PROJECT: Dominican Republic Or Bust!

My sister and niece are going on a missions trip this summer to the Dominican Republic.

My niece went last year with my brother-in-law, but this year, my sister will be making the trip with them.

I have gone on two missions trip...when I was 18 and then again at age 21...and they are life changing experiences.

They not only change the lives of those you touch when ministering, but these trips change YOU as well.

You really see how fortunate we are living in the USA, and it really makes you reevaluate your priorities.

You see how fortunate we are living in such a blessed country where we have so much and so many freedoms.

To go on this trip, they need to raise many funds.

One of the many fundraisers they had at their church was a bake sale.

They asked if I would be willing to donate some cake pops and cookies, to which I gladly said YES!

I have a heart for missions...especially since I have been on two missions trips.

I love supporting missionaries.

I don't even remember how many bags of cookies and cake pops I ended up doing.

But I had a wonderful time doing it!

I did a variety of cookies.

I did some classic sugar cookies.

And some brown sugar spice cookies.

It gave me a chance to try out a lot of different designs.

I did some of the lace cookies that all of us bakers have fallen in love with and are trying to master.

I did some with little rosettes/rosebuds.

I did some xoxox's.

I did quite a few mini hearts.

I packaged some as "I <3 U".

Even did a few florals for springtime...even though we're not quite there yet.

I think the cookies turned out fairly well over all.

My sister said they sold very well.

I packaged everything in little bags with silver ties and ribbons.

I also printed out little "tags" and tied those onto them.

I "titled" each cookie and put the flavor on it.

I also did loads of cake pops.

I did a simple yellow cake on these.

I did two different types of coating.

Half were dipped in white chocolate and covered in sprinkles.

The other half I dipped in milk chocolate.

I did a white chocolate drizzle on the milk chocolate ones.

The finished product.

Off to The Gateway Church they go!

Dominican Republic or bust!

God bless!

U of M Cookies...

U of M cookies...

Well, that's what they were "suppposed" to be, LOL!

I was going to send these along with my sister for her bake sale...

But...

I wasn't happy with the end result.

They were a lot harder than I anticipated.

So they didn't make the trek with the others to the bake sale.

Sports themes just haven't been my "thing" since I started baking, LOL!

My Detroit Lions cake was high stress and a lot of catasrophes along the way...

As were these U of M helmets.

Hmmm...

What shall I attempt next?

Hubby might like something for his beloved Tigers...

Maybe an Old English "D"?

We shall see...

First Go At Camo Cookies...

If you are not familiar with Wonderland Cookie Company...

FAMILIARIZE yourself with them!

She makes beautiful cookies.

You can find her page HERE.

Wonderland Cookie Company is where I first saw camo cookies.

It's ok...you can laugh.

I know.

Mine look like little turtles...hahaha!

The ones I saw were done in heart shapes.

Simply beautiful and adorable.

But hey...I tried.

At least I can laugh at myself and my silly little turles, LOL!

Age Is Just A Number Baby!...A VERY Special Birthday Cake...MINE!

FORTY IS FABULOUS!

Age is just a number baby!

You're only as old as you feel!

Yes, I do tend to have a little of my Grandma M. in me...getting older doesn't settle well with me.

And although I'm not "happy" about it...I'm not going to go into depression mode either.

Yes, I intend to fight it (gracefully) every step of the way with hair color, wrinkle cream, and anything else I can find to cover up, lift up, unwrinkle, or make me look younger...I refuse to be depressed about it!

I am celebrating!

A wiser me!

A me that is more comfortable with myself and others!

A me that doesn't care what others think!

Ok, maybe just a little.

But with age comes wisdom!

And I'm feeling good!

I am HAPPY about this stage of life!

And to celebrate...I made myself a cake!

A plain white cake (for this simple girl).

With classic buttercream icing...in, what color?

PINK!

In a house full of blue...three guys...

This is one girly girl who loves all things pink, frilly, and feminine!

A friend even told me when she saw my cake, "I would expect no less!"

LOL!

I bought a new ruffle tip that I had been wanting to try out.

I haven't mastered it.

But, for a first attempt I thought it was cute enough.

I placed the fondant rosette that I posted about earlier right on top of my "frilly-girly" cake!

And so...

Here's to another year!

May it be filled with health and happiness!

(And lots of baking!)

My Momsie's Birthday Cake...

This was the final product of my quilling experiment!

My momsie's birthday cake!

My mom's birthday is February 1 and mine is February 6, so we usually have a celebration together.

There were two new techniques I had been wanting to try...so the first, being quilling went on my mom's cake!

I thought it turned out halfway decent for a first attempt!

I did the petal effect on the sides.

I'm not quite sure WHY this cake turned out so flat!  LOL!

I did just use a box mix on this one, and after talking with another baking friend, she said she had been noticing the same thing on some of her cakes!

We're wondering if they're putting less mix in cake mixes now!

It tastes great, none the less.

It was very moist, light, and fluffy.

And I think mom enjoyed it...and end the end, as I always say...

That's all that matters!

Quilling And Rosettes...A New Adventure

I saw this technique on "My Cake School", an online blog I follow and knew immediately that I just had to try it.

The gal who did the tutorial, her rosette was pink...and dainty...and frilly...and everything this girly girl loves!

Well...turns out...it wasn't all that hard!

I thought I would never be able to do it.  And let's face it, it's not perfect.

But for a first attempt, I was very happy with it!

I didn't have all of the proper "decorating tools"...so as usual, I just improvised with gadgets I had in my kitchen.  You never know what odds and ends will work in a pinch!  LOL!

After I finished it, I also tried luster dust for the first time.  There isn't any on it in these pictures.  I still haven't quite figured that out.  But I had a blast making this flower and was very pleased with the outcome.  It went on a very special birthday cake...

MINE!

Teehee!

Another technique that I tried for the first time was quilling.

I found that on "My Cake School" as well.

Everyone keeps asking me if it was hard.

NOPE!

It was FUN!

I felt like a kid again...playing with playdough!

These also went on a very special cake as well...

My momsie's!

We usually celebrate our birthdays together as hers' is February 1 and mine is February 6.

Photos of the finished products to come!

Hang in there!