Happy Thank You Cookies

A friend wanted to give some special thank you cookies to his physical therapy office.  He requested some "hands" and left the rest up to me.  I often feel stumped by thank you cookies because the possibilities are so endless and the idea of hands left me creatively stumped.  So after brainstorming for a few weeks I settled on this.  The suns were inspired by Sugarbliss, thank you!

Graduation Cookies

These were for a cousin and her friends open house party.  CMU is my alma mater, so I took extra enjoyment when creating these. 

Fire Up Chips! 

Cherry Time!

My favorite place to go it Traverse City, MI.  Where cherries are abundant, and so are the local wineries!  I was lucky enough to live there for a few years after college, and I have missed it like it's my home ever since I moved away.  Now my family and job keeps me 5 hours south, but I'm able to visit several times a year.  My little sister lives there now, and just bought her first house.  Visiting will be comfortable and I'm sure we will wear out our welcome.  Maybe if I bake her a lot of cookies we can stay longer. 

The National Cherry Festival starts in July 7th and consumes the whole city for a week.  Although it is insanely busy with "fudgies," what the locals call the tourists, it's a beautiful and fun filled time to visit.  So in honor of Cherry Festivial I'll be passing out these cookies to all my friends. 

Have I mentioned I'm loving ruffles on cookies lately?  So easy and fancy looking!

Jessie, from Toystory, Themed Birthday!

I was able to do these cookies for my second cousin Morgan who turned 3!  She is a big fan of Jessie from the movie Toystory.  I had my, also 3 years old, daughter dig out her Jessie doll from her toybox so that I could find some inspiration.  It's so fun to do something different and get creative. 

Happy 3rd Birthday Morgan!!

Teacher Appreciation

Teaching is my full time job (second only to being a mom), so I put a little extra teacher love into this platter.  This order was for a repeat customer, who was giving them to her son's teachers for teacher appreciation week.  What a great gift!  I know I'd love to walk into my lounge and see these.  Thanks for the business, Denise!  And as a teacher I can appreciate her business, Pre-K Success, to help prepare our young minds for kindergarten.

Detroit Tigers

These cookies were for my amazing Aunt Sue who retired!!!  She is one of the most generous and caring people I know.  I wanted to do something special for her retirement party and surprised her with these Detroit Tiger cookies that she could give as favors for her guests.  (she's a Tigers fan).  I used some Avery labels, along with their online templates to create a simple sticker for the back of the gift bag. 

Congratulations Aunt Sue and enjoy retirement!

Norah's first birthday party. 
I was able to create a variety of treats for a repeat customer (thank you!).  Cake pops, sugar cookies, shortbread monogram cookies, lollipop cookies, cupcakes, and an owl smash cake (no picture of that one). 

Happy Birthday Norah!

Graduation

Color alert!  How bright and cheerful are these? 

A very simple design, but I think the colors make them exciting.  I added a little disco dust for extra sparkle and shine! 

Gotcha Day

This order for a friend celebrates the adoption of their daughter from Guatamala. They have a party every year on the day they "got her."  What a fun celebration and I was honored to create these cookies for them. When designing them I tried to find a way to celebrate her own cultural heritage.  These pinata cookies were so much fun!  I will revisit this cookie cutter again. 

Baby Onesies

I've had a few baby shower orders lately.  Here's a couple that I managed to get pictures of.  I've been so busy with everything that I'm finding it difficult to take a picture.  ;)

Monkey Baby

Modern green and brown baby shower

Spring Break

Spring Break cookies for my cousin's long road trip to Florida!  A perfect car ride snack! 

 

 

 

 

Bachelorette Cookies

These were so fun!  My first bachelorette set.  I was excited to get the order and experiment with some designs.  So many possibilities with corsets. Thanks Jenny, hope you girls enjoy them.  :)

Aidan's 1st Birthday

Our "little buddy" turned one last week.  It was as much fun for Kate as it was for Aidan with all the celebrating, sugar, friends and family.  I spent the weeks prior baking, and making decorations.  I go a little over board for the 1st birthday, but all future birthdays will be small and simple. I felt at times like I was planning a small wedding reception.  It all turned out so nicely, and I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Thank you to everyone who shared in our day!  We are blessed to have wonderful family and friends. 

The theme I choose was a outdoor woodland concept.  It was loosely incorporated.  I used lots of greens and orange in my decorations (no pictures, bummer). Painted little birdhouses and placed them on tables with moss rocks and the dessert table carried the theme as well. We rented a cabin at a local park which had a cozy fireplace and wood grain throughout. 

Aidan is happy to eat his owl cake! 

My dessert table.  I covered the letter A in moss to keep with the outdoorsy/cabin theme.  I took the photos a few days prior and had them printed quickly at Walgreens (2 hrs). 

 Found a great way to use my raspberry sugar that I bought from Spice Merchants.  Topped on some shortbread, it is delicious!

 Owl smash cake.  Great idea from Parents magazine.  It was fun to create and easy!!  (I swear, I spent less than 2 hours on this, and cakes are not really my thing).

 S'more cupcakes.  A.Ma.Zing!!!

 

Whoopie Pies, always a winner!

 Sugar Cookies.  I had no time to spend on fancy sugar cookies this time around.  Simple, yet tasty. 

 Chocolate Bears! 

 I have perfected my chocolate chip cookie recipe!  I feel confident that it is the best. :)

 Cinnamon Roll Cookies.  Yes, these are cookies. I used an vietnamese cinnamon, from Spice Merchants, and the aroma was everything a perfect cinnamon should be. 

 Kate and cousin Q playing in the coat rack.