A fresh start

                                 Find these cards and other bits of cleverness here.

Happy 2013

First Night Boston 2012

Our 11th year 

First Night style!
come find us 
Dec. 31st

 Hynes Convention Center, Hall C.

1:00 - 6:00pm

To purchase First Night button 

and First Night information.

Merry Christmas to All

             
                                                                                                                          image here

Nutscene Garden Twine

My mom gave
me this great garden twine.
She's  given me larger spools 
(in a handy can) which I've used in and around the garden throughout the season. There was something about this colorful row of tiddlers I could not share with my tomatoes.
Today, I made a great hand scrub and wrapped it up tight.
Love.

twine here.

dream a little dream

                                                                                          image from beehive tumblr
                                                                                                                            

Us and Them

Take in each moment and 

 truly watch them, feel them, 

think like them, 

smell them,

laugh with them,

listen to them,

learn from them.

Enjoy every spec of them.

And when you think

you've had your fill,

do it again.

And again.

I wrote this post last January.

 Hearts are aching. 

Give your children 

YOURSELF today.

Under the tree

Fun festive 

gift wrapping ideas

 and inspiration.

All images from  pinterest .

Cookie Day

I'm gearing up for our annual Cookie Day. 

 My mom, my sister, georgia and myself 

get together for two days  of

 pure baking

 flying flour

rolling dough and 

 slinging cookies.

We share dozens of cookies that we have each made at home, 

and bake strictly sugar cookies together. 

Christine and I do most of the rolling and cutting.

Georgia is queen of decorating the cookies. 

Mom is happy we are under her roof.

We fill dozens of tins, 

drink lots of coffee and laugh a lot.

 It's a sweet tradition.

Checking my pantry for this staple, 

my favorite vanilla extract.

Find it at food shops or williams-sonoma

gifts to give workshop 2012

Just home and brushing off the glitter 

from this very festive workshop.

Beautiful gifts made by

many small hands. 

little kids with big color

                         Yep! I'm thinking I may need something 
                     like this funky chunky color myself.  

 Pics from this 

blog full of great stuff.  

morning light

One of my favorite times in the studio 

is early morning.

 There is nothing like 
the light that shines in 

and makes my heart sing. 

sparkling cookies from the Purl Bee

Sparkling Coin Cookies

(adapted from the Icebox Butter Cookies in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook)

Makes approximately 5 dozen

Ingredients:

2 Sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sanding sugar of each color for rolling

You will also need:

Parchment paper

Electric mixer

To make cookies:

With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add egg and almond extract and mix to combine.  Add flour and salt and mix on low until combined.

Divide dough into quarters and roll each piece into a log approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Wrap each log in parchment and refrigerate until firm.  If freezing, wrap well in plastic and parchment.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheets with parchment.  Let dough stand at room temperature until soft enough to slice, but firm enough that it won't lose it's round shape when cutting.  Roll logs in sanding sugar until they are thoroughly coated and slice into 1/4-inch-thick rounds.  Place the rounds approximately 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake for 15-20 minutes until slightly golden on edges and bottoms.  Remove and place on cooling racks.

We used Martha Stewart's Icebox Butter Cookie recipe and substituted almond extract for the vanilla extract.  We like that you can make this dough ahead and keep it in the freezer for up to three weeks before baking it.

 the purl bee features a holiday cookie every year, 
take a minute and check their archives for past deliciousness.

brown paper packages tied up with string...

I made these accordion books 
 for my family last year,

filled with photographs of my 
children, niece and nephews.

I love love love them,

 they are simple & sweet.  

You can find one

 for yourself 
and a friend 
here in my Etsy shop!