Happy Birthday Kiddo!

Birthdays are a special celebration, and it seem like kid's birthdays have drifted away from the traditional birthday cake.  Cupcakes are a biggie, and cookies are popular because they can take them home with them.  I don't do character cookies, but we can channel the idea of them . This is a sampling of some kid's celebration cookies.



I've posted these before, but really, what kid doesn't love a bowling party!?

These were for a family party, to use as favors.  They were a big large, but I love my custom sprinkles mix!  And the colors are so sweet.

These were for a one year old as well, but the theme was a little more girly!!

These were for a farm party.  Not a great picture, but this Iowa girl loved them.

 This 1st birthday was a snow theme. Not many people in Buffalo wanting a snow theme birthday I bet, but in the South....bring it on!

This grandma was hosting the party for the first birthday.  She asked for a lot of cookies...must have been a heck of a party! I like the tone on tone pinks.

Did you know the light saber's color means something?  I didn't,  but you can Google the specifics.  This little boy knoew exactly how many of each color he needed for his friends!

Basketball cookies are stunning when done.  It's that color contrast.  I have airbrushed the balls to give it the texture look, but I find it unnecessary.  Certain the 6th grade girls didn't notice!

I bought these cutters at a certain Kingdom.  They are small...so I did 2 cookies per bag for the 2 year olds.  Pretty cute!  I love that kids still love the mouse.

And the unicorns were made for someone at the Mouse party.  She loved the little favors, and I was excited to make sparkly unicorns!

Many more celebrations, we all have one a year, right!?  What are you waiting for?  Get in there and bake!

Iowa Girl

Where I come from...

There are many important factors that make me who I am today.  One of the most significant is my upbringing in Iowa. It's one of those places that people in big cities have a hard time understanding. Especially since I didn't live on a farm.  I was a townie.  My hometown was Clinton until I went to high school.  In grade school, I would get on my bike and my bestie Barb and I would ride for hours.  And I mean like 6 hours.  All over town, no helmets, no bike trails, just us and our banana seat bikes.  We were just blocks from the Mississippi, and many times went to the water's edge, I have ice skated in the slough and we would wander the railroad tracks looking for these flat metal things that we would bend into a whistle.  We picked onions from the neighbors garden, ate mulberries until our hands were stained and climbed trees deep in the woods.  We would walk over the bridge crossing the Mississippi and go from Iowa to Illinois and back.  We chased fire trucks, bought penny candy at one of 2 little stores within walking distance and spent endless summer days swimming in the large public pool. There were about 16 of us in our grade.  We went to the same church, lived in the same neighborhood  our parents were friends, and we knew everyone's siblings.  Those friends are still a part of my life.  I still love driving those streets, and retracing those bike rides.

At this point in my life, I have lived in the South for over 20 years, and it would be tough to move back to the land of snow blowers and wind chills.  My children are complete Southerners.  They twang, drink sweet tea, hate shoes and socks, shoot guns, and love biscuits. And that's good.  You gotta love where you come from.

So where is all this going?  Why are there barn cookies?  Well a farm birthday party of course!  It was a fun cookie to make.  Made me a little nostalgic for Iowa, and I took you right along with me.  SO, what are you waiting for?  Get in there and bake!