A Holiday Cookie Swap Blog Hop with The Digi Bells! :)

Coffee of the Day - Chocolate Peppermint, just the thing to go with an assortment of cookies! :)

Hello to all of you on this bright and beautiful Sunday morning! :) I am so not ready for Christmas to arrive, but I know by the time it gets here, my house will have been tinseled and hollied and bedecked in ribbons gallore! you see, I've been so very busy working on holiday projects for everyone that not one decoration has been put up yet. that changes as of next week! I am almost finished with projects in the craft room! hooray! :)

but you are here today because you want to taste a yummy cookie, don't you? you have arrived here from LYNDA's absolutely gorgeous blog if you are on our hop with The Digi Bells. if you are just starting out, please stop by The Digi Bells blog for the complete list. you don't want to miss even one stop of the fun, since everyone is sharing cookie recipe cards and this adorable new digi stamp, "Home Baked Christmas," that is making it's way into the store today. :)

every year for Christmas, each of my sons gets to choose at least one Christmas cookie that I will bake, plus we have several favorites that are always on the list. the recipe that follows is one of the 'always' cookies! if you follow my blog, you know that our oldest son, Tyler, became engaged just this past week. I decided to make this card for his fiance, Danielle, so she could have one of Tyler's favorite cookie recipes for her collection. :) we all know that Santa's favorite cookies are Daddy's favorite cookies! :)

Because the recipe is a bit long, I wasn't sure how I was going to fit it into a standard card format. that is when I came up with the idea of making a 'Z fold' card.

papers are from a pretty vintage pad I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

all of the dies are by Spellbinders.

flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts with the exception of the poinsettia on the frosting page. that one is by Making Memories.

buttons and lace are from my vintage stash. accents were made with shimmerz paint and crystal effects.

digital images on the recipe pages are some of the free ones Elisabeth so kindly sends out each week to her newsletter subscribers. you can sign up here if you aren't already on the list. you'll receive a free image every week in your mailbox! :)

If you would like to see any of the photos larger, just click on them and they will open in another window for you.

I'm the last hop on the stop, so thank you very much for popping over! head to The Digi Bells blog and leave a lovely comment for Elisabeth!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Jennifer

p.s. to my regular blog followers, tomorrow begins my Growing in Unity week. I am so VERY excited to share all of my projects with you! I hope you check back each day, not only to see what I have created, but for a chance to win some fun stamps!

Challenges:
The Stamping Boutique - fancy folds (Z fold)
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas
Pile it On - any holiday/celebration
The Ribbon Girl - any image with ribbons/lace/trim
A Gem of a Challenge - anything Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - cute Christmas
Di's Digi's - winter holiday
Kraftin' Kimmie's Wonderful Wed - anything goes
Morgan's Art World - anything goes
Little Miss Muffet - anything goes

A Wee Irish Recipe and Fun RRR Blog Hop!

Featured Photo at The Outlawz

Coffee of the Day - Irish Creme, of course!

Welcome to my stop on the Really Reasonable Ribbon Blog Hop! everyone is featuring projects using this month's ribbons from the new monthly club kit. as a lover of all things green, this collection really made my heart go pitter pat! ;)

if you are following along on the hop, you should have come here by way of GINNY's amazing blog. should you ever lose your way, you can always head back over to the RRR blog for the complete list. plus you'll want to stop there at the end to have a chance to win your own ribbon club kit! :)

when the photo of the new ribbons for this month were posted, I made the comment to the rest of the Design Team that the pic made me hungry for the white cheddar and bacon scones that I fix for my family every St. Patrick's Day. the other ladies commented how yummy the scones sounded. I must say that they really are VERY tasty! I promised to share the recipe, so decided it would be fun to create a recipe card as my contribution to the blog hop.

I'm showing both the front of the card and the inside, which is where the recipe is posted. not sure yet just who is going to receive this goody in the mail. maybe YOU?!?! :)

EDIT!!!!
there is a typo in the recipe - in the 2nd paragraph 2nd sentence, it should read that the large rounds should be about 1 inch thick, NOT 2 inches thick. sorry about that.

the adorable little bingo images come from the St. Patrick's Bingo Collage digital file found at Polly's Paper Studio. you might remember that I had made 2 cards with this collection earlier.

papers are from the Authentique Treasure collection, flowers are by Wild Orchid Crafts - chrysanthemums, lilies, and open roses, and a gold spiral stamen. some frantage embossing powder was added to the cards for a bit of shabby fun. vintage buttons, gold doilies, and a retro shamrock applique complete the project.

thanks so much for stopping by! now head over to AMBER's blog for something spectacular to inspire you! :) be sure you leave her a comment and tell her hello!

Challenges:
Outlawz Tues Color - green + 2 others and twist (yellow, brown, and white from photo. twist is flowers from pic)
L'il Patch of Crafty Friends - anything goes
Scrappy Hands - bingo elements
Ribbon Girls - anything goes card with ribbon
Polkadoodles - Lucky Green
Crafty Girls Creations - anything goes
Southern Girls - anything goes

Hot Cocoa Mix Recipe

Coffee of the Day - Maple Fudge

Good Morning, everyone! so sorry I am late posting this recipe. it's been crazy around here, as I am sure it is for many of you as we get ready for Christmas Day. :)

Hot Cocoa Mix

11 cups dry instant milk powder
2 cups powdered non dairy creamer (or 1-15 oz. container) flavors are fun to try!
2  1/2 cups powdered confectioners sugar
2-16 oz. containers instant chocolate drink mix (I used Nestle Quick)
2 tsp. cinnamon

mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. store in an airtight container or glass jars for gift giving.

to use, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of  mix to 1 cup of boiling water. stir well.

if you would like to make a coffee/mocha version, add 1 to 2 cups of instant coffee to the above mix. I put mine through the coffee grinder to make it a bit finer.

when gift giving, I include, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and mints for fun add ins. :)

Enjoy!