Chinese New Year Cookies

Now that the holidays are officially over, I can finally return to normalcy, right? Wrong!  Another round of preparations for the next festival has just begun!!! This Chinese Lunar Year which is the year of the horse, by the way, falls on the 31st of January 2014. That means......

more excuses to squander housework time for baking cookies!  Yayyyyy!

Cherry Blossoms and red lanterns are so quintessentially Chinese, so I came up with these. What do you think?

Eye Makeup by Tal Peleg

Hope you all had a terrific Christmas and are enjoying what's remaining of 2013 with your loved ones. We had a wonderful Christmas. My sisters and their families from Singapore and Canada and cousins from Australia celebrated  Christmas over lunch at my parents' place. Lots of chaos but a very fun occasion.

Malaysian schools open on Thursday, Jan 2, 2014 and it will be tough to get back into rhythm after a two month break. I know, I've been slacking in the blogging department - blame it on the holiday mood that makes you wanna just sit back and relax and do nothing except maybe bake cookies!

Meanwhile, enjoy these mind-blowing mini works of art by makeup artist Tal Peleg from Israel who uses eyelids as her canvas.

Cinderella

Hansel And Gretel

Anne Frank

The Princess And The Pea

The Princess And The Frog

More pics @ the artist's Instagram page.

Cookies! Cookies! And More Cookies

I am a big fan of Callye’s, the author of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle. I am constantly floored by the amazing cookies she and her guest bloggers make that are so insanely detailed.
And here's my 2013 Christmas roundup of her creations and her guest bloggers' for your enjoyment. You can find the tutorials @ The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

Merry Christmas!

Gingerbread House Of Cards by Rebecca @ The Cookie Architect

Rudolph Cookies by Mike @ Semi Sweet

Christmas Topiary Cookies by Melissa @ Simply Sweets by Honeybee

Cookie Sled Placecards by Kari @  Yankee Girl Yummies

Elf Cookies by Adrianne @  Color Me Cookie

Whimsical Reindeer Cookies by Krista @ Cookies with Character.

Christmas Bear In A Boot Cookies by Paula @ Dear Sweet Cookies

Mrs. Claus Cookies by guest blogger Michelle @ Make Me, Cake Me.

Decorated Santa Cookies by Sweet Sugar Belle

Mrs. Claus Cookies by Sweet Sugar Belle

Christmas Inspirations 2013

Only 7 days more to Christmas! And if you still haven't already started your Christmas baking/decorations, here are some ideas from my favorite pinners to share. Most of these are budget-friendly and super easy to make.

Strawberry Santas

via Driscoll's

Tiny Teddy Sleighs

via It's All About Us

Colourful Pinecone Wreath

via FB

Ice Skates Ornament Made From Paper Clips!

via SkunkBoy

Festive Table Setting

via Fancy Deco

Pine Cone Elf

via Martha Stewart

Snowman Fridge

via http://www.pinterest.com/pin/249598004321350196/

Pine Cone Christmas Tree

via Crafter's Delights

Gingerbread Cookie Stack

via MadBaker

Berry Holiday Tree

via Driscoll's

Poinsettias

I love poinsettias; they are such an essential part of the Yuletide season. An old Mexican legend has it that in the 16th century, a young girl  who was too poor to buy a gift for the Christmas celebration was inspired by an angel to collect the roadside weed and offer it at the church altar. Red "flowers" miraculously sprouted and the poinsettia was created.
You don't find poinsettias here on our side of the pond. Our poinsettias in Malaysia are grown in the highland greenhouses. We call them 'bunga Krismas' in Malay which literally translates as Christmas flower.

I am having fun experimenting with buttercream icing and made these poinsettia cupcakes - my first attempt.

Sharing this video by Xanthe Milton. I love her cupcake decorating tutorials.

Christmas Treat Ideas 2013

Can you believe it's already time for Christmas cookies? 'Tis the season to be baking ... Fa La La La La La La La La......!   I'm listening to this carol as I'm typing this!

And if you're in need of some inspiration, here are some cute ideas to share.

Family Tree Cookies

via Glorious Treats

Christmas Eve Mice

via The Not So Fascinating Life Of Tabitha

Crispy Christmas Cottages

via LandOLakes

Crunchy Cereal Wreaths

via Parents

Pink and Purple Penguin Cookies

via Glorious Treats


EDIBLE RUDOLPH CUPCAKE WRAPPERS
Yep, you read it right! These adorable cupcake wrappers are totally edible and made from modeling chocolate.

via Hungry Happenings

POLAR BEAR CUPCAKES
You can see from the tutorial that these are wayyyy much easier than they look!

via Family Fun

Ornament Cupcakes

via Duncan Hines

Santa Stuck In Chimney Cupcake

via Bakerella

Frosty Snowmen Pretzels

via Hungry Happenings


Christmas Tree Cupcakes

via Just A Taste

Fondant Snowman Cupcakes

My neighbour who has just migrated to Austrialia left me a big tub of fondant that I had no idea what to do with. I've never worked with fondant before. My clumsy fingers couldn't handle anything else other than rolling balls and stacking them together so I ended up making these snowmen.

Fondant is kinda like grown-up play doh!