Lasting Memories

Our Christmas celebration is a large, informal, multi-generation celebration.  Since this year will be the first Christmas without my Mom and Dad (beloved Grandma and Papa O), I knew that I wanted to honor their memory.  As a result the cookie platter this year will be a departure from the traditional Christmas designs.

For the past five years, star cookies have become a significant part of my cookie world as I have shared simple cookies with this message for people who have lost a loved one:

Perhaps they are not stars in the sky

but rather openings in the heavens

where loved ones look down

to let us know they are happy.

I knew that I wanted to include stars in my cookie designs and that thought eventually evolved into a winter scene to reflect the many fun times that our extended family has shared in the north woods. 

 -our childhood family vacations were spent in the north woods of Wisconsin

-our parents chose to retire in the north woods

-my sister, Rita, and her husband built a home right next to Mom and Dad

and earlier this year,

-my sister, Carol, and her husband purchased Mom and Dad's home

Stars to represent the colorful sunsets .  .  .

Simple circles to represent the frozen lake that is perfect for snowmobiling.  .  .

Birch trees with Dad's beloved birds.  .  .

Pretty pine trees. . .

Bill's Tree Farm.  .  .

                                      
Rita and Bill's house.  .  .

The cottage that my nephew, Kevin, is renovating.  .  .

Mom and Dad's home, Never Would, because Mom always said she "never would" live there full time.  Now Carol and Marty's home, "Never Would 2."

It looks like family members will be making memories in the north woods for many 
more years.  .  .

 . . .and Mom and Dad would be very happy.

Forever in our hearts and in the stars.

A Few Good Men and Friends!

Why is it that I prefer sunshine and sandy beaches to snow, and yet, snowman cookies always make me smile?  This design is new this year and he will definitely become part of my Christmas tradition.  So simple, but so darn cute.

A dapper, snowman for the Women's Club was another fun design that kept me smiling through the hours of decorating.

Since I make a special cookie for my great-nieces and nephews every year, I opted for even more snowmen designs.  The older kids will receive a happy snowman shopping for his tree . . .

. . . while the younger children will be able to create their own snowman, thanks to my "sugar sister," who gave me this creative cutter.  

"Stick" cookies are the trend this year, so snowman sticks will be part of the family treats.  Along with  cookies with "lots of sprinkles" that were requested by Leann.

Finally, I made some Frozen cookies for a friend, Payton, who is celebrating her 3rd Christmas and is a big fan of the movie.  She currently wears her Elsa dress every night and was excited when her cookies arrived in the mail.

Of course,  it wouldn't be Christmas without a new version of Santa Claus.  

Memories of Mom

This year we had to say goodbye to my kind, sweet, loving Mom, so I will be celebrating Christmas with another angel in heaven.  She wasn't Donna Reed and didn't wear pearls while cleaning house, but she did raise us in a home that was reminiscent of the idyllic 1950s childhood.

Our home was filled with friends, extended family was always welcome to stay, and Mom cooked and baked for everyone.  She was "famous" for her southern style cooking, Easter lamb cakes, Christmas cookies, cheesecake, and jello molds of all kinds. Her special ingredient in everything was never a secret--love was at the core of everything she did.

I was very proud the first time I shared my sugar cookies with the family favorites that Mom always made for us.

Although I am missing Mom, I take comfort in knowing that Mom and Dad are together, again.  I was blessed with two amazing parents and I will be forever grateful.

 My Mother, my friend, my angel.

Forever in my heart and in the stars.

Thanksgiving

Cookie sticks seem to be the trend this year, so I added some to the platter of cookies for our family gathering.

I doubt that I with abandon my traditional cutters for sticks, but they were a nice mix with my traditional fall designs.  My favorite was the sunflower, it has a hint of glitter that can't be seen in the photo.

Since "silly" turkeys are somewhat of a family tradition, I made a segmented design for each of the 11 great nieces and nephews.  

The cookies were bagged and tagged with a topper that said, "I am thankful for you."

Feeling Thankful!

Honoring Our Vets

Celebrating the 4th annual Elk Grove High School salute to Veterans.

 References:

This design was created by, Jill, the amazing cookie artist and owner of Funky Cookie Studio.  Read about how she has united cookie artists from all over the world to support the GoBoFoundation: http://www.gobobakesale.com/.

Halloween

Although Halloween cookies are some of my favorites I haven't made any since 2014.  Life events kept me busy and do the kids really need cookies when they have a treat bag full of candy?

It was fun to return to my fall favorites and add a few new ones inspired by the amazing cookie decorators who share their designs  online.

Turn the cutter upside down and a vampire becomes a pirate.

The cutter I used to make sunflowers last year became kid friendly monsters.

Halloween offers so many fun designs . . .  spooky, funny, and traditional.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Painted Cookies-KISS

Don't get me wrong, I love decorating cookies, but I don't like the time it takes to mix all the colors and clean up all of the supplies.  In an effort to stick with my philosophy of KISS--keep it simple, (it's just a cookie), I have been experimenting with painting on cookies.  Since I have no training in art, I took baby steps to reach a comfort level with this decorating style.

I started with simple eggs . . .

followed by a little tree. . .

. . . and now flowers.

Since I have always loved the simplicity of white cookies,  I used up some left over dough, iced them with white frosting, and painted on a hint of color.  KISS and pretty.

Amazing how the same cutters can look so different with a few simple decorating changes.