tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72538087817958983422024-03-19T05:13:50.388-05:00Sarah's Sweet ShoppeHappy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-70813446166275699932015-03-08T22:04:00.000-05:002015-03-08T22:04:44.745-05:00Confessions of a Cookie Baker: Forget Valentine's Day, No WayMy husband and I don't tend to make a big deal about Valentine's Day. We usually pick up something small for the girls, some balloons from the Dollar Tree, and eat a nice dinner at home, but this year, we were headed out of town to spend some time with Grandma Rose, so I didn't plan anything at all, well, except for the box of Krispy Kreme heart-shaped donuts to eat before we left.<br />
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So, I was a bit caught off guard, when Valentine's Day morning, he had a nice card for me. So, when we stopped for lunch on our road trip, I ran to the Dollar General to "get a hole punch" AND a card. I found a sweet one that fit the bill perfectly AND a hilarious one I can't get out of my head. (I should have bought it or at least taken a picture, but I, alas, I did not.) SO, it said <i><b>"Me, forget Valentine's Day... No way! I have a memory like... one of those big grey animals with the long nose." </b></i><br />
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So, the point is... Yes, I did bake Valentine's Day cookies. I WILL share them with you... but first I must confess... Yes, I DO have a cookie blog. I haven't been keeping it up for sometime. Truthfully, as more and more time passed, I thought it would be better just to wait until President's Day came around again, and jump back in, so that it wouldn't look like there was a gap, and then I missed President's Day and well, here we are again. Life has a way of doing that... </div>
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It wasn't PURE laziness on my part. The truth is I love the blog-writing, story-telling part of my cookie business and have missed it these past, ahem, two years. Actually, when I first started the cookie company I wouldn't let myself go to bed until I had washed every dish, edited the photos and written and scheduled the blog post, and then I realized my health, both mental and physical, was more important than getting every last detail down for 6 people to read. AND I have been baking a LOT of cookies, but the nature of my business has changed a little to be more corporate oriented. I still LOVE the creativity of creating a custom designed cookie that is JUST RIGHT for your special occasion, but the bread and butter (or cookie and icing, hehehe) of my business is now in corporate orders which keep me hopping, baking the same cookie over and over again. (Not complaining, mind you, just explaining, why I have chosen not to post corporate cookies every week.) Even my 4 year old can recognize the logo of the companies I bake for and will comment when she sees it when we are out and about! </div>
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So, no, I haven't <b><i>really</i></b> forgotten that I have a blog, just like I hadn't <b><i>really </i></b>forgotten Valentine's Day. I just didn't take care of business. Sorry! </div>
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That said... The good news is... I have quite a few fun cookies that I haven't shared here, that I will share somewhere down the road. ;^)<br />
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So... where was I... oh yeah, Valentine's Day.</div>
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This year, I made one set of Valentine's Day cookies. They were for my daughters' school auction, which was the Saturday before Valentine's Day. They were pretty simple and straight-forward, because they were intended to appeal to a wide audience to help raise the most money that they could. <br />
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They were individually-wrapped in high-barrier cello and nestled in multi-colored paper shred. They were placed in a white bakery box and tied with a beautiful red satin bow. I was pleased that they raised an above value amount for the school! </div>
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All that said, yes, I know it is now March, but like I've always said "Better late than never!"</div>
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Happy Valentine's Day! </div>
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Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-43483659679196646242013-02-18T07:13:00.003-06:002013-02-18T07:23:04.935-06:00Hail to the Chief...<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy President's Day!</span></b></div>
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One of the great this about being a cookie baker is getting to celebrate obscure holidays with cookies! Another great thing is the amazing community of cookie bakers, who are encouraging and supportive, helpful and challenging. I can not begin to tell you how knowing and talking to these gals everyday has impacted my abilities as a cookie decorator and my sanity in more ways than I can count.<br />
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One of the fun things that we will often to is challenge each other to stretch our skills, creativity or comfort level in new and exciting ways. One way we do this is through cookie collaborations! I am so pleased and excited to have been a part of my very first <a href="http://www.flourboxbakery.com/blogs/tidbits/7350066-if-history-was-taught-in-cookies-presidents-day" target="_blank">cookie collaboration for President's Day</a> this year! </div>
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Anne, at the <a href="http://www.flourboxbakery.com/" target="_blank">Flour Box Bakery</a>, got it all started with an idea to do a series of presidential cookies. She contacted a whole host of bakers and the rest was well, history. ;^) <br />
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Out of the luck of the draw, I got <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/help-i-am-stuck-in-bathtub.html" target="_blank">President Taft #27</a> and then, because I was feeling ambitious (read STUPID) I asked for <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/they-misunderestimated-me.html" target="_blank">George W. Bush #43</a> as well. (Truth be told, I really wanted an excuse to buy a Texas cookie cutter... but it would have been a way better plan just to add one to my cart the next time I was buying.) You can see all of my Presidential cookies (Yes, I made a whole set for each. Yes, I was supposed to do just one cookie. Yes, I am glutton for punishment.) and read a little about each by checking out their individual blog posts<a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/help-i-am-stuck-in-bathtub.html" target="_blank"> "Help! I am stuck in the bathtub!"</a> and <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/they-misunderestimated-me.html" target="_blank">"They misunderestimated me!"</a><br />
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And when you think you have had just about as much of my President's Day cookie fun as you can handle, then you can go and visit the pages of each of the lovey, and very talented, cookie artists that participated in this amazing collaboration! </div>
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Quincy Adams</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Liz of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ArtyMcGoo?fref=ts"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Arty
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Andrew Jackson</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Tiffany of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheRedCooky?fref=ts"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">TheRedCooky</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Martin Van Buren</b> by Jill of Jill FCS
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William Henry Harrison</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
by Christina of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sweetcbakeshop?fref=ts"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sweet C’s Bake Shop</span></a></div>
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John Tyler</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Kim of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheCookiePuzzle"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
Cookie Puzzle</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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15) James Buchanan</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Lene of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/NotYourEverydayCookie"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not
Your Everyday Cookie</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">16) Abraham Lincoln</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Debbie of </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/SweetCreationsByDebbie">Sweet
Creations by Debbie</a></span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2rNt34qgj08C8UvH3gNePhmGZLNhlxGbunMnuS2J28niXybbGgjbHkGSaxg_-Jb0CSCcOH9ht05Ne4EXqVxbbcJ0N3M0v8W_jfQ7oIyZWoiFfHSlnx14XdD87ZqqCSfDWr_xv_PyPO4/s1600/presidents+17-24+collage+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2rNt34qgj08C8UvH3gNePhmGZLNhlxGbunMnuS2J28niXybbGgjbHkGSaxg_-Jb0CSCcOH9ht05Ne4EXqVxbbcJ0N3M0v8W_jfQ7oIyZWoiFfHSlnx14XdD87ZqqCSfDWr_xv_PyPO4/s1600/presidents+17-24+collage+FINAL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">17) Andrew Johnson</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Liz of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/CookiesToGo/135748416466345"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">CookiesToGo</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">18) Ulysses S. Grant</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by
Rebekah of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Love-at-First-Bite/149035002346"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Love at First Bite</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">19) Rutherford B. Hayes</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by
Heather of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/twinsplusonegoodies2012?ref=hl"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Twins Plus One Goodies</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">20) James A. Garfield</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Teresa of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-Ts-Cookies/126523270761807?fref=ts"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sugar T's Cookies</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">21)
Chester Arthur</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Alyse of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/BE-Sweet-Treats/305317311561"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">B.E. Sweet Treats</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">22) Grover Cleveland</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by
Kimberly of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/barefootnbaking"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Barefoot N Baking</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">23)
Benjamin Harrison</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Laurie
of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CookieBliss"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cookie Bliss</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">24) Grover Cleveland</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by
Kimberly of </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/barefootnbaking">Barefoot N Baking</a></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGHENxwxpzQ6VbGMgJU0Gd9-ZdBl3vuCqb5WNd2r5XFbx3FdZsCsHkEy59XD-Sb-ltbF3ybH17s76Jwaxa3MQ2CSqNArfqhhH8jEV4D6edeJq7ppAeqsUZCtma2S3k66zzE8VIPmNHQU/s1600/presidents+25-32+collage+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGHENxwxpzQ6VbGMgJU0Gd9-ZdBl3vuCqb5WNd2r5XFbx3FdZsCsHkEy59XD-Sb-ltbF3ybH17s76Jwaxa3MQ2CSqNArfqhhH8jEV4D6edeJq7ppAeqsUZCtma2S3k66zzE8VIPmNHQU/s1600/presidents+25-32+collage+FINAL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">25)
William McKinley</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> by Susan of
</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sweet.williams.cookies"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sweet Williams Cookies</span></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">26)
Theodore Roosevelt</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Heather
of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SugarNoshTreats"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">SugarNosh Treats</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">27) William Howard Taft </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">by Sarah of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarahs-Sweet-Shoppe/248418725184267"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sarah’s Sweet Shoppe</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">28)
Woodrow Wilson</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Cheryl of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSugaredApronofCalifornia"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Sugared Apron</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">29)
Warren G. Harding</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Shannon of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ArtfullyDeliciousCookies"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Artfully
Delicious Cookies</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">30) Calvin Coolidge</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Stephanie of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/icemybiscuit"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Ice
My Biscuit</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">31)
Herbert Hover</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Fumie of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/akakesweets"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A+Kake
sweets</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">32) Franklin D. Roosevelt</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Christine of </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chris-Creative-Confections/281968761858426">Chris’ Creative Confections</a></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiou84xgOn6DYC5XptG0UmmbvxTp8hJ_H7lfXEjt0vW4mATbYBBsAMoegEEAN4uwCFpAG9yJBZMeptzdWAm52sGWpIgfrIANi0X3uuoMxvDvUtU75n-LIHLLLZL63vRcilWWl-qN8EGVNg/s1600/presidents+33-38+collage+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiou84xgOn6DYC5XptG0UmmbvxTp8hJ_H7lfXEjt0vW4mATbYBBsAMoegEEAN4uwCFpAG9yJBZMeptzdWAm52sGWpIgfrIANi0X3uuoMxvDvUtU75n-LIHLLLZL63vRcilWWl-qN8EGVNg/s1600/presidents+33-38+collage+FINAL.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></div>
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<b><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">33)
Harry S Truman</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> by Kim of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Sugarrushcustomcookies"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sugar
Rush Custom Cookies</span></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">34)
Dwight Eisenhower</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Monica of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cookiecowgirl"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cookie
Cowgirl</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">35)
John F. Kennedy</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by CeCe of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/tacticalbaker"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
Tactical Bakery</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">36) Lyndon B. Johnson</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Jennifer of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/OneKookieCookie"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One
Kookie Cookie</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">37)
Richard Nixon</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Jackie of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/theibakery"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">iBakery</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">38) Gerald
Ford </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">by Georgeanne of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/LilaLoa/130733710321037"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">LilaLoa</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">39)
Jimmy Carter</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Jennifer of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/OneKookieCookie"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">One
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Ronald Reagan</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Melissa of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/thebakedequation"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
Baked Equation</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Bill Clinton</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Laurie of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CookieBliss"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cookie
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George W. Bush</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Sarah of </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sarahs-Sweet-Shoppe/248418725184267"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sarah’s Sweet Shoppe</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Barack Obama</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> by Teresa of </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-Ts-Cookies/126523270761807?fref=ts"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Sugar T's Cookies</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglGHENxwxpzQ6VbGMgJU0Gd9-ZdBl3vuCqb5WNd2r5XFbx3FdZsCsHkEy59XD-Sb-ltbF3ybH17s76Jwaxa3MQ2CSqNArfqhhH8jEV4D6edeJq7ppAeqsUZCtma2S3k66zzE8VIPmNHQU/s1600/presidents+25-32+collage+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
Thanks, Anne, for this great idea and this wonderful opportunity!<br />
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Happy President's Day!<br />
Sarah</div>
Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-51585922171265383172013-02-18T07:11:00.002-06:002013-02-18T07:36:31.137-06:00"They misunderestimated me!"<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">President George W. Bush <br />(2001-2009)</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ7cony9MmGRRgvMm_j_n5bvB-WlTZqI6M6R_DJ3R5k17Jgu2LV95gFysyuyH1FJhUV6Yz67S6ie8pkwlB6EiB1E9wrlGHG7elvI3WDWZSYBRHgeP03413h8LTyRINUrft6LNiCCFa0Y/s1600/_IGP7594-W-full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJ7cony9MmGRRgvMm_j_n5bvB-WlTZqI6M6R_DJ3R5k17Jgu2LV95gFysyuyH1FJhUV6Yz67S6ie8pkwlB6EiB1E9wrlGHG7elvI3WDWZSYBRHgeP03413h8LTyRINUrft6LNiCCFa0Y/s1600/_IGP7594-W-full.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnCFgdaIuzJ9qsJ4OrUb99mS40LRwhyLTWcMpJFSDMQ6rEkpjiK0r4a3CtxFmwxjFcaXN6fsY6uDMp8vS9qcfA3uWcA7v-BCey3GHB4TEb44mjYapOoJmmfvVwOsoiEuAoV7lBQA4W1E/s1600/_IGP7595-edited-9-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
I recently participated in a President's Day Cookie Collaboration, and by the luck of the draw, I got assigned <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/help-i-am-stuck-in-bathtub.html" target="_blank">President William Taft (#27)</a>. I was very excited because I already knew what I wanted to do for President Taft. (To check out my Taft cookies, read <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/help-i-am-stuck-in-bathtub.html" target="_blank">"Help! I am stuck in the Bathtub!"</a>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvf6ciNH8VBad2bwYeZuEoNfEbO5OSsvypu9DjqpyITUbHvJ_qOv1NAcJ6zFaIrFc3aeoke5RHsgKiH_2jjqUqPddgjtrMNcTkkJhDhYADhrUJmzWw5_qMNFqPPsEQ8ilkZBIJyDY-xM/s1600/_IGP7636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvf6ciNH8VBad2bwYeZuEoNfEbO5OSsvypu9DjqpyITUbHvJ_qOv1NAcJ6zFaIrFc3aeoke5RHsgKiH_2jjqUqPddgjtrMNcTkkJhDhYADhrUJmzWw5_qMNFqPPsEQ8ilkZBIJyDY-xM/s1600/_IGP7636.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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I then proceeded to request President George W. Bush (#43) as well. "What were you thinking?!?" you might ask. Honestly, I wanted an excuse to purchase a Texas-shaped cookie cutter. I figured a baseball would be easy. I even thought that it would be kinda fun to poke some fun at President Bush's many "Bushisms." (One of the more famous of which were "They misunderestimated me.")<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUMdwQgES-672_BS5y6kYT1X9fNNtHdj8LmknMtAel0mFb4K4Kf9opIHi_J2YoE2e_twCICHIfnRZuovYIUnpe_0ll16ylYf1IhMTT6LGDuLo_EngCK-iWkmBHLDTeDrOETeNNd3wMvFM/s1600/_IGP7614-edited-practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDet5mHq9S64cq-7igge7Yv9R6ICMMFX8x1kuW4QQAUELHhrBqbjVnn1m4eILlzT9K2kJ6omzBeeAgMbNgudaFOTNNJV29czgANVFaErfDqvdj_IrvLSl1FsfPD5fp-jcV-7wcz-QT_g/s1600/_IGP7654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLDet5mHq9S64cq-7igge7Yv9R6ICMMFX8x1kuW4QQAUELHhrBqbjVnn1m4eILlzT9K2kJ6omzBeeAgMbNgudaFOTNNJV29czgANVFaErfDqvdj_IrvLSl1FsfPD5fp-jcV-7wcz-QT_g/s1600/_IGP7654.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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However, I grossly "misunderestimated" how difficult it would be to paint an image of a modern president. (Not to mention one that I personally liked, but most political cartoonists were not kind to...) Here are all of my practice cookies... (one of them looked like Howdy Doody and another like Grandpa Munster! ;^))<br />
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I also "misunderestimated" how hard it would be for me to cookie W's Presidential career. I thought about a chalkboard cookie that said "No Child Left Behind" or a playing card cookie with Osama Bin Laddin's photo on it, but when it was all said and done, for me, the defining moment of his career was 9-11. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnCFgdaIuzJ9qsJ4OrUb99mS40LRwhyLTWcMpJFSDMQ6rEkpjiK0r4a3CtxFmwxjFcaXN6fsY6uDMp8vS9qcfA3uWcA7v-BCey3GHB4TEb44mjYapOoJmmfvVwOsoiEuAoV7lBQA4W1E/s1600/_IGP7595-edited-9-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnCFgdaIuzJ9qsJ4OrUb99mS40LRwhyLTWcMpJFSDMQ6rEkpjiK0r4a3CtxFmwxjFcaXN6fsY6uDMp8vS9qcfA3uWcA7v-BCey3GHB4TEb44mjYapOoJmmfvVwOsoiEuAoV7lBQA4W1E/s1600/_IGP7595-edited-9-11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">This cookie was created respectfully to honor those who lost their lives or loved ones on 9-11-2001. </span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://cache1.bigcartel.com/product_images/55600327/300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image of Fingerprint Presidents of the United States of America" border="0" height="200" src="http://cache1.bigcartel.com/product_images/55600327/300.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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This image was inspired by artist <a href="http://www.jasonpruett.com/" target="_blank">Jason Pruett</a> and his illustration of President George W. Bush, in his book <a href="http://jasonpruett.bigcartel.com/product/fingerprint-presidents-of-the-united-states-of-america" target="_blank">Fingerprint Presidents of the United States of America</a>. This talented artist did an excellent job with this great book! Thank you, Jason!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfnoOILGodRbQNryfOPouwCopJajh_iS_URoh148xB9Qo_Z-r3NNOuOI7nqSVhElcoPyCROJVVjfv8dRSJXW5d0aWbPCM00uOu27A66kNnsg9mPMZ9xONzA-RjBqP60nA-tfMPR8e7pk/s1600/PresidentCollageFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfnoOILGodRbQNryfOPouwCopJajh_iS_URoh148xB9Qo_Z-r3NNOuOI7nqSVhElcoPyCROJVVjfv8dRSJXW5d0aWbPCM00uOu27A66kNnsg9mPMZ9xONzA-RjBqP60nA-tfMPR8e7pk/s1600/PresidentCollageFINAL.jpg" width="336" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">2013 President's Day Cookie Collaboration</td></tr>
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AND a huge "Thank You" to Anne Yorks of <a href="http://www.flourboxbakery.com/" target="_blank">The Flour Box Bakery</a> for organizing this fun and educational cookie collaboration! Be sure to <a href="http://www.flourboxbakery.com/blogs/tidbits/7350066-if-history-was-taught-in-cookies-presidents-day" target="_blank">visit her blog</a> where she has links to all the cookies and their artists AND interesting tidbits on each of the presidents!<br />
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To see a full list of the cookie bakers involved read my post <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/hail-to-chief.html" target="_blank">"Hail to the Chief..."</a><br />
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Happy President's Day!<br />
SarahHappy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-13510164493379793322013-02-18T07:10:00.004-06:002013-02-18T07:19:04.119-06:00Help! I am stuck in the bathtub...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">President William Taft </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">(1909-1913)</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/presimages/taft_bathtub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://www.classroomhelp.com/lessons/Presidents/presimages/taft_bathtub.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rub-a-Dub-Dub...<br />
Four workers posing for picture <br />
after installing President Taft's new tub. </td></tr>
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I recently participated in a <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/hail-to-chief.html" target="_blank">President's Day Cookie Collaboration</a>, and by the luck of the draw, I got assigned President William Taft. (I got <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/they-misunderestimated-me.html" target="_blank">President George W. Bush </a>too, but that is a different story.) I was very excited because I already knew what I wanted to do for President Taft, a bathtub cookie! <br />
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However, the more I researched the more I felt compelled to do more than pick on President Taft for his large size (he weighed more than 350 lbs.) and the fact that he once got stuck in the bathtub at the White House. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHgcBYnpvuv9eaR83SkDqpZ9o7iKZBAuK1vllWgNGd7o7J_zWzET8uYNMFaMaeDHxS3h2eiiBiiYdVeyC14NX2QbtomXepqd2fJNWmCpFmYux42NxQu2uvUPS3jMyiHJJfKaq_Sn63Os/s1600/Taft-Full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisHgcBYnpvuv9eaR83SkDqpZ9o7iKZBAuK1vllWgNGd7o7J_zWzET8uYNMFaMaeDHxS3h2eiiBiiYdVeyC14NX2QbtomXepqd2fJNWmCpFmYux42NxQu2uvUPS3jMyiHJJfKaq_Sn63Os/s1600/Taft-Full.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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President Taft followed President Teddy Roosevelt into office. There was a joke at the time that TAFT stood for "Take Advice From Teddy." But once in office, President Taft held his own. </div>
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Although my daughter and I agree that he looks a bit like the Monopoly man... Taft was actually very anti-monopoly, signing over 80 anti-trust suits while in office. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTInBgjX72Fikn5-T-1yQyQdcfcKwMjqh2VfzQtzJPHaBdTlfVHeUXk5ALdLdiVhdL8BRoiamz5Sh0JuDSJnB4nG3r5Uf8_fU5UjgE5l4N_PJFWkFOi7XztStAekYM8hUWmdcUdLz1MQ/s1600/_IGP7598-edited-horse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTInBgjX72Fikn5-T-1yQyQdcfcKwMjqh2VfzQtzJPHaBdTlfVHeUXk5ALdLdiVhdL8BRoiamz5Sh0JuDSJnB4nG3r5Uf8_fU5UjgE5l4N_PJFWkFOi7XztStAekYM8hUWmdcUdLz1MQ/s1600/_IGP7598-edited-horse.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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He was an avid horseman and rode his horse everyday.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60Oo5xHyZYhxibNqoEVuXFUsXmz5_gXoDHQtX2c5jBy5O22qyIRN-GdiJCQc4IFYCKSxP788zAxmOw2udGdiredBEAyLbHTJ9KAshM3ANlv6ua-RTmAB8EfP8F8P_pyzt1ynGV8CefgE/s1600/_IGP7529-edited-Taft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg60Oo5xHyZYhxibNqoEVuXFUsXmz5_gXoDHQtX2c5jBy5O22qyIRN-GdiJCQc4IFYCKSxP788zAxmOw2udGdiredBEAyLbHTJ9KAshM3ANlv6ua-RTmAB8EfP8F8P_pyzt1ynGV8CefgE/s1600/_IGP7529-edited-Taft.jpg" width="320" /></a>He also enjoyed watching baseball. He was the one who started the tradition of the "First Pitch" and the "Seventh Inning Stretch." <br />
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(This image is used with permission from a very talented Artist <a href="http://www.jasonpruett.com/" target="_blank">Jason Pruett</a> and copied from his book <a href="http://jasonpruett.bigcartel.com/product/fingerprint-presidents-of-the-united-states-of-america" target="_blank">Fingerprint Presidents of the United States of America</a>. Please read below for more details.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMXO4Ra232m_NGObMa5wLNfp_X8Ocd_DHA2ERDhtREoqq9oYI3FeF0_3zkHP23Lzb7Fz1Gxgq5t0PuYh2BRXmMKmQNtJ5iSVrNIBJyj3MknpNeA6RYQZ34qEBpk0oezkKcvoU252Nc-U/s1600/_IGP7597-edited-bulldog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMXO4Ra232m_NGObMa5wLNfp_X8Ocd_DHA2ERDhtREoqq9oYI3FeF0_3zkHP23Lzb7Fz1Gxgq5t0PuYh2BRXmMKmQNtJ5iSVrNIBJyj3MknpNeA6RYQZ34qEBpk0oezkKcvoU252Nc-U/s1600/_IGP7597-edited-bulldog.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a><br />
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Following his presidency, he taught Law at his alma mater, Yale University. (Yes, he looks a little like their mascot too...)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3T7hWspXoZNS4N3otZ88fHHzSsx2QeUT4LPvIh24M3ebhyphenhyphen9SPY_3LolukMmodFRBPOv0twb3fI961WoKRkK8u_jNx3Qfx8EGPVtqu6oOhFMFoPBCEwY_yQ9BIJ7bDaunRb3cpFadFbtk/s1600/_IGP7579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3T7hWspXoZNS4N3otZ88fHHzSsx2QeUT4LPvIh24M3ebhyphenhyphen9SPY_3LolukMmodFRBPOv0twb3fI961WoKRkK8u_jNx3Qfx8EGPVtqu6oOhFMFoPBCEwY_yQ9BIJ7bDaunRb3cpFadFbtk/s1600/_IGP7579.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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But, most notably, he served as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921-1930. He is the only person in our country's history to have ever served as the head of two branches of our government.<br />
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Unfortunately, all we can remember is that bathtub! ;^)</div>
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As I mentioned, I had a great time working on this project. All of these cookies are hand-painted with food coloring. The image of Taft and the Seventh Inning Stretch is used with permission from artist <a href="http://www.jasonpruett.com/" target="_blank">Jason Pruett</a> and copied from his book </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjdnYkrH5vpAQPRcWGSH3YhXB69XDK28LWMzDxDl6UXBHO3MYLZDaoJ-eAIfK43g_5In7xDdnB0QFMw5XuSDzikQeRZ61QwQTV9KjW2smNyO1MZFwO5d9oYa5bYri-6d600ZsXozcFwVn-XCPk4VgNPoL-Z-EIV9T82bmo=" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Image of Presidents Poster - 13 x 19 inches" border="0" height="320" src="http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/50335635/300.jpg" width="217" /></a><a href="http://jasonpruett.bigcartel.com/product/fingerprint-presidents-of-the-united-states-of-america" target="_blank">Fingerprint Presidents of the United States of America</a>. It includes a fun image and a short poem about each president which is helpful in remembering who they are and what their contributions were. It also comes in a 13 X 19 <a href="http://jasonpruett.bigcartel.com/product/presidents-poster-13-x-19" target="_blank">poster</a>, which would be a great gift for a teacher! Thank you Jason! <br />
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(I re-purposed his head for my bathtub cookie. I couldn't help myself, it was perfect! It is amazing how yawning and screaming look so much alike!)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfnoOILGodRbQNryfOPouwCopJajh_iS_URoh148xB9Qo_Z-r3NNOuOI7nqSVhElcoPyCROJVVjfv8dRSJXW5d0aWbPCM00uOu27A66kNnsg9mPMZ9xONzA-RjBqP60nA-tfMPR8e7pk/s1600/PresidentCollageFINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfnoOILGodRbQNryfOPouwCopJajh_iS_URoh148xB9Qo_Z-r3NNOuOI7nqSVhElcoPyCROJVVjfv8dRSJXW5d0aWbPCM00uOu27A66kNnsg9mPMZ9xONzA-RjBqP60nA-tfMPR8e7pk/s1600/PresidentCollageFINAL.jpg" width="336" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2013 President's Day Cookie Collaboration</td></tr>
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AND a huge "Thank You" to Anne Yorks of <a href="http://www.flourboxbakery.com/" target="_blank">The Flour Box Bakery</a> for organizing this fun and educational cookie collaboration! Be sure to <a href="http://www.flourboxbakery.com/blogs/tidbits/7350066-if-history-was-taught-in-cookies-presidents-day" target="_blank">visit her blog</a> where she has links to all the cookies and their artists AND interesting tidbits on each of the presidents!<br />
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To see a full list of the cookie bakers involved read my post <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2013/02/hail-to-chief.html" target="_blank">"Hail to the Chief..."</a><br />
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Happy President's Day!<br />
Sarah<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb9sx80DR5xOlqNJY67Mp_UWPJstKBAUpCyQaRSe0vrPDgFkfO7xnnXZ9p8Pw_S4qajkTwqWNiGVuAFLJm0PP5jQbvEMM8iCAEADya_KR8R1jrXZO-EPIQFrRzbVJDBKCzRN8CVQjjNE/s1600/_IGP7696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb9sx80DR5xOlqNJY67Mp_UWPJstKBAUpCyQaRSe0vrPDgFkfO7xnnXZ9p8Pw_S4qajkTwqWNiGVuAFLJm0PP5jQbvEMM8iCAEADya_KR8R1jrXZO-EPIQFrRzbVJDBKCzRN8CVQjjNE/s1600/_IGP7696.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Large Valentine's Day Gift Box <br />
(1 dozen)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medium Valentine's Day Gift Box<br />
(6 Cookies)</td></tr>
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I have always been a sucker for puns! I love them! So, when Valentine's Day rolls around, you can be sure that you'll get some "punny" valentine's out of me. <br />
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This year, my daughter's school auction hit the weekend before Valentine's Day, so nothing was more appropriate to donate than Valentine's Day cookies.<br />
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I created these "I Love You a Latte" cookies based on my cute Lil' L., who ran around this fall saying "I love you a latte!" It was so adorable!<br />
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Then, I also made this set, which I turned into a gift basket (see below) to donate. I thought that they were so fun! <br />
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I got the inspiration for the two signs from my friend Stephanie Seeney at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Icemybiscuit?fref=ts">Ice My Biscuit</a> in the U.K.! Thanks, friend, for letting me use your idea!<br />
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I made a few extras for us play with... ;^)<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Happy Valentine's Day from the Roses!</span></i></b><br />
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Cheers!<br />
<br />
Sarah<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reader R's Class Valentines</td></tr>
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I am not quite sure when it happened, but somewhere between 1986, when I stopped giving valentines to my classmates, and 2007, when our family reentered the world of Valentines, something drastically changed. When I was little, it was so fun to get a shoe box full of those cute paper valentines that you got 32 in a box for $2. Now, it is all about the STUFF. I did not realize this when my oldest daughter entered preschool. Yes, someone should had mentioned something... but yes, my daughter showed up with just the cheap valentines from the box. Yes, I was mortified when she brought her box home and I realized we were the ONLY ones who had been left in the 1980's Valentine's Day time warp.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">"Friend, We Go Together Like Milk & a Cookie!"</td></tr>
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Well, enough said, we would not be caught empty handed again! Honestly, most years, I have opted for the still cheap, "day-after-purchase, hold-it-all-year pencils or bracelets plan." But this year, Pinterest and resourcefulness got the best of me and I decided that we would make our own treats. I decorated the cookies and made the topper, and Reader R wrote each of her classmates names on them with food color marker and helped package them! Success!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iNYoCIazv1ASZUcn0_BsMb-aVQL5kVdhI791jIIquePkuns0pAzm7rU6b11OV9BHOi2TbchmV0GxFnwmg4-jxGWzq4xkLfi9YPJWjQ5kGQ5ah3aidWXzSd-1SQnG-nYN9r1qBEW93n4/s1600/Picture+241.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iNYoCIazv1ASZUcn0_BsMb-aVQL5kVdhI791jIIquePkuns0pAzm7rU6b11OV9BHOi2TbchmV0GxFnwmg4-jxGWzq4xkLfi9YPJWjQ5kGQ5ah3aidWXzSd-1SQnG-nYN9r1qBEW93n4/s1600/Picture+241.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a>Now, poor Curious K, she got the left over cheap valentine's that I had had in storage for a couple years, and because I was too tired to go to the store... we stuck marshmallows in popsicle sticks and dipped them in chocolate. She did a great job drizzling them with pink and red candy melts and adding sprinkles. I loved that she helped and that I had everything on hand. ;^)</div>
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Happy Valentine's Day!</div>
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Cheers</div>
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Sarah</div>
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If you have been following me for a while, you might know by now that I am not one to be overcome by emotion... (JUST KIDDING!) or to celebrate a random holiday... (gotcha again!), but today is TOTALLY LEGIT!!! I promise! At least for one sweet little girl and her forever family! <br />
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<b><span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;">Happy "Gotcha" Day, Ava!!!</span></b></div>
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Today, I am giddy with excitement for a sweet little girl (and thousands like her) will be celebrating <a href="http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/">National Adoption Day</a> by being legally adopted by their foster families. While the situations that land children in foster care are atrocious, the loving families that step in to care for these precious children are an amazing blessing. <br />
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Whether they are in their care for two days or two years, every child that is placed in a loving home is blessed, but they are far from alone... the foster family is blessed, the extended family is blessed, the covenant family is blessed, the community is blessed. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigybo5TP305XfFi5hiC1EnHw5rIRxOrA5bOZ6HTHtiqo_v98Oo2ODXtn8YLpd4c-PwE7XVGRx65721YjIgImDXNV5_n-HDlL6Wo0fUnnc_f27wfkNmxzgOirQTGbUYpGvY-PJCq7SbDkc/s1600/_IGP6229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigybo5TP305XfFi5hiC1EnHw5rIRxOrA5bOZ6HTHtiqo_v98Oo2ODXtn8YLpd4c-PwE7XVGRx65721YjIgImDXNV5_n-HDlL6Wo0fUnnc_f27wfkNmxzgOirQTGbUYpGvY-PJCq7SbDkc/s320/_IGP6229.JPG" width="320" /></a>And then, if it is God's will and the courts allow, sometimes, something REALLY special happens, and that sweet bundle of joy that you never carried in your womb, but have carried in your heart from the moment you got the call, becomes yours... FOREVER!<br />
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Congratulations to <b><i>Ava Jane Vesper</i></b> and the Vesper Family! The Roses are thrilled for you all!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You know what they say, "If the glass slipper fits, wear it!"</td></tr>
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<b><i>Did you know that there are over 100,000 children in foster care waiting for permanent, loving homes? </i></b>I know that it takes families with a special heart to care for foster children and to adopt. If you are one, <b><i>"Thank YOU!"</i></b> If you have ever considered foster care or adoption, keep praying and learning and talking to families who have been there. If it is not at all on your radar, consider encouraging someone who is caring for a foster child or thinking about it. Shower them with your prayers and your love. <br />
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Cheers!<br />
Sarah<br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-60573746585358806072012-11-06T11:38:00.000-06:002012-11-06T11:38:17.776-06:00Happy "Marooned without a Compass Day!"<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, to tell you the truth... I had every intention of making "Election Day" cookies, but it just wasn't going to happen this week with a sick little one... so I decided I would share these... "Marooned without a Compass Day" cookies instead. ;^)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I was in college, I spent a couple of years studying leadership in the<a href="http://www.jewell.edu/pryorcenter"> Pryor Leadership Study Course at William Jewell College</a>. One of the books that we read was Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." I have obviously forgotten much of what I learned, but one of the things that stuck with me was the idea of "True North" that there are principles, such as <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16.78333282470703px; text-align: justify;">fairness, justice, honesty, integrity, human dignity, service, quality, potential, and trust, which are self-evident, self-validating natural laws that are always there, always reliable, like the “true north” on a compass. That "As Cecil B. deMille observed of the principles contained in his monumental movie, <i>The Ten Commandments</i>, 'It is impossible for us to break the law. We can only break ourselves against the law.' " (Covey, p.33)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I studied overseas there was a great British reality/game show called "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush!" (You can still watch it on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F05ihZZL9a0">YouTube</a>, if you have an hour to waste and want a good laugh. ;^)) Basically, if you were in the audience, you had a chance to leave, immediately, for a dream vacation... but you didn't want to get caught without your toothbrush...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope that when you do go to vote, you will not feel "Marooned without a Compass," but that you will have your conscience as your guide, know what principles are important to you, and vote accordingly... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I suppose I will have to save my cool new elephant cookie cutter for another day... maybe in January. ;^)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Take Care and Don't Forget Your Compass,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sarah</span><br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-40185879304868082232012-10-31T15:03:00.000-05:002012-10-31T15:03:04.855-05:00Happy Reformation Day!!!As a cookie baker, you become increasingly aware of obscure holidays... National Ice Cream Day, Clean Your Refrigerator Day (Nov. 15th, just in case you were wondering), Marooned without a Compass Day (which shares it's day with Election Day, which is really scary in an of itself) ... really any excuse to bake cookies. <br />
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Well, October 31st, is another day that shares it's holiday status, for while it is Halloween, my family also celebrates October 31st as <b>Reformation Day... </b><br />
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My good friend, Dan Guinn, summed it up very nicely on Facebook this morning, so I will quote him (emphasis added):<br />
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<b>Happy Halloween!</b> (traditionally, "All Hallows Eve"
or "Hallowmas Eve") & <b>Happy Reformation Day! </b>~ <i>(The anniversary of Martin
Luther posting the 95 Thesis at Wittenburg starting the Protestant Reformation
October 31st, 1517.) </i>Luther's posting spread across Europe in little more than 2
weeks (You might say it went "snail-mail viral"). Providentially, the movement
would free us from the superstition of "All Hallows" aka. "All Saints Day," and
such veneration of saints, it would reject the selling of indulgences (which
some unscrupulous preachers began to manipulate and teach as the purchasing of
the release of souls from purgatory and into heaven). The Reformation fully
rejected this notion, and purgatory as unscriptural as well as many other
practices. In contrast, the Reformation would bring the church back to the
supremacy of Scripture over life and practice, and translated the Bible into the
language of the people. Martin, for example would translate one of the first
German New Testaments during his time hidden away by his benefactor, Fredrick
the Wise, who kidnapped him to keep him from being martyred. ~ The principles of
the Reformation are found in the Five Solas... Sola scriptura ("by Scripture
alone"), Sola fide ("by faith alone"), sola gratia ("by grace alone"), Solus
Christus or Solo Christo ("Christ alone" or "through Christ alone"), Soli Deo
gloria ("glory to God alone").<br />
<br />
<br />
So, this is my cake for the cake walk at our church's Reformation Celebration. I briefly thought about making it German Chocolate (get it... funny, no?), but since my family hates coconut and my daughter has a sweet, abliet somewhat annoying, habit of picking out and bringing home the cake that I made, I decided it was best to stick with just plain chocolate. It was supposed to have a cookie for the 95 Thesis, but since I have a pinched nerve in my back, I am not baking this week. Providentially, however, I did bake this cake last week, so I only needed to frost it today! ;^) <br />
<br />
So this morning, when I was feeling particularly lazy, and in a brief lapse of sanity, I asked my three girls in the van if I should make our cake walk cake like the Wittenburg Door with the 95 Thesis or just put sprinkles on the top. Reader R voted resoundingly for "The Thesis" while the two cheered "Sprinkles!" In preparation for the election, Curious K clarified the vote by saying "I don't know what you are talking about R., but two of us want sprinkles, so we WIN!" Great. (That said, maybe I need to figure out how to sneak some sprinkles on there so I don't cause a revolution...)<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBdE5h62E5PwZwr9lXXXzx4t5cJv4r3oDRjyf7ANAokUPqfkDAQ5D_48syGHicpPEGAx9JHBR5fI-wJQqAT5OdxcN_SuyVgCz4CehCjyX1PtMB7sykJWPoWQhzLy0d4dFntGi65JOvss/s1600/_IGP6047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihBdE5h62E5PwZwr9lXXXzx4t5cJv4r3oDRjyf7ANAokUPqfkDAQ5D_48syGHicpPEGAx9JHBR5fI-wJQqAT5OdxcN_SuyVgCz4CehCjyX1PtMB7sykJWPoWQhzLy0d4dFntGi65JOvss/s640/_IGP6047.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Since I didn't have room for all 95 of the Thesis, I just picked one of the Solas that summarize the principles of the Reformation... Soli Deo gloria - "Glory to God alone." (While it seems a little ironic to be writing it, as I show off the cake that I made, I will say that part of why I do what I do with Sarah's Sweet Shoppe, is for God's glory. I am using the talents that He has given, to help Him provide for our family, by being a honest businesswoman, while working in the home.)<br />
<br />
Just a little church history lesson to brighten your day. See you again on Marooned without a Compass Day!<br />
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Happy Reformation Day!<br />
<br />
<br />
SarahHappy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-85802330113168571982012-09-24T14:05:00.000-05:002013-01-27T07:08:44.102-06:00And the Winner is...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Mitochondrial Disease Awareness! </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6XejsZdLS2ZepznbTveX1n36nnbvTEUiUCfGUfQc2Gy0YU475APqsmCLe_l1EL8Ffa7j4F1FHpD0oD_0cfgX9q-na806GT78so7zI1hkviqOYXdYWymKOjNbQt_3Ig3jUAqNCsx3DKI/s1600/_IGP5514.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV6XejsZdLS2ZepznbTveX1n36nnbvTEUiUCfGUfQc2Gy0YU475APqsmCLe_l1EL8Ffa7j4F1FHpD0oD_0cfgX9q-na806GT78so7zI1hkviqOYXdYWymKOjNbQt_3Ig3jUAqNCsx3DKI/s640/_IGP5514.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway or even read my blogposts for the past couple of weeks! Mitochondrial Disease is still so very unknown to most people, and I am thankful for the opportunity to share it with you and to help generate awareness and raise money for research and a cure! <br />
<br />
Between cookie sales and donations, we raised over $120 for the <a href="http://www.umdf.org/">United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation</a>. Plus, there were nearly 300 page visits to my 5 blog posts about Mito, so LOTs of people learned about Mitochondrial Disease. Thank you!!!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSr7bS2o-GzPguJWm_XiFGhGUNsymK-BzWdljnXuxnlo8urm35ApxTdBBSMYvE-TovBtKMQanj6DrArb0ascrH2U2KG8EJ5gJbYXPZv_lfmojf3dYUse1HDGfk4wpwENxS8j9kpKSUnjc/s1600/_IGP5517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSr7bS2o-GzPguJWm_XiFGhGUNsymK-BzWdljnXuxnlo8urm35ApxTdBBSMYvE-TovBtKMQanj6DrArb0ascrH2U2KG8EJ5gJbYXPZv_lfmojf3dYUse1HDGfk4wpwENxS8j9kpKSUnjc/s640/_IGP5517.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just made up these cookies last night for a Mito Disease bake sale today! Thank you Molly!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh, but what you really want to know is who won the giveaway... so without further ado...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Congratulations to <span style="color: #38761d;">Melody Malone James</span>! </span></b></div>
<br />
You are our winner. Please private message me your address and I will get your prize in the mail to you with in one week. (I need to go bake the cookies... ;^)<br />
<br />
Thank you!<br />
Sarah<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/atf/cf/%7B7f2e2273-3b7f-43c1-a030-3e56879ba715%7D/BADGE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/atf/cf/%7B7f2e2273-3b7f-43c1-a030-3e56879ba715%7D/BADGE.JPG" /></a>
Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-19683375725549187642012-09-20T13:43:00.001-05:002013-01-27T07:08:44.096-06:00F.R.O.G.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="text-align: start;">Fully Rely On God</span>
</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWDQ5NQOSRUL11gdqJVBMQeOP5Ca3hl0V-SSrQiXSS17aRHyDqQf9nJnq6Pt8Vyk2AF3tZusz2pVK2W9TIOx4yvuntv5As8k__el2Eu2IioRU2K7D2dPTBkQfaObNeZzr27e359SZJoQ/s1600/MITO-FROG-RIBBON_IGP5124-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBWDQ5NQOSRUL11gdqJVBMQeOP5Ca3hl0V-SSrQiXSS17aRHyDqQf9nJnq6Pt8Vyk2AF3tZusz2pVK2W9TIOx4yvuntv5As8k__el2Eu2IioRU2K7D2dPTBkQfaObNeZzr27e359SZJoQ/s640/MITO-FROG-RIBBON_IGP5124-lo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For the last couple of weeks, I have talked about my friend Tricia and her fight against Mitochondrial Disease. (You can read all about it in these posts: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7253808781795898342#editor/target=post;postID=167965382697348887">Cookies for a Cause</a> & <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/09/energy-for-life.html">Energy for Life Walkathon</a>.) <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvtlxnLo3MJ_hC68ZDyC6cLkoeVdkDRImGHUSVtBWeHkPvkTtRVtHWEpp9jZ64PsAF4ptPw4WeXRtnPXGMT0Xhi8oB_lDSHic5h9RfYR-anvEHLqUbDGT0uo9QGiYdweB4U4ndMdGFkI/s1600/MITO-FROG-PLATTER_IGP5140-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsvtlxnLo3MJ_hC68ZDyC6cLkoeVdkDRImGHUSVtBWeHkPvkTtRVtHWEpp9jZ64PsAF4ptPw4WeXRtnPXGMT0Xhi8oB_lDSHic5h9RfYR-anvEHLqUbDGT0uo9QGiYdweB4U4ndMdGFkI/s640/MITO-FROG-PLATTER_IGP5140-l.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvR2sm9k342xlytWMUVD9ilsmoTTJ04Q3FO-M0jsEPzFBvmwF3Zt9-k0qGMxzwyj-C7Tq0TV4i5kxKiZpInblhhKuC-kXBQdgsZvjHK_9AmJbg5wkN-lkjv7egkWXcMRsr4Yn0iZ8-_o/s1600/MITO-FROG-HEART-_IGP5122-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwvR2sm9k342xlytWMUVD9ilsmoTTJ04Q3FO-M0jsEPzFBvmwF3Zt9-k0qGMxzwyj-C7Tq0TV4i5kxKiZpInblhhKuC-kXBQdgsZvjHK_9AmJbg5wkN-lkjv7egkWXcMRsr4Yn0iZ8-_o/s320/MITO-FROG-HEART-_IGP5122-lo.jpg" width="320" /></a>Today, instead of telling you about all of the very difficult things that Tricia fights every day, I am going to share with you the places where she finds her strength and her energy for life when her mitochondria aren't providing it.<br />
<br />
Tricia <b>"Fully Relies On God,"</b> everyday, in a thousand ways. This is difficult to do, even in the best of circumstances, but Tricia's faith shines through her suffering and is a testimony to everyone she meets. <br />
<br />
Personally, my life has been greatly impacted by the profound faith of this child and her family. Most recently, I joined a group of fellow cookie bakers to try and exercise daily and make more healthy food choices. (Like not eating cookies five meals a day. ;^) And I have been overwhelmed with gratitude to God that he is teaching me these lessons the easy way... Sweet Tricia hasn't eaten anything by mouth in YEARS, and is currently so sick that she is on complete rest and has not had any nutrition for DAYS. Also, Saturday was the annual Energy for Life walkathon, and Tricia was not able to participate, because she is sick and in the hospital. So, I have spent most of the 13 miles I have walked in the last 10 days, praying for Tricia, her mom Wendy, a cure for mito, wisdom for doctors, my new friends and acquaintances that are also suffering with mito, and praising Him for my health and my family. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">"Rejoice in hope,</span></i></b></div>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">be patient in tribulation,</span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><b><i><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;">be constant in prayer."</span></i></b></b><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;"><b></b><b style="font-family: Calibri;"></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Romans 12:12</span></b></b></span></div>
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b style="font-family: Calibri;">
</b></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypwGQ89myyDxWmsPfdhfe5PF-bEZDcms6OS7mzaG1ZQIHiya4cGu03R73Z8HvnTH9K2yrd4QQs1lx2UNtGjjGnyvIG7ubbFQL2OJLPmhKFyblDe_GyIOIzFixwzSqpO5by-QW7ZTlEk0/s1600/MITO-TT-FROG-SHAPES_IGP5108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhypwGQ89myyDxWmsPfdhfe5PF-bEZDcms6OS7mzaG1ZQIHiya4cGu03R73Z8HvnTH9K2yrd4QQs1lx2UNtGjjGnyvIG7ubbFQL2OJLPmhKFyblDe_GyIOIzFixwzSqpO5by-QW7ZTlEk0/s640/MITO-TT-FROG-SHAPES_IGP5108.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The FROG is the mascot for Team Tricia her Energy for Life Walkathon team.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img alt="TEAM TRICIA Personal Image" height="240" src="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/AccountTempFiles/account103372/images/1028009_317121253251121.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Team Tricia from 2011 Energy for Life Walk-a-thon<br />
(Reader R and I are in the front row, next to Tricia!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In addition to her faith, Tricia is also blessed to have an amazing family and MANY friends who love and care for her. This week, Team Tricia, participated in the Energy for Life Walkathon. Walking, laughing, hugging, raising money and awareness to support and encourage this sweet young lady who has been sick with Mito for more than three years.<br />
<br />
<b><i>However, Tricia was not with them. As I mentioned, she is in the hospital, again, sick with complications from her Mito. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.</i></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/AccountTempFiles/account103372/images/1028009_317121254405581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TEAM TRICIA Personal Image" border="0" src="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/AccountTempFiles/account103372/images/1028009_317121254405581.jpg" /></a><br />
Tricia looks like a happy, healthy teenager. Yet, she suffers from autonomic neuropathy, chronic nerve pain, chronic fatigue, breathing difficulties, delayed gastric emptying, GI motility issues, acid reflux, hypercalciuria, visual impairments, and kidney stones, and oh yeah, and she hasn't eaten by mouth in years.<br />
<br />
Please consider helping to support the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation by <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&supId=365550776" target="_blank">sponsoring me for the "Energy for Life" Walk-a-thon</a>. Every gift helps.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/atf/cf/%7B7f2e2273-3b7f-43c1-a030-3e56879ba715%7D/BADGE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/atf/cf/%7B7f2e2273-3b7f-43c1-a030-3e56879ba715%7D/BADGE.JPG" /></a>If you are unable to make a donation at this time, please just take one more minute to <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&lis=1&kntae1028009=BE1E0F93681844CFB727ABA15F4E7F1D&supId=328246137">visit Tricia's Walkathon page and leave her an encouraging message</a>! THANK YOU!<br />
<br />
Thank you,<br />
Sarah<br />
<br />
<b><i><span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18pt;"><br /></span></i></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><b><u><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></u></b></span>
<span style="text-align: start;"><b><u><i><span style="font-size: large;">P.S. - Don't Forget... <br />In honor of Mitochondrial Disease Awareness week, <br />I am doing a GIVEAWAY!!!</span></i></u></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: start;">
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: lime; font-size: large;">The GIVEAWAY is now closed. </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: lime; font-size: large;">The winner will be announced tomorrow! </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: lime; font-size: large;">Thank you so much for your participation! </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N9KmOUfmkxjuKXIW8xqOgMaGy4MugSmBN3KvUDP7nzAY5vJ4S5-21bTDhEHYuHqWEmkmULqrDrdTfz4DRl4KUMUXIM50CzvUyd0selEfKmukd7e4PKwRhCgybP4ImuUvG8DuyIvGqiI/s1600/_IGP5508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N9KmOUfmkxjuKXIW8xqOgMaGy4MugSmBN3KvUDP7nzAY5vJ4S5-21bTDhEHYuHqWEmkmULqrDrdTfz4DRl4KUMUXIM50CzvUyd0selEfKmukd7e4PKwRhCgybP4ImuUvG8DuyIvGqiI/s320/_IGP5508.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">The frogs and the ribbon cookie cutters are from<br />
<a href="http://www.karenscookies.net/">Karen's Cookies</a>! (I love that place!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: x-large;">A Dozen Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Cookies</b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>(6 Ribbons and <br />6 Mighty Mitos)</i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>AND </b></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: x-large;">4 Cookie Cutters </b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>(2 different frogs, <br />1 medium awareness ribbon, <br />& </i><i>1 handmade "Mighty Mito")</i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Check out all the details on my <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-mighty-mito-giveaway.html">"Mighty Mito" </a>blogpost, and make sure to enter by Sunday!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />
<img alt="United Mitochodrial Disease Foundation" height="125" src="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B8d4a231c-12fb-4a21-9a85-93c7bd0c5a5a%7D/UMDFLogo.jpg" width="640" /><a href="http://www.umdf.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">www.umdf.org</span></a></div>
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Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-48897592279979906962012-09-17T00:01:00.000-05:002013-01-27T07:08:21.161-06:00The Mighty Mito & A GIVEAWAY!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1p8VYhAN1lGbkqANvGViQ7Rc9Lq7CTqTlOu422ax6yM7BDxWSbd8DLXbl_nJlrDIro5g9-o5elvXOXFbsIRHvSpCdu_LMTfjiLlq6fpOhwZhJyJ3XEHywiuQERfm23IxL896bOonYwc/s1600/MITO-Mighty-HEL-_IGP5131-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><i></i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Do you know what a Mitochondria is? </b></i> </span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Other than a really long word that is hard to fit on a cookie?)</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoc7fEIDJFkeYqLRi2SsXooP46sqT_UH_RlSK6-1Ff-B_xc7M4nmmfpAE4L9igmgYVS5pky-0krYdIXt4LlfGf3BBLw-I6JvFA3p66hLxlLT3nPInuegu53io4bsumNQEYgfK1D4y_Yo/s1600/_IGP5113-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCoc7fEIDJFkeYqLRi2SsXooP46sqT_UH_RlSK6-1Ff-B_xc7M4nmmfpAE4L9igmgYVS5pky-0krYdIXt4LlfGf3BBLw-I6JvFA3p66hLxlLT3nPInuegu53io4bsumNQEYgfK1D4y_Yo/s640/_IGP5113-logo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes... I know that I spelled Mitochondrial wrong... but this is the only photo I had. Ugh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1p8VYhAN1lGbkqANvGViQ7Rc9Lq7CTqTlOu422ax6yM7BDxWSbd8DLXbl_nJlrDIro5g9-o5elvXOXFbsIRHvSpCdu_LMTfjiLlq6fpOhwZhJyJ3XEHywiuQERfm23IxL896bOonYwc/s1600/MITO-Mighty-HEL-_IGP5131-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1p8VYhAN1lGbkqANvGViQ7Rc9Lq7CTqTlOu422ax6yM7BDxWSbd8DLXbl_nJlrDIro5g9-o5elvXOXFbsIRHvSpCdu_LMTfjiLlq6fpOhwZhJyJ3XEHywiuQERfm23IxL896bOonYwc/s320/MITO-Mighty-HEL-_IGP5131-lo.jpg" width="265" /></a>You may remember from Fifth Grade science that the mitochondria is the "powerhouse" of the cell. <br />
<br />
But even if you know what a mitochondria is, and maybe what it does, you are probably not familiar with what happens when the mitochondria doesn't do what it is supposed to do. <br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>Mitochondrial disease occurs when there is a defect in the body’s ‘powerhouses’. The mitochondria fail to produce enough energy. That results in organ systems failing. Imagine a major city with half of its power plants shut down. The same thing happens in the affected person’s body. The brain may be impaired. They may lose vision or hearing. The heart may be weakened, and they may have eating and digestive issues. The symptoms range from mild to severe for each affected person. <b>(<a href="http://umdf.org/">UMDF.org</a>)</b></i></div>
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<br />
My friend Tricia is a freshman in high school, and she has Mitochondrial Disease. If you don't read any of my other posts, please take a few minutes to <a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=10ad6e2db789603a8b35a99&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">watch this video that she made about her journey</a> and <i><b>please consider helping to support the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation by <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&supId=365550776" target="_blank">sponsoring me for the "Energy for Life" Walk-a-thon</a>. Every gift helps. Thank you!</b></i><br />
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<a href="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B8d4a231c-12fb-4a21-9a85-93c7bd0c5a5a%7D/UMDFLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="United Mitochodrial Disease Foundation" border="0" height="124" src="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B8d4a231c-12fb-4a21-9a85-93c7bd0c5a5a%7D/UMDFLogo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZx62WbEBJVBSYpfYVeQtGmCcnKd6NMAyJWMuprCSwuj0WYKlo8vBOzQ7FGgrBVBQZZTtXuUaLwKf2qTrA8An1xWKfTonC3CD-rjAB6fsWD0LD-UjHsY1O2S1R_2JP6LgGOAtrkH9Btg/s1600/MITO-Mighty-FROG_IGP5126-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>
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A couple of weeks ago, I was trying so hard to make cookies for a fundraiser for Mitochondrial Disease. I worked and worked on cute cookies. Finally, it was time to make the "Special Extra" cookie that I like to add to each order. I had cut five cookies, in hopes that I would have one good one... I was trying to cookie the UMDF logo.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TnrqkvtS9UE-Yo2Pwyeq7jzRIScAgOXk0wCgczPbqTooYr2iKDGgIF8-IGI0iqdpU3UHtNxZLBodlVM2kc_F_O-VrOGRE0Mth7HSz-0Yv6Jec-8EcKpHIwoyY7ZD6n_mNArvcIApKz8/s1600/IMG_0887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-TnrqkvtS9UE-Yo2Pwyeq7jzRIScAgOXk0wCgczPbqTooYr2iKDGgIF8-IGI0iqdpU3UHtNxZLBodlVM2kc_F_O-VrOGRE0Mth7HSz-0Yv6Jec-8EcKpHIwoyY7ZD6n_mNArvcIApKz8/s400/IMG_0887.JPG" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gift basket of cookies for my friend Tricia<br />
to give friends and doctors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
First of all, I had a terrible time getting my Mitos to be close enough, but not running into each other when they settled. I piped and scraped and piped and scraped, over and over again. Once I was finally happy with how they were looking, I started working on the words. Well, it turns out "Mitochondrial" is a REALLY LONG word to try to squeeze on a cookie. I used my Wilton #1 tip and only got as far as the H. I practiced on wax paper and still couldn't make it fit. So I schlepped myself and my three young daughters half-way across town to buy a PME 0 and 00 tip. Unfortunately, those sweet little tips kept clogging, so I researched online how to keep them from clogging... and schlepped out again, this time to Target to buy new in the package, never worn panty hose to try to strain the icing. So I went home and strained my icing. Still clogged. Thinned my icing, again and finally, it squeaked through those itty-bitty tips without clogging. HOWEVER, once I started writing on my cookie... it flooded all over the place instead of sitting still! UGH! Then, I finally got the BRILLIANT idea to just write the words on my cookie with a food color marker. My problems were solved. Beautiful cookies! Whew!<br />
<br />
I gave one to my friend with MITO Disease and took one to the fundraiser and displayed it proudly on a little easel. ;^)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGRXshFcsH93JMsm3VNmttbKPTQ_aImENhockQaMIa86hINP2iuvsC8nZU0s268Tfq6_aBserEdGXC9RjoP74Xpg-4UGbcWj_GprJak6dZ52OmL1ltiSKqy3QwoU_469H50nkcohR5yw/s1600/IMG_0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzGRXshFcsH93JMsm3VNmttbKPTQ_aImENhockQaMIa86hINP2iuvsC8nZU0s268Tfq6_aBserEdGXC9RjoP74Xpg-4UGbcWj_GprJak6dZ52OmL1ltiSKqy3QwoU_469H50nkcohR5yw/s640/IMG_0892.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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All is well that ends well.... well until today, when I was editing my photos for my post about the cookies and I realized I spelled "mitochondrial" WRONG on one of the cookies. Was it the one I gave my sweet friend or the one I displayed for the world to see? You guess... Oh well. ;^P<br />
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<b><i>All that said, in the big picture, I am incredibly blessed and thankful to have three healthy girls, an amazing (and patient) husband, and get to bake my cookies and eat them too.</i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfBRTj9o-KNLm1yvpfr6TpJEqa6rts5qRPqw4bsB7ruOpAG5Vz8RZWYeVPs5GpyEoMD5JLz8oMTmz8LarLK7UG6ZM8WehHPPbcsJFoYBCVrwVkzfjcWFhFiEsibpQn5lAa-c0jt1hvOc/s1600/Tricias+BB+Cake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfBRTj9o-KNLm1yvpfr6TpJEqa6rts5qRPqw4bsB7ruOpAG5Vz8RZWYeVPs5GpyEoMD5JLz8oMTmz8LarLK7UG6ZM8WehHPPbcsJFoYBCVrwVkzfjcWFhFiEsibpQn5lAa-c0jt1hvOc/s320/Tricias+BB+Cake.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tricia's Awesome Basketball Cake!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Which reminds me, I have mentioned that my young friend Tricia, who has Mitochondrial Disease, receives all of her nutrition through a feeding tube. She hasn't eaten real food for years. <br />
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But that doesn't stop this amazing young lady from baking for others. Just a couple of weeks ago, she took a plate of cookies that she baked to the Ronald McDonald House at Children's Mercy Hospital. And she loves to bake cakes too. Here is a cool basketball cake that she made for her dad's birthday last year!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0zPGk6OCqj8-pSVmhoDhSgoZm0VHSBrpPzThlE5K8F163dxbCE6a8sW0TdMeIdcSav7GvsDoES1wirb9CLWeHUC5t_aJpcGloEgHm3O_8n2wwVJBJZKUYtIboPaS0UuOpeWZyDVWuBE/s1600/MITO-3-Ribbon_IGP5106-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0zPGk6OCqj8-pSVmhoDhSgoZm0VHSBrpPzThlE5K8F163dxbCE6a8sW0TdMeIdcSav7GvsDoES1wirb9CLWeHUC5t_aJpcGloEgHm3O_8n2wwVJBJZKUYtIboPaS0UuOpeWZyDVWuBE/s640/MITO-3-Ribbon_IGP5106-logo.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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So here is the news you have been waiting for... In honor of Mitochondrial Disease Awareness week, I am doing a GIVEAWAY!!!<br />
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I will be using the Rafflecopter App below to giveaway:<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N9KmOUfmkxjuKXIW8xqOgMaGy4MugSmBN3KvUDP7nzAY5vJ4S5-21bTDhEHYuHqWEmkmULqrDrdTfz4DRl4KUMUXIM50CzvUyd0selEfKmukd7e4PKwRhCgybP4ImuUvG8DuyIvGqiI/s1600/_IGP5508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9N9KmOUfmkxjuKXIW8xqOgMaGy4MugSmBN3KvUDP7nzAY5vJ4S5-21bTDhEHYuHqWEmkmULqrDrdTfz4DRl4KUMUXIM50CzvUyd0selEfKmukd7e4PKwRhCgybP4ImuUvG8DuyIvGqiI/s320/_IGP5508.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The frogs and the ribbon cookie cutters are from<br />
<a href="http://www.karenscookies.net/">Karen's Cookies</a>! (I love that place!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>A Dozen Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Cookies</b> <br /><i>(6 Ribbons and 6 Mighty Mitos)</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>AND </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>4 Cookie Cutters </b><br /><i>(2 different frogs, 1 medium awareness ribbon, &</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>1 handmade "Mighty Mito")</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i></i></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZx62WbEBJVBSYpfYVeQtGmCcnKd6NMAyJWMuprCSwuj0WYKlo8vBOzQ7FGgrBVBQZZTtXuUaLwKf2qTrA8An1xWKfTonC3CD-rjAB6fsWD0LD-UjHsY1O2S1R_2JP6LgGOAtrkH9Btg/s1600/MITO-Mighty-FROG_IGP5126-lo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaZx62WbEBJVBSYpfYVeQtGmCcnKd6NMAyJWMuprCSwuj0WYKlo8vBOzQ7FGgrBVBQZZTtXuUaLwKf2qTrA8An1xWKfTonC3CD-rjAB6fsWD0LD-UjHsY1O2S1R_2JP6LgGOAtrkH9Btg/s320/MITO-Mighty-FROG_IGP5126-lo.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My "Mighty Mito" Shaped Cookies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
For these Mitochondrial Disease Awareness cookies, I created this fun "Mighty Mito" shaped cookie cutter. Afterwards, I started to wonder what other shaped cookies I might be able to make with my cutter. I thought of several ideas, but I would love to hear what you think! So, just leave me a comment, using the Rafflecopter app and let me know and you will be entered into my giveaway! <br />
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There are also several other ways to earn points for a chance to win... including learning more about Mitochondrial Disease and spreading the word. <br />
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Some of the links are being silly though, so if you having trouble with getting there through Rafflecopter try using these links:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Visit the UMDF at <a href="http://umdf.org/">umdf.org</a>.</li>
<li>Watch <a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=10ad6e2db789603a8b35a99&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">Tricia's Video</a>.</li>
<li>Write Tricia an encouraging note on her <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&lis=1&kntae1028009=BE1E0F93681844CFB727ABA15F4E7F1D&supId=328246137">walkathon page</a>.</li>
</ul>
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Thanks for participating and have fun!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The GIVEAWAY is now closed. </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The winner will be announced tomorrow! </span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you so much for your participation! </span></i></b></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f997f90/" id="rc-f997f90" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
<br />
<i>The Giveaway ends at Midnight on Sunday, September 23 and due to mailing costs is only open to residents of the United States.</i><br />
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Thank you!<br />
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Sarah<br />
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Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-19893011390949359882012-09-15T09:32:00.002-05:002013-01-27T07:08:21.158-06:00Energy for Life<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OmoThf-5eBtOydpDYcePHR2QpwfvQl8ofWFfl21HKaMUTCA-L9QbPgxVAv9N8n-XbRcZ-Y3rhShwSSZDSNrLcfdojLbXSZD9mrbIusOXDppoI7VWATVQ4GkKQMdR8A7-2eq9fwe_Q7c/s1600/MITO-EFL_IGP5112_edited-1-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7OmoThf-5eBtOydpDYcePHR2QpwfvQl8ofWFfl21HKaMUTCA-L9QbPgxVAv9N8n-XbRcZ-Y3rhShwSSZDSNrLcfdojLbXSZD9mrbIusOXDppoI7VWATVQ4GkKQMdR8A7-2eq9fwe_Q7c/s640/MITO-EFL_IGP5112_edited-1-l.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This morning in Kansas City hundreds of people are gathering to honor loved ones who suffer from a terrible disease called Mitochondrial Disease. This morning is the <b>Energy for Life Walkathon </b>to support the <b>United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation</b>.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbG8grqpRYCr-8wF0Qj7oVE4A9JOja9Vr56VPBcolWwR6_1K_qIxDmoTFfmQm3TnYPQJlqK6fA46_Bfgl__PJzlqYYlUxUmtq9-ukRaf7hIbIffx0k5Q38R3cSMpf9goCWIhGRXImaE4/s1600/MITO-PLATTER_IGP5146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVbG8grqpRYCr-8wF0Qj7oVE4A9JOja9Vr56VPBcolWwR6_1K_qIxDmoTFfmQm3TnYPQJlqK6fA46_Bfgl__PJzlqYYlUxUmtq9-ukRaf7hIbIffx0k5Q38R3cSMpf9goCWIhGRXImaE4/s640/MITO-PLATTER_IGP5146.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B858acd34-ecc3-472a-8794-39b92e103561%7D/FAQ%20AND%20ABOUT%20UMDF%20REV.%202011.PDF" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="1" height="400" src="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B28038C4C-02EE-4AD0-9DB5-D23E9D9F4D45%7D/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions_Page_1.jpg" width="306" /></a><br />
<div>
<br />
Every 30 minutes a child is born with a mitochondrial disease. Each year, there is an increase in the number of adults who are being diagnosed with mitochondrial disease.</div>
<div>
- Research tells us that between 1,000 and 4,000 children are born with a mitochondrial disease each year.</div>
<div>
- Research also indicates that 1 in every 200 healthy people may carry the mutation that could develop into</div>
<div>
a mitochondrial disease in their lifetime.</div>
<div>
- Because mitochondrial disease is complex and not easy to diagnose, most patients suffer symptoms for</div>
<div>
months or years before they are accurately diagnosed with a mitochondrial disease.</div>
<div>
- The severity of symptoms and how the disease manifests itself varies. One affected individual may have difficulty breathing or suffer from digestive problems, while another may not be able to walk, talk, or see.</div>
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<br />
If you would like to learn more, please visit the<a href="http://umdf.org/"> UMDF website</a> or check out these simple
<a href="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B858acd34-ecc3-472a-8794-39b92e103561%7D/FAQ%20AND%20ABOUT%20UMDF%20REV.%202011.PDF" target="_blank">Mito Disease FAQs</a> .<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-3vwmCexnv18u-UnOMMb6YpMNAFlwDyg93pCWbpunQXaynDh6S7WvtMz9uXJrdAB0NEWksakLTnC-_031eP5TqJQL90ZtyimglstP382XCoY7sQD6oZbkuy-rDkJYZx3A6xCHwbIbQU/s1600/MITO-FLOWERS-3-_IGP5119-log.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="544" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-3vwmCexnv18u-UnOMMb6YpMNAFlwDyg93pCWbpunQXaynDh6S7WvtMz9uXJrdAB0NEWksakLTnC-_031eP5TqJQL90ZtyimglstP382XCoY7sQD6oZbkuy-rDkJYZx3A6xCHwbIbQU/s640/MITO-FLOWERS-3-_IGP5119-log.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I chose flowers to help support UMDF awareness, because just like flowers, people need energy to live and grow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Team Tricia from 2011 Energy for Life Walk-a-thon<br />
(Reader R and I are in the front row, next to Tricia!)</td></tr>
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My friend Tricia is a freshman in high school, and she has Mitochondrial Disease. If you don't read any of my other posts, please take a few minutes to <a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=10ad6e2db789603a8b35a99&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">watch this video that she made about her journey</a>.<br />
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This morning, Team Tricia, is at the Energy for Life Walkathon. Walking, laughing, hugging, raising money and awareness to support and encourage this sweet young lady who has been sick with Mito for more than three years. <br />
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<b><i>However, Tricia is not with them. She is in the hospital, again, sick with complications from her Mito. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. </i></b><br />
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<a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/AccountTempFiles/account103372/images/1028009_317121254405581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TEAM TRICIA Personal Image" border="0" src="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/AccountTempFiles/account103372/images/1028009_317121254405581.jpg" /></a><br />
Tricia looks like a happy, healthy teenager. Yet, she suffers from autonomic neuropathy, chronic nerve pain, chronic fatigue, breathing difficulties, delayed gastric emptying, GI motility issues, acid reflux, hypercalciuria, visual impairments, and kidney stones, and oh yeah, and she hasn't eaten by mouth in years.<br />
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<a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/atf/cf/%7B7f2e2273-3b7f-43c1-a030-3e56879ba715%7D/BADGE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/atf/cf/%7B7f2e2273-3b7f-43c1-a030-3e56879ba715%7D/BADGE.JPG" /></a>Please consider helping to support the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation by <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&supId=365550776" target="_blank">sponsoring me for the upcoming "Energy for Life" Walk-a-thon</a>. Every gift helps.<br />
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If you are unable to make a donation at this time, please just take one more minute to <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&lis=1&kntae1028009=BE1E0F93681844CFB727ABA15F4E7F1D&supId=328246137">visit Tricia's Walkathon page and leave her an encouraging message</a>! THANK YOU!<br />
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Thank you,<br />
Sarah<br />
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<b><i>P.S. - Please be on the look out for additional Mito Disease Awareness posts this coming week. One of them will have a GIVEAWAY that you won't want to miss! </i></b><br />
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Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-30582031988718856782012-09-13T05:30:00.000-05:002012-09-13T05:30:03.354-05:00Pajamas Cookie-dFor <a href="http://www.sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/09/surprise-happy-birthday-reader-r-part-ii.html">Reader R's big SURPRISE party</a>, we had a Pajama & Pancakes theme. I really wanted to bake some special cookie treats for party favors! <br />
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Since it was a SURPRISE party, I had to be extra stealthy about it, so I made a bunch of nail polish cookies too. (I told her I had a last minute order for a very important customer who would pick them up for her party on Saturday... hehehe.)
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruHkt6PEaPk-DZp6dzi9CVdeKbbhfccC9dMF0yEx8aSacP8YKC_2Ae-zkdM5-iMPdOhWLh7VSU4TqRmuPwNW5er8WTgtrQ3AmNuooW3_Wv2hXMbV_D4co4ZY4C6DETmnj14xGPDbugA4/s1600/DSCN0975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjruHkt6PEaPk-DZp6dzi9CVdeKbbhfccC9dMF0yEx8aSacP8YKC_2Ae-zkdM5-iMPdOhWLh7VSU4TqRmuPwNW5er8WTgtrQ3AmNuooW3_Wv2hXMbV_D4co4ZY4C6DETmnj14xGPDbugA4/s320/DSCN0975.JPG" /></a><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Inspired by </span><a href="http://ohsugareventplanning.blogspot.com/2011/10/pajama-party.html" style="text-align: center;">these super cute striped cookies by Oh, Sugar! Events</a><span style="text-align: center;">, I endeavored to cookie my daughter's favorite pajamas. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8XhIi2ubHh0NbOw2T4tcaXkBPbLKoxuXwAR2Q-ZIr0r0_opeuScJbeLlCfE7xfSW3sW2HygHakC5NIGnfUHRsAZ1E4-bi3DzNOMa07tge_GWqFb7I5Jr6w3lNG5vZgz-ey6Ba_bPhjo/s1600/IMG_0929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8XhIi2ubHh0NbOw2T4tcaXkBPbLKoxuXwAR2Q-ZIr0r0_opeuScJbeLlCfE7xfSW3sW2HygHakC5NIGnfUHRsAZ1E4-bi3DzNOMa07tge_GWqFb7I5Jr6w3lNG5vZgz-ey6Ba_bPhjo/s320/IMG_0929.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
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First of all, I had to be sneaky and get a photo of the birthday girl in her pjs... so one night, I told her I wanted to send Grandma photo of how big she was getting and got her to pose for this snap. ;^) </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Then, I didn't have the right cookie cutter for her little sleeveless gown, so I used a blouse, and then cut off the sleeves with an awareness ribbon. I could have just used a knife, but I really wanted to keep the curve of the dress consistent, and this was the best way I could come up with to do that.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWlOKE1AvU10GRf5KkTLL_oboFSqVm6VnNTWiFyL1BfdGgWQSP5c5W7wlkYoOZgZR724kRt2vtVaGJcdkDdWYKa72BpmejUgLfy5LcFWWlJiUJpKQH-Wf8JJ8r0ldITN3h_wzi2pZE2E/s1600/IMG_0947%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWlOKE1AvU10GRf5KkTLL_oboFSqVm6VnNTWiFyL1BfdGgWQSP5c5W7wlkYoOZgZR724kRt2vtVaGJcdkDdWYKa72BpmejUgLfy5LcFWWlJiUJpKQH-Wf8JJ8r0ldITN3h_wzi2pZE2E/s320/IMG_0947%5B1%5D" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PsgIiQLMkXA7NOQv5T6s3OhNcO432Cf1Hc7TPBxdxERL22l2GY1bNDjfEK-IAbqxR8WUX02r48Naa8E-VYBi9q6wkE8k9K0_rQCDGAcPQWO40wjjiMA1Ev8AAV5zONyccbsKVAjQzBU/s1600/IMG_0948%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3PsgIiQLMkXA7NOQv5T6s3OhNcO432Cf1Hc7TPBxdxERL22l2GY1bNDjfEK-IAbqxR8WUX02r48Naa8E-VYBi9q6wkE8k9K0_rQCDGAcPQWO40wjjiMA1Ev8AAV5zONyccbsKVAjQzBU/s200/IMG_0948%5B1%5D" width="149" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI8F5OI2IbfG8xvQ2D8oiscW_ZmATfbhat1-3O7jQonfYjSkDJOu0aCFXC1y2tP9HvIiob1jOMSdZ07DlJLtPvHC-GtF-yz-nNFn4GCY_kRndSbsYd_0TlVzNWd-GkzO3Rur17CVeKpA/s1600/IMG_0949%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQI8F5OI2IbfG8xvQ2D8oiscW_ZmATfbhat1-3O7jQonfYjSkDJOu0aCFXC1y2tP9HvIiob1jOMSdZ07DlJLtPvHC-GtF-yz-nNFn4GCY_kRndSbsYd_0TlVzNWd-GkzO3Rur17CVeKpA/s200/IMG_0949%5B1%5D" width="149" /></a>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Next, I wasn't quite sure how to pull of the air-brushed look of the pjs without an airbrush, so after a quick consultation with my cookie friends, I decided I would bake enough cookies to make them two ways. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZZFmSXUDJEe7hyphenhyphenafTwr98-yMWWBxgFgXfqVhyphenhyphenH5wZAlZXSNkSS5IlYyUq0PPKEl_YPqkG0oH-Sa4R4Iaze_QNpV9T4swgxwFbvRSLxNaByiugQnOXDBUFoUhC1cjzgsYGqKJetN-idU/s1600/_IGP5348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoZZFmSXUDJEe7hyphenhyphenafTwr98-yMWWBxgFgXfqVhyphenhyphenH5wZAlZXSNkSS5IlYyUq0PPKEl_YPqkG0oH-Sa4R4Iaze_QNpV9T4swgxwFbvRSLxNaByiugQnOXDBUFoUhC1cjzgsYGqKJetN-idU/s400/_IGP5348.JPG" width="268" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"></span><br />
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First, I created a rainbow of glaze colors. I tried to flood the pjs, very quickly and get them to bleed into one another, but wouldn't you know the one time you WANT your colors to bleed, they wont! So, I ended up laying down the colors one at a time and using a tooth pick to swirl them together to create a "bleed" effect. I sprinkled them with Rainbow Disco Dust to give them some sparkle and then once they were really dry I added the trim, the hearts and the ruffle. The ruffle was its own challenge. Because I decided to use glaze for these cookies due to their deep colors, the glaze was not stiff enough on its own to hold a ruffle, so I had to add just a pinch the meringue powder that I use for royal icing. That did the trick! ;^)<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">I could have stopped there, but I had it in my head that I really wanted the colors to "bleed" so I decided to go ahead and make a second batch using a different method.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">For the second batch of cookies, I coated them with a base coat of white glaze. Then, I used silver luster dust, mixed with a drop of gel color, and a couple drops of vodka to create a rainbow of colors. Then, when the white was SUPER dry, I painted the rainbow of lustery colors on in good ol' ROYGBIV order. (Thank you to my cookie friend, Jennifer, who reminded me that is REALLY the best way to go!)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkz6XELFoEE_QZeX576d61Qd_6p5nb3UwVe9_yZNFYgSb3JHmUxm3aSACZpbtQcGn2lBWCrB8IuBzV6X4bODnU4ucUYdJkRJbArYVFELMKJcQ_Zo6D0Yx3QM9vWzCAEdJPmX-Vfhyphenhyphen_rk/s1600/IMG_0953%5B1%5D" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkz6XELFoEE_QZeX576d61Qd_6p5nb3UwVe9_yZNFYgSb3JHmUxm3aSACZpbtQcGn2lBWCrB8IuBzV6X4bODnU4ucUYdJkRJbArYVFELMKJcQ_Zo6D0Yx3QM9vWzCAEdJPmX-Vfhyphenhyphen_rk/s320/IMG_0953%5B1%5D" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: center;">I was so pleased with how the gel color mixed in with the luster. Now, I don't have to buy a different jar of luster for every color! Hooray! Next I added the hearts, the trim, and the ruffle. Finally, as a special touch, I added a little bit of hot pink disco dust to the ruffle.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">It is interesting how bright they looked when they were wet and how they kind of got pastel-y when they dried. That was OK with me... but if you were going for bright you might want to use even more color.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">I was really very pleased with both cookies. In the end, I ended up using the first, brighter one for the party favors. (I decided I might have a few guests who mothers would not be thrilled that on top of fruit loops, pink and purple pancakes, chocolate chips and whipped cream, cupcakes and cookies, I sent their 8 year old daughters home with a large cookie coated with vodka... ;^) ((Just kidding, we cookiers use vodka because the alcohol evaporates so quickly that we can paint on our fragile sugar icing without the cookies getting too wet and melting. You might have even eaten a vodka covered cookie and didn't know it! ;^))</span><br />
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All that is to say, I was thrilled with how they turned out, and I think the birthday girl was pleased too! ;^)<br />
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Cheers!<br />
Sarah<br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-85244710889751011212012-09-12T12:14:00.004-05:002012-09-12T12:29:19.041-05:00SURPRISE! Happy Birthday Reader R! (part II)So, as you now know, this <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/09/happy-birthday-reader-r.html">past week was Reader R's birthday</a>....<br />
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Her BIG party, however, was almost didn't happen... in her mind, anyway! <br />
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I had set the scene several weeks ago by telling her that "Since Daddy was celebrating a BIG birthday this year, we just won't be able to have friends party for you, too." She accepted the information graciously, but then she, unfortunately, spent several weeks being too self-less and over concerned about our finances. (Opps!) <br />
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Anyway, the big day came, and all of her sweet little friends gathered at our house and anxiously awaited her arrival. <br />
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I had decorated with LOTS of balloons, streamers, plastic table cloths, and pieces of fabric leftover from a baby shower several years ago. Since I was trying to keep within a budget, I was thrilled to figure out that I could make these super fun tissue poofs, using the stash of leftover pink and purple tissue I have meticulously smoothed out and saved for the last 8 years! I started with this <a href="http://giftpack.over-blog.com/m/article-86745634.html">great tutorial</a> that I found on Pinterest. (My only additions would be that you can use 1/2 a sheet for smaller balls, and for bigger balls, I liked 15-16 sheets better than 10, which looked a little sparse to me.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHAB-7RYQWTSu8ZWaTdFQqPBgFhGaJlE-nlVXEMTGoPImZAdBM93tSPs-w66m6lwJ7cgS2K1Sh1I944U9K_qTLl-sEE2P3xHXV1bEbb0lq1cpKfummLgfvHP2Y2mKGPqgH8zcoErknv0/s1600/_IGP5380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMHAB-7RYQWTSu8ZWaTdFQqPBgFhGaJlE-nlVXEMTGoPImZAdBM93tSPs-w66m6lwJ7cgS2K1Sh1I944U9K_qTLl-sEE2P3xHXV1bEbb0lq1cpKfummLgfvHP2Y2mKGPqgH8zcoErknv0/s320/_IGP5380.JPG" width="214" /></a><br />
The girls made fruit loop necklaces and played a couple of ice-breaker games while they waited for sweet R. <br />
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When she got here, Reader R. was super surprised, and the girls rushed her with a big group hug!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZUMGOyliXNI0Df_BAndOyi9snnVpV5HHq8Z_TClnhKPrZUX7ldDdYPT3UKvxgouITeAPB0_q2zkUHMlT85YwKsEMM8zOf4v4OzoQYYnc3Fw9PRyaA36emZswQXIhQsAEwzgEZW8yaqk/s1600/_IGP5438.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZUMGOyliXNI0Df_BAndOyi9snnVpV5HHq8Z_TClnhKPrZUX7ldDdYPT3UKvxgouITeAPB0_q2zkUHMlT85YwKsEMM8zOf4v4OzoQYYnc3Fw9PRyaA36emZswQXIhQsAEwzgEZW8yaqk/s640/_IGP5438.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Next, we had a super-girly breakfast with pink and purple pancakes, cherry yogurt, and sausage. At the suggestion of this <a href="http://hisugarplum.blogspot.com/2011/04/pancake-pajama-party.html">great blog post from Cassie at Hi Sugarplum</a>, I put fun toppings (strawberries, blueberries, bananas, granola, chocolate chips, and whipped cream) on the table for the pancakes and yogurt. (Actually, I got a LOT of "my" ideas from Cassie!!! Thank you!) The girls also had fun cutting their pancakes into fun shapes with cookie cutters!<br />
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After breakfast, I painted the girls toenails. (I had asked permission from the parents ahead of time, which was a good thing, because one little girl said "My mom doesn't let me paint my toenails without adult supervision." I guess, I didn't count as an adult. ;^)) I kept the colors simple, pink, purple or blue, and then a second coat of "princess sparkles." It was so fun. the girls sat in a semi-circle around half of a dollar store plastic table cloth. It was a great way to keep the nail polish put. When we were done, I just wadded up the table cloth and tossed it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_utrN2Roe8b4Net5ce5kcOKANoS8scSJfvyzj6vFbYhFvqQKf40dS5DCucg9vc0uZrGieaNT54BUE6lR0NffdZiMTCFTTtrq1WPOsJd9lkw_5IX_9pduWF6aaLzmrzdjR1aZczU9HkC4/s1600/_IGP5403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_utrN2Roe8b4Net5ce5kcOKANoS8scSJfvyzj6vFbYhFvqQKf40dS5DCucg9vc0uZrGieaNT54BUE6lR0NffdZiMTCFTTtrq1WPOsJd9lkw_5IX_9pduWF6aaLzmrzdjR1aZczU9HkC4/s1600/_IGP5403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_utrN2Roe8b4Net5ce5kcOKANoS8scSJfvyzj6vFbYhFvqQKf40dS5DCucg9vc0uZrGieaNT54BUE6lR0NffdZiMTCFTTtrq1WPOsJd9lkw_5IX_9pduWF6aaLzmrzdjR1aZczU9HkC4/s320/_IGP5403.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xHPGKQ-BtYmmAcV8lb_7D5vaIZByYXxUcYWSxViJq9mDkXKZe6B__cFsRVFC5aOh_DtUr6BNWd_xdDh8I-oVcVlcu_jIQ6H0uk_dxT_fWIaZg5ug-B6rvT0je1q0ssFACfhcXmdRswY/s1600/_IGP5406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xHPGKQ-BtYmmAcV8lb_7D5vaIZByYXxUcYWSxViJq9mDkXKZe6B__cFsRVFC5aOh_DtUr6BNWd_xdDh8I-oVcVlcu_jIQ6H0uk_dxT_fWIaZg5ug-B6rvT0je1q0ssFACfhcXmdRswY/s320/_IGP5406.JPG" width="214" /></a><br />
Even her little sisters got in on all of the fun!<br />
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I kept the girls hands busy with a fun craft while I was painting their toes! We made these cute flip-flops! I used this tutorial to do all the prep work ahead of time. I also made a pair for myself and the two little sisters ahead of time, since I knew we would need a prototype and they wouldn't be able to get theirs done without my help and I would be painting toenails!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VGQNXW56CczniPLJmUNNCfPtEG2qRi6qnRT4bWYFdTW3gms2bmvSSEkPeto_5li5oSFnC7yTYmYkwVJJMAHetptbj4BqieV_yMXuGk5xZZ3BcTVpliAYJAWmSV0nZte_QZIYkLGM6eU/s1600/_IGP5409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VGQNXW56CczniPLJmUNNCfPtEG2qRi6qnRT4bWYFdTW3gms2bmvSSEkPeto_5li5oSFnC7yTYmYkwVJJMAHetptbj4BqieV_yMXuGk5xZZ3BcTVpliAYJAWmSV0nZte_QZIYkLGM6eU/s640/_IGP5409.JPG" width="640" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YqgK7Jh3T3O6vyX-OeyoWMPVqsD2Cr9uKPSyGI-7BP2M4DB6RjmTQOl4bw4OsLbg11CgdWFNuLzcTlk4WTuCHM_9LtBHZQv9YYrgESnh_WQIxpc74gCTuGQ3g-wBgHzOIE0yzE-6jZw/s1600/_IGP5336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4YqgK7Jh3T3O6vyX-OeyoWMPVqsD2Cr9uKPSyGI-7BP2M4DB6RjmTQOl4bw4OsLbg11CgdWFNuLzcTlk4WTuCHM_9LtBHZQv9YYrgESnh_WQIxpc74gCTuGQ3g-wBgHzOIE0yzE-6jZw/s320/_IGP5336.JPG" width="320" /></a>We opened gifts and then sang Happy Birthday! <br />
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Then, we enjoyed the cute cupcakes at the top of the post. My good cookie friend, <a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com/">Kim from the Cookie Puzzle</a>, lent me her fingernail polish cookie cutter and her recipe for glaze icing, which made these nail polish bottles shinny and extra fun! Thanks Kim!! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">(Please ignore the construction zone in the background... <br />my wonderful husband is painting my dining room!)</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMM9F_DvrVmGyYd8aB_Eo3FZawbRz2b0lUwMqRp_tgTUcMcE6yzKg8C-DYln1DuyktzZ2Ps6WkWmH0jRdBhfxSj9MaKE7Fb8vEbqxZzeKqHklkb0Nl0_63meRzLWLQ3O2K2QH_QuqLZq_0/s1600/duct-tape-label-water-bottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMM9F_DvrVmGyYd8aB_Eo3FZawbRz2b0lUwMqRp_tgTUcMcE6yzKg8C-DYln1DuyktzZ2Ps6WkWmH0jRdBhfxSj9MaKE7Fb8vEbqxZzeKqHklkb0Nl0_63meRzLWLQ3O2K2QH_QuqLZq_0/s200/duct-tape-label-water-bottle.jpg" width="133" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51LWml3E-IIIRNUo5P7lO2QhQgbj4Z3Ydb8COttmEzm6RpQ2SES5qL5_MpAtcVn0a2nnYnXQJWJaS6wfdAyQNtXQjpvKnb6mF76h4NIaeByyLe9n7SNs095p3HAvIAxiTZ7mTH11MDjY/s1600/_IGP5352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51LWml3E-IIIRNUo5P7lO2QhQgbj4Z3Ydb8COttmEzm6RpQ2SES5qL5_MpAtcVn0a2nnYnXQJWJaS6wfdAyQNtXQjpvKnb6mF76h4NIaeByyLe9n7SNs095p3HAvIAxiTZ7mTH11MDjY/s640/_IGP5352.JPG" width="640" /></a>The party favor bags included a bottle of water (wrapped in hot pink duct tape, <a href="http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/2012/06/kids-jitterbug-party.html">like this idea</a>, and then labeled with a fancy initial sticker; sorry, I forgot to take a picture), a package of pink bubble gum, and a set of party favor cookies with a pair of pjs (just like my daughter's favorites) and a bottle of nail polish. (I'll post more about the PJ cookies soon.) <br />
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I also threw in a kit to make a cute bracelet that I had picked up in a 10 pack at Hobby Lobby, that was my back up craft, but that we ran out of time to do at the party!<br />
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A special thanks to Poppie for taking Reader R on a special date night and sleep over, so we could decorate and really surprise her! Thanks to Aunt Dana for being my right-hand girl, helping out in every way on party day! Thanks to my Sweetheart for working so hard to help get the house ready and for capturing the big event for me! Thank you to Kim and my SweetBook Sisters for all of your encouragement! Thank you to Hi Sugarplum, Oh Sugar Events, Design Dazzle, and a thousand other hard-working moms on Pinterest for inspiration!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All pandemonium broke loose at pick up time when we momentarily lost control of the party! ;^)</td></tr>
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Cheers!!<br />
Sarah<br />
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P.S. - Come back tomorrow for all the details on the PJ cookies! Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-31886806522913131982012-09-11T13:42:00.000-05:002012-09-12T12:17:32.122-05:00Happy Birthday, Reader R!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week, we have celebrated the 8th birthday of a super-sweet little girl! I say, "this past week" because we, in fact, celebrated all week long!
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The "opening ceremonies" of birthday week were a special dinner with my Mom and Dad. My mom has an annual beach trip with her friends that usually overlaps with Reader R's birthday. It just gives us an extra reason to celebrate! So this year, R. wanted a chocolate chip cookie cake for her "Hammie" party. <br />
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Poor "cobbler's kid." I was in such a rush, I just slapped on some store-bought frosting and even forgot that she hasn't gone by "Becca" since she turned 4. Opps.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDQ5BSCSJwEreA1s7qJWrjGH9NBBR3D8Xl73CASucY0S0RGP5arCQdT_7LGJxDReaJrCaDAptCET11hW0ev-9oOAqzxuvfyfYLcfQhFqOeWVbYkxJ80kdqcMThuSyjfBReqpa1_KBvkQ/s1600/IMG_0934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDQ5BSCSJwEreA1s7qJWrjGH9NBBR3D8Xl73CASucY0S0RGP5arCQdT_7LGJxDReaJrCaDAptCET11hW0ev-9oOAqzxuvfyfYLcfQhFqOeWVbYkxJ80kdqcMThuSyjfBReqpa1_KBvkQ/s640/IMG_0934.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fun birthday hat is a Schalekamp Family tradition!</td></tr>
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Then, we had a <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/09/surprise-happy-birthday-reader-r-part-ii.html">BIG SURPRISE friends-party</a> for her, but that is another story...<br />
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<a href="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/560982_10151023436589070_1965491587_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/560982_10151023436589070_1965491587_n.jpg" width="149" /></a>The next day, we had our big family party. For that party, she wanted "A rectangle fun-fetti cake with flowers on it." It honestly threw me off a little. At my house growing up, rectangle cakes were what you took to a pot-luck at church. Birthday cakes were CIRCLES or maybe HEARTS. On cake stands. <br />
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Terrified of the "Wilton Rose," I made several suggestions of other cake designs. I really wanted to make her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151023436589070&set=a.428247624069.225172.519209069&type=1&theater" target="_blank">this cake made my friends Tammy and Clarissa</a>, which I had had my eye on for some time... However, she was really adamant that she wanted "a rectangle cake with roses." So, I did my best to fulfill her wish. <br />
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(Deep down, I think she was REALLY trying to make it "easy" for me. Since 99% of bakery cakes are rectangles with roses, she probably thought that would be simple to do. Either that or she REALLY just wanted me to break down and buy a cake from the COSTCO!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcPzOt6ls6yBzG6qtJJtOMxutVFR_2wyk9V16S3F00UoRVJMmW_3XTolqntpbVH0GRMNZBVuWPdqySAlc1-5J609tfDCN6zM2lIrQMkLoxfq1_fX-z1Mdyne9yRaffvh7dGcwGCeOQDs/s1600/_IGP5441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAcPzOt6ls6yBzG6qtJJtOMxutVFR_2wyk9V16S3F00UoRVJMmW_3XTolqntpbVH0GRMNZBVuWPdqySAlc1-5J609tfDCN6zM2lIrQMkLoxfq1_fX-z1Mdyne9yRaffvh7dGcwGCeOQDs/s640/_IGP5441.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Procrastinating until the last possible moment and not having quite the right supplies... after watching several You-Tube videos, I improvised (using a upside-down bathroom-sized dixie cup instead of a rose nail and a 103 tip instead of a 104 for those who care...), and was pretty pleased with the results. The only thing couldn't figure out was how to actually transfer the roses to the cake without smooshing them. I reached out to some of my cookie friends and they saved the day! <br />
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Finally, for her party at school she wanted "Gooey butter cake." That one was a little hard for me to swallow too. For someone that makes a living baking cookies... I was a little sad that she didn't want cookies for any of her MULTIPLE parties. In the end it was a pride issue. How can the "cookie lady" show up to school with Gooey Butter Cake for her OWN daughter's birthday. However, once I got over that, I was pretty thrilled, because Gooey Butter Cake is like the easiest treat ever! But that is another story... I did, however, forget to take a photo, so that will have to wait too.<br />
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Happy Birthday Reader R!<br />
Cheers!<br />
Sarah<br />
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BTW, Reader R. LOVED the cake, and now, sister K wants "a rectangle cake with roses" for her birthday, too.<br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-86833248565216288412012-08-31T13:07:00.000-05:002013-01-27T07:08:44.107-06:00Yippee! I Won! <div>
Well, it was more of providence at work than any sort of actual talent... OK, it was ALL providence and NO talent... BUT, I am still SUPER EXCITED that I WON! Yesterday, I got this package in the mail... from my cookie friend, Anita, over at <a href="http://www.sweethopecookies.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Hope Cookies</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKOo8X7olXDQe6AG8V9BXFlspTlNxyNzEmf2Jzqs7pePmkvhd9kcNd5T6HX7Lk1V0qg8SYpZYe9kZTj209u_FAf0h6aZM2q33pCwQW5YiGukJ4uDra38ALt3PafM1xgTghp1-uDZfJIc/s1600/IMG_0898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKOo8X7olXDQe6AG8V9BXFlspTlNxyNzEmf2Jzqs7pePmkvhd9kcNd5T6HX7Lk1V0qg8SYpZYe9kZTj209u_FAf0h6aZM2q33pCwQW5YiGukJ4uDra38ALt3PafM1xgTghp1-uDZfJIc/s640/IMG_0898.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUMHyhyphenhyphenMogmvumRhyphenhyphen_9T7TV3dANznHylM2UOnCc8GUzhMsy2w9G6eXYF-oXPTaMt-1TZi-Wvj-TRg_KzPD0zFaJ8u67WTBMih0eVO1h6R11uqoTFJpxPZXNJCBz69nIUzyudu5mE73rI/s1600/IMG_0915.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUMHyhyphenhyphenMogmvumRhyphenhyphen_9T7TV3dANznHylM2UOnCc8GUzhMsy2w9G6eXYF-oXPTaMt-1TZi-Wvj-TRg_KzPD0zFaJ8u67WTBMih0eVO1h6R11uqoTFJpxPZXNJCBz69nIUzyudu5mE73rI/s200/IMG_0915.JPG" width="148" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5puBNA522_UU8TL9bX-7AKbLo5l3nnL0K6KSCZUDvGbFTmoWROHLIZDd8FuG_j4sKhB_N9pbLNBOoeOs8VXsdBVpRcp6i_XhboYRUzQGRn5bIU98t3fVRWTec9XDuNBw9wg__YHnFNTY/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5puBNA522_UU8TL9bX-7AKbLo5l3nnL0K6KSCZUDvGbFTmoWROHLIZDd8FuG_j4sKhB_N9pbLNBOoeOs8VXsdBVpRcp6i_XhboYRUzQGRn5bIU98t3fVRWTec9XDuNBw9wg__YHnFNTY/s640/IMG_0901.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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You see, there are these cute critter cookie cutters that are <i>all the rage </i>in the cookie world right now. When I entered Anita's contest, I really HOPED that I would win, and now, <i>I have my very own set!!! </i><br />
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The Froggie is my very favorite! And, if you think the cutters and the critters are cute, you should see <a href="http://www.sweethopecookies.com/cute-critter-cookie-cutters/" target="_blank">the cookies Anita made to match them</a>! She is AMAZING!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5puBNA522_UU8TL9bX-7AKbLo5l3nnL0K6KSCZUDvGbFTmoWROHLIZDd8FuG_j4sKhB_N9pbLNBOoeOs8VXsdBVpRcp6i_XhboYRUzQGRn5bIU98t3fVRWTec9XDuNBw9wg__YHnFNTY/s1600/IMG_0901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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The long and the short of it is, the odds were good. And, well, my name got chosen out of the mixer!
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<img height="556" src="http://www.sweethopecookies.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IMG_4039-1024x893.jpg" width="640" />
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So, why is this providentially super cool? Because, Anita has a passion for <b><a href="http://www.alsa.org/" target="_blank">ALS Awareness</a></b>. She lost her "handsome, loving, funny, and brilliant brother" named Randy to the disease. Anita now bakes all of her cookies to raise funds to help fight this debilitating disease. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCSHJIQz9aHJmLmQlgghEUJJs06OqHL2VYr21lxPzitYuALRFELCwdNhkgSyI8ShVZXCaVGmAR8MjX4Abd6CCprh0VtF4BO4-w68R0tu7QgHnoGW5oH0HLsYfCh6g5c2AdpJbjn3x3VE/s1600/MITO-1-Ribbon_IGP5106-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCSHJIQz9aHJmLmQlgghEUJJs06OqHL2VYr21lxPzitYuALRFELCwdNhkgSyI8ShVZXCaVGmAR8MjX4Abd6CCprh0VtF4BO4-w68R0tu7QgHnoGW5oH0HLsYfCh6g5c2AdpJbjn3x3VE/s400/MITO-1-Ribbon_IGP5106-logo.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UMDF Awareness Ribbon<br /><i>HOPE. ENERGY. LIFE.</i></td></tr>
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And, as many of you know, I have been working for the last week or so, on cookies for Mitochondrial Disease Awareness. Well, I also learned this week that <b>ALS and Mitochondrial Disease are linked</b> (along with Alzheimer's Dementia, Parkinson's disease, Huntington Disease, mental retardation, deafness and blindness, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and stroke, and there is increasing interest in the possibility that mitochondrial dysfunction might play a role in the etiology of autism.). <i> "Over 50 million people in the US suffer from these chronic degenerative disorders. While it cannot yet be said that mitochondrial defects cause these problems, it is clear that mitochondria are involved because their function is measurably disturbed." </i><a href="http://www.umdf.org/site/pp.aspx?c=8qKOJ0MvF7LUG&b=7934637">UMDF.org</a><br />
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The exciting piece is...<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #58595b; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.383333206176758px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 23.383333206176758px;"><i>"It is clear that research into mitochondrial disease offers <b>hope </b>to the millions who are afflicted with these other common conditions and diseases."</i> <a href="http://www.umdf.org/site/pp.aspx?c=8qKOJ0MvF7LUG&b=7934637">UMDF.org</a> (emphasis added)</span><br />
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<b>So supporting UMDF offers HOPE to millions... and not just the individuals personally afflicted by the diseases, but those that love them, that care for them, and that keep working for a CURE.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAq_J_gi_P3sc1QpxLDszJvRXK76SRZaWCb29t0yaeIdksQjDB8afxqUjnMCY4eefmbcRjwQPA6oq5xNc_DBWHO7P27jP8yNy1Z2ZJooJmws0b0CzqePgd8jGI_aENY2DGIwLyyMX4o0/s1600/MITO-3-Ribbon_IGP5106-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheAq_J_gi_P3sc1QpxLDszJvRXK76SRZaWCb29t0yaeIdksQjDB8afxqUjnMCY4eefmbcRjwQPA6oq5xNc_DBWHO7P27jP8yNy1Z2ZJooJmws0b0CzqePgd8jGI_aENY2DGIwLyyMX4o0/s640/MITO-3-Ribbon_IGP5106-logo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, in closing I offer you this striking thought... <br />
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The last few days, I have found myself checking the mail box a couple of times a day with the <b>HOPE </b>that my box from Anita would arrive. Curious K had <b>HOPE </b>that she would get to keep the froggie critter. (See P.S. below.) <b>But there are MILLIONS of people and caregivers and friends, who HOPE every minute of every day for a CURE.</b><br />
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If you would like to learn more about Mitochondrial Disease, please visit <a href="http://umdf.org/">UMDF.org</a>.<br />
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If you would like to read about my sweet friend Tricia, who has Mitochondrial Disease, please see my <a href="http://www.sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/08/cookies-for-cause-mitochondrial-disease.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>, and make sure that you take a minute to watch the <a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=10ad6e2db789603a8b35a99&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">amazing video</a> that she put together.<br />
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If you would like to support the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, please consider pledging to support <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&supId=365550776" target="_blank">Team Tricia for the Energy For Life Walk-a-thon</a>. Any pledge of support, would be greatly appreciated. <br />
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Thank You,<br />
Sarah<br />
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<i>P.S. - As as special, <b>added bonus feature</b>... you get a funny story, and a picture of my three beautiful daughters! (I know, just exactly what you were <b>HOPING </b>for..)</i><br />
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So, when I got the cookie cutters, shown above in the mail from Anita, I was so excited that I snapped a pic. Of course the Frog was my favorite. Then, I went about my work. When I walked by the cookie cutters about 30 minutes later, they looked like this....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB8p-vCmwIwvFJsZ9Mz3Ab6TJDSMECqnjMLjrJRcdI5L5DIFFaw90rPHNbhc9skRjqm0cNgWx2GUhx7nV0pbA-wvS7X5upzIDn-uPNa08tk1lOqREkynShaKysCvq_qf6V8FGxPL0JBA/s1600/IMG_0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB8p-vCmwIwvFJsZ9Mz3Ab6TJDSMECqnjMLjrJRcdI5L5DIFFaw90rPHNbhc9skRjqm0cNgWx2GUhx7nV0pbA-wvS7X5upzIDn-uPNa08tk1lOqREkynShaKysCvq_qf6V8FGxPL0JBA/s640/IMG_0913.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTAtaDLia45pUqbkQ21QVbJHhNtMVx4lh5Z4xsDie-Q7AhyzDIaL0yXFXKnbwonRFA1pvIPdZ_wUccg5-7hp0fPk2EOK1itw7-se1V_5IrfT5h2Z3th2QmS3QZxTdH_6tO-BUix4TZEU/s1600/IMG_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTAtaDLia45pUqbkQ21QVbJHhNtMVx4lh5Z4xsDie-Q7AhyzDIaL0yXFXKnbwonRFA1pvIPdZ_wUccg5-7hp0fPk2EOK1itw7-se1V_5IrfT5h2Z3th2QmS3QZxTdH_6tO-BUix4TZEU/s320/IMG_0906.JPG" width="239" /></a>It was during "quiet time" so my girls were supposed to be in bed... However, when I questioned Curious K. about it, this was the look that I got. (Notice, the hands behind her back.)<br />
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After she backed down the hall to her bedroom, we had a pretty serious talk about taking thing that don't belong to you...<br />
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Fortunately, I am a forgiving Momma, ("because Jesus always forgives me"), and when it was all said and done, I still let her and her sisters split up the cute little critters. (I still, however, kept the cookie cutters and my Froggie! ;^) At least until she has learned her lesson, then, I might just give it to her... ;^)<br />
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The girls played happily with them for an hour before dinner and the older two went to bed with their critters in hand tonight. ;^)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFYuJdDy287NXTzg4gwYTR2M-rVlQhJhmuADSmOg3noafHHhLcfh31BIrjiEhl1vYBr495_2SuMr9XpiDStuljK6nmzCb2EH_SLnk3H2H2fxkRksxsyloSWHm6BL4vwFcQifb2drtTao/s1600/IMG_0917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGFYuJdDy287NXTzg4gwYTR2M-rVlQhJhmuADSmOg3noafHHhLcfh31BIrjiEhl1vYBr495_2SuMr9XpiDStuljK6nmzCb2EH_SLnk3H2H2fxkRksxsyloSWHm6BL4vwFcQifb2drtTao/s640/IMG_0917.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Thank you Mrs. Anita!"</span></b></td></tr>
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Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-1679653826973488872012-08-28T18:53:00.002-05:002012-09-16T22:55:28.571-05:00Cookies for a Cause - Mitochondrial Disease<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Every 30 minutes, a child will be born who will develop mitochondrial disease by the age of 10. </b></i></div>
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<i>Mitochondrial disease occurs when there is a defect in the body’s ‘powerhouses’. The mitochondria fail to produce enough energy. That results in organ systems failing. Imagine a major city with half of its power plants shut down. The same thing happens in the affected person’s body. The brain may be impaired. They may lose vision or hearing. The heart may be weakened, and they may have eating and digestive issues. The symptoms range from mild to severe for each affected person. <b>(<a href="http://umdf.org/">UMDF.org</a>)</b></i><br />
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<b>Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week</b> is September 16-23. Between now and then I will be sharing information about Mitochondrial Disease. <i>Please take a few minutes to read it...</i> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCxRHcPgzmJ0wMk-m4QGnfEjBpI1w_BnSO2qWlF9GQVL1juQFvEE9gk7Pb4JN0PAr2xnL6VDUDQVxHgT810meFaZia5FkzUSt2Uv1Ns94mTWp4R0p60S3NLyYjyDhpvG0LcNCDA6a9dM/s1600/IMG_0892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWCxRHcPgzmJ0wMk-m4QGnfEjBpI1w_BnSO2qWlF9GQVL1juQFvEE9gk7Pb4JN0PAr2xnL6VDUDQVxHgT810meFaZia5FkzUSt2Uv1Ns94mTWp4R0p60S3NLyYjyDhpvG0LcNCDA6a9dM/s640/IMG_0892.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So far, my cookies have raised more than $100 for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation! <i><b>Thank you!</b></i></td></tr>
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This past week, I baked cookies to raise money support the <a href="http://umdf.org/">United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation</a>, but I really baked cookies to show my love for an amazing young lady, named Tricia, and her mother, Wendy.</div>
Over the next few posts, I will be sharing her story, telling you about Mitochondrial Disease, giving you an opportunity to help, and maybe even sneaking in a give-away! ;^) Oh yeah, and talking about <b><i>cookies </i></b>too!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgan-Xr3nPRc9Fa2wBkM7locF10llhRutqrXaNN9L6qrmSlqC9-24R81dQK0rCmheWOactj_gMKHlojRP6W-BF9fRWBJ_t7-dfgn3HVc-4hd3u94SXouzP884ZI9vtZWCMXQfJcpN2IKws/s1600/MITO-PLATTER_IGP5146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgan-Xr3nPRc9Fa2wBkM7locF10llhRutqrXaNN9L6qrmSlqC9-24R81dQK0rCmheWOactj_gMKHlojRP6W-BF9fRWBJ_t7-dfgn3HVc-4hd3u94SXouzP884ZI9vtZWCMXQfJcpN2IKws/s640/MITO-PLATTER_IGP5146.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I will be featuring each of these cookies and a few fun extras over the next few weeks on my blog.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgMrI2ikC_kBuESSN7KHunHJkGnuda_Idt3lwPdtBV_cPs1LPsYg3XSMbsvlZLooMOhM7WRgJoeruegZx7EWvXYzNXWHaUhJuATlHT-fEvzlMX3ExgCWW66lt1Spc7Ze_a0vXXnoMyEk/s1600/IMG_0804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgMrI2ikC_kBuESSN7KHunHJkGnuda_Idt3lwPdtBV_cPs1LPsYg3XSMbsvlZLooMOhM7WRgJoeruegZx7EWvXYzNXWHaUhJuATlHT-fEvzlMX3ExgCWW66lt1Spc7Ze_a0vXXnoMyEk/s320/IMG_0804.JPG" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tricia and her younger brother Andrew<br />
with my oldest two, Reader R and Curious K, <br />
after a performance of the Wizard of OZ.</td></tr>
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My friend Tricia is a freshman in high school, and she has Mitochondrial Disease. If you don't read any of my other posts, please take a few minutes to <a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=10ad6e2db789603a8b35a99&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=email" target="_blank">watch this video that she made about her journey</a>. <br />
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Tricia looks like a happy, healthy teenager. Yet, she suffers from autonomic neuropathy, chronic nerve pain, chronic fatigue, breathing difficulties, delayed gastric emptying, GI motility issues, acid reflux, hypercalciuria, visual impairments, and kidney stones, and oh yeah, and she hasn't eaten by mouth in years. <br />
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Please consider helping to support the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation by <a href="http://www.energyforlifewalk.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1028009&supId=365550776" target="_blank">sponsoring me for the upcoming "Energy for Life" Walk-a-thon</a>. Every gift helps. <br />
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Thank you!<br />
Sarah <br />
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<img alt="United Mitochodrial Disease Foundation" height="125" src="http://www.umdf.org/atf/cf/%7B8d4a231c-12fb-4a21-9a85-93c7bd0c5a5a%7D/UMDFLogo.jpg" width="640" /><a href="http://www.umdf.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">www.umdf.org</span></a></div>
<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-24895642553213951352012-08-02T14:31:00.002-05:002012-08-02T15:14:58.180-05:00Congratulations Graduates!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
This spring, I had the privilege to bake cookies for a couple of different graduation celebrations...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ39z7vOq-5xixAODtzBDgD2XG97EvhtB4WNA8RgL4P62KW-iVXqt37lVeICfXfd4ZvKtaMk7vrCmIvn248p3vSACbxWrFYwfh8dVaGR-LhjPXfCjyD3o5ZDikRDCtts_D5ooub6OKp6s/s1600/_IGP4641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ39z7vOq-5xixAODtzBDgD2XG97EvhtB4WNA8RgL4P62KW-iVXqt37lVeICfXfd4ZvKtaMk7vrCmIvn248p3vSACbxWrFYwfh8dVaGR-LhjPXfCjyD3o5ZDikRDCtts_D5ooub6OKp6s/s640/_IGP4641.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6e07aU9asNU4l70JifHfW7DUNyBDuseSkYhnwVxWwUcjEb-0AsGPMGc587RxUpG_s54VrRGyN0DXpUQ_YckelC5WYu04EDEITIruZuAlS-kHlDNAOrBinAZ8djfh7C3fv1q84PeMbos/s1600/_IGP4638.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV6e07aU9asNU4l70JifHfW7DUNyBDuseSkYhnwVxWwUcjEb-0AsGPMGc587RxUpG_s54VrRGyN0DXpUQ_YckelC5WYu04EDEITIruZuAlS-kHlDNAOrBinAZ8djfh7C3fv1q84PeMbos/s400/_IGP4638.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The first was a gift basket for a young lady who is heading to K-State this fall.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFb9wtEhA2V3KlnKNLZeoeyZqdEvibb200NIQBYdoQe7BPurK1cQTE-5JJs9447BSxurBPdsPd3QnPqv2B60ysuoYLlT7Zq530QosEJL-9lvNRWgdwawkgZy6xm8LCWegfPyvyFbnUOOQ/s1600/_IGP4639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFb9wtEhA2V3KlnKNLZeoeyZqdEvibb200NIQBYdoQe7BPurK1cQTE-5JJs9447BSxurBPdsPd3QnPqv2B60ysuoYLlT7Zq530QosEJL-9lvNRWgdwawkgZy6xm8LCWegfPyvyFbnUOOQ/s200/_IGP4639.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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The second were party cookies for a young lady who will be headed to the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill and will be playing for their tennis team! </div>
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Until recently, my graduation philosophy is simple - AVOID the BLACK mortarboard at all costs! In fact, when I made these cookies for my best friend to celebrate her time in college, I told her to just toss the all black mortarboard because the food coloring needed to saturate the royal icing makes it taste so terrible and colors your mouth for hours.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DUNBic-P3I6YBmuMQ00hbr5aJCcKkLQik4PrjCQsv5B58HH2aFOhuSOTx-7m_xzSCTb1_OiSDBSfibo7kyBMmK7s3kOYfH4BiLPfVM67PaAl7ewomwHf_56wXXdOPO6C5lFZ8umL0yE/s1600/_IGP3748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0DUNBic-P3I6YBmuMQ00hbr5aJCcKkLQik4PrjCQsv5B58HH2aFOhuSOTx-7m_xzSCTb1_OiSDBSfibo7kyBMmK7s3kOYfH4BiLPfVM67PaAl7ewomwHf_56wXXdOPO6C5lFZ8umL0yE/s640/_IGP3748.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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HOWEVER, since I have discovered the beauty of glaze... I now know that there is a yummy alternative. For some reason, it only takes a drop of food coloring to blacken glaze, and as a result, it doesn't have any impact on the flavor of the icing! ;^) So, now, the mortarboard is back into the cookie rotation! And it looks so rich and shinny too! </div>
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Congratulations ladies!</div>
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Cheers and Best Wishes!</div>
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Sarah</div>
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-85641395550800195212012-07-28T07:43:00.001-05:002012-07-28T07:44:35.498-05:00For Some Awesome Teachers...This past year, my middle daughter, Curious K. was in the Eager Elephant class at Awesome Kids Preschool. For teacher appreciation day, we created these cookies to thank her teachers and the school director! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZPBl6XYSJstYbWpWAAhCW3faDsEgTddpO8rmLaBc_8PUY6p9iIc0_QATm20kn_qY-8cl2oTqSOqc7B9jTGJykRn_vgqeXDiaEm2b6gpgWkocHaYznvvqD0GUfgRXK0vYDDsyc58Ozvc/s1600/_IGP4647.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJZPBl6XYSJstYbWpWAAhCW3faDsEgTddpO8rmLaBc_8PUY6p9iIc0_QATm20kn_qY-8cl2oTqSOqc7B9jTGJykRn_vgqeXDiaEm2b6gpgWkocHaYznvvqD0GUfgRXK0vYDDsyc58Ozvc/s640/_IGP4647.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLL_huooDD_prs6kyrHWtb_siSTnGoyd7aDQTjGH_xswQvZkxj6HiPi-y3So71hd3uEqatRkrF-zZNU632Mt4Kr0IGLn34o83u9qOej2crlYWbZaClyzv69szbLKcaSDRmrzCbFk_hOEY/s1600/_IGP4646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLL_huooDD_prs6kyrHWtb_siSTnGoyd7aDQTjGH_xswQvZkxj6HiPi-y3So71hd3uEqatRkrF-zZNU632Mt4Kr0IGLn34o83u9qOej2crlYWbZaClyzv69szbLKcaSDRmrzCbFk_hOEY/s320/_IGP4646.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For Mrs. Traynor, the school's Director.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHbVprq8RsnOl-TFhfxg-B8V5WbHaQHIenY7bQUfRNVdWzVeK-wEjPLU8lZoB34Wrr-djup4PYz-jHyTo52t4Niay5e7hCWDn96a_kFbGkR4Hj1pmMoInXSNQ6QOG_DIH3gjZBlKR2yY/s1600/_IGP4643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHbVprq8RsnOl-TFhfxg-B8V5WbHaQHIenY7bQUfRNVdWzVeK-wEjPLU8lZoB34Wrr-djup4PYz-jHyTo52t4Niay5e7hCWDn96a_kFbGkR4Hj1pmMoInXSNQ6QOG_DIH3gjZBlKR2yY/s320/_IGP4643.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Curious K. loved being an Eager Elephant!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsurxc3l7e7_FcHvTvnAiTMfn1oFPEPw1SUe3oQ8RFP6G-kmiv0Ni3B3K_52f555PqZbi5kA5b_xojOIv_4c_BFXeiX3VOl-UEWMyaYh8bKSkepsu1fJ9Gb9sNwXPS7V2cSzI6WTKNHQU/s1600/_IGP4648.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsurxc3l7e7_FcHvTvnAiTMfn1oFPEPw1SUe3oQ8RFP6G-kmiv0Ni3B3K_52f555PqZbi5kA5b_xojOIv_4c_BFXeiX3VOl-UEWMyaYh8bKSkepsu1fJ9Gb9sNwXPS7V2cSzI6WTKNHQU/s320/_IGP4648.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hearts and "Thank You" Signs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XAbGCFyvVwlZn5w5ElQ-I7cp0Ttwo52JQHscqf0hJse14pzHkBhjj9jXSuEPcfJcfyqGtQn-XRE-vKK49gxV8jBKNubyhCiwyS_hhu2YzJUQ_Tf3apumIf-UafKoI5UrU6XrXVqrXfw/s1600/_IGP4652.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_XAbGCFyvVwlZn5w5ElQ-I7cp0Ttwo52JQHscqf0hJse14pzHkBhjj9jXSuEPcfJcfyqGtQn-XRE-vKK49gxV8jBKNubyhCiwyS_hhu2YzJUQ_Tf3apumIf-UafKoI5UrU6XrXVqrXfw/s640/_IGP4652.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Awesome Kids Preschool logo cookie with a teacher cookie and a Curious K. cookie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3csGleeHzw-SumrzSB0IHY8TqYdVwTSPHAlMicopEMHWFSqMZ0kntPkm-5jfEHo994ITEKobqDEBhIxI7owIsUISgKeOD5qN9jLAX_hqEK0UvXtHeAQb1LXq0bKPAu6lb3AE7KCNFK1A/s1600/IMG_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3csGleeHzw-SumrzSB0IHY8TqYdVwTSPHAlMicopEMHWFSqMZ0kntPkm-5jfEHo994ITEKobqDEBhIxI7owIsUISgKeOD5qN9jLAX_hqEK0UvXtHeAQb1LXq0bKPAu6lb3AE7KCNFK1A/s640/IMG_0270.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curious K with her "Awesome" teachers - Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Lester</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtz6re8mDVaVFZkE_Bp_WpftCC_6Lo7NNOyrhU3bB_BoGRdU6gGrQ8ahgacVL_m6NRbMUp3XQrC_S7endU_LkkDJVt4VQPxl2KG7e3iwkWKpJKD0KNAqC0J0EJD0YI7MNO-7kwVJjKZg/s1600/glaze+Rebecca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtz6re8mDVaVFZkE_Bp_WpftCC_6Lo7NNOyrhU3bB_BoGRdU6gGrQ8ahgacVL_m6NRbMUp3XQrC_S7endU_LkkDJVt4VQPxl2KG7e3iwkWKpJKD0KNAqC0J0EJD0YI7MNO-7kwVJjKZg/s320/glaze+Rebecca.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
These cookies were totally inspired by Tara at<a href="http://theshakybaker.com/" target="_blank">The Shaky Baker</a>and some <a href="http://theshakybaker.com/2012/02/09/its-all-about-the-children/#comment-345" target="_blank">wonderful cookies she made for her daughter's school auction!</a><br />
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Did you see the cookies that I made for my oldest daughter, <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/07/an-apple-for-teacher.html" target="_blank">Reader R's teacher appreciation day</a>? <br />
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Have a great day!<br />
Cheers!<br />
SarahHappy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-18899621887158323972012-07-28T07:00:00.000-05:002012-07-28T07:45:23.083-05:00An Apple for the Teacher???No, way! You're talking to the Cookie Lady after all!<br />
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At our school, we do it up BIG for Teacher Appreciation Week (in May. Yes, I am a little behind.) This year, we sent our teachers on an imaginary cruise, with activities planned for each day. We had "Bon Voyage" posters, a special lunch with the captain (the principal), a spa day, a day on shore, and a Mexican fiesta. It was a big hit. <br />
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For teacher appreciation week, I made my <b><u>favorite cookie EVER!!! </u></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtz6re8mDVaVFZkE_Bp_WpftCC_6Lo7NNOyrhU3bB_BoGRdU6gGrQ8ahgacVL_m6NRbMUp3XQrC_S7endU_LkkDJVt4VQPxl2KG7e3iwkWKpJKD0KNAqC0J0EJD0YI7MNO-7kwVJjKZg/s1600/glaze+Rebecca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="465" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKtz6re8mDVaVFZkE_Bp_WpftCC_6Lo7NNOyrhU3bB_BoGRdU6gGrQ8ahgacVL_m6NRbMUp3XQrC_S7endU_LkkDJVt4VQPxl2KG7e3iwkWKpJKD0KNAqC0J0EJD0YI7MNO-7kwVJjKZg/s640/glaze+Rebecca.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<b>This is the Reader R. cookie! </b></div>
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(It was totally inspired by Tara at<a href="http://theshakybaker.com/" target="_blank"> the Shaky Baker </a>and some <a href="http://theshakybaker.com/2012/02/09/its-all-about-the-children/#comment-345" target="_blank">wonderful cookies she made for her daughter's school auction!</a>)<br />
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Reader R. LOVED her 1st Grade teacher Mrs. Cox. I had heard other parents say that Mrs. Cox has an amazing gift at making your child feel like the most important student in the school... but that she does that for every current and past student at the same time. Well, it is true! ;^)<br />
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So, when Reader R. heard that we were sending Mrs. Cox on a cruise, the first thing she wanted to know was if she could go with her! So that is what we cookie-d...a mini Reader R. and everything else you need for a cruise, a sun hat, sun glasses, a pair of flip-flops, etc. and put them in a big pink sun hat.
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We also made cookie packages for the principal and the specials teachers with just hearts and shades and a note about how they are "So cool they have to wear shades!"<br />
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These were some of my first glaze cookies! Thanks to Shari Felich for the recipe, <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">and thanks to some encouragement from Cristin at </span><a href="http://www.cristinscookies.com/" style="color: #4d469c; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Cristin's Cookies</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> and this </span><a href="http://artymcgoo.blogspot.com/2012/03/mixing-it-up-episode-1.html" style="color: #4d469c; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">WONDERFUL tutorial on glaze with Cristin and Arty MaGoo</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">, I gave it a whirl! I am so glad that I did! Now I don't have to be afraid of dark colors any more! (Which is especially important since our school colors are maroon, black, and grey! Go Chargers!)</span><br />
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For my preschooler, Curious K, we personalized her <a href="http://sarahssweetshoppesugarcookies.blogspot.com/2012/07/for-some-awesome-teachers.html" target="_blank">teacher appreciation cookies</a> too, but we'll include those in another post...<br />
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Cheers!<br />
Sarah<br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-59463561945820522962012-07-27T11:06:00.000-05:002012-07-27T14:33:19.684-05:00Couture Cookie Collection for Glam GalsEarlier this Spring, I was challenged by a cookie customer to bake some "Couture Cookies" for her high-fashion friends as party favors for a shopping/beach trip. <br />
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As my normal uniform is a pair of jeans and an old sorority t-shirt, this was a both a cultural and cookie stretch for me! ;^) <br />
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Thanks to my good friend Google and some AMAZING cookie artists out there, this is what I came up with for her! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9RZh-We-LpIGJvQGI3h_HrB4dQkx6CnC3lcTmPFxWEX3WY1uSb7LUNcuNj_rVDr5wHSBmMDkCVwptWhqt9VubvMOwvELuBqMfA9LSwLBaydIdgpqThTRxdFe8T2B24u6pf_ytTNc1bs/s1600/_IGP4604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9RZh-We-LpIGJvQGI3h_HrB4dQkx6CnC3lcTmPFxWEX3WY1uSb7LUNcuNj_rVDr5wHSBmMDkCVwptWhqt9VubvMOwvELuBqMfA9LSwLBaydIdgpqThTRxdFe8T2B24u6pf_ytTNc1bs/s640/_IGP4604.JPG" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All packed up and ready to go to the beach!</td></tr>
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The full extent of my "Couture" knowledge was summed up in this Christian Louboutin shoe cookie. Way back in my brain, I had stored an article from the Wall Street Journal about <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203718504577181360914355808.html" target="_blank">trademarking the color red</a>. </div>
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I also have a relative, my husband's father's cousin's daughter, Whitney, who lives in California, who had these fancy shoes for her AMAZING wedding... that you can read all about on this <a href="http://everylastdetailblog.com/2011/09/21/modern-elegant-pink-black-california-wedding/" target="_blank">Every Last Detail post</a>. (She probably knows someone famous, since she and I are only four degrees of separation apart!) <img alt="Modern Elegant Pink & Black California Wedding " height="427" src="http://everylastdetailblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Pink-and-black-California-wedding-2.jpg" width="640" /></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">But they were to beautiful to try to cookie, so enough about shoes, and more about cookies...</span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7v_hlsQRNClU2egwFALGyoKaVK8CB3uaDgeL_PEHj2XOP2L64pQYVaKf90csoREoKEkDB8sGH6c4FRdImbZkGKmOWip1BwPBsufvbLbHZPEt7mQp6RSM7pqxK5qkRve8MwEWoQUzjfC8/s1600/_IGP4583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7v_hlsQRNClU2egwFALGyoKaVK8CB3uaDgeL_PEHj2XOP2L64pQYVaKf90csoREoKEkDB8sGH6c4FRdImbZkGKmOWip1BwPBsufvbLbHZPEt7mQp6RSM7pqxK5qkRve8MwEWoQUzjfC8/s640/_IGP4583.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxDtwifXs_0VIvuryuXDW4bc6iCCdfom52ZnmixBVX7gryUnTIPYKKo7uD_9k6ivatPefI5fGgLev0IbxraQqj3zTttqNtFwi2hYzB5Jf_0MqyqVodI_kDCG8BvtS9HwNkTYrmCiOrL4/s1600/_IGP4591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmxDtwifXs_0VIvuryuXDW4bc6iCCdfom52ZnmixBVX7gryUnTIPYKKo7uD_9k6ivatPefI5fGgLev0IbxraQqj3zTttqNtFwi2hYzB5Jf_0MqyqVodI_kDCG8BvtS9HwNkTYrmCiOrL4/s320/_IGP4591.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
These Chanel logo cookies were copied from <a href="http://ohsugareventplanning.blogspot.com/2012/03/chanel-cookies.html" target="_blank">Oh, Sugar!</a> Her amazing Chanel party should not be missed! She was also smart enough to use royal icing transfers, but I kept breaking mine and just ended up using push pins to mark the ends and the joints of each C and then drawing each one. (This trick would also work for your Olympic Rings!) You do have to get it right the first time though, because you CANNOT scrape the black off the white quilting.<br />
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I also learned the quilting from two very helpful tutorials:<br />
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<li><a href="http://hanielas.blogspot.com/2012/02/quilted-cookie-tutorial.html" target="_blank">Quilted Cookie Tutorial </a> from Haniela's</li>
<li><a href="http://www.celebrations.com/content/diy-quilted-cookies" target="_blank">Quilted Cookie Tutorial </a> from Amber at Sweet Ambs as a guest post on celebrations.com</li>
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Since I was covering with white, I didn't draw lines on my cookies. Instead, I traced the circle on a piece of cardstock and marked my lines with a ruler that extended past the edge of the cookie. That way, when I was icing, I could visually line up the diagonals to keep my lines straight.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyAiyTC3n-gh0PYl1y-OA63umKCmJ76TiigSSl2XpnB7m34mMgFjhI7W1v_HvAPyujWrC-2JLI-x24ilo9OIC2QY8jLmubMEafmhYjLUxQrYQpeG-bqPHnzN6HFDwgWROAi92_cDkW-U/s1600/_IGP4585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOyAiyTC3n-gh0PYl1y-OA63umKCmJ76TiigSSl2XpnB7m34mMgFjhI7W1v_HvAPyujWrC-2JLI-x24ilo9OIC2QY8jLmubMEafmhYjLUxQrYQpeG-bqPHnzN6HFDwgWROAi92_cDkW-U/s320/_IGP4585.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Louis Vuitton cookies were inspired by this amazing cookie artist: <a href="http://de.dawanda.com/shop/Kavadolce" target="_blank">Kava Dolce</a>, which I found on the <a href="http://theartofthecookie.com/louis-vuitton-cookies/" target="_blank">Art of Cookie</a> website. (Her bags are AMAZING! I have no idea how she does those, but with some help from this <a href="http://hanielas.blogspot.com/2010/05/luster-dust.html" target="_blank">Luster Dust Tutorial </a>by Hani at Haniela's I pulled these off. I used a pearl luster dust on the base and a gold on the logo and the accents.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3epTYhc94sg5Yt77GzWNLW7uqz9Z9tR-WOlUWU-6jZ4Ky1D5MgErHRzOxw4XjtSAlSTwks8wMZ9uSd-tOw-krEGNzKtnKo2bba9TdQWQ7pTUFNQuh76TdxPD_39Dc1S2c87vwjz4vD1g/s1600/_IGP4599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3epTYhc94sg5Yt77GzWNLW7uqz9Z9tR-WOlUWU-6jZ4Ky1D5MgErHRzOxw4XjtSAlSTwks8wMZ9uSd-tOw-krEGNzKtnKo2bba9TdQWQ7pTUFNQuh76TdxPD_39Dc1S2c87vwjz4vD1g/s320/_IGP4599.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
My customer wanted "Little Black Dress" cookies. I tried to warn her against the taste of black icing... but she definitely wanted the dresses, so I ventured into more unknown territory and tried my hand at glaze. So I borrowed a tried and true glaze recipe from my dear friend Shari, and thanks to some encouragement from Cristin at <a href="http://www.cristinscookies.com/" target="_blank">Cristin's Cookies</a> and this <a href="http://artymcgoo.blogspot.com/2012/03/mixing-it-up-episode-1.html" target="_blank">WONDERFUL tutorial on glaze with Cristin and Arty MaGoo</a>, I gave it a whirl!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhmVBjGafAeSv2GYh__2jWIOepIHvcrBs1RbgbhrEVbFEB1g_VTgi6c3bLyFCI_Z-Ob-9F_rVoOG1Frrsvy87ziE6nGkmNXUie-8-hHlqJpab89NMAvKDUKL0xsWwvR__oe08ZCN5PhI/s1600/_IGP4607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQhmVBjGafAeSv2GYh__2jWIOepIHvcrBs1RbgbhrEVbFEB1g_VTgi6c3bLyFCI_Z-Ob-9F_rVoOG1Frrsvy87ziE6nGkmNXUie-8-hHlqJpab89NMAvKDUKL0xsWwvR__oe08ZCN5PhI/s320/_IGP4607.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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I ended up deciding that I preferred to let the glaze run off the sides and the bottom edge of the cookies so that it would wrap around and look more like a dress. The best news... glaze only takes a tiny bit of food coloring to get dark black, so they tasted great!<br />
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I also gussied them up a bit by adding a tiny ribbon around the waist! ;^) (That is Kansasan for "making them fancy.")<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIhu4JELWA8JCS-RCgWXZs8b2H1RWYeX7NC5ECuig00igJ28ryGnbmKiPvucbhl31xPJh9NxbIlBxI1aFVKOGYeC26Z39KO3pWlRqlNeRHI7pFxTcV0qi7lymvv1a6AOyLNB1aw0A3fU/s1600/_IGP4594.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirIhu4JELWA8JCS-RCgWXZs8b2H1RWYeX7NC5ECuig00igJ28ryGnbmKiPvucbhl31xPJh9NxbIlBxI1aFVKOGYeC26Z39KO3pWlRqlNeRHI7pFxTcV0qi7lymvv1a6AOyLNB1aw0A3fU/s320/_IGP4594.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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However, when it comes to beach wear, the big floppy hat and shades are more my style. I created these as "special extra" cookies for my customer!<br />
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While I was at it, I made some flip flops too! They were a perfect touch for two other projects: one for Teacher Appreciation Week, which I will blog about next time...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5E6mRDB8XwCqTMyqtRhF-JRSFzLrpxPDA6EtDTo9xA1-tu8AlEkl_5JQF1hTpY2KC-E_5OEeSoV255KwFuaTHPY2v7oy8R6SDxi4N3MGxogLj8D9Jbj0nyPyfcwNk9pszSPAHS6ZFvw/s1600/_IGP4602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5E6mRDB8XwCqTMyqtRhF-JRSFzLrpxPDA6EtDTo9xA1-tu8AlEkl_5JQF1hTpY2KC-E_5OEeSoV255KwFuaTHPY2v7oy8R6SDxi4N3MGxogLj8D9Jbj0nyPyfcwNk9pszSPAHS6ZFvw/s640/_IGP4602.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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... and the other for these adorable "Mother-Daughter Flip Flops" for my flip-flop-loving, glaze-recipe provider, dear friend Shari, who had just finalized the adoption of her foster-daughter Willow! They are based on <a href="http://charmingcharlie.com/cc/product/productDetails.jsp?pId=3000239736&sId=10147200018&ppId=3000239750" target="_blank">my favorite flip flops of the summer from Charming Charlies</a>!<br />
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(The big ones were a flip-flop cutter, but I made the little ones out of a jellybean cutter!) ;^)<br />
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Have a great day!<br />
Cheers~<br />
Sarah<br />
<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-48249302441764809962012-07-26T09:55:00.000-05:002012-07-26T10:04:48.023-05:00Confessions of a Cookie Baker: Games Cookie-Bakers Play...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTbCJcMfr8ibLfmcJ1aibVTZWR9Phaxgb9SwzLtGGmBOBBzoHTKyLej2nI415nytKYedWEkhESsia80BmTy7sbICfuE6g5qO97kjvl4CWP0SrM4_pY0UY_8wl00Kw_DbmKekbJ_HbiPc/s1600/_IGP4231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTbCJcMfr8ibLfmcJ1aibVTZWR9Phaxgb9SwzLtGGmBOBBzoHTKyLej2nI415nytKYedWEkhESsia80BmTy7sbICfuE6g5qO97kjvl4CWP0SrM4_pY0UY_8wl00Kw_DbmKekbJ_HbiPc/s320/_IGP4231.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEios4VAi07o4hblns9EOhFTDFB2ni341IarcWGuB0flri7QFSOoqnkhiuWPj1OlEjuLJ_H57ywD-G06GM-oRHFriny_XC94wliHGewIG5xPRMC_qTiYHLaieLpmcJMh_dQhwtO3w5ipKX0/s1600/_IGP4233.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEios4VAi07o4hblns9EOhFTDFB2ni341IarcWGuB0flri7QFSOoqnkhiuWPj1OlEjuLJ_H57ywD-G06GM-oRHFriny_XC94wliHGewIG5xPRMC_qTiYHLaieLpmcJMh_dQhwtO3w5ipKX0/s320/_IGP4233.JPG" /></a>Confession: I usually bake extra cookies, to make sure that I have plenty to complete an order, but frankly, by the time I have finished the order, I am often bored of decorating them. <br />
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So, when that happens, my girls and I play a little creativity game, common among cookie-bakers... we try to come up with as many ideas for the same cookie cutter as we can. For example, this cookie cutter, which started out as Curious George, ended up as a baby and a London Underground sign. <span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRtxNxu80FGt7XGpUx9ctAaQAbpMZ2F530se4pQ6S7ONJKUsVM0LqAIbEhOBXYAVetEAa5IBzQwYPqFWtmpCSPxXtgni-Is_BJn8n7Me7bAGzWjF4icFgUcoatIRpaptW13c39mbSzuE/s1600/_IGP4232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizRtxNxu80FGt7XGpUx9ctAaQAbpMZ2F530se4pQ6S7ONJKUsVM0LqAIbEhOBXYAVetEAa5IBzQwYPqFWtmpCSPxXtgni-Is_BJn8n7Me7bAGzWjF4icFgUcoatIRpaptW13c39mbSzuE/s320/_IGP4232.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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(Sometimes I don't even fully decorate them, I just use the icing I have on hand, so the colors might not be right, etc., but it is fun to try new things and stretch our imaginations!)
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When we don't want to use up the cookies, we just trace the cookie cutter onto paper and design that way. Here are the ideas that Reader R., my 7 y.o., came up with for this cookie cutter...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt15o5ChD2wXUG4rqlwhoeE5fgjl6jmtNjxfLpbe1S27FrquRc9h2Ny8Q6ekGtDnqG8XYLuKq4YmMihtN6ho0XuS6KQLw-Yobr8RilFPba-nmrW465MI0P-r2n8IW1HSLfSrAx6WB_j_0/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt15o5ChD2wXUG4rqlwhoeE5fgjl6jmtNjxfLpbe1S27FrquRc9h2Ny8Q6ekGtDnqG8XYLuKq4YmMihtN6ho0XuS6KQLw-Yobr8RilFPba-nmrW465MI0P-r2n8IW1HSLfSrAx6WB_j_0/s640/IMG_0001.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzmOGETE4SUOjbzsLRlJqalGEypBm0XcdTYrJ5T8glgdu8Dbd25lOiNPGWPNe2Aa-jTsINRRhjOEfB5XhyphenhyphenZweeUYVHujCZ0Zlgi20hwqzqgGbItrtpHV7ZW_6kl5Fe3nWAleW9U5CEXE/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOzmOGETE4SUOjbzsLRlJqalGEypBm0XcdTYrJ5T8glgdu8Dbd25lOiNPGWPNe2Aa-jTsINRRhjOEfB5XhyphenhyphenZweeUYVHujCZ0Zlgi20hwqzqgGbItrtpHV7ZW_6kl5Fe3nWAleW9U5CEXE/s320/IMG_0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think her ideas are pretty creative! I think this "Alien Spaceship" with the creature saying "Bye!" is my favorite! ;^)<br />
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For some other great examples of how this cookie game is played check out these great blog posts:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJwebZAaT7OUlr8a8X2Gr8HfJsJWe_37TmlQ4bEg6zB6JTejm2Y0fim6akLs3I2BmLjijNZBY7eQndQ4fdUTABWN-aC4ceBG-qDbDYwEgUNjX1_QpOuOj6RYJ0rcUonie-yWtxtdy2oQa/s1600/CCC-present.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzJwebZAaT7OUlr8a8X2Gr8HfJsJWe_37TmlQ4bEg6zB6JTejm2Y0fim6akLs3I2BmLjijNZBY7eQndQ4fdUTABWN-aC4ceBG-qDbDYwEgUNjX1_QpOuOj6RYJ0rcUonie-yWtxtdy2oQa/s200/CCC-present.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<li>One of my favorite cookie artists, Georgeanne at Lila Loa, created this cookie cutter contest. Make sure you see <a href="http://lilaloa.blogspot.com/2012/05/creative-cookie-contest-winners.html" target="_blank">the winners</a>, but don't miss the <a href="http://lilaloa.blogspot.com/2012/03/cookie-contest-with-big-fun-prizes.html" target="_blank">more than 300 ideas for using this cookie cutter</a>.
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<li>When cookie artists go to Cookie Camp, they play this game too! Check out the amazing things that they can do with a<a href="http://karenscookieblog.com/2011/10/06/cookie-camp/" target="_blank"> tea cup, a car, a funny Easter chick, a cupcake and a butterfly shape</a>!</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeT6jOTiPzrrw1TRnIdfoqRRJmST6c5qwo0kosclL_dDoBEXU8-MycjwSoXcJ6fxrHJ8ecBSJveyqj7cU_SptqBW0Qzka2jo46RSoafbWKPXS_ViQVg8D-8oNERnoDJy1KVl5oQkMhm0/s1600/_IGP4225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjeT6jOTiPzrrw1TRnIdfoqRRJmST6c5qwo0kosclL_dDoBEXU8-MycjwSoXcJ6fxrHJ8ecBSJveyqj7cU_SptqBW0Qzka2jo46RSoafbWKPXS_ViQVg8D-8oNERnoDJy1KVl5oQkMhm0/s320/_IGP4225.JPG" width="320" /></a>And then, when we don't have the perfect cookie cutter, despite having hundreds of them, we just make one up. In this case, the "Yellow Hat" is actually a cowboy hat brim hand-trimmed flat with the handle of a purse baked together to make the smooth top, but that is a different game! ;^)<br />
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Callye, at Sweet Sugarbelle is a master at the combining cookie cutters game. Check out the cute ones she just made for the <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2012/07/olympic-gold-medal-cookies/" target="_blank">Olympics with a tie and a circle</a> or my current favorite <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2012/06/pretty-cake-stand-cookies/" target="_blank">combining a top hat and a chocolate kiss</a>.</div>
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So, now you know what cookiers do when it is too hot to turn on the oven! <br />
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Have a great day!<br />
Sarah<br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-20821690450953155332012-07-25T14:13:00.001-05:002012-07-25T14:56:40.995-05:00Wedding Bells are Ringing...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhP7R6u3skAB9VzcO5pjMHvTpCX3twc1y2GdpS0OEWmc_0qK8tsjiDzIEJOmBUV8Euov5AH_Et6Lq_qKA-8SPQ6eT1H52gFsbaUnNLalrzK_-yQeeVuZg5T8LtgrHPlAu3bX9MIB5uvU/s1600/_IGP4950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuhP7R6u3skAB9VzcO5pjMHvTpCX3twc1y2GdpS0OEWmc_0qK8tsjiDzIEJOmBUV8Euov5AH_Et6Lq_qKA-8SPQ6eT1H52gFsbaUnNLalrzK_-yQeeVuZg5T8LtgrHPlAu3bX9MIB5uvU/s640/_IGP4950.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I now pronounce you, "Mr. and Mrs. Cookie!"</span>
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I recently had the privilege to make cookies for a Bridal Shower celebrating the upcoming marriage of Bethany and Jim. My customer, one of the party hostesses, requested engagement rings, using the wedding colors Coral and Grey. We also decided that it would be good idea to add some fun sparkle and shine! <br />
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<a !important;="" 1em;="" center;"="" clear:="" display:="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVU0xPtmarv2buMbPVG5g36NBvV2qm2kNlCuih7lRCyzZNnXa50HyYfGi-kKmErCyxwu5tHlIYTXX4DUwa1hAL2VPQvm67cVfcWCkbRq1s6HAuIfeDmCyp2MZSGnn_htfbz0yGDbHqguY/s1600/_IGP4967.JPG" imageanchor="1" inline="" left;="" margin-bottom:="" margin-right:="" text-align:=""><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVU0xPtmarv2buMbPVG5g36NBvV2qm2kNlCuih7lRCyzZNnXa50HyYfGi-kKmErCyxwu5tHlIYTXX4DUwa1hAL2VPQvm67cVfcWCkbRq1s6HAuIfeDmCyp2MZSGnn_htfbz0yGDbHqguY/s640/_IGP4967.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.mytuxedocatalog.com/blog/grey-tuxedos-are-huge-in-2011/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.mytuxedocatalog.com/wp-content/uploads/C941.jpg" width="140" /></a><br />
I also had fun making these special extra Bride and Groom heart-shaped cookies for the guests of honor! <br />
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I based the groom cookie off of this picture that turned up when I googled "grey tuxedo." It turns out that grey is a very popular tuxedo color for this wedding season! <br />
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I love the more intricate dress on my second Bride cookie, but wanted to get the coral in on the ones that I gave the customer, so I included it in the bouquet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtr8YdDqVBrxoUyGTh-n4lBxZgNcs-9wt-v5xiI_JhFLDivWneRBWcx-tPu6kA3IGVOgwd8TelWcB9NFlpNqS1npLsoQFSjusOG-66D63uehNs0iBDkbnIvUcj8ZTiQuCQPGh0dafiF6E/s640/_IGP4953.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> I used </span><span style="font-size: small;">disco dust on the diamond and luster dust on the ring and to make them sparkle and shine. I learned this technique <a href="http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2011/12/tis-season.html" target="_blank">this great tutorial by Bridget at Bake at 350</a>! Thank you!</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtr8YdDqVBrxoUyGTh-n4lBxZgNcs-9wt-v5xiI_JhFLDivWneRBWcx-tPu6kA3IGVOgwd8TelWcB9NFlpNqS1npLsoQFSjusOG-66D63uehNs0iBDkbnIvUcj8ZTiQuCQPGh0dafiF6E/s1600/_IGP4953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFvj2HTSW-rOwfdBIMAg4XqMcA2QmQ_lcCVMR0vsbpF0u-IOW_9cFnzn0ACaduONx6QasK2T1DZ3oxI78rBrmKDJziWket8y_oR4ODwhqy50KNsI5Qp0Drr3vpocaghFJU33rg6rrULs/s1600/_IGP4971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtr8YdDqVBrxoUyGTh-n4lBxZgNcs-9wt-v5xiI_JhFLDivWneRBWcx-tPu6kA3IGVOgwd8TelWcB9NFlpNqS1npLsoQFSjusOG-66D63uehNs0iBDkbnIvUcj8ZTiQuCQPGh0dafiF6E/s1600/_IGP4953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFvj2HTSW-rOwfdBIMAg4XqMcA2QmQ_lcCVMR0vsbpF0u-IOW_9cFnzn0ACaduONx6QasK2T1DZ3oxI78rBrmKDJziWket8y_oR4ODwhqy50KNsI5Qp0Drr3vpocaghFJU33rg6rrULs/s1600/_IGP4971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHwfDpXN77zobu7oTkhcjhiEDPNFpiZ2CNl_Vjz5Xs9sd49qE_A9ufmTJweU_gsIQnTYwUuxQWhhyftuJzSFS7gyFc3KbOztgFCObOad98xvhHX6kjhz0AnfuTTir6gntiGQ4Hq9lC5s/s1600/_IGP4973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipHwfDpXN77zobu7oTkhcjhiEDPNFpiZ2CNl_Vjz5Xs9sd49qE_A9ufmTJweU_gsIQnTYwUuxQWhhyftuJzSFS7gyFc3KbOztgFCObOad98xvhHX6kjhz0AnfuTTir6gntiGQ4Hq9lC5s/s320/_IGP4973.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: -webkit-auto;">I boxed them up pretty for delivery, but ultimately, <br />they would be wrapped individually as party favors.</span> </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFvj2HTSW-rOwfdBIMAg4XqMcA2QmQ_lcCVMR0vsbpF0u-IOW_9cFnzn0ACaduONx6QasK2T1DZ3oxI78rBrmKDJziWket8y_oR4ODwhqy50KNsI5Qp0Drr3vpocaghFJU33rg6rrULs/s1600/_IGP4971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQFvj2HTSW-rOwfdBIMAg4XqMcA2QmQ_lcCVMR0vsbpF0u-IOW_9cFnzn0ACaduONx6QasK2T1DZ3oxI78rBrmKDJziWket8y_oR4ODwhqy50KNsI5Qp0Drr3vpocaghFJU33rg6rrULs/s320/_IGP4971.JPG" width="214" /></a><br />
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Best wishes to Bethany & Jim!<br />
Thanks, Jodi, for your order!<br />
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Cheers!<br />
Sarah<br />
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<br />Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7253808781795898342.post-42242479486157442412012-07-25T13:19:00.000-05:002012-07-26T08:04:26.510-05:00Happy Anniversary Sweet Shoppe!<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>This past week, I celebrated the 1st Anniversary of Sarah's Sweet Shoppe! </b><br />
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I am so thankful for the support and encouragement that I have received from my family and friends and the cookie community. I am amazed how much I have learned and grown. <i> Thank you! </i><br />
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I have come a LONG way, since these<a "="" href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.249090158450457.82018.248418725184267&type=3" target="_blank"> first official cookies</a>. Thank you, Kari!<br />
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I was so proud of these VERY bright cookies. In a way, I still am because they show where I started and the heart of my business... doing something I enjoy, with people I love, for friends supporting a cause I care about. (Visit <a href="http://annafromtheheart.com/" target="_blank">Anna's Heart for Haiti </a>to learn more an amazing young lady and her work to raise money for the <a href="http://goproject.org/" target="_blank">Global Orphan Project</a> in Haiti.) <br />
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Thank you to my best friend Dana, who knew I could do this before I even did... and ordered <a center;"="" href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.249170538442419.82043.248418725184267&type=3" target="_blank" text-align:="">baby shower cookies </a>from me four years ago!
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the beginning, all of my cookies were simple fluffy frosting cookies. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1941154830"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdoj2DFt0qlmR23RTnYP3xNhbHXi-BUmP6jqlY3LbLHAJsevIZhFhTsQlh7_7sZlKeLE0iWg8sNBHkq1BMaUGODH-W4P-vy2URl8A_tfx8XUhSjKAoccnkFq1RjqQHTVWYM9zhEcALrfA/s320/_IGP1901_edited-1-Royal-Leg.gif" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7253808781795898342#editor/target=post;postID=727367203742430122" target="_blank">My first Royal Icing cookie. </a></td></tr>
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The encouragement and challenges of my cookie customers has helped me to grow. A request for lego cookies forced me to learn both <a href="http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/2009/11/cut-out-cookies-without-cutter-works.html" target="_blank">how to get by without a cookie cutter</a> and <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/05/cheap-and-easy-diy-cookie-cutters/" target="_blank">how to make my own</a> (Thanks, Bridget at <a href="http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Bake at 350</a> and Callye at <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/" target="_blank">Sweet Sugarbelle</a>!) Plus, no one wants a fluffy lego, so I also learned <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/07/outlining-and-filling-cookies-with-royal-icing/" target="_blank">how to make and use Royal Icing</a> (Thanks Callye!), both of which have expanded my horizons exponentially. For the full <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/03/lego-man-cookie-tutorial/" target="_blank">Lego Man tutorial</a>, visit Callye, her cookies were the inspiration for this project. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowOXWbqAF403bEKyKMKHXRHF3PrPtfbmT_Bd_0zPXJlhvJlyxADTo3zf-J7SGGgCSHGoYNwsr3K6ZAuHkxjMB2nSgtGD7-LNMutP1AbW0C7o1-ko_en1qY6D479e7LYMjjTPqLFFb2MM/s1600/_IGP4960-ombre-wlogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiowOXWbqAF403bEKyKMKHXRHF3PrPtfbmT_Bd_0zPXJlhvJlyxADTo3zf-J7SGGgCSHGoYNwsr3K6ZAuHkxjMB2nSgtGD7-LNMutP1AbW0C7o1-ko_en1qY6D479e7LYMjjTPqLFFb2MM/s320/_IGP4960-ombre-wlogo.jpg" width="256" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLWQWr7TD0Ik-4_3MTzx7Ifn2zBnggy7Ceb_bbw4vSpxYB06jOxNdfw6FT6HI8BYQxXkvrGMSsi31d13YxP7mzB-LMR4xcoiSWhVPI_D_VRjdEhxjf4HbXIHtbqRY4yDLQjaLUxOKxLs/s1600/_IGP4946-ombre-swirl-w-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdLWQWr7TD0Ik-4_3MTzx7Ifn2zBnggy7Ceb_bbw4vSpxYB06jOxNdfw6FT6HI8BYQxXkvrGMSsi31d13YxP7mzB-LMR4xcoiSWhVPI_D_VRjdEhxjf4HbXIHtbqRY4yDLQjaLUxOKxLs/s320/_IGP4946-ombre-swirl-w-logo.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/560982_10151023436589070_1965491587_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/560982_10151023436589070_1965491587_n.jpg" width="149" /></a>I love how Sarah's Sweet Shoppe continues to challenge me to learn and grow, so in celebration, I created these ombre birthday cookies. <br />
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They were inspired by all of the cool looking cakes and goodies out there and in particular by<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151023436589070&set=a.428247624069.225172.519209069&type=1&theater" target="_blank"> this cake made my friends Tammy and Clarissa</a>!<br />
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The wonderfully creative ideas of fellow bakers, cookiers, and artists, and their ever-so-helpful tutorials have been such a blessing to me. <b><i>Thank you!</i></b>
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So, as a way to say "Thank You" to the cookie community and in celebration of the Sweet Shoppe's 1st Anniversary, I am going to post my first tutorial...<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ombre Icing Tutorial</span></u></b></div>
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To make an ombre cookie or even cake, you need several shades of the same color of icing. To do this, I worked out this system of coloring and saving that is pretty straight-forward. <br />
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I started with <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/04/royal-icing-101-or-all-roads-lead-to-rome/" target="_blank">Sweet Sugarbelle's Royal Icing</a>. I scooped out PLENTY of super firm icing into a two cup measuring cup.<br />
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I knew that I wanted six shades of Coral. I purchased a Coral color food coloring and was disappointed to find that it was NOT true to the sticker on the top, so I pulled out my handy-dandy<a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/03/color-chart-and-printing-help/" target="_blank"> Color Mixing Chart courtesy of Sweet Sugarbelle</a> to learn that Coral is three parts rose pink and two parts lemon yellow. <br />
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<img height="492" src="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/colorchart1.gif" width="640" />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsV2IVBf3k0fbd-2twSlRxhMF273fml0ozmuEVmcm5kvQZCOKczyaqopTsJ7TuTAk2NSCscNIAKb3nBqBpIad2qIjXf5JzGTf3D18B-l24TZ-YbEInhxvHwxOchCHw19d7aGo18yZam9c/s1600/IMG_0776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsV2IVBf3k0fbd-2twSlRxhMF273fml0ozmuEVmcm5kvQZCOKczyaqopTsJ7TuTAk2NSCscNIAKb3nBqBpIad2qIjXf5JzGTf3D18B-l24TZ-YbEInhxvHwxOchCHw19d7aGo18yZam9c/s200/IMG_0776.JPG" width="148" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kI10Yqt8shwY77mOJCjf8ngeOcRhMp26MKfTRE5k_i-FQs8E8cxDkgEjre-WDRmj9UVWFrpNs9cAZ0Mv2p3Jw-C5i_w-UDI3e7PgbV4yMeA8ohlivXm8b5GuCq73DWeVUjrX8OWomcY/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8kI10Yqt8shwY77mOJCjf8ngeOcRhMp26MKfTRE5k_i-FQs8E8cxDkgEjre-WDRmj9UVWFrpNs9cAZ0Mv2p3Jw-C5i_w-UDI3e7PgbV4yMeA8ohlivXm8b5GuCq73DWeVUjrX8OWomcY/s320/IMG_0778.JPG" width="320" /></a>To achieve that, I used my lemon yellow and rose pink gel "tub" colors. I often use squeeze colors (such as Americolor), but in this case, I wanted to add the color VERY gradually. (A big PLOP of color would have been VERY BAD for this project.) <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNCiRUJkiAnMKDYXmdcS7oT8o1qnlS1KxlclFB5gbEnJ3DnHG0izxqpvviCKk78gygiv7Lm4VNtx4KqPtrxNasJYLFf75LVyT43SVR_cbYur9dhiWxZIwPRaEp7i9Uk-yRc7BL4Suz-Dk/s1600/IMG_0775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNCiRUJkiAnMKDYXmdcS7oT8o1qnlS1KxlclFB5gbEnJ3DnHG0izxqpvviCKk78gygiv7Lm4VNtx4KqPtrxNasJYLFf75LVyT43SVR_cbYur9dhiWxZIwPRaEp7i9Uk-yRc7BL4Suz-Dk/s320/IMG_0775.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
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I would stick my toothpick into the color. As you can see, I put the rose pink in about a third deeper than the lemon yellow to achieve the prescribed 3:2 ratio. I would scrape the toothpicks on the side of my measuring cup (and toss the toothpicks).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08wrxspBHr2MN-oZwPrfFodL4RhyuwZYSeqbQZN-b8UkPFAtzJFq04E-fOPl5a284lfPwx505Z1vqcLNh7K3gx5YGKi_2_nROHw3fwlWMy42ZE48hjfmywF_cNzXeAGYbAVzuF7yhgkE/s1600/IMG_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08wrxspBHr2MN-oZwPrfFodL4RhyuwZYSeqbQZN-b8UkPFAtzJFq04E-fOPl5a284lfPwx505Z1vqcLNh7K3gx5YGKi_2_nROHw3fwlWMy42ZE48hjfmywF_cNzXeAGYbAVzuF7yhgkE/s200/IMG_0783.JPG" width="200" /></a>After each addition of color, I scooped out some into a smaller bowl. (It didn't matter that there was a little bit of the just lighter shade still in the bowl. This cut down significantly on dishes too! ;^)<br />
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Then, I used my spray bottle to make it into the thick-flood <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2012/03/consistency-is-key-twenty-second-icing-and-more/" target="_blank">"twenty-second" consistency</a> that I needed for my cookies. Getting this right is EXTREMELY important for a polka-dot ombre cookie. <br />
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One of my six icings (#3) was a tad too runny and gave me LOTS of headaches in trying to keep my dots a consistent size and not running into one another. In hindsight, I would have been better off to A) test it before I bagged it, by putting just a tad in a tip (without a bag) and pushing it through with my thumb to make a few little polka-dots and see if they acted right (sorry, I can't remember who taught me this genius idea that I forgot at the time) or B) cutting my loses and unbagging and adding some powdered sugar to thicken it, instead of forging ahead. (If it had been for a customer, instead of just for ME... I would have taken the time to get it right, instead, it provided another teachable moment. ;^)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUvW76RwhxERJTJOs5VqtlmZAZF9ZJghYXLjkEgToRacH9hv9FM_R9nNsUh7rIxqtCy9Ndh3zVXGSbXEr6na9tTTJDn8bj-715EjsZanBWd5oNUSwkwc6xM5gLclS8MaGhZnWQRp6GcM/s1600/IMG_0784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUvW76RwhxERJTJOs5VqtlmZAZF9ZJghYXLjkEgToRacH9hv9FM_R9nNsUh7rIxqtCy9Ndh3zVXGSbXEr6na9tTTJDn8bj-715EjsZanBWd5oNUSwkwc6xM5gLclS8MaGhZnWQRp6GcM/s320/IMG_0784.JPG" width="239" /></a><br />
Once it was the right consistency, I rolled the first color <a href="http://www.karenscookies.net/Cookie-Decorating-Video-Color-Mixing-Bag-Filling_ep_74-1.html" target="_blank">into plastic wrap as described in this tutorial </a>by Karen at <a href="http://www.karenscookies.net/" target="_blank">Karen's Cookies</a>! (Thank you!) <br />
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I also numbered the rolls because getting them out of order would also be a BIG problem for this cookie. ;^)<br />
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Then, I repeated the process until I had all six strengths of the same color icing! I bagged them with a #2 tip and went to town on my cookie, which already had been flooded (the day before, so that it would be super-dry) with white icing.<br />
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As for the polka dots, I learned that it is VERY hard to do graduated-size dots on a flat cookie. I had wanted them to be bigger at the bottom and smaller on top, but when I did that a it was VERY tricky to keep them lined up and I ended up with a LOT more white space at the top than I wanted to have. I found it was easiest to keep your dots approximately the same size. I did three rows of dots of each color to create my three tiered cake and then added a Sarah's Sweet Shoppe logo cookie on the top! ;^) The other cookie, was a polka-dot cookie gone bad. I ended up smearing the dots and then using a wet-on-wet technique to add swirls of the next deeper color.<br />
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Another great learning from this project is... if you are trying something new, one should probably bake more than two cookies to get it "perfect." I ended up scraping the icing off and starting over on the icing on these cookies several times. I was even tempted to scrap the whole post, just because they were not as "perfect" as I wanted them to be... until I was packing my husband's lunch this morning and came across these...<br />
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Two out of three of his Oreos were inside-out. If the "King of Perfect Cookies" could have this happen, I can certainly post "learning" cookies! </div>
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There comes a point when you just have to say <i>"These are close enough... for cookies!" </i></div>
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Finally, in hindsight, which always has 20/20 vision, I probably should have googled "ombre cookies" BEFORE I got started, instead of waiting until I was writing the blog post... a couple of amazing cookie artists have already written on this topic...<br />
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<li>Amber at Sweet Ambs has this amazing tutorial on a<a href="http://amberspiegel.blogspot.com/2012/06/ombre-brief-tutorial.html" target="_blank"> brush embroidery ombre cookie</a>. I love how she put down the crumb layer, and also how she drew lines to keep her rows straight.</li>
<li>Callye at Sweet Sugarbelle also has this fun <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/09/pinterest-cookie-d-ombre-cookies/" target="_blank">ombre cookie tutorial</a>, so that you can skip everything I just taught you and get the look for a LOT less effort! </li>
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Oh well. Today, I will have my cookie and eat it too!</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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Sarah</div>Happy Homemakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15674251887667175199noreply@blogger.com0