Taking a Break

After the crazy Christmas rush and in light of a family move, Cookie Capers will be taking a short vacation.  I can't exactly make cookies when all my stuff is packed in boxes now can I?  See you soon with new ideas and a few changes! 

Under The Weather

What do you do with 6 leftover cookies and a little boredom?  
You get inspiration from what's nearby...a Kleenex box.

For that special germaphobe in your life!  

 

Minis Galore

This is a sampling of the 200+ minis that were decorated this month!  

Tis the Season

I am buried in Christmas cookies this week so I'll try to share a few as they are done.

I stole borrowed this idea from Cookies By Design so I should give them credit for how awesome they turned out!

 Inspired by Sugarbelle 

(and my friend Jenni who loves Tiffany & Co.)

SMILE

More Birthday Fun

It's been a fun day in the Land of Cookies.  

These particular cookies are for a special boy I know.  

I can't believe he's turning 11!  Happy Birthday Nathan!  Enjoy!

I MUST get a new camera.  These didn't turn out very clear.

Happy Birthday

I love making birthday cookies! I put these in an arrangement for the recipient. I flaked and didn't take a picture all arranged but it looked nice.

I read on Cookie Crazie that it was easier to attach the sticks to the cookie wrapper just before arranging them. I have attempted this more than once and I'm not totally convinced.  It does eliminate the problem of inserting stick immediately after baking the cookies, working around the stick and breaking cookies because the stick makes them less sturdy.  However, I don't feel like the cookies are as steady in the arrangement.  If it's a large arrangement, then I use different size sticks to get varied heights.  If I decide to change the arrangement, it's a pain.  SO putting sticks on with heavy tape makes that part MUCH easier.  I just think they are a little wobbly.  I'll keep working on it because the pros outweigh the cons.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Broken Bones

Some boys never grow up! They want to play football with the kids and end up hurt almost every time.  These are for you boys who can't stay on the sidelines no matter how clumsy you are or how many times you get hurt! And, of course, anyone you know who needs a little Cookie RX.

September Blog Giveaway

I've been toying with the idea of a giveaway for a while but couldn't decide how to do it. I'll try an easy, random selection the first time. The winner gets cookies in their theme choice in either:   

7 cookie arrangement OR 12 party favors  

(including shipping). 

2 ways to enter:

1. Become a Facebook fan of Cookie Capers.  Then return to this post and leave me a comment telling me that you did so. (If you are already a Facebook fan, encourage your friends on FB to become fans and let me know how you did it.)  
2. Put up a link about the September Blog Giveaway through your Facebook, Twitter or Blog.  Return to this post leaving me a comment on how you shared the news of the give-away with others.
     In a nutshell, you can enter up to 2 times.  Once, by becoming a fan of Cookie Capers on Facebook or sharing the Cookie Capers Page with your friends on Facebook. AND secondly, by posting a link to this contest on your Facebook, Twitter or Blog.  Easy, right?
   
   
   You MUST leave your email address or some other contact information with your comment in order to enter the blog give-away. Make sure each entry is a separate comment so both entries count.
   
   The giveaway is open to anyone who enters in either or both of the above ways so tell all your friends. Entries will ONLY be accepted as comments left on the September Blog Giveaway post. Comments on any other blog post or Facebook page will not enter you into the give-away.
   
   Each person is only allowed TWO entries in the giveaway (as outlined above).
   The acceptance of entries ends at midnight (CST), Thursday, September 29, 2011
   
   The winner will be announced September 30, 2011.
   
   
   I will use random.org to choose the winner.

Etsy Storefront

The Cookie Capers Etsy Store makes it easy to pay with your credit/debit card via PayPal. If we have an existing relationship, personal checks will also be an acceptable form of payment. Thanks for supporting Cookie Capers!

So far, we have 4 orders with funds going toward our adoption.  THANKS and keep telling your friends about Cookie Capers!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

These cookies are, hands down, my very favorite in all the years I've done cookies!  The challenge was getting the shapes exactly like the book when I only have 4 out of the 16 shapes that would work. I traced, cut out, laminated the shapes (for cleanliness), then placed them on dough and cut out with an exacto knife. I used an icing tip to make the holes.  But all the work up front was totally worth it for the results!

The goal was to have coloring very similar to the book.

Pictures from the book

My favorite...

THE PICKLE!

Snakes, Snails...

...and puppy dog tails. That's what little boys are made of. The colors in the picture aren't quite right. I'll work on that. You get the idea though.

Hoot! Hoot!

I am experimenting with colors and designs this week.  These owls were a gift for a college student so they needed to be a little less babyish.  I also tried making partial designs on a plain white cookie.  I think they turned out really cute.

 

Cookies for Le'oul

We have recently welcomed a new family member.  In order to complete his adoption, we will need to raise $3000-$5000 fairly quickly.  I thought cookies would be a good way to help with that.  You can read the full story on our family blog. 

Lots of new pictures coming this week as I play around with some new ideas!  Be a blessing to someone today!

New Flower Arrangement

Cookie flowers are the perfect kind of flowers!  You can keep them in the arrangement for weeks with no wilting or watering. When you can't stand it anymore, you can eat them! 

They are beautifully yummy!

Dinomite!

One Fish, Two Fish

These Dr. Seuss cookies were made for a baby shower.  One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, NEW Fish!  What a cute idea!  They turned out alright but I want to practice more with markers instead of trying to pipe all the details as I did here. 

Love and Such

Here are some Valentine cookies I tried this year. They were a hit with the ladies who received them. The customer wanted me to try doing some in chocolate which I had never done. They turned out quite good. Of course, you don't have to wait until Valentines to order cookies for your sweetie.  They can be any color scheme and they don't have to be in an arrangement.  I'd love to make some for you!

Easter Cuteness

I got my new soft gel colors in the mail and a brand new icing recipe from Karen's Cookies. I decided to play with some mini cookies I had that needed to be eaten or decorated.  I absolutely love the new brand of color (Americolor) and the icing tastes great.  I'll have to wait overnight to see if it sets up as hard as I would need it to in order to ship cookies.  All in all, a great day!

Spring has sprung...

Spring hasn't exactly sprung for us in the upper mid-west but it is pretty close!  Cookies are therapy for me and if I'm feeling down, I like to bake and decorate them. Flowers and butterflies make it feel like spring while my yard is still 4" deep in snow so I started baking cookies and decorating them to help me remember that there is a spring coming! 

A New Adventure

    Cookie Capers started as a Mothers Day gift for my mother who wanted cookies from a really expensive cookie chain.  I decided I could do it way cheaper and make the cookies actually taste good.  That was 6 years ago. I have learned a lot about cookies and myself!  I started out making them for gifts and eventually, folks started to pay for them.  I have never been good at pricing them or being consistent with pricing.  I am trying to change that and make this a real business to help bring in a little income for our family.

     In my attempts to get the word out about my cookies, I have done many things: a couple of websites, an Etsy store (still up and running), a Facebook page (also still up) and a few other things that aren't worth mentioning.  This blog is a new idea I had to help me organize my current photos and my new ideas for cookies.  I think this will be a really fun way to showcase each theme or idea I want to try.  I have lots of ideas swirling around in my brain and I plan to get busy baking!  ~  Stephanie