Sixteen Years Awesome!

 

Congratulations, today is your day . . .

Leann is my cookie puzzle loving great-niece and I have made several of them for her over the years.

 

 

Of course, her sixteenth birthday collection had to include a special puzzle just for her.  Much harder than it looks, my brain just doesn't work well with puzzles.  I bought the cutters, numbered them, cut pieces out on paper to know how to put it together and then cut out lots of cookies to make sure I didn't break any while trying to piece it together.  The final design was "plan B" because my original concept didn't work, so I was pleasantly surprised when her Mom picked up the cookies and told me that tie dye was trendy right now.

 

Since Leann is passionate about soccer, big sister, Mary Grace, insisted that soccer cookies had to be part of this collection.

There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball.

Flashback to Leann's eighth birthday .  .  .

 

I used the same cookie cutter for the mermaid and the balloon bouquet.

In addition to soccer and dance, Leann is involved in numerous service programs including:  Sister Sister, Best Buddies, Give a Little, fundraising for Dental Awareness and her church youth group.  

A very busy schedule for someone who also has to allow for the time it takes to make the 22 mile round trip to attend the high school of her choice.  No doubt, acquiring her driver's license will be the first thing on her birthday "to do" list.  I wish her lots of luck as she maneuvers the expressway that will be under construction until she graduates.

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care. About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."  With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,  you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

Leann recently completed the 9,036 piece Legos Colosseum so I thought she would appreciate my effort at building a gift box out of cookies.

From family trips, to a service project in Alabama last summer, to spring break 2024 in South Africa, Leann is a girl on the go, with a loving supportive family waiting for her at home.

Sixteen years awesome, sixteen years loved. 

Can't wait to see all the places you'll go!

References:

Quotes from "Oh the places you'll go!"

Haniela's gift box

 

 

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.  

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!

Easter 2016

My Easter cookies this year were a bit of a departure from my usual "cute" designs, not a chubby bunny or carrot in sight!

Last year, when I hand cut some Stargazer Lily cookies, I really liked them but the shapes were a bit strange.  I opted to purchase a lily cutter and design "pretty" cookies for the family this year.

A few pastel bunnies and water color eggs with pearls and gold lustre dust completed the platter for our family dinner.

Of course, I couldn't completely abandon my preference for "cute" cookies, so I made some chick puzzles for the younger children.

The cookies were bagged and tagged with a verse to inspire their creativity.

Finally, I couldn't resist making a few of these adorable little lambs inspired by Mike at Semi-Sweet Designs.  Mike has a template available, however, since I do not have a Kopykake, I did them free hand.

Happy Easter!  Happy Spring! 

A Turkey Free Thanksgiving--NOT!

Last year, my Thanksgiving cookies were all about the turkey, thanks to all the creative bloggers who posted various designs and tutorial. This year, I decided that the Thanksgiving cookie collection would not have ANY turkeys, not one!  After all, how many different ways can you design a turkey?

Since I have never made Scarecrow cookies, I decided a fall theme would replace the traditional bird.  My husband is usually enthusiastic about my designs, but not this time.  He said, "Thanksgiving without a turkey?  I don't get it."  I was not deterred, I just kept telling myself, "no turkeys."

So the fall theme took shape, and a Scarecrow was born using Sugarbelle's instruction's to re-purpose a Snowman cutter.

Of course, a Scarecrow needs crows, so I re-purposed a carrot cutter and took design inspiration from a childhood cartoon.

I added another crow design when I found this cute creation by Nanny.

At this point, I started second guessing myself . . .Thanksgiving + bird = turkey, NOT crows! Turkeys needed to be added to the collection.

My second scarecrow design was made with a re-purposed hamburger cutter, thanks to the creativity of Jill FCS.  I thought his hat would be a good place to include a turkey in the collection.

When a surprise package arrived in the mail, I knew that I couldn't wait until Christmas to use these cutters! Thanks, Donna.

Since the little ones in our family love puzzle cookies, I decided that the Bearfootbaker's  turkey design created with a re-purposed acorn cutter would be the perfect bird to disguise.  I bagged these cookies and added a little tag that said, "I am not a turkey."

What happens to design themes when an unseasonably warm fall is interrupted by snow? It wasn't a few flakes or a light dusting . . .the headline in the paper read, "Season's first snow is Chicago's largest November snowfall in 120 years."  The cookie collection now needed Snowmen!

Finally, when I saw this adorable football turkey designed by Jill FCS,  I knew I had to add them to the collection.  They reminded me of the fun I had a few years ago collaborating on a football design with my Sugar Sister .

Scarecrows, crows, turkeys, football and, snowmen. . .so much for themes.  I guess my design style is eclectic.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Leann is Seven

Penguins, skates. . .

. . . and of course, puzzle cookies were part of LeLe's 7th birthday celebration. 

I keep thinking that she will outgrow her love of puzzles but she recently told me, "Aunt DeeDee, even when I am a grown-up you are going to have to make puzzle cookies for me."

Love, hugs and puzzle cookies for a very special girl!

Goofy Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving cookies in the past have been traditional turkeys, mini turkeys, flower turkeys, football turkeys.  .  . this year, I opted for a gang of goofy turkeys.  Eight  different designs and not a turkey cutter in sight.

Design inspiration came from SweetSugarBelle  to use an ice cream cone cutter to create a turkey.

I then followed The Bearfoot Baker's directions to use an acorn cookie cutter for another funny turkey design.

Once I made these designs, I decided that "goofy" turkeys would be my theme for the family cookies this year.

For the teen girls, a glam turkey with a tag that said "girls just want to have fun."

Since my niece, Kendall, was recently named as an all-area athlete, I decided to make her a volleyball turkey complete with bling on the feathers and toes.

It is interesting how the same cutter can be used to create different designs.

A pineapple cutter was used for the cookie for the older boys.  The cookies are not exactly how I had  envisioned them, but they will work with a tag that says, "a goofy turkey for a goofy guy."

 For the younger children,  I made turkey puzzles inspired by, MunchkinMunchies.

A Christmas ornament and a small ice cream sundae cutter (see group photo at the top), completed the collection.

Gobble, gobble, gobble!