Mistletoe Market 2011

On Sunday, Laura Futty, my good friend and the very talented creative mind and hands behind Sweet Tea for Kids joined me at my booth at the Junior League of Charlottesville's 2011 Mistletoe Market.  Aside from generally having a good time hanging out with Laura and my sister, Kristen, the Market was a great opportunity to share One Creative Cookie with friends - old & new!  It was inspirational to rub elbows with some of Charlottesville's most creative and energetic people including Kate Bennis of Redbud Gifts, Jennifer Carroll of Jennifer Carroll Designs, and Stephanie Garcia of The Fete Blog.

Sadly, I didn't have my good camera with me, so these iPhone snapshots will have to do.  I hope they give you a little preview of what's coming for the holidays!

New this year are the reindeer (and reindeer food, seen in the tubes to the right!), the penguin, the candy cane and the red & white star.  I added silver bells to the white and blue winter themed cookie plate this year.  Traditional shapes like trees and snowmen were mixed with modern lightbulbs and adorable hats and mittens.  Did you see the galvanized bucket with winter themed cookies?  It's my new holiday favorite!

The Thanksgiving line-up included the ever-popular turkey gift basket and DIY Turkey Cookie Kits (these sold out in less than 90 minutes!).  As a sweet treat for hostesses and other special folks, a mason jar filled with cookies in seasonal colors and adorned with coordinating ribbon were new and popular.  Of course, Tom Turkey got lots of oohs & ahhs with his bright feathers - Tom comes individually bagged or "planted" in a terra cotta pot and wrapped as a great place card or party favor.

And, if you've got little ones, both boys and girls will love a Christmas tree DIY kit to make cookies for Santa and sprinkling a little Reindeer food on the lawn before donning super cute and comfy Sweet Tea PJs and settling in for the night!  

If you aren't part of our mailing list, please follow this link to join our list - there will be a great holiday special coming out Monday, December 5th!

Why I Love My Job...

Kelly,

Thank you again for creating the most awesome wedding favors ever for us to celebrate our day! We luckily had a few leftover that we enjoyed daily while on our honeymoon in Switzerland.  I wanted to pass along a few pictures from Jen Fariello of your beautiful work!

Thanks again!

Lauren

Thank you, Lauren & Andrew for asking me to be a part of your big day!

And, for taking the time to email me to let me know you enjoyed the cookies at the wedding and beyond!

Thanks also to the infinitely talented Jen Fariello for sharing her gorgeous photographs!

Cheers!

Redbud Gifts..Local Online Gift Giving

I love to shop locally, supporting the "Mom & Pop" shops of Charlottesville that maintain the small-town character of this unique place.  However, occasionally I find that I can't manage another stop in my day or need to shop in the middle of the night.  Enter Redbud Gifts.  In Redbud's own words...

Redbud Gifts is an online gift store for local goods and experiences. Everything sold on the web site originates within 100 miles of Charlottesville, Virginia.

Redbud Gifts features hand-made goods such as jewelry, ceramics, baked goods and toys crafted by local artisans.  Redbud Gifts offers experiences such as dinner delivery, massage, language and music classes.  Redbud Gifts also has a “Big Gift” category featuring gifts of over 1,000.00 for purchase by an individual or a group.  “Big Gifts” includes filmmaking, party bands, organic local catered parties, and backyard structures like gazebos and chicken coops.  Redbud Gifts also provides a way to give donations as gifts.  All items and packages on the site are exclusive to Redbud Gifts.

Redbud Gifts went live last week and I was thrilled to be able to participate in the Opening Party {in cookies if not in person}!  Here is a little taste of the arrangement and Cookie Coins that I provided for the party.

Want to learn more?  Want to see the One Creative Cookie exclusives? 

Check out Redbud Gifts online boutique...www.RedbudGifts.com 

Happy Gifting!



A Real {Estate} Thank You!

This photo says it all...SOLD!

What better way to say "Thanks for your hard work!" than with a basket of real estate themed cookies personalized with the agent's logo? I bought this real estate sign cutter ages ago and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it.  Fortunately it got it's first run when my amazing friend Laura (the talented brains/eyes/hands behind sweet tea for kids) sold her house this week.  She asked for a basket of 6 cookies, so we did 2 logo cookies, 2 giant silver keys, a house cookie in the colors of the house they sold and a real estate sign with the iconic "SOLD" sign across the middle.  I hear that they weren't 60 seconds in the office before they were partially devoured...Sloan Milby Real Estate Partners was kind enough to post a photo on their Facebook page, but not before David got ahold of one of the keys!

Sadly, the light wasn't great so my photo of the whole basket isn't wonderful, but here you can see all of the parts together...

Congratulations to Laura and Randy and many thanks for sharing One Creative Cookie!



Edible Image Cookies...6 Examples, Endless Possibilities!

As much as I love hand-piping details and logos and watching a multi-layered design come to life, there is just something so amazing about being able to reproduce just about anything onto a cookie...

if it can be printed, I can put it on a cookie! 

So just how does this work?  Simply put it is a very thin sheet of icing onto which images are printed with food coloring "inks".  The images are then applied to the cookies with a delicious layer of our signature icing.

A thank you gift from the amazing Dr. Jennifer Dixon to a colleague.

These photo cookies were a party favor ordered as a
surprise by thoughtful husband for his wife's birthday.

This was just a little something I was playing around with.

And finally, utilizing the logos created to celebrate two weddings.

Do you have a drawing your children made?  A "vintage" school photo?  A fun way to share a photo of the newest addition to your family?  The possibilities are endless!  What will be your signature cookie?

To see more cookies using the edible image technique view our
"Logo" Gallery...http://www.onecreativecookie.com/

Football and Soccer...it must be Fall!

Soccer...it's what's on the mind of my boys this fall!  Though the Central Virginia weather has not cooperated and we've had more cancelled practice than played practice, soccer it what it's about in my house these days.  These little gems above were for a sweet boy's birthday party and had to be shipped off to Washington, DC much to my boys' dismay.  (They've actually taken to walking through the kitchen, pausing for a dramatic sigh and walking right back out...they're used to being told that the cookies aren't sticking around for them to enjoy.)

To further their dismay, these fun Woodberry Forest paw prints went out the door this morning to a good friend.  It is always such fun to try something new - even better when it turns out just the way I had it pictured in my mind! 

Watch your email for another great project I'm working on for October!  If you're not already on the email list, click here to join.

To quote a friend..."Happy Fall, Y'all!"

In The Pink...Cookies for a Cause

It's that time of year again...it's In The Pink time!

The In The Pink Tennis Tournament is an initiative of the Martha Jefferson Hospital Women's Committe and, along the the ever popular Martha's Market, supports Cancer Care at MJH.  In The Pink specifically supports Marianne's Room, a special resource for women going through cancer treatment.

I have been playing ITP for four years - it is a lovely morning of tennis with fun ladies out to support a great cause.  This year I had the pleasure of playing with my dear friend, Laura Futty of sweet tea for kids...lucky me!  There are prizes for all kinds of "wins"...oh how I wish I had a picture to post of the winners of "Most Pink Attire" from this year!  Alas, all I have are memories of a great morning and a photo of the cookies that were part of the gift bag for those who participated.

Jealous of the 200 participants who got a tasty treat in their gift bag this year?  No need!  Stay tuned for ways to get your own pink ribbon cookies and support another great cause at the same time!  If you aren't signed up for the monthly newsletter, do it here.

Has it been a year already?

Here it is...the cookie that started it all.  The simple daisy cookie that I fell in love with and has become the "Signature Cookie" for One Creative Cookie, LLC.  It's hard to believe that it was over a year ago that a good friend suggested I take my family holiday tradition to a larger audience.  Over a year ago that I shared some "sample" cookies with friends from all parts of my life.  Over a year ago that I did my first party favors.  Over a year ago that I purchased a domain name and tentatively put up a website.  It's hard to believe. 

I have been blessed by good friends, a supportive community and lots of good luck.  Thank you so much to the friends and family who helped get this business off to the running start that has been the first year!

There are lots of new opportunities for One Creative Cookie in the works...stay tuned for the exciting news!