Christmas in your Mouth Cookies

I made these cookies for Lela's birthday party/our housewarming party.

They were a huge hit...so I made them again for Christmas.

Chewy Chocoloate Gingerbread Cookies or as Lela likes to call them, "Christmas in your Mouth Cookies." I think I like that name better.

We're ready for you, Santa!

Find the recipe here http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies

*I substituted all organic ingredients including Organic Unbleached All Purpose Flour. Also, in my opinion, Sugar in the Raw is better to roll the dough in before baking. It gives it a crunchier texture and it's prettier too!

** Grating fresh/organic nutmeg was extremely exciting!

***Working with molasses was veeery interesting...

Recycled Cork Bulletin Board

Ages ago, Carolyn and I stopped at a local frame shop in Little Havana to get a poster of mine framed that was long overdue. Somehow we ended up in this little hole in the wall Middle Eastern grocery/cafe. Sitting in the cafe, eating dessert and sipping tea, we heard the entire life story of the charming owner.

After explaining to him our original plan, he offered to take us next door himself, promising a good deal...it turned out that his friend was the owner.

The "good deal" was perhaps a good deal, but definitely exceeded my budget. We said goodbye, promising to return again soon, and went to the parking lot.

As soon as I pulled out of the space, we saw the little man running to my car with a large gold frame. He gave it to me, telling me to put my poster in it...wanting to save me some money.

Experiences like this restores my faith in humanity.

Although I didn't use the frame for my poster, I did recall the bag of wine corks my friend gave me to make a bulletin board. She acquired them working in a fine dining restaurant. I found them sitting in the back of one of my closets collecting dust. I hadn't known, but I was just waiting for the perfect frame...and I found the one.

I attached the corks to the back of the frame using wood glue.

It fits just perfectly in my little sewing area.

DIY Salvaged Bookshelf

Lela and I were in need of a bookshelf. I didn't want to go to IKEA and get one that I could potentially see in anyone and everyone's living room. Plus, I wanted to make my very own.

We also wanted to make a bookshelf using all salvaged materials. So...we went on a bargain hunt.

We found bricks at a salvage yard for $0.25 each. We brought them home, scrubbed them, and then covered them with a clear coat of paint.

Driving through Little Haiti we stopped at a random junk lumber yard. After digging around the back of the yard (which unfortunately reeked of urine) with a man with no teeth, we found 2 pieces of pine in good condition. (!) They cut the pieces in 1/2 for us and charged us $15.00.

We painted each piece...and Vwalaaa. I'm in love.

Whiteboard Erasers

I had a whole pile of felt on the table to be cut in Joann Fabrics (one of my favorite hang-outs). This lady walked up to me and asked me if I was making a blanket. (Do people really make blankets out of felt?!? ewww, scratchy)

I said, "No. I'm making erasers for my classroom."

She was confused. I told her I wanted a more environmentally friendly way to clean the little kid-size whiteboards my students use.

"I'm a teacher too! Why don't you just use paper towels?!? That's what I use!"

"ummmm...I just said environmentally friendly. Reducing waste. Not creating."

~Wow. Why am I not surprised?

Anyway, so I designed these little guys to hopefully create a little fun while we learn in the teacher center. I'm so excited to use them!

Which one is your favorite?