Just Released: The Journal Winter 2023 and Christmas Cookie Box Volume II

Well, My Dear, here we are. The Winter 2023 Edition of our digital magazine, The Journal, has arrived to our little online shop and we could not be more excited. We have also created a second volume of the Christmas Cookie Box Ebook. In truth, I am fairly certain that both of these digital lookbooks of our creative work are some of the best pieces we have come up with yet. This is our second edition of The Journal, and it has been such a pleasure to dream up all of the articles that will go inside, create the recipes, photograph the ideas, and put all of it together.

In this quarter’s Journal, you will find 15 new recipes inspired by the winter and holiday season. This includes 3 bonus cookie recipes! The Cookie Box Ebook has 6 new holiday cookie recipes, too. Read on to learn more about what you will find inside.

what is the winter journal?

Have you ever had a dream to create something beautiful that you can share with others? The Journal is a dream that my mom, Jill, and I have been thinking about for a couple of years now. In our career as content creators over the last 10 years, it is only within the last 2 to 3 years that we have taken the opportunity to use this platform full time as our source of income. In the past, we were spending this time of year physically making handmade goods to sell at markets, art shows, and in our little farm store. We would spend countless hours toiling away in the kitchen or at the sewing machine, making and making, and finding ourselves so easily burnt out.

When we shut down our store during the pandemic and wondered which direction we should go in next, we received the opportunity to create our first cookbook, The Prairie Kitchen Cookbook. This eventually led us in the direction of focusing mainly on creating recipes and food content. It has been such a wonderful journey since then!

But we still missed our handmade careers. How could we showcase our love of creating handmade items, like ornaments and bath and body care recipes, and my mom’s beautiful artwork, without the hustle and bustle of selling products. After some time, we decided to try creating our little digital magazine! There are many recipes inside, but it’s also so much more. You will find ideas for crafting, home decor, and even sentimental stories. To me, it feels like a way to share the old blog stories that we used to write. It’s a little piece of us that we hope inspires you to create a handmade holiday in your own home!

finding inspiration:

What inspired us to write this season’s Journal? So many things! We love to pick themes for our work, and this season we fell in love with historical elements and natural hues. Lately, Jill has rediscovered a love of folk art that she admired many years ago as a young artist. Personally, I found inspiration in historical cookie recipes spanning from the 15th to 19th centuries.

Together, we decided to focus our hearts on our family heritage that we were not aware of until the last handful of years. After many years of building our family tree online, I thought it would be a fun gift to share a DNA kit with my mom. I had taken a DNA test several years before, but my parents did not know the full side of their own ancestral makeup. Last Christmas, I left the little wrapped kit underneath the tree and was so happy to help her discover more about herself!

Lo and behold, much of our family ancestry hails from Scandinavia, specifically Norway and Sweden. We had always assumed my mom’s side was mostly German, but that was not the case. It has been absolutely magical discovering new traditions from different parts of the world, things that we felt did not belong to us but now they can become a part of our own family. These traditions, of course, will always be blended and turn into something new.

We dearly hope that this journal inspires you to discover new traditions and recipes!

heritage recipes:

Both books feature delectable recipes inspired by history with a modern twist! Inside of The Journal, you will find:

• Spiced Christmas Bundt Cake

• Honeyed Hot Chocolate

• Brioche Dinner Roll Wreath

• Bacon & Herb Mashed Potatoes

• Cranberry Pork Tenderloin, and more!

Looking for some historical cookie recipes? The Christmas Cookie Box Ebook Volume II has:

• Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies

• Ginger Drops

• Scottish Shortbread

• Swedish Chessboards

• Danish Kringler, and more!

heirloom crafts:

One of my personal favorite parts of The Journal is the interactive artwork! Each piece of art is hand illustrated by Jill and created into pieces that can be used in your home.

Inside you will find some cute crafts like:

• Handmade Folk Art Ornaments

• Making Decorative Reusable Gift Boxes

• Miniature Paper Gingerbread House, and more!

final thoughts:

It is my dearest wish that you enjoy these two pieces of our hearts this winter and holiday season! We spent countless hours bringing these little books to life. In fact, if you didn’t know, we produce these entirely ourselves. From the concept to recipe development to writing to photography to craft tutorials to graphic design. We do not outsource any work, so it means the world that you would entrust us. We know that this season is often a difficult one for many, and we appreciate you taking the time to support us. Thank you, My Dear.

Enjoy the start of the holidays!

xoxo Kayla

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