A Musical Celebration

with brother, cousins and Grandma Carol

 Spring has arrived and in our family that means someone is graduating.  The honoree this year is Chiann, a girl who enjoys time spent with family and friends.  .  .

and loves riding horses.  .  .

.  .  . but High School was all about the Music!

Every Graduate experiences the thrill of marching down the aisle to "Pomp and Circumstance," so I thought I would present it in cookie form.  Since I have no musical training I relied on my husband's guidance to help me with the musical notes.  Although he was a great mentor, I still made a mistake that I did not detect until I was packing the cookies.  Fortunately, I have adopted the philosophy that it is "just a cookie". . . packed them up and said "oh well."   Knowing Chiann, she will just smile and give me a hug when I show her the error!

Marching band, choir, piano and flute were the center of Chiann's extracurricular activities.  The hat was created from a jelly bean cutter and the choir robe was originally an angel.  In addition, I added a graduation cap to a cake cutter to create a unique centerpiece cookie for the collection.

Graduation caps, diplomas and musical minis completed the collection.

  Love, hugs, and cookies for a special girl on her special day!  

Chiann and Marlena-BFFs

National Honor Society

Congratulations to my great-niece, Kendall. 

Since I nicknamed her the"glamathlete" I added a little disco dust to give most of the cookies some bling.

The cookies were packaged with a tag that said:

Flowers and glitter for the "glamathlete." A knight for school spirit, and a star because you are.

Congratulations on your achievement.

Easter 2014

When I purchased this set of cutters, I thought I would KISS (keep it simple .  .  .) for Easter and make it a "Peep Year."  However, as I continued to shop I kept finding cute new cutters to add to my collection, bloggers kept posting creative ideas, I found cookie inspiration everywhere.  .  .  so much for KISS.

This year's collection includes some annual family favorites and some new designs.

This new "Chubby" Bunny cutter turned into several different looks as a result of inspiration found in a variety of places:

• Bunny with egg was inspired by a little bunny I have had for years
• "Peter Rabbit" and friend are based on Montreal Confection's tutorial
• Bunny with carrot was inspired by a decoration I saw at a local store

 The "Floppy-Ear" Bunny cutter has been in my collection for years, but I have never used it.  I was not happy with my first design (left), but the second one (right) made me smile :)

This common cutter is another one that I have had for years and never used until I saw this cute rabbit design posted by Haniela.  Michelle at MakeMeCakeMe also posted a very creative tutorial using this cutter.

I first made the bunny with carrot ears as part of a thank you gift and I thought the design was so cute that I used a smaller cutter for the cookies in my family Easter collection.  I also used this cutter to make the lamb cookie by chopping off the ears and turning the cutter upside down.

The lamb looks a bit like a puppy, but I think it is pretty cute compared to one that I saw in a popular store for $7.95 each.

Cookies on the left were on sale at a popular kitchen/home decor store

 Last but not least, can there ever be too many carrots in my collection?  The kids always joke that they can have another cookie because they are "supposed to eat their vegetables."

The two on the right and the "mini" are my favorites

I have accumulated a number of carrot cutters over the years.  Some are too fat, some are too thin.  This year I think I finally have found some favorites!

Visit SweetSugarBelle for an easy tutorial on Polka-Dot carrots.

Carrots in all shapes and sizes

Some Bunny Wants to Say Thank You

My wonderful, sweet Mother recently broke her pelvis and had to visit the emergency room twice within a week.  Fortunately, she received wonderful medical care from the emergency room staff and is now on the long road to recovery.  This collection was a thank you gift for all the great doctors and nurses who treated her with patience and compassion.

As always, I must give credit to the great bloggers who share their creative designs:
1.  Montreal Confections
2.  Haniela
3.  SweetSugarBelle

Kendall's 16th Birthday

 Congratulations!  Today is your day. . . 

 

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!*

Kendall is a"glamathlete."  A girl who loves to compete, has broken so many bones I've lost count, plays hard, isn't afraid to sweat, then puts the uniforms aside, dresses up and WOW!  

Even at a young age, Kendall loved her bling!

                           

Do the boots look like Britney's?

At the age of two, Kendall stood on my coffee table in her cowboy boots and performed her version of "Oops, I Did It Again." I suspect that she will roll her eyes as she reads this reminder of her performance.

She loves her shoes!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  

And you know what you know.  

                                

And YOU are the gal who'll decide where to go.

One of the places Kendall decided to go was to the neighbors' houses to borrow their dogs.  She walked them, bathed them, and played with them, until she convinced her Dad that they should have a dog of their own.

 
 

Sisters

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.

There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  

There are games to be won.
And the magical things 

you can do with that ball. . .

 

So many fond memories of a very special great-niece! In addition to cookies to remind her of events in the past, I included 16 candles on her cake and snowmen cupcakes in honor of the  record-breaking snowfall, cold temperatures and school closings that have been part of her birthday month.

Oh, the places you'll go!

 

Just remember that no matter where the road may go, it always leads back to a loving family!

 

Distance and conflicting schedules sometimes requires meeting "on the road" for cookie deliveries, but it's just another place to go. . .

Love, hugs, and cookies for your special day! 

 

     

*Excerpts from, "Oh, The Places You'll Go," by Dr. Seuss.

Leann is Six

Thanks, as always, to my wonderful friend, Donna, for the creative writing

 It's always interesting to see what cookie designs the little ones will request for their birthdays.  This year, Leann (LeLe), asked if I would make mice cookies.  We had a special day together last spring when I was a guest in her preschool class and we brought mice cookies for all of her friends.

LeLe has been a HUGE fan of puzzles ever since she was a toddler, so she requested mouse puzzle cookies for her party.  Since I made snowman puzzle cookies for her birthday last year, I detect a birthday "tradition" might be developing.

Sure hope this cute little cat is
happy with her birthday treats.


Love, hugs 
and cookies
for your 
special day!

Puzzle Cookies Past and Present

Oooh, Baby!

Baby cookies from cutters that I have never used before.  The one on the right was intended to be a snowman cutter until a friend suggested that it would make a cute baby face!