{ Cherry Cream Cheese Cupcakes }

Cherry Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Batter: 3 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened 5 eggs 1C. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla Cream all ingredients together. Add graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the cupcake papers. Fill 3/4 full with batter. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Topping: 1 small sour cream 1/2 C. sugar Beat together 210z can of cherry pie filling When cupcakes are done place a tablespoon of sugar on top. Add a cherry on small cupcakes and three cherries on regular size cupcake. Bake for 5 more minutes. MY TIP: I use a 1 1/2 quart plastic pitcher for the batter. It makes filling up the cupcake papers easier. Especially if you are making the mini cupcakes. You can also use Vanilla waffers instead of gramcracker crumbs.

{ Christmas with a cat(s) }

Looking through photos from this Chrismtas and old photos from Christmases past. I had to giggle at all the cat-antics that showed up over the years. There is something about paper and boxes, dangly ornaments and tree skirts that just bring out the craziness in cats. =) I hope you enjoy the photos of my furballs.

This year is Fiona's first Christmas. She had fun playing in the garland.

Fiona is a Princess in the house and she wanted the sparkly beads all to herself. Maybe she wants to wear them for Christmas.

Mikey IN the Christmas tree. He is the first of our cats to do that. He is so big the whole tree was shaking. I guess he wanted a tree fort.

Rusty in the tree box. Over the years all the cats have loved playing in the Christmas tree box. You just can't keep them out of it.

ohhhhh SHINY.... I wonder what it is..... tap..tap...tap..hmmmm it moves...

Tell me, what is it with cats and the tree skirt??? Notice where the tree skirt is, in relationship to the tree.. No matter how many times I fixed it. This is what I found. Sparky loved it.

See what I mean? (he looks too cute doesn't he?)Yes my cats are spoiled.

Happy Kitty, this photo says it all. Rusty and his present from Kitty Claus =)

Be nice boys. Sometimes they don't want to share.
Do kids always fight over toys on Chrismtas???

Guess Comet won in the end ~

Christmas Cat-tales from our home to yours..
Meowy Christmas
xo,
MaryAnn

{ Vintage Paper Angels }

Hidden in a box, wrapped in tissue paper I found these little beauties. They in my Mother in Law Ruth's Christmas boxes after she passed away. She must have loved them because they were carefully stored. She loved angels~

I love these little angels. So pretty, tiny and delicate.
Made out of bits of paper, foil, lace and a bit of mache.
I have no idea when they were made. 1940s maybe?

There is a set of five different angels, each one a bit different.
They all have a tiny instrument in their hands.
They must play in the heavenly choir. They are as light as an angel feather =)

I will cherish these on my tree and think of my Mother in Law Ruth.
I was blessed to have her in my life.

I love vintage ornaments on the tree. I love the ties with the past.

If anyone knows anything about them, I would love to hear it.
xo,
MaryAnn

{ Five Lil Stockings }

The stocking are hung
on the banister with care
in hopes that Kitty Claus
soon would be there~

One for Mikey, Misty, Rusty, Sparky and Fiona. All lined up in a row.

Meowy Christmas~
From Me and the furbabies
xo,
MaryAnn


Linked at:
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{ Kitty Ornaments }

We have five cats... our furchildren. They rule our lives since our son got married. As thoughts turned toward Christmas we decided we needed a Christmas ornament for each of them. Finding one that would fit each of their personalities was impossible. My sweet Honey, came us with this adorable idea...

With him being a photographer, he takes hundreds and hundreds of photos. Many of them are of our kitties. He picked out some of his favorite photos keeping in mind how they would look as an ornament. In photoshop he added their name and birth year or the year that we adopted them.

Next he printed out the photos of the cats in a wallet size. He chose photos with a straight on shot of our kitties. Next he trimmed the photos around the shape of head, leaving some extra that will be cut off later.

The supervisor checking on our work. You can skip this step =) Our cat Mikey always has to snoop at everything we do.

What you need: Modge Podge, foam brush, wood and screw in eye hooks all available at the craft store. My hubby used thin oak left over from another project, but you can purchase thin balsa wood at the craft store.

Seal wood with a coat of Modge Podge on all sides. Let dry for several hours. If you are in a hurry, use a hair dyer to speed up the process.

Follow the directions on the bottle of Modge Podge for decoupage. Put several coats of Modge Podge over the top of photograph. Let dry completely between coats for best results.

Missed the last two steps, my honey was having so much fun he finished them when I wasn't home. The next step is to cut out the ornament following the head of the animal and making a nice finished neck around the date. He used a bandsaw, but you could use a dremel, scroll saw or small handsaw. Another idea is to use wooden blanks in the shape of a circle and follow the same steps for a easier ornament. We prefer them "cat shaped" Put more Modge Podge around the edges of the ornament after cutting it out to seal. Add a "eye" hook in the top where you would like to hang from. Misty and Mikey's ornament hanging to dry after the top coat of Modge Podge

This is Fiona's first Christmas. She will be 6 months old at Christmas time. Her ornament looks adorable hanging from her ear.

We made ornaments for all the furbabies we have now, and the beloved ones that are no longer with us, but have left paw prints on our hearts and will be loved forever.

Lastly, our beloved Sheltie Chessie. The only dog in the bunch. He was the most wonderful dog ever. I don't think we could ever have another one that was as wonderful as he was. He took a piece of my heart with him when he went to rainbow bridge~

I hope you enjoy these ornaments. They were made with love. The are so precious hanging on our tree. I would love to hear your thoughts about these ornament. I also hope you make some for your tree. TIP: they are cute for key chains too.

xo,
MaryAnn

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Wow Us Wednesday

{ Kiffles, it just isn't Christmas without these goodies }

A delcate pasty, light and fluffy. Slightly sweet. Popular with Easter European heritage. It just isn't Christmas without Kiffles in the house!

Kiffles

8 oz Cream Cheese, soft ½ lb. Butter, soft 2 C. flour Blend together and put in refrigerator for a couple hours. Nut filling: ½ lb. Walnuts, ground ½ C. Sugar a little milk to hold it together (1 T.) Other fillings that you can use: prune butter filling, apricot, raspberry Take out a small amount of dough and put the rest back in the refridgerator. Roll into quarter size balls. Roll out on powdered sugar. Fill with desired filling. Just nuts, or a fruit filling. Use a small amout of the fruit filling because it gets very hot and runs out. Our favorite is Lekvar (prune butter) Place on ungreased baking sheet, seam side down. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until the edges are brown. Dust with powdered sugar when they come out of the oven. Store in air tight container

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Real Food Wednesday
Wow Us Wednesday

{ Last years Christmas Tree }

While pulling out the decorations for this year, I was thinking how my Christmas tree has changed over time. I'm posting a few photos of our tree from last year. Taken on Christmas Eve~

I love this photo, so romantic with just the lights from the tree. I left off some of my most precious glass ornaments with two young cats in the house I didn't want to take any chances.

Same photo, with a flash. You can see the decorations better. The angel on the top of the tree is one like we had on my childhood tree. The original one was damaged. Thankfully I found another one on Ebay =) My two sisters each bought one too! Just to have memories of "home".

So what is special on your tree?
MaryAnn

{ Family surrounds us at Christmastime }

At Christmastime, we can't help but think of Christmases past. Both sets of our parents are gone. To have them as part of our Christmas celebration now, we decided to make photo ornaments of them to hang on the tree.

I found the two matching frame ornaments at Michaels. I knew they would be prefect. So simple, my Honey just printed out small wallet size photos. Cut them to fit the frames, insert and they were done. The hardest part was picking out the photos!

Now they hang on our tree~

My Parents- taken on their 25th wedding anniversary

My husbands Parents- my favorite photo taken when they were dating

At Christmastime, my heart longs to have those I love all around me~

Christmas Blessings,
MaryAnn

{ Cookie Exchange - FREE recipe card }

(Sample shown smaller than actual size. Will print sharp and clear)

The next item to check off you list is recipe cards. Continuing along with the theme of the cookie exchange, I drew up this cute recipe card. You could use it to print for you own recipes that you share or if you have extra time, use it for all the recipes shared at the party. Recipe card can be used for other times also because it's not specifically Christmas

A little giftie for you~
Printable Gingergirl recipe card. Prints out two 4 x6 cards on a sheet of card stock. Enjoy!

Use link to download JPEG file. Do not reshare.
DOWNLOAD HERE
For personal use only. Mouse drawn graphics by MeMeAnn's. Do not claim design as your own or use in any way for sale.

Is it time for the party yet?
MaryAnn

Linked at:
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Feathered Nest Friday
Potporri Friday
Wow Us Wednesday

{ Cookie Exchange- The Invitation }

I decided to use a gingerbread man (actually girl) theme for my cookie exchange. Starting with the invitation:

Send out your invitations as early as possible. Follow up with a phone call or email if you haven't heard back from someone. You need the total number of guests that will be attending your party. You will need to provide this information to your guests before the party, so they know how many cookies to bring. =)

This invitation is 4x6 in size. Perfect for mailing. Comes two on a sheet for printing. JPEG file. Print out on smooth heavy cardstock for best results.

This invitation is for personal use only. Not for reposting or sale in any form.

To download this file please click: HERE

Graphics are all mouse drawn by me in PSP. From MeMeAnn's Country Graphics

Have you ever been invited to a cookie exchange? Do you have a favorite cookie you bake? What fun thing do you remember about the party?

Happy Baking,
MaryAnn

Cookie Exchange Series:
Cookie Exchange Check List

{ Cookie Exchange - Party Check List }

Having a cookie exchange is a fun way to get together with family and friends friends that you may not see during the busy holiday season.

What is a cookie exchange? A group of friends getting together for a few hours to share cookies, recipes, an see your pretty house decorated for Christmas~ =) Each person brings one dozen prepackaged cookies to share. One for each guest and one to taste at the party.

Tips for your Cookie Exchange:

Schedule your date early in December

Invite your friends as soon as possible, December is a busy month

A pretty postcard invitation would be a nice surprise in their mailbox

Keep the guest list on the small side, I would suggest no more then 10 guests. Remember guests are supposes to bring enough cookies for each person plus one to share during the evening.

Pick out your cookie recipe, maybe try a new one!

Call each person or email them to collect their recipes and to tell them how many guests are coming so they bake enough cookies.

Gather all the recipes together to print out on recipe cards or simply on pretty paper with your printer

Decide on your menu. Cookies are sweet... sometimes you need something salty like pretzles or popcorn to tone down all the sugaryness =)Tea and coffee.

Think about how you will package your cookies for giving

A cute party favor would be extra special to remember the day

Gift bags needed for each guess to take their goodies home

Your camera, to take lots of photographs

Cookie Exchanges are one of the most fun holiday parties. When you get home you have an assortment of cookies to keep for Christmas (if you hide them) or a bunch to share with your family. Also wonderful new recipes to add to your collection.

What do you thing about having a cookie exchange?

Watch for more posts in this series to help you plan for your party~

MaryAnn