4th of July Cookies!

Last year Miss Callye of Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle  asked me to be a part of her star cookie project.
This has been one of my very favorite projects so I thought I'd repost it today.
Enjoy! There's lots of links on the bottom to all kinds of fabulous cookies!

One of the first pretty food pictures I can remember seeing

was Martha Stewart's berry tart.  

It was a long rectangular tart with red and blue berries and white filling, 

arranged to look just like the American Flag.

I distinctly remember seeing it on the cover of her magazine, thinking....someday.

Not someday as in....'Oh I really want to eat that!!!'

(I have strong feelings about fruit showing up in my dessert...)

But someday as in...'hmmm, I wonder....'

I wonder...'could I make something that gorgeous?'

I wonder...'could I take a picture like that?'

I wonder....

Almost two years ago I found a blog that would inspire me the same way.

It's The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle,

 full of the most amazing cookies with perfect instructions and tutorials, AND

written by such a lovely lady, Miss Callye.

I started having those moments again...

I wonder....

About ten days ago I got an email...

from Miss Callye, Sugarbelle, herself.

(While I had emailed back and forth with her before, 

I still do a little happy dance when I see her name in my inbox.)

It was an invitation to sit with the cool girls at lunch.

(AAAAHHHHHHH!)

Callye was working on a post involving her favorite bloggers 

(again....AAAHHHH) 

showing all the different ways we could use a simple star cookie cutter,

for the 4th of July.....

I wonder.....

I could say that I took days to decide what to make, but I didn't.

I knew immediately.

It had to be an arrangement of cookies that looked like the American Flag.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag...

of the United States of America...

and to the Republic for which it stands...

one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thanks Miss Callye, for the invitation to sit at the cool kids table,

and thanks as well to all the other bakers invited to the party.

You've all inspired me to be a better decorator and writer.

So....would you like to see everyone's work???

Thought you would!!!!

Here's a list of links to visit these lovely ladies!!!!!

1. Strawberry Shortcake on a Stick, The Decorated Cookie
2. Patriotic Lace Cookies , My Little Bakery
3. Independence Day Parade Cookies, Jill FCS
4. Old Fashioned 4^th of July, Vicki’s Sweet Treats
5. Light up the Fourth Cookies, The Partiologist
6. Declaration of Independence Cookie, Vanilla Bean Baker
7. Badge of Liberty Cookies, Lila Loa
8. Red, White & Blue Star Cookie Towers, Bake at 350
9. 4th of July Firecracker Cookies, Klickitat Street
10. Star Cut-out Cookies, Glorious Treats
11. Cookie "Pledge", Lizy B Bakes
12. Star-Shaped Krispie Treats, Cookies and Cups
13. Easy Star Cupcake Toppers, Confessions of a Cookbook Queen
14. Rustic 4th of July Galletes, Haniela's
15. Patriotic Cookie Wreath, Sweetopia
16. Patriotic River Rafter, Ali-Bee's Bake Shop
17. Funny Fox Cookies, The Bearfoot Baker
18. Quilted Cookie Stars, Cookie Crazie
19. Gimme Your John Hancock Stars, Life's a Batch
20. Patriotic Cookie Stir Sticks, The Cookie Artisan
21. Patriotic Floral Stars, SweetSugarBelle

I hope you'll go pay everyone a visit!

Happy 4th of July!

Woodland Fairy Cookies

One day, when I was little,  my grandmother asked me if I could have any sort of pet, what would it be.
I wanted a fairy.
"A fairy?!"

"Yes!"




"She would be little, and smell like roses, and live outside in a little mushroom house."

"...and her house would change colors!"






"She would have all different magic wands too."

"They're sparkly, and always match her dress."





"Oh my!  Does this little fairy have wings?  Does she fly?"

"Of course!  But if she's tired, she has a dragonfly to help her fly around. He's really nice too."




"What would you feed your little fairy??"

"Hmmm. 
I know! She eats sugar cubes!!!!"




"Well, why don't we put some sugar cubes in the flowers and see if we can catch one?"

"Okay!!!"

All summer long we put sugar cubes underneath the marigolds and geraniums.
We never did see a fairy, but I'm absolutely sure they were there...
every morning, the sugar cubes were gone.




(These Woodland Fairy Cookies match Charlotte's Mushroom Party by Parties by Bloom You can see it HERE on Bloom Designs Online!)

Birthday Birdies and Owl Cookies!

When I moved into my college dorm room many moons ago, (no...I will NOT tell you how many)
I met Sarah.
She was my new roommate and was (is) pretty much perfect.
Super friendly and welcoming. Fun, silly, wicked smart and girlie without being 'mean girlie'.
Completely sensible, but also absolutely the girlfriend you knew  you'd have a great time with all weekend.

Love her.

Plus, she totally introduced me to Joe, who became my super awesome husband.
Because of this I will NOT post the only picture of us I could find.
We are wearing bathrobes and wearing mud masks.



Instead, I will show you the cookies I made for her, for her birthday!

Her Mom wanted to send her some sweet little owls!

I added a loving family tree and some little baby birds  since she has two little birdies of her own.

She let me make them all springtimey and happy.




Which is perfectly appropriate for Sarah.

Because whenever I think of her....

I don't just remember that she is now a wonderful teacher and mom,

and a super brave breast cancer survivor,

but she has always been one of my best examples of who a girlfriend should be.

I wish she lived closer and that we got to see each other often.
But I hope she knows that I think of her all the time,

and always with a smile.



Hope your Birthday was extra Happy!
(Joe says 'Hi' too!)

My Favorite Cookie Font!

It's graduation season all over the country!
All month long munchkins and big people will be wearing those silly little flat hats and graduating!
Which of course means.....lots and lots of cookies!
These are a favorite of mine and I make them using Sugarbelle's tutorial.

Callye (Sugarbelle) is the queen of combining cookie cutters and  changing their shapes to work best for her (and us).


I suck at it am not.


So, I'm always grateful for her posts about cutter shapes and uses.
I do, however, really REALLY like using all different fonts on my cookies.
I LOVE this one!

I love the little sideways 'O's.
And the 'G'!  It's hard to find a G that looks good in sugar.
It's called ENVIEW.....

You can find it for free HERE


I first started using it because it reminded me of the architectural lettering I had to practice 
foreeeevvveeer in college.
Ugh!
My hand hurt for the entire quarter.

It's kind of fitting to use a font that reminded me of college on a college graduation cookie... right?
I didn't over think that or anything, did I?
Hmmmm.



Anywho...

Congratulations Kristin!
You did it!


...and I made it through another graduation season without putting
'Congraduations'
on a single cookie!

Simply Sweet Mother's Day Cookies!

I've found a quiet little corner of the house to show you a little Mother's Day Treat.
(okay, so maybe the quiet is due to the earplugs...contractors are LOUD)

Happy Mother's Day everyone!!!


Our sad soggy little laundry room floor has turned into ripped up  wood, carpet, tile, baseboards and three giant trash bags full of wallpaper.
Ick.

But, we're in the home stretch  and we'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks.
(I really hope I didn't just jinx us) 

I made a few batches of Mother's Day cookies in the lull  before the demo started up again and these were my favorites.

They're inspired by my Faith, Hope and Joy cookies from last year.
Super simple to make.
Just a basic white cookie with an black outline and 'Mother' piped in the middle.

They would be really sweet signed by a munchkin with an edible marker instead.
Aaaaaawwwwww.



A few ribbon roses on the side with leaves.

Sweet Sugarbelle and Ali Bee's Bakeshop both have great tutorials for ribbon roses.
(I've learned sooooo much from those ladies!)


Hope you all enjoy your weekend!
I'll be here at home....
....with the contractors....
...and the growing pile of debris in my driveway...
...and the eight foot tower of sofas.
(oh my)

Take-A-Peek Tuesday! The Drawer of Many Colors!

My Dad has a saying...
"If one is good...more must be better!"
I seem to have taken this to heart. Whether it's cookie cutters, spatulas or sprinkles,  as long as it has a purpose...I keep buying them.

Which is why I have a drawer that looks like this...

As long as it closes its all good, right?




Let me show you where to find it in case you come over one day to bake.

It's directly across from my 'icing mixing spot'.  
Remember how I told you I organize because I can be a bit lazy?
I pull the drawer open when I start to mix and just reach down behind me for the colors I need.
Spatulas are on the counter above the drawer, just grab a clean one each time I change colors.
I'm right next to the sink, which has a bowl of hot soapy water to drop messy spatulas into.
The trash can (for toothpicks with food coloring or used saran wrap) is in the  drawer directly under the counter

Basically...I look like a crazy basketball player pivoting on one foot  trying to make a shot saying "does this blue look like the sky to you?"
Oh my.




Here are my favorite things in the drawer...

1. Wilton food color paste.   2.  Americolor food color gel.
For coloring royal icing I prefer Americolor over Wilton, mostly because of the squeeze bottle. No matter how careful I am, scooping color out of those  tiny Wilton pots with a toothpick makes a mess.
However, Arty McGoo says that Wilton works best for painting on cookies. And y'know, when Arty McGoo talks.....;)
So, that little palette that I use for painting on cookies ONLY has Wilton on it.
There are a few colors of Wilton's that I love, golden yellow, moss green and juniper green. Americolor makes the best green in the whole wide world-electric green!

3.  These are mostly extras.    Some petal dust, unopened disco dust, I see a coupler that popped over the edge  and a plastic tip that came with a squeeze bottle which I can't bear to throw away.
4.  Wilton couplers that I keep for emergencies, large tip covers and  silicone cupcake liners that I've never used.
5.  Disco dust!!!  
 I had to have it!  
AND I had to have the little baby shaker bottles to put it in. (no...haven't used these either)

6.  Measuring spoons!
This drawer is below the mixer, so I keep a few spoons in here to grab  when I'm adding corn syrup or vanilla to royal icing.
The tubes are ck food coloring gels.   Not my favorites.  I seem to need an awful lot to get a deep color.
That's dry red and black food coloring powder in the upper left of the section (also unopened-I'm starting to notice a pattern).
7.  Ateco Couplers!
Sugarbelle says they're the best and she's absolutely right!!!
What else....extra food markers and a candy dipping tool and oh!  An extra boo-boo stick! I've been looking for that!
8.  Offset spatulas of all sizes! Great for everything. Looks like a couple of measuring cups and extra toothpicks too.
And that's it!
But that's a lot!!!

Just about everything in this drawer can be found at either Karen's Cookies or Sweet Art Country Kitchen
...except the drawer divider. That came from Target 6 or 7 years ago.
I did spot a similar one at Amazon...

                                      Totally Bamboo Expandable Utility Drawer Organizer

I'll be spending the munchkin's spring break watching them run around and editing a jillion photos!

Lots and lots of cookie pics to come!