giggleface studios

Snowflakes

Christmas has come and gone and we are still enjoying our vacation time here. We have spent the days doing whatever we want...whenever we want with no scheduled plan! It has been so nice and relaxing and I am really enjoying sleeping in and taking afternoon naps. That doesn't happen too often!

Another thing the girls and I have been busy doing is cutting out beautiful tissue paper snowflakes! I found this lovely little book on the 'New Books' shelf at the library and couldn't get home fast enough to try it out. I added it to my  'Addictive Things To Do' list...you really can't make just one of these, because they are so pretty AND there are 75 different snowflakes to choose from.

They look so detailed and difficult to make, but it's so simple and easy to do, and the coolest part...you can use your kids scissors! I know we have a handful of them hiding around the house. Take a look at our fancy flakes!

Pfeffernuesse

Do you know what I saw yesterday while I was out shopping for a few groceries?  Valentine's Day stuff already lining the shelves...I kid you not! Needless to say I was a little perturbed and decided that I needed to act fast and do something to hold on to these last few days before Christmas!

So, this morning I made some German Pfeffernuesse Cookies. The aroma of these cookies quickly turned my Holiday Spirits back around!  This has been the first year that I have truly enjoyed the holiday season, and I am not wanting it to end.

I'll share my recipe in case you need a boost in the Holiday Spirit too!

German Pfeffernusse Cookies

1 Cup Sugar                        1/2 Cup Butter

1/4 Cup Buttermilk             1/4 Cup Molasses

2 1/4 Cups Flour                 1 Tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp. Ground Ginger       1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 Tsp. Ground Cloves        1/4 Tsp. Black Pepper

1/4 Tsp. Anise Oil (optional)   

Powdered Sugar

In a large bowl, combine sugar, butter, buttermilk and molasses; mix well. Add flour and all the remaining ingredients except for the powdered sugar'; mix until well blended. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours for easier handling.

Heat oven to 350 F. On a floured surface shape dough into 4 long rolls, 15 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. With a knife, cut rolls into 1/4" thick slices. Place 1/4" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-9 minutes until lightly golden brown (do not over bake). Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack. Cool 5 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

This Is How I Felt...

I've been busy over here making lots of felty things!

I made myself a special little treat (pincushion)! Doesn't this look good and scrumptious? A White Chocolate Orange Truffle Latte, with a rolled Pirouline cookie and a sweet piece of hand-stitched chocolate.

Yummy!

I also had a chance to make a little extra Christmas money, and gladly took the offer...3 custom felt stockings! A lot of handwork and beading went into these.

Gingerbread Cookies....or Are They?

Do you want to see what I baked up last night?

Good enough to eat right?

Well, I don't think they would taste too good since they are wood! I have been trying to figure out what kind of tag to put on the Bootie Bags to show who they belonged to, and came across these letters at the craft store ($1.00 ea.). Not really knowing what I was going to do with them I grabbed them anyway. They have been sitting on the shelf taunting me every time I pass by.

While making myself lunch yesterday and racking my brain, I glanced up at some pretty chocolate holiday pretzels on the counter. They were sprinkled red and green and looked so fun, that I knew THAT was what I wanted my letters to look like...but after more thought I decided to go for the 'Gingerbread Cookie Look'.

They were so simple and turned out fabulous...lots of Oohh's and Awww's from the kids! I just had Honey drill a hole in the center of each letter, painted, added painted frosting and a sprinkling of silver glitter, and let them dry overnight.

I attached them to each bag this morning and love them! Won't the kids be so excited now that they can identify which bag is theirs? All of our shopping is done and each bag is stuffed with goodies...the kids ask everyday if 'today can be Christmas'. It's very tempting, but I think holding the excitement in for awhile makes everything even more magical!