Happy Crafty December!

One of my 2011 goals after going full-time was to spend more time with family, be a better wife, and make time for some other crafty-ness (particularly during the holidays). Of course, still a work in progress, especially while Rusty continues his studies in nursing school... but aren't we all works in progress?!

In addition to this month's crafty-ness, I challenged myself to take more photos for "me" with my iPhone. I get so wrapped up in love with my photo-fam and their photos that the eternal woe of a photographer is taking photos for herself! Not this month! iPhone to the rescue!

So here's what I've been up to this month through the eyes of the iPhone 4s! (Hmm... I think I need to name the phone a more proper name... lol Calling it the iPhone 4s is rather sterile in personality. Any suggestions?!)

It all started with a Christmas card making party...






Then I needed a way to display the cards that were starting to come in the mail...


Most of you know I'm gluten intolerant. But before "the Great Discovery," I used to love baking. Like LOOOVE it a lot. When the allergy hit, I just stopped. It was a bit of a downer actually... I had so much baking and decorating equipment and tools... I decided to try again this month. To prove to myself that I CAN adapt my old recipes into a gluten-free alternative. These pumpkin muffins were my firsts... and they were AMAZING.

GLUTEN-FREE PUMPKIN MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:
* 1/2 cup of applesauce
* 1 bag of Namaste Foods Spice Cake Mix
* 1 can of pumpkin
(That's it!)

* Bake at 350. For mini-muffins (like in the photo), I baked for 15 minutes. For larger/regular muffins, you will have to bake for 30-45 minutes. It's just a dense batter!
* For the frosting, I used Duncan Hines cream cheese frosting (also gluten-free).






I got so proud and bold... so I tried a NEW recipe.

Chocolate Crinkles! You can find the recipe here.

Adaptations to the Recipe I used:
* I don't use oil in my baking, so I replaced the oil with applesauce.
* I didn't have the Betty Crocker GF cake mix, so I actually used Pamela's GF Chocolate Cake mix.
* I didn't have coarse sugar, so I rolled the cookie balls in powdered sugar instead.






Okay, I didn't make these cards, but as I mentioned on Facebook, sure, it's pretty awesome seeing photos I've taken on holiday cards (because heck, it's darn cool!), but the best thing is seeing my photo-fam's creativity and how they used those images! LOVE! So here is THEIR creative contributions to the holidays!



And lastly... from our home to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Sparkly New Year! May you have a special time with loved ones, eat lots of yummy food, and remember the unique magic of the holiday.



Love,
Chelsea :)

1 comment :

  1. The cookies look awesome!! A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a FANTASTIC NEW YEAR 2012 to you and yours, Ms Chelsea! :D

    ReplyDelete