Oscar Night Cookies

These cookies were so exciting to make!  It was definitely an iterative process.  I started by printing off a sheet of Oscar images and taping them onto a cookie sheet.  I taped parchment paper over the sheet of images and began piping over the images with white royal icing.  These were left to dry and harden overnight.

When I was sure they were dry, I hit the bottle of Ever Clear to make the glittery paint to get Oscar ready for Oscar night!

I mixed just a bit of EverClear and Wilton Pearl Dust.
I experimented with both bronze and gold to make the shimmer.

Oscar gets bling-ed up!

I made the cookies at the same time I made the cookies for Nick's birthday.  I love the elegance of the scalloped edge cookie cutter.  I piped a black border using a tip 1.

My hand is always so shaky, but I'm getting better at working quickly!

Next, I used 10 second thinned royal icing and a tip 2 to fill in the cookies.  Notice my glass for holding the overturned bottle to prevent air bubbles, and the painted Oscars were ready to go into the wet icing.

I gently placed Oscar onto the wet icing and smoothed him down just a tidge.

He wasn't bling-ed up enough so I added a few black dots to each side and ran a toothpick through the dots.  IMHO wet-on-wet icing is always so elegant.

I added a few extra dots for a little more design.

And there you have it!  All dressed and ready to go to the red carpet!

The kids said they actually look like bells.  However, they were kind enough to tell me
they look very classy.  I think they like the simplicity of the finished cookie.  I could've used a
tip 0 or 00 to pip Oscar so it wouldn't have spread as much.  Oh, well...I'm still learning what works.

The Big Reveal...Knitting & Lent

I finally finished off the sweet little sweater I've been knitting for our new godson.  He's adorable and I've only seen him in pictures!  I can hardly wait to drive out to see the little prince.  So here's one of his little gifts.

I used the 5 Hour Baby Boy Sweater pattern I found at Ravelry and Red Heart green fleck worsted weight yarn I had left over from a frogged project.  I knew I'd find a use for  this yarn.

As for our Lenten practices, the kids have been eating a lot of fruit, and I'm trying to give up Diet pop.

I go back and forth over this because I don't drink coffee.  I feel like it helps me stay awake in the afternoon so now what will I drink when I need a lift?  Sugar's been out for a few years...it'll be 5 years in May...woohoo!  And most of my tea is herbal.

I've also started a 30 day retreat booklet from the writings of St. Teresa of Avila.  I'm keeping a separate prayer journal, too.



Today I decided to bring the camera along to take a few shots of our Thursday Run-Around.

Here are the kids in the car....

Yes, we have a mega-van!

I now have proof for Daddy that I have a bit of a lead foot.  Oops!

Here's church 1 that I drove to and from twice today....

And here's church 2 that I drove to and from twice today....

This is actually the school, but the church is on the other side of it.:)

I didn't snap a pic of church 3 where the kids have their piano lessons.  I was too worn out by that point in the day.:(

I did, however, snap a pic of the lake near our home.  It just looked too beautiful not to capture.

Is your Lent off to a good start?

Mardi Gras

We love to celebrate Mardi Gras as I have told in the past....

2007
2008
2010
2011

This year I finally made the Mardi Gras mask cookies I've been wanting to since 2009!  That year I made mask cookies to sell at our parish Mardi Gras festival.  This year, I cut out the eyes, added sticks for holding, and decorated them with ribbons.  I love them!

I've also wanted to figure out a way to make a ribbon spool holder for when I have to make bows for packaging or in this case, decorating.  I didn't want anything permanent, so I used a couple screw in hooks, S hooks (paper clips that I pulled apart!), and an old curtain rod.  It worked great!  I will leave the screw hooks in but take down the paper clips and rod.  

Now for more celebration prep....Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler!

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real: Kids & Quilting Mishaps Edition

Molly was asking for fried rice for lunch yesterday, but I told her I couldn't make it.  I really only had enough energy for making simple lunches for all the kids.  However, I did tell her that maybe her sisters could make it.  Well, Maria was all over that.  I pulled a few things out of the fridge they could use up...you know...leftovers.  I also asked Monica to make rice in the cooker.

They pulled off the dish without a hitch and didn't leave a thing for later.  Not even a grain of rice!  Meanwhile, this is what Molly was doing while her sisters were cooking.

She was watching the bread in the oven.  This is why I was low on energy by noon!  We had two beautifully baked loaves of bread by 1PM.  Baking gratification!
After lunch, I sat down to read to the kids.   I've been reading Johnny Tremain, and they love it.  It is very exciting to say the least.  As I finished reading, I asked Lucas to run quick for my camera.  Nick was so captivated by the snow that was falling outside.  

While I read to the kids, I was ripping out stitches from my quilt pieces.  I'll just say you should always heed the saying, "Measure twice. Cut once!"  Arrrgh!!

You can see more Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real moments by clicking on the button above.

A Love-ly Day

I have had so many projects on the brain...knitting, quilting, paper crafting, cookie making...plus there's school and finishing up basketball for the "big girls". It's been a busy last few days.  However, I never fail to quickly browse my Google Reader in the morning to check out the blogs I follow.  One of these blogs is a pastry blog from Spain written by three sisters.  Today they dedicated their post to their mother.  I love this blog in particular because all the posts are written in Spanish.  After reading their post today, I was in tears to read how tenderly they described their mother and the passion she instilled in them to pursue their love of baking.  I hope that I'm able to see my children grow up to have passion, interests, and love for each other like these sisters have.

I thought of my own girls and how much I enjoy being around them.  I love making and sharing things with them.  I love their jokes, their silliness, their insights, and their interests.  They are truly interesting people that add a special spice to my life.  They and the boys have sat at the table in my craft room over the last few days watching me cut pieces for my quilt and sew them at the machine.  They've worked on Latin, Math, Geography, and Spelling while I busily work at my projects.  They've cheered me on with my knitting project and given me their opinions when something doesn't look right.  They are always eager to eat a burnt or misshapen cookie or tell me when something is a flop.  They are brutally honest!

Valentine's Day bags

Yesterday, they made Valentine's for each other and their friends in preparation for a party this afternoon.  I came up with a cheesy Valentine for Daddy just like his cheese Valentine for me.  I am looking forward to a little date night with him tonight.  He has given me the most special Valentines that have made my life and my world so worth living.  He actually gave me seven of them!

Today I am so grateful.  My heart is so full of love for my family and the friends God has placed in our lives.  These friends invited our family over for a little party.  I am encouraged by my friend who also enjoys her children and longs to see them grow up the same way.  We love our husbands and our lives.  I am ever so grateful for hers and their friendship.  They are truly a blessing!

Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real: Having Fun Edition

Pretty
I really like quilting and have had a hard time choosing a pattern to make another quilt.  I've been over at Moda Bake Shop and Quilt Dad to get ideas.  I prepared all the scrap fabric that would go together aesthetically, but was stuck on what to make.  After discovering Eleanor Burns's Quilt in a Day website, I decided to give the Merry Go Round pattern a whirl.  I really like the way the block turned out.

Here's another close-up of the pinwheel.  It's obvious the yellow fabric has butterflies on it, but if you look closely, you'll see that the blue fabric has the tiniest blue butterflies, too!  

Happy
I've said it before so I'll say it again....The kids love the art teacher!  This week she had them work on animation.  I guess she picked up a book and wanted to work on simple animations with the kids.  They had such a great time.  Here they are watching the art teacher's little movie using a lazy susan and a Triscuit box for a screen.

Funny
Nick was so happy this evening jumping around the homeschool room so I could barely snap a picture of him!

Real
He finally stopped to mess around with the hole puncher so I could take his picture.  He really does need a haircut.  Guess who's his haircutter?

See more Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real Moments by clicking on the button above.  Leila has very beautiful yarn and knitting to show you over at her place.