Just for fun...

So my hubby & I both now have "creative" hobbies.  He's actually had his for a couple years now.  In this post you are going to see just how big of nerds we both are :)  I thought it would be fun for our two hobbies to cross paths...

Now was that hilarious or what?!?  Maybe I'm the only one that thinks it's hilarious.  I was CRACKING UP at myself when I came up with the idea.  I thought for sure my hubby would feel the same way.  I was wrong.  Please tell me I'm not the only one that finds this funny.  It was only mildly humorous to him much to my disappointment.  Please side with me!  Then I can tell him he was wrong, and that it is really funny, and that I can actually be the funny one for once :)  Plus, I like being right ;-)

In case you are wondering how a war figurine is his creative hobby, let me tell you (and if you're not wondering, I'm going to tell you anyway :-p).  He actually builds them (the guys come in pieces) and paints them.  Ever little teeny tiny detail.  It's crazy in my opinion (but I guess not crazier than spending 8+ hours on cookies - ha!).  He then uses these guys to play a game with his friends.  He's a big nerd - his friends are big nerds.  I'm sure one day my son will be a big nerd just like his Daddy, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love it :)

Ok, that's all.  Over & out.

Big News!!

So a while back, I asked my friends on Facebook to help me come up with a name for my cookies & other possible treats I might like to make/sell.  I then sent the name and a few ideas to my awesome bro-in-law who is an awesome graphic designer (or something along those lines - I don't know his official title).  He then took my ideas, added some of his own, and created this masterpiece...

Isn't it awesome?  I think so!

I love blues and purples, so even though my blog is Aggie themed (and I LOVE my Aggies), I didn't want to make my "business" all about that.  I didn't want my Longhorn friends and family to think they couldn't order from me ;-)  I am still going to keep my blog as is, because I really like the name, and my blog is just a way for me to showcase my work, and share what I'm doing/learning/etc.  I might at some point make a Facebook page with my new name though :)

Also, don't you love the name?  I love it, too!  I have always loved Mary Poppins, and thought the name was so cute and perfect.  My friend that I just made through MOPS this year, Marie, is the one that came up with it.  I still owe her some cookies for the idea, so Marie, if you're reading this, let me know if you need/want some :)

Well, I just might not be able to sleep tonight...I'm super excited about this!  I'm thinking business cards are next :)

This is still so crazy to me though...I never in a million years would have guessed I'd be doing this right now in my life.  Not 6 months ago did I even know how to do this.  It's still small and I want it that way because my family is my priority, but it's so fun.  I'm so thrilled to continue working on this, not only because it's a nice little bonus for our family, but also because I love making cookies and wouldn't get to do it as often, or learn as much if I wasn't selling them.

Thanks for all of your encouragement, support, and orders!  You guys are the reason I'm doing this and that makes you the best!!

 

Research and Development

What do you think of these cookies?

What? They're just balloons, you say? and you've already seen me do balloons?  Well, look closer...

No, the cookies aren't super burnt...they're CHOCOLATE. Yep, you read that right!  Yum!

I've been wanting to try these for quite a while now, but have been busy with either a sick kiddo or orders.  I finally had some time this past weekend.  They turned out pretty good, but because I like to do a thicker cookie, I had to adjust the baking time and I think I baked them a little too long.  I didn't bake the whole batch, so I'm going to play with the baking time some more to hopefully get it right.  I also didn't like it paired with my usual icing.  I typically flavor it with almond, and for some reason I just didn't care for it.  I think I'll try it with vanilla another time (I still have the almond icing, so I'm going to use it on the rest of this batch, but the next chocolate batch, I definitely want to try vanilla).

What else have I been up to?  Well, let's just say, I made I big mistake on my next project...

I've been wanting to do some cupcakes for a while, and came up with what I thought would be a cute design.  Then I finally decided to make some.  I love cream cheese icing, so I thought I'd make that for my cupcakes.  BAD CHOICE!  I really should have known better too, but I let my love of it cloud my judgement.  Anyway, the icing is way too soft and my design did not turn out at all like I wanted.  I then tried a different icing tip, it too was a disaster (although I tried to cover it up with the Aggie block letter aTm), so I settled on the traditional tip which worked well enough, but was still a little melty.  Oh well!

I wasn't even going to photograph them because I thought they were so bad, but then decided I at least needed proof that I attempted something.  I will be attempting some again at some point with a traditional buttercream and hopefully I will have better results :)

The ones on the bottom right are the ones I was really wanting to attempt.  I wanted to make a flower design, and the petals were just running together a little too much for my liking.

Oh and one more thing.  I realized with my last post, that I didn't post the pictures of some cookies that I did just for fun with leftover dough/icing.  I had recently purchased a dog bone and was really wanting to use it, and the colors I had were perfect for it.  I also decided to attempt a zebra print.  It was ok, but I think I need more practice with it.  It's also not on a white background because I didn't have any white that I could use, so I just used the khaki.  Anyway, here's a pic...

 

Pugs, Minis (not the cars :-p) and Coming Soon...

I got another order a couple weeks ago, and this one was probably one of the more difficult designs I've done, but still so fun.  A former coworker/friend ordered some pug cookies to send to her daughter for her daughter's birthday.  There weren't a whole lot of pug cookie pictures on the internet for me to get ideas and to help me with the perfect design.  I found a couple and they gave me some ideas, but they still weren't as awesome as I was wanting.  I did come up with a little tweak (added some pug rolls on the back) to help make it look a little more realistic, but after completing them, I think I would do it differently next time.  I outlined first, then flooded*, but I think it would possibly look better to flood first, then do the outlining after.  And I think I figured out a little bit better way to draw/outline the rolls.

Anyway, for a first attempt, I think they turned out pretty cute. However, the lighting was not great as I had to take them in the morning.  I'm learning that morning time is not the best time for photos, but that's usually the only opportunity I have to photograph them without the possibly of a sweet little one destroying them and before they are picked up/delivered.

I've been wanting to do some mini cookies for a while.  I don't have a lot of mini cutters yet though, but these cookies are super fun to eat because you feel like you can eat more without feeling so guilty :)  I had been wanting to take some cookies up to my former school ever since I learned how to make them, however, every time I thought maybe I could do it, Logan would get sick and/or I would get an order (and let's face it - paid jobs will generally beat free ones).  But, I finally made it on the teachers' last day of school!!  I hope they were enjoyed :)

They are also fun to decorate.  I only used two colors and did wet on wet icing designs for the squares and that made it go very quickly (no drying time between colors)!  Soooo...no 1am/2am bed time for me with those - ha!  Yay!

Coming soon........some exciting updates to what I have to offer!!!!! Hopefully you'll get an update with pictures after this weekend.  They are already in process and I hope they turn out great so I can post about them :)

Happy weekend!  And happy summer to all my teacher friends!! :)

*flooding is what filling in with a thinner icing is called in the cookie decorating world.