My friend Mique and I had so much fun making cookie Valentine's last week, we thought we would do it again!  I couldn't wait to make her newest printables into  cookies!

Believe it or not, I don't have a small shoe sole cutter, so I had to make one. 

*A  flip-flop would work, but the one I have is too large for the design I wanted to do

It was easy and inexpensive.  All I needed was an extra dog bone cutter from my collection.

Inexpensive cutters work best for this kind of project because they bend easily and they are easily replaceable.  Remember to be careful though, they CAN break.  My hulk of a husband has snapped more than his fair share.

To make double soles cut out twice the number of cookies you are planning to bake.  Then, arrange them side by side {flip one so they make right and left feet} on the cookie sheet, making sure they are pushed together so they fuse  while baking.  Each two cookies will make one.
 


After they cool, it's time to decorate.  First outline, and then fill.  It's important to outline the cookie in sections and fill as pictured below.  After the first sections have dried for thirty minutes or more, go back and fill the rest.  Filling in this manner creates dimension without layering.


Let the cookies dry completely {about eight hours} then complete the steps below.  If you have trouble piping, use my video on perfect writing without a kopykake.


Now for the fun part!  To get these cute printables, head on over to  Mique's blog, Thirty Handmade Days and grab her free "SOLE MATE" printables!  Now you have all you need to re-create these cuties for Valentine's Day.

Ever since I came across this adorable photo on my friend Glory's Flickr page, I have been dying to make cookie Valentines with my kids. 

As a beginning cookie Valentine-r, I did learn a few things this week that I would like to share to help others avoid some of the headaches I encountered...

• Make simple cookies for kids.  Save the masterpieces for grown up events.
• Stock up on treat bags, small and large.
• If it's hard for you to fold cardstock cleanly, use a butter knife, or even better, use regular computer paper instead of cardstock.  Then it's easier for the kids to help staple {for some reason staplers intrigue my boys}
• Since these toppers are a little small, if you have a child that still writes a little on the LARGE side like my Evan, keep a fine tip Sharpie handy.  It's WAY neater. 
• Print extras so that mistakes are no big deal.
• Bite size cookies are a good idea for younger kids.

I was so inspired by The Celebration Shoppe's free printables that I showed yesterday, I made some simple cookies to go with the owl version. {Click on the photo and then follow the instructions to get your printables}

This idea belongs to my middle child.  Caleb is such a funny kid.  He like dinosaurs a LOT.  He might even be a little obsessed with them.  So, it wasn't any surprise that he picked dinosaur cookies for his Valentine's Day idea.

For the first set, I went with the old faithfuls, dinosaurs as hearts.  These are always a hit.  I can't take credit for this idea, I think it was a Wilton thing once upon a time.

I tried to make them a little more Valentine-y by adding  hearts and simple "You're GRRR-eat," and  "You're Dino-myte," rounds.






All of these cookies are simple enough to work really well for Valentine's Day treat bags.  To help everyone out, I found this cute, fun Valentine printable at The Celebration Shoppe.  Follow the instructions to get yours =)

One of the joys of my new-found Twitter addiction is that I find cool stuff.  LOTS of cool stuff. Since joining, I find myself inspired almost as quickly as I can make cookies!

Last week I stumbled upon these cuties, by Mique {Pronounced Mickey, like the mouse}, at Thirty Handmade Days. I KNEW immediately that I had to "COOKIE" them...

So I did.  The boys were SOOOOOOOO excited, especially Evan because he got to help...


Just when I thought I was finished,  I re-read the post and got even more inspired!  In the {I "Wheelie" Like You} post Mique mentions another set of printables she created, {Cute as a Button}.  I bet it won't take much to figure out where my brain went from there =)



These can be used for the very same idea, except instead of stapling them to the treat bag, I'd use them gift-tag style.  Simply punch a hole in them and tie them to the favor with pretty ribbon.

I didn't put together any of those, but you get the idea.  Don't forget to click on the links to visit Mique, and get her free printables to use for these projects.

Also, check back here all this week. I have many more Valentine's ideas for the kids {Since I have endless inspiration here}Tommorrow, it's Caleb's turn.  Bet you'll never guess what he came up with!

I thought this would be a good week for Valentine cookie projects perfect for the kids.

I would like to take credit for these cookies, but I really can't.  They were actually my little boy's idea. 

Last year around this time, I had a special Valentine's Day project in mind for his class, so I asked him what kind of cookie he'd like to take to school.  I was thinking lips or hearts...something along those lines.  However, as usual, ol' Evan was on a whole different wavelength than me.  He wanted Spiderman...

At first I tried to talk him out of it, desperately explaining that Spiderman didn't look very much like a Valentine's Day Cookie.  I had been bitten by the Valentine bug and was absolutely NOT in the mood for boy stuff.

Then, suddenly, it hit me!  There was a way to please us both.  With a little bit of adjustment, I could have my hearts, and Ev could have Spidey!

I'll admit, I am a little behind.  I should have started Valentine's projects a week ago, but as usual, I got sidetracked!

So, from here on out, that's what I will do.  Starting Monday I will begin lots of fun little projects, bake lots of cookies, introduce some new friends and recipes, and hopefully live a little life in between=)