Wishing You A Happy New Year!

2012 is upon us in just a few short hours here and in some places in the world it is already 2012! Regardless of where you are, I hope that you have a wonderful 2012 filled with much love, joy and happiness.

Thank you for all of your love and support in 2011. I'm praying that 2012 will be just as good, if not even, better!

Friday Etsy Favorites

2012 is right around the corner. I can't believe how quickly 2011 has gone by. Here is some New Year's inspiration for you! ♥

1. Go Against The Grain ► New Years Drink Straw Medallions
2. Designs By Tenisha ► New Years Favor
3. Delicious Box Studio ► Mini New Years Chevron Journals
4. Sora Designs ► Keep Calm Walk On Compass Necklace
5. Kiwi Tini Creations ► 2 Sets of Gold and Silver Food Toppers
6. Outside The Box Desserts ► Happy New Year Wrappers

DIY New Year's Eve Fun

With 2012 just around the corner, here are some fun and creative do-it-yourself ideas to celebrate 2011 and ring in the New Year!




I love these fun party hats, complete with fringed tops. Festive, for sure!




Photo confetti, what a great idea to remember some memories from 2011!




A party is definitely not complete without these noise makers.




I love this tabletop countdown decor. So creative!




These noisemakers would be so much fun for kids and adults alike. Throwing in a couple of bells would make it extra noisy! :)




I love, love, love these shimmering streamers. It would be pretty funky for everyday decor too. :)




Confetti can be messy to throw around, so these confetti star packets would be a great solution to that!




What better way to remember 2011 with this beautiful tinsel banner.

Christmas Memories - 2011

It's so hard to believe that another Christmas has come and gone. Christmas is undoubtedly my favorite holiday. I've always had wonderful memories from days past. Lots of love, happiness, and fun with the people I love.

I remember when I was a child, we would hang out literally ALL day from morning until late night playing games, watching movies, eating too much food, and of course opening presents. :) Now that we all have our own families, we don't do an all day thing any longer, but we do spend a good chunk of the day together.

It's such a blessing that I have such a close family. We love to just hang out no matter what the occasion, even if it's just to get together. So much so, that we saw each other the next day at my oldest sister's house for lunch/dinner. She invited us over for Boxing Day. She is a phenomenal cook, so it's hard to say no to an invite that involves food that she is cooking! :))

Ok, enough about that, thanks for reading my chatter! :) This is our Christmas card this year. I just can't get away from the chevron pattern and this pale turquoise color. Major crushes, for sure! I even had the boys wear shades of blue just so I could use the color on the card. Ha, crazy obsessive or what? ;)

Wishing You A Merry Christmas!

Wow, I cannot believe that Christmas Day is tomorrow! I still have to finish wrapping presents and a couple of more baking treats. It seems like no matter how 'prepared' I may think I am, there's always last minute things to do. :)

I won't be wrapping Mateo and Tobias' presents until after they have gone to bed tonight because I know if they were already under the tree, they would be shaking them trying to figure out what they got!

Better go, the baking is calling my name! :)

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas filled with love, peace and joy!

Friday Etsy Favorites

It's hard to belive that Christmas is only 2 days away! I know my kids are getting really excited (and me too!)! :) Here is some Christmas inspiration for you. ♥

1. meringue designs ► Red Kumari Personalized Christmas Stocking
2. The Offbeat Bear ► Terrified Gingerbread Man Ornament
3. Cupcake Keepsakes ► Princess Tiara Photo Block Ornament
4. Hot4Handbags ► Small Curvy Zippered Wristlet
5. Amy Gaines ► Amigurumi Woodland Ornament Pattern Set
6. Wild Peace Organics ► Tree Ornaments - Set of 3 Partridge Birds

Christmas Baking

I love Christmas baking. I really do. But I always seem to make the same 'go to' recipes. And I always seem to make WAY too much! I can't help it though because when I get in the mood to bake, there is no stopping me! And a holiday as festive as Christmas calls for some good baking.

While looking for some new recipes to try at a favorite baking website, JoyofBaking.com, these were ones I just may have to give it a go. I did notice that a common denominator in all these recipes is the element of chocolate. :) LOL, I must love chocolate. Yes, I think I do. :)




These Millionaire's Shortbread Bars look fit for a king. Shortbread, caramel and chocolate. What a combination!




I love shortbread, but Pecan Shortbread sounds delectable.




This Toffee recipe is a MUST.




Oh, Peppermint Whoopie Pies look like they would be so good.




These Toffee Bars look fabulous and easy to make.




Peanut butter and chocolate to make Peanut Butter Cups. Need I say more?


Ok, now the dilemma is which ones should I bake? Hmmm...maybe I'll have to try all of them! LOL!

Uppercase Magazine Giveaway!

Uppercase magazine is a magazine for the creative and curious. It's content and photos are so inspiring from cover to cover.

And mindygayer.com is having a giveaway to win a one-year subscription to uppercase (retail $80 CDN)! Wow!

I really hope I win! :)

Easy Sugar Cookies

I made some sugar cookies and didn't feel like doing a 'rolled out' version using cookie cutters. So, I went to one of my favorite recipe sites, allrecipes.com, in search of an easy sugar cookie recipe with no rolling required.

I love allrecipes.com because it has user rating and comments, so you can gauge how good the recipe is based on the opinions of people who have tried it.

I found this sugar cookie recipe. No rolling required. 2,738 reader reviews. 4 1/2 stars out of 5. Perfect.

The only change I made is after I made the dough into 48 small balls, I rolled them in white sugar before baking.

They turned out great. The kids (and I) taste tested them and loved them. :)





Easy Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

2.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

3.Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Etsy Treasury - Trapped... by Wanda

It's always such an honor to have one of my shop items included in an Etsy treasury. I was so happy and excited for my "Do What You Love, Love What You Do" wall print to be included in this gorgeous one.

Friday Etsy Favorites

With Christmas only 9 days away, here is this week's holiday Friday Etsy Favorites! ♥

1. IncrediblyHip ► Scrabble Tile Pendant Snowflake
2. The Lonely Heart ► Handmade Personalized Christmas Ornaments
3. WordLetterpress ► Letterpress Holiday Gift Tag - Set of 12
4. cornflower blue studio ► Christmas Love Note Hand Embroidered
5. Gingermelon ► Gingermelon Man
6. Lil Tulip ► Burlap Christmas Stocking with Designer Fabric Cuff

Sweet Treats For Sweet Boys

I was out with my two favorite little boys after school today. I thought it would be nice to take them out for a small little treat. And it's always fun to talk about how the day at school was over some sweet somethings. :)

What was on the menu?




A jelly filled donut and chocolate milk for sweet boy no. 1.




A double chocolate donut and chocolate milk for sweet boy no. 2.

Gift Wrapping Ideas

I love cute packaging. I especially love packaging that is simple, but beautiful. Here are a few that I especially adore.




I love this use of washi tape for gift wrapping. It has such a nice contrast to the plain kraft paper boxes and bags. So pretty.




I love the simple elements used to create this packaging




Snowflakes and homemade pom-poms to adorn these packages. Love it!




I love the oriental newsprint, lace doily and ribbon for this packaging.




Fabric covered buttons and cord. So simple, yet so effective for this.




These are so cute. I love the fabric and printed labels.




What an absolutely clever idea to use for my stash of yarn!

A New Domain Name

I've wanted my own domain name for my blog for quite some time now. I finally got one! Yay, I'm so excited about that!

Blogger sure made it easy too. I'm still going to be using blogger's platform, but my new web address is -

http://www.mateoandtobias.com

Wow, I feel really 'official' now! LOL! :)

Friday Etsy Favorites

This week's fabulous Friday Etsy Favorites! ♥

1. Avolie Glass - Swedish Design ► Blown Glass Ornament
2. Goose Grease ► One of a Kind Hand-Painted Wooden Peg Dolls
3. Old New Again ► BE Wooden Word Sign
4. StellarLight Designs ► Two Birds on a Branch Necklace
5. Jojo's Bootique ► Reindeer Hat
6. Sometimes I Swirl ► Hand Embroidered Swirl Christmas Tree

A-Frame Tent

I love this A-frame tent by Rubyellen Bratcher of Cakies. She has a fabulous blog!

She has provided detailed instruction on Grosgrain. I love that blog too! ♥

It looks pretty easy to make. I want to make one for a corner in Tobias' room. I would love a chevron pattern, but I think he would prefer a superhero themed one. :)

Hmmm, maybe we could go with the chevron and I'll make him a couple of superhero pillows... :)