Some goodies from the past year...

GVSU Friendsgiving 2017...vanilla butter cookies w/ royal icing

One would think, that since I've graduated and no longer have homework to deal with...

I'd be much better at blogging!

Not the case.

I honestly don't even know what I spend my time doing anymore...

I had all these visions of accomplishing projects this summer.

I'd planned to paint rooms, cabinets, read for pleasure, deep-clean the house.

Have I done any of those projects?

Nope.

I do think, however, that I've given myself the gift of time.

I've been napping, relaxing, and just having "me" time.

And that's ok after four long years of studying!

I think this college grad deserves a few months of down time. LOL!

But...back to blogging!

I finally decided it was time to sit down and share the past year's treats I've made for those who don't follow along on Facebook or Instagram.

So without further ado...

The Thanksgiving cookies above and below were made for GVSU "Friendsgiving."

My son graduated from GVSU in the spring of 2018.  These cookies were for his Campus Ministry "Friendsgiving" that they celebrated during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Holland First Ladies Christmas Tea...vanilla butter cookies w/ royal icing

 In December of 2017, we had our annual Ladies Christmas Tea at my church.

The last two years, I've enjoyed hosting my own table.

I made these cookies as favors/treats for the ladies at my table to take home.

 The theme of the event was "Gifts of Joy."

I wanted to capture that somehow in the cookies I made.

 I decided on simple ornaments with little holly berries up top.

I airbrushed them with metallic gold/silver for some extra sparkle.

I think they turned out really cute once bagged.

I used red fabric ribbons and raffia.

It was a wonderful evening and all of the tables looked stunning!

White Elephant Gift Exchange...vanilla butter cookies w/ royal icing

My youngest son had a White Elephant Gift Exchange in one of his classes at

the local high school.

What better gift for a White Elephant Gift Exchange than...

 White Elephant cookies!

 I added little Christmas lights on their tooshies and white snowflakes on their trunks for a little flair.

 They were definitely a hit amongst the students!

 I took some similar as a White Elephant Gift Exchange to my ladies Christmas party last year at church and they went over real well.

I am planning to offer these every Christmas!

 During the holiday season, I brought in some wintery cookies to share with my

co-workers.

Treats are always a nice way to break up the winter doldrums at work!

French vanilla cupcakes w/ classic homemade buttercream

 Shortly after I brought in the winter cookies to work, I found out a co-worker had a birthday!

 Well, what's a birthday without cake?

 I brought in these yummy vanilla cupcakes with classic buttercream icing.

Because it was winter, I added some snowflakes and nonpareils to look like snow.

French vanilla cake pops dipped in chocolate w/ rainbow sprinkles!

 Next up, I had a request from ZEHS to do some cake pops!

 These were for my youngest son's class.

 They were a big hit!

Even when they're in high school, they like to be the hit of the class, LOL!

Chocolate cake pops dipped in milk and white chocolate w/ green décor!

This was another set I did for another GVSU event.

 They had a St. Patty's Day party!

What better snack than green cake pops!

Chocolate covered pretzels

 Chocolate dipped pretzels are another popular request.

These were for another occasion at ZEHS.

Vanilla cake pops dipped in chocolate w/ winter sprinkles

 They did cake pops as well.

 I once again added snowflake sprinkles and nonpareils for that winter touch.

Ladies Bake Sale

 In the springtime we had a bake sale for our ladies ministry at church.

 I wanted to do something pretty and springy and encouraging...

 So I decided on these floral accented cookies.

I did a black background and trimmed them with rosebuds and greenery...

Then added Faith, Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace to them.

I love the way they turned out and they were fast sellers!

Love being able to contribute to my church!

Vanilla butter cookies with royal icing

 These cookies were special.

They were for a special couple in our church who tried to have children for a LONG time.

After many years, the Lord blessed them with a beautiful daughter through adoption!

I went to her baby shower and the story of their journey just brought me to tears.

It was so ordained by God...the whole journey.

He had His hand on it every step of the way.

Such a beautiful child for a beautiful couple.

White cake with classic homemade buttercream

In April of 2018, we had a pretty special occasion in our house!

Both my son and myself, graduated from college!

Evan graduated from GVSU and I graduated from WGU.

We had a party with the family and celebrated before Evan headed north for his new

summer job...which we'll learn more about in the next set of cookies!

Vanilla butter cookies with royal icing

 In April, Evan accepted a job with the Mackinac Historic State Parks as a historical interpreter.

We took him up to the island in April and had several trips planned to visit and vacation throughout the summer.

In May, he texted me saying he told his coworkers that I was a baker...

And could I please bring cookies...

 Well what do you say when your baby is bragging on you?

 Of course!

He did inform me that I made trumpets instead of bugles...ooops!  LOL!

 The "kids" (as I call them) loved them.

 They sent me a thank-you note and were so sweet.

\

The next time we headed up was in July...

I "might" have gotten another request for cookies...

Vanilla butter cookies with royal icing

In July, we once again visited our son on Mackinac Island.

We have been staying at the Main Street Inn & Suites each time we go.

The previous time we went in May, the girls behind the front desk were 

complimenting me on the cookies I brought for the state park workers.

So...

I had already agreed to bring Evan's coworkers more cookies this time...

So since I was already baking...I made some for the girls at the front desk of our hotel as well.

I did some festive July 4th cookies for the holiday.

I think this now catches us up for the year.

I'm not going to promise I'll be better at blogging...

Because I know I probably won't.

But I'll try...

I can promise I'll try... ;)

As always...if you need any sweet treats for your occasions or events, feel free to let me know!

Have a sweet week!

Melody

February-August 2017...(yes, playing six months of catch-up!)

 Here we go again...playing catch-up for many months of holidays and events!

But as you all know, with being back in school full time and working full time outside of the home, my baking has taken a bit of a back seat.  But I always count it a joy when I can sneak in an order or two to let my creative juices flow again during the busyness of life.  So let's play catch-up again, shall we?

 The mini hearts above and the larger hearts and circles here were done for a bake sale at our church for our kids ministry. I always love donating for a great cause and these were a lot of fun to do.  These were done back in February.

 Moving along to Easter!

These cookies were for another church bake sale.

These carrots were a lot of fun too.  I did a wet-on-wet technique with the polka dots and outlined the leaves with sanding sugar.  The bunnies were outlined in pastel jimmies.

 These bunny silhouettes were super fun...peaking over the edges and corners!

I dipped the edges of these cookies in Easter sprinkles (little pastel eggs).  Made for a unique look and yummy texture. 

 I made these crosses fairly simple but added little pink flower candy embellishments and piped green leaves on them. 

 I had seen something similar to these on the internet somewhere but can't remember where or I'd give credit where credit is due. But I tried to change them up and make them my own.  I used the wet-on-wet technique to create clouds and then piped grass and laid little candy Easter eggs in the grass to resemble an Easter egg hunt!

 More wet-on-wet carrots with sanding sugar...

The bunnies were outlined in nonpareils. I love the crunch they add to cookies.

 I finished up this order with some mini eggs.  I always like packaging minis in these long pretzel bags.  I like the presentation.

 And here's the whole batch of them.

They were a super fun bunch to create!

 Next up was the "She Is Brave" women's conference at our church.

I had the awesome opportunity to donate a gift basket for a drawing/giveaway they did at the conference.

 With the exception of giving me the name of the conference and colors, I was pretty much given free-reign on these (which I love). I used the flyer/registration forms to get an idea of the theme.

 I loved creating these!

 And one of the neatest things about creating these...

The gal that won them was from another church in another town.

I got to meet her and she asked if we could take a picture together.

She is super sweet and recently moved to the town I grew up in (small world)!

We are now Facebook friends.

 This spring, my niece graduated high school.

She and my sister asked if I would make 200 cake pops for her open house.

Well...duh!

Of course I would!

I love how they displayed them!

 My niece has a passion for travel and missions.

She had the coolest travel theme to her open house.

 I tagged the pops, "Thanks for coming! It meant the "WORLD" to me! Love Raegan"

I put little globes on the bottom and did the cake pops in globe colors.

Cah-ute!

 Such a fun project and so proud of my niece.

 Last project in this catch-up post...

A cookie and cake pop bouquet for our new youth pastor and family at church!

 We had a meet-and-greet at church and I brought this for them.

I never realized how much I liked red and turquoise together!

Well, that catches us up for the last six months!

Hopefully I'll do better next time...

But don't hold your breath, LOL!