Edible Image Cookies

I realized when posting Terri's birthday cookies that I've never posted about her 40th birthday cookies.

Now, I hope Terri won't mind me stating her age, since she looks younger every time I see her.
{In a few years, I'll be making "29" cookies for her. I know, you'll want to hate her, but she's really nice, so you can't.}

So, I had this idea to use a drawing of Terri and have it printed on icing sheets for her cookies.

First, you need a really talented relative that you can guilt into making the drawing. (Thank you, Maura.)

Then, format the picture to the size you want it to be on the cookies. If you're lucky enough to own an icing printer (oh, how I would LOVE an icing printer!), print them off. If not, do what I did and take the file to your local bakery supply store for printing.

When you are ready to make the cookies, trim the pictures to the right size. Outline and fill the cookies as normal.

While the icing is still wet, peel off the backing of the picture and place onto the icing.

Now, here's what I learned the HARD WAY...add a day to the drying time. The icing sheet traps the moisture in the royal icing. It really needs 2 days to dry totally.

I made them the night before, started to bag them up and hop in the car to drive to the party, and OH, NO! The cookies were still wet. I cranked down the AC, turned the fans on high and prayed for the best.

Well, by the end of the evening, some of the cookie icing was stuck to the interior of the cookie bags. It's the thought that counts, right? :)

If you like these cookies, check out more cookies I made using my cousin Maura's fabulous artwork!!!
Cookies from Art

So, Sew Pretty

I have documented my love for sewing notions, including buttons, thread, patterns and fabric, and the inspiration to be drawn from them. I always find myself saving photos that highlight these pieces, and when I discovered this photo by Shanon Gass, available as one of the new spring wallpapers available from Kindred, brainchild of EZ and Holly, I was beyond ecstatic!


The variety of colors and shapes illustrates what I love about buttons, and the image is sure to make for a happy new desktop wallpaper. I may, however, decide I also want the photo for my real-life walls as well...

And some more sewing notions eye-candy. Enjoy!

Karl Juengel Photography


Vogue Living via Brown Button

Trevor Dixon via Desire to Inspire

Anna Williams via The City Sage

From the beautiful home of Amy of ABCD Design

Chris Everard

Gemma Comas Photography

John Bessler Photography

Karl Juengel Photography

Ellen Silverman Photography

Johnny Miller Photography

Anna Maria Horner

Be Still My Beating Heart

I love maps, which those of you who've been reading for a while will probably remember from Map Week. As I was looking for items for a theme week I was planning (I did those once, right? Yes, I know it has been a while...) I stumbled across Etsy shop BananaStrudel.


BananaStrudel has a large collection of original antique maps as well as other other amazing antique prints, including architectural plans and details, illustrations of animals and insects, and diagrams of many other things that made me giddy with excitement.


As I looked through the extensive collection of affordable maps and prints, I found one piece after another that I wanted for me, for E, and for many of the people I know and love.


If antique maps and prints are up your alley, BananaStrudel is a shop that's certainly worth a look.

The Silver Lining

I've always been a firm believer in the saying "Everything Happens for a Reason," a belief instilled in me by my mom and Nana. I repeat that thought during perplexing and surprising moments, but most often, I repeat it during difficult times.

I always seek comfort in the belief of a reason, although, many times, when in the midst of a challenging period, it seems impossible to see what the reason is.

Keep Calm Gallery

"Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining," is a phrase that sums up the belief in a different way, and last night, E and I were discussing our own recent "silver lining" in life-- a missed job opportunity that at the time was devastating, but which we can now clearly see was a tremendous blessing in disguise.

As E and I try to navigate this new piece of life we've begun carving out, this poster would make for a very perfect reminder that a year from now, we may well look upon other silver linings still yet unseen.

A Labor of Love

Copy Cut Create

A well-crafted mix, a compilation of songs carefully selected to tell a perfect story, has always been a gift of considerable thought. It's a gift that is as easy to bestow on a best friend as a lover, and it's always a bold move to bestow one on a crush.

The Argyle Academy

Technology has advanced the art of creating a mix; cds and mp3s have made it easier to fine-tune selections, to rearrange songs until the mix tells the exact story you want. While I can't complain about these advances (for I'm certain I spend more time now than ever before trying to achieve the perfect song order,) as surely as I date myself writing this, I can say nothing quite compares to the labor of love that was a mix tape.

Mix Tape USB Stick. I love these- they appeal to the mix tape fanatic who still lives inside me.

When making a mix tape, you often had to catch your favorite new songs on the radio. When they played, you waited patiently for the dj to stop talking, hoping he wouldn't talk too much over the beginning (or the end) of the song because you wanted to catch as close to the original versions as possible.

SparklePower

When you did catch a favorite song or when you were recording music from another cassette or a cd, you listened with the greatest of concentration; you wanted to stop the tape at the exact right spot-- not too soon and not too late. Knowing that spot was a well-honed skill that made a mix tape flow more smoothly from one song to the next.

SparklePower

Playlists were compiled with care to make sure they not only conveyed the right mood, but that they were also split acceptably between Side A and Side B; if you weren't cognizant of song length, you might find an unintentionally abrupt stop to the music at the end of a side.

heatherjeany

Before embarking on recording the mix, you also had to be fairly confident with the order of your selections. Once a song was sandwiched between two others, a change was only possible if you could find a song of equal length to fill the space or if you were willing to re-record everything after the change in selection. Once an entire side was recorded, there was often no turning back.

InvitaPaperStudio

Choosing the title of the tape, as well as the right words for the stickers on both sides, felt monumentally important. Fitting the entire playlist on the allotted spaces of the case liner was a creative challenge, and sometimes the cover of the case liner turned into your own work of art.

Messenger Bird Press

When the last song had been recorded, the liner notes written, and identifying stickers placed on each side of the tape, you'd slide the cassette into its case. The finished product you then held in your hands was not just a mix tape, but was also a labor of love.

Because I still have a huge collection of my old mix tapes, I love the idea of this product!

Love. Dreams. Heartbreak.

I absolutely adore both of these prints. The black. The gold. The words. The typography. The small, yet perfect additions of the (bird and heart) images. The prints almost serve as counterpoints to each other, but love, dreams, and heartbreak all exist in one life, so there is surely room for both prints in one house! Love. Love. Love.

the love shop

My French is terribly rusty (sad explanation in this post- scroll to "French Cloud Notebook,") but the description for this print lists the English translation as, "Nothing is real but dreams and love." Beautiful.

Heather Amuny-Dey at Velocity

Although this print mentions heartbreak, it also speaks of love-- because one must first know love before one can know heartbreak, no? And I imagine we have all encountered that voice at some point; the words could be uttered (or simply thought) about a person with whom one is hesitant to become involved, knowing only heartbreak can follow, or about a person who is so heartbroken words can't hide her pain.

Love Saves The Day

On my bluest of blue days, I often have to indulge my sadness. I will listen to haunting music and let myself cry. Once I have allowed the sadness to come, I can then often let it go. Many times what helps me let go is the love of someone in my life.

Pearl & Marmalade

Do you have someone who you feel this way about? A parent? A sibling? A friend? A pet? A boyfriend? A girlfriend? A spouse? Perhaps you have many people who fit this bill, for I know I do.

I could gift this sweet print (one of many pieces I adore at Pearl & Marmalade!) to a number of people in my life, for, I know, on my bluest of blue days, it is their love that helps pull me through. Their love saves my day.

Lovebirds

You certainly don't have to be in love to appreciate the sweetness of these black and white lovebirds.

Fly With Me

Ferm Living via Lekker

Pistachio Press

Up and Down

When I was younger, we had a small amusement park in the city where I lived. It wasn't really much in the world of massive amusement parks, but it had enough to win my heart.

Fine Art Photography by Irene Suchocki

There was a water park, complete with a wave pool, slides, and a lazy river that were perfect on a hot summer day. When you tired of the water, there were also all the best carnival-style rides, including bumper cars, an old wooden roller coaster, and, what I thought was the hand's down best, a ferris wheel.

Alicia Bock Photography

Although were I to visit now, I would surely be shocked to see its real size, when I was little, the ferris wheel seemed to soar endlessly into the sky. I loved the vantage point at the very top, from where it seemed I could see for miles, and I always secretly wished to be stopped there when passengers were loaded and unloaded below. It was surely the best seat in the house.

The Bucks County Frame and Moulding Co.

I still feel a fondness for ferris wheels, although I can't tell you the last time I rode one, and I am pretty positive I would still love being "stuck" at the top and taking in the surrounding views.

The Bucks County Frame and Moulding Co.

One thing that is certain is how much I adore these photos from various Etsy shops. I love the soft colors and vintage feel that they all share; they remind me of the magic I felt on those summer days from long ago.

Welcome to the Big Top

Growing up, I can't say I ever had the urge to run away with the circus, although, in first grade, I did have the urge to just run away. I can only imagine what terrible incident drove me to such a decision (could it have been a "time-out" on the stairs?)

I only got as far as thinking about it, however... running away would have been quite the drastic measure for a girl who, at that same age, told her mom she never wanted to learn to drive- she would rather her mom drive her around always, if that were ok.

Had I gotten further than just the thinking phase, I am still not sure what I would have planned. Certainly, joining the circus would have been the furthest thing from my mind, but had it occurred to me, I would have had plenty a career from which to choose.

What would I have dreamed of becoming? Would I have longed to be...

The ring master?

here

A bareback acrobat?

here

Or perhaps part of an acrobatic duo?

here

A tightrope walker?

here

An artist on the flying trapeze?

here

One of the clowns?

here

An elephant handler?

here

A cat tamer?

here

While I can't say for certain what job I would have wanted then, undoubtedly, I would have found all of them quite impressive. And, if I could chose any position now? I'd like to think I would muster up enough courage to glide through the air as part of a team on the flying trapeze!

Did you ever dream of joining the circus? If so, what did you want to be? What would you do now (fears and lack of talent aside!) if you could perform under the Big Top?

Drum Roll, Please...

I am completely taken with these whimsical prints by Etsy shop Roadside Projects. The prints are photos taken of her original art, and their 3d-feel and colorful scenes caught my eye. I am intrigued to know how they look as a 2d print.

These pieces of art seem perfectly suited for a child's bedroom or playroom, and I would love to see them in the same space as the Boodalee Circus Throw Pillow.