Double Thumbprint Cookies

Just over a year ago, we lost Auntie M to cancer.
Her fight was long and difficult and she made us believe she'd beat it many times with her cheerful disposition and fighting spirit.

One of the last things she did was to make sure we all had a special personal keepsake from her. She had made small silver pendants on a key chain that were shaped like a heart, each containing her thumbprint.
Auntie M was an artist and crafter her whole life and inspired the need to make things in a whole bunch of us. We had to make these heart healthy thumbprint cookies in honor of her.

We will love ya forever Auntie M.

This recipe is in the current Better Homes and Garden's Christmas Cookie Magazine.
found on page #43

We made two balls of dough and pushed thumbs into them. Then pinched the bottoms to make a point. They look like little hearts.

Then we filled each indent with Presidents Choice Blue Menu Strawberry Rhubarb Jam.

This is what they look like after baking. we sprinkles them with a dusting of icing sugar before packing them up as gifts.

Grandma Grace's Jello Fruit Cookies

These are the cookies I remember the most from being a kid. My Grandma Grace on my Father's side made these (plus a thousand more!) and my brother and I looked forward to them every year. The recipe is so simple that Mom and I had to call Grandma and confirm the recipe.

Now I make them with my kids and Mom and Boyfriend.

All you need are three simple ingredients:

Jello Powder 2 packages (We used strawberry)
Sweetened shredded coconut fine 1. 200g package
Can of sweetened condensed milk
green royal icing

Mix one pack of the jello powder, all the coconut and all the condensed milk together.
pour the second pack of jello into a shallow bowl.
Shape the mixed coconut, jello and milk stuff into strawberry shapes and roll them in the shallow bowl of jello powder.

mix up some royal icing
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tsp of meringue powder
a few drops of green food colouring
enough water to make an icing consistency

Use a skewer or toothpick to make leaves of green royal icing on each strawberry

Keep them in a secret cool dry place and they should last for a couple hours
until someone finds them and eats them all.

try 'em
you'll like 'em!

:D

Christmas Nails and a Random Goldfish

I removed the gel nails last night and decorated my natural nails for Christmas.
They've grown a heap!
I don't believe that wearing nail enhancements ruins your natural nails, I believe that removing the fake nails by ripping them off ruins your nails.
Gel nails should be soaked in gel remover,and acrylic nails need to be carefully filled off.


I did a red sparklie french tip then added green, silver and white diagonal stripes with white dots at the smile line. Then I coated the whole thing in two coats of clear polish.

Here are the blue swirly tips embedded in longer clear sparklie tips. I added a goldfish to my thumb just to be silly.

A blurry goldfish close up shot.

Gonna spend the weekend baking cookies!
:D

Emergency Prop Jewlery Job

Had a new client request initials NG as a gold pendant.

I used my favorite FIMO clay and gold powder by Staedtler to create the pendants. They only need one. I decided to make three versions for them, one is thick, one thinner and the third has crystals in the corners for bling. The pendant will be used in a close up for a corporate instructional movie.

YEAY!!!!

I always wanted to be a sci fi movie make up and prop gal!

:)

Ball Jointed Doll

I think its time to make a new doll.
This one is going to be a ball jointed doll.

I'm working out the proportions in my sketchbook.

I copied the original sketch out in three different sizes. Not sure how big or small I want to make her yet. Not even sure exactly what she'll look like. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be a girl. I think I'm going to make her out of polymer clay but I'm still working out construction details.

Gel Nail inside a Gel Nail Experiment.

I decided it was time to change the nails. I like the blue and the stilleto shape but decided they were a bit too short.

I made a swirly blue and white french nail with gel, then capped it off with some clear gel and sparkles. Looks a bit like a nail floating inside another one.

Maybe you can see it better from the side?
I also added a lace smile line sticker.

Underneath it all. Looks like a dogs breakfast but at least you can see what's going on. I think the idea has possibilities. I might just sculpt some goldfish in there and add some seaweed.
What do you think?
:)

Here is a video of our friendly neighbourhood Squnk. It's just a squirel with a white tail, but he's a master of disquise. No one will mess with him just in case he really is related to the smelly black and white kitty.

Wonder why his tail is white?

Anyone know?

Sock Dreams Purchase!

I made a fun online purchase that I thought I would share with you all.

I ordered six pair of socks from a company called
Sock Dreams.
Three pair for me and three pair for Maggs. Maggs got the stripey ones and the purple pair and mine are grey, rust and green. The rust and green socks are called over the knee socks and they do come to just over my knee, but the rest are thigh highs.

:)

....and they are thigh high!
I can pull them way up to the top of my leg and make them look like tights if I want to wear them with a skirt, or I can cuff them like this and wear them with leggings and a long top.

I Love these socks.
They were reasonably priced and look and feel like they will last forever....... the shipping was quick and trackable however shipping fees were half of the order price. The socks came to just about $60.00 and the shipping was almost $30.00. I wish there were an option for cheaper shipping, I'd order from them every month if there were.

Christmas Twig?

This year we are going for a retro upscale Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Not something you can just purchase at the local Canadian Tire store. We're gonna make one!

First we found the old galvanized bucket we had kickin around.
We filled the bucket with pebbles and stuck the twigs in there. Then we poured plaster of paris over the pebbles and twigs to hold things more firmly.


Got some cheap white spray paint from the hardware store and started spraying.............. and spraying..........and spraying...................... well...... you get the point. It took a while.

I covered my hand with a bread bag so I wouldn't need to soak in solvent before work to get rid of the paint. It worked well, gloves would have been better and not gotten in the way of the nozzle so often.

Huge Tip!
Wait for a day that's not windy. Most of the paint blew away but I got several face fulls of white and my hair should have been covered. I look like I've had a sudden shock and now have grey patches.


Here is our Christmas twig inside. We're going to have it right in the front window.


We added turquoise, green and silver balls first.


Here we've added red balls, turquoise birds and some mirror snowflakes but it's hard to see. Sorry about the picture quality I've been really frustrated by camera problems.

Mom put our home made elves from a few years ago on the tree as a joke. She thought I wouldn't like them........ But I do! I like them on there. What do you think? Are the elves too kitchy?

** Edited to add project completion pics**

Mr. Jimmy and I went to Canadian Tire and purchased three strands of 100 light white chorded tree lights. We picked the warm white glow. I think we still need 50 more lights or so. The branch in the back didn't get any lights at all.


Here is a progress shot of the mantle this year. Mom made the cool paper drifty snow and put the Elf dolls I made her years ago up on top of her new polar bears.


Sebastian isn't sure what to make of this inside the house tree. I hope he doesn't get too confused.


He's a cutie........ Maybe if we bribe him with treats he won't use our Christmas tree as a pottie.
:/

More Breadmaking and a Special Momento Mori.

Wanted to share something with you today. It's getting closer to Christmas and we'll soon be making things for each other as gifts. I wanted to start sharing some of the gifts we've made for each other in the past and I'm starting with my favorite first.

I made this a few years ago for my Mom. It is a remember doll, and is a portrait of my Grandma. She was pretty fabulous and we miss her a bunch.

I printed a picture of Grandma onto some Lazertran Silk and transfered the image onto some flattened transparently coloured Fimo soft. Then I wrapped the Fimo with the face image around an unbaked egg shape of Fimo soft and blended it into a smooth head shape being careful not to smudge the image. I baked it and built the hat and body after. This little doll sits in the living room most of the time but at Christmas she is our tree angel.

Mr Jimmy has never made bread.....

:O

I know!!!!
So I'm showing him how today!

He's really getting into the kneading part. he said that it's therapeutic.

He seems to be enjoying it a bit too much?
:)

Things of today.... or what to do with a day off.

I got the day off work!!!
got up good and early........ er.... um.... if you consider 9:30 am early.
:)


I'm making some delicious whole wheat - flax seed - sunflower seed bread.

Whole wheat bread recipe

Here is the recipe I used.... and altered.

I replaced 3/4 cup of white flour for ground flax seed.
I added 1/4 cup of molasses.
I added 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds.
YUM!!!

We've put ourselves on a budget....... been spending WAY too much on groceries. We figure we'll save a few bucks by making our own bread two or three times a week. It's not even that hard or time consuming and it smells sooooooo good!!!

We are also trying to loose weight. Halloween always leaves us with a few more pounds on the rump roast than we need. I'm also still dealing with body changes after the gallbladder loss and the quitting of smoking. I'm getting round!
The bread baking might not be helping us lose weight.
:/

Fully baked delicious bread! Seriously, I wish you guys could smell this!

I know I should wait till meal time but I just can't.
Sooooooooo good!

I have pointed out my blue mylar nails of the previous week. I do love me the stiletto shape.

I tried to get a close up of the thumbso you can see the sparklie mylar, sea shells and gold leaf embedded in there but it came out blurry. I need to put some surface paint on these ones soon.

Here is the first Christmas Fascinator. I got the blingie festiveness from Michaels craft store and put it all together with E6000 jewlery glue. It's on a hair clip so I can wear it in my hair or on my work coat as a brooch.