This has been a big week for my kids. The youngest two saw a vacuum for the first time in their lives. The oldest saw a LADDER for the first time in his life. And then... he got to climb it.  They picked their first ever vegetable from their first ever garden. They saw their first ever parade and their first ever giant inflatable dinosaur pretending to dance in a parade. And had their first parade-candy stomach ache and subsequent sugar crash leading to a very sticky nap and the "what have I done to myself?" crying upon awakening. They saw fireworks for the first time. And got burned by fireworks for the first time. (And for the record... one of them also burned my shirt.... but let's not talk about me...) Actually, let's do talk about me. Because I finally figured out my favorite method for making cookies look old. Do you want to know how I did it? (Please say yes because I already took pictures and everything.) I tried it two different ways with these ...

Is everyone crazy busy with all your demanding summer fun activities? I'm not actually. But I like to pretend that my life is just crammed full of meaningful and educational adventures that my children will remember for years and years. The truth is, we go to the pool occasionally, play baseball and pick mulberries when we feel like it. And also make cookies. I just leave some icing in a bottle and make extra cookies for them to decorate whenever they decide it is time to decorate more cookies. Which is pretty much all the time. You can imagine I don't have a ton of extra time these days. So I decided to make July's challenge relatively simple. Add something extra to your cookies this month.   It can be sanding sugar. Or sugar pearls.  Or actual candy. Or nonpareils. Or anything else you feel is appropriate.  RULE TYPE THINGS -- 1. Each entry must be a new project made during the month of July, 2013. 2. Each entry must use somet...

Once upon a time, there was an awful, awful tornado that devastated a community. And the nation was stunned. And heartbroken for them. And desperately wished they could help but didn't know how. And then someone named Shannon had an idea. And she shared her idea. And it grew into a giant idea of helping and love and generosity. And cookie makers all over the country auctioned off cookies and unbelievable people with the giantest hearts that ever existed bid on those cookies and all the money went to help those people in that tornado ravaged community. And I got to be part of that. And I got to make these cookies for a super sweet woman named Betty Jo.   She even let me make whatever cookies I wanted to.... as long as they were chocolate. So I did some high-tech super sleuthing that involved clicking from Facebook to her blog page and found this beauty. And then it was the natural next step to re-create it all in cookie form and send them on their way to that...

I had this idea for chevron popsicles in my head for pretty much a lifetime. I took it with me on family vacations to the water park. I tucked it in at night and taught it to sing Yankee Doodle. When it got older, I bought it a car and then had to ground it when it stayed out waaaaaay past our agreed upon curfew.  And then there were the loud parties and the 3 am slurpee runs... It got to be just a little overwhelming. So naturally, I finally made the idea into actual cookies and hated them.   I hated them a lot more right in the middle there where the icing is sort of starting to dry and you are kind of wondering if you are done and if you should clean up the icing from off the counter and floor and your pants and also that whole strand of hair that somehow is now a strange color of blue even though it was all tied up tight on top of your head the whole time. I mean, really, does icing FLY?! I hated them a little less after the icing was dry and I had time to th...

A few days ago someone asked me if I could make them some people cookies. And I laughed and laughed because people aren't cookies. And then I felt kind of stupid because apparently they meant cookies that look like people. And then I laughed and laughed again because I cannot make cookies that look like people. Remember that one time I made a cookie that was supposed to look like Gerald Ford ? And after 4 weeks of planning, 2 days of execution and 1 hour of crying, it ended up looking vaguely like a human male? That is the extent of my "making cookies that look like people" skill. Which is about as impressive as singing the alphabet song in the shower at the age of 26. And then add on the fact that these cookies of real live people were going to be given to those real LIVE people... it was hysteria. My mind was fading in and out. I started saying things like, "Yes. I can do that." And "that would be fun." I couldn't stop myself. I was c...

Can I tell you a secret? I totally thought that the submissions for my own challenge opened TODAY.  I had some vague idea of the cookies I would create. I planned to make them sometime. And then all of a sudden, I was procrastinating over at the Cookier R Us forum and someone mentioned that they had already linked up. WHAT?! I have officially crossed the "too much" procrastination line. So I turned my oven on at 11pm last night and out came these fun treats. You guys... this was probably one of my favorite challenges yet. I mean, I got to spend HOURS browsing around the world in my jams (vicariously from my couch of course) just to put together the Pinterest board for the challenge. And then I got to stare at those gorgeous photos even longer while pretending to think about birthday parties. And THEN... I got to make these lovely little gems. And also, this has nothing to do with the challenge, but I got a new cake plate last night. And I like that t...

Cookies are cookies. Unless I take pictures of them in the morning and then they turn into little monsters from another planet where everything is blue even if it is supposed to be pink or white. And no matter what you do in post-processing, they never come back and look like their charming little selves again.... which leave you with no choice but to hate them. And it's not really their fault. It's that shady guy called White Balance that somehow manages to turn them from creatures of love and sugar into those little things that will hereafter be referred to as " cookies I now hate because I can't figure out how to get the right white balance in my pictures ." Except that, I CAN!!! Lisa from The Bearfoot Baker has the best post EVER on how to adjust your white balance before you ever take a single photo of those adorable little cookies. I love her. And her post. And one time, she even came to my house and sat on one of my folding chairs and pretended tha...

It's not really a secret that I love cookie cutters. But do you know what I love more than cookie cutters? NEW COOKIE CUTTERS. 1. Morocco Plaque -- Copper Gifts | 2. Mini Palm tree -- The Cookie Cutter Company | 3. Dogwood Blossom -- Off The Beaten Path | 4. Floppy Top Hat -- American Tradition Cookie Cutters | 5. Pitcher -- Cheap Cookie Cutters | 6. Bow Tie -- Affordable Cookie Cutters Okay, so not all of these are brand new cutters. I'm pretty sure the dogwood blossom cutter has been around for my entire cookie decorating life. I've just never been interested enough to pay attention to it before now. But now that I know about it.... it's been kind of hard to live my life without it. My food seems colder somehow. And my colors seem faded and there is no longer music playing as I dance about my mornings. (This one might be explained by the fact that it is now summer and my alarm clock doesn't go off anymore. Also, I do...

Let me tell you a joke. I used to think that I got to plan my own children's parties. I dreamed of all the fun themes I could choose and the perfectly matching decorations and the sumptuously laid out food and dessert tables. And all the wrapping paper would coordinate perfectly with the invitations and the party favors. I forgot to factor in reality. I have a child that is very nearly 3 years old. I have been trying to arrange her party according to her directions for the last 2 weeks. Luckily for me, she doesn't even know what a pony is yet. She actually doesn't even know how to plan a party. You would think she would trust me to make the best possible decisions for this momentous occasion in her life. After all, I am taller than her.... so obviously I'm going to be better at hanging streamers and unlocking the door and replacing light bulbs, and also I can bake, and she's not even allowed to use the oven yet. Her instructions are simple. Pink. And Cupc...

After watching all of the entries come in for last month's Wet-on-Wet Challenge, I realized I'm kind of a wet-on-wet amateur. Here I am putting polka dots on every cookie west of the Mississippi (and considering myself to be quite a success if you must know,) and you guys are over there creating layers and texture and shading and night skies and pure happiness in cookie form with multiple hues of wet icing. You have inspired me. I am going to step up my game. From this moment forward I vow to some day make a cookie and NOT put polka dots on it. (I don't want to set my aim too high for fear of failure. And also because I'm lazy.)  Let's look at some of my favorites from last month. And then, of course, I will tell you the winner.  If it were socially acceptable to lie on my couch and stare at cookies all afternoon, these cookies from LaLas Sweet Shop would be the ones I would stare at. I'm kind of in love with them. I just adore the designs and the co...