i do... want cookies...

a bride to be liked some cookies similar to these, and i did my best to recreate their features on a dozen for a shower, and i hope the original artist won't hold it against me, but they were pretty, and my pleasure to make, and i came up with a great new technique for making uniform hearts:  sponge food coloring onto the back of a metal mini heart shaped cutter, and stamp the cookie.  i did the same with the square outline and got nice even lines and duplicated the shape each time. awesome.  Congrats and thank you!
coming up, info on the opening of the ITN "Meet Market," a baby shower, a birthday, and some yummy bugs...

super readers, super stars

The Gail Borden Library’s “Read on the Wild Side” challenge is to log 100,000 reading hours as a community.  (the program’s name is a hat-tip to the library’s “SuperCroc” exhibit—that thing is flippin’ huge!)  through the library’s Gold Star Program , youth programs and organizations, schools, parks and recreation and daycares etc, that serve kids can become “gold star partners” by agreeing to sign up children for the program and to measure and record the time kids spend reading.

In The Neighborhood (ITN Fresh is the little café in the library) catered the event recognizing these star readers, and i, INT’s new employee, made these star cookies.  (more info on the job later, the E. Dundee location isn’t open yet, but i’ll be there on my new adventure.)  i have many pounds of respect to heap on people that help kids read, so this project had to be pretty.  gold icing and gold pearl dust was the backdrop for subtle scattered airbrushed stars in a darker gold.  i’m looking forward to more library-centric projects for the cafe, and would love all your suggestions.  i’m already daydreaming about children’s book characters, harvest season fruits and foliage, sci-fi, Halloween…   

congrats and thanks to the Gold Star Partners, and stay tuned for my version of John Lennon’s baby art.  i’m seeing little giraffes in my future.

Wall(y) flowers

Wally is a regular where i work.  a senior citizen, often in board shorts and a t-shirt, sometimes a suit, and always an earring, he gets a small half coffee, half cold water, and chats it up with us in the middle of the day.  the other Katie, a fine arts grad, recently finished a painting for him, and Pat got him a souvenir shirt from Mexico.  like the hubby would say, he's good people.  one day he got us lunch (really good bbq sandwiches that i felt guilty finishing without taking part of it home to share) so to say thanks, i made him a few cookies with my new flower stencil.  i chose teal because when do you ever see a teal flower?  and some pearl shimmer and yellow pearl dragees for some extra pretty.  but i can't decide if i should call them asters or mums.  (shrug)  thanks Wally! 
coming up, i know i have a baby shower, details on the way.  and also some details on my second job as (brace yourself) a baker.  boo-ya and shazam.  stay tuned...