Cancer-Free Tattoo Cookie

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After a battle with bladder cancer that left her with a scar, my sister-in-law's younger sister decided to put a tattoo over that scar and for five years the scar and the tattoo are all that she has left from her battle, because she has successfully been cancer free for that entire time, which is truly amazing!

To celebrate that anniversary, my sister-in-law asked me to make her a cookie. This was truly a custom cookie. I knew that she had a tattoo so I suggested that we make the cookie and the anniversary very personal and very special by recreating the tattoo that means so much to her. 

The tattoo itself is a very intricate, detailed and highly personal reflection of a very hard time, so I used orange (her favorite color) and green along with a bright white to contrast and compliment the very artful tattoo that an artist had created just for her. The white border around the top of the cookie and highlighting the date of remission, along with the multiple details I included in it, contrast well with the center image making both elements stand out and work cohesively together. 

I do not have the skill of a tattoo artist, but I was rather proud of my work here recreating from a cell phone image what an artist spent hours designing and applying. The fact that it was to commemorate something so special and so meaningful not only to my sister-in-law's sister and  family but on a different level to me as well made this cookie very personal and something I was very proud to be able to surprise her with.

Congratulations Karen!

Valpo Baseball Cookie(s)

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I was soo excited when my Aunt, after looking at this blog,
contacted me to make a cookie for her upcoming party. She has made and decorated these cookies for years and she trusted me to make one for her big party and I was honored to do it!  Plus, sports themes and mascot recreations are something I love doing for cookies and I was really pumped to get started on this one and make a great impression.

My cousin is a pitcher for the Valpo University baseball team.

Today, my Aunt and Uncle hosted 70 baseball players and parents at their house after a game against Butler. Their house and decor for parties always impress guests so I knew this cookie needed to do the same. 

And yes I said cookie (singular), but I'll discuss that later :)

My Aunt was a great help in designing the cookie. She had an idea of everything that she wanted to see included on the cookie and she sent me all the logos and info I needed which saved me time, but still gave me the freedom to put together the cookie and do all the finishing in my own way. 

I chose to do the more intricate Valpo logo because I think it makes a much stronger impression and a better look for the cookie. The 'baseball' banner underneath the University name is my own addition as an attempt to incorporate baseball into that center image. The baseballs themselves balance the cookie and stand out well along the edges while giving it a little extra detail with some clear sprinkles. The ribbon border is one of my favorite looks and the yellow ribbon connecting the baseballs was perfect for this cookie! The finishing touch was a generous sprinkling of silver sprinkles all around the edge to contrast the black tray and add a special touch. With a little text to cheer on the crusaders and some graphic designs to help bring the baseballs and the logo together I think I achieved a pretty well executed cookie that I am really proud to have created. 

but....

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Unfortunately, I had made a mistake!!

That cookie that I just decorated was supposed to be made without nuts! (A point that apparently slipped my mind while baking). To remedy this situation I decided to bake and design another cookie, the way my aunt had ordered it this time. Even though it was made and decorated in a short amount of time, the second cookie needed to match the look and quality of the first. For this second cookie, I wanted to do something more directly related to the baseball team itself so I chose to put their jersey as a center piece. I outlined the jersey with some similar graphics as the first cookie, included another shout out to the crusaders, and finished it off with another ribbon border and a round of sprinkles just like the first. 

It was a good thing they were hosting 70 people because in the end they received both cookies for the party since I had made such a mistake. My Aunt was gracious enough to accept 2 cookies and happily they both worked extremely well together and looked great in the party roomed decked out in Valpo gear.

Real Estate Function Cookie

I donated one of my cookies to a fund raising auction at my nephews'

school a couple of months back. The winning bidder decided to use the cookie for a real estate event that she was putting on today. 

The theme of the event was setting goals and in terms of the design she said "surprise me" so I tried another ambitious scene design for this cookie.

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To showcase a lofty goal, I wanted to show a street with all the homes on the street boasting sold signs.  I chose to use a one point perspective leading off into the sunrise to give the idea that these sold homes continue down the street. That's quite a goal for any real estate agent I think!

This wasn't the deign for all the flashy sparkly details, so instead I chose to focus on the homes and make them as realistic as possible. I used a specific tip with the icing to create horizontal lines of the siding which was very important to the look of the cookie. I did use sparkles in the cookie, but mostly to add texture to the roof. I think the technique and the roofs looked great in the end. A little more texture added in the landscaping and the whole scene comes together as it fades back to the focal point and highlights the whole street.

The cookie was meant to be inspirational and set the mood for the event that was being hosted. The theme of the event was well represented in the cookie and hopefully eating the cookie was the perfect end to the meal and to the event.

Office Farewell Cookie

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When my sister-in-law asked me to make a farewell cookie for her office administrator's move to San Francisco, I knew exactly what I wanted to do! As a former architecture student and lover of all things design and engineering the Golden Gate Bridge was a great choice for a focus on this cookie. Like I said, I love a challenge, especially one that I impose on myself since I was only asked to make a cookie for the office workers to enjoy at her party. 

It's the detail again that makes this cookie so special and one of my favorites. The giant bridge supports, the span, and the cables all work together and yet still stand out to make it instantly recognizable. The idea that the bridge spans across the entire cookie and seems to be trailing off into the background is one of the stronger elements of the cookie. The colors all work together as well helping the design and the detail used around the name add a nice element to the cookie that I enjoy.

My sister-in-law was blown away and so happy to be able to give this cookie  to her office manager and friend to thank her for all her hard work. I was glad to be able to surprise my sister-in-law and make her happy as well

Christine's Bridal Shower Cookie

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 A bridal shower is such a great occasion for a cookie. It goes well with multiple other smaller desserts usually served at a shower such as cupcakes and it allows a better display of the bride's wedding theme for all to see. I personally enjoy making bridal shower cookies because the importance and elegance of a wedding allows me to pull out all the stops in terms of my designing skills. There is always a theme and specific colors or a specific design that the bride has for the big day and I get to add my spin on it to make the bride happy as we celebrate her on that day. 

For this cookie, a long time friend of mine from grade school through high school and now was getting married in St. Louis where she lives now with her husband. She came back home for a beautiful shower for all of our hometown friends and their mothers. It was a perfect shower and luncheon, but it was also an opportunity to showcase my cookies to my friends who all live in different cities now. 

For all these reasons I tried to make this cookie extra special and I spent hours trying to achieve my design objective which doesn't show well in photos, but which was really special in person. The white band across the cookie was where I put a lot of my focus using just icing to create an angled stair step appearance around the center icon that they used as the theme of their wedding. The white texture radiates  up and out from the center putting the focus on the center icon and is delicately detailed to emphasize the raised texture with iridescent sugar pearls and contrasting dark blue scrolls. A light blue folded ribbon finishes the detailed band nicely bringing it all together. 

Because of the amount of detail I put into the center portion I decided that a simple swirl pattern incorporating mostly the darker colors and smaller versions of their wedding theme icon would be appropriate and compliment the stark white of the band. Usually I don't like to used the darkest color right against the cookie because it gets lost, but in this execution I think it actually serves the design of the cookie better and I love the way it turned out.

The icon design is taken from a necklace off of Heidi Klum's jewelry line which the bride loved so much that she transformed it into her wedding theme. To distinguish the stark white in the center of the icon with the stark white surrounding it I utilized my awesome new technique that I discovered. I again chose to use the more elegant silver as opposed to a color which serves to make the names pop and works as a great background.

Overall, this was such a fun cookie to make for a good friend and I loved the icon and colors that I got to work with. All the hard work paid off and it was part of a perfect afternoon.

 

A better view of the textured band

Purse Party Cookie

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For all those who aren't in the know a purse party is just like the jewelry or Pampered Chef parties where a whole bunch of women get together for a sort of Girls Night while a representative comes to assist the guests in designing their own purses to be hand sewn for them.  As with any good girls night get together desserts are the real focus of the party and I wanted to make a fun, accessories focused cookie for the occasion.

Instead of just one centrally focused purse I chose to create many different purse designs to show off all the unique styles and scatter them all around the cookie. I was able to achieve a flatter shinier appearance on all the accessories I made by using some water and a paintbrush to blend all the rough icing together and make this cool stylish effect that worked really well to make these purses all pop. Each design is different and all are detailed some even getting some pink sprinkles! 

The rest of the cookie is filled in with some simple yet fun spirals and dots that fall off the edge and end in a simple sparkly pink border...perfect for that party and that crowd. Something like a purse party is a great occasion for me to be able to really have fun with my designs.

Pineapple Housewarming Cookie

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The pineapple is a symbol of welcome in some cultures, but all I knew when I was designing this cookie for my brother and his wife-to-be's housewarming party is that she absolutely LOVES pineapples and they pop up everywhere in the new house probably for that same reason.

I really wanted to focus on just the pineapple for this cookie since it was a quick one I made right before the party. So I decided that the texture of the pineapple was going to be the pop factor in the design. I used a simple star tip with the yellow icing to achieve that and then framed each section with the different greens to create a more layered and realistic look with real depth and texture. Since I had put so much detail into the body of the pineapple, the stem was a bit boring at first, but when I started adding the second green color and then swirling them together it really came together. A little white detailing added and the pineapple became the center of attention.

With the addition of the 'Welcome Home' title it all came together and was a hit for all the hungry family and friends who had worked all day cleaning and moving everything into the new house.

Ryan's Baptism Cookie

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 This was an ambitious design attempt for one of my first cookies of this detail, but I always love doing cookies for family members, especially for my only nephew (at that time) on his Baptism day.

Being one of my first cookies I decided to leave the intricate designing up to whoever it is that designs plates and napkins for Baptism parties...OK so I copied the design, so sue me. Everyone needs to start somewhere. I loved the spring colors and the level of detail around the center was right up my ally so I thought it was a great design to start with.

The green background is one flaw that I wish I had figured out how to remedy first. I couldn't get the icing to be as flat as I liked so I decided to keep the spatula marks which I didn't like in the end, but with the depth and detail of the cross which I LOVE and all the really beautiful detailing around the box it doesn't take away from the overall cookie. 

Bold capital text works well in this design and with the overall composition. The simple finishing around the edge brings it all together and finishes a great cookie. I really loved this cookie and I was so proud to present it at the baptism for all the families to see and enjoy.

Dolphin Birthday Cookie

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Created for my young cousin's 10th birthday. This was my first attempt at cookie decoration. It turned out much better than I had expected for such an ambitious design. I utilized all new techniques to me from using a wet paint brush to smooth out the icing to using my free hand drawing skills to create a fun water scene.  

My mom was too busy one day to decorate a cookie she had made for my cousin's birthday party so she asked me to do it for her. I decided to take it a little further and make it a truly unique cookie just for my cousin who was a fan of dolphins at the time. It's my first time making a cookie so why not draw a dolphin jumping out of the water, simple right? 

As you will see throughout this blog I love to challenge myself to make the best cookie I can and make it truly unique for those who are going to be enjoying it. My personal challenge usually yields a fantastic cookie for whoever it is that I'm making it for and that's what makes me happy at the end of the day!