Celebrating Cinco de Mayo!

 This post is coming out a little bit late...but I had to get it in because I LOVED the way these cookies turned out!

So, my 8th grade son is in Honors Spanish at school and they were celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a fiesta of sorts.  He comes home and says, "I told my teacher that my mom makes awesome decorated cookies and has her own home bakery...so can you make 30 cookies for my class?"  Well, how do you turn down something like that when your kid builds you up like that!

 I really don't have any Cinco de Mayo themed cookie cutters so I had to make do with what I had.  I knew I wanted to do some kind of little plaque with the words "Cinco de Mayo" on them, so I used my little scalloped oval.  I love the font and colors on these...I think they turned out pretty festive.

 Who can resist tacos when we're thinking "Mexican food"?

Not having a taco cutter, I just used my oval cutter and cut it in half with a knife.

Decorating these was a pure treat...so much fun!

 And for a little added fun, I did some maracas in fun colors.

I didn't have a cutter for these either so I just pieced together circles and a rectangle.

 I think the end result was good.

Hope you all had a very happy Cinco de Mayo!

Springtime!

 I tend to be one of those people who gets stuck in a rut.

And it happened with my cookie decorating.

There are SO many techniques out there, and I haven't tried so many of them.

Like I said, I get stuck in a rut...and more than anything...

It's a little bit of fear...a little bit of laziness...a little bit not wanting to "rock the boat".

Call it what you will...I decided it was time to GET OUT of the rut and start learning new things and trying out some of these techniques that are new to me.

I've had an airbrush for quite some time, but it has always intimidated me a little to be honest.

Well, I got a whole bunch of new stencils at my cookie gathering in Livonia last week, so I decided I needed to give them a whirl.

I dug out my airbrush and got to work.

Once I started playing, it was actually pretty fun.

Granted, I still need some practice to perfect the skill...but hey...

I DID IT.

Now I'm afraid I'm going to become addicted to stenciling and I'm going to want ALL of the cool designs out there.

There are so many amazing stencils that are sold by some of the cookiers.

This is just a sample of a few I got in my swag bag last week.

Hopefully, I'll stay OUT of this rut and keep learning new things.

Happy Spring!

Practice makes perfect...

 I haven't had many ordered lately...which has been a blessing in disguise.

As busy as I've been with school (read killer science class), I probably would have been even more stressed out with more deadlines.  I did indeed finish my term, and was able to go to that amazing cookie gathering over the weekend.  Last night, I had some free time and decided to "play cookies".  I got out my airbrush and some of the new stencils I acquired and did a little practicing.  I am waiting on my new stencil genie to arrive, as I think things will improve vastly once I get that.

After I messed around with the stencils, I did some free-hand airbrushing.  These flowers are nothing special, but I just wanted to "get the feel" of the airbrush more.  It is definitely something that takes some practice.

I have a whole bunch more cookies I made to take to the gathering that I didn't end up using.  I will be doing some more playing/practicing in the next few days...and friends/family reap the rewards of my practice (read lots of cookie snacks)!

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!