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and the random winner is......

YAY Jennie!  Thank you so very much for all of the comments on the little artist case.  You are too much!!  Thank you.  I know I've said it before, but I truly don't give things away to have everyone tell me how wonderful I am (though that IS a nice bonus.  LOL)  I love giving with the simple hope of just making someone else happy.   I'd give away all my little projects if I could.  Boy, *Henry* would love THAT...frugal man that he is!  LOL   

A lot of you commented that you were going to make an art case now.   You really need to!!!  They are so fun and simple, simple!  Literally, the hardest part is cutting it all out.  I'd love to see a photo if you ever do make one!   Also, some of you offered to buy one....I'd feel really weird about offering something for sale that was made from a free tutorial (those kind women spent so much time preparing the instructions... and for me to capitalize on that would not be fair), so I've been working up a OJ&Co original design and *may* be bribed to offer some of those if you're interested.  (I LOVE chocolate!  *wink, wink*)  Let me know. 

Oh, and a little story i have to share.  I just finished talking to Wendy at DiscTalk Radio for an upcoming  "inside the scrappers studio" show.  Oh my WORD, I sound like a total NERD!!!  That phone interviewing stuff is hard work!!  The women over there are sweet, and kind, and throwing compliments out right and left, but I was so nervous the whole time I couldn't even think straight!  And then my phone DIED half way through the interview.  LOL  Literally, it just quit working mid sentence!  Wendy was asking what kind of car I drive, and I was explaining a little quid pro quo I have with *Henry*.   You see, he wants more babies.   And while I love the 2 we have more than anything on this earth, I am not quite ready for another just yet.  (I'm a busy lady, and really, the laundry situation with just the two of them is ridiculous!!  LOL)  What does this have to do with the car I drive, you ask?  Well, I have a little stipulation in place that in order for me to even THINK about having another wee one, I must be driving a bigger vehicle.  And not just any vehicle.  I want the Volvo XC90--it's got that 3rd row of seats!  Perfect for any mom to cart around her cute babies.   Right now I drive an Altima.  And it's fine!  Getting a little squishy with 2 monster car seats in the back, but just fine.  But there is NO WAY that 3 could fit back there.  (And as I mentioned earlier, DH is a tad bit frugal.  LOL)   So I use a car as my bargaining chip.  LOL  (I realize this sounds shallow, and TRULY, I would never have it come down to this....just don't tell DH.)

Anyhow, so on the 7th of January you can listen to 45 straight minutes of me rambling mindlessly.  Man, oh man, is that embarrassing!!   I'm turning all sorts of shades of red just thinking about it.   ugh 

interrupting the giveaway...

to wish my beautiful friend Jayne a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I hope your special day is filled with love and celebration all for YOU!  Your little package is in the mail.  ;) 

Okay....continue the sign-ups if you are interested in the artist case.  I'll draw out a winner tonight.  :)

spreading Christmas cheer

I realize that the big day has passed....but that doesn't mean I can't keep giving, right?!  Right.  I'd mentioned a little earlier that I was going to whip up an art case for my little Livy-Lou as a last minute Christmas gift.  She LOVES to draw and especially loves her own little notebooks to doodle her heart out, so I knew it'd be perfect.   I'd seen a couple crafty blogs where they'd posted tutorials for these fun cases (here, and here) and decided to try one of my own.   (I used the dimensions from Craft Apple, but not the instructions as I'm too impatient to read it all and figure it out.  Hence, why I ended up with an extra crayon pocket and sewed the button closure on the wrong side.  Hey, it was 3am on Christmas EVE!  LOL ANYHOW...) 
So here's what we're going to do--You know I just love these things!-- Leave me a comment with your name and email addy and I'll do a fun little drawing for a custom crayon case for your little artist. 

And I promise to get the button on right.  ;)

for all you fellow eggnog haters

I don't like eggnog.  The whole idea of it just grosses me out.  BUT, I love the smell.  (mmmmmm....that spicy sweetness)  So a couple years back I adapted a quick bread recipe I had and developed a delicious eggnog bread that I LOVE.  It tastes just like eggnog smells....but the raw egg factor is gone since it's cooked.  :) 

So all you girls that don't drink eggnog out there....you've gotta try this one.  It is really sooo good!  I know, I always say that.  But it really is!  And it makes your house smell wonderful!! 

Off to run to the quilt shop.  Gonna whip up a couple art cases for Olivia and some of our nieces.  They are sooo cute and a great way to keep the little ones entertained at church.  LOL 

Only two more sleeps 'til Christmas!!   

Little pieces of sandwich cookie heaven

Time for recipe #2:  Candy Cane Chocolate cookies!  These babies are SOOOO good!  I originally got the recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine.  (I believe it was on the cover last year)   

Anyhow, the recipe was good....but the frosting was a bit too goopy for my taste.  The original filling called for like a cup of sugar and 3/4 cup butter....which if you think about the ratio, you KNOW it will be sludgy.  Not so good.  So I called on my old standby frosting recipe and it worked FABULOUSLY.   With the peppermint extract, the filling reminds me off those creamy homemade buttermints.   Just melts in your mouth.  So here's the recipe I use:

Do you know what my very favorite part is....the cookies turn out JUST like the picture.  LOVE when the recipe is not only good, but cute too!!  Think how darling they'd be stacked in little cookie towers tied with ribbon!  OH!  Or piled in those big cute chinese take-out boxes you see all over.  The possibilities are endless.   Man I love this stuff.  *sigh*

recipes are a flyin'

It's time.  I'll be posting my favorite holiday recipes throughout the next couple days.  Yum, yum, yum.   Starting off, here is an incredibly addicting caramel popcorn recipe.  You may think, "Huh, CARAMEL POPCORN....whooopdy doo!"  But I'm telling you, TRY IT!!!  I call it *Chicago style* because when my digi girls and I went to Chi-town this fall, we got some similar stuff at a famous popcorn shop there.  (Girls, what was that place called again?!)   But this recipe is even BETTER!   I'm packaging it up in little vintage looking popcorn boxes and taking it to neighbors. 

More baked sugary goodness coming soon. 

Oh, and a quick tid-bit from today.  I ran into Walmart to grab some groceries (Why on EARTH I went to Walmart is beyond me! I DESPISE that place!!)  and quickly popped into the holiday section to see if anything was decent.  I found the CUTEST glass cloches housing little glitter mansions.  OMGOSH, I almost died!!  I'll have to take pictures of the new collection.  You'll love them! 

holiday orders

I made it!!  Everything is all packaged up and ready to ship off.  I used paypal's shipping center to print my mailing labels, and I'm not 100% sure that they automatically emailed the tracking numbers.  So email me if you did not get yours.  As of this time, I will not be accepting any more apron orders for delivery by Christmas.   Thanks again to all those who ordered!!  I HOPE all the recipients love their gifts.  :)
And with that, I'm gonna run.  After I get back, I'll be tidying up the house and pulling all my favorite recipes for our holiday bake off.  Yipppppeeeeee.  The baking induced stress relief is so welcome.  :) 

tagged....twice

**WARNING: Long post ahead**

First off, THANK YOU so much for the compliments on the stocking.  Rosanna saw the post and said she LOVES it!!  YAYAYAY!  And thank you to all of those who've placed holiday apron orders despite the poor selection.  I'd planned on putting a bunch of new holiday styles up on my blog, and then had so much going on with our home construction....and getting my family ready for Christmas, that I never did.  :(  I'm new at this *business* stuff, and always think I can do more than I have time for.   Right now, I'm considering an Etsy shop until my site is done....or I may do a new blog with JUST OJ&Co goodies...IDK, just kind of thinking out loud.  Thanks for all the support.  I love creating new things, and to have people actually BUY something that I MADE....wow, just "makes my heart happy".   (Liv says that, and it's exactly how I feel.)   It truly means so much to me.  Thank you!!

Okay, it looks like I'm IT.  :)  The fabulous Miss C.D. (aka Scrapbooker of the YEAR!) tagged me on Monday...and then the super sweet and hilariously funny Maegan tagged me on Tuesday.  LOL  And BOTH are different tags...so it looks you get oodles of info about me.

Here's C.D's....sort of an ABC's of me type thing:
A - Available or single:  Nope.  Going on 6 years of wedded bliss.  :) 
B - Best friend:  *Henry*, my handsome hubby 
C - Cake or pie: cake, all the way!  Pass an extra piece of red velvet please.  WITH extra frosting. 
D - Drink of choice: Diet Coke, lots of ice.   
E - Essential item you use everyday:  call me vain if you want, but I love my eye-lash curler.  I was blessed with long lashes...but they're stick straight.  I'll leave the house with no make-up, but not without curling my lashes first.  LOL
F - Favorite color:  Orange....red-orange.  Or lately, robin's egg blue.   
G - Gummy bears or worms:  Bears!  The worms totally gross me out...but I'll still eat them for a sugar fix.      
H - Hometown: Logan, Utah
I - Indulgence:  A trip to the salon.   
J - January or February:  February.  With Valentine's Day and our anniversary falling in Feb, I get spoiled.     
K - Kids & names: Olivia (3), and Gray (15 months) 
L - Life is incomplete without?  My sweet babies. 
M - Marriage date: February 24
N - Number of siblings: 3
O - Oranges or apples:  Apples...but they have to be  REALLY crisp granny smiths.  I HATE peeling oranges, but love the smell. 
P - Phobias or fears:  LOL.   I'm a WIMP, so I've got lots of them....heights, spiders, the dark, you name it.  But my biggest phobia is of fish.  Don't ask me why *shudder*
Q - Fave quote: "Dwell in possibility"  Emily Dickinson
R - Reason to smile: It's nearly Christmas!!  What's not to smile about?! 
S - Season: Winter.  Love, love, love when it's cold outside and I'm snuggly and toasty inside.   
T - Tag 3 or 4 people: Sara,  Shawny -I'm having blog withdrawals!!, Helen -you knew it was coming girlie,  Lisa  -saw you did another tag recently...but not THIS one.  :), and my new friend Ashley -Welcome to digi scrapping!!  LOL
U - Unknown fact about me: I burnt my EYEBALL with a curling iron once.  It was the days of "claw bangs" and I dropped the curling iron right into my eye.  OUCH!!!!! 
V- Vegetable you don't like: eggplant.  I *try* to like it, but I just don't. 
W - Worst habit: impatience 
X - Xrays: lets see, I think the last one was right before I had Liv.  I had heart burn so bad that it burned a little hole in my esophagus causing horrible chest pain.  LOL  I thought I was having a heart attack.  (I'm a bit dramtic like that.  LOL) 
Y - Your fave food: chocolate, cupcakes, chocolate, cookies, chocolate....
Z - Zodiac sign: Gemini


*Insert half time performance here*
And on to the next one:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Ummmm....what do you think?  Hot chocolate, of course!  And I just discovered a FABULOUS recipe for homemade hot chocolate.  (I'll post it soon.)  OH!  But I also have a yummy recipe for Egg Nog bread.  Hmmmmm.....

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
He wraps.  Well, Mrs. Claus actually does all the wrapping...and then writes his name on it.  Doh!!  I'm gonna have to talk to Santa about that. 

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Normally white.  But this year we didn't do our normal tree and just got a little pink tinsel one for Olivia.....So they're pink.  It's very cute. 

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Heavens no.  If I want a kiss, I'll just go get one.  No need for mistletoe with my cute babies and DH around. 

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Usually about the first week in December.  But I'm running sooooo behind this year, they will probably never ALL get put up.  Next year....and in the new house!  Ooooo, I can't wait for that. 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?  Ham.  I love ham.  That sounds gross, but I really do love it. 

Favorite holiday memory as a child. 
When I was in 5th grade, on the 21st of December, my Mom and sister were in a car accident with a train.  Yes, a TRAIN!  It was terrible and both of them were badly hurt.  The accident occurred a couple blocks away from the elementary school, and the school received some bad information.  I was pulled from the lunch line and told that my Mom had passed away.  (She DIDN'T, but they thought she had.)  Anyhow, I won't go into the details...but my Mom got to come home from the hospital (even though she probably shouldn't have as she was still in really bad shape.) on Christmas afternoon.  I remember the whole event to this day.  We woke up early and didn't open ONE SINGLE gift all day because we knew she'd be coming home that evening.  My brothers, sister, and I were all sitting on the couch sooo still as my Dad carried our mangled Mom into the house.  *sniff*  I'm so thankful she and my sister made it through. 

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
You know, I really don't remember!  I wish I did.  I probably recognized that it was my Grandpa Cooper, dressed up as Santa, who visited us on Christmas Eve.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
When I was little, we always opened one present.  It was new pajamas that my Mom had made.  (Hey, Mom, remember those "sleep sacks"?!  Those things were cool!  LOL) 

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Like I mentioned, this year it's totally different than normal.  Our little pink tinsel tree is covered with sparkly balls and glitter snowflakes (inspired by Miss Paper Bella, herself: Teresa McFayden, and the uber CHIC, Pam Garrison), handmade felt birds, and yo-yo garland (I HAD to copy super cool Heather on this one.  Have you seen anything cooler in your life?!)

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it!  In fact, it's snowing outside right now.  Big, huge, fluffy, only in Utah, flakes.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

12. Can you ice skate?
Oh man, I haven't skated since I was probably 17.  (Which wasn't that long ago, as I've been 23 for a *few* years in a row now.)  *wink*

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Well, my FAVORITE gift was not a Christmas gift.  About six months ago, there was a knock at the door.  I answered it to find a Serger sitting on my doorstep, with a little note attached.  My sweet Mom surprised me with it out of the blue. 

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Remembering the birth of our Savior.   Simple as that.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
I'll start posting recipes soon.  Let the holiday baking begin!  :)

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I really love it ALL.

17. What tops your tree?
I big pink flower and a huge bow made from 4 inch double sided satin ribbon. 

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving.  I spend forever trying to find the perfect gift. 

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Oh Holy Night

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yuuuuuuuummmmmmm.......

Phew!!  If you made it through all of that, you're a saint!  And you've learned far more about me than you ever wanted to know.   Thanks for tagging me Maeg, and C.D!  That was fun.  :)   Oh, and consider yourself tagged!!  I'd love to learn more about my blog readers.  :)  If you answer some questions...link me to it in the comments!!   

Happy weekend~
 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

Hi, friends!  Just coming up for air to show you one of my latest holiday creations.  A few months ago I *met* one of the dearest people, Rosanna.  She ordered one of my Lola aprons after the lovely Amy so kindly plugged me on her blog.  Rosanna and I started emailing....found we had a lot of interests in common (a love for sweets and Grey's Anatomy!  LOL)....and quickly became friends.  I LOVE when that happens!!  Anyhow, she lives in Italy, a place I can only DREAM to visit someday, and has the most amazing and unique flare for decorating.  Seriously, her home looks like a magical real life dessert gallery.  It's unbelievable.  Amy posted some shots of Rosanna's kitchen on her blog a while ago....and since I can't get it to link correctly, I've snagged a couple of Amy's pictures to show you.  (I hope you don't mind, Amy!!)

This is her HOUSE!  Amazing, right?!   Yes, just amazing. 
So anyhow, Rosanna asked me to make some custom aprons and a Christmas stocking for her beautiful little Nicole, who just turned 5 years old.  Of course, I said yes!!  I had a BLAST!  But let me tell you, I was stumped for a very LONG time trying to come up with something I thought she would love.   Finally, while looking through my December issue of Home Companion (one of my all time favorite mags), I saw an idea for an ice-skate stocking and ran with it.  Here's my version that I made for Rosanna:

The body is silky pink taffeta, a cuff of puffy chenille inspired minky, and then it's lined with adorable cotton with candy scattered all over.    Yum!
I then made the "blade" out of felt, trimmed it with shiny silver sequins, and laced the skate up using rhinestone buttons and a variety of ribbons.  All pink and green of course, Rosanna's signature colors.  :)  So. Much.Fun!  I do hope she loves it!!  I'm *this* close to swithing all of my Christmas decor to pink just so I can have a stocking like this for myself.   What'ya think?

digital accessories by Jen Wilson, Shabby Miss Jenn, and Katie Pertiet. 

sparkle houses and sugar plum fairies

It's DECEMBER FIRST!!  Can you believe it?!  Excuse me for a moment while I go hyperventilate in the corner .................................................................... ACK!!!  There's so much to do...so many traditions, but everything is so fun I can't bear to leave one thing out in order to save time.  I love this whole month, and the first day has just been lovely!  It began with little Olivia waking me up saying that someone was knocking on our door.  (Normally this would NOT be something positive as I'd have to answer while looking quite a sight!)  I quickly ran to answer it only to find a package sitting on my doorstep.  YAY!  I love the fed-ex man.  Right away I recognized the signature red packing tape of Inspire Company.  AH!  I'd ordered one of her refurbished vintage houses a little bit ago, and it had arrived.  With Olivia standing watch, I carefully sliced open the tape and pulled out our treasure.   It was perfect!!  Truly, one of the most adorable things I've ever seen.  And sweet Amy had included one of her mini ballerinas as a gift topper.  Olivia was bounding around the living room in excitement. 
You see, little Liv and I went to see a local production of the Nutcracker earlier this week.  She's obsessed with anything to do with ballet, and I knew she would sit in amazement, so I didn't hesitate sneaking her in even though the age requirement is 5 years old.  We just *pretended*, since she is only "nearly four"~as she would say.  I was right!  She sat there open-mouthed and filled joy for the entire production.   Each time the Sugar Plum Fairy would come on, she would clap and say, "If I practice my ballet enough, I'm going to be the Sugar Plum Fairy.  Okay, Mom?   She's the most beautiful dancer!"  And I'd agree and tell that I thought that would be a really great idea.  LOL 
SO......when the package arrived with the mini ballerina placed right on top, Olivia thought that the REAL Sugar Plum Fairy had sent her a gift!!  She spent all morning playing house and dancing the ballerina amongst the "pink snow" (that crinkly packing paper stuff. LOL)

Thank you, Amy!!!!  We LOVE the little refurbished house and it made a wonderful start to our December.

As if this wasn't enough, my sweet neighbor brought over a gift of homemade caramels, white chocolate dipped pretzels, and peppermints.  Yummmmmmmm.   And then I received this weeks gift from my *Secret Santa*--a gift certificate to IdeaBooksForYou.com.  I know exactly what I'm going to get.  I'll be putting it toward this book right here:

How perfect!!  Thank you Secret Santa!  And thank you so much for the GC to TwoPeas last week.  I've loved both of your gifts!!  Can't wait to find out who you are!  :)

I think that's enough.  *Henry* and I have a busy weekend planned, including a trip to SLC to find the stone we will be using on the exterior of our home, and *hopefully* dinner at either of our favorite places~  this one, or this one.  Can't wait!!  I hope you've all had just as great of a day as I've had.   Happy December!