You SLEIGH me

Oh the wonder of words and idioms.  My fascination with the blend of visual and verbal art continues.  Can you hear the sleigh bells ring, as you listen? Cookies hand painted and trimmed with Rainbow Dust edible ink pens.  Background mat from InkandElmBackrops.

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Happy Thanksgiving 2015

Hope you ride the gravy train over the turkey terrain to Mount Mashed Potato. May your pies pile up to the skies.

Grateful for my family, friends, and followers… oh and grateful there’s no rationing of sugar and flour.  (Cookie cutter Bed moulding from Truly Mad Plastics , gold background stencil Killer Zebras, ‘give thanks and sweet as pie stencil from The Cookie Box).

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FOWL Play

My sister has been hosting Thanksgiving for untold number of years and it it is my God given duty to bring cookies for the dessert table.  Usually, that table is quite full so this year I made turkeys just for the kids (by that I mean mentally a kid so it qualifies a few more folks than you would think). These cookies combined The Cookie Architect designed wave cutter with a small candy corn cutter (both found at the wonderful Truly Mad Plastics web site.) The colors utilized were Americolor egg yellow, orange, chocolate, and sky blue (each icing batch had a drop of egg yellow gel to balance all of the hues).

Oh yeah.  And one of the turkeys is not like the others.  Getting my Sesame Street on.

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Felix Dia de los Muertos

Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead November 1 and 2.  It is a joyous celebration to honor deceased loved ones. Many people create altars that include marigold-like flowers, photos, candles, food and drinks.  Often families will stay up all night at the gravesite, telling funny stories about their ancestors, socializing, listening to songs from strolling musicians. My favorite celebratory ritual of this Mexican holiday is the exchange of the sugar skull.  Which brings me to my next set of cookies… Here are my designs to honor that occasion. Special thanks to IG fellow cookier Kelly, Minisugarrush, for the “bat inspiration”.

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I sketched out my ideas for the skull designs to begin the process.  To create the depth for the eyes in some of the designs, I painted a thin layer of the royal icing on the cookie base.  For the red bat skull, I blended red and white.

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A little bit closer for the details…

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The sugar skulls plated.  Isn’t this spider base for the pumpkin the coolest? My niece’s husband created several for me a few years back.  Cool to have a blacksmith in the family.  Lost art.

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Folk Art Halloween

I love the folk art scene.  Wish I was gifted in that arena.  Until I discover some (really wish) unseen, hidden talent, I took inspiration from the uber.sensational Johanna Parker (based in Denver, I believe.  Happy birthday Johanna!) and the catalog designers from Olive and Cocoa.

Please, no Samhainophobia today! May your candy buckets be full of joyful treats (Almond Joy?)!

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Halloween Menu

I play with my food like I play with my words.  Wrap (like a mummy) your head around these notions for breakfast, lunch, and dinner this Halloween.  They’re the kind of ‘trick’ to which I like to treat myself.

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Movie Monsters

Movie Monsters is the theme for Sarah’s Halloween party this year.  Love doing her cookies because she is such an awesome (repeat) client!  She always has some fun planned and her themed parties are so thoughtful and clever!!! Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to gather this cast of characters together for your ghoulish gala! Happy Halloween!

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Halloween Humor 2015

I was honored to participate in the GoBo Bake sale, sponsored and led byJill Wettstein of Funky Cookie Studio.  She runs this fundraiser to honor Bo, a courageous young man for whom the GOBO Foundation was initiated; they bring hope to children with life-threatening medical conditions by funding research, supporting treatment, and helping their families during times of financial need.

The bake sale had a halloween or fall theme.  Twist my arm…  a chance to pull out the halloween humor???   Hope you find my treats to be no trick! DSC_0014DSC_0028

Alaska

She wanted birthday cookies that were centered around the things he likes.  They have great taste (…as do these cookies).  I must admit that I rarely make the same cookies again and find customer’s diverse requests so interesting.  The hand knucks are new to me; learn something every day.  So happy to make Alaska cookies; we had the most fabulous time taking our kids to Denali NP and beyond a few summers ago.  Stunning.  Jaw-dropping gorgeous.  All that in more, Alaska!

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