Treats, definitely treats.

I wanted to try some different designs for Halloween this year; a dear friend gave me some new cutters and I thought I'd give those a try, as well as using a standard rectangle and square for some ideas. 

Earlier in the year, I bought a brain cookie cutter; when coming up with Halloween ideas, I thought 'what a perfect time of year to bust out the brain!'  If you're being attacked by a zombie, perhaps if you had these cookies you could divert their attention:

Go Flashes!

Today I am meeting a few friends for some tailgating at the Kent State University Homecoming game.   What goes better with chilly fall weather than spice sugar cookies!  Kent State couldn't have an easy decal on their helmet, but I think I made it work:

See you all at the gridiron!

Folk Festival friends.

These were made for the 45th Annual Kent State Folk Festival.  I volunteer at 89.7 WKSU, the public radio station that helps put on the Folk Festival, and I gave these to my friends there.  If you've never been to Kent, Ohio, you need to know you see a lot of black squirrels running around, hence the fiddlin' & pickin' squirrels here:

Babies bring joy... and cookies!

These were ordered by my Aunt for a baby shower.  The impending bundle of joy is going to be a boy, named Remy Steven:

I tried something different with the hand and foot.  I might vary between this design and the handprint/footprint design from previous sets.

Thanks, teachers!

Might as well say 'thanks' at the beginning, right?  And 'thanks' during, as well as at the end.  As someone who, once upon a time, studied to be a teacher, I know the hard work that goes in to the job.  I'm not the only one, either, as evidenced by this teacher appreciation order I had for some preschool teachers.

I hope everybody has a good, productive, safe, and fun school year!  Make the best of it, y'all!

Summertime and the living is ... hot.

It's been quite a hot summer, as I'm sure many of you have experienced.  My apartment is not air conditioned, so when the orders slow down in the summer, I am not too disappointed.  It means less sweating for me. :)  The temperatures are cooling down a tad, which put me in the mood to bake.  Thankfully, there was a need for sugar cookies!  A co-worker ordered some cookies for a baby shower for an impending male bundle of joy:

My Aunt Mary sent me the William Sonoma Star Wars cookie cutters as a gift.  As a thank you, I am sending her a dozen Boba Fetts to give to my cousin Paul.  As you can see, Darth Vader can't handle the sweetness:

Birthdays at 2 and 12

Lily, an artist from what her aunt tells me, turned 12.  Trying to come up with something a little different, I used different hues of Lily's favorite color, blue, and made these:

Addysen is turning 2 with a Dora The Explorer birthday cake, so I went with Dora colors of pink, orange and purple:

Hot Days, Cool Cookies!

I always love trying new designs, and this month I've had a few that were a blast.  First, Annette is moving to a different part of the state and ordered some cookies to say goodbye to her co-workers:

I have to say I'm excited to use the brain cookie cutter some more.  Zombie-themed parties, anyone?

I also got excited with the Ohio shaped cookie cutter, and put the Ohio State Seal on a few:

As much as I love trying new things, I also enjoy perfecting ones I've done before.  Joy, my friend and best client, ordered up some more Penske & Cardinal Health cookies:

What new challenges await?

Wedding showers & a 30th birthday

It was a bit of a busy week this week, helped get the rust off my elbows for sure.  I had two wedding showers; the first was for my cousin Monica, who is marrying Matt.  These were made for the favors:

The second shower was for my friend Allison's wedding, of which I am a bridesmaid.  Since she and her betrothed are going to Hawaii for their honeymoon, the shower planners went with a luau theme:

Lastly, I made some cookies for my dear friend LaRoyja, or as I like to call her, 'Buttercup.'  We've been friends for probably ten years, and we met through Ben Affleck's website (he had one back in the late 90s.)  We were fans, she was one state over and in college, and I had a car.  I was able to make it over to visit her a few times during her college years and we might have gone to an Affleck film or two.  She's now finishing law school and celebrating her 30th birthday, so I thought an Early Career Retrospective of Ben Affleck would be the perfect dozen to send her way.  Each cookie does represent a different movie, feel free to guess:

A special delivery, due in June

My friend Wendy is due to have her second child, a girl, in June.  This past weekend some of her co-workers had a baby shower and I thought it would be a good opportunity to make some baby shower cookies.  I only made a dozen, and Wendy loved them:

Congratulations, Wendy & Bryan!  I'm so excited to meet little Hayden... or whatever you name her... come June!

April orders and an update

In April, I had a birthday order for a 2 year old fan of cars/Cars:

I had a birthday order for my friend's Mom:

Lastly, I had an order for Easter:

Since this has been a rather slow year so far, I am putting the Year of Giving on hold.  If business picks up, I'll reinstitute it, otherwise, it's on hold until next year.  Thank you to everybody who ordered in April!  Graduations are coming up, so keep us in mind for the party or as a unique gift for the grad!

Charity for April in the Year of Giving

Hello all!
     As you can tell, things have been pretty quiet here at Danielle's Delectables.  Since I haven't had many orders for the month of March, meaning not much in the way of profits, I am carrying Americares and the Red Cross over to the month of April for the Year of Giving.  If you're looking for a unique gift for someone special this month, or for a different type of sweetness for your child's Easter basket, consider some sugar cookies!

March's Charity for the Year of Giving

With the natural disasters hitting many countries lately, and the political unrest hitting North Africa and the Middle East in the recent weeks, I've decided to split the donation between two charities, Americares and American Red Cross .  Both charities strive to bring humanitarian aide to countries experiencing natural disasters and other crises.  If you aren't in the mood for cookies, please consider giving to these charities on your own volition.  We are all in this together and together we can make a positive difference.  Thank you.

Finishing up February business

Thanks to everyone who placed orders in February, Danielle's Delectable Cookies was able to donate $55 to the Children's Miracle Network in the Year of Giving!  Here are some of those orders:

First up, Tyler's 12th Birthday, which was a bowling party.  Bowling & Ohio go together like chocolate & peanut butter:

Next up, an order for an Irish Step Dancing school fundraiser.  I tried to recreate the actual outfits of the girls on the cookies, but had to simplify it a little bit:

Finally, for a 2nd birthday party, I made some animals in primary colors.  The rhino is my fav:

As you can see, I had a varied month full of new designs.  It was a fun month!  I'm looking forward to what you all can bring me in March!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just some simple hearts to say "Happy Valentine's Day":

I did make the joke that if any ended up broken, they would be anti-Valentine's Day cookies.  Alas, no hearts were broken in the making of these cookies.

First week of February orders

I'm always up for new challenges and doing cookie designs I've never done before, and this week I had the pleasure of doing 2 new-to-me designs!  First up, the Goodyear blimp:

Second order up, princess cookies for Aidyn, who is turning 3:

It was a fun week & a good start for the month of February.

February offers & designated charity

For a limited time only, during the month of February, the month of love, I am offering chocolate sugar cookies in addition to my regular sugar cookies.  Why give your sweetheart an ordinary box of chocolates when you can give them personalized chocolate sugar cookies?  Valentine's Day is a little over 2 weeks away, so get your orders in now!

Keeping with the Year of Giving, I will be donating a percentage of the profits to the Children's Miracle Network, which not only provides funds to the Akron Children's Hospital but several children's hospitals throughout the state of Ohio.  Think about it; for Valentine's Day, you could give your significant other some beautiful & delicious cookies, and some children a few miracles.  How awesome is that?

January cookies

This month, 49 out of the 50 states have had snow on the ground on some point.  Everywhere but Florida.  Here in Ohio, we've had our fair share.  Rather than making snowflakes, as anyone would need a reminder, I made some hats & gloves.  Eat them with hot chocolate and you have a warm & sweet ending to a chilly day.

I am an unabashed Spice Girls fan, as is my dear friend Scott.  Our birthdays are 10 days apart, so in celebration of his day, I sent him some old school Spice Girls cookies.  Spice up your life!!

A Year of Giving

Since 2010 was such a great year, I am looking to share my blessings with others this new year.  My idea is to have a designated charity each month that will receive a set percentage of the profits for that month.  Thus, not only are you giving someone a dozen beautiful & delicious sugar cookies, but you are also helping those in need and making the world a little brighter.  This idea is in its infancy, so I am open to suggestions for charities to designate for future months; they can be local, national or international.  Please feel free to leave a comment with your suggestion, and please spread the word.  For January, I am considering the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank and the Cleveland Food Bank.  Let's change the world, one sugar cookie at a time.

Happy New Year!

I would like to take this chance to thank everybody who supported Danielle's Delectable Cookies this past year, whether it was through placing orders, taste testing, or words of encouragement.  You have made 2010 a fantastic year for me and I am ever so grateful to all of you.  Thank you, and may 2011 be a fantastic year for all of us!