Everybody say, "Yea-ah!" (June 2014)

One of the moms at my daughter's school approached me to make some birthday favors for a surprise party she was throwing for her husband's 40th birthday.  But, not ordinary "Happy Birthday" cookies...there was a theme.  (I was loving the idea already.)  She told me that he works hard for his family, holding a steady job during the day and DJ-ing gigs at night, so she was using his DJ hobby as the theme for the party.  The wheels in my head were turning already.  I did some searching on-line, and I found an image on pinterest that I knew I could use as inspiration. 

With her approval, I moved forward designing personalized turntables, headphones, and DJ booth.  

The turntables were made from a square cookie cutter.  I tried to tie all the cookies together, using the same colors, same quin accents, and same silver sheen (Wilton food mist).  I sprayed all the silver parts first, then continued on, decorating the accents.  I also tried to design them with the colors she had in mind and without too much black (no fun to have everyone with black mouths at the party, as seen in previous record cookies...eek!).

 

The headphones were made from the most unusual cookie cutter, a teddy bear, which required a bit of cutting before baking.  I struggled a bit with how to add texture to the headphone speaker, even trying one of Sweet Sugarbelle's newest techniques, but after attempting with little success, I decided that simpler was better in the end (as it usually is).

The DJ booth was definitely my most challenging, but most rewarding.  I used a house cookie cutter with a little bit of trimming pre-baking.  The 20-second icing was used in stages to give an outline to our guy's arm and head, but was otherwise not as intimidating once I attempted it.

These were fairly big cookies, at least 4-5 inches, so it required more than one batch of dough...good for me to remember in the future for these larger requests. 

 I bagged and tied these cookies up, and they were used as favors for all the guests.  

This mom put so much work into the party details and planning, and I was glad I could play a small part in it too.  I hope he was truly surprised and that the party was a success.  

Happy Birthday, Mario!

Happy Birthday, Little Tiger! (May 2014)

Wow, how is my boy 2 years old?!  I mean, when did that happen?  He is at such a fun age though, talking up a storm and doing everything his big sister does.  We don't have that many shows that we watch on tv, as there are only a couple that I trust and feel I don't have to screen episode-for-episode.  Daniel Tiger is one of them.  It's a sort of spin-off of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood using familiar characters and short songs to teach social-emotional lessons.  My kids soak these up like sponges, and it's amazing, but during a rough time, we'll sing a little tune from the show, and it seems to just click with them.  Anything from, "When you're sick, rest is best" to "Use your words" to "Stop and listen to stay safe."  Anyhow, being a therapist, I could go on and on with how much I love this show, but thankfully since my son is so enamored with it too, I could filter that love into cookies for his birthday party.

Although we're focusing on cookies here, I wanted to include my 2 birthday cakes I made.  (One would definitely have been enough, but at the last minute I got worried that I would fall short...did you hear that one-year-from-now Beth?)  Anyhow, I made the cake part real easy.  I used boxed-cake mix, boxed-brownie mix (for the gluten-free ears), and pre-made frosting (who doesn't love that?).  I used my food coloring to decorate, and it really was simple compared to the cookies.

For the cookies, I knew I wanted to make Daniel.  I used a simple circle cookie cutter and added two smaller circle shapes to the top for ears prior to baking.  Then I flooded it orange and added details.  I used one of Sweet Sugarbelle's tips on adding that little white glisten dot on his eyes, and I think it helped bring him to life.

 

Next, I made his trolley using a trolley cookie cookie cutter.  After trying to figure out how to create one with a train cookie cutter and some other shapes, I ended up just giving in and purchasing one from Karen's Cookies.  (They have almost any shape imaginable, and they are so friendly.)

Finally, I wanted a more basic design for the platter, since the other two were more elaborate.  I purchased a set of number cookies from Sur La Table.  I know, I keep buying cookie cutters, but how could I not have a set of numbers?  I have all the letters, and I'm sure to use them again, and hey...stop justifying, my collection is a few cents each.  (I know I have a sickness.)

 These were outlined and flooded with red, and then, I tried to give it some texture, resembling Daniel's favorite red sweater.  I'm not sure if I captured the knitting, but it was an interesting pop of color on the platter.

 

Everyone ended up taking some cookies home as a favor, since our guests tend not to want to touch the cookies on the platter during the party despite my insisting.

It was a "grrr-ific" party, and I know my little guy had fun celebrating.  

Happy birthday sweet boy!