Pajamas Cookie-d

For Reader R's big SURPRISE party, we had a Pajama & Pancakes theme.  I really wanted to bake some special cookie treats for party favors!

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.)








Inspired by these super cute striped cookies by Oh, Sugar! Events, I endeavored to cookie my daughter's favorite pajamas.  

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. ;^) 

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.




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. 



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! ;^)


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.

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!)






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.

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.

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! ;^))



All that is to say, I was thrilled with how they turned out, and I think the birthday girl was pleased too! ;^)

Cheers!
Sarah

For 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!

For Mrs. Traynor, the school's Director.

Curious K. loved being an Eager Elephant!

Hearts and "Thank You" Signs

Flowers

An Awesome Kids Preschool logo cookie with a teacher cookie and a Curious K. cookie.

Curious K with her "Awesome" teachers - Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Lester

These cookies were totally inspired by Tara atThe Shaky Bakerand some wonderful cookies she made for her daughter's school auction!

Did you see the cookies that I made for my oldest daughter, Reader R's teacher appreciation day?

Have a great day!
Cheers!
Sarah

Cookie-d Memories: My Magnum Opus

Have you ever thought... "This is it!  I'd better stop now,
because it could not get any better than this?"  

This is how I feel about these very special cookies.  I am not sure that I will ever love any cookies more than these "Happy Birthday" cookies I made for my very dearest friend, Dana, who is celebrating a big birthday this year.  As my gift to her, I created these cookies, which show not only where she has been, but my wish for her future and the foundation for the wonderful woman she is.

Dana and I meet in college at William Jewell College, in Liberty, MO.  We were kindred-spirits from day one and have been best friends ever since!  She is younger than I am, so we didn't always have our adventures that the same time... but we have so many memories in common it was almost like cookie-ing my own life story!

My favorite college English professor, Mike Williams, once said "Is a tree ever just a tree? No, it is a tree laden with deep symbolic meaning."  Well, is a cookie ever just a cookie?  Maybe.  But not it this case... each cookie is a cookie laden with deep symbolic meaning. (This is your warning... if you don't want all the sappy details of the cookies of my life, and can live with the guilt... bail now!)


My birthday wish for Dana, although it wouldn't all fit on the luggage tag, was that:

"Where ever life takes you,
May you always have your faith,
your family & your friends,
your compass & your big backpack."

(Please graciously ignore that it says "Whereever" with no space.  I have never been a good speller. A former teacher used to say that "My mind just worked too fast to bother with getting the letters in the right places." [Which by the way is why I had such a hard time with college prep vocab, not because I didn't know the definitions, but because I couldn't spell the words.]  However, now that I am trying to help my Reader R. learn to spell, I am convinced that I am just silly and lazy in that area of life.  I mean really, how long would it have taken for me to google which "Where ever" or "Wherever" to use... [twenty-two seconds, because I just did it to figure out which was right before I wrote this], but instead, I just did it and hoped no one would notice that it wasn't right, if it wasn't, which I wasn't convinced of, until I googled it a second ago.  Of course, I also knew, deep down that I couldn't just let it slip by now that I knew that it was incorrect, but rather, had to point it out to the rest of the world and admit what I goof I am... instead, I will just say "My mind was working too fast to bother with getting the letters in the right places" and leave it at that.)

This cookie is for Dana's faith.  Her strong faith gives her true joy and gratitude, even in the difficult times.  She is an amazing sister and such an inspiration and encouragement to me.  (OK, are you still with me?  Was that deep symbolic meaning too much for you?)

These cookies represent Dana's family!  Her mother LOVE Mickey Mouse, so that cookie is for her parents and her family of origin.  She is married to a wonderful man named David, so the heart is their monogram. And she has two precious children, a girl and a boy.






This is my cookie.  (Yes. I cookie-d myself into her present.... tacky? A little, maybe, but we are dearest friends.)  So, yes, if I were a cookie, I would look like this.  (Just stick around, I may turn into one yet.  They say "You are what you eat.")  No, seriously, I love tea pots and my last name is Rose.  It doesn't get any more simple than that.  (OK, except for the cross.  That one was a give-away.)  What I love about this cookie, is that I tried the brush embroidery that Alison at Ali Bee's Bakeshop taught me!  Thanks, Alison!

The mortarboard is for our Alma Mater and the value of the education and life lessons that we learned there.  The compass is actually the Outward Bound logo.  We both spent 14 days in the Florida Everglades, canoeing and serving on an Outward Bound High Adventure trip during college, but also it serves as a reminder of Stephen Covey's concept of "True North" and always knowing what is really important to you.  The "Big Backpack" is symbolic of hopes and dreams.  We were recently discussing that although we are officially grown-ups and are working hard to de-clutter our homes, one of the seemingly odd items that we cannot seem to part with is our "Big Backpack" that we used to hike all over Europe.  (The squiggles in the background are supposed to be a journal entry.)  These two cookies are also fun because they are the first time that I tried painting on a cookie.  Thank you to Liz, a.k.a. Arty McGoo and Alison from Ali Bee's Bakeshop for the inspiration and the great tutorials.

"Oh the places you will go!"  During college, Dana and I both studied oversees in Oxford England, not at the same time.  We also both had the same internship in New York City, not at the same time.  I also had a Dora the Explore potty training sticker of Eiffel Tour on my shirt as I was decorating, so I toddled off into Na-Na land and created an Eiffel Tour sticker, hoping that she, too, like Dora and myself, had been to Paris. (Deep huh?) Turns out, she has a really great story about meeting a mutual friend and sorority sister under the Eiffel Tour, that I am sure I have heard at some point in the last 15 years and just happened to subconsciously bring up in time to make the perfect cookies for her birthday.  Thank you to Anne at the Flour Box, who convinced me that yes, I could make a telephone booth cookie, and Kim at the TomKat Studio for the tutorial on how to make an Eiffel Tower.  Although, both would have been easier with a KopyKake projector than drawing them by hand, looking at Dora the Explorer stickers for reference.

So, I individually-wrapped each cookie and bundled up our memories in a gift basket.  I added the outer-wrap so that they wouldn't spill out, and I VERY carefully delivered these delicious wishes to my very best friend.   (By the way, it is very hard to get a good photo of a gift basket... sorry.)

We laughed.  We cried.  We smiled so much our faces hurt, like rush in college.  We shared memories.  It was wonderful!  Thank you Dana for having a birthday, so that I could make these cookies!  (Which turned out to be a "for-you-for-me" gift... sorry!)

"We will always be dear old friends, 

until we are old and senile, 

then we will be dear new friends again."

I also want to say a brief thank you, my husband and my girls for supporting my cookie dream, to my parents for providing so many of these life-forming experiences, to my family and friends for buying my cookies, to all of my cookie mentors (whom I have never actually met, but feel like we are close friends), but especially Jodi at Wonderland Cookie Co.who taught me not to be afraid to link to cookies that are prettier than mine, and to my almost 100 followers who read my ramblings on a regular basis.  Thank you! 

Cheers!
Sarah

Thanks Coach!

Basketball season is coming to a close.  At our house, Reader R., who LOVES basketball, played on a team for the first time this year.  She played with a great league called Upward.  We have LOVED Upward!  It was a wonderful, non-competitive, all positive experience for my young basketball player!

The Upward Magnet - The Inspiration

At the beginning of the season, she was given this magnet.  I thought that it would make a really cool cookie.  It took quiet a bit of cookie engineering and used several different techniques to pull it off but I am REALLY pleased with the results.  (This was by FAR the most complicated cookie I have tried to date.)  First, I used the magnet as a template to hand cut the dough.  

The Upward Logo: Cookie-d

Thanks Coach!

Then, I made and colored the royal icing.  I didn't realize how tricky it could be to get just the right color when you are copying a real object.  (It doesn't really matter what color green you make your Christmas trees, but you don't want to butcher a logo.)  

Next, I created a royal icing transfer of the star and the lettering. (I figured that way, if I messed it up it would be easier to do it over.)  I stuck the magnet to the back of a cookie sheet and covered it with baking parchment, so I could "trace" the shape, since it was not symmetrical.

The "Boo-Boo Stick" 
Purchase 3 today at Karen's Cookies
(www.karenscookies.net) for only $0.69  each!

The next step was to outline and flood the outer stripes.  I used a wet-on-wet technique to do this.  I had some trouble getting the light blue stripe to vary consistently from thin to thick and not to spread where I didn't want it to.  I also have a hard time working out exactly how much flood to use to fill the space, so sometimes I have some overflow issues.  Then I use another FANCY technique called "Cookie SCRAPING."  For this technique, I use an amazing tool - THE BOO BOO STICK!  I have several of these and could not cookie without them.  Basically, I use the flat edge to scrap the icing off the cookie in the places where it didn't go where I wanted it to and start over.  (It is also helpful in lifting your cookie from the decorating tray when you have over-flooded and overflowed and you didn't realize it until the cookie is dry and STUCK to the tray.)  I also use it to poke out my frosting air bubbles and the pointy end is handy for cleaning out decorating tips.

After that I outlined the basketball and then flooded the navy field and the light blue ball and then after that was dry, I went back and top dressed the ball.  Finally, after it had dried some, I used a thin coat of royal icing to "glue" the transfer on.  I put it in a box with a half-dozen basketball cookies, and I think it makes a nice "Thank You" gift for my daughter's coach.
 

One of the moms from another team in the league, ordered celebration cookies for her son and daughter's teams.  I made a few extra cookie for their coaches, too!  Thanks Angie!

New"In-Motion" Basketballs...
look more like the real thing
(compare to the basketballs in the 1st photo).

Do you know of a basketball team that is celebrating a fun season or a coach that should be thanked for his or her time, encouragement, and hard work?  Or do you need cookies to help celebrate March Madness?  Call or e-mail Sarah today to place your order!

Thanks!
Sarah

Confessions of a Cookie Baker: Laura's Pocket "Cookie-d"

So, now, its time for another edition of Confessions of a Cookie Baker, with the Happy Homemaker (the part of the blog where Sarah comes out and confesses something silly about her cookie company adventure).

"Once you start 'seriously' baking cookies,
you may never look at the world quite the same way again." 

Do you remember the Tootsie Roll commercial*:

The world looks mighty good to me, because Tootsie Rolls are all I see...
Whatever it is I think I see becomes a Tootsie Roll to me!

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaXk6PVXqJE&feature=related)

Well, that is kind of how it is with me and cookies right now.  Everywhere I turn, I see something that would make a cute cookie... For instance, the other day at Bible Study, my sweet friend Laura had on this very cute top, and I thought "Wow! That would make a super cute cookie!"  So, being the dork that I am, I asked if I could take a photo of her pocket.

This is Laura's Birthday Week, (yes, she celebrates all week), so tomorrow (Lord willing), I planning to surprise her with this:

Happy Birthday, Laura! 

(Thanks for letting me take a picture of your pocket!)

I am afraid that is is only the beginning of my "cookie-d" crafting.  Since the pocket, I have seen dozen of things that would make adorable cookies... so, the lesson is, if you have an idea, take a picture, tear it out of the magazine, e-mail me a link, just tell me about it.  I would love to give it a try! ;^)   Watch out world, tomorrow, I am planning on trying to "cookie" my house!

 * For the record, I was was only two when this commercial came out. ;^) 

Why I remember it so vividly, "the world will never know." ;^)