Photo’s courtesy of guest writer

Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is about 3 weeks away, next it is my favorite month of the year, December… Christmas!!!! Holiday season at the end of the year is always full of fun events, mmmm… I smelled roasted turkey, I smelled Cinnamon, I heard Christmas Carols, I felt colder (with the North bound wind flowing in), I am going to decorate my home with Christmas again. Yippee!!!!

I haven’t had a finished craft tutorial to show you yet but I promised the next one will be from me. It is surely related to Christmas and it is a good one!!! Today, we have Brandon to slot in as a guest writer at Craft Passion while I sneak away to prepare the next sewing tutorial. Brandon Jackson is here to share a dog cookies recipe with us plus some tips to craft for your lovely dog. Dogs, as members of the family deserved the special attention during this holy season too.

[A little about Brandon Jackson: Brandon holds a degree in business communication and works in the insurance industry. He lives in the Rocky Mountain area with his wife, Dawn, and their three children.]

Photo’s courtesy of guest writer

For all the times they’ve waited patiently, tails wagging, wet-nosed, bright eyes shining with love for you to come home and give them love, this year your puppy deserves a Christmas worth barking about. A good dog is a member of the family, and there’s no better excuse than Christmas to pamper and spoil them for all the love and laughter they bring into the home.

A Fetching Feast

Your darling dog may not be able to join the family at the dinner table, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a special seasonal snack of their own, and what’s better than cookies? Darlene Michaud shares her special canine cookie treats recipes below.

• 2 cup cornmeal
• 6 t tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water or broth (chicken or beef)
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour

What you’ll need to make these tasty treats: rolling pin, cookie cutters, and cookie sheet. Simple, right?

Mix the cornmeal and whole wheat flour then add oil and water (or broth). You can also add some food coloring if you want red or green bones (you can spilt the dough and make both colors). Mix the mush with your hands. If it’s too wet, add some more flour. If it’s too dry, add a bit more water (or broth). Don’t be overly concerned about getting it just right. As long as you can roll it out, you’re good! Fido won’t care if it’s perfect or not.

Roll the dough out onto a floured board until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Then cut shapes with cookie cutters or just cut free hand. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 35 minutes (over cooked is better than undercooked). Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in plastic bags and give to dogs for Christmas!

Stalking Woofers

In the era of DIY everything, it’s more fun than ever to create handmade decorations and artisan crafts. This holiday season your pooch can have just as much fun as everyone else when it’s time to unwrap presents. Start with a personalized stocking, which can be selected from custom sites like PersonalCreations.com, or purchased from HobbyLobby.com or other local craft stores. For added charm, buy some felt and puff paint and decorate with paw prints and your beloved pet’s name.

Filling your puppy stocking is even more fun than decorating it! Here are some simple ways to add some pizazz to this year’s top dog gift list:

1. Holiday T-shirt: Make Christmas card photos to create an iron on appliques, press it on a dog onesie, and make the most adorable holiday outfit any dog could hope for.

2. Fluffy toys: find organic squeaky toys for tug-o-war and to snuggle with at night. Tying holiday ribbons around them also gives your furry pal an added extra to play with.

3. New bed: a personalized DIY bed would make your dog the talk of the town. Places like Costco sell plain dog beds that are just begging for some bells and whistles. Using puff paint and felt to personalize your pooch’s bed to match his stocking, add some jingle bells.

When your furry best friend comes bounding into the living room this Christmas, you’re sure to win some lasting memories.

1. Valentines Day Cookies with Buttercream Frosting at Tidymom.
2. Simply Dotty Valentines Cookies at Sweet Sugar Belle.
3. Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies at Two Peas And Their Pod.
4. Valentines Jello Hearts at The Hungry Housewife.
5. Oreo Cookie Love Bug at Snap.
6. Red Velvet Valentine’s Macarons at Delectable Deliciousness.
7. Heart Spinkle Valentine Macarons at Bubble And Sweet.
8. Marbled Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies at The Novice Chef.
9. Double-decker, Stripey, Valentine Cookies at Bake At 350.
10. Sweet Heart Shortbread at Diamonds For Dessert.
11. Sweets for my sweetie pie at Bits Of Taste.
12. Valentines Twinkies on a Stick at Confessions Of a Cookbook Queen.
13. Glass Topper Valentines Cookies at Cookies And Cups.
14. Valentine Cake Pop at National Geographic.
15. How to Make Valentine’s Day Marshmallow Pops at Mommy Gaga.
16. Valentine Sugar Cubes at Craft Passion.
17. Egg In A Basket at Food 4 Tots.
18. How to make a heart shaped egg at Anna The Red.
19. Heart Shaped Cinnamon Bun at Craft And Creativity.
20. Valentine Roasted Potatoes at Haniela’s.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Perfect Jack O’ Lanterns And A tips About Orange at Sweet Sugar Belle

I adore cute edible crafts, just like beautiful handmade crafts, nicely decorated treats and food make me really happy and pleased.

Lately, I have been a frequent visitor to Sweet Sugar Belle’s blog after I fall in love to her beautiful flip-flop cookies guest posted at Tidymom. I admire her skill in cookies decoration with royal icing. Look at the Jack ‘O Lantern cookies she made, I am sure you will agree with me.

As you know that I started to cook and bake not long ago, along, set-up a recipes section in Craft Passion. I would like to take this opportunity to share some Halloween treats recipes I adored and wanted to try. I should be able to handle those easy and quick edible crafts like dip pops, but…. cookies and cakes in royal icing and fondant decoration which need some practices and skills… I need time to master the skill, should not be this year, may be next year!!! Wish me luck, pleaseeeee…. and next year you should be able to see some from my creations.

Look at all these beautiful Halloween party treats, how can I not share their recipes and the methods to make them here with you….. Wish you a Happy Halloween!!! Yum…yum….Boo… boo..

Monster Cake at Makoodle.

Ghost Meringue Cupcakes With Oreo Dirt at Jenny Steffens Hobick.

Halloween Pumpkin Pancakes With Black Cinnamon Syrup at Tidymom.

Black Widow Chocolate Rum Cupcakes at 6 Bittersweets.

Oreo Mummies Cookies Pop at How Does She.

Meringue Ghosts at Joy Of Baking.

Halloween Lunch In Muffin Tin at Another Lunch.

Frankenstein Rice Krispies Treat at Snack Picks.

Witch Hat Appetizers at Hungry Happenings.

Chocolate Spider Cupcakes at Kaboose Recipes.

Gingerbread Skeleton at Family Fun Recipes.

Tombstone Cookies with Dark Chocolate Graveyard Pots de Crème at My Recipes.

Witch Wands at Our Best Bites.

Rice Krispie Bar Ghosts at The Idea Room.

Skeleton Cupcakes at Woman’s Day.

Every year, Chinese celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) on the 15th day of the 8th Chinese lunar month. This year it falls on 12 September 2011, which is tomorrow. To know more about Mid Autumn Festival, its story and how Chinese celebrates it in different countries, click this wikipedia link.

There are various type of mooncake available, the 2 major types are the traditional mooncake (below) and the snow skin mooncake (above). Many years ago, basically all mooncakes came from homemade. I used to help my mom in making mooncakes to sell to relatives and friends during my teenage years. That was when my mom made some extra income for the household in a year. Due to age, long hour of standing and highly exhaustion from knocking the heavy wooden mold to get the mooncake out, my mom can no longer make them for selling. Occasionally, when ever she feels like baking some, she makes some for us. Hope that next year I will get a chance to bake with her and share her recipe here.

Now, there are so many brands and types of mooncakes available in the market, everyone can afford to buy and gifted to friends and family. Below is the store-bought machine-made mass-production single egg yoke white lotus seed flavor.

Traditional Baked Mooncake

To free the hassle to needing a knife to cut the 4″ mooncake into 8 pieces for serving, sometime mooncakes come in mini size, just enough to serve a person.

Mini Mooncake