New Year, New Journals

Welcome 2012! I hope you are a good year!

One of the things I love making, is journals. I like to journal, I like to have different books that I write in, be it personal essays, notes to self, lists, blog post ideas, writing assignments, anything. I have many books that I keep all over the house, in my van, in my bags, in my drawers, in almost every room in the house.

In the past, when I have made journals, I tried to make them, thinking of others. I wondered what young girls would like, women, students, even seniors. Sometimes I get it right. Sometimes I don't.

In the last few days, I took some of the pretty paper that I bought in Kelowna at the Ever After Scrapbooking store, and I let it speak to me! My hairdresser and I do that! When she asks me what I want done with my hair, I tell her I trust her and she just says she will let my hair speak to her. I think this is the best way to be creative!

So, I created - letting my paper speak to me. I think that I am just going to make journals that I love, that I would enjoy writing in, and I will trust that people will like them and want to buy them. These are some that I have made so far, let me know what you think!

 

With this fresh start to a brand new year, I plan on creating many things! As always, they will be my own ideas, not copied, and only created by me! Stay tuned and check in often, because I also hope that I will post more often. I am going to try to make this an achievable goal, but with two blogs, it is hard to keep up!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, a fun New Year, and I wish you lots of love, fun, and creative energy for the year 2012!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Tannis~

Christmas Time!

Some of the things that I love about Christmas Time? Well I like all of the gathering, and baking, and specialty drinks! There are some things I bake every year, like my Ginger Molasses cookies, my homemade Clod Hoppers, brownies and thumbprint cookies!

I tried a few new things this year too, one of them was these great Cheesecake Pops! Check them out.

I hope that you will try them! Here is the recipe.

Cheesecake Pops

3 packages cream cheese at room temp (8 ounce packages)
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup graham crumbs
45 lollipop sticks
3 packages vanilla or while chips
3 tablespoons shortening

1. line a 9 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Coat paper and sides with cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, ans sugar until smooth. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until blended, then add eggs on low speed until combined. Pour into pan.

2. Bake on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen, cool 1 hour or longer. Cover and freeze overnight.

3. Remove from the freezer and let stand for 30-45 minutes. Place cracker crumbs in a bowl. Scoop the cheesecake out and roll into 1 inch balls, roll in crumb mixture and insert lollipop stick. Place on waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze for 1 hour until firm.

4. In microwave, melt vanilla chips and shortening, 25 seconds at a time, stirring in between. Place your toppings of choice (sprinkles, coconut, nuts) in shallow bowls. Dip cheesecake pops in vanilla chip mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Roll in toppings and place on waxed paper. Let stand until set. Store in the fridge, or re freeze until ready to eat!

Enjoy!


This year after Haley's Christmas concert we had yummy hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows! It was so good. I love those marshmallows!

Of course our hot chocolate paired perfectly with some friends and some peppermint treats to go with it!

those are not crushed candy canes, they are Andes peppermint crushed chocolate! Yummy!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, filled with friends and family, good food, great memories and many blessings! All the best to you and your family!