And that’s good enough for me! I’m a bit of an odd one when it comes to desserts. If we are out at a restaurant, I rarely get dessert because I often find myself disappointed by them. Not that I don’t admire the skills behind these complex culinary creations, it’s just sometimes I would rather have an old fashioned, simple dessert. I have always been a cookie person—from Oreos to my beloved Black & White cookie, I find them delicious.
One day I decided to make some sugar cookies because I had never made them before and wanted to try my hand at decorating them. This is a very new hobby, but boy do I enjoy it. There are many amazing cookie blogs out there for fantastic tips and inspiration (Sugarbelle and Sweetopia, are some of my favorites—great tutorials and recipes). My skills aren’t quite as developed as I’d like them to be and I’ve got a lot more to learn, but I am happy with my progress so far. I hope to continue practicing and creating these cute (and yummy) treats.
Just a note—I have absolutely no artistic/drawing talent (I’m lucky if a stick figure comes out decent), so you do not need to be especially artsy to start making some cookies. If I can do it, so can you!
Here’s a look at the cookies I’ve made so far (none of the photos are staged or really ‘photo pretty’– sorry!):
My first-ever cookies were for Rona’s baby shower! Her colors were lavender and grey.
I skipped sugar cookies for Christmas because I made a ton of other cookies instead. Next Christmas I hope to do both!
Here are some Easter Egg cookies—it was fun to work with all of the different colors and patterns.
These fall themed cookies were ideal for Thanksgiving. They went quickly at dessert time!
For St. Patty’s I just did some simple shamrocks because I was super pressed on time.
These spring themed cookies were the biggest batch I’ve made—71 (well 72, but one bunny sadly lost his ears). They were packaged and stickered for my husband as a thank you gift to his clients. It took a while to do, but these are my favorite cookies yet!
I look forward to making many more! Have any of you made some adorable treats?
The wonderfully creative ladies Becky and Glenna at My Paper Craze have nominated us for a Liebster Award!
What is a Liebster Award you ask? It’s an award given to up and coming blogs by fellow bloggers. The origin of the word Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. What a great word! We are honored to be among the eleven nominees and are touched by this warm welcome to the blog community. We’ve been having so much fun this week making new friends and connecting with fellow bloggers. Thank you Becky and Glenna!
The rules of the Liebster Award are as follows:
Acknowledge the blogger who nominated you and display the award
Answer the 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you
Share 11 random factors about yourself
Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers
Notify the bloggers you have nominated
Give your nominees 11 questions to answer
Ok so here goes…
11 random factors about us:
True to our namesake, we all teach. Rona loves her calculus ( who just started singing, “u + me = us”?). Lisa holds it down in the Media Center. Grace has kids write good and stuff in English
East coast babes: Lisa is from New York ( ask her to say “coffee”–it’s the cutest) Rona, the Jerz, and Grace, Maryland.
Favorite colors: L: Green R: I love them all G: yellow. Sometimes green. Really, I don’t know!
Favorite TV shows: L: Seinfeld R: Mad Men G: No clue!–not a tv show, I just don’t have one.
Favorite home decor/DIY/craft magazine/book: L: Better Homes & Gardens R: Domino G: BHG, definitely! Love looking at their monthly covers!
Favorite food: L: NY Pizza R: cheese and bread G: ??? It changes. Probably my most annoying quality is my total indecisive nature.
If we weren’t teachers we would be…full time bloggers of course!
Four eyes? Yep. We all rock the specs ( or contacts). Some more than others.
We all live in townhouses that are distinctively different. Grace’s was built in the 50′s, Rona’s the 70’s, and Lisa’s early 2000′s.
One time while we were all out to lunch, Lisa and Rona were mistaken for sisters.
We agreed to start a blog via a group text conversation.
11 questions answered:
1. Why did you decide to start a blog?
For years, we have sat in the planning room in school (while grading copious papers and planning stellar lessons, obviously) brainstorming extracurricular ventures for ourselves. And then… almost three years ago… we started a monthly craft night. Then came the updates after the weekend where we would share with each other what we managed to change, transform, create, and beautify. Often seeking each other’s ideas, opinions, and advice on projects, we discovered our newest and most promising adventure: a blog.
2. Is blogging your obsession or your hobby?
We wouldn’t call it an obsession, but it’s more than a hobby. It is a fun project that the three of us can collaborate on, and we love getting the chance/excuse for more projects at home in the guise of our blog.
3. What is your greatest source of inspiration for your blog?
Things people do in everyday life to make their lives/homes a bit fuller.
4. Do you plan your posts in advance or are you a spur-of-the-moment blogger?
Advance- We are teachers, and therefore, big planners. Some of us really like lists.
5. If you could choose a blog-idol, who would it be?
Oh gosh. There are too many fabulous and beautiful Home DIY blogs from which to choose, and that is not a cop out!
6.What do you consider your biggest success so far as a blogger?
The fact that we had the confidence to actually create a blog and put it out there.
7. What has been your biggest obstacle?
Time and getting readers. Sometimes it is difficult to self-promote.
8. Is there anything you would change about your journey into blogging?
Because we have been tinkering around our houses and classrooms for years, we wish we would have started sooner. We could have documented a lot of projects (and failures) earlier.
9. Do you have any insight to share with those contemplating starting a blog?
Just do it. Do it for fun. Lisa and Grace are English teachers, so they enjoy the writing piece of the blog.
10. What is your favorite activity (or non-activity) to relax?
Lisa: Read or bake Grace: I never stop. Rona: Watch guilty-pleasure TV shows
11. What do you envision for your blog in 10 years?
Oh gosh, we would love it if we were relevant, respected, and enjoyed.
11 nominees:
Drum roll please…Here are our nominees in no particular order. Please don’t be offended if you have more than 200 followers. We love your blog and would like to get to know you.
Remember, how I said it was Mantel Season ? Well, it’s mantel season! And that means it’s time for some St. Patrick’s Day burlap bunting. Whoop. Whoop.
On Valentine’s Day, I put all my Valentine’s Day decor in its bin, and started moving onto March. I know it’s only February, but I’m ready for Spring and GREEN!
Today during naptime, I whipped up a quick NO-SEW burlap bunting. I didn’t even bother to clean up the mess of craft time with the boys or the basket of toys dumped all over the place.. Just keepin’ it real for you!
Anywho.. this bunting is super easy, super fast, and super cute… You will notice this trend with most of my projects.
Here’s what you’ll need:
Burlap (the yardage depends on the amount of flags making. I used scraps. But, I’d say a 1/4 yard)
Jute, Twine, or some type of string or ribbon
Scissors
Glue gun and glue sticks
Paint Brushes
Craft Paint (I used white and green)
Here’s what you’ll do:
Step One- Determine the size and shape of your bunting and create a template. I chose a triangle with a 7 inch base.
Use a template to cut your burlap. My triangle is about 7 inches wide.
Trace your template. I did this once…
Step 2: Cut your Flags
Step 3- Decide what you want on your bunting.. I wanted a St. Patrick’s Day Bunting, so I went with “KISS ME.” I don’t like even numbers (not because I’m superstitious, but because my mom says groups of things look better in odd groupings, and she’s always right. Oh, Heeyyy, Mom!) so I put a little shamrock in there, for good measure.
Step 4: Get your Paint On! Now, you can use a stencil, or place the text you want to paint under the burlap and trace it, or you can free hand it. I just went for it and painted my letters. But, the shamrock was a different story. I traced a shamrock I had floating around. If I didn’t have a shamrock floating around, I probably would have printed off one to trace underneath the burlap, but I’m lucky like that…
I found a stray shamrock to trace…
Step 5- Hang your string/jute/ribbon/whatever you are using to hang this bunting. Because this was a No-Sew Bunting (just like my paper bag bunting ) I wanted to hang my string, glue my little pennants/flags on location as I would not be able to adjust afterward.
Hang your twine/jute/ribbon to desired hang length..
Step 6- Glue your flags. I just put a line of hot glue at the top of the burlap and folded it over the string.
I skipped sugar cookies for Christmas because I made a ton of other cookies instead. Next Christmas I hope to do both!
