She's Crafty

Every year around Christmas time I get this wild hair that I need to make something.  Baking isn't really my thing, but I always do a few rounds of cookies anyway.  I mean, we have to have something in the house for the kids to leave out for Santa.

Usually my sister takes Grace to my other sister's house a few hours away for a cookie baking extravaganza.  I send cookie tins and they come back with the most beautiful treats.  This year, my niece was in and out of the hospital for the entire month of December.  No matter how hard they tried, the cookie baking just wasn't going to happen.

I didn't want to disappoint the kids, so I made a few more cookies than normal.  This feat only proved how much baking isn't my thing.  On the first batch I used the wrong cookie sheets and burnt the bottom of the cookies. 

Eva really wanted cut out cookies, so I obliged.  Little did I realize that the recipe would yield over five dozen cookies.  Even though these cookies turned out edible, the kids decided they really didn't like that kind of cookie afterall.

Innocent Little Trees...

OMG...these cookies are taking over my house!

and my family too!

I saved the household favorite chocolate chip cookie for last.  I figured this way I could work out all of the kinks and have our favorite cookies baked just right.  I put the butter in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it and then took a phone call while mixing the rest of the ingredients together.  I plopped down the dough on the cookie sheet and thought to myself that they looked a little strange.  Nonetheless, I tossed them in the oven and set the timer.  Once baked, I removed them from the sheet and put them in the cookie tin.

Several hours later, I went to heat up some vegetables for dinner and guess what I found in the microwave....

That's right, the butter.  No wonder those cookies were like hockey pucks!

Despite my baking faux pas, I really can be quite crafty.  Against my better judgement, I typed pinterest.com into my web browser and lost the rest of my weekend. 

And this is what happened.

Hand Painted Ornaments

Complete with GLITTER.

Hand Painted Chalkboard Mugs

Teachers' Gifts....DONE!

It's much better than baking.