Merry Christmas!

I hope all of you had as lovely of a Christmas as we did.  :)  Now we're getting ready to leave tomorrow morning on our vacation to visit our grandchildren in Florida.  We'll be gone for just over a week, so this will be my final post for awhile!  I hope you all have a fantastic New Year!!!

These are the finished boxed sets of cookies we're bringing down for the grandkids!  I really love how they turned out!

And this is a set of cookies I mailed to my friend, Diane, for Christmas.  She loves her cats, so I thought I had to get at least one of them in there!  :)

Happy New Year!!!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Christmas Eve.  This year was a little strange for us.  Its the first year we didn't spend Christmas Eve with our family in Michigan.  We miss them, but its been a nice day!  My daughter, Tessa, had us over for a great dinner.  It's always nice when someone else cooks!  :)

I have to post a huge thank you to my cake friends.  I seriously have the sweetest friends ever.  I got the mail the other day, and I had this gorgeous handmade card from my great friend, Diane:

And a package from my friend Cathy in New York.  She embroidered this adorable door hanger.  It warmed my heart that she would think of me at a busy time of year like this!

And the back:

I had an order from one of my very favorite customers, Candy, this week.  I love doing platters for holidays....they are just so much fun!

And a couple of smaller orders:

Well, that's it for me.  I'm turning in for a good night's sleep.  Both of my daughters are spending the night, and I know it's so that they can wake me up at some ungodly hour to open gifts!  They may be grown, but they're not THAT grown!  :) 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Cookies for the Grandkids

We are leaving the day after Christmas to go to Florida to see the grandkids.  It will be such a treat for us to deliver their cookies and Christmas presents in person this year!!!  :)

For my granddaughter who loves all things "princess"...

My grandson is totally into trucks, so we came up with this set...

And for my youngest granddaughter, who is so incredibly sweet....

And I wanted to try out a new treat yesterday, so I baked gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese icing and a mini gingerbread cookie on top.  They are soooo delicious!!!!

I think the rest of my day will be spent wrapping gifts!  I started yesterday but totally procrastinated and did cookies instead.  :)  I guess they aren't going to wrap themselves though, so I'd better get to it! 

Busy Holiday Season

I apologize for being a little missing-in-action lately!  I was doing such a great job of keeping up with my blog and cookies each day, but the holiday season has overrun my life a bit.  I'm sure you all understand that!  :)

This has been my largest project.  We had an order for 200 bagged cookies for the Hilliard Senior Center.  It was a joy to do this, but definitely alot of time and work. 

My daughter Chelsey surprised me on Saturday by coming over to help with this order.  And what a HUGE difference it made!  I'd pipe outlines and she'd fill in cookies.  She even took over piping the dots on the wreaths.  I think I need to utilize her talents a little more often!  :)  Thanks baby!  :)

Now I'm off to deliver this order, then to finish up some shopping.  I'm not usually a last minute shopper, but I can't seem to stop this year!  And I have a mound of gifts left to be wrapped as well.  Yikes....better get to work! 

It was bound to happen!....

I had to miss a few days.  :(  My aunt passed away, so I traveled to Michigan for the funeral.  And if any of you are paying attention to the weather up here, I can tell you, it was not a fun drive! 

And although I certainly wish it was under better circumstances, it was so nice to visit with my family for a few days.  I don't get to see them nearly as often as I'd like, and I do miss them! 

I got home on Wednesday and immediately went to work on an order for today.  Nothing big, just a 1/4 sheet cake and a dozen cookies, but we all know that cookies need time to dry!  I got them done in record time, and hopefully they don't look like a rush job!  :)

And all bagged up and ready to go:

Now I need to start work on the 200 cookies I'm doing for the Hilliard Senior Center for Monday! 

Surviving Christmas Shopping?

My hubby and I spent most of yesterday checking and double checking our Christmas list, trying to get as much done as possible!  We did pretty good...I have a few stocking stuffers to pick up, but then, I am done!  Woo-hoo!!!  :)  Hope you all are surviving the busy Christmas season!

I faced one of my worst fears with this cookie of the day...Santa!  I am terrified of anything with a face, really, but with Santa's being so recognizable, it seems even more terrifying.  I can't say I'm 100% satisfied with how they turned out, but I wasn't horrified either.  I would love a better way to do his beard, but I'll work on it.  Or I'll just skip Santa in the future!  :)

Oh, while we were out yesterday, I found THE CUTEST pair of PJ's for my granddaughter.  I could not resist buying them!

My oldest daughter, Tessa, is in the National Guard.  Today is their annual Christmas party.  I'm always so proud to attend events like this!  Hopefully the snow will hold off for awhile, so we can make the hour drive each way.  I wish she lived a little closer.  :(

Have a great day everyone!!!

Cookie Day 27!

Well, we braved the crowds and finally did some Christmas shopping last night!  I figure I'm about halfway done.  My goal is to be totally finished this weekend.  I know its not going to happen, but I think I can come close.  Wouldn't it be nice if this guy really did deliver all the presents and we didn't have to shop?!

And a couple more cake orders from this week:

Off to relax for a bit this morning before I head out into the cold to shop!  :)

One of my Favorite Weeks

I think this has to be one of my favorite weeks of work in awhile.  I had so many orders for interesting cakes this week.  Work becomes fun when I have orders like this.  I have to be one of the luckiest people ever to get to do something I love so much for a living.   

I think this one is my very favorite.  It's just so bright and cheerful and happy!  The lettering was inspired by my friend, Diane, a fellow cake decorator in Conneticut.

I have another one I had planned on posting but I just remembered its for a surprise party!  The chances of the customer looking at my blog is pretty slim, but I think I'll be cautious and wait until tomorrow.

My cookie of the day is the cutest little polar bear, inspired by my friend Lisa (bearfootbaker on Flickr).  I totally fell in love with hers, so I just had to order a polar bear cutter and give him a try!  Thanks to Lisa for always being so willing to share her work!  :) 

Another fun one for this week.  I love the bright colors on this one as well.  Its nice to see such bright colors, especially when its been so dreary and cold here!

And one final one.  This is for a woman graduating from nursing school.  Congratulations Kristie!!!  What a huge accomplishment!

And that's it for today!  I'll have a few more tomorrow....like I said, busy week!  :)  I'm off now to do a little Christmas shopping and quality time with my daughter! 

Poinsettas

I remember every year when I was a kid, we'd make a trip to Flowerland to pick up poinsettas to bring to both of my grandmas.  So I thought I would make a flower for each of them!  :)

Back to work...lots of cake orders for this weekend!  :)

Cookie Jar Shopping

Another minimalist way to decorate gingerbread cookies.  Arnie will go so far as to pick off every little dot, but I like a little icing with my cookie!  These little round ones remind me of my dad.  He always LOVED gingersnaps.  He'd dunk them in milk, dunk them in his coffee, or just munch on them.  I should make him some for Christmas!

I had the strangest realization yesterday when I was putting away Arnie's gingerbread cookies.  I don't own a cookie jar.  Seriously, I don't own a cookie jar!  I thought I did...I thought I had a Christmas one, but if I did, its evading me.  I do find it troubling though...I am a Grandma, after all.  What kind of Grandma will I be without a cookie jar?  So, definitely a situation I need to rectify immediately!  I looked on Ebay...lots and lots of cookie jars, but most of them are vintage and a little more (or alot more) than I want to pay.  I have to keep in mind that I tend to be a bit clumsy, so vintage is probably not a good idea.  I did find a couple of really cute ones on Amazon though....

This is the first one that caught my eye, but now, looking at it again, it kind of reminds me of an urn.  Probably not what I need to be reminded of when reaching for a cookie!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
But I really like both of these.  I tend to like more simple, clean designs, and these both fit the bill.

I'm tore between the two, the main difference being...do I want to see the cookies?  I like the idea of the glass one so I can see how many I have left.  But seeing them may also make them more tempting to snack on, so its a dilema.  What do you think?  Decisions, decisions....

Cookies for Arnie

I realized the other day while going through my blog that everytime I refer to my husband, it's as "hubby".  No name, just "hubby".  So I figure its long overdue that I introduce you to my very patient husband, Arnie. 

Poor Arnie has to put up with alot.  His wife is constantly covered in powdered sugar, his hands are always being slapped away from goodies because they're for customers, and anytime he wants something baked for him, he gets "the look" - the look that says "I've baked nonstop for three days, do you really think I want to bake MORE?".  Despite all of this, he's still very helpful.  He's great at picking up supplies, coming up with ideas, and just in general, being the most supportive and wonderful husband a woman could ever ask for. 

And to put a face with the name, this is Arnie, with two of our grandchildren, Mercedes and Andy.

So, today its like 18 degrees outside and bone chilling cold.  What better day to bake up a batch of Arnie's very favorite cookies, gingerbread?  Now, the problem is that he likes his gingerbread plain.  I, however, have a hard time making a cookie that isn't pretty.  So I compromised.  I just added a few accents to make them sparkle, but for the most part, left them unadorned.  And yes, it was painful.  But hey, after 16 years of marriage, I can make a sacrifice here and there, right?

So yes, Arnie will be a happy man when he gets home tonight.  I even went so far as to leave some......(pause for dramatic effect).......totally naked!  Not pretty at all!!!!  :)  The things we do for love!

Cookie Day 22

I wanted to get some cookies made for the grandkids.  These are the first two in a series of Santa cookies I'm going to make for them.  I wanted to try something a little different than your regular Santa face, and I am happy with how they turned out!  :)

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a giveaway to announce, so stay tuned!

Cookie Day 21!

Since my hubby was off hunting all weekend, I had time to get all sorts of things done.  Christmas cards are finished, tree is up.....and I got to play with my new mini cookie cutters!  :)  I've never done a full set of mini cookies before.  They're alot of fun, although just as time consuming as large cookies!  Maybe more so, as you need to use smaller tips on the smaller cookies. 

I got quite a bit of inspiration from Callye of Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle.  And because of her and Polka Dot Cookies, since I had minis made, I just had to put them in a cute little jar to see how they'd look.  I love them!  I think they would make a wonderful gift!!!

Stay tuned later this week for a giveaway that may or may not (but probably does) involved the new mini cutters!  :)  And enjoy your Sunday!

Pretty in Pink

Seems like this is pink week at Brenda's Cakes!  :) 

I had an active morning already.  My daughter met me at the garden center at 9am to get our Christmas tree picked out, then followed me home to get it put up.  My hubby is hunting, so we were on our own this year...we did pretty good.  :)  The tree is straight, there aren't any of the same colored lights by each other (my husband's pet peeve!), and its in a location that no one is going to trip over it, hopefully.

And of course, I have to post cookie day 20!  I'm so happy I made it so many days without too many mistakes!  :)



Also, I ran across a great find yesterday.  I found this set of mini cookie cutters at KMart for $2.99.  There are 20 cutters in the package, and they are seriously cute.  What do you think...maybe I should pick up a couple of packs for a giveaway?  It is the season, after all!

Cookie-a-Day - Day 19

I ordered this cutter from Ecrandal (fantastic cutters!) awhile ago and haven't used it yet.  I had a totally different plan for this cookie, but it changed and kinda took on a life of its own.  I never use pink in a Christmas cookie, but it seemed to work with this design.

So, my youngest daughter has always been a bit of a baker.  She's been trying out alot of new recipes for the Christmas season this year.  It has been so nice to eat cookies that I didn't have to make!

This is Chelsey:  (I know, incredibly gorgeous!)

She text me Wednesday evening to tell me that she was trying out a new recipe.  White chocolate pumpkin cookies.  Had I seen that recipe, I would've thought "gross" and moved on.  But she likes to try the different combinations.  It was 10 o'clock at night, and as soon as my cookie pig of a husband (said with love and affection, of course!)  found out she was baking, he headed over to pick up some samples!  LOL!  Gotta love that man.  But hey, it was sooo worth him making the trip....they are amazing!!!!!

She is an incredible baker.   She's also an artist.  I really need to get a piping bag in that girl's hand!  She would do amazing things!  :)

Cookie-a-Day - Day 18!

I love gingerbread men!  They've always been one of my favorite Christmas icons.  I thought I'd have a little fun with these ones. 



Cookie-a-Day - Day 17

Woke up this morning to our first snow!  Although, being from Michigan, I've had enough snow to last me a lifetime, I do have to admit that I always get a little excited to see it for the first time every season.  Until I have to drive in it.  Or shovel it.  Or slip on it!  :)

And Ellen...don't forget to email me your address so I can send out your book.  If I haven't heard from you in the next couple of days, I'll have to redraw another name!  :(

Cookie-a-Day - Days 15 & 16

Yes, I know it looks like I cheated by not posting a cookie yesterday, but I swear, I finished it yesterday!  By the time I was done last night, it was just too dark to photograph them.  (Don't you hate this time of year?  Dark by 5:30pm....ugh!) 

So, here is Day 15.  I like how these turned out.   I think the blue shading adds a nice touch.

And Day 16:

These were inspired by Ali of Ali Bee's Bake Shop.  She kindly gave me permission to attempt to reproduce her gorgeous package cookies.  Thanks Ali!

And the winner is.....

Ellen!  Congratulations Ellen!  If you email me your address, I'll get your new book put in the mail!  :)  Thanks everyone!

Cookie-a-Day - Day 14

Its been a long, busy weekend.  Feels like its taking awhile to get everything back in order after Thanksgiving!  So this will be a quick one.  :)

Corset cookies for a "naughty and nice" bridal shower.  I think they turned out well! 

Cookie-a-Day - Day 13

I took a little break from Christmas and did something with more of a New Years feel.  :)  My hubby and I are taking a vacation over New Years...we'll be in St. Augustine, FL...one of our very favorite towns.  So I have New Years on the brain now!  :)

Next week I start on Christmas cookies to send overseas to our troops.  I'm really excited about it!  If it brings the smallest smile to one of their faces, I'll be thrilled.