Over The Top Cookie Exchange

I was asked this week to help design something for an upcoming cookie exchange being done at a local private school. My buddy said there were prizes for the best tasting cookies and best presentation. Everything has to be homemade and since neither of us bake well, that was the biggest challenge. I was in the middle of unpacking all my Christmas decorations when I saw a small snowman from See's candy, not sure why I kept it but that gave me the inspiration for the cookie exchange. Snowman with snowball cookies (round Russian tea cakes made really really small) in a forest of trees. The Snowman doll (it's a woman) was handmade by Carol Kennedy, a local doll artist. The triangle boxes (one for each person attending the cookies exchange) holds the required 6 homemade cookies, which my hubby baked. With only a few days to work on it, I think it turn out well enough to win a prize. :)
Update: Won Best Presentation award

Bee Keeper Doll

Isn't this just too funny!!! It's a great doll for any beekeeper.
I've been busy cleaning up after the kittens (every two hours the litter box has to be cleaned out) washing bedding and sweeping the floor. I've also started to decorate the house for Christmas which means dragging in several super sized plastic containers of all my Christmas decorations. On top of that I went to visit my "dealer" (a retired antique dealer selling off his inventory) of vintage items to stock up on my booths. Let's just say my house is a hot mess right now.

Doll and photo by:
wee-mee whimsies

The Cute Factor

Mommy cat Sunny and Boris are working on their "cuteness" factor so when they go to the pet fairs, someone will want to take them home. I'm working on trying to find homes for them before they have to be herded into cages and groped by strangers.

Little Miss Daisy is doing 100% better and is gaining weight. She's always the first one to the food dish. We are fighting a eye infection now but it's not slowing her down. She's an ankle biter when playing with her much bigger siblings. She's not tall enough to get them in a head lock or pull them down with a ear pull.

Christmas Stocking Gift Card Holder

After seeing the pattern for a Christmas stocking gift card holder on Splitcoast Stampers, I decided there had to be a faster (if not easier way) to whip one up. Cutting it free hand or as it's called in the paper crafting world "fussy cutting" takes way too much time. I used my Cricut machine and the Christmas Cheer cartridge set on black out at 9". Martha Stewart holly leaf punch with some red rhinestone.

Christmas CAS Card

Another Christmas CAS (clean and simple) card. Super fast to make and the little bird is one of the Martha Stewart punch. Magenta cling stamp.

Friday Detox Day

I'm not a drinker but I did binge on carbs. I'm on a no carb diet so the holidays are the only times I indulge. To help my body detox from all the carbs from my trip to Nepal and Thanksgiving I made a trip to my local produce store. I picked up some fresh ginger (for ginger tea) and fruit. I'll be good until Christmas eve then all bets are off. :)

Little Miss Daisy

I was finally was able to get a photo of our little Miss Daisy (the runt of the litter) with her big sister Hazel. You can see how small (less than a 12oz.) she really is. Mommy cat is so over nursing her kittens. Since all the other kittens are now eating moist food, Sunny doesn't have to nurse as often. She's also sleeping on the highest counter in the bathroom. She can keep an eye on her babies but they can't get to her. Miss Daisy is now eating a little on her own (she has been dewormed and getting antibiotics twice a day) but because of her size, needs a warm body to snuggle up to. We still have our fingers crossed that she will make. There still is a lot of bathroom clean up and litter box cleaning every two hours but the major blow outs are getting better.

Mayflower Story

When my daughter was in second grade, the class had a pot luck where each child was asked bring in a dish from their family heritage. My daughter decided to bring something from her father's side for the family. My husband is a mix of many European countries, so we narrowed it down to something German or English. Since my knowledge of German or English cooking is very limited, we sent a letter off to Grandma Smith. She sent some recipes and a photo of the Sheldon family (her maiden name) homestead which turns out to be the oldest surviving building from a Mayflower passenger. I asked my husband why he never told us he (and now his children) were descendants from "THE Mayflower"? He said there are thousands of descendants, so what's the big deal?
Hope you have a great Thanksgiving Day!

CAS - Make a Stack - Part three

The third card (there are four total) for my "make a stack" card class at Memories Live On. I wanted to mix up the colors a little and go with something non traditional. I used square punches to make the frame and heat embossed the silver part of the image. I was used the Studio G clear stamps.

Little shrine in Nepal

On Halloween we made a hike up to a small shrine behind the lodge we were staying at. Once we got to the shrine ( it was an all up hill hike with no trail path) it was about two flights of stone stairs straight up with no guard rail. Wasn't so bad going up but you sure had to watch your step coming down.(top photo) There was a big bell right at the top step you could ring and say a prayer. Maybe a prayer so you don't break your neck going down. Once at the top there was a little alter building and (in the picture on the left) a place to make a live sacrifice. In this case, it was a goat and yes that is blood. Some big festival or religious event happened right before we arrived in Nepal and goats are the live sacrifice of choice. One of our guides said this is what they call non vegetarian Hindus. There is a goat barbecue after the sacrifice. We did notice that we didn't see a whole lot of adult goats (only babies) in any of villages we passed.

Update: Here's a link about the sacrifice festival.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091124/ap_on_re_as/as_nepal_animal_sacrifice

Family Photo

This is a family photo of all the kittens and their mom Sunny. You can see that Daisy (in the side photo) is very tiny, about half the size of her litter mates. She is the only one not interested in eating moist food. We are now getting ready to bottle feed her to help her gain some weight. They should be ready for their forever home in about 5 weeks. If your interested let me know. The adoption will go through the Safe Haven program.

Left to right: Hazel, Boris, Daisy, Rosie and Sunny

Next Cat Adventure

After the sudden lost of both Lucy and Honey Bunny Scooter, we weren't really sure if we wanted to get another kitten. Mr. Purrcy, I know would like a buddy but he is very happy not having to be the live chew toy for a kitten. As I was checking out Criag's list, I came across a request to be a foster family to four kittens and their mom. What most people don't know is when a nursing mother with kittens are dumped at the animal shelter, they are killed right away. The shelters don't have the space or time to keep everyone together. The only thing that saved this family was a rescue volunteer happened to be there. She begged to keep them a few days longer and she would find a foster family to take them in. Fostering kittens is the best solution for us. We can raise them and see if any have that feisty but cuddly personality my hubby wants in "his" little fur baby. Kittens are about 5 weeks old and mommy cat is very young too.

We've named the mommy kitty - Sunday or Sunny for short

Boris (the only male) looks just like mom and eats like a horse.

Hazel (already a talker and cuddlier) and Rosie are the gray stripes.

Daisy (not pictured) is the runt and very weak right now. She was curled up with Sunday, so I didn't want to move her to get photo. I'm not 100% sure she will make it.

Next week we will have open kitten time, if you would like to come by and socialize with the gang. In order to get them ready for the pet adoption, they have to have lots of social interaction with people.