Ornament-a-Day

   Seems like all my inspiration and creativity these days starts with something found through Pinterest. And this is no exception! I came across a neat idea of sharing a photo a day of a special Christmas ornament, with an explanation or special memory. So, that is my plan. I'm obviously very behind so I will do 2 a day until I catch up. ;) 

   

   If you would like more info to join in, the original idea came from here: http://www.enchantedhomeschoolingmom.net/2012/11/christmas-ornament-day-picture-on.html. As an added bonus, I found a cool homeschooling blog to follow. 

  
  Two of my first Christmas ornaments. Doesn't get much better than that! I actually had 2 "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments. The other one was a cute yellow plastic rattle, with a nursery scene inside. My parents gave me that, and several other childhood favorites, when I got married. Unfortunately, we had an apartment fire 3 years ago and lost most of them. Thankfully, these were still at my parents and I acquired them last year. Makes me cherish them even more!

   Do you have a favorite ornament? Maybe from your first Christmas? Or one you, or your child, made? A precious family ornament handed down from a grandparent? I'd love to hear about them!

Here comes Peter Cottontail...

My Easter collection...



Lily modeling the bunny for size reference. The bunny is slightly larger than the chick, due to the ears.



A collection of holiday clippies.



For those of you that have been interested in the sculpted clippies from the past couple days, I went back and re-posted pictures of Lily modeling the Dragonfly and the Bumblebee. This should give you an idea of the size of these clips. Remember...they would also be great attached to a hat or headband! I will try to snap a couple pictures of one on a hat.

What other holiday clips would you be interested in seeing? It could be a completely different holiday...or even a different type of clip for a holiday already represented. I would love your suggestions!

Tomorrow: Everyone's favorite girl Mouse!

C is for Cookie

Right before Christmas this year, I decided I wanted to learn how to make decorated sugar cookies. I have tried my hand at cake decorating a few times, so I already had many of the basic supplies to begin this new hobby. After spending countless hours searching websites for recipes and tips, this was my first attempt at decorated sugar cookies...

I was suprised at how cute they turned  out!

I have made MANY more cookies since this first batch...most of which you will see posted in the near future. I am still in search of my FAVORITE recipes & techniques, but I learn something different with each new batch. So far, I'm pretty sold on the rolled sugar cookie recipe from Glorious Treats. Her cookies are gorgeous, and her website is so helpful for this newbie! I have tried a few other dough recipes but nothing comes close to hers! For this first batch, I also used the Royal Icing recipe posted on her website. It was great to decorate with...easy to make, smooth application, beautiful finish. The only problem with royal icing is that is dries very hard, thus making it difficult to bite into. My personal preference is a softer icing, but if you like royal icing, this one was great!

My favorite part of this little guy was his nose. I actually got it to stand up. Not condusive for packaging, but pretty cute!