my kid ate my homework (& thoughts on bake sales)

friend-of-the-fam' and previous client Brenda asked if i wouldn't mind donating my wares to Fox Ridge Elementary's fundraiser last month. i agreed, then pondered all over the place... the suggestion was to do baskets, maybe 2 of a dozen each. i only had to provide contents, but i thought of my reserve of cookie-appropriate containers and how to fill them in some delightful way. it came down to 2 blue mugs and a candy dish, to be tied in my usual cellophane poofy-topped way, containing a scholarly selection--apples, pencils, letters numbers, and rows of sticker-sized gold stars. the idea was to have 3 gift sets, with the candy dish having more of each shape. then my terrible-2y/o got into the candy dish, so i made the mugs and a few favor bags instead. (thanks kid)

luckily i made these, also in favor bags. the designs are piped dots, some dragged with a toothpick. the "metal" is black icing with pearl dust. i was pouting as i was getting to the end of decorating these--i wanted to make one in every combination of colors and patterns. maybe i'll get a wedding/baby shower gig soon? hope so, i can't look at this picture without getting more ideas.

i threw out a line on twitter and facebook, wondering if any area followers wanted to co-donate to a basket, but no bites. meh, we're all busy, it's ok. but with the funds that need raising all over, i'm looking forward to any movement in bake sale culture. they could be like little conventions of local artists (cakes cookies) gardeners (preserves pies) and kitchen warriors (aforementioned and then some) networking their secret recipes into American hearts and pallets while offsetting what's gotten to be a sad [i paused a while here] everything.

secret shoppers from huge food magazines could discover the next home-baked celebrity or publications/blogs could spring up to cover the bake sale bandwagon that everyone is hopping on so they'll be featured in said publications/blogs. all proceeds to charity. are we doing this already? links please, i'm on board. and magazines, i'm for hire...

Brenda says the cookies were a hit, and i'm glad to help. (high 5 Fox Ridge!) coming soon, cherries and blossoms, Heather's baseball birthday do-over, and Henry partys like it's 1921.

Strangly enough, tractors...

...are one of my most repeated shapes. they were the primary request in a collection of "things with wheels" for a 2-year-old boy's party, i did a dozen for Eldra's husband's birthday, one is parked in the background of my "Chicken Little" cookie photo project, and most recently, my friend Lisa requested 2 dozen for Evelyn's 3rd birthday party which, Evelyn decided, was to be a tractor party. last year Evy requested dinosaurs. in between, she got into Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman. she's a tough little cookie! meanwhile, my 3 year old son likes butterflies and singing. (shrug)

so it turns out that John Deere makes kids' party supplies, including a version for girls, with butterflies and daisies. Lisa emailed me a link for ideas. rather than girl-up the tractors, i did them in a traditional tractor style, but plated them with smaller daisies. the grown-ups thought they looked great--the kids just had big green smiles.

Lisa is on blogspot too, pursuing her life-coaching career; check out her site at the link in the right-hand column, Perspective Life Coaching. i once relayed a story to her, of when i was being trained at a new job. once i had mastered some complicated sequence of keystrokes and successfully sent out a report, i quietly clapped my hands and said "yaaay!" my trainer looked at me strangely and i had to explain, "sorry, i have a 2-year-old." Lisa heard this and nodded--we were both high-5ing little hands and saying good job, and clapping at everything. she added, "ya know, just clap your hands and say 'yay' and just see if you don't feel better." she's right!

coming soon, baseball, a school fundraiser, umbrellas, and probably more flowers--yay spring! (clap clap clap!)