Summer lovin'!

Before I get too far, I wanted to thank everyone that gave their opinion about my beach themed cookies!  It was unanimous that the airbrush was really not needed on these cookies...and I am all about that idea!  It is just one less step needed and if it really isn't necessary, it will probably save me a little stress AND a lot of mess (remember that nasty "overspray issue, I mentioned?).

I did make a few more revisions to the cookie, however.  Upon suggestion, I tried making the flip flops slightly smaller as to not overpower the cookie.  I decided to make them black for the groom and white for the bride (good wedding colors and a little less "busy").  The last thing that I did, and this would probably only interest someone that was going to actually make this cookie, is I "set" the flip flops in the "sand" immediately after flooding and adding the sanding sugar.  This made one less step of setting them after the fact (with royal icing "glue") and I think made them a little less fragile.

Anyhoo, enough about those for now!

As you read this I will be visiting my babies in Denver!  Seems like much more than 5 weeks since I have actually seen them!  Thank God for Facetime...it's ALMOST like being there!

Nana could never make the trip without taking cookies!  I decided on summer cookies!  This is what I came up with:

 
Whatcha' think...sort of fun, right?!  I love all the bright colors, even though my pink definitely looks orange in this pic!  I even made some use of all those yellow flip flops I had made for the wedding cookies!

On other news...I have been working like a madwoman on my tool box.  Too hot to paint outside, so I drug it inside to paint, which meant I had to brush it on instead of spray!  I also have another quick re-do completed but did not have time to take pics, so I will share that when I get back, as well!

Till then...catch you on the flip side!

Cookie cutter reveal~

Yep, that was a tough one!  Honestly, this is just one of those cutters I was talking about yesterday...if I would have just thrown it in a drawer and found it later, I probably wouldn't have know what it was either!

Just for fun, I will give you one more chance to guess with just a little help:

Anything?  It IS a stickler, isn't it?!

Okay, I won't keep you in suspense any longer:

Bet you didn't see that coming!  Seriously...how cute are these little Beach Babes?!  I just had to show them sitting in sand...aka, Graham Cracker Crumbs.  The little seashells are made using a silicone mold and Candy Melts, which I have actually been experimenting with for some upcoming wedding "beach theme" cookies! 

This cutter is an Ecrandal design and I knew that I had to have it the minute I saw it!  It was part of a little "treat" to myself because for those of you that don't know...Ecrandal Cookie Cutters are copper and a little on the pricey side.  I don't indulge too often but they were having a sale recently, and I couldn't resist ordering a few cutters!  They make some amazing designs, be sure to check them out!

And just because they are so stinkin' cute...another look:

Okay...one more

Whatcha' think?  Have you ever seen so many perfect butts?

Thanks for stopping by...till next time!

This post linked to:

House of Hepworth

Summer's here!

Or as we in Arizona refer to as, "Hell on Earth"! For most people summer officially started 3 days ago...for us it was about two months ago. We have already gone 25 days straight with temps of 100 degrees or ABOVE! Mostly above, I am sure!

Anyhoo, we recently had a good friend of the family bring her daughter here to play in a soccer tournament. Seriously people...who has a soccer tournament in AZ this time of the year. It was about 110 degrees...yikes! Sadly her daughter caught a "bug" while she was here and was sick in bed for a couple of the days. On top of that...their team lost so I thought cookies were needed to cheer them up! (Not to mention the fact that it has been weeks since I have had an excuse to make them!) This is what I came up with:

Whatcha' think?  Seriously, is there anything cuter than bikinis and flip flops?  I think not!

Today I will building a new headboard for Kelli's bedroom at her new house.  I should have a few "reveals" for next week, so be sure and stop back by!  Till then...happy baking!

Have a great weekend! 





There's a skinny girl who lives inside of me that's screaming to get out...I can usually shut her up with cookies!

Taking the "Fun" OUT of functional!

Okay, so you might remember this little table and chairs that I bought at an Estate Sale a few months ago for $20? 

Apparently Grandma thought it would be cute idea to put all the little Grandkids hand prints around the table.  Me, not so much!  I mean the thought was okay, execution SUCKED!  Since this was going to be staying at my house and it was going to be out were it was going to me seen 24/7, I decided that it was going to have to match the decor at Nana's house...boring, I know.  If this was going to be in a playroom, I could have come up with a million ideas, but not the case...end of story!

Did I mention that this thing is not only solid wood, but it is also sturdy?  I know you have seen them around at some place like IKEA...that nice light pine color.  Anyhoo, refinishing the table was a piece of cake...remove old paint, sand, stain, paint, a little distress...Voila!  Of course after it was finished I saw an idea that would have been super cute, but I had to get this project done before my babies started college, so no starting over!

The chairs were somewhat of a nightmare.  I tried removing the paint with stripper, but there was no way to get all the paint off, in and around those rungs on the back. 

On to Plan B.  Quick sand, paint, Voila.  So now you know my dirty little secret...there is no distressing on the chairs because I could not get all the paint off to stain.  Give me credit...I didn't even have to tell you that, you never would have known!  So now you see where I get the "taking the fun out of functional"...as far as kid's tables go, it is not real exciting:

 

But...remember my cute little Art Caddy? 

 

Yep, that's all it needed!  BTW, did I mention Thomas and Taylor LOVED it?!

I also have some cookies to share!

You would never know by our 115 degree temperatures here, but summer is winding down.  The kids here started school weeks ago.  Thankfully Jenn decided that she wanted to send some summer themed cookies as a "Thank You" to a friend.  This is what I came up with:

Thanks Jenn, for letting me do one last batch of bright summer cookies for the year!



There's a skinny girl who lives inside of me that's screaming to get out...I can usually shut her up with cookies!