"A Little Lady Is On Her Way..." (Baby Shower Cookies)

 Celebrating a new life!
One of my favorite occasions to bake/decorate for!

These baby shower cookies were done for a neighbor's daughter who recently celebrated her upcoming new little bundle with a baby shower.  The invitations were in an adorable "ladybug" theme.  A simple and fun design...but who would've dreamed how intricate ladybug eyelashes would turn out to be, LOL!  After many attempts with my smallest decorating tip, edible markers, and many more ideas...I finally ended up hand-"painting" them all with a toothpick.

160 ladybug eyelashes hand-painted with a toothpick...that was really something, LOL!

 I included this silhouette for the new mommy-to-be as a bonus...just something special I wanted to do with the extra dough/icing.

Congratulations our your new little bundle momma!
Best wishes from Sweet Ivy Confections!

A Few Forgotten Belated Valentine Cookies...

 I always vowed that I would stay on top of my blogging and not be late.

However, we've had some personal/family/health issues going on.

My hubby spent a weekend in the hospital 2 weeks ago with some health concerns...

So I barely squeaked these cookies out on time for my daycare kids Valentine's Day party.

Admittedly, they are not my finest work...but I think my kiddos enjoyed them.

With all that's been going on, I considered postponing the kids party, but I just couldn't disappoint them, so I popped these cookies out pretty quick.  Like I said, not my finest...but the kids were happy...and that makes me happy.

 I run a childcare/preschool business by day and we always try to have special days on holidays.

We did Valentine's Day coloring, stories, treats, and exchanged cards.

The kids all wore red/pink/white.  It was a fun day.

These cookies were also done in my new flavor Raspberry Vanilla with Raspberry Glaze.

My hubby is not a "berry" kind of guy...so it wasn't his favorite flavor, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it.

Things continue to be busy around here...gearing up for baby shower cookies and wedding cake pops!  I will also be taking St. Patrick's Day orders, so if you are in need of a dessert in March...contact us today to book your date!
Hope you all are staying warm this winter!

TTFN!

A Bake Sale & A Birthday...

 This past week, our church had a bake sale to benefit the kids' ministry.

I don't have young children involved in the kids' ministry, but I feel strongly about reaching out to our children and young people if I can.  And with my passion for baking/decorating, I was so excited to jump at this opportunity to help out.

 I did a dozen heart mini-packs.  I always love doing mini-packs.  Minis are fun to make and fun to eat!  Some of my baking friends aren't fond of doing minis as they can be intricate and time-consuming, but I love them!  And people seem to really enjoy them too!

 I thought minis would be ideal for any of the kids who bought sweets, minis are just so much fun to pop into your mouth and eat on the go!

 Then I did some medium and large hearts.  These were all done with piped rosettes that I made ahead of time.  I also added some "lace-work" on a few of them.

 I did a little experimenting with my basic sugar cookie recipe and tried out a new flavor.

And as it turned out...I thought they were quite tasty!

The new flavor combination I did was Raspberry-Vanilla Cookies with Raspberry Glaze.

 This flavor will now be a part of my regular offering when clients order.

Lastly...

I had forgotten to share this cake pop bouquet I made last month for a birthday gift!

It was my pastor's wife's birthday and I decided to share a little sweetness with her because she is so sweet!

Happy birthday Ms. Amy!

Got All My Ducks In A Row...(Baby Boy Shower Cookies)

 I think I may have mentioned once or twice how much I love being a part of people's celebrations!  That is one of the best parts about baking cakes and cookies and cake pops and all kinds of fun desserts for people!  Celebrating LIFE!  Be it weddings, new babies, new homes, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or...simply JUST BECAUSE!

Celebrating life is something we should do more often!  Sometimes we get so caught up in the day to day, and the negativity...we forget to be truly grateful for all of the good surrounding us!

A new baby is certainly something to be grateful for!  So I was honored to make these baby shower cookies when I got a last minute request!

 This was a fun order to create because I was given free reign over creativity!  I may have mentioned that once or twice too...how I love having free reign to do what I want!  Hehe!

I was told the cookies needed to be light blue and white (as it's a baby boy) and that the theme was rubber ducks.  But other than that...no specifics...YAY!!!  I've done rubber duckies several times for other showers, but I was looking to do something a little different and fun.  And since the colors given to me were blue and white, I knew I wouldn't be doing them in typical yellow.  I thought a white duck with blue accents would be nice.  When I came across the idea for bubbles, I knew that was it!  The perfect blue accent!  I wanted a little more up top though...so I went with the blue rosette.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

 We added blue and white baby bottles and onesies to the platter as accent cookies to go along with the rubber duckie theme.  I was pretty happy with how both turned out.

 Baby cookies are always so much fun to create!

Best wishes to the new mom-to-be!

May your journey as a new mommy be blessed!

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!