We Made These Today.....

For this brand new year, I told myself I'd spend more time in the kitchen. Aside from scrapbooking blogs, I also regularly visit food blogs and have been inspired by all the baking & cooking these talented people have been doing. I've actually been baking since I was a child. Learned mostly by reading recipe books and watching & helping my mom & aunt bake. There are a few tested recipes I've kept for years and going over them sure brought back good memories.

Today, I tried a peanut butter cookie recipe I found at smittenkitchen.com. We always have chocolate chip oatmeal cookies at home so I decided to try out this one. My youngest DS was my able assistant and made the whole process even more enjoyable. His job was to roll the cookies into small balls & put chocolate chips on top. And his reward for all the hard work? Of course, he got to lick the bowl and spatula!

The verdict? I found them quite delicious, DD & youngest DS gave the thumbs up & eldest DS found them just "ok" because he says he didn't like peanut butter in his cookies (lol)! Try it! Of course, I had to take pictures of these lovelies.

Mix and Match

Another promise I made myself is to use up (really!!) my stash. I got to thinking that I should try to squeeze in as much products from different manufacturers in a layout as I can without making it too cluttered. So far, am doing it and I hope I'll stick to it.

For this Xmas layout, I used "old" papers from the Scenic Route Rockland Collection together with Teresa Collins' 'Tis the Season line. I also used Maya Road journaling cards and thickers for the title.

This next one I was esp. happy with. I finally (!) used my Rhonna Farrer French Twist paper & chipboard journaling panels (I still have too much!), mixed it with papers from Collage Press & Scenic Route Sonoma Collection. I also used another favorite of mine: Cosmo Cricket's Blackboard Fleuriste.

Happy New Year!

I am just amazed at the endless stream of parties and the non-stop eating that we did over the holidays! Oh, I wonder how much pounds I've gained again? Hah! But truly, this last Christmas was truly a good one!!! DH especially enjoyed the almost 2 week holiday. He said that this is the longest that he's been on a holiday for a very, very long time.

Happily, I was able to make a few layouts and a mini to mark this "most joyous season of all". I tried to mix "old" and new releases from Rusty Pickle, Scenic Route, Sandylion and Teresa Collins. Made me feel good to go through my stash (again!...lol!).

For the mini, I tried to capture all the significant events during the month of December which included my DS' confirmation, the parties, and of course Xmas Day itself. Thanks for the idea, Ali Edwards!

The next LO I completed in about 10 minutes. I was staring at the pictures when the idea for the title came to me. ha-ha...Precious little rascals! Putting on the alphabet stickers was the hardest part for me. My journaling reads: "Sige...If you don't behave (or do as you're told), you won't get any gifts from Santa" And so goes the mild threat I make to get the kids to toe the line. Most of the time it works but once in a while, I get a blank stare and a snicker.

Of course I had to make an LO for my DS! I really, really love the precious expression I captured on my DS' face! Truly, Christmas is for children. And finally, this is one of the Christmas layouts I made for Lasting Impression. I used Rusty Pickles Snowflakes & Mittens line which was truly yummy! Materials are available at Lasting Impression. Please check out it out here.