Ivy Bits

I had baked a bunch of cookies a while back and froze them so that I could pop them out at any time to practice on.

After making all of my son's party cookies I had some extra icing to "play" with as well.

So here I had all these "mini" cookies to practice on.

I think they're so cute, that off the top of my head, I decided from here on out I'll refer to them as "Ivy Bits" rather than minis (b-o-r-i-n-g).

I just played around with some designs.

The one is just random polka dots.

And the other, I was going for a "spiral" look...but my hand was rather unsteady that night and as I told my son, "It looks more like a rose!".

So whatever the case...I just had some fun "playing" with my new "Ivy Bits".

The Last Of Halloween 2011...And A New Beginning For Me!

These ghost cookies turned out to be, probably some of the best cookies I've made since I started cake and cookie decorating.

But they represent much more than that.

I volunteered to make these cookies for my youngest son's Halloween party.

Little did I realize what they would do for me!

I had fun making them, and that was really all it started out to be.

I was pleased with the outcome, as I said, they are some of my favorites and best to date.

However...

As I walked into the school door, all the moms and teachers in the hallway started pointing at them and saying how cute they were!

Yay!

That was a nice feeling.

Then, I got into my son's classroom and his teacher just GUSHED over them!

Another mom said to her son, "Ryan, you didn't get one of those ghost cookies!  Go get one of those adorable ghost cookies!"

Too funny.  That made my day.

Several moms came over and asked if "I" was the one who made the ghost cookies.

I had a neighbor come up to me in the hall and tell me that her son was assigned treats for the Valentine's Day party and she asked if she could pay me to make them for her!

I went home feeling pretty good.

But it didn't stop there.

I got to the bus stop with my son the day after Halloween and another mom of a girl in my son's class said to me, "Did you make the ghost cookies?  My daughter couldn't stop talking about how cute the ghost cookies were!  She wouldn't even eat it until she brought it home to show everyone in the family how cute it was!"

As this mom talked to me, another mom next to us said, "Do you have pamphlets, or business cards?  How about a website?"

Well...at that time, I didn't.

I told them I had a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a blog set up, but I hadn't really taken any orders yet.

They encouraged me to do so!

So...

I did just that!

I came home, I promptly ordered some business cards...

And I'm in the middle of creating my website!

Fun times!

I will mostly be taking orders from friends and family, I assume.

But it's still encouraging for now!

This is what I've dreamed of.

What I've hoped for.

What I've prayed for.

Even if it's just a little side business, to bring me joy and a little extra cash...

Hey...it's MORE than I ever dreamed of!

I'm so excited and encouraged!

Who'd have thought a couple little ghost cookies could bring so much positive attention to my baking?!?

My Hubby's Birthday Cake! (New Ruffled Technique)

How did I forget to include my hubby's birthday cake in the blog this week?

Shame on me!

I had been wanting to try this new ruffle technique for quite a while, but hadn't yet had the opportunity to bake a cake for any occasion yet.

I had originally seen the tutorial for this technique done in pink...but anyone who knows my hubby knows he's a big burly teddy bear of a guy, so pastels would never float, LOL!

And he is an "all chocolate" kinda guy...so I figured that would "man it up" a little bit, teehee!

I was a little intimidated to try it...but I watched the video over and over and just went with it.

Honestly, it wasn't that hard at all!

I'm sure mine isn't perfect, but I was pretty darn impressed with how it turned out for the first attempt!

The top is a little plain/simple.

I debated on putting maybe some chocolate roses...

But my hubby isn't a roses kinda guy, LOL!

He's pretty basic..."Just make it taste good.  I don't need fancy", he always tells me.

Haha.

I had a lot of fun with this technique and can't wait to try it again in different colors.

I think even a multi-color ruffle would be pretty!

Ooooh...my creative wheels are spinnin' now!

LOL!

I did a yellow butter cake, filled with vanilla pudding filling, and this is a chocolate buttercream icing.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Many folks each year always ask me about what recipe I use for roasting pumpkin seeds.

I have used the same recipe for years and years.

It came from an old work cookbook...one that was put together by the emloyees of the company I formerly worked at.

Each year, my boys and I roast our pumpkin seeds as they make such a tasty snack.

I see many people already carving jack-o-lanterns, however I don't recommend doing this until closer to Halloween.  We usually do ours the night before.

If you have any sunlight and warmth, your jack-o-lantern will rot and cave in and look like a wrinkled old man before Halloween even gets here.

No one wants a yucky jack before Halloween night!

We love putting a fall candle in ours on Halloween night so our whole porch smells of autumn as trick-or-treaters come up the walkway!

So without further ado...here's my recipe!

2 c. seeds, washed/dried
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt

Pour in a thin baking sheet and bake at 250 for two hours or until golden brown.
Yummy!

I ((((((heart)))))) Halloween!

I am worse than a kid in a candy shop.

I will admit it.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE HALLOWEEN!

I guess maybe I never grew up.

I love dressing up (in costume)!

I love digging out all my Halloween shirts and jewelry!

I love pulling out all my decorations for my home and yard!

I love baking and cooking for Halloween!

Next to Christmas and Easter...it's my favorite time of year!

I got some new cookie cutters a couple weeks ago and tried them out this week.

The witches and cauldron were some of my favorites!

As were the bats and black cats!

My youngest son was particularly fond of "Frank" (enstein)...

I didn't do much with these little haunted houses, as I don't really have much experience yet with "detailing" cookies.

But I loved the grave-stone and bats!

I wasn't real thrilled with the jack-o-lanterns either, but my son loved them...so that's all that matters in my book, LOL!

The candy corns were A LOT of fun!

Though they did turn out nearly flourescent!  LOL!

I'm hoping to do another "round" of Halloween cookies soon...

Planning to make some for my son's class party and also my daycare kiddos!

More pics to come soon!

Autumn Leaves...

This past weekend, I did some autumn leaf cookies.

So many bakers have been doing autumn leaf cookies lately...and mine don't even BEGIN to touch their beauty.

But hey, ya gotta start somewhere, right?

They were really fun to make, as I had new leaf cookie cutters.

Had I planned better, I could've used Stephanie's from Ellie's Bites Decorated Cookies recipe for MAPLE COOKIES!

She sent me some of hers and let me tell you...they were YUMMY!

My family (who doesn't even usually care much for maple) LOVED Stephanie's cookies!

And...hers were beautifully done too!

If you'd like to try her recipe, you can find it here. 

I just went with a basic sugar cookie recipe this time.

Maybe next fall, I'll be more prepared, LOL!

Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats...Have You Tried Them Yet?

My previous post was for these Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispies Treats...

Have you tried them yet?

I did.

And they are so yummy!

I used my pumpkin and candy corn cookie cutters to cut them into cute little shapes.

They taste just like fall!

In case you missed the recipe, you can find it here.

If I'm not mistaken, these marshmallows are exclusive to WalMart...so you might want to check there first, as I've heard this is the only place you can find them.

Well, what are you waiting for?

If you like the flavor of pumpkin...you'll love this childhood favorite treat!

We do!