It's amazing how the human mind works, and how certain smells can immediately transport you to a time and place of your past. The scent created by lily of the valley flowers is one of those hooks for me. It used to grow in the shade below my parent's bedroom room in the house where I grew up. Whenever I smell (or even see) lily of the valley flowers, I can picture them below that window. I'm transported back in time.  

These lily of the valley cookies are simple to make, and they're perfect for spring cookie collections for Easter or Mother's Day.  

One of my tricks in creating new, cartoony designs is to exaggerate one or more qualities of the character. Big nose, little eyes, tiny body, big head- all of these characteristics can make your design cute and whimsy. Plus, it takes away some of the pressure to make proportions just right.   

You might just recognize the cutter I used to make this little chick! It's the round potted cactus from Sweet Sugarbelle! It makes the perfect fat chick in a little nest. Maybe they live down by the river? Sorry- I saw a Chris Farley clip the other day 😂.

Cookiers have been using cupcake and ice cream cone cookie cutters since the dawn of royal icing to make all sorts of hat-wearing characters, from snowmen to scarecrows. I certainly do not take credit for the "leprechaun from an ice cream cone" concept, but I wanted to share with you MY version of this popular idea using a new favorite ice cream cone cutter from Sweet Sugarbelle! 

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving in my house was the traditional roasted turkey feast, from the juicy bird to the jellied cranberry sauce from the can (My dad insisted on having the whole cranberry stuff too- blech!). Aside from my mom's sweet potato pie, my absolute favorite part was the STUFFING. Now this term is actually a little misleading because my mom never put this seasoned bread concoction actually inside the bird, but rather in a pan that was baked until crispy and brown and absolutely delicious. So I guess "dressing" would be the more appropriate term for it. But in my house, it was "stuffing", and that's exactly how I felt at the end of the meal. Stuffed. 

Frankly, I think the creature we commonly call Frankenstein might just be my favorite Halloween-time character. Maybe it's because I love the pop of green that my soothes my eyes amidst the sea of traditional orange and black Halloween colors. Maybe it's because I like to picture him as a cute cartoony character instead of the monstereous thing that is depicted in the book/movies. In any case, I love making Frank in cookie form!

This year, I got my hands on one of these sets of Halloween cutters, designed by Sweet Sugarbelle. 

My family tries to go camping in early spring, before the 'ordinary' trees, like maples and oaks, become full-leafed. There's just something about the glowing white or pink of a blossoming dogwood tree amidst the wakening hardwood trees. Along with daffodil flowers, dogwood blossoms are a sure sign that spring is here! 

This tutorial is great for those cookie people are are new to painting on cookies (or who are shy and not-so-confident like me)! It's hopefully a *hard to mess up* kind of thing! 

I've had this bell cutter for many years now. And guess what? I've never made a bell cookie with it until this year! But don't let that fool you- it's one of my ABSOULTE FAVORITE CUTTERS. I'm not lying. It's one of those cutters that never finds it's way back into my "Christmas" cutter bin because I always come back to it over and over again. And if I put it in my Christmas bin, I would have to get on a step stool to get it all the time. And that's too much work. And chances are, something would fall on me as I tried to bring down my Christmas bin box. So for safety's sake, I keep it out. Always.

One of my favorite childhood cartoons was Tom & Jerry, especially the earlier episodes (pre-1960). It's awesome that my own young kids love Tom & Jerry as much as I did. Once I hear the theme song during the opening credits, I stop what I am doing and watch with my kids. Because yes, my kids and I bond over Jerry getting the best of Tom. My kids are fascinated by all the traps the characters set for each other. And before I know it, my kids are asking me for refrigerator boxes, wooden planks, a broom, a mousetrap, and an anvil.  Yeah, good luck with that one.

FODDER SHOCK.  What an unusual word!
Doesn't it sound like an expletive in another language? Just imagine the following scenarios:
1. Mumbling "oh fodder shock" as you're walking through magic doors at Target because you realized that the lengthy grocery list is still on the fridge at home. 
2. In a moment of pain, you exclaim "OUCH! FODDER SHOCK!" after you stubbed your toe on the dining room chair leg.
3. You exclaim "FODDERRRR SHOCKKKK" as a full carton of eggs slips out of your hands and crashes to the floor.