Peanut Blossom - The Holiday Cookie Recipe

I hope that you all enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving.  Mine was really nice.  My entire family gets together in a church basement, as our group has grown quite large.  It was really special when we all held hands and before the prayer each person said what they were most thankful for this past year.  Overall, we were most thankful for family and being together. 

Amen to that! 

 

My traditional holiday cookie is Peanut Blossoms.  I only make them twice a year, on Thanksgiving and Christmas. 

  Now some people will just make these cookies using a peanut butter cookie recipe.  It's not the same.

 

Here's my secret recipe and my tips for making them unforgettable!

 

1 3/4 cups Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Shortening

1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1 Egg

2 tablespoons Milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla

48 Chocolate kisses

 

In large bowl mix flour, soda, salt. Add all remaining ingredients, mix at medium speed.  Chill 30 mins. then Roll into 1 inch balls and roll in white sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

 

My tips:  Don't roll the dough into sugar.

Use Chocolate Kisses with Almonds

Take out of oven before they look done.

 

 

Enjoy the compliments.

 

 

Sewing Feed Bags With The Girls

This weekend was a lot of fun. 

I had my sister's over for a night of crafting.

We had seen these bags

on our Montana trip and thought they would be pretty easy to create ourselves.

 

We found a video on YouTube that was a little different.

My sister, Veronica furnished us with a lot of bags from her work place.

 

I should have done a short tutorial for you here, but you can find many on YouTube.

 

We'll be getting together to make more soon.

Perhaps, it will be daylight and I'll have enough light to get some good photos.  Please excuse my terrible photography.

 

 

 

Creativity Rocks!

Wicked

 

Turning 50 has been great!

My friend Lisa invited me to see the play, Wicked.

It was a birthday present.

I loved this story so much more than The Wizard of Oz.

 

I loved the question this story asked.

Is someone born evil, or does that person become evil because of things in their lives?

Then, the munchkins ask Glinda if it's true? Was she once friends with the wicked witch? 

This is really the opening of the play, and the story continues with the true story of who the wicked witch really is.

 

I adored the witch just as much as the always positive Glinda.

 

This story is about friendship.

 

Call your best friend and go see this show. 

You will love it!

  

Chris Farley Reincarnation

Do you remember Chris Farley from Saturday Night live and of course all the movies he starred in?  He could always make me laugh. My family loved him.

I found this photo today online and had to share.

 

 

Is this for real?

Here's a comparison.  Amazing isn't it?

 

Hope you're having a great week.

 

Abstract Art - A Watercolor - Water Therapy

 

 

Water Therapy - that's what I'll call this one.

It felt like therapy creating it.

Hope you enjoy.

DIY - Owl - Doodling/Painting/Mixed Media Tutorial How To

 I've been noticing a lot of Owls lately.

Have you too?

 

I decided to see if I could make an owl painting of my own.

Here's what I came up with.  It's easy, fun, and I'm guessing you can do it too.

 

Here's how...

 

First step - Sketch a picture of an owl.  I found a cookie jar owl and used it to get ideas from.

 

The next day, I found some of my favorite scrap paper.

Cut it up into shapes, similar to my sketch.

I laid it out on a canvas, and then decoupaged it down.

 

I was going to paint around my owls parts, but decided I'd rather doodle.

No surprise there.  So, I started by outlining.  Then, I doodled.

 

 

For the words, I decided to use. 

"Owl Always Love You."

Not sure

how these things just pop into my head.

 

But, I'm glad that they do.

 

I cut out some more scrapbook paper and used a stamp for

my letters with white paint.

I ended up doing my green background after, but you might want to do it before you

glue your owl down.

 

EZPZ.

 

Let me know what you think, or show me a picture of an owl you create.

I'd really love that.

 

My First Art Retreat with Alisa Burke

So, I was thinking, what would make my 50th birthday extra special?  Something, I would always remember?

 

Then, it came to me.  An art retreat. 

 

I remember the moment, I clicked the button and paid for the retreat.  Whoa, did I just do that?

Yes, I had.

 

The next couple of weeks, I waivered a bit.  But, then I bought my airline ticket, and next my hotel.

 

I was really doing this.  Yippee!

 

Where did I go, you might wonder?  Well, I have been a fan of the talented Alisa Burke http://alisaburke.blogspot.com/ for a couple of years now.  She is one of my very favorite artists, as she inspires me on a weekly basis.  Going to one of her retreats, would be a dream come true.  And, it was!

 

 

I had so much fun...

 

The class was called Graffiti Remix.

 

Alisa taught us about layering paint onto the canvas and then taking that

canvas and making something with it.  In this class, we made clutch bags.

 

I also learned how to use a sewing machine to free stitch my clutch purses.

The stitching becomes another layer to our canvas.

 

This retreat has opened up another way of creating for me. As you all know, I already love painting on canvas - see my post for Doodled Backpack's.

 

http://www.virginiajbailey.blogspot.com/2012/04/ikea-backpack-customized-with-original.html  

 

But now, I have plans to create my own backpacks, purses, etc...

 

Don't you just love learning and trying new things?