Happy New Years!  I hope you all had a Happy Holidays! I rang in the New Year getting sick and am still sick (Boo!) but am slowly but surely getting better.  The holidays were extremely busy, I wrapped everyone's gifts, all my family who didn't have time, I offered and they sent the gifts over.  Though, I was busy I had a good time.  We had  New Year PJ party and so my craft room got clean for the first time in a very long time, when was the last time you cleaned your craft room?  To tell you the truth though, 9 days into the New Year and it's back to messy Craft Room :( 

Here are a few pictures from last year to update the blog. 

Apart from scrapbooking, I also enjoy baking.  These are cookies from Thanksgiving separated in two different platters - nuts and no nuts.  My nephew is extremely allergic to nuts so I like to make sure that he is safe from any reactions during the holidays.

I ran into a recipe a few months ago  for Chocolate Chip Cookies, it was voted the best Chocolate Chip Cookies by The New York Times.  I have made them several times and they have been a hit every time.  I've changed chocolate types many times, and many people love White Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I did both white chocolate and dark chocolate this Thanksgiving and on the two platters.  The brownies are dark chocolate brownies, they are yummy.  And the last column is plain sugar cookies made from cake box cake. Just Googled it and my platter was complete and the kids Loved it.  

No Nuts

The second platter consisted of cookies with nuts and/or nut spreads.  The first cookie to the furthest left is a Cookie Butter cookie.  Cookie Butter by Trader Joe's.  All I did for this cookie is got a Peanut Butter (PB) cookie recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook and substituted the PB for the Cookie Butter.  The second column is dark chocolate brownie with Nutella.  Next two rows consisted of PB cookies and the last row was NY Times Chocolate Chip recipe (link above) with walnuts and crushed sea salt on top.

Nuts

I prepared some macaroni and cheese with bacon on top as one of the sides for Thanksgiving as well.  It was pretty good and who doesn't love bacon?

I volunteer my time to a local daycare and get the opportunity to doll up there space with holidays and create projects for the children.  I used some wall decor 'stickers' from Wal-mart and it was fast, fun and convenient.  Easy to put up and take down. The Santa Claus below was a project for the kids and also acted as Christmas decoration on one of the walls.  One of the fun things about being part of decorations and projects, is I get to make a sample.  :) 

 On a daily basis, my dogs and I go on a walk, of course by the time I get home from work it is dark, so during the holiday we get to walk in the dark and enjoy the Christmas lights.  These pictures were taken of some neighborhood neighbors homes during our walk, I thought it was really funny.

Here's a picture of my two pups, who love to walk everyday, sometimes twice a day if I get the chance.  Their names are Samantha, 8 years old (left) and Charlie, 2 years old (right).  They are both Bichon Frise and very cute and fun.  This picture of them was taken at an Earth Day celebration at one of there daycare visits to Dogtopia. 

 I recently signed up with Instagram, follow me: minaroque

 I started on my Valentine's Day cards and I started with Hello Kitty.  I just love Hello Kitty and am excited to share these with you.  I created this card using the Hello Kitty Greetings Cricut cartridge and used Glossy Accents on the heart, HK's nose and her bow.

Find this card in my Etsy Shop: http://handmadebymina.etsy.com

Inside of the card, matted in gray and stamped.

I recently got Birthday Bash Cricut cartridge and it is such a fun cartridge, especially for kids birthday cards.  I had an order for random cards in a set covering a whole year of different possible occasions. Here are a couple cards I've created.

This card is intended for someone turning '2'.  I am stuck on A2 sized cards but this one measures 5x7.  I used some bakers twine for some accents and I used a combination of two cardstock, Recollections and DCWV.  The Happy Birthday stamp is by Pink by Design.

Made with Cricut Cartridge: Birthday Bash

Inside: Happy Birthday to 'ewe'

 The next card is an A2 sized card.  The paper used is Recollections and DCWV: Glitter Stack.  The stamp is by Pink by Design.

This ladybug is so cute, I covered the original eyes with googly eyes for a little fun.  I used my Cuttlebug to emboss the purple mat.  The stamp is again from Pink by Design. All the cardstock is Recollections from Michael's. 

 Another oldie but goodie Cartridge and actually just had a second to the series, Create a Critter. I just got Create a Critter 2 for Christmas and am excited to get working with it.  I haven't really had the chance to but I used the original Create a Critter to create the following card.

The base was made by Recollections cardstock and I believe the background and the dog's collar is by DCWV.  The Get your Bark on stamp is by Scrappy Moms.

This cute dog was cut at 3 1/4 inches and the gingham green mat cardstock is by KandCo.  The rest of the cardstock is by Recollections.  The ribbon is by American Crafts.  The bling and pearls are also by Recollections.  The stamp is by Scrappy Moms. 

This cute penguin is again from the Create a Critter cartridge.  The paper used is by DCWV and Recollections.  The party horn is accented with some glitter glue by Studio G.  The ribbon came from a Target haul last Spring.

Thanks for visiting my blog, hope you come again.