Pan Shots

So, lately, I've been bad about not taking pictures of my cookies, which in turn means I don't have great pictures to post on the blog...hence, this post consisting only of "pan shots". No glitz, no glamour - just cookies. Without further ado - I give you pink lobsters.  (squeel!!)

I picked up several new cutters the other weekend when I was down in Beaufort, SC...one of them was a lobster and I was pretty stoked about it.  So, when a friend of mine wanted some cookies for a friend's birthday and said it didn't matter what shape, I *jokingly* suggested lobsters.  She said it was fine as long as they were girly - so I put bows on them!  Hahaha! 

These were used to give the "scoop" on a new arrival! 

These were for a new baby cookie jar. I never thought I would enjoy using grey icing so much!

These were for an event held at the Home Depot in Aiken, SC....the assistant manager and coordinator of the event said, when she saw them, "they brought a smile to my stressed out week!".  And that email brought a smile to my stressed out week!

Thanks for putting up with my "pat shots" and I'll try to do better!

Out of My {Bloggy} Hibernation

I was never in *official* blog hibernation, but somehow it happened.  (And just because I haven't been writing doesn't mean I haven't been baking!)  Well, I'm waking up now and going to start sharing again.  Hopefully, I'll have some cool new stories and fun new cookies to share.  Until then, here's a stream of pictures of what I've been up to in the past couple of months. 

These were for the company Christmas party.

http://www.petschrespiratory.com/

This 4 year old couldn't decide between Cars or Toy Story, so we did both!

Instead of writing so many Thank You notes after the party, this mom decided to combine the favors and Thank You notes on one cookie!

And these were the cookies to enjoy at the party!

Graduation cookies for a Southern Poly Science University grad.

Such a fun (and sweet!) way to say Thank You to your shower hostesses!

Cookies to enjoy during the viewing of The Polar Express!

For a the guys at the service department.

For the princess inside us all.

More to come....sooner than later...

CHRISTMAS!!!!

Go, Sweet B(ay)...

...It's yur burthday...

...and yur bloggin' like it's yur burthday.

In case you weren't sure - yes, I am a dork. 

But a sweet one!

Just wanted to share some fun Christmas cookies with you on my birthday!  (Yes, it really is my birthday!)

I stuck with a few designs from last year, but have added lots of new ones!! And a new flavor!

For your enjoyment, here's the new Mocha Peppermin-tini!

Chocolate sugar cookie with peppermint icing.

Yum!

Ornaments!  I got really excited about these because I get to doodle on them like my Easter Eggs!

Check out the cute new mittens!

I can just picture these snowmen dancing around in the snow!

There are 2 of each design going into the Sweet Cheer Jar (seen below).  Perfect for a hostess gift or teacher or neighbors!

 Cookies make a great addition to a bottle of wine or a perfect gift topper!

So, if you need to pick up a couple, stop by Neapolitan Cupcake Shoppe in Augusta or downtown Aiken or VeryVera!!

Or if you need a dozen or more, or personalization, email me at ThinkCookies@gmail.com!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

What a fun time of year to have a house warming party!  The colors of autumn are so warm and inviting. 

I have been wanting to do house cookies for some time now.  Quaint little doors.  Cute little windows with sweet little window boxes. 

They turned out so cute and sweet and quaint!

I hope to do lots more of these little houses!

Hope y'all are having a great fall so far!  I'm hoping to do some fall trees this week...how fun does that sound?!

The Challenge

So, this time last year, VeryVera started selling my cookies in 2 retail locations.  This time this year, Sweet B's is still being sold in Vera's 2 locations AND my cookies are in the 2 locations of Neapolitan Cupcakes!!  I also have a "cookie boutique" at the Neapolitan in Aiken. 

Along with this growth, I was challenged with my largest order yet...1,000 cookies.  1,000 individually wrapped cookies.  1,000 quatrefoil (new shape), individually wrapped cookies.  But I was up for the challenge, and excited to take on this many cookies.

What. was. I. thinking.

What kept me going was the cause.  It was for the biennial (every other year) fund raising gala for Sound Choices Pregnancy Clinic.  My sister-in-law is the development director for the clinic and orchestrates the gala, which continues to be more successful with each one she does.  This year was a record high attendance. 

The cookie preparation started as soon as it was approved by Sound Choices.  As in, I put together a budget and started ordering supplies - 400 yards of purple satin ribbon, 1,000 of my clear, gusseted bags, and custom labels for the event with the Sound Choices logo on them and "Custom cookies by www.ThinkCookies.com".

I also started gathering things to accommodate for the large order.  I arranged with Molly to use her space in the Neapolitan Cupcake Shoppe in Aiken so I could order one of these -

(For those of you who do not know, when a baker has a sheet pan rack to call her own, it is a huge deal.  It feels like success.  A personal goal in life has been met.  Check that one off the list!)

I cut out the quatrefoils and froze the cutouts, like I do with a lot of my orders.  Only this time, it takes me 3 days (with some help from my ma!) to cut them out.  After only 1 day of baking (yay! for commercial ovens!), the challenging part begins.  I enlisted some help from my other job, who I couldn't have done without.  Mrs. Susan spent several hours helping me flood the cookies a beautiful color of blue.  And Megan, Kierra, Lacandrea, and Kristin helped package the cookies.  My sister, Bonnie, helped me do all of the above and more.  She spent countless hours with me flooding, packaging, counting (after all, she is an auditor, so inventory counting was right up her alley) and finally, packing up my little Fit with all 1,010 cookies.

They made the drive to Columbus, with NO breakages!!

Once out of the back of my Fit, these cookies ended up here:

In a beautiful ballroom of purple, silver, and blue.

I was so honored that Sweet B's cookies not only were a part of this gala, but they were a part of decorations.  They helped make the table pretty.  Yay!!!

Seriously.  I'm still in awe that I could be a part of this endeavor.

The clinic has been in operation for 30 years.  Hence, the "30 years of life".

30 years of giving women another option...

the option of life.

Now, most of the time, this blog is just about cookies.  But the challenge of this particular post is that it's not just about cookies.  It's also about life....for someone who's voice can't be heard.  And this organization, Sound Choices, over the past 30 years, has rescued 6,000 lives that would have otherwise been "terminated".  And this, is why I was so honored to be a part of the gala.  My cookies were given to each patron to say "Thank You". 

Thank you for choosing life.

Color Trendin'

So, it started with these...

They matched the invitation.

And then I did these (to match the invite)...

For a Pampered Chef party. (If you couldn't tell.)

Have I mentioned that one of my favorite things to use in the kitchen is the PC batter bowl?

I love it!

And then, I suggested these colors to a customer (imagine that)...

Oh, and then my dad needed to send some Thank You cookies, color choice was up to me...

guess what colors I chose...

Anyone noticing a pattern?

(I always loved those coffee cups that were covered in different languages of Thank You, or I love You, etc.  That was the inspiration for these.)

Can you name all the languages I used for Thank You?

And for the last installment of my pale blue and orangey-red cookie series, (for now), are these exciting cookies...

These were for one of my regular customers. 

Who wanted to announce to her co-workers that she was expecting!

(How fun is that?!)

She had her son (who I made the pirate cookies for) give out the cookies!

(How cute is that?!)

I was one of the first persons to know she was pregnant!

(How awesome is that?!)

Anyways, if you couldn't tell, I was pretty excited to make them for her...and it just so happens I could do them pale blue and orangey-red. 

Funny how that worked out.

So, I think you can tell my current color combo obsession. 

(If you're still in question, please review the pictures above.)

Exciting news to follow soon!!!

More Pink and Green!

There are certain color combinations I suggest when someone doesn't have a combo already in mind.  Pink and green is becoming one of my new favorites.  It may have to do with how much I loved June Anne's cookies, but regardless, I'm lovin' it.  These pictures are from 2 different orders this past week.  One was actually for June Anne's grandparents and the other was sent to a friend who has just had surgery.  They're so much fun!!

Personalized with each grandparent's nickname.

I hope the green hearts weren't too girly for Pops and Popi.

Although, I've learned that most guys don't care about what the cookie looks like...

Just the taste!

I haven't done flowers in awhile, so it was fun doing them again!

Next blog, I'll let you know one of my other current favorite color combos...

Anyone have any guesses??