Mitten Bakers Cookie Gathering 2015

 This past Saturday was one of the most fun days I've had in a long time.

I went to a "cookie gathering" in Livonia, MI.

It was a day full of friendship, fun, food, learning new techniques, raffles, contests, prizes, and an awesome swag bag!

I belong to a baking group online made up of bakers from all over Michigan and a few from Ohio, Indiana, and Canada.  It was so awesome getting to meet these friends that I've only known online for some time, face-to-face for the first time! 

 This gathering was a first for our group and it came together so quickly and amazingly thanks to our awesome hosts and planners Jen of The Cake Girl and Amanda of Amanda Makes Cakes.  You'd have thought these girls were best friends and event planners.  Little did we know, they had only met in person ONCE and had never done anything like this before!

 Our first demo/class was with Kim of Altered Cookie.  She taught everyone some basic airbrush techniques.

 It was fun seeing how unique everyone's simple flower turned out!

 My flower that I airbrushed.

EVERYONE'S finished product!

My flower didn't quite make the trip home in one piece!

 

 Most of our day consisted of cookie techniques, but we were lucky enough to have Amanda of Amanda Makes Cakes do a cake pop demo/class for us!  She makes wonderful creations.  Be sure to check out her page!

 My friend and carpool buddy Madri showing off her cake pop skills!

 Waiting for my cake pop to dry!

Everyone playing  working hard!

 Next we got a demo/class with Heather of SugarNosh Treats  on stenciling. 

 We all got to practice using some of our new stencils in our swag bags!

 Working on stenciling.

My "Super Mom" stencil!

 Up next was Lisa of Gigi's Fresh Baked.  

She did a demo/class on painting on cookies.

 This is a technique I've always wanted to learn but have never tried.

My first attempt at painting on cookies.

Next up was royal icing transfers with Melissa of Mel B's Sweets.

 Everyone working/playing.

 We had a catered lunch!

Pasta, salad, breadsticks!

 The theme of the day was Super Heroes.

We had a Super Hero Cookie Contest in which everyone could vote for their favorite entry.

My entry in the contest.

My sweet friend Cathy made this cookie of ME!  LOL! (inside joke)

"Airbrush cleaner"...another inside joke.

My sweet friend Ronee of That's A Nice Cookie custom cookie cutters.

All of our loot from our swag bag!

Special thanks to our sponsors for all of the amazing goodies:

Baker's Nook

BRP Box Shop

The Cookie Countess

Creative Cookier

Crumbles

Karen's Cookies

Simply Sweet Stencils

Sweet Southern Stencils

That's A Nice Cookie

Artfully Designed Creations

We had such an amazing day.  We left with new knowledge, new goodies/products, and most importantly new friends.  Because as I always say, "Cookie friends are the best friends!"

"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!