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...

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...

i heart stencils

Wendy's daughter Lexi turned 11.  Lexi, Wendy informed me, loves green, and zebra print, and all the garish stuff the kids are wearing these days.  not much has changed, i guess, when i was her age, all the cool kids were wearing Hypercolor shirts. (remember those? "dude, your armpits are blue!")
so i got out the bright colors, some funky stencils (even made a new one for the zebra stripes), and the trusty airbrush and made some snazzy rock-star hearts.  and every time i use my airbrush, i re-thank Jeff for getting it for me.  [dilated eyeballs] it's so much fun...
Happy Birthday to Lexi! and on the way is some baby stuff, a get well batch, prolly some ninja stuff, and i heard talk of a book club project.  stay tuned!

bridal butterflies

and then Jackie emailed me and asked if i could do some shower cookies with a purple butterfly theme, with the couple's initials and wedding date.  when i was decorating them i thought they kinda looked like little save-the-date cards being whisked away by a flock of butterflies.  couldn't get the whole flock in the shot though, i had to get them wrapped up for delivery.  busy busy!
thank you Jackie! and i think i have some tulips in my future...  stay tuned, and happy Sunday :)

a bunch of squares

perhaps i've mentioned i'm now employed, and that it involves complex coffee making skills.  i haven't? well now you know.  and like anywhere i go, i end up talking about cookies, so Natalie, whose last day was imminent, said, "figures, i put in my notice and we hire a baker." so i asked when her last day was, and she asked, "oh, are you gonna make me going away cookies?" and i said, "i'll make you cookies that just say 'go away.'" (ha ha ha ha...) but i made extra dough for an upcoming batch, and had extra icing from the previous order, so i whipped up some little toothpick-dragged designs on some almost-mini squares with white, lite blue, and dark blue, finished with blue edible marker.

normally i take the picture before i wrap them, but i wrapped them before work and the sun wasn't up yet.  getting up that early for coffee kinda takes care of itself i guess.  and with Natalie off to Michigan, i now open Thursdays, so you should stop by so i can totally impress you with my latte foam.  best wishes to Natalie, and a big howdy to my new teammates! (waving)
awesome butterflies are on the way... 

season opener

happy spring everyone!  i got a last minute email from Wendy asking if i could squeeze in some "thank you" softballs for her daughter's team.  i could, and i did, and i didn't take a picture, but they were yellow circles (i really didn't know softballs were yellow) with piped red stitches, and "Thank You" in blue and that’s really it, but the blue and red could have been darker. 

anyway, despite not being very exciting, they prompted another order for the same, but with the team name, "Diamonds," in cursive (and darker), and something blingy to dot the 'i'.  with more drying time, i was able to use the red edible marker to make nicer stitches, and after a trip to the store for royal blue, not sky blue, the letters were lovelier.  to dot the letter i, i rolled out and painted a small sheet of fondant, cut out squares and cut off 1 corner from each, and dusted them with white pearl dust, to make classic diamond shapes with a gem finish.  Wendy confirmed, they were a home run. :) Thanks again, and go Diamonds! stay tuned for some farewell squares, and a butterfly bridal shower, and I have a tulip idea that i’m liking.  meanwhile, here's hoping and hopping your Easter was awesome, a Happy Birthday and Have-a-bird Day to my little man Rowan, and a special hi-5 to a little Ryder who's got some baby shower cookies coming his way.

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?