Day 10 of 12 Days of Home for the Holidays

It’s Day 10 of the 12 Days of Home for the Holidays with my special guest blogger Ms. Donna Salazer.


I personally learned of Donna through the Fiskateers and Leah Desktop Dictionary.   I saw the very first episode that Donna was in and I nearly died laughing watching the interaction between her, Johanna Peterson and Leah Fung.

I actually met Donna at my first CHA at the Fiskateer photo shoot. You can see the awe in my eyes as we had our photo taken together. Donna launched her own product line this past summer and the response was out of the world. Donna’s make-n-take was widely popular, but she still took a minute out to say hello.

Donna works for Prima Marketing, Inc., her official title at Prima is Marketing and Promotions. She is responsible for most of Prima's programs that are designed to help the local stores. Donna has had her work published in magazines and idea books, has filmed for Scrapbook Lifestyle and Fiskars TV. She has taught classes all over Southern California as well as Belgium, France and The Netherlands

Donna’s unending energy is apparent in her projects, her blog/website and in her interactions with her friends. If I had to use one word to sort of describe my experience about Donna that would be “flow.” I know that’s odd, but Donna’s gift flows free and beautifully.

You can find Donna at
Blog A Painterlady’s View
Girlfriend’s Club
Girlfriend’s Club Blog
Lucky13 Blog
Follow Donna on Twitter: donnasalazar
     and Facebook DonnaEscuadro.Salazar

Make sure to visit for “Candy Cane Friday”  video tips throughout December.

Ms. Donna Salazer

I always remember baking with my grandma. She made little aprons for me and my two sisters to use when we would spend the weekend at her house. We all got to take turns spending the weekend with her when we were little. We would have dinner at her sister’s house on Saturday night and we would end the evening by watching The Lawrence Welk show. Sunday would start early so that she could create a flower arrangement using the flowers in her garden for church (thus my love for flowers). We would always show up early so she could get everything set up and prepared for Sunday school lesson. Most of our Sunday afternoons were spent baking.

My grandma like making special breads. She would make shaped breads for the different holidays. Several years before she passed away she began making cinnamon rolls from scratch. These were a HUGE hit! We all really looked forward to having them and it became a holiday staple, so much so that I felt compelled to take up the mantle after she was gone. I began with her recipe the first year but changed it slightly each year after. It has been 12 years since she has been gone and EVERY year I still make my cinnamon rolls. The recipe has now become “Auntie Donna’s Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls” but in my heart I am carrying on the tradition that my grandma started and it makes me feel like she is still a part of our holidays because of it.

As I was writing this for Debby, I realized that I have never made a layout about this tradition and where it came from. I have mentioned this tradition on my blog and on challenge layouts but I’ve never written the whole story out or even take pictures of my cinnamon rolls. I had to take a picture of a page from a memory book that my mom and little sister made for my birthday a few years ago. So…because of this realization, I will be taking pictures of the baking process and making a layout to preserve this story.

I’ve included the recipe…I hope you enjoy!

(FYI: this is my, Debby’s, digi layout made with Donna’s permission for her special recipe. Remember I am still a novice, big time.  right-click, save-as, and you have your own copy of Aunti Donna's recipe.)

Thank you Donna and Merry Christmas!

Tomorrow’s guest blogger is Patter Cross.

Gratitude List
1. peace
2. caring
3. my dad
4. Bob
5. God’s gracious gift of love for me