the enchanted oven

Friday, December 9, 2011

What my babies want for Christmas

BABY NUGZIE

MR. CLAUDE MONET

YA YA (AKA SUGAR LIPS)

MISS ELEANOR BUTTERSCOTCH

NELLIE

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Christmas flower cupcakes

I had some left over cupcake batter that needed to be baked, so I decided to try my hand at making Christmas flowers.

I wanted RED, GREEN, PINK, and AQUA - my take on traditional Christmas with a little twist.

I love having fresh flowers in the house at Christmas. Poinsettias, roses, Christmas cactus, mums, amaryllis, paperwhites - so beautiful!

I can't stand poinsettias that are spray painted or glittered, but a little sparkling disco dust on the cookies is very pretty.

MAKE YOUR SEASON SWEET WITH FLOWERS!

Sharing with

Feathered Nest Friday

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Mrs. Claus

BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN THERE'S A GREAT WOMAN.

Let's give a little shout out to the lady who washes the red suit, makes the naughty and nice power point presentation, pooper scoops the the reindeer pen, makes sure there is no lead paint or sharp edges on the toys, makes tea and chicken soup when one of the elves gets sick, gives lots of hugs, supports a workaholic husband, and bakes the cookies.

THANK YOU MRS. CLAUS!

And all this dear little lady wants this year is a white Christmas, so

Linking with
Pink Saturday
Happy Hour Projects
Mrs. Fox's Sweets
Between Naps on the Porch

Monday, December 5, 2011

Sweet flower cupcakes and a very special link

I had to face my old nemesis THE CUPCAKE again. A friend requested them, and gave me free reign on the design as long as it was not Christmas themed.

I put on my thinking cap, and this is what I came up with.

So I made a vanilla white chocolate cuppie topped with Swiss meringue buttercream. I double loaded the bag with pink and soft blue and made hydrangea flowers. Yum-o-la!

The second cupcake was a rich chocolate topped with pink cream cheese buttercream roses and further embellished with various royal icing flowers and leaves.

And it looked like a spring garden. Aaaaah.

I had an all time record of icings in my kitchen on the same day - SMB, traditional royal (the kind that dries hard as a rock), cream cheese buttercream, and my cookie icing. I do believe it was the worst mess I have ever made in my kitchen. It was truly horrifying.

But worth it.

And although cupcakes are sweet, the following link is even better!

I hope everyone reading this post will visit Sweetology 101 where my blog buddy Trish is dedicating her tea party Tuesdays to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, to raise funds for this incredibly worthy cause. Please visit Trish and hear about her visit to St. Jude's and learn more about the wonderful work being done there. Every year for Christmas, I make a donation to what I feel is a worthwhile cause,

and this year it is St. Jude's.

Will you consider making it yours?

Linking with

Pink Saturday

Feathered Nest Friday

Sunday, December 4, 2011

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I am a huge fan of Charles Schultz and the Peanuts gang, so of course I couldn't let Christmas go by without making some Charlie Brown's Christmas cookies.

While I was decorating them, I realized that I have learned quite a lot about the holiday from old Chuck and the gang.

Lesson number one comes from Charlie Brown: Don't let the commercial side of Christmas get the upper hand.

Lesson number two from the thumb sucking philosopher Linus: Take time to ponder the season.

Lesson number three from Snoopy: After decorating the house, take a nap.

Lesson number four from Lucy Van Pelt: If you feel depressed at the holidays, get involved and help others. The doctor is in, so that will be five cents please.

Lesson number five again comes from Snoopy: Let loose and have some fun (especially if you are listening to Vince Guaraldi!).

Lesson number six is from the whole gang: Sing with joy.

Lesson number seven: LOVE can transform anything .

And the final and most important lesson from Linus: Remember the true meaning of Christmas.

"And that's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown".

Linking with

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Red and green argyle

Remember my halloween argyle? Well, I am an equal opportunity holiday argyle-ist, so here is my Christmas version!

I wish I had some socks like this, so I had to make a few cookie stockings.

Red, green, and white is so crisp and bright and cheerful!

And while I had the bright fun colors out to play, I made a special Christmas tree.

Holy moly, did I ever have to squint to make the candy canes!

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday preparations as much as I am.

OH, HOW I LOVE MAKING COOKIES!

Linking with
A Stroll Thru Life
The Tablescaper

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Fairy floss cookie

I get completely torn between an old fashioned red and green Christmas and a fairy land of pastels.

Pastels won today!

I love the soft patina on vintage ornaments - rosy pinks, blues, and silver. And speaking of silver, I am glad I didn't have to do a large number of these with the garland of dragees - talk about a labor of love!

We put up our tree yesterday and it is full of colored lights (the kids won't have it any other way), blown glass ornaments and ones made with little hands over the years (and I wouldn't have THAT any other way). This year we are starting another tree tradition - an Irish tree! My kids have given my mother Irish ornaments for Christmas each year and she has them all on one little tree. She and Isabelle decorated it over the Thanksgiving weekend, and we decided it was time for one of our own. We put up a white tabletop tree with white lights and our small Irish collection along with some green and gold glass balls.