Camera cookies

I thought about titling this post

PHOTOGRAPHING COOKIES.

Hee hee.

Actually I would have never thought to make camera cookies if a friend had not asked me to make these as a gift for a fellow photographer.  

Was that a run on sentence?

Anyway, I googled Nikon D7000 and got busy.

I am positively awful at making a circle, so I cut a couple of circle shapes out of card stock and used them to trace the shape of the lens.

Rest assured I used a food coloring marker and not a sharpie.

I rooted through all of my cutters hoping to hybridize something into a camera shape, but to no avail.  I had to make my own pattern  (once again, out of card stock) and hand cut the cookie dough.  

It is always interesting to do something unexpected and out of my comfort zone.  

Bagged and tied with bright red ribbon, they made a cute gift for the owner of a REAL Nikon D7000.

I am beyond excited to show you my next batch of cookies (calico eggs).  They just might be my favorite cookies ever!

Linking up with
Coastal Charm
Cedar Hill Ranch

Paris in spring cookie favor

Not too much to say about this cookie.

Just thoughts of spring,

the romance of Paris,

and LOVE to my readers!

Linking with
Ladybird Lane
Savvy Southern Style
Your'e gonna love it Tuesday
A Stroll Thru Life Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm
Cedar Hill Ranch
Making the World Cuter
Monday Funday
Alderberry Hill

Irish coffee break

I love Irish coffee.

It's in my blood - my grandmother was a member of The Ancient Order of Hibernians, my brother used to dye his mustache green on St. Patrick's Day, and my daughter is OBSESSED with Celtic Thunder.

I have no control over it  :)

Despite my love of Irish coffee, I don't love the price of the "real" Irish cream, so I whipped up a batch in my kitchen.  It is quick to put together and the taste is divine.  

Ready to hear how I made it?

I introduce the ingredients:

2 2/3 cups whiskey (to be authentic use Irish whiskey. I used Canadian because it was on sale)

1 3/4 cups sweetened condensed milk

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsp. instant coffee granules

3 tbsp. chocolate syrup

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

This isn't exactly low calorie.  

Pour all of the ingredients into a blender and blend for 30 seconds.

Pour into a cute container and store in the refrigerator up to two months.  

If it lasts that long.

Make yourself a cup of strong coffee, add the Irish cream, a bit of freshly whipped cream for the top, and a seriously adorable argyle shamrock cookie to sit on your mug.  

I am fighting a strong desire to dye my hair green.

Linking with these great parties
Pink Saturday
French Country Cottage
Monday Funday
StoneGable on the menu Monday
Alderberry Hill
Twigg Studios
The Tablescaper Ladybird Ln Weekend Show Off The Gingerbread Blog Sweet Saturdays

Pansy cookies and The Philadelphia Flower Show

Cabin fever had me in it's grip, and there is no better cure than The Philadelphia Flower Show.  Just walking in there and smelling the flowers and trees in bloom was pure heaven.  The gardening inspiration wasn't too bad either!

Because pansies are right at the top of my favorite flower list - they are so SWEET and pure SPRING - I made pansy cookies for the day of the show.  

I totally want to do this - a mannequin in ivy and succulents!

Mr. Enchanted is going to make one of these for me!  

Until I get grandchildren, my dog Nellie will make good use of it  :)

Back to the cookies.  I had an empty oatmeal container laying around, and I thought it would make the perfect cookie transporter. I covered it in scrapbook paper, added a purple ribbon, put a little crinkled grass in the bottom, and filled it up with the cookies.

I cut rounds out of wax paper to keep the cookies separate.  

All I had to do was pop the lid on and it made for a cute and sturdy way to bring them on the road trip!  

A

I am soooooo ready to get going in my garden!

This year's show was themed England, so there were a lot of cottage gardens on display.

Between the flowers and the pansy cookies, it was a day filled with sweet spring!

Oh, and I wanted to show you how my forced forsythia blossoms are coming along.  Aren't they wonderful?

SHARING WITH
IMPARTING GRACE
FEATHERED NEST FRIDAY AT FRENCH COUNTRY COTTAGE
THE CHARM OF HOME

Rainbow cookie video tutorial

St. Patrick's Day on the brain?

Guilty.  

These cookies are made with a wet on wet icing technique that is so easy to do (and have the ability to turn you into a cookie rock star!).  

It is one of those things you really can't make a mistake with because it will turn out bright and beautiful no matter how you swirl your toothpick.  Watch the video and see for yourself!

Now go forth and swirl icing!

For directions on making the rainbow drink, look here

Linking at these great parties

The Gingerbread Blog Sweet Saturday
Imparting Grace
Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home
Tutorials Tips and Tidbits at StoneGable
733 Blog Sugar and Spice Party
36th Avenue
A Creative Princess

Rainbow drink

I thought I had such a great idea for making a rainbow drink, but it was one of my more epic failures.  I was in fact horrified at the mere thought of immortalizing it in a photo.  

My big idea was to take fruit sherbets and sorbets in rainbow hues, and put little scoops of them in a champagne glass and then filling it with sparkling apple cider.  I was sooooo proud of my big idea!

Unfortunately, it looked a lot like swamp water.

SHREK SWAMP WATER to be exact.  

My daughter said it tasted good, and Mr. Enchanted guzzled one down, but not only was it not the pretty rainbow I envisioned, it looked downright disgusting.  

I put on my thinking cap and came up with PLAN B.

I have been doing that a lot lately.  

I jumped in my car, drove to the grocery store and bought a bag of multicolored popsicles.  

Yep, $1.98 of artificially flavored frozen crap.  

But, it worked.....like a charm!

All I did was smash the popsicles with a mallet, and then layered the colors in the champagne glass.  There were no green ones in the bag and that did kind of bug me (being a rainbow aficionado and all), but at least it didn't look like swamp water.  Topped with the sparkling cider, it was downright delightful looking!

And if I had used dry champagne instead of cider, it would be perfectly wonderful for whimsical adults - like me.  

My rainbow cookies made for a very colorful treat!  

I will post a video tutorial tomorrow on how to make the rainbow effect on the cookies.  

It is easy and fun - two of my favorite things!

Linking with the following great parties
March Madness Party at 4 You with Love
Savvy Southern Style
Fluster's Creative Muster Party
DIY Dreamer Dream to Reality

Leprechaun cookies

 

I couldn't let the week go by with making some leprechaun cookies.  

And because I don't have a leprechaun cookie cutter, I combined  hat and sea shell cutters to make the shape I wanted.

See how the upside down shell makes the beard?

Just push the two pieces together on the baking sheet, and the heat will meld the two together.

Trust me, this works.

As I began to mix up my icing, the little men began to speak to me.

Really, they did!

I'll have to remember that.

If only I could!!!

Let's hope so.   

From my leprechauns friends and me  :)

LINKING UP WITH

Homemaker on a Dime Make the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill Six Days of Spring at French Country Cottage Sunny Simple Life Seasonal Sundays
The Creative Homemaker Hop