spring pretties

A recent Sunday found the family and I at the in-laws celebrating 3 occasions at once—the co-birthday party of nephew Andrew and niece Grace (that Sunday being about the midpoint between their birthdays) and the 45^th wedding anniversary of Jeff’s Ps, Bobbi and Wayne.  Andrew picked blue, Grace picked teal, and I made airbrushed lizards and butterflies for the kids.  For the happy couple, I made blossoms in their wedding colors, peach and white.  I added a few in coral for fun, and some yellow sugar “pollen” for sparkle.  Happy birthday/birthday/anniversary to you, may there be many more years!

The lizard to the right has a smooshy tail, because it was humid.  Commercial kitchens, which I intend to utilize more, are more climate controlled than my home, where I bake for my family.  I will be more into the business of selling cookies for real—licensed, insured, business-carded, advertised, vending to your local businesses, teaching(?), and stocking your parties with awesome treats—in the coming weeks.  So tell your friends! (striking a superhero stance)

These hearts were to welcome a baby girl.  I have no other details, but “welcome!” to the little one.  The little-kid-like scribble flowers were a similar technique to the purple flowers on…

…these cakes, for a bridal shower in Milwaukee.  Cousin-in-law Kati ordered them, and took delivery of them after I elected to take care of 2 tasks at once: to get the cookies delivered to her, and to give myself 2 hours off.  I accomplished this by driving to Milwaukee.  I love and miss driving—all I do in the suburbs is short trips to the same places.  Driving on 94 through that rolling, half-green (it was march), nowhere of space between Chicagoland and when you start seeing outlet malls after the WI border, is like driving across the steppes of Russia, dotted with business parks and RV dealerships and the like.  I imagined that I wasn’t headed for a Starbucks at a busy intersection, but a hut in Ulaanbaatar.  But Starbucks it was, and we all had somewhere to be, so we agreed to get a real family gathering going at some point.  And then I was on my way east across Russia again.

Finally, here are some bits o’beach I did for my kiddo’s school’s Daddy-Daughter dance, the theme of which was “under the sea.”  Fondant shells and pearl dragees, and 3 kinds of sand colored sugar made little seaside circles sparkle.   

Thanks for stopping by; coming soon, Shakespeare…

also it snowed like, 8 times...

i’m soooo very behind.  but so much has happened.  i left off with Christmas, and shortly after that i was planning on posting these crosses for baby Ryder’s baptism, and some snowmen that are still on my phone's memory card, that were for the snowy end of December, i'll post them eventually... and then I had some super-M's to make for Mary Jo’s grandson Maddox’s super-hero-themed birthday, before heading to visit my dad for the last time.

i spent the whole project reflecting on my comic book loving father (who likely wouldn’t [and ultimately didn’t] see these M’s), and how i’ve been committed to this cookie life, and how my dad would kinda give me an elbow nudge after each well-made art project and tell me i could make money doing that.  nothing would have made Dad happier than to see me get rich, especially for cookies—anyone who knew our family knew that there was a mother-daughter team that made pretty awesome Christmas cookies, and we’d roll our eyes when he’d talk about how we should open a bakery and rake in cash.  so after i got these cookies in a bag, we had a real swell a banking oops, and Mary Jo’s payment was my only cash to go downtown.  (so much for riches.  yet.  thanks MJ)   Dad passed away January 10.  he was 66.  he is very missed.  then after the service, i took a deep breath and got back to the grind.  (building my cookie empire, and all that.)  

and then two St. Augustine grads were in love and in town, and the young lady’s mom, a drawing winner from November, requested some luv-bugs.  and then something extraordinary happened.  

backstory: last summer i discovered a little café in the library, and thought of how charming it would be to illustrate cookies for a building full of stories, or even just crank out buckets of chocolate chip cookies.  c’mon, books and cookies—it’s perfect.  i was hired, but worked at the East Dundee location, usually making sandwiches, and baking when i could.

then the extraordinary part.  at the beginning of February, the library location had a bit of a staff renovation.  they asked me to come in and i was told that A: in the scramble to get treats on the counter in time for a Black History Month event that weekend, anything i baked in East Dundee was brought to the library, and quickly sold out, so good job Katie; and B: i would be working from the library starting that Sunday, and would be the sole baker for all 3 locations.  and that i could bake whatever i want, and do my cookies, and that i should make a shopping list of everything i need to hit the ground running.  i swooned.  

my first project, strangely enough, was for a bring-your-own-hair-dryer themed event we catered at a salon.  i was told with very little time to complete it, so i did mini hearts on the side, because they dry faster, and when it came time to go, only the hearts were ready.  i renamed the glamour-girls “Rapunzel” and library patrons and staff found them adorable.  they were actually from a Pocahontas cookie cutter set--John Smith’s pioneer-mullet had a nice right angle to it, and made the perfect hair dryer.  they were quickly joined by froggy princes and heart balloons for Valentine’s Day.  those are also on my phone, sorry. they didn’t last long either.  [in fact nothing does.  brownies, cookies, Grandma’s Hello Dolly bars, banana bread, cupcakes, i’ve been crazy baking.  and I make “truffles.”  balls of different things dipped in chocolate.  the most popular is the super-simple s’mores version: a big marshmallow dipped in chocolate and rolled in crushed graham crackers.  the men i work with say i cook with crack, and often use lewd vocabulary when expressing their enjoyment of my desserts.  so i’m doing something right.]
on Valentine’s Day itself i had aqua hearts with pink roses.  i didn’t get a picture, but they were inspired by the color scheme on my sister-in-law’s dress, and the roses were a simple 2 tone swirl like this [an upcoming post]. 
my next cookie goal is to get good at different rose techniques.  my goal after that is making In The Neighborhood Fresh the best darn cookie and coffee stop in Elgin.  and since i know that no goals are reached overnight, i’ll go get a good night’s sleep because i work tomorrow.  empire building and all that.  

 so i’ll close with another icon of an awkward fit waiting patiently to reach a potential, my most recent library project, lil’ mr. ugly duckling.  next, dresses and ballerinas…

WAR IS OVER!

the title of this post refers to John Lennon’s assertion that all we’d have to do is declare peace on all the front pages and billboards of the world, and we would collectively experience a paradigm shift—that by believing it were possible, it wouldn’t be too far behind to simply make it so.  food for thought.
the next biggest paradigm shift i can think of is becoming a parent.  you think you know people, try making one!  it’s a daily reality check, and Jon and Cassie are joining the club.  Cassie’s cousin Lisa commissioned me to create baby shower cookies based on John Lennon’s baby animal drawings.  it was the much-loved motif at her own shower, and they wanted to revive that same charm.
while i couldn’t copy Lennon’s nuanced doodles, and though i was constrained by the shape of my cutters and the late summer humidity, they still turned out to be cute little animals, sketched on bright pastels with an edible marker.  many thanks to Lisa, and many more congrats to the parents-to-be! 

and i got a Star-Wars something coming up—yay!

little ones

Michael’s baby boy, their first, is on the way, and the huge family baby shower needed 12 dozen cookies.  i said no problem [my record is 220] and was ready to delve into baby design when he provided me with a picture of just what he wanted, gray and baby-blue onsies with ties.  he was also in favor of their last name somewhere on the cookie, and i offered, and he accepted, the alternative of a little pocket with a monogram.  sweet. 
Chicagoland weather these last few days has been absolutely soaked, and my old house is pretty bad at being resistant to humidity.  i run the AC till i’m feeling freeze-dried, and it still takes my cookies a day and a half too long to dry.  but if i boost the powdered sugar for dryer icing, it’s not flat and smooth.  so i fretted a bit finally getting them to their destination, but they got there.  [apologies to Michael’s mom, i delivered the cookies with a smudge on my face, no doubt gotten from trying to fish out the cord for the Garmin from under the car seat.] 
Michael also insisted that i provide something with my website, but i still haven’t resolved my new laptop/old printer/no disc/no internet impasse to printing labels and such, so a big thanks to Jason at OfficeMax for helping me make simple little labels.  [i might have been showing my age when i asked him to just add a little flourish character from Wingdings, and i had to tell him it’s a font—i didn’t add that it’s one of the only-12 fonts i first had back in like, 1993.  ya know, right after the internet was invented...  am i that old? 
i finished off the cookie with a light dusting of pearl dust.  not a lot, just enough to soften the matte finish of the icing, give ‘em a little “glow.”  i hope all party-goers found them sweet and cute, a preview for when little-man Mr. S. arrives.  Congrats to Michael’s family! 
and stay tuned everyone, i got a new stencil...

a long ride...

or rather, Ryder Long.  the short version of the Long story is that before Ryder was born, angels and doctors worked together to surgically install a life saving shunt.  some weeks later, after many prayers and emails and a few sighs of relief, Ryder was born on Easter, and he was home by Mothers Day.  and he's cute as a button, and everyone is doing very well, and we're all very happy.
after my "Wild Things" project, i realized that the teddy bear shape need not be a bear--it could be a little boy dressed as a bear!  (a little pinch at the top of the ears before baking, and these could be cats!) so i made fuzzy blue teddies with little baby faces peeking out, and detailed them with the edible ink marker.  and they were off to new Mommy Dana and Daddy Josh, with our shower gift.  welcome home little guy, and congratulations to the Long family!
coming soon, i have a massive baby shower order due next week.  and there's talk of a wedding later this summer.  and i probably should make the hubby something pretty for his birthday :) meanwhile, have a good weekend, all...

wild things

long ago, Mary Jo recommended me to her daughter Jamie to make bridesmaid dresses and now Mary Jo has called again because Jamie has a new little Maddox, to be honored at a Where-the-Wild-Things-Are-themed baby shower. 

and i was all, "uh oh, i never read that book."  it's true, it was always checked out by other kids and i never got my turn (lip quiver) no, it was always checked out, but i just read other stuff.  i knew the pictures, and the movie previews looked awesome, but still, never read it.  so i Googled for pictures and discovered that my "Frosty the Snoman" plus a mini crown, plus a leaf for a tail, meant that the main character would be a snap.  those monsters? (were they called "monsters"?) they were many and intricate, and while i have to admit i took the easy route, it is a book about/ a shower for a little boy [and if you know little boys, they're all "main characters."], and when i dropped them off, Mary Jo said that any stuff they found for the party was always the monsters--nothing about the kid.  so now they have him, featured as a cookie!
i used to have a policy against licensed characters, considering that at one end of the talent spectrum, i could make a well-known character look ridiculous, thus disappointing my customer, or the other, that i'd make them well enough for someone to point out my copyright infringement.  i figured if you wanted a Barbie party, i'll make pink stars; or Harry Potter would get some white owls; stuff like accessory images.  but if i allow for it to be like "fan art" where the artist redrawing it isn't trying to mimic it, but reimagine it, then i'm not so nervous about characters.  i've seen "Regular Show" characters drawn like Anime, or the Star Trek crew as cookies a la Playschool's "Little People," and it's fun.  my "little ponies" weren't "My Little Ponies" so my little "wild things" turned out just right--this artist's interpretation of a cute little boy going "Rarr!" in some white pajamas. 
Congrats to the whole family and welcome little Maddox!  and coming soon, some softballs, purple butterflies, Easter, a couple birthdays, and now that i'll have coworkers, maybe some projects just for fun?