a short ride...

Mr. Rakow went for a bike ride, and someone else went for a car ride, and after their unfortunate encounter, Mr. Rakow had a broken leg.  m-i-l Bobbi felt he needed a pick-me-up and suggested crutch-shaped cookies, but rigging an X shape into crutches didn't seem as fun as using the bike shape to make a bike.  the flag was from the top of a musical note.  this was soooo intimidating until i googled some bikes and realized drawing a bike is like 6 lines and 3 circles.  it took me longer to select the slate-green and terra-cotta color scheme than it did to pipe them.  i would have liked the icing to be a little less thick, which occurred despite a week of storms and humidity, but the flowers made up for it.  they were too cute. 
a big get-well-soon to the patient, happy start of summer to all, and stay tuned for snuggley-bears, a ninja arsenal, something for a book club, and a huge baby shower...

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.

speaking of frogs...

Brenda wondered if i could help her out with her some thank-you cookies for her daughters' teachers. 'something for summer' with frogs and fishing specified. after falling in love with how i make frogs (see the previous post below) i was happy to do another round of froggies. plus the fish, some leaves with a little beetle, orange monarchs, daisies, and my other favorite, strawberries. Brenda reports that all feedback was positive.
"my work here is done," i said as i shook hands with the townspeople and rode into the sunset... but there i was being narrative again. no, Brenda's cookies didn't end there. these cookies were characters and scenery meant to evoke feelings of summer at the lake. while in parts, they're adorable cookies. when en scene, they're quite a little picture, worth a thousand words. so i baked a handful of extras and made another scene, like "planet cookie" ...maybe "cookie lake"?

i enjoy making these. if i did it for a living, i'd make one every 3 days. i probably could with the ideas that keep popping up in my head. the current one in progress will be for christmas. the next one... suggestions? perhaps something literary. i'll daydream on it.

better than jelly beans

Eldra's April installment of her year of cookies was delivered Easter Sunday. i'm super pleased with the fluffy sheep and colorful egg, but the camera just couldn't capture the shimmery ivory color of the cross. trust me, it was lovely. back to the sheep, it's the same technique i use for clouds. time consuming, but worth it--dontcha just want to pet them? stay tuned, her final installment was for May and just might be my favorite.