Lions vs Packers...Football Cookies!

 Today we went to our friends' home for our annual (post) Christmas get-together.

As it happened...the Lions and Packers were playing today.

My hubby...HUGE Lions fan.

Most of our friends are Lions fans...with a sprinkling of Packer fans in the mix.

 To say my hubby dislikes the Packers...is a HUGE understatement, LOL!

You know how when you're a sports fan, and there's usually ONE team you REALLY dislike?

That would be the Packers for my hubby, ha!

We usually all bring a dish to pass at this particular get-together.

And since it turned out to be more of a "football bash" than a (post) Christmas party...

I decided these cookies would be an appropriate dessert!

Unfortunately the Lions lost...so we won't talk about that anymore.

Hubby is quietly dealing with his emotions, LOL!

But the cookies were yummy!

Christmas 2014

 December has been a blur!

It truly has!

The whole Christmas season kind of just...sneaked up on me!

I don't feel like I made a lot of decorated cookies this year...

Though I actually did...2 dozen for each client (six)...a dozen for our family get-together...plus a dozen for a giveaway.

So that was a grand total of 14 dozen this month.

I know, not a lot for some of you busy bee bakers out there...but it was enough for me during the holidays, ha!  I did something new (to me) this year.  I attempted this wreath that I found on Pinterest and I apologize...I can't give the original poster credit as I couldn't find the link!  So to whoever shared the original post on Pinterest...thank-you for your inspiration!

 Then I attempted SugarBelle's poinsettia platter.  I was pretty happy with the results for a first attempt!  Everyone who received one seemed to like it.

 Then I did a couple wintery themed platters.

Mittens, snowflakes, and some holiday greetings.

 This green (and red/white) themed set, I took to our family celebration.  They were kind of a last minute set.  I didn't really have a plan...I kind of just winged it and had fun!

Generally, it's my custom cookies that really "take it out of me".

But this year, I did SO MUCH "other" holiday baking...that it was those that really zapped my energy!  But you can't skip the family favorites at Christmas time!  I'll be doing a post on those later.  I hope each and every one of you have a very Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy New Year!

Here's to a bright and successful 2015!

 

Diaper Party Cookies...

 I was super excited when my friend sent me a picture and asked if I'd do some "Diaper Party" cookies!  I had never heard of a "diaper party".  But what do I know?  LOL!  I'm 14 years removed from the baby scene, ha!  My boys are 18 and 14 years old, so it's been quite a while since I've been in the loop!  But now I hear they not only have showers, but "sprinkles"...how cute is that for second babies!  Moms are taking pictures of their bellies with little signs each week.  Shoot, I have one...maybe two pictures of myself pregnant!  Haha!

 My friend sent me a couple pictures of designs she liked...so we kind of went with that...but I changed things up a little bit.  I'm still working on mastering my airbrush.  I did a chevron stencil on both of the scalloped square cookies in a metallic silver.  I thought that would look nice with the yellow/gray theme.  I love the way the lettering turned out on the above "BABY" cookies.

 I decided to add some pearls to the cookies as well for a little more chic look.

 I think the diapers turned out cute.

They look a little more like the cloth diaper wraps, I think.

 I was pleased overall with how they turned out.

I hope the folks at the party enjoy them!

Congratulations to the family on their new arrival!

Merry (early) Christmas!

 I probably have more Christmas cookie cutters than any other holiday (or maybe all holidays combined).  I LOVE CHRISTMAS!  Even though I have so many Christmas cutters, I'm still always at a loss as to what shapes and designs to do each year.  I obviously can't do ALL of them.  I simply don't have the time or space for that.  So I try to limit myself to a few select designs and stick with a color palette of maybe 3-4 colors.

 I am still relatively new to airbrushing, but decided I wanted to attempt some stenciling on these.  I bought a new chevron pattern stencil and tried it out on a few of these plaques.  It definitely takes some practice.  Airbrushing is an art for sure...and I haven't quite mastered it!  Ha!

 Even though I have so many Christmas cutters, I still revert back to a lot of the same shapes.  I LOVE doing plaques.  I have four that I picked up a couple years ago, but Wilton came out with a new set this Christmas, and of course, I had to have them!

It was a cute little set of three.  I had fun putting messages on them and stenciling patterns on them.

 I love doing these trees.  I saw some similar to these on Pinterest a couple years ago and did my own variation.  Now they've become a staple in my Christmas "go to" repertoire.

I always love doing snowflakes too.  I think I enjoy them so much because, naturally, every single one is different, and I like not being limited to making the same design over and over and over again!  I'll have more Christmas designs coming, so stay tuned!  I hope you're enjoying your holiday season!  Stay warm and cozy!

Give Thanks...

 I don't usually make Thanksgiving cookies.

For one reason...in the four years I've been baking, I've never had a Thanksgiving order!

Crazy, eh?

But my son had a get together with friends on Black Friday and needed to bring a snack and he requested Thanksgiving cookies (even though it was the day after). 
Ha!

I simply adore this rich chocolate cut-out recipe.

The whole house smells like brownies when I bake them!

I guess they were a hit...he didn't bring any home!

That's the idea!

Cookies are meant to bring happiness!

I hope your family had a very happy blessed Thanksgiving!

 Well, I'm a little behind with my Halloween post this year...

But that's ok...wanted to share my creations with you anyway!

I always like to make a few treats for my daycare kiddos when we celebrate the holidays.

 This year, instead of filling a treat bag with candy (since they get so much during trick-or-treat)...I filled their bags with cake pops, cookies, Halloween pencils & rings.

 I did a white confetti cake pop dipped in white chocolate w/ orange and black sprinkles!

 For snack, we did brownie bites with white chocolate.  I piped some borders and added some fun Halloween sprinkles w/ spiders.

 These were some of the cookies that went into the treat bags with the cake pops.

 They are minis...perfect for little fingers!

I also had one last Halloween cookie order last minute.

She chose the Cheery Candy Corn design.  These were a popular style this year.  Everyone seemed to really like them.

I hope you all had a fun Halloween with friends and family!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and if you need any help with desserts for your Thanksgiving spread, just let me know!

I can provide cookies, cake pops, cupcakes, or small scale cakes to add to your Thanksgiving feast!

Happy November!

Baby Shower! (Whale Theme)...

 As much as I love the baking and decorating aspect of this job...

Another thing I adore about this job is...

Getting to be a part of people's celebration.

Even if I'm not physically there...I enjoy that I get to contribute to their celebration.

Be it birthdays, reunions, holidays, wedding, or babies!

It's a wonderful feeling knowing that I can help people celebrate!

 Sometimes I know the customer...sometimes they are a referral from a friend or family member and I only know "of" them...regardless...helping them celebrate is a blessing to me!

With this order, we are celebrating a new life!

A precious baby boy will be joining a family soon!

 As I've mentioned before, I love when I'm pretty much given free reign to create what I want.  I asked for a napkin or invitation so that I'd have something to go by...

And...

IS THIS EVER CUTE OR WHAT?!?

 What a fun theme for a baby shower!

Whales!

Sometimes we see the "same 'ol, same 'ol" on Pinterest party ideas.

But I had never seen a whale theme.

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

 I had so much fun designing/planning these cookies!

They are actually a "cookies on a cookie".

I had a whale cookie cutter, but I didn't like the shape...plus it didn't match the one on the napkin well.  So I got a little creative.  I grabbed one of my tools...did a little bending and crimping...and...VOILA!  He turned out just like the little whale on the napkin!

I decided just a plain whale would be a little...meh...

So I wanted to really tackle the design on the napkin.

I used an oblong plaque cutter, added the whale shape on top, then piped a border and mini whale silhouettes around the edge.

How fun is that!

 Cake pops are on the menu too!

I don't do the traditional "cake/frosting" mixture...I find it overly sweet/rich.

I simply offer a cake "truffle".

A bite-sized morsel of moist cake dipped in either white or milk chocolate.

This cake pop is a "confetti cake" dipped in white chocolate and I added some blue and green sanding sugar to match the color scheme.

 Sometimes...

When I have a smaller order, I like to do a little something extra special.

I add extra ribbon and fun little tags to the cake pops.

I don't normally do this with larger orders...as you can imagine...it's quite time consuming.

But this was a smaller order, so I had a little fun with it.

Sweet Ivy would like to say CONGRATULATIONS to the mommy-to-be!

Good luck and God bless your sweet new bundle of joy!

♪♪♪It's The Most...Wonderful Time...Of The Year (Autumn!) ♪♪♪

 ♪♪♪It's the most...wonderful time...of the year...♪♪♪

 Nope!  It's not Christmas...yet!

Although that is my favorite holiday...

But my favorite "season" is AUTUMN!

Recently, my mom asked me if I would bake up an autumn variety for our extended family down in the St. Louis area.  She and my dad were headed that way to visit all of our family and she thought some cookies would be a nice treat to share.

I decided on these happy little candy corns for all of the cousins/kids.

 Next I made up platters for all of the "grown-ups".

 I incorporated some sunflowers...

 Some pumpkins...

 I experimented with my airbrush on the pumpkins...adding hints of green on the bottom.

It's a learning process for sure...

 Pumpkin pie anyone?

 Just kidding!

They're really mini cookies!

 I know...I totally had you, didn't I?

Haha.

 More pumpkins...

 And some pretty fall leaves...

 I experimented with my airbrush some more on these...

 I thought they turned out pretty good...

 ...and the finished product!

 The little kids platter...

 One of the "grown-ups" platters...

 I hope everyone enjoyed them!

I sure did enjoy making them!

Happy Fall Y'all!