4 Olive Oil and 1/4 Buttermilk.

*If you have no Buttermilk, here's a substitute: This makes 1 cup, so you can cut it in 1/2 depending on what you are making. 1 Tablespoon lemon juice plus enough milk or plain yogurt to fill a cup. Let stand 5 minutes before using. I used this alternative recipe to make Buttermilk to make the Cakesters.

The dough will be stiff. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet. You can make different sizes, but in this case I like a smaller size.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

I found that they were a little soft when I got them out of the oven, so the first time I made these I didn't think they were done. I didn't over cook them, but they were not as moist as the second time that I made them. Just insert a toothpick to test if they are done. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are good to go!

Frost them and sandwich.

Here is the Red Velvet Cake with the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Here is the Lemon Cake with the Lemon Frosting:

I make some things like this to get rid of frosting. When I ran out I really didn't want to open another container. I made a few ice cream sandwiches. My boy's LOVED them! You have to work QUICK.

Wilton ROCKS!

2011-04-01T20:58:00.000-07:00

Two of a Kind Working on a Full House is hosting an Wilton Easter product giveaway! I love making spring cookies!

This is all the stuff you can win:

More Ice Cream Cones

2011-03-21T11:22:00.000-07:00

I made these for our work's, preschool and for my sister that watches my boy's today.

Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon and Strawberry

They are those flavors of frosting too. I put a slight amount of coco baking powder in the mix of these sugar cookies to make the cones darker. Before I baked them I painted egg on them and sprinkled sugar {I used white, but have used brown}.

I bought Valentine M&M's on clearance. They worked perfect for the cherries on top!

Vanilla

Chocolate

Lemon

Strawberry

What flavor would you choose?

Wordless Wednesday - Ice Cream Cone Cookies

2011-03-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

You'll need homemade sugar cookie dough and an ice cream cone cookie cutter.

To frost ice cream cones you need vanilla {I use Cream Cheese}, Lemon, Chocolate and Strawberry frosting's. I mixed Lemon Extract in with the Cream Cheese and added yellow food coloring.

I melt a little butter, mix in brown sugar and paint it on the sugar cones before they bake.

After they are frosted.

Baby Shower Cookies

2011-02-26T20:58:00.000-08:00

My cousin doesn't know what she's having. This would have totally driven me nuts. I had to know!

I decided to make heart cookies because in our family, we love our babies. I made pink ones for girls and blue ones for boys. Then added the girl and boy symbol to them.

Winner of the CSN | Stores Giveaway!

2011-02-16T14:27:00.001-08:00

I said that I'd mention the winner of my CSN | Stores giveaway once she responded.

She responded pretty much right away.

Congratulations Alicia!

Thank you for entering!

Winner of the CSN | Stores Giveaway!

2011-02-15T20:38:00.000-08:00

I picked a winner for the CSN | Stores Giveaway!

I will announce the winner as soon as they respond to my email.

Thank you to those that entered!

Basket o' Books Review

2011-02-13T20:02:00.000-08:00

I was happy to review a basket of my choice from Basket o' Books!

Just a handful of the many categories on their site are:

I chose Movie Night because I wanted something our whole family can enjoy. Basket o' Books personalized our basket to fit our interests.

Our basket was loaded with goodies. They lasted well past one movie!

Candy, candy and more theater candy!

Plenty of popcorn and crackers! Our kids loved watching me pop the popcorn in the microwave!

The best surprise of all was the movie How to Train Your Dragon. It was a hit with the whole family!

Basket o' Books really gave us something we needed, time together as a family. They truly think out of the basket!

Disclaimer: The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out. If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

Conversation Heart Cookies

2011-02-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

My son Mica is in two preschool's. He has an August birthday, and just wasn't quite ready to go to kindergarten when he turned 5, so he's going when he just turns 6. We thought the variety of two preschool's would be good for him. I'm glad we chose to do that. I just wish that he would of been able to start kindergarten right after Christmas. I think he was ready then.

Being in two preschool's means two Valentines Day parties. I decided to make conversation heart cookies. Each child gets two cookies, one with their name, and the other with "Cool" for the boy's or "Cute" for the girl's.

The longest name was Josephine. I actually did well on that one. Later Mica told me that Josephine goes by "Joey". I should have asked about that, but I wrote all the names out while he was in bed.

Between both schools there is three Landon's. It must be a popular name for that generation! a's and o's are hard to write with frosting. I was thinking towards the end that I should have used the edible markers. That would have been too easy. ;)

I made a lot more cookies then the pictures show.

Wordless Wednesday - Playing with Play-Doh

2011-02-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

CSN | Stores $35 Giveaway!

2011-02-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

CSN | Stores is giving one of my readers a $35 gift certificate.
CSN | Stores has so many things to choose from with their 200 + stores.
I had a chance to do a review for them on my healthy food site, Finding Me Again.
I picked out the Trimmer Square Glass Digital Bathroom Scale n Chrome, which is perfect!

CSN | Stores has most anything you can think of! They have a great selection of furniture, lighting and bakeware.

CSN | Stores is giving away to one lucky reader a $35 gift certificate!

You can enter if you are not a blogger. Leave a separate entry for each. Make sure the first 2 mandatory entries are filled out before all others.

For your first mandatory entry, check out CSN | Stores Bakeware section and tell me what you'd pick out with your gift certificate if you won! one entry
Leave your email address. one entry

The other entries are optional. Be sure to leave a new comment for each.

Google Friend this blog. one entry
Add my Cookie Art button to your site. Leave me your site link. one entry
{Like} CSN | Stores on Facebook. Leave your Facebook name in your entry. one entry
Leave a comment on a non giveaway post. Let me know the title of the post you comment on. You are free to leave many comments, but only one entry for this giveaway. one entry
Blog about this giveaway. Link back to me and CSN | Stores. Leave a link. five entries
Vote for me on We're on the Fence! Just click on the button to vote. one entry
Enter my other CSN | Stores giveaway on my other site Milking the Issue. five entries

You do not need to enter all of the entries to be qualified, just the first mandatory entry.

Remember to leave your email address if it is not public in your profile.

This contest closes in 2 weeks, February 15 at 10 pm.

The winner will be chosen using random.org.

What Will You Get Your Lover For Valentines Day?

2011-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

I was looking at products on CSN|Stores and ran across some really cool Valentines products in their Wall Art and Decor section.

I have to be honest, my husband and I don't do too much for Valentines day. These little figurines are so cute though! ;)

I love these!

Another Wilton Giveaway!

2011-01-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

A Mom's Balancing Act is hosting a great giveaway full of all kinds of Wilton products! I'd love to win!

I have plans to make heart sugar cookies for Valentines day that say different things on each one! They will be made for my son Mica's friends at preschool. I thought I'd put them with the Valentines instead of candy.

I also want to make some for my Grandma that just had to go to a home. She has Alzheimer's disease. Maybe she can share with the people there. My Grandpa will get some too! I think he'll be lonely without my Grandma. He might like getting a few I Love You hearts.

Wilton ROCKS!

2011-01-17T11:59:00.000-08:00

Two of a Kind Working on a Full House is hosting a $50 giveaway for Wilton.
These are all the items that you can win:

Two of These Pans!

Beansoup - Magic Cape Review

2010-12-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

Do you believe in magic?

Beansoup does!

I certainly think it is fun to make things disappear and appear again!

Beansoup is a company that is filled with imagination.

They sell aprons, magic capes and a few accessories. They have products for both boys and girls.

We were lucky to get a Magic Cape and a set of Magic Silkies to review! Our youngest son has been wearing the Magic Cape around the house.

I love how the material feels! The cape is hand sewn with high quality polyester and silk. It is easy to put on. My 5 year old puts it on by himself, while the 2 year old need a little assistance. It has a Velcro neck closure.

Sometimes my son Isaak will stash things away in the hidden pockets that are meant for his 3 10.5"x11.5" silkies and a wand.

The Magic Cape is not too long for my 2 1/2 year old. The cape is 38" wide and 24" long. It fits up to age 10.

My 5 year old loves wearing this cape around as well. I didn't use him as a model because he likes to fling the cape around so much that I can not get good pictures.

Beansoup is a wonderful company! Every part of the product we received had excellent attention to detail.

They even sent with the package temporary tattoos.

The next gift my boys will receive is a magic set {a wand, magic cards and more} to go along with their Magic Cape from Beansoup!

I'm thinking that one of Beansoup's aprons is on my Mom's {to get list}.

Disclaimer:
The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out.
If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

CSN | Stores Product Review

2010-12-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

I was contacted by CSN | Stores once again. I was up for anther product review! I've done a few other reviews and giveaways for them.

CSN | Stores has so much to choose from. I could seriously find just about anything for my house or work at one of their stores.

This time I picked out a juicer. I want to knock out as much sugar out of my diet as possible. I know, I have a blog full of sugar. Much of the stuff shown on here gets shared with many people.

I spent some time picking out a juicer. It was not an easy task. I ended up getting the Total Chef Juicin Juicer.

It was on sale from the original price of $129.99 marked down to $96.86.

I looked up many sites to check out reviews before it was purchased. Every place I looked rated it high.

I love the recipe guide that it comes with!

The recipe I tried out is: Carrot, Apple, Lemon and Parsley:
Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

2 Carrots, trimmed
1 apple, peeled and cored
1/2 lemon, peeled
1 cup packed parsley leaves

We really didn't have to put much pressure on the juicer to push the veggies and fruit down. The machine took care of that!

My top five favorite features of this juicer are:

700-Watt motor base
Dual speed selector
Dishwasher safe parts
Surgical steel juicing blade
Removable pulp container

A couple things that were missing from the product:

It was supposed to come with a lid, we didn't get one
It was also supposed to come with a cleaning brush, we didn't get one

Overall we were pleased with this product. I like that we can make our own juice!

My son Isaak said, "More please!"

Please take some time to visit CSN | Stores! They do have such a great selection.

Disclaimer:
The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out.
If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

1 Cookie Plate

2010-12-26T19:56:00.000-08:00

I made about 3 of these.
I made less then last year since I'm trying to watch what I consume.
In the middle are cake pops. I made the cake pops with chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and ground up peppermint. Then I dipped them in chocolate almond bark.

Oh Christmas Tree. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree! How are thy leaves so verdant!

2010-12-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

I had to look up what verdant means?!? Verdant means: Green with grass or other rich vegetation.

Here are my verdant trees {one with green grass, one with snow flakes and one with snow}:

The Reindeers Food Left Out at My House

2010-12-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

We leave a couple of these carrot cookies out for Santa's reindeers.
They also look good on a plate of cookies with snowmen. Carrots are usually used for their noses.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Raindeer

2010-12-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

I just used a heart cookie cutter, and a chocolate roll out cookie recipe.
His details include almond bark pretzel antlers and m&m eye's and nose.

Frosty the Snowmen

2010-12-24T11:33:00.000-08:00

I used some cereal to decorate cookies this year.

I Heart Epson!

2010-12-20T08:37:00.000-08:00

One Savvy Mom! is hosting a great giveaway! Epson is giving away a ALL IN ONE Printer!
One lucky reader will receive a Epson NX625 All-In-One Printer!

I use Epson both at work and at home. I love to scan in my cookies to put on here! My scanner and printer is getting up there in age. I wouldn't mind winning this!

Gourmet Gift Baskets – Christmas Gift Basket Premium $79.99

2010-12-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

My Wee View is hosting a yummy giveaway!

Gourmet Gift Baskets is giving away a Christmas Gift Basket Premium $79.99.

I'd love to win this to give to my uncle!

Glee Glum Chocolate

2010-12-13T08:02:00.000-08:00

I won a Glee Glum make your own Chocolate Kit. I thought this would be a perfect teacher gift! I made mini loaves of bread as well.

I set my son Mica up in the kitchen. He separated the chocolate liners with my help. I gave him things to put in the liners. There was chopped up pretzels, walnuts, cherry chips, Reese's Peanut Butter Chips, Toffee sprinkles, crunched up peppermint and crunched up pistachio's.

Mica got to sample everything.

When Daddy got home, he made the chocolate with Mica. Mica helped for awhile, but was giddy because he didn't have a nap.

He's super excited to give these chocolate's to his teachers!
Glee Glum puts two coco beans in the packaging. Isaak got to try one and Mica the other. Daddy and I were into the history story that came with the kit.

Gingerbread Train

2010-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I bought a Gingerbread Train at Target for Mica to work on. These type of projects are perfect for preschoolers!

My son Mica sticks his tongue out just like Daddy when he's concentrating.

Mica studied the box to examine how it was decorated. He placed all the candies in the same spots as the box showed.

Daddy said, "Mica you forgot to decorate this part of the train". Mica said, "But I can't see that spot on the box". Daddy said, "Use your imagination". Mica looked at Daddy like he was crazy.

My youngest son Isaak and I read books, took a shower. When we were done, Isaak saw what Mica was doing. He wanted to eat the train in the worst way.

Pretzle's

2010-12-13T07:58:00.001-08:00

I won a homemade Auntie Anne's Pretzel mix, so Daddy helped our son Mica make pretzel's for Mica's preschool snacks.

They had a pizza dough recipe on the back of the Auntie Anne's Pretzel mix box. I thought I was the first to create a Pretzel Pizza {nope}.

With all the dinner, cookie and cake pop making I'm not in the mood to be in the kitchen with other things.

This time of year I'm so tired that unfamiliar instructions do not stick in my head!

Not to mention that school is super busy with final projects, review sheets and a test. The second to last week of school is just as busy as the last!

Lots of Cookies

2010-12-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

I need to shoot photo's of my cookies! Over a week ago we had a cookie decorating party at my younger sister's house.
I clean out my youngest son {Isaak's} huge flat toy storage bin, so that the cookies are stored nice and flat.

My older sister makes fun of me because I'm super anal about my cookie decorating.

I have so many sprinkles! I use a pill cutter to cut m&m's in half for Frosty the Snowman's nose. This year I used colored cereal for his button's.

I know I'm anal!

It was disappointing that my chocolate roll out cookies had broken! That's the sucky part of those. I haven't figured out how to stack softer cookies. If anyone has any tips I'm open!

Everything went well except my son Isaak was a royal crab. He wanted me to hold him, then would fuss some more. Of course he wouldn't tell me what was bothering him, so it was indeed frustrating! By the end of that week I was exhausted and ready to be at work. I never am ready to be at work!

Art - Thought of You

2010-12-04T19:18:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I like to post things that are just art. This is one of those posts.

An inspirational video!

Thought of You from Ryan Woodward on Vimeo.

Stylish Blog Award!

2010-12-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

Thank you soo much Canadian Coupon Mom for awarding my blog with the Stylish Blogger Award! This is my second award for this blog.

In order to accept this award you must:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pay it forward to 15 recently discovered great bloggers.

4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their award

Okay so seven things about myself.

1. I like to decorate cookies.
2. I grew up with all sister's.
3. Now my sister's and I have mostly all boy's. There's one girl in the mix, but she's almost 16. Time flies! My youngest sister is pregnant. We'll know if it's a girl in a few weeks.
4. I blog a lot. I have four on going blogs.
5. My favorite color is red orange.
6. My house has bright colored walls and neutral furniture.
7. I went to college at Kansas City Art Institute for my BFA, Savannah College of Art and Design for my MFA and teach at The Creative Center {a graphic design school}.

Okay so now on to the newest blogs I have read:

HUGE Wilton Giveaway at Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House!

2010-12-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House! is host a HUGE Wilton Giveaway. One winner will win all of the below items.

If you like to bake you have a chance to score BIG!

Want to Win One of These Plates?

2010-11-26T21:06:00.000-08:00

Olive Kids has a contest going on right now where 5 winners will win one of these plates.
Just enter here!
I'm a sucker for cute plates and tins for this time of year.

Do You Let Your Kids Watch TV While Eating?

2010-11-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

We only let our kids watch TV when they are eating a snack. Very rarely do our kids watch TV while eating a meal. When we do have TV time it's nice to enjoy a full setup. Check out the TV Tables at CSN|Stores.

This is the time of year where I coat every table in the house with cookies that I'm decorating. A few weeks ago I made Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies. This past weekend I made Chocolate Roll Out Cookies and next weekend it's time to make Sugar Cookies. It's a lot of fun!

Vanilla is My Favorite Things When I Bake

2010-11-20T21:13:00.000-08:00

Vanilla is truly one of my most favorite things when I bake. I sometimes add more then what the recipe calls for.

Songberries is hosting a giveaway where one person will win a bottle of Madagascar Vanilla from Nielsen Massey.

Lone Star Gift Baskets Product Review and Giveaway!

2010-11-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

Colies Kitchen is hosting a giveaway to win a Lone Star Gift Basket!

Nordic Ware

2010-11-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

Moms Review 4 You! has an awesome giveaway going on right now! One winner is going to win a Nordic Ware Holiday Mini Loaves Pan, Holiday Wreath Cake Pan, Holiday Tree Bundt Pan and a Christmas/Winter Cookie Cutter Plaque.

My holiday creative juices are flowing!

I Want to Share

2010-11-15T07:30:00.000-08:00

I found this site I want to share with you! It's called Fairy Tale Jewels.

I simply love their cute Bottle Cap Pendant's! Check out this Jumbo Cake Bottle Cap Pendant:

Then there is this set that is called, It's My Party Birthday Bottle Cap Necklace Set:

They look yummy enough to eat! I love the graphics. The fact that they smooth down the edges, so that they are not sharp rocks!

Disclaimer:

The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
These photo's were not taken by me. These photo's belong to Fairy Tale Jewels.
If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-11-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

Tropical Traditions gave me a jar of Gold Label Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to try out.

I have to be honest at first I had never heard of Coconut Oil. I didn't know how to cook with it. I had to figure out if it was even healthy to use in the kitchen.

Luckily I have a sister that works in health and nutrition. She told me that it is healthy. I also read up on Coconut oil before it arrived to me. This is straight from Tropical Traditions website:

As a cooking oil, its chemical structure is kept in tact and therefore is resistant to mutations of fatty acid chains even when used in higher cooking temperatures, unlike most vegetable oils. Research shows that the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil boosts the body’s metabolism, raises body temperatures, and helps provide greater energy which can lead to weight loss. For hundreds of tasty recipes from people who use coconut oil, visit FreeCoconutRecipes.com.

I used it on the boy's skin after a bath. I love how it smells and melts into their skin! Isaak always tries to eat the lotion. This is perfect for him because he can eat it.

I plan on using it to make a stir fry. Tofu is one of my newer loves.

We also made healthier cookies! I'm a baker. Even though I'm trying to loose weight I still love to bake around this time of year. I've been trying to bake using healthier things in the mix.

The Recipe I Use for Chocolate Chip, Cherry Chip Cookies

I love that these cookies contain oatmeal!
Coconut Oil can replace butter!

Start:

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees.

Cream the following together:

1 cup Coconut Oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Blend in:

2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
6 ounces chocolate chips, 6 ounces cherry chips.
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Finish:

Spray a pan well.
I used a medium Pampered Chef Scoop.
Bake until light brown.
Place on a cooling rack when they've hardened up a little.
They taste good warm (straight out of the oven), room temperature and cold (we sometimes freeze them).
This made 55 cookies. We had a few and the rest went in the freezer for Christmas time. They tasted better then with using butter!

Disclaimer:

The opinions on this post are my personal take on the products. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.
I am not compensated to provide my opinion except for receiving the products themselves to test out.
If you have questions about this post please contact me at: alissa4illustration@hotmail.com

Winner!

2010-11-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Congrats to the winner of the CSN|Stores giveaways on this site!

Mama Needs a Nap won the CSN|Stores Giveaway.

The winner was picked through Random.org

Last Day to Enter a Few Low Entry Giveaway's

2010-11-04T08:21:00.001-07:00

I have 2 CSN | Stores giveaways that end tonight at 10 pm. They are both for a $35 gift card. You can find them here and here.
I have a Snugfits giveaway that also ends tonight at 10 pm. This is to win 2 baby or toddler's tee's. Their choices are awesome! Please enter this giveaway here.
This giveaway ends on November 6. It's to win an Energizer smoke alarm and batteries. Right before day light savings hits! You can enter this giveaway here.

Just Art Today

2010-11-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Every year I give my college art students this project. They each get a small part of a big picture. They also get different techniques they have to use.

I come up with new pictures every year. These are the images for this year. The end result covers the wall!

On both images the left image is the original and the image to the right is the student work. They never know what the picture was going to look like until the end, when it was hung up.

Detail

Pumpkin or Squash Muffins

2010-11-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

These Pumpkin Muffins are so good! My five year old Mica helped me make them.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour
1/4 cup plain oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup mashed cooked pumpkin or squash
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips
*Optional chopped walnuts or pecans. I haven't added any, but they would be a nice added touch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.
Spoon batter onto a lightly greased muffin cups. Bake in center of oven until tooth pick comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Fall Cake Pop's {Part of My Costume}

2010-10-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

I made Cake Pops. They lasted only an hour. My students loved these.
The insides are chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

As you can see I made a lot!

Fall Cookies {Part of My Costume}

2010-10-29T13:54:00.000-07:00

These goodies only lasted a few hours. My college students gobbled them up in no time!
The outside layer are acorns. They were really cute!

I also made some quick mummies. They are Oreo cookies dipped in almond bark. I only dipped one side. They have mini chocolate chips for eyes. I should have purchased some edible googly eyes. I took a fork to strike lines in them.

Halloween Costume

2010-10-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Here I am. My apron says, "Everyone has their price, mine is chocolate."

Don't Forget to Enter My Giveaways!

2010-10-28T15:28:00.000-07:00

I have two CSN|Stores giveaways. Both are for $35. They can be found here and here.
There is a Snugfits giveaway to win 2 baby to toddler tees here.
Then there is a Energizer giveaway to win a smoke alarm and batteries here.

Beansoup

2010-10-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Baby Gear Today is hosting a give away for an parent/child apron set from the company Beansoup.

The apron's that they carry are so fun! I really liked their Vintage Firetruck apron!

Fun Follow Friday!

2010-10-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

It's Fun Follow Friday!
Click on the link above and add your blog. Other people will check out your blog and you can check out many blogs too!
When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the Fun Follow Friday. Of course, they would love for you to follow both hostesses blogs, Simply Stacie and My Wee View, but it isn’t mandatory. If you do follow them, just leave them a comment and they will follow you back.
The main goal is to have fun and follow the blogs that interest you!
If you like this blog you might like one of my other blogs as well: Milking the Issue and The Apel's.
Check out my giveaway on the post below this one.
There is also a few giveaways on Milking the Issue here and here.

CSN | Stores Giveaway!

2010-10-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

This Giveaway has closed. Thank you to those that have entered!

CSN | Stores is giving one of my readers a $35 gift certificate.
CSN | Stores has so many things to choose from with their 200 + stores.
I had a chance to do a review for them on my family site, The Apel's.
I picked out a Melissa and Doug stuffed dog.

CSN | Stores has most anything you can think of! They have a great selection of baby items, lighting and rocking chairs.

CSN | Stores is giving away to one lucky reader a $35 gift certificate!

Include your email address if you do not have it public in your profile. You can enter if you are not a blogger. Leave a separate entry for each. Make sure the first mandatory entry is filled out before all others.

For your first mandatory entry, check out CSN | Stores and tell me what you'd pick out with your gift certificate if you won!
Google Friend this blog.
Add my Milking the Issue button to your site. Leave me your site link.
{Like} CSN | Stores on Facebook. Leave your Facebook name in your entry.
Leave a comment on a non giveaway post. Let me know the title of the post you comment on. You are free to leave many comments, but only one entry for this giveaway.
Blog about this giveaway. Link back to me and CSN | Stores. Leave a link. Leave five separate entries.
Vote for me on We're on the Fence! Just click on the button to vote.
Enter my SnugFits giveway here.
Enter my other CSN | Stores Giveaway here.

You do not need to enter all of the entries to be qualified, just the first mandatory entry.

Remember to leave your email address if it is not public in your profile.

This contest closes in 2 weeks, November 4 at 10 pm.

The winner will be chosen using random.org.

A Dining Room Table

2010-10-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

One thing I'd love to change about our house is to have a nice sized dining room. In November I like having my mom and two sister's over to decorate cookies. The last few years we've had to move the cookie decorating to my sister's house. I'd love to have a big dining room table!

The dinning room table above is so pretty! It's the Wildon Home Westminster 7 Piece Dining Set in Cherry from CSN | Stores.

What Am I Going to Be For Halloween?

2010-10-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

A baker this year! I work at an art school; Halloween is a big deal here. An excuse to make all kinds of creepy cookies and other snacks.

I'm going to carry around a plate of cookies all day. The students can have one if they wish.

I'll wear an apron, have my hair up in a curly cute pony tail. Easy and everyone loves to eat!

At the end of October I'll have a lot to post on here! Spooky treats and I'll post a photo of me too. ;)

What are you going to be for Halloween?

One year I was Vincent van Gogh. For an art school that was pretty creative. I looked nothing like myself!

10% Off Overstock.com

2010-09-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by Overstock.com to give my readers an ongoing 10% code to use at their store. They already have big discounts. There is free shipping for your first order and $3 for shipping and handling after your first purchase.

I really like their coffee pots!

Keurig B60 Special Edition Gourmet Single-Cup Home-Brewing System

This single cup brewing system brews coffee or tea.

Cuisinart CHW-12 12-cup Programmable Coffeemaker with Hot Water System

You can enjoy many things with this machine! It is a hot water system, so soup, cocoas, teas and much more can be made.

Their gift basket section has a lot of choices! A gift basket for just about any event you can think of.

'Happy Birthday to You' Gift Bag

This one is full of good treats and bright colors!

Snack Attack Small Gift Basket

This one is full of all kinds of treats.

The discount code: 121728

It is good for any purchase at Overstock.com and it is ongoing. Go pick out something fun!

All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.

Fun Follow Friday!

2010-09-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

It's Fun Follow Friday!
Click on the link above and add your blog. Other people will check out your blog and you can check out many blogs too!
When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the Fun Follow Friday. Of course, they would love for you to follow both hostesses blogs, Simply Stacie and My Wee View, but it isn’t mandatory. If you do follow them, just leave them a comment and they will follow you back.
The main goal is to have fun and follow the blogs that interest you!
If you like this blog you might like one of my other blogs as well: Milking the Issue and The Apel's.

Lego Cake

2010-09-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated my husband and younger sister's birthdays. My sister Terra made a carrot cake and I made a chocolate Lego cake.

My husband loves to build Lego towers with the kids, so I thought I'd try it out.

The raised areas are marshmallows cut in 1/2, and frosted.

I do have to say that I love chocolate cake, but it's harder to frost. I has only a thin slice of the carrot cake my sister made. It was yummy! She made it with applesauce. It had a limited amount of sugar in it.

*A side note. I stepped on the scale yesterday, and found out that I've lost 20 pounds since the summer! It doesn't really look like I have. I've lost it all over, and not in one spot. My mom says that's the healthiest way.

Cake Pops

2010-09-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

Bakerella has put out a book on making Cake Pop's. This book will be on my Christmas list.
Here's the promo video for the book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3TD3GA6P8LX4L
I've made what I call Cake Ball before. It's using the same method as Bakerella does; I just don't add the sticks, and get as fancy as hers.
Maybe I'll get more fancy over Christmas time.

I Won!

2010-08-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

I won the Make Your Own Chocolate Kit from Glee Glum!

Before Christmas, I'll be making some chocolate with my 5 year old son Mica. I think we'll give his preschool teachers a treat!

I'll post about it on here when we are in the kitchen together.

Blast Off!

2010-08-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

The cookies: The Rocket and Stars
The Rest: Photoshop layers, lots of layers

I'm not sure if it's done.

Glee Glum

2010-08-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

I think the make your own kits from Glee Glum are so great! I like them because they are something that I could do with my 5 year old. I could see us in the kitchen with apron's on making chocolate for his preschool teachers.

Chubby Cheeks Thinks is giving away a Glee Glum Make Your Own Chocolate Kit!

Hurry up, the giveaway ends today!

Another Robot Cake

2010-08-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

I made another robot cake for my oldest son's friend birthday party.

I made some rocket cookies to go in the kid's treat bags. There were some wind up robots I found at Target that went in their bags as well. They are so cute!

Check out the rocket my hubby made for my son's room! The kids really enjoyed themselves!

Birthday Cake's

2010-08-16T08:58:00.000-07:00

It took Mica awhile to blow out his candles.

Here's the cakes. I like the robot one. I got the stuff to decorate that one, cut the cake out, mixed the frosting, and daddy decorated it while I cleaned. I'm making another robot cake next week for Mica's friend birthday party. Then I'll make preschool treats coming up.

I'll post the other treats I make soon!

I decorated the space shuttle and give myself a C-. The red just was blobbing as I squirted it out. Of course if you remove it, it turns the white frosting pink.
This is when I like cookies better then cake. With cookies you mess one up, throw it away, and move onto the next one.

Health Update

2010-08-07T21:14:00.000-07:00

I met with a dietician. I just need to watch what I eat calorie wise. I did not fast to loose weight. I only fasted for lab work, to check for diabetes. I do not have diabetes! :)

I've started eating better. I wasn't eating bad before, just better now. All the sweets you see on this blog are usually for events/people, not for myself. My main problem is not eating too much, it's more about staying active. I broke my foot this year, and since then I've gotten into bad habits. This too I've started to change.

I've started a new blog along with another girl about healthy eating if you'd like to see it, click here.

I'll still post on here from time to time. In fact I'll be putting up a robot cake soon that I'm making for my oldest son's birthday party at the end of next week. My little guy is turning 5! I'll be posting birthday treats for his preschool class as well. No cake for me.

Winner

2010-07-31T05:26:00.001-07:00

I picked a winner for the csn | stores $40 giveaway! It is Pixie! Congrats. I will be sending her an email shortly.

Giveaways Ending Tomorrow at Midnight!

2010-07-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

I have two giveaways going on that end tomorrow!
They are both for csn | stores ($40 gift certificate) and can be found here and here.

Fasting, Fasting, Fasting

2010-07-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

We had company all weekend, and yesterday I made yummy feta cheese burgers with chopped up tomatoes, chopped green onion, worcestershire sauce and oat meal in them. Oh and sides of salad, cheesy potatoes and watermelon.
My supper consisted of couscous, tofu, plain lettuce and watermelon.
Last week I learned that I have high cholesterol and my blood sugar is elevated.
I have to go in today to get more blood work done.
Summer school is going on until the end of the week, so I wanted to get this lab testing rolling. My appointment isn't until 3:45 today-after class. I had to fast for 12 hours. Most people test in the morning.
I stayed up late last night, and had an additional meal of couscous, tofu, plain cucumber and grapes. This might be my new life because I need to start taking better care of myself.
My cholesterol isn't too incredibly high. It's 206. I have a family history of high cholesterol, over weight family members and diabetes. I told my doctor that I want to lose weight, so that is the path I'm on.
I have to say that I've never been too bad with food. I could be better. I make great baked things in the kitchen that I, or Daddy take to work. I don't devour them myself.
At this present moment in time I could eat a horse, and it's lunch time for most everyone, but me.
I'm walking more during lunch time at work. It's a start, but I need to exercise more, a lot more.

CSN | Stores - Giveaway!

2010-07-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited because this is my first giveaway!
CSN | Stores has so many things to choose from with their 200 + stores.
I had a chance to do a review for them on my family site, The Apel's.
I picked out a clock and valance for my son Isaak's room.

CSN | Stores has most anything you can think of! They have a great selection of furniture, lighting and cookieware.

CSN | Stores is giving away to one lucky reader a $40 gift certificate!

Include your email address if you do not have it public in your profile. You can enter if you are not a blogger.

For your first mandatory entry, check out CSN | Stores and tell me what you'd pick out with your gift certificate if you won!
For a second extra, entry copy and paste my Cookie Art button and add it to your site.
For a third extra entry, {like} me on Facebook. Leave your Facebook name in your entry.
For a forth extra entry, enter my other CSN Giveaway on my site Milking the Issue.
For a fifth extra entry, Google Friend me.

You do not need to enter all of the entries to be qualified, just the first entry.
Remember to leave your email address if it is not public in your profile.
This contest closes in 2 weeks July 30 at midnight.
The winner will be chosen using random.org.

This giveaway closed on July 30.

Giveaway Scout

2010-07-20T10:53:00.001-07:00

Giveaway Scout is a very useful tool to get the word out about giveaway's.
If you are someone that has giveaways, I strongly recommend using this connection.
I entered the giveaway above into Giveaway Scout.

Upcoming CSN Stores Giveaway!

2010-07-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

I'm hosting a $40 giveaway soon for CSN Stores! I'm going to start this giveaway tomorrow, so keep checking back!
They have a lot to choose from. CSN has 200 + stores.
They have dining room furniture, baking dishes, cake, cookie and pastry decoration! They have just about anything you can think of.
Browse through CSN | Stores to see what you'd like to win.

Just Art Today

2010-07-13T09:04:00.000-07:00

I've been working to add more character's to my son Isaak's tree in his room.
At first I was thinking of just making a bird's nest.
I decided to make a sleeping owl too. The owl has to be asleep because it's day time.
These two characters are now made, but not attached to the wall yet. I'm still trying to figure out what the best way of attaching them is. Our walls and ceiling isn't dry wall. It's cement mixed with plaster. Something like that. Hard as heck! I'm sure structurally the walls are great to withstand a thunderstorm, but horrible to attach anything to them!

Here's the bird's nest. It will go on the bottom right branch.

A detail of the nest. I just sewed in scraps of thread and I left the ends showing in a messy manner since nests are organized, yet cluttered at the same time.

Here's the wise old owl. He'll go on the bottom left branch.

This is a detail of one of the owl's eye's. They were sewn in.

I'm still in the process of making a puppy for a hill. He's going to be chasing one of the butterflies on a different wall. Isaak loves puppies, so I had to add one in.
I was thinking of creating a puppy Doctor Seuss style. To be honest I think Max from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas is kind of ugly. I'm going with more of a puppy look from The Poky Little Puppy.
It will be a brown puppy, and he'll have a funky pattern for his spots. I thought brown will be better then white; just in case a little boy decides to touch him a lot.
And last, but not least Isaak's going to have a kite on that same wall as the puppy.

Birthday Presents

2010-07-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

I got many things for my birthday. I'm spoiled!
I'm only going to post the baking things I got.
First, I got this cookbook! I've been wanting this cookbook because the kids like to help me in the kitchen, and I like them helping me in the kitchen! I love the Pudding Cups I made from this cookbook!

I got these cute little doughnut pans.
I figured that I could make all kinds of things in these. Not just doughnuts.
My ideas are spinning!

Another size too!

I got a rectangle baking stone. Before I only had a circle one.
I also got measuring spoons. I use them so much! They are always dirty. I'm always needing more.
I almost forgot that I got a knife sharpener. That should be really handy!

BIG Cupcake

2010-07-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

My birthday was on the 21st of June.
With my husband having a solo art show, we just got around to celebrating my birthday last night. This is totally fine by me. Things were pretty hectic at home with having company and of course I made a lot of food for his show. My husband was BUSY!!!!!!!!
I called my mom and asked her if I could make my own cake for my party? She said, "Yes."
I got a Wilton big cupcake pan last year from my mom, and haven't had a chance to use it. I really wanted to. You've probably seen these before. This is my first version.
The top of the big cupcake is yellow cake and the bottom is chocolate.
I used the left over cake batter to make little cupcakes to fit around the big cupcake.
So I used not quite 2 boxes of cake mix. I did not make my cupcakes from scratch this time.
I used flour spray in the pan.
The base of the big cupcake was cooked for 12 minutes since it was more dense. Then I took it out of the oven, sprayed the top side, poured the batter in and cooked it for the rest of the time.
I'm glad I did it this way because I know they wouldn't of gotten done at the same time.

The top view looked a lot like a flower.

The hardest part was cutting it.
It was fun that everyone got two kinds of cake, and we could separate them if someone didn't like one flavor. There was frosting sandwiched between the top and bottom of the big cupcake.
My kids LOVE cake. My two year old saw the box before it was made and kept say, "Cake Mommy, cake!" He wanted some cake before it was even made.
My four year old got worked up when I was decorating the cake. I had it all decorated, put it in the kitchen, and he saw an empty plate. He said, "Mommy where's the cake?" I said, "Mica I ate it all. I was hungry." He said with sad puppy dog eyes, "Mommy you're not supposed to eat the cake! That's for everyone at the party!" He's a smart boy! I came clean when I saw that he was sad.

The Recipe I Use for Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-07-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

I used this recipe for the previous post.
I love that these cookies contain oatmeal!
It's the recipe my mom used when I was growing up.

Start:

Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees.

Cream the following together:

1/2 pound butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar

Add:

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Blend in:

2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
12 ounce chocolate chips (I have replaced the chocolate chips with cherry chips, or used both. This is really good and different.)
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Finish:

Bake until light brown.
Place on a cooling rack when they've hardened up a little.
They taste good warm (out of the oven), room temperature and cold (we sometimes freeze them).

Pillow Cookies

2010-07-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

Do you like brownies? Do you like chocolate chip cookies? Would you like them together? That's what this recipe is all about.

I made a box of brownies just like the box instructed.
Then I made chocolate chip cookies. I refrigerated them for about an hour. I'm going to post the recipe I used for my cookies early next week.
I use a medium scoop to make my cookies about the same size.
Put a giant thumbprint in the middle of them.

Next I cut up the brownies and shoved them into the chocolate cookie dough.

Cover the dough with more dough.
The brownie should no longer be exposed.

Bake!
Cool!
Eat!

Fun Follow Friday!

2010-07-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's Fun Follow Friday!
Click on the link above and add your blog. Other people will check out your blog and you can check out many blogs too!
When you visit a blog that you like and want to follow, leave them a comment with your link telling them you are following from the Fun Follow Friday. Of course, they would love for you to follow both hostesses blogs, Simply Stacie and My Wee View, but it isn’t mandatory. If you do follow them, just leave them a comment and they will follow you back.
The main goal is to have fun and follow the blogs that interest you!
If you like this blog you might like one of my other blogs as well: The Apel's and Milking the Issue.

Strawberry Cake Balls!!!!!!!

2010-06-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

This time I made Strawberry Cake Balls for my husbands solo art opening. You can see his work here.
Trust me they are delicious.
Here are the steps to make them:

1. Make a strawberry cake according to the instructions on the box.
2. Let cool.
3. Break the cake in a medium sized bowl. I use a Mix and Chop from Pampered Chef to do this part.

4. Add 1 container of frosting. I used strawberry frosting, but you could use vanilla if you'd prefer.
5. I used a Medium Scoop from Pampered Chef to scoop the mix up to make 1/2 balls.

6. Put in the freezer for at least an hour.
7. Melt Almond Bark or Candy Melts in a double boiler slowly.

8. Get the cake mix out of the freezer, wash your hands, roll the 1/2 balls in the palm of your hand to as close to perfect balls as you can.
9. Dip them into the melted chocolate.
10. Place them on a sheet of waxed paper.
11. Let cool.
12. Trim off excess of chocolate with kitchen shears to put back into the double boiler.
13. Touch up uncovered spots with the melted chocolate.
14. Freeze or just put in a covered container.
**If you want them on a stick, you can buy sucker sticks at any craft store. Dip the tip of the stick in the candy melt. Place the stick into the cake ball and dip it. Lightly tap it on the side of the pan. I found it very helpful to have a fake flower Styrofoam block to stick the sticks into. This makes them set up so much easier.

Tips on Making Banana Bread

2010-06-28T11:14:00.000-07:00

Problem: Do you ever crave Banana Bread, but do not have any ripe banana's to make it? I do!

Solution: I have taken green banana's, peeled them and put them into the microwave until they are mushed. They are ready for Banana Bread, or Banana Muffin's after being nuked.

You also don't get the fruit flies flying around in your kitchen.

Problem: Do you ever crave chocolate chips with your banana bread, and have problems with them sticking to the pan? I have! The loaf usually comes out in pieces too!

Solution: Spray you pan(s) with flour spray. Put enough batter in to fill the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Put in the rest of the batter in the pan. Again sprinkle with chocolate chips.

I used to mix my chocolate chips in with the batter. Bad idea! If the chocolate chips are hitting the pan the bread gets stuck. I like my chocolate dispersed; that's why I sprinkle them on twice. ;)

Helping Mama in the Kitchen

2010-06-28T10:14:00.001-07:00

I have the boys help me in the kitchen sometimes. They love dumping in the ingredients into the bowl!

The problems I have are:

The boys fighting over who is going to help me. Usually I make them take turns. This time Mica was happily watching TV.
Spilling the ingredients outside the mixing bowl. I've learned to guide them instead of let them have the power.
They want to eat what's in the bowl; I place raisins, walnuts, or chocolate chips on the counter.
The apron Isaak is wearing is sized more for a 4 year old, so I put an extra knot in the back. Don't you just love his skulls and cross bone underwear?

I have to tell you; I don't care about those problems.
I love help in the kitchen.
It makes it much more fun when I have them in there. Except when I'm frosting cookies. I get a little anal about my decorating. ;)

A wilton Giveway!

2010-06-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

J. Leigh Design is giving away something GREAT for people that love to bake!
One winner will win a spot for themselves and one guest to attend a Wilton Method Course (Decorating Basics, Gum Paste & Fondant, or Flowers & Cake Design) at a local retailer.
The winner and their guest will each receive a $50 gift card to cover the cost of the Wilton Method Course tuition, a student kit for the Wilton Method Course chosen, and a package containing many class supplies needed for the course.

Fun Follow Friday

2010-06-25T06:21:00.001-07:00

Fun Follow Friday is a chance to get to see other blogs out there, and have other blogger's see your blog.
All you have to do is go to these great sites: My Wee View and Simple Stacie to link up your blog on Fun Follow Friday.
Join in on the fun!

Dove Chocolate Discoveries {Review & Giveaway} From Mommy Mandy

2010-06-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

Mommy Mandy is giving away to one reader both the Cinnamon Dusted Milk Chocolate Almonds and Chardonnay Wine Brittle from Dove Chocolate Discoveries.
My mouth is watering just thinking about this giveaway!

Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer Express {Review & Giveaway} From Jolly Mom

2010-06-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Jolly Mom is giving away to one of her readers a Jack LaLanne's Power Juicer Express.
I've always wanted a juicer.
Not only can you use it to make juice from fruit, there are also recipes that go along with the juicer that I'd like to try.

Disaster in the Kitchen

2010-06-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

Usually I do well in the kitchen. I try making cute things, and usually they turn out.
I was making Pudding Cups once again. This time for my birthday treats for work.
They turned out really good the first time when I made them for Mother's Day, except I got comments to make them a little smaller.
I bought water balloons, hoping they would work. They are so thin that when you plop them into the melted almond bark they pop right away. I even tried cooling the melted almond bark a little before dumping them in. Chocolate was squirted all over the stove and me.

The few that I did get to work, would not peel off the cooled chocolate.
That evening my husband went to 3 stores trying to get regular small balloon's with no luck. They either had 12" balloons, or water balloons. Bless his heart.
Today I went to Factory Card Outlet and found some 5" balloons. They were a perfect size. On Mother's Day I used 9". Everything went smooth with them!
I took the cute treat into work, and got to show off my boy's as well.

This time I filled most of the pudding cups with chocolate pudding, but a few had vanilla.
The boy's got a vanilla filled one.

Fruit Pizza

2010-06-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

We had a potluck at work today.
I was just going to bring fruit, but decided to go an extra step to make a fruit pizza.

Preheat the oven to 350 degree's.
The crust is from my sugar cookie recipe. You can use any one batch of sugar cookie dough, or even buy a mix from the grocery store.
I used a fork to make a hatching pattern on the crust before I baked it. Bake it until it is a slight brown. I found that it did take a little longer cooking it then when I make cookies. It's just thicker. For cookies it takes 8 to 10 minutes in the oven, for Fruit Pizza it took double that. Watch it carefully!
Let it cool.
Set out one 8 ounce package of cream cheese ahead of time, so it has a chance to soften. Add a 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of vanilla. Use a fork to mash up the cream cheese, stir it all together and spread it on the crust. I found that a rubber baby food spoon works great to spread the cream cheese mix out.
Next is the fun part...adding the fruit!
I like to use 3 or more fruits, but this part is entirely up to you. I think Kiwi in particular is a pretty fruit on the inside, so I like to add that.
You can paint on frozen juice concentrate. Any juice is fine. I skipped this. I find that adding this on top is fine if you know it's all going to be eaten. But...if there is left overs, the frozen juice concentrate starts to seep into the crust making it mushy.

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I love that these cookies contain oatmeal!
Coconut Oil can replace butter!