I'm one of THOSE girls.  YOU know the ones...I'm one of  the gals that HATES to get flowers. 

It actually pains me {unless they are wildflowers or borrowed from my neighbor's rosebush}.  Otherwise, if my husband is going to spend $100 on me, I want something that will still be alive {or useful} after a week...

For example, cookie cutters!!!

Anywho, I made these for one of the most inspiring ladies in my little world. Most of you have probably heard of Bakerella, right? She's the cake pop lady.


Lately, she hasn't been feeling very well, so I decided to send her some flowers to cheer her up.  Of course, since I don't believe in flowers, {and also because stolen borrowed roses don't ship very well}, I made her a different set, SweetSugarBelle style.

The best thing about these is that at least if they disappear it will be into a tummy, AND they will be remembered for a long time.
*my booty proves this theory* 


For each cookie you will need:
  • bamboo forks trimmed to 2 inches
  • terracotta and green piping icing
  • black flood icing
  • black sanding sugar
  • 3 1.5 inch cookie
  • 2 inch cookie ring
  • #3 and #67 Wilton tips
  • mini-flower cookie
  • shelf-stacker rack {similar to this one}

First, I baked the cookies.  The cutters I used are shown below. To elaborate on the list above,  every finished cookie requires three 1.5 inch rounds, and one 2 inch round with the middle removed, which technically makes it a ring, so we'll call it that.  They also require one mini-flower cookie, no larger than 1.5 inches.  If you don't have a mini-flower, you can make a round work.

I will let you do the math since I never much cared for that subject. 

Tint the dough you will be using for the pot whatever color you choose, I used a mix of orange, tulip red, and warm brown.  For more help on mixing colors, see my color chart {HERE}.

THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT!  Immediately after baking, insert a trimmed bamboo stick into a 1.5 inch cookie for each pot you plan to make.

Let those cool and then it's time to begin putting the cookie together.  First use the terracotta icing to make a ring around the "stick cookie".

*A little FYI...the cookie in the bottom left corner is how NOT to do it.  Refer to the middle one.


 Drop the ring onto the icing to "glue" the pieces together.

Next, fill the empty area with black flood icing.  Not only does this make the cookie look more realistic, it also helps to hold the stick firmly in place.


While the black icing is still wet, sprinkle it with black sanding sugar to look like dirt.  Let it dry completely, preferably overnight.


The same day, put together the base.  The best method is pictured below.  This keeps the cookie level and makes a nicer finished product.


Also, have several mini-flower cookies decorated and ready to go.  A good technique for decorating these would be my 20-second icing.  It would be a good idea to decorate them the same day you complete the steps above so they will all be dry and ready to go on day two.


Now to add the flower.  This is where the shelf-stacker comes into play.  If you don't know what these are, they are little shelves that you slip inside your cupboards to add a shelf where there isn't one.

  It just happens that the cookies fit perfectly into the slots so that they will lay flat.  I got this one at Walmart, and have only used it specifically for this purpose.


If for some reason they are loose, try the trick below to level them.


Use a #3 tip to add green royal icing for the "stem" as pictured below, then stick the finished mini-flowers onto the top of the stem.


 Let them dry well.  About 2-3 hours I'd estimate...


Then it is time to connect the two cookie parts as pictured below.


ALMOST FINISHED...


Use a #67 Wilton leaf tip to add leaves,


And finally, you have FLOWERS in POTS!


I made daisies


and tulips =)


They sure made me happy, and I hope they lift Angie's spirits too!


As cute as these are, at the suggestion of my friend Kim, I think they might be EVEN cuter with little ladybug accents, similar to these cookies...


In any case, I hope you will make these for someone you know that might need a little pick me up.

And to Bakerella, thank you for using your amazing creativity to inspire others!

Feel better SOON!



That's the name of my friend Landa's blog.  Or I should actually say, that's the name of one of her blogs.  In addition that, she also manages a house full of boys, a Flickr group, and one big ol' dog, Sascha, who is the only other girl in the house, PLUS bakes for her friends and family!

Landa is a cookie girl, or at least that's how I met her.  However, as I got to know her a little better, I realized that a better way to describe her would be NAIL POLISH lover slash baker, in that order.
 
Her love of color is contagious.  She has over 500 colors of polish and her collection is growing. It sort of reminds me of someone's cookie cutter collection *ahem* although, Landa has one of those too, LOL.

Even if you only have mangled nubs in the place where your nails should be *hanging head in shame* the daily color parade on her nail blog is addictive.

One day, in the midst of this little 3-D cookie kick I am on, I was reading her blog and IT HIT ME...  I don't know why I didn't think of this before...

The perfect cookie for my friend!


They even have a special LB logo =)  I'm thinking they would be the perfect favor for her big birthday bash next year.  The wheels in my head are already turning!

And don't forget, as I mentioned before, Landa is also a cookie gal.  These are the cookies that began a friendship.  Aren't they AMAZING?!  I have been looking at them for almost two years and they still blow my mind!  She really hit the jackpot with this design!


The good news is, there are more of these where this came from.  You can visit her nail blog, Bright Lights, Big Color, her baking blog, Baking With Landa, like her Facebook page, Royal Icing Sweets, OR dig through all of her baking on her Flickr photostream!

For the record, Landa also does cakes and cupcakes, even though she won't often SHOW US, but we are working on that, right, Landa? ;)

Really though, I hope you like them, L.  I was so very excited when I thought of this idea, and it only took me two years =)   Thank you for teaching me, inspiring me, and being my friend ♥




An experiment. A test.  A trial.  In reality, that's all cookies really are.  The only limitation is your imagination and how far you are willing to go to make your dream a reality.

A week or so ago, I had someone ask me about blogging.  She's shied away from it, because she was not sure she wanted to document her mistakes.  Although I completely understood where she was coming from, it reminded me of one of the most important lessons this great adventure has taught me...

You never really know how a cookie is going to go.  Sometimes it's exactly what you expected.  Sometimes it's a cleverly saved cookie-gone-wrong.  OFTEN, it's a total bust, and then, every once in a while, you hit the jackpot.

This does not by any means imply that you hit the jackpot the very first time, but that sometimes a rough idea, with a little tweaking can really become something wonderful.

This is my latest cookie kick, an example of an idea gone right {after several tweaks}...
CUPCAKE COOKIES!!!


These aren't your everyday average cupcake cookies.  I've done more of the flat version than I'd like to remember.  This was my attempt at an idea I have been toying with for a few years, ever since I saw these babies on Martha Stewart's website {click on the image to see the original post}


{FYI, the photographs of my attempts are in the chronological order of attempts from the beginning to end.}

I found that for the first set, I made the flood icing a little to watery, so it was a bit more translucent than I liked.

So the second time around, I thickened my icing, and added a layer.


The thicker icing worked a lot better, but I didn't like the look of the taller version, so I tried again.  This time leaning more toward simple.

This time I also used a LOT of icing to attach the crown to the cup.  I was going for a "drippy" look.

Still, not quite what I pictured, so...

Learning something with each attempt, I tried something else.  I changed the cutters I used to make the base, hoping to achieve the "drippy" look another way. 

 I liked them okay, but they still weren't quite there.  Plus, I got to learn how much I appreciate the nice oven at our house after spending some time with the stone age model at my parent's cabin =)


I made one final attempt because I wanted to see what they would look like coated with glaze icing rather than royal, and I also wanted to use my wonkey flower cutters for the crown.  I think I liked this version of the top best.


For now, I am going to take a little rest.  But this won't be the last 3-D cupcake cookies you see from me. I already have another idea I need to try.

It usually takes me about three stabs at any design to get it pretty much where I want it to be, sometimes even more.  In this case, I think it will be right between the first and final attempt.

I made a tutorial for this that I will be glad to share, but since I was learning also, I didn't know if it would be as helpful as one after experience.  But, I'll post it if everyone's interested.  Just me know! 

For me, there is no by-the-book decorating.  It's trial and error, mixed with a little fun, a lot of frustration, and even some tears.  But if you keep at it...eventually, something works.  And when it does, it's amazing!





The Academy Awards are coming and I will be celebrating, cookie style.  I absolutely adore itty bitties, and they make the perfect gift.  So, I made my own little "swag bags" cookie style =)


I decided to go a little red carpet for these.  Ballgowns, traditional tuxedos, and of course, that gold guy, Oscar!



Put them in a pretty jar, drop them in a red bag, and viola, instant swag for your Oscar night party! After all, an Academy Award party is not a party if your guests go home empty handed.
To complete the look, head on over and visit my friend Mique at Thirty Handmade Days to get this printable tag {click on the image above} and a few more cute ideas for your Oscar Night celebration.  I plan on giving mine a little bling by embellishing it with rhinestones =)  I can hardly wait!

Come back to tomorrow and I will show you how simple it is to make these itty bitty Academy Award cookies. 






Yesterday put me in a sewing mood which gave me this bright idea.  I wanted to build a sewing machine out of cookies. 

It worked {eventually}, but believe me, it wasn't pretty. I may have said some bad words in the process.

Halfway though, I was thinking I might have been better off making the cute pillows on my to-do list instead.

But I made it, and lived to tell about it.


I wish I had a video of myself building these.  It would definitely be good for a laugh.

You can be sure, there will be much more cookie architecture in the future.  I am interested, but I need practice =)

I also had good intentions of making sewing cookies.  It's been awhile since I've made any, and I have a few ideas I want to try.  But, life happened, and I didn't get to it.  Luckily, they have been done, and they don't get better than this. 

My friend Lisa made these cuties and I LOVE them.  My favorite is the pin cushion =) And, this is only the tip of the iceburg.  She does so much more...click on the photo below to see her Flickr page.



I am hoping for a cookie weekend to do a little more cookie crafting.  Happy Friday, everyone.  Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!