Christmas Panda

My Samoyed Panda participated in all the holiday cheer this year. He tried to make sure that he was always in the middle of all the action and didn't want anyone to forget that he was there as if his presence was the only reason to celebrate hehe. Here are some pictures of him that I took during the Christmas festivities.

The bow just adds to his charm:

Just the happiest puppy ever!

Here he is looking regal and intelligent (both of which are characteristics completely lost to the poor dog)

Christmas Goodies!

Finally I get to show you all what I got for everyone for Christmas! I couldn't post about it earlier because some of the people I got gifts for check my blog regularly, but now I can show you!

I vowed at the beginning of my shopping season to do all of my shopping on Etsy, and I stuck with it! As my family is fairly small, I couldn't buy from all of the Etsy sellers, but I tried to support as many as I could.

For my mom, I got some custom stitch markers from WeeOnes...
and a custom ornament from TheMagicSleigh:

I got some custom coasters for my dad from swilhoit:

My little brother received a tshirt from mediumcontrol:

My older brother got a custom painting from javachip:


I got some great gifts myself, a box to organize my knitting notions (this zip lock bag was just not cutting it!), a CD by Holly Brook, a neato torpedo votive candle holder with the Hindu God Gamesha, some DVDs, and of course, like any college student wants, some food and money for food. So all in all, I had a great Christmas :D I hope all the rest of you did as well, and in the coming days I will post some pictures of my family and my gifts.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Closer Than It Appears

So with the coming of Christmas and soon thereafter the New Year, much change is upon us. Not only in the US with our new President, but all over the world!

I really wish I could write a lengthy, inspirational post, but I think I will just say that I hope you all have a very happy Holiday season, remember your blessings, and don't forget that there is always hope.

Custom Cross with Roses

This weekend I had another request for a last-minute Christmas present. The gent wanted a cross for his mother. I hadn't done this before, but it actually was kind of fun!

I put a vine of roses (roses do grow on vines don't they?) wrapping around the cross all the way up and at the top was a sign reading INRI. There is a small loop at the top so this cross can be hung on the wall.

Truffles, Mice and Cookies

So last night, in lieu of studying for my last final which I took this morning, I made some truffles, chocolate mice and chocolate chip cookies. And right now I am preparing to make some chocolate marshmallow bark.

The process took longer than it would have had I owned an egg beater, but I made due and given the circumstances, it was probably better for me to just take my time and get my mind off of my rough day. I mixed up some cream cheese, powdered sugar, melted chocolate and vanilla to make the truffles then after they sat in the fridge for a while I rolled them into balls and rolled half the balls in powdered sugar and have in cocoa powder.

The mice were made from a simple mixture of chocolate, sour cream and cookie crumbs (which were actually chocolate graham cracker crumbs). After being rolled in cocoa powder and more crumbs the ears were put in place. I kinda feel like these look more like little turds with ears than actual mice, but perhaps if they had tails and faces I would feel differently?

The cookie dough was delicious and after stuffing my face with the raw stuff I put the cookies in the oven only to have them all melt into each other. Oh well, this way they make cooler shapes and they are still soft and gooey. Next time I'll use a bit more flower.

This weekend its off to Taos to go snowboarding and spend some time with my family in Los Alamos, then who knows, work, Christmas, knitting.

Ah The Therapy of Baking

and of making truffles. It is amazing how therapeutic making delicious desserts with a deadly amount of chocolate can be for the heart. Chocolate chip cookies, truffles, mice, enough chocolate to melt the hearts of the likes of Hilter, Sadam, and my high school Physics teacher. Pictures tomorrow.

Green and Black Knucks

These are the coolest knucks I think I've made, maybe I'm just partial to the colors :) These are a custom order for a friend as a Christmas gift.

They took me a little longer to make than they should have because I was swamped with school work (the semester is winding down and finals are this week) and I also became fairly ill, but here they are, all completed and warm and wonderful!