Flash, Update!

I haven't forgotten blogging, people, just have not been able to take any pics with my cheap little dead WalMart Camera. That puppy has always been meant as a short term replacement until I could do some research and decide on a new DSLR. My old DSLR got injured in a fall and was never the same and unable to be repaired. .  I've been juggling Christmas duties with looking for a new pic-taker. It had to be a DSLR as I desperately miss the one I had for a long time. I am happy to report my  new Nikon is on it's way. Santa and his Prime friends at Amazon are going to deliver my gift early in a couple days. He knows how important it will be to take pics over the holidays. Yippee!!!Then it will be back in business as usual with the blog.

Here's what I have been up to:

My bag has been put aside while I finish making  Christmas gifts for loved ones. I left undone one of the inset corners so I can show you how I did that when I get my new Nikon . Can't wait! It is a BIG bag. I like big bags but it is even an inch or two bigger than my ideal. It is still looking good, however.

While my bag parts have been resting, I have been on a bit of a creative jewelry binge. I took pics with my tablet but truthfully, they suck. So I will patiently wait and take them again when the cam comes in. I've really been enjoying mixing fibers into wearable jewelry. I've used vintage ribbons, big and little beads (love the matte finish), velvet I dyed, colorful cottons, colored wires, and more. I know they are not the best made things you'll ever see but they are  artsy enough to make up for that and are wearable and unique. Today I came up with the velvet idea when I saw a plastic hose in my basement! That's a tease, I know. I can't wait to wear one of the velvet necklaces tomorrow to work. I made two today and they came out way better than I thought. More to come!

Yesterday was time to make some small food gifts as well. I love Biscoff cookies, you know, the airplane cookies, and have found a really good recipe for them. The recipes all call for 5-7 spices  to make that unique flavor. At King Arthur Flour they had jars of ""speculaas spice"  to make the Biscoff cookies but I didn't indulge. I had a feeling there would also  be a recipe or two for that mixture on the internet and there were. I went and bought a big bunch of cinnamon, had all the other spices on hand and made a huge amount of "speculaas spice". I jarred them up in little glass bottles and will supply a pretty copy of the cookie recipe along with the bottle of spice as little gifts to some I know who love . to cook.

Another food gift I made was Oreo Peanut Butter and it is addictively awesome! Basically, it's a blend of honey roasted peanut butter and oreo cookies, all put in the food processor for 4 minutes to become smooth spoonfuls of heaven.  Chocolate and peanut butter? Can't beat it! Made a big batch of that and jarred it up in nice glass jars for more gift giving. It's REALLY good. Put it on crackers, ice cream, or just scoff it up from a soupspoon.  Here's the link if you would like the recipe, courtesy Crazy for Crust:    Oreo Peanut Butter from Crazy for Crust

photo courtesy crazyforcrust.com

I know many of you make garments, dolls, and quilts for holiday gift giving but do you make other things as well, any food gifts?

So it has been productive here lately, but this little elf is about done. All that remains is wrapping, but not much so it shouldn't be too bad. Then it will be packing time and travelling to NH, MA and more specifically  Cape Cod. Can't wait to get some pics taken to share my projects with you..................Bunny