Tartan plaid Christmas cookies

Holy cow, these took me

FOREVER

to make.

It went something like this:

FIVE colors of icing,

FOUR cookie cutters,

THREE cups of coffee,

TWO Aleve tablets,

AND

ONE very, very, very, sore hand!

Time for Christmas cookies!

Whether you like traditional cookies,

or a little shabby chic pastel,

a winter wonderland,

or cookies to leave out for Santa,

I think we can all agree that

COOKIES AND HOLIDAYS GO HAND IN HAND!

Happy Independence Day!

Long may she wave.

My heart is with our soldiers and veterans today.

Have a "capitol" 4th!

Wood and lace cookies

Two of my favorite things in decorating are wood and lace.

These cookies were all about trying out a couple of new techniques.

Swirling two shades of brown to get a wood grain effect,

and using a a very small icing tip to create the look of crochet.  

The lace was seriously painstaking to do.

My hand was saying "ouch" after only a few cookies.

Maybe one of these days I will learn how to crochet with yarn, but until then I will settle for using icing!

Baby shower push pops

Pink and blue white chocolate melting disks

+

Teddy bear chocolate mold

+

Brownies cut into rounds

+

Colored whipped cream

+

Pastel candy sprinkles

Equals

A very fun treat for a baby shower!

Linking today with

Savvy Southern Style

Guest post from Amanda at Mommy is Coocoo

I am tickled pink to have Amanda from Mommy is Coocoo at the Enchanted Oven for a guest post!  Of course, I love the idea of a baker's cabinet and I am sure you will too!

Hello, I am Amanda and I blog at mommy is coocoo. I am thrilled to be guest posting for Lisa today.

My blog is all about fun!  Whether you or laughing about the realities of marriage and motherhood or being inspired to make your every day surrounding lovely, regardless of your budget.  I hope my repurposed baker's cabinet inspires you!

I purchased this bakers cabinet at an antique co-op for $150. I was drawn to the color and shape of this vintage piece (love those drawer pulls!)  With all the different shelves, drawers, and compartments, I knew this cabinet held many opportunities for organization and storage.

The upper section of the baker's cabinet holds:

• A bowl for change
•  Cookbooks
• Some of our special occasion china {by special occasion china I mean a beautiful set of dishes I brought home when Debbie gave me all her old stuff}
• A basket with cloth napkins {we rarely use  cloth napkins} & wine cork trivets

 

I love the secretary function on this cabinet.  I can close it up when I don't need the extra space but it's very useful when I am trying to hustle my kids out the door with their backpacks, lunches, jackets, drinks, snacks, extra diapers, my phone, keys, coffee, etc... prepare our things each evening for the next day. 

 The middle section of the bakers cabinet holds:

• Diapers
• Baby Wipes
• Everyone's scarves, gloves, and winter hats  (In the summer I switch this winter stuff out for swim diapers, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc...)

 

I've placed the baker's cabinet close to our primary entrance, which happens to be right beside the kitchen.  In addition to the above storage, the five drawers, two large shelves, and  smaller secretary, function as a mudroom (of sorts) for my family.    

The drawers and shelves hold:

• several pairs of kid shoes
• Pearl's accessories 
• bibs and wash clothes
• a couple of pairs of mine and Mr. coocoo's shoes

The blue vintage suitcases and whimsical letter S on the top of the Baker's cabinet add a bit of character (not to mention the suitcases can be used for even more off-season storage). 

Thank you for allowing me to share today Lisa!  Your creations certainly inspire me!  To see more of my projects of learn about the whole coocoo family visit mommy is coocoo 

Black and white monogram wedding cookies

The request was simple; 

white cookie with black monogrammed letter W.

The only problem with a simple design like this, is that it better be spot on.  No smoke and mirrors to hide mistakes!

Fortunately, the wedding invitation had a W for me to copy.

That was quite handy!

These cookies were for my cousin Beth's wedding. 

It was a lovely day from start to finish - the weather was sunny, the flowers stunning (she incorporated vintage brooches in the flowers and on the cake!), food was excellent, DJ played good music, the newly weds glowed with happiness, and a good time was had by all.

The bride and her father's first dance.

I was happy to have been a small part of the big day!

Gnome ice cream treats

It all began with a small container of spiced apple cider ice cream that  was flesh like in color.  

At least it was the color of my flesh this time of year - a little anemic looking.

My crazy brain told me to make it into a gnome face.

It was super warm out the day I made this, so he is starting to melt like the the Nazi in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

All it took was a scoop of the "fleshy" ice cream (coffee flavored ice cream would also work), candy dots for eyes and nose, half of a red hand candy for the mouth, a sugar cone  glazed in blue icing, and a can of Rediwhip to make the mustache and beard.

It seems I have had a case of gnome on the brain lately.

Is this normal?

The Hobbit hole cake

Last Saturday my daughter had a belated birthday gathering with her group of peeps.  She is a die hard lover of The Lord of the Rings series, and after putting our heads together, we came up with the idea of a hobbit hole cake.  

I know, it looks like a clump of grass with a round thing a ma bob stuck to it's side.  The thingy is a hobbit door.  

Trust me, I did research.

I baked a cake in a heat proof bowl to create a dome shape.

I inverted it onto a cake stand, and then covered it in green Swiss meringue buttercream that I happily had stashed away in the freezer.  Then I made the door out of a round cookie.  

Official hobbit doors are round and green and have a gold knob in the very center.  

And here is my happy birthday girl.  

It almost wasn't a happy birthday party because she was horribly sick the entire week before.   Sooooo glad to have her feeling more like her old self!

The girl really needs to loosen up a little  :)


Link parties
Savvy Southern Style
The DIY Dreamer Dreams to Reality

Storybook painted cookies

I ran into some charming vintage storybook animals while cruising around on Pintrest.  They look like the Little Golden Book illustrations that I have always loved.  

Cue the icing!

I had trouble deciding which ones I wanted to do, but decided on the kitty,

deer,

and who could resist a duckling with a balloon?

Adding borders of fancy icing stitching was the finishing touch!

Childhood innocence is pure joy!

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Savvy Southern Style Wow us Wednesday
The DIY Dreamer Dreams to Reality

Camouflage cookie video tutorial

Time to send another care package to my soldier, so I thought I would demonstrate how I make camo on a cookie.

You start by making three colors of icing - 

tan, a grey/taupe, and army green.

To make the tan I used two parts Wilton ivory to .25 part brown.

Gray/taupe I used equal parts yellow and violet with a very small touch of black.

For the army green I used two parts yellow to one part violet and a small touch of black.  

It is perfectly OK to experiment here - start with small amounts of color and remember you can always darken the icing with a touch of black or lighten it with white food coloring.  

As you will see on the video, I try to keep the shapes straight because real camo has an almost pixelated appearance.  

I also want to share with you a fantastic way to support our military.  It is called Cup of Joe, and $2 will send a cup of coffee and a personal note to our soldiers deployed in dangerous areas where stress is high and amenities are low.  I think this in an incredible way to say thank you to these brave men and women who do so much for us.  

I'm going to be sending some coffee, how about you?

And now for my video tutorial!  I think you will see how quick and easy these are to do - you really can't make a mistake!

HOOAH friends!

My link parties!
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday

The Charm of Home

Hobnail flower cookies

As I was putting flowers in a hobnail vase, I became inspired to make these cookies.

See all of the little white dots?

Hobnail is so fresh and pretty, with just the right touch of old fashioned charm for me.

So this is my take on fresh spring flowers in a white hobnail vase.

Now, if only the cold weather would let up so the flowers in my gardens could bloom.  It's great to make them on cookies, but better to see them in person!

Link parties
French Country Cottage
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday
Greenwillow Pond What We Accomplished Wednesdays
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style

Gnome garden

This year I decided to branch out from my usual fairy garden.

It was time to let some men of the gnome variety into the mix.

I used one of the hypertufa houses that Mr. Enchanted had made for me, and added in some cute pieces that I found at Hobby Lobby.  I always get such a kick out of looking in the hypertufa houses because chipmonks winter in them and they are always FULL of acorns!  Last year one of the little guys was actually looking out the window at me :)

I used a bag of river rock from The Dollar Tree to make pathways.

And then I added an earth home, or hobbit house, or whatever it is called.  I built a mound of dirt, pressed a door into the front, and then topped it off with some succulents.  

I may replace the succulents with moss - what do you think?

Adding a gnome home makes my gardens EXTRA enchanted!

Sharing with
French Country Cottage Feathered Nest Friday
StoneGable Tutorials Tips and Tidbits
Greenwillow Pond What We Accomplished Wednesdays
The DIY Dreamer
Savvy Southern Style
A Delightsome Life A Return to Loveliness
A Stroll Thru Life Tabletop Tuesday