cookiecutter

Oh Baby!

Thu, 02 Feb 2023 15:54:54 GMT

What's cuter than baby shower cookies?

We have a cookie friend that makes amazing cookies for her clients. The best part is she uses a lot of our cookie cutters! We love how she turned our Footie Pajamas into some overalls! You can find those Footie Pajamas here . Of course, we have so many more cute Baby themed cookie cutters on our website. We would love to have you share your creations with us. Feel free to tag us on any of the social media channels.

Tags: Baby shower, Pajamas, Overalls

A tribute to the woman who started us on our cookie cutter path.

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:01:25 GMT

A tribute to Nancy Hughes- 1940-2022

When we meet new people and they ask what we do for a living, the second question they always ask is “How did you get into selling cookie cutters ?” Our short answer is that Joel’s mom got us started.

My husband’s mother passed away on June 21, 2022. Her name was Nancy and she was an entrepreneur. She had five kids and was a stay-at-home Mom for their entire growing-up lives. Yes, she was a stay-at-home Mom, but she always found ways to help supplement her family income in so many fun and creative ways! Just a few of her business adventures included selling Christmas trees out of their backyard, creating and selling pine cone wreaths, and selling night crawlers. There are many other ventures that she took on, too many to name. She was always crafting, making scrapbooks for the kids, and was quite a cook and baker!

In 1980, she opened a country gift and candy shop called Memory Lane. This was located next to Mamie Eisenhower’s birthplace in Boone, IA. There she sold fabric, buttons, many unique applique patterns, and country decor wall hangings. She then also added to her resume as a successful pattern designer with the name Down Memory Lane. Oh, she also sold miniature cookie cutters ! Can you see where this is going?

Yes, Nancy was the person who suggested we start our mail order business selling cookie cutters. You see, the time was 1993, and mail order was king. This was years ago before Amazon, Walmart.com, and before everyone owned a computer. If you wanted to buy something out of a magazine, you sent a check in the mail with the order form torn out of the magazine. Then you waited until it came to you in the mail. What a different time of life that was!

Nancy encouraged us, gave us some start-up money, and was always there to advise us on all the new challenges we would face going into business on our own.

We would not be where we are today without her influence and encouragement.

She loved thumbing through magazines and finding creative ways to use cookie cutters for more than just baking. When she found some good ideas, she would tear out the article and pop it in the mail to us.

In those early years, we had so much fun traveling to Quilt Markets with her and Larry. Most of those trips included Nancy’s sister Donna, who owns a pattern business Caught Up In Stitches.

The picture you see is her last visit to our warehouse with her husband, one of her daughters, and her oldest son, Mr. Cookiecutter.

Nancy will be missed greatly! She loved and cared deeply for all those around her.

Cookie Cutter Crafts and Projects

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 16:47:57 GMT

Dear Cookie Friends:

Hello! I hope everyone is staying warm, especially if you are experiencing the winter weather as we are here in the Midwest.

As December speeds along, that usually means the school aged children will soon be out of school for a few weeks. Trapped inside the warm comforts of your house without any signs of homework means lots and lots of, "Mom, I'm bored!" To avoid hearing this statement from your children, it is nice to come up with some activities to keep those kiddos preoccupied. At least that is what happened at our house during those years that now seem so far away! That sounds like a song, doesn't it?

Hand Print or Designer Potholder

This first activity would work great for pre-school through elementary school aged children. If you are needing a quick sentimental gift for someone, this fits the bill perfectly! Our church made these adorable potholders this December to give all the preschool families. The best part was, it was the kind of gift that will forever have a memory attached to it, since each preschooler individually crafted them with their own precious fingerprints! As a mom, I have always loved those kinds of gifts! And to finish it off, the pre-school teachers then attached a snowflake cookie cutter to the potholder.

Here are the supplies you will need:

1. Potholder (Dollar Store)

2. Acrylic paints, as many colors as you want to use (craft store)

3. Slick puff paint if you want to write a name at top of potholder (craft store)

4. Small foam brush (craft store)

5. Fingers or the whole hand to make print (your house)

6. Newspaper to put down on the table as you work on the project

7. Baby wipes for hands or feet after done with each print

Directions:

1. First, if your potholder has a little loop on it, be sure to put it on the top in case the person who receives the gift wants to hang it.

Paint the hand (or foot) using the foam brush, then press on the pot holder. You will use less paint, get the paint on evenly, and experience less of a mess by doing it this way. If you are quick, you can get a couple of prints done before you should wipe off the paint. Cleaning the is not too bad as long as you don't leave it on for too long.

After paint is on the hand, take the hand, press down nice and firm, then lift straight up. Let that dry just a bit and then you can go back and write the name and age, or whatever you like. Be sure to leave the pot holder flat to dry.

A cute, personal and inexpensive gift to give grandma! You can even attach a cookie cutter to finish it off! Find the snowflakes here.

Idea # 2

The last project I have for you involves a little baking! The only instructions you need to give out to your child is that every snowflake design they create will be 100% perfect a nd unique! We all know that no two snowflakes are alike. This activity is a win/win.

Instructions:

1. Dig out your biggest snowflake cookie cutter you have. Here are our large and medium snowflake cookie cutters. If you want details, look at this one.

2. Whip up your favorite sugar cookie recipe and bake up those snowflakes. You will see those green bands in the second picture. I always roll with those evendough bands on my rolling pin. The cool mat I have is from DoughEZ . At the time of this writing, you can save 20% with the promo code of doughez.

3. Edible Food markers like we sell here.

4. Decide if you want to ice them with Royal Icing and let them completely dry, or let the artists begin their work right on the baked cookie with no icing. Either way is great!

That's it! Not too costly, not too time consuming.

Here are my favorite recipes:

Sugar cookie recipe

Royal icing

If you discover that everyone has a wonderful time during this craft, then you might want to have some friends over and have a full blown cookie decorating party! Here is an old post I created a wile back that contains extra information on how to throw a fun, creative cookie decorating party! Hope you enjoy!

How do you keep your children busy over Christmas break? I would love to hear your activities or plans :)

Keep making memories!

Tammy

Cookiecutter.com heads to New York!

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 14:03:35 GMT

Martha Stewart. An icon! A baker, business woman, gardener, publisher, model, author, and the list goes on.

At the end of October of 2017, a producer from the PBS show called Martha Bakes called us up to ask if we would be interested in going to visit her farm in New York. Season 9 of Martha Bakes would be focusing on Cookies from Around the World. The producer thought it would be interesting if we could talk to Martha about making cookie cutters. Wow! Would we be interested in meeting THE Martha Stewart? Um, yes! We were in.

From that day forward, we quickly made arrangements with air flight, hotel accommodations, and renting a car. We mapped out the schedule, decided on what cookie cutter patterns we would take/ship, and finalized plans.

On Tuesday, Nov. 7th, we left Kansas City for the Big Apple! My favorite part of this trip was that our college aged daughter was able to go with me. What a perfect traveling partner! She loves to fly, I love to fly. She loves to shop, I love to shop. We had a great time together.

We decided to fly into the Westchester County airport in White Plains, New York. Although I am used to city driving, I am not used to BIG city driving. After considering what the drive would be like if we were to fly into an airport like LaGuardia, I quickly decided the county airport would be just fine. Driving around White Plains was similar to driving around Kansas City. We enjoyed our stay in the beautiful city of White Plains, NY. It was a very easy trip the next morning as we made the drive to Martha’s farm. What a beautiful country drive!

Our first day/night in New York, our first stop was the Fed Ex office. We picked up our cookie cutter patterns that we had shipped. Easy enough! For our first night on the town, we stayed close to our hotel. We did a little mall shopping and ate at our favorite chain restaurant that evening. We had plenty of time to get back to the hotel early and prepare for meeting Martha Stewart the next day.

That night, it finally hit me! My nerves started to take over. I started to think about what I was going to say. I was rehearsing the talking points that the producer had sent over to help me sound like I knew what I was talking about. I was also concerned I would sweat through my shirt while on camera! I practiced my talking points a few thousand times and finally managed to fall asleep. Here you may be wondering how I was able to get to sleep after all the turmoil I had in my head. It’s a gift, really. I have been blessed with the ability to turn off my head when it’s time for bed. I’m thankful!

The next morning, we got up and had breakfast at this great pancake place. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and both my daughter and I are breakfast eaters. Although we knew we had plenty of time to drive to Martha’s farm, we decided that we should go ahead and hit the road. You know the old saying: early is better than late. Because I had never made the drive, and did not know what “could” happen, it was better to kill time than have to make up time. We started on our journey. We stopped off at this great public park. The beautiful fall colored leaves grabbed our attention, so naturally, we took advantage of the opportunity and took some fun pictures. We probably took too many selfies, as you can see from the photos. Because we were still running early, we ended up having to make another stop along the way to kill more time. I was okay with that. Our second stop was at a nature sanctuary where a class was going on teaching elementary aged kids how to make a bat house. This stop off was interesting and loud.

Finally, the right amount of time had passed and we had arrived at our destination, Martha Stewart’s farm. Beautiful! We were escorted to the main house where we were greeted and we unpacked our patterns and supplies that would be used during the taping. One of Martha’s team members gave us a tour around her property. It was lovely to see all of her different gardens, chickens, and peacocks! Our tour guide reported that the rooster was very good at his job of crowing and would do it most of the day! We had a nice lunch with some other people who worked at Martha’s farm.

Now that I look back, I realize it was good that the production team had us show up earlier than when we were actually needed. I had plenty of time to relax, enjoy the scenery, and get to know some of her people. Interestingly, I learned that they do a whole season of taping in about 7-10 days. So while we were waiting for our turn, they were actually taping another segment. Can you just imagine all the energy and hard work they put in to get the season done? I imagine organization is the most important factor when it comes to producing Martha Bakes.

Taping time! When the morning taping was done, it was our turn. I started off by going inside and having a little make-over done. That was a lot of fun! It made me feel even more confident as the taping got closer. I just adored all of the production team members. They made us feel so comfortable. After make-up was done, it was then that I got mic’d up. It was almost show time! We went into the stage kitchen where we figured out where to stand and where to look. I say we, but mean me. My daughter was not in the taping, but got to sit in the side room while it took place.

When I was informed on how it would all proceed from there, Martha came in and we were introduced. She is a very professional lady. I could tell that this taping thing was old hat for her. I just tried to play it cool and remember my talking points without sounding like I was giving a speech. I really just had to follow her lead. She knew what needed to happen, so I had nothing to worry about. We talked about different kinds of cookie cutters , how many designs our company carries, and then I showed her how to bend a cookie cutter. Since she is fond of chickens , we had shipped a miniature chicken pattern for her show. She enjoyed making those. Many of you have seen our videos on Instagram of us making cookie cutters. Watching the process of making cookie cutters by hand is something that you just don’t think about. Every tin cookie cutter that we make has its own unique pattern.

All in all, it was a very fun day meeting Martha Stewart, her production team, and seeing her beautiful property. Kala and I were excited to receive an autographed cookbook from Martha before we left. Her production team also snapped a picture of us in the gorgeous kitchen. A memory that will last a lifetime!

Our fun continued later that day when we got back to the city. We had one more night to soak in the Big Apple , so we took the train to Grand Central Station. I would highly recommend taking the train anywhere in New York . It felt very safe, and I did not have to deal with the “big city” traffic. Our train left at 5:00 and we arrived around 5:30. Wow! Once we got to Grand Central Station, we hit the road walking to Times Square. So now it’s about 5:45, and there are tons of people! Talk about electric! If you have ever been to Manhattan, you know exactly what I mean. I tried really hard to snap a few pictures, and found that I would almost get run over by the crowd. As the night wore on and it got darker, you had no idea how late it was due to the electricity of people around you. I had felt that one other time in my life while in Las Vegas.

Because we had been told by many people, we had to stop and get some authentic NY pizza. We were starved by the time we found our first pizza place. You can see by the picture that this place had been around awhile, so it was destined to be good. I tell you what, it did not disappoint. Best pizza I had ever tasted.

We decided early that we would spread our calories out and partake of as many fun food things as we could. While in New York, enjoy the food. Our next stop was a hot dog cart. How many movies have you seen where people are always grabbing a hot dog from one of those? We could now say that we had. Again, tasted great! It could have been the atmosphere, or still being hungry, but it was delicious! We had plenty of energy for shopping now!

Shops, shops, and more shops! Yes, this appeared to be the capital of shopping. Kala and I had a certain amount of time to get our shopping done in order to catch our train back to White Plains. We got busy! You probably would have been entertained as we popped in all the interesting shops. Some souvenir shops, some regular shops. It’s funny when you get to a new place to shop, like Times Square, you feel as though you have never shopped a day in your life. It was as though it was the first time we had ever shopped! Again, atmosphere is everything. We had a blast!

So, it is 9:00ish, and we were starting to wear down. I’m not sure how many miles we walked that night, but I’m sure we burnt off all of our pizza and hot dog for sure. We had to wind our way back to Grand Central Station without getting lost. If you knew my daughter and I, and our challenge of directions, you might be concerned at this point. Let’s just say the nice officers of NY were very helpful as we maneuvered our way back to catch the train home.

The train ride back to White Plains took longer than it did going. It was interesting to see the different people getting on and off and imagining their stories. I enjoyed just sitting and relax knowing that our train stop would be coming, and I did not have to deal with traffic. After we made it back to our rental car, we used out GPS to navigate ourselves back to the hotel.

I think the hardest part of the trip was the return flight to Kansas City. We had to check into the Westchester airport at 4:30 a.m. That was tough! Early, dark, unfamiliar city. The GPS failed us pretty good that morning, but we still made it just in time.

So, it has been almost 7 months ago that we were there. Looking back, it was a super fun trip, and a memory maker for sure!

Hope you have enjoyed reading all about our Martha Bakes adventure!

PYO - Paint Your Own

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 15:03:35 GMT

Happy Holidays to you all!

Have you seen this phrase on Instagram and Facebook the past month: PYO? These type of cookies have been the latest and cutest cookies to come around. They are Paint Your Own cookies. What a fun idea to have some of these PYO cookies ready for when you have some small guests at your house and even at a party! I have two grown sisters who would even think these are fun! :) If you plan on having some little ones around during the Holidays, you might want to whip up some of these for a little entertainment.

Today I have the honor of sharing a guest post with you written by a new cookie friend that I met about a year ago.

Nancy has a heart of a teacher, and she is the go to person if you want to learn about stencils and cookies. Be sure to check out her stencil shop at https://thecolorfulcookieco.com . You can also look her up on Facebook and Instagram . Go follow her, you won't be sorry :) She offers a wealth of information! If you want to learn more about stencils and cookies consistently, go check out Nancy's blog here.

Hello cookiers!

I am Nancy from The Colorful Cookie. I am also the owner of The Colorful Cookie Stencil Studio. I design culinary stencils. Cookie stencils are my specialty. I design stencils that are bridged for cutting plastic, mylar, or acetate. I also design stencils that are unbridged for cutting adhesive backed stencil material.

When I started designing stencils, I was often asked if I would design a stencil and sell the file for others to cut on their cutting machine. That is why I opened the online shop for stencil downloads. If you have a Cricut, Silhouette, Brother Scan N Cut, or other cutting machine, my shop will make your life much easier! Less stress when trying to complete a cookie order is the goal! If you don’t have a cutting machine, put it on your wish list. Hopefully Santa will bring you one! You can find all of the machines, materials, and supplies that I use and recommend on my blog. I also help people learn to use their cutting machines. I have a Facebook group specifically for using cutting machines to teach you how to design and cut your own stencils. You will find lots of helpful tips and information there, along with video tutorials and Facebook Live demos.

This week, I made some PYO(Paint Your Own)cookies using cookie cutters from cookiecutter.com . These PYO cookies are so popular and a stencil makes them a snap!

I love cookiecutter.com cookie cutters! You can find just about any cookie cutter you want at cookiecutter.com . Shipping is fast and the service is unbelievable! It’s a wonderful family owned business!

I made the cookies in the photo below using the Badge Plaque cutter.

If you have hunters in your life, they may really love this cookie using the Cameo Plaque Cutter!

You can also find the stencil cut files in the shop here https://thecolorfulcookieco.com

Seriously, if you want to take your cookies to the next level, stencils are the next step. Nancy knows stencils! I think she should be called "the Stencil Queen."

May your 2018 be filled with fun, family and friends....and lots of cookies!

Blessings,

Tammy

When the finish is better than the start!

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 14:03:36 GMT

I’ve been itching to make some hot air balloon cookies. About a month ago we had some local cookiers come in and take a tour of our warehouse and see how we make cookie cutters. Each one of them got to make their own hot air balloon cookie cutter . I think the general consensus was they had an absolute blast getting to see how the cookie cutters were made by hand, and then making one themselves. A good time was had by all.

A few of them have made hot air balloon cookies since that time, so that is what inspired me to want to make my own. Here is where I have to preface and say that all of them are amazing cookie decorators! I have a loooonnnnggg way to go before I can even call myself proficient in cookie decorating. I often joke that I can roll out and bake the cookies all day, but when it comes to decorating the cookie, the picture in my mind is ALWAYS better than what comes out :)

The day I made these cookies we have a break in the heat here in Kansas City. As I type, it is a mere 91 degrees. Not too hot for the oven to finish up a couple of trays of cookies. Seize the moment, right? Fortunately for me, my daughter Kala was available to help out a little too.

In addition to the hot air balloon cookies, I decide to make a few hibiscus cookies as well. Quite honestly, I chose that shape for two reasons; one because that shape is a smaller cutter and would make more cookies and two, because I had some leftover pink in the fridge from the previous cookie endeavor. I was pretty proud of myself for having my tubs of royal icing mixed up the previous night. My cookie friend over at Sweet & Saucy Life told us at the last class I took, that the colors really do better if they are mixed up the day before they are used. You might want to check her website out for her new virtual cookie club she has started! I just signed up this past weekend for it. You can find it here .

The colors I chose to use were, lavender, pink and yellow. Well, it was supposed to be yellow. I messed around with the color too much and it ended up being Nacho cheese color. When I was getting the tubs of RI out, Kala actually voiced that my "yellow" looked like Nacho cheese. I laughed out loud and still let her help me decorate. Again, I have a long way to go with my decorating skills, which heavily involve mixing my colors. I should have stayed with the pale yellow that I started with, but I often go too far and then end up being sorry. Oh well! I think overall, the nacho cheese color was tamed down by the violet and pink that I paired with the hot air balloons. Fortunately, the color does not affect the taste! Aren’t we all glad about that?

Today, in addition to showing off my Nacho Cheese color, I wanted to demonstrate how the cookies can really start off looking bad, ugly, whatever; they can really turn around quickly by the time they are all done. You can see the progression of the pictures at the end of this blog.

Another thing I wanted to share or confess, is the over filling of my tip less bag problem. For some reason, I feel like I can save time by filling those bags to the brim. Just take my advice, do not think you will save time later by filling them all the way! I always forget to save some room so I can tie them off. What do I do to try to fix my mistake? Aka : Make it work? I twist my bag, then fold it over and use a chip clip. Folks, that does not work! As Kala experienced, it will eventually explode and then you will need to make a RI sandwich cookie, as you can see with the hot air balloon cookie in the right hand corner of the cookie sheet. Sigh…..I eventually got the icing transferred into another bag, and went along my way. Shortcuts rarely are worth it.

All in all, I liked the way the cookies turned out. I definitely love our hot air balloon cookie cutter , so that has not changed. I still like using the new brand of Chefmaster food color gel . Love the colors and have no problems with them. Another tool that I use alot to pop my airbubbles is the P ME Scribe Needle Tool . I also use it to help spread my icing over when it needs a little help.

So, what have you been doing lately? Hope you have been entertained by my post today. Hoping to inspire you and remind you that not all cookies turn out perfect. Nor do the attempts at making them. Progress is always good :)

Make some memories~ Tammy

Celebrating the Graduate!

Fri, 21 Apr 2017 14:58:41 GMT

Ideas for planning a graduation party

I love this time of year! Besides being spring and seeing flowers and trees coming to life, there is the end of school events that go on. Whether that is track, soccer, baseball, prom or graduation, these are all events to celebrate. In the spring time, we are a track family. We have a college track runner and a high school senior track runner. It is because of our senior, and her upcoming graduation that reminded me of this #Graduate post. So really, this is a repeat post, with a few updates. Same basic, helpful information for #Graduation!

There are many of you out there who may be seasoned veterans in the field of throwing graduation parties. Just maybe, there will be some of you that this will be your first go-around with it. That is why I am writing and sharing ideas with you. Take what you need and throw a great party! Let’s get started!

Graduation parties can look a little different for everyone. Whether you are having a few close family friends over or having a big barbecue, there is some planning to do. Decisions need to be made!

Here’s a starter list for you:

Number of people you are inviting?
What kind of food, if any are you serving?
Sweets: Cake, cookies, cupcakes or candy, know blox ( Jello Jigglers )
Where are you having the party? Your house, yard, renting a place?
Will you have any activities or games at the party?
When will you have your party? Beware when picking your day and time. There will be many parties, and you want to pick a time when you will have the most guests coming to your party. We have done a Friday night party before, which was very successful. This year we are doing a Saturday afternoon, day before graduation. This is only for family convenience sake.
There, that is all you need to know to plan the perfect graduation party! Just kidding ! It really is a good start though. Another good starting place is Pinterest. We have a board talking all things Graduation. You will see both decorated cookie ideas and decoration ideas.

Of course we have every Graduation cookie cutter you could think of as well. You can check them out here.

If you want to plan a few activities for the party, here are a couple of ideas.

First, it is kind of a fun idea to have a slide show running in the background. If you have a smart tv, you can just create a google slide show. There are probably many smart and technical savvy parents out there who have their own means to do this. That might even be a great job for the graduate to help out with.

Secondly, you can always have each guest write a “life tip” on a note card when they arrive and collect them all for the graduate to read over after the party is done. Second, having a few homemade photo booths would be super fun. Have each guest have their picture taken with the graduate with some fun hats and other props. Then, the most popular idea, is just for the graduate to float around and visit with the guests.

Lastly, since I am all about decorated cookies, why not have a cookie decorating station? Check out a blog I wrote about doing such a thing here that laid out everything you would need to have a cookie decorating station at a birthday party. This same idea would work with a graduation themed party. You would just pick some different shapes to have everyone decorate. Either you go with the graduation shapes, or you pick out some shapes that describe the graduate’s personality. How fun!

Here are some themes you may consider: Sports, Music, or Drama. I know you will think of something. If you need help, give me a call. I’d be happy to help. I like planning parties!

When the dust has settled from the party, I would love to see what ideas you came up with. Feel free to share your pictures either on our Facebook page, Twitter or Instagram. If you share them on twitter or Instagram, tag them with #cookiecuttercom. I’ll be able to find them there.

Have fun making those memories!

~Tammy

Ordinary Mom Decorating

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 15:05:50 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

Well, the cookies have been made. Now for the fun and creative job. Decorating! I do have to say that decorating cookies, although I choose simple ones, always fulfill my "crafty need." I hope it does for you too!

Here are the supplies you will need to decorate those simple (or not simple) and lovely cookies you made:

Royal icing recipe here From The Bearfoot Baker
Americolor Soft Gel Paste colors
Decorating bottles or bags
Couplers and tips
Icing color chart from SweetSugarBelle

Mix up your royal icing in one big bowl. Decide how many colors you plan on making. Divide the icing into that many bowls. Mix up your colors using the color chart link from above.

Here is where I remind you that I am an #ordinarymom just having fun decorating cookies. That being said, I will now defer to the pro’s . Let me introduce you to the talented Lisa at The Bearfoot Baker. She has such wonderful video’s and explanations of all things cookies. Click over here to see her video directions for Royal icing. You will definitely want to read more from her here.

Pause~ I have to tell you right here, there are sooooo many good cookie decorators out there! I am sharing a couple of my favorite ones here today.

Okay, back to decorating cookies. The last and final video I would like to share with you comes from an amazing cookier named Marian at Sweetopia. Here you will be inspired and encouraged to decorate your cookies all day. Enjoy this video ! More from Sweetopia's blog here.

So, how did they turn out? I'm sure they turned out just amazing! Feel free to share a picture of them on any of our Social Media channels. We love to see your work!

As always, I would love to hear from you. Have fun making memories with cookies this week!

~Tammy

Ordinary Mom Cookies

Thu, 28 Jul 2016 13:13:32 GMT

Hello! Tammy here…I'm trying to get organized for the Fall and figuring out what to put on our Facebook page as well as our blog. I started thinking and decided that the best place to start with any season is the beginning! I know that many of you have been decorating cookies for as long as you can remember. That makes me happy :) There are some of our cookie friends who are just getting started. That is where I want to start~ at the beginning.

Everyone needs to find their favorite recipe. Maybe something that your Mom or Grandma passed down to you? Here are some recipes that we have on our website if you need one.

My favorite sugar cookie recipe is called OTBP Sugar Cookie recipe . You can find it here. Does anyone know what OTBP stands for? Off the Beaten Path. That was our business name when we first started our business. Believe it or not, the wonderful world wide web was not around for the general public in 1993! I know how shocking that must be for some of you. It seems like we have always had Google and the likes.Okay, back on track---> Occasionally I will use another recipe, but lately, I find myself going back to the one my MIL Nancy gave me way back when we started this business. So I’ve been using this one for 23 years! Now that I think about it, I must have been like 10 when I started. Lol. I have changed it up a bit because I have fallen in love with the almond flavor in a cookie. My most important tip is CHILL THE DOUGH. Warm dough is not your friend. I take out a ball of dough to work with and then put the remaining dough in fridge until I need it. Trust me on this :)

Tools

I always use my evendough bands. Usually I use the green ones, but when I want the cookie a little thicker, I go blue. I'm one of those people who can not cut a straight line if I had to. Basically I appreciate all the help I can get with rolling and cutting cookies.

Last weekend I chose a simple flower. I have found that lately, I choose the easiest shape I can find that will satisfy the baking urge. Easy to me means I only decorate in one or two colors. Dots are my favorite of late! I don’t do writing on the cookies at all. Maybe someday? We'll see.
I always pull out my @DoughEZ mat. It makes for less flour use and easier clean-up.
Bowl of flour to sprinkle. Mainly from habit.
Baking sheets~ I always use two. I do make sure it is completely cool before I start putting the newly cut-out cookies on it.
Parchment paper~ If you don’t have a @DoughEZ mat, you will want parchment paper to put on top of your dough that you roll. Much less sticking that way. I also line my baking sheets with the parchment paper. I appreciate an easy clean-up.
Cooling racks~ I pop my cookies on to cool as soon as I take them out of the oven. That keeps them from continuing to bake and cools down quickly so I can taste my handiwork.

Well, that's what I need to bake my cookies up! Next week I'll be giving your "ordinary mom" decorating tips. Stay tuned!

Keep making memories with cookies!

~Tammy

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Baby Times 2!

Sat, 16 Jul 2016 13:53:35 GMT

When is the last time you had the privilege of attending a baby shower? Well, my “baby girl” (she’s 18) and I went to one this past weekend. It was being put on for my niece, who is having twin girls this coming Fall. Let me tell you, it was such a fun time!

My sister-in-law threw such a fun shower! We had fun snacks, drinks, and party games. I think my favorite part of any baby shower is seeing all of the cute and up to date baby things that are available in 2016. Quite a few things have changed since my last baby was born. Anyone remember the Diaper Genie? Back in my day, that was a luxury item to have.

As with any party you throw, decorations are always a great place to start developing your ideas. Where do we go for any type of party idea we are looking for? Yes, Pinterest. This baby shower was decorated with cute flowers in an old medicine bottle, and cute baby onesies hanging on a clothes line. Pink Polka Dot plates and napkins were bought for the snacks, and cute pink plastic baby bottles took the place of cups for our drinks. Here is our complete Pinterest board for the baby shower, plus some extra ideas.

Games:

First game up was the Clothes pin game - As each guest arrived, they were asked to take about 3-4 clothes pins and put them on the bottom of their shirt. In the picture below, you can see that the clothes pins were just the regular kind, kept in a basket to hand out. The goal was to collect as many clothes pins from other guests as you could. The way you were able to steal a clothes pin is by catching someone saying “baby” or “twins.” When you heard someone say one of those two words, you got to steal one of their clothes pins and add it to your collection. A prize was given to the winner before everyone went home. That game was fun and really made you focus on what others were saying and what you wanted to say.
Second game was called “The Price is Right, Baby!” You can see the cute Bitty Baby Basket that is holding all the cute little baby accessories. For this game, there were ten items in the basket that we had to guess the price of, one item at a time. It was printed on a half sheet of paper. At the end of the game, the person who came closest without going over won! I realized in this game, exactly how long it had been since buying baby things.
The third and final game was called Babies Trivia. (Remember, she is having twins). This game was printed on a full 81/2 x 11 sheet of paper. Both games 2 and 3 were printed on cute “whimsical monster themed paper.” This game listed out 10 trivia questions. Each question had 4 possible answers. A sample question would be “What was the most common girl’s name in 2015? Do you have a guess? The answer was Emma. I love that name!

Snacks:

The other fun part of any party is the food! Amy, my sister-in-law had so many cute food ideas. Snack mix, cookies, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and cute drinks served in pink plastic baby bottles. The bottles had a cute delicate lace tied around the top with pink striped straws sticking out the top. She bought some cookie cutters from us, various shapes and sizes. The theme Jaye wanted was cute whimsical monsters. I really want to stress right here, that you can make a cute friendly monster out of any cookie cutter you want. The sky is the limit! You can see by the cute cookies that all the monster cookies required was a colorful face and a more than a few eyes!
I am pretty sure that all of us “average cookie decorating moms” could pull this cookie off.
Amy decided that she wanted each one of her guests to take home a cookie cutter with a cute recipe card tied on.
Here is where Amy bought the recipe card template. If you are looking for a new sugar cookie recipe to try out, this one is called Grandma's Cut-Out Cookies. Find it here. (Link is broken)
Finally, don't forget to ask for some name suggestions!

That's all for now! Have a great rest of the summer Making Memories with Cookies~ Tammy

Look us up on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram! We'd love to connect with you and see what kind of cookie memories you are making :)

Red, White and Blue Day!

Mon, 27 Jun 2016 14:21:19 GMT

Fun times are just around the corner! Fourth of July is just a few days away! Do you have your plans set? Well, today, I'm giving you some more food for thought. I have some great decoration ideas and fun food to help you make some fantastic memories! Here we go!

Party planning always involves a little decoration thought.

Here are some cool ideas from The Deans List Blog and Today's Creative Life. These table decorations would be so cute on your table. Even if you only made up a couple, what a great splash of color they would add to your party!

Next up, is some cute ways to decorate your yard! The Concrete Cottage found a way to really WOW the guests when they arrive. How fun would it be to walk in someone's back yard and see stars all over the lawn? Go check out her blog on this idea to get all of your questions about the how to.

If you want a project that your youngest can do, you might consider making red, white and blue paper chains to hang around the party area. Just go google "paper chains" and you will remember what those look like from your childhood and counting down special days.

Moving onto some food, last year I found all kinds of goodies that you may want to revisit here . That's a two for one special right there! :)

For some new and fresh ideas, check out the beautiful and festive salad someone made. I've never used a star cookie cutter to cut cucumbers out. Now I will!. I tried the link from Pinterest, but it did not take me to the originator of this lovely salad. Next to the salad you will see a very cute Pigs in a blanket appetizer from The Reader's Digest.

Honestly, you might want to eat the pigs in a blanket appetizer first, while you can. Or, you can put a few back for yourself after you prepare them? I have a feeling that they will go very quickly! Calories don't really count on holidays, do they?

Last but certainly not least, another cute way to use the star cookie cutter! A blogger over at Handmade in the Heartland came up with this super cute way to make a hot dog look pretty and tasty!

I have to agree with the author of this blog, the cheese star on top is my favorite part too!

Well, that's probably plenty to get you started or help fill in the gaps of your already great plan! Let me know how your party goes! If you need more inspiration, here is our Patriotic Pinterest board.

Have a safe and fun Fourth of July Holiday with those that you love.

Of course, we are always a phone call away. Supplying all of your cookie cutter needs since 1993.

~Tammy

Father's Day

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 14:29:13 GMT

Happy Father's Day Dad!

That third Sunday in June is a special day when we celebrate all of the special men in our lives is coming right up. That handsome guy in the picture here is my Dad :)

According to the Greeting Card Association, Father’s Day is the fourth-biggest day for sending greeting cards. That is after Christmas, V-Day and good ole Mother’s Day. I was not able to find the statistic on how many cookies are actually made for Father’s Day. Does anyone out there have an idea? Lol

How did Father’s Day come into being? It got a jump start from the formation of Mother’s Day in 1914. As important as Fathers are, it was not until 1966 when then President Lyndon Johnson issued a proclamation calling for the third Sunday in June to be recognized as Father’s Day. Richard Nixon then permanently established Father’s Day as a Federal Holiday in 1972.

To all you Father’s out there~ Thank you!

I used to think that creating Father’s Day cookies was hard! I mean, you don’t typically see all the foo-foo cookies for good ole Dad. You won’t see many cookies decorated for Dad in the shape of flowers, purses, or dresses. A very long time ago, we used to have a pre-packaged set of cookie cutters that celebrated Mom. We called it the Ladies Day Out set. Now we have a couple of sets just for Dad. Many people lean toward tools, sports, cars, or accessories. There are many cookie possibilities for celebrating our Dad.

Thanks to Pinterest, my creative mind has been opened. So thank you to the creative folks out there. You know who you are! We all appreciate you sharing your great ideas with us.

Sure, you can make a cute cookie using a Tie or Golf club cookies are always fun! Drum roll..... Here it comes…..be creative with a plaque cookie. I wrote about this versatile cookie cutter here. You can do and say anything on those things! Lol I’m not kidding!

I have to say at this point, I would be the one to get all of my easiest ideas from Pinterest . I wish I had an ounce of the creativity to create my own. I don’t. I have finally come to realize that. I have some great ideas, but not the time or talent to make them all come true.

Someone really needs to make a cookie like this, but using your own state! How cute of a Father's Day cookie would this be, especially for the die-hard baseball fan? Please let me know if anyone ever makes one :)

My goal for today is just to inform you a little on the history of Father’s Day and to give you some starting points if you need them.

If you ever need anything, we are here for you. Give us a call.

Make some Memories~Tammy

Cupcake toppers and more

Wed, 09 Sep 2015 14:38:12 GMT

Today may be a short and sweet blog post. Sometimes that is all you need to convey your thought or idea.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Wilton. I like to sign up for a lot of recipes and ideas. It gives me plenty of ideas to then share with you.

In this Wilton email, was an idea/recipe for Sea Life Cupcakes.

Are these the prettiest cupcakes you have ever seen? I think I would like to work at Wilton and be their taste tester :)

Back to the subject at hand- All summer long we have been selling ooodles of these Chocolate molds . Hundreds of them in fact. We could barely keep up with the demand!

A couple of times I would go on Pinterest and look around to see what people are using them for. One of the cutest and earliest ideas I found was this cute party treat idea. This idea came from makeandtakes . If you are a parent of a toddler, you will love this site. All kinds of fun and interactive ideas to keep you and your toddler busy. I can see preschool teachers loving this site as well!

Back in July, I shared the idea of an Under the Sea Party using this party treat idea. You can get inspired with that post here.

So it's now September and these sea creature chocolate molds are still selling. I knew there had to be more. Coming back to the present, I read and watch the video that Wilton puts out to explain how to make these Sea Life Cupcakes. It looks good and seems pretty easy. Wilton was using their own Ready-to-use decorator icing and their own fondant & gum paste mold. You may not want to use their decorator icing and you may want to use a chocolate mold instead?

After I watched the video, I always like to go down to the end of the recipe/idea page and read the comments. What I found was many people were not having success using the ready made icing. You can read the comments on your own, but know that I have an alternative idea that was used in the Party Treat Idea mentioned at the very beginning of this post. The creative genius that shared that idea simply used candy melts in the chocolate molds. I know a lot of people that use candy melts successfully all the time. You probably do too?

Here's the plan for you-

1. Make your cupcakes

2. Use candy melts in the chocolate molds to make pre-formed cupcake toppers.

3. Serve at party and impress everyone there!

The idea that really prompted this post was the idea for a baby shower. How cute would it be to make cupcakes with these cute baby ducks as a cupcake topper? Using yellow candy melts.

Christmas cupcakes would be perfect with Christmas themed chocolate molds.

Some days, I wish I had the time to make my own test kitchen and try all these fun ideas out.

Would you let me know if you try this out? I would love to see your work and give you a virtual high five. I would also like to share your pictures on our Facebook page.

We would love for you to connect with us on any of our social media channels!

Happy September~ Tammy

Back to School Prize

Fri, 07 Aug 2015 14:47:44 GMT

School is about to start here in the Midwest. In fact, by the time this posts, my youngest child will be starting her senior year - in eleven days! I’m not sure how time sped up so quickly, but it did.

Once upon a time, long long ago, I was a teacher. I was a first grade teacher. First and second grade have always been my favorite ages to work with. The students were young and sweet. Learning was very exciting for them. My favorite thing to teach was reading. Once they know the alphabet, they are on their way! It was always just so exciting to see that light bulb go on as the students got better at putting those sounds together to read the words in a book. There is nothing better in the world. Reading is a way to open a door to the world and learn.

Each August, I like to give away my favorite book and a heart in hand cookie cutter that is the perfect companion to the story. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn is introduced in this way: “School is starting in the forest, but Chester Raccoon does not want to go. To help ease Chester's fears, Mrs. Raccoon shares a family secret called the Kissing Hand to give him the reassurance of her love any time his world feels a little scary.”

For today’s Make My Monday Give-Away , all you have to do is 2 things:

Like the post
Comment on the post

If you are looking for this book later, you can find it on Amazon here . The Heart in Hand cookie cutter can be found here.

I’m sure many of you have read or heard about this story. I’m confident that this book will stand the test of time and remain an all-time favorite of many parents, grandparents and teachers. Do you know someone that you could share this fantastic book with? Now is a great time to enter this contest :)

Aside from talking about my favorite book, I wanted to share with you some resources and fun back to school projects and ideas we have collected on Pinterest School Days board.

If you are getting ready to make back to school cookies for your kids or teachers, we have a wide assortment of cookie cutters <here>.

We have been shopping around to find some new and fresh gift ideas to carry on our website. If you find yourself needing a “little something” to give to a friend or new neighbor, you might be inspired by our website category titled: <Gift sets under $10.>

Do you enjoy seeing new products, new ideas, baking tips etc.? You might want to jump over to our social channels and give us a like or a follow.

See you soon ~Tammy

Hot August Contests

Sat, 18 Jul 2015 14:52:59 GMT

It is hot out there! Have you heard anyone say that recently? Do you ever say that? If you know me at all, you would know that I am not a complaining person. Except when it is hot out. The heat seems to be the one thing I feel I have to voice my frustration over.

To celebrate the invention of the air conditioner, we here at Cookiecutter.com want to cheer everyone up with a big contest!

The contest will run the entire month of August and pertain to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram . Golden tickets will be randomly given away, one per week. Yes, one person a week will win! They won't even know it until they receive their order :)

If you want a chance to win a Golden Ticket/$10 gift certificate, here are the rules:

Place an order with us on Wednesdays and be automatically entered into the contest.
Each Thursday we will randomly pick one person’s order and place a golden ticket inside their box.
If you are the lucky person with the Golden Ticket, all you have to do is take a picture of your order that we sent you, with the golden ticket , and send it to us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email . When we see your picture, we will send you a $10 gift certificate via email. When using Twitter or Instagram, use the hashtag #Cookiecuttercom in your post. That helps us find your picture.

Are you ready for a chance to win one of seven $10 gift certificates? Good luck from all of us here at CookieCutter.com

Check out some of my previous blogs about some fun party ideas:

Under the Sea Party
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
Cookie Decorating Stations

Under the Sea Party

Sun, 05 Jul 2015 15:44:35 GMT

Boy do I wish my daughter was little again! I would so throw her an Under the Sea Birthday Party. I seem to be wishing my kids to be young again. I’m saying that a lot lately! Do you think I’m suffering from early on-set Missing My Kids already? Probably!

Today, I am doing the next best thing. Since my daughter is too old for an Under the Sea Birthday, I’m gathering ideas for you to use! This is almost just as fun. A whole lot cheaper too! Lol

So let’s plan that party!

I like to break the party down into a two categories. Food and Decorations .

Here are the food ideas for the party-

Tropical fish sandwiches by GoldenReflectionsBlog
Jello Sea Life Treats by Create-Celebrate-Explore
Jellyfish cookies by Bearfoot Baker
Mermaid tail cookies by Hostess with the Mostess
Mermaid tail cupcakes by Catch My Party

More super cute Mermaid Party ideas at Catch My Party blog

Cheesy seashells - Cut out your cheese in the shape of a seashell and have crackers near by.

**If you want some beautiful cake inspirations for this party, hop on over to the Catch My Party link above. Take a look at the cake on that blog! Wow!

Here are the decorations ideas for the party-

There are so many cool decorating ideas out there! I'm not sure where to start?

I have chosen a couple of my favorite ideas for this post. We have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to the Under the Sea Party. You can check it out here. If you don't find enough there, just do a search on Pinterest for "Under the Sea Parties." I promise you will find the ideas!

My most favorite decoration idea is this beautiful picture- (broken image link)

Don't you just love those colors together?

The last picture I will share with you is pretty cool when you think about it. (broken image link)

I would definitely match my streamers with the lovely balloon colors from previous picture. The way the room is decorated gives you the illusion you are really under the sea. I love that! I found a 36" inflatable whale here .

Well, I've had fun with this! Hope it has helped some of you out or even inspired you to plan your next Under the Sea Party. Hope it's fun!

When you do throw one of these parties, send me some pictures. I would love to see them and share in the memories you made.

Connect with us on any of our social media outlets!

Make some memories ~ Tammy

Fourth of July

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 16:07:10 GMT

A lot of my favorite things revolve around food! Is anyone with me on that? It especially seems as though that is especially true for holidays.

In today’s post, I will share a few ways I use cookie cutters during the Fourth of July.

Breakfast would start out with star shaped pancakes! This would get me prepared to celebrate all things Patriotic.

I would probably add some strawberries and blueberries on top as you can see in this picture.

if my children were 4 & 6 again, I would plan on making sandwiches like this picture.

If I did it today, when they are 17 & 19, they may judge me and wonder what’s up :/ I kind of like the sandwich on a stick idea too! I use to cut cheese slices like this. Super fun and easy.

Now I would have to make too many of these sandwich on a stick to feed my two big kids. Sigh....

Fruit is another great food to cut with cookie cutters.

This is especially fun for parties..aka Fourth of July! Just cut your watermelon in 1 inch slices, then take your star cookie cutter and cut away. It looks super impressive and doesn’t really take that long. Go ahead, impress your friends :)

Moving on to desserts, I have to say that sugar cookies and Fourth of July just go together. I remember years ago, my friend Laurie brought some sugar cookies to our Fourth of July party. They were gone as soon as they hit the table. They can be very simple as Zoe Francois demonstrates in this picture.

Or you can go all out like this cookie idea from beeinourbonnet.com

Yummy and Beautiful!

Remember you don’t have to get fancy. Just make some cut out cookies and use a simple buttercream icing. Just have fun! Shapes to consider: stars, flags and eagles. If you do not have any of these shapes, just use a round cutter. Just make some memories.

That’s all I have for today. I hope each one of you have a blessed Fourth of July. Stay safe, have fun and make memories.

I would love to see what you do for Fourth of July! Feel free to share on our social media pages and tag us!

Come visit us soon at www.cookiecutter.com

~Tammy

The Only Cookie Cutter You Need

Fri, 29 May 2015 16:14:43 GMT

According to Dictionary.com, Versatile is defined as: "having or capable of many uses: a versatile tool (cookie cutter)>>>added by Tammy :)

Who desires a cookie cutter that can do it all? Be all? Tell all?

I think I have found that one cutter! Sure it's fun to have a lot of cookie cutters. But if you were to have to move and only take one cookie cutter with you, I think that it would need to be:

Rectangle Plaque- B0870

This cookie cutter gets around! Do you have one? What have you used it for in your cookie endeavors?

Everytime I look around Pinterest , I am always finding this cookie cutter being used for everything! Some examples would be: Graduation , Thank you cookies , Mardi Gras , Birthdays , Weddings , Baby Showers and many more.

I really feel like this one cookie cutter is the over-achiever of all cutters. In a good way too!

The beautiful part of this cutter, or any plaque cutter, is that you can really turn it into anything you want it to be. It's like a blank canvas that you create.

Have a wonderul weekend and Make Some Memories!~Tammy

Watercolor Cookies by Lark and Linen

Fri, 22 May 2015 16:25:21 GMT

Cookies and art! We all know that the two go together. If you have read many blogs or visit Pinterest at any time during the day or night, you will see cookie art all the time. There are many talented cookie designers out there. Here are just a few of my favorites: SweetAmbs , Sweet Sugarbelle , Sweetopia , and LilaLoa. I have just named a few-there are so many more out there. I would love to know your favorite cookie person. Feel free to leave a comment naming your favorite cookie artist or cookie blogger.

Today, I'd like to share something so lovely that I found while on Pinterest . I ran across this beautiful post by Jacquelyn @larkandlinen . I’m so grateful to her for giving me permission to use her pictures in today’s blog. I know you will be inspired!

Here is her original post.

When I first read through the post, I thought how fun it would be to make watercolor cookies at an event. Maybe a birthday party, girls night out? In the town where I live, there is a place called Blanc Pallete where you go and have a painting party. The business provides all the supplies you will need to create a beautiful painting. This watercolor cookie would be a fun activity for a sweet sixteen party or even a forty year old birthday party. Really super for any age or event!

You have to admit, it is just fun to get your craft on. Whether that be painting a picture or decorating a cookie. How perfect is it to put the two of them together?

Jacquelyn lays out the supplies needed very well in her post. Some of the items you will need to visit your local baking supply store. Some items you can find on our website:

Circle or square cookie cutter

Gel food coloring

My favorite sugar cookie recipe can be found here.

If you want to choose a completely different cookie cutter besides a circle or square, go on over and brainstorm at our website . We have a huge variety!

Please make it a point and go and visit http://www.jacquelynclark.com/ for more inspiration. She will inspire you with all things beautiful!

Now go make some memories! ~Tammy

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Tulip Cookie Tutorial by Georganne at LilaLoa!

Wed, 06 May 2015 17:07:54 GMT

Good morning everyone! I am thrilled to have Georganne aka LilaLoa guest post for us today. She has came up with a tutorial on decorating our tulip. You will love learning how to make this pretty flower. Check out her blog for many more amazing cookies and recipes.

"Hey guys! It’s Georganne from LilaLoa. I make cookies nearly every day of my life. It’s what I do. Unlike laundry. Because cookies taste delicious and they love you for who you are and they never judge you with their piles of dirty judgment all stacked in the corner. Also…they’re just fun to make. Like these tulip cookies. Want to avoid laundry for at least another hour and make some with me? Grab your cutter HERE and bake up some tulips first. Then meet me back here at 0800 hours. Or…whenever you feel like it really. Don’t let me tell you your business.

With medium consistency pink icing and a #3 tip, outline and fill a vaguely petal shaped area covering most of the cookie and slightly off center. Add a second petal on the right edge of the cookie. Allow the icing to dry for at least 15 minutes.
With the same pink icing add a second petal on the left side of the tulip. Grab some darker pink icing with another #3 tip and add another petal in the center behind the first one. Let it dry for 15 minutes.
With the darker pink icing, fill in the back half of the two side petals.
Pipe a squiggly line on the front of the center petal with thick dark pink icing and a #2 tip. Use medium consistency green icing and a #2 tip to pipe the stem. Let the cookie dry for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Let’s be honest. You could totally skip this step and call it a job well done. Unlike your laundry…I won’t judge you for your choices. But if you DO decide to paint up your cookie, you’ll be in good company. Paint some watered down burgundy food coloring (or brown if you didn’t use pink icing) and paint it in the cracks between all the petals. Also, shade in the area around the detail line on the front petal. Paint white along the edges of the petals as shown. Allow to dry completely before packaging.

And that’s it. Fantastic tulip cookies. You’re a natural. Don’t forget to come visit me at LilaLoa and show me your creations!"

Our Journey

Wed, 22 Apr 2015 17:12:59 GMT

Earth day and recycling - Are you a cabinet filer or a box filer?

Papers. Boxes. File folders. Filing cabinet. Can you guess where I’m going with this? I’m going to start filing again. Yes, I know that this is April 22 nd, not January 1 st. Unfortunately, it has to be done! I have to empty my “catch all” table that I have in my office and start to use my file cabinet again. (Insert sigh here.) Lately I have been using the boxed filing method. Fast but not efficient!

I do feel it is appropriate that I start today, Earth Day. I’m feeling very green with all the recycling that I am able to do as I empty my “old” file folders out and toss in the recycle box. It makes me feel good to do that instead of putting ALL that paper in the trash can.

I just thought I would share a picture from our beginning. This is what we used to look like and where we came from. Some of our beginning products and old catalogs.These catalogs were all hand sketched by a lady named Cindy in Boone, IA.

I think after twenty-two years, we have sold cookie cutters every way possible. If you look at the picture you will see three catalogs we had in the early days. The green catalog was actually our first. The promoted item on it was a Mini quilt pattern, featuring your state of choice. On the blue catalog, you can see that we used to sell dishtowels with a cookie cutter tied to it. That was when primitive was in. On the tan catalog, you can see that the miniature cookie cutters were prominent. On a side note, it is interesting that miniatures used to be very popular, then for about 5 years they were not. Now they are back full force again. Just goes to show you, everything comes and goes, and comes back again. Even cookie cutters.

Reliving memories~ Tammy

Then and Now

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 12:40:47 GMT

From the clean up song to a little Spanish, to preschool curriculum- Those were the days!

Every afternoon I pop onto Pinterest to see what is going on. Fortunately for me, it is part of my job description. I know that I am very lucky to “have” to go look around on Pinterest. My objective is to see what the bakers and cookiers(new word) are up to.

Today as I was looking around, I kept seeing some cute cookies that were of Peppa Pig . I know we sell a Peppa Pig cookie cutter, but I realized I don’t even know who she is! There are many other new animated characters or themes that I learning about. Examples are: Angry Birds and Minecraft . That got me to reminiscing about the “olden days.”

I remember when our kids were about two and four years old. The primo preschool shows and videos that were popular at our house to watch were Barney, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues.

Oh how I miss the simple days of having them watch those “educational” videos where they would sing a cute song to help them pick up their toys, learn a little Spanish, and do a little preschool curriculum. I know, those were the easy days! Can I get an amen? Of course there were others that I can impress you with: Sesame Street , Franklin, Thomas the Tank Engine , Clifford and Arthur. Just thinking about them brings me good memories.

I kind of wish I could turn back the clock some days. When I think about the cookie cutters that we offer now, in comparison to the ones that were available then, oh the fun we could have had with cookies! The paw print or Blue cookie cutter would have been fun for Blue’s cookies. Or perhaps I would have asked the husband to make me an outline of Blue the dog with the 3D printer? That is how Peppa Pig came to be. Someone asked us to make her one. We had no idea of whom or what she was. As it turns out, she is pretty popular!

Well, I’ll wake up from my reminiscing now. I have calendars to coordinate and a prom dress to have someone hem. At least I can hum a tune to my favorite Barney song: “Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up. Clean up, clean up everybody do your share.”

Helping you make memories~Tammy

Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall......

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 13:23:38 GMT

Every girl is a Princess

Princess Party-

Today’s post is about a fabulous princess party my friend Darla and her girls planned and executed. She has a set of twin girls and one son. Her daughters are named Lilly and Stevie. They are just as cute and beautiful as their names. I have to warn you, Darla is no average party planner! She is party planner extraordinaire! With the release of the Disney Cinderella movie, this could give you a great start on planning your next Princess party! It's all about making memories.

Here is the list of movies they watched and the coordinating themed snacks with each movie.

1.“Snow White” was first. Snacks were: "Poison" apples with Carmel dip or peanut butter, wishing-well water, and apple shaped cookies.

2.“Cinderella” came next with a glass slipper and pumpkin shaped cookies, alongside a spinach dip filled bread bowl (aka Magic Carriage), complete with horse!

3.“Sleeping Beauty” was enhanced with woodland creatures and fairy godmother punch served in a princess crown cup. Science came into play when they layered the heavier (due to sugar) Gatorade in blue, then added the sugar-free Crystal Light pink lemonade on top. They used some great ice from Sonic and it really added to the effect. You can think of it as "blingy punch!"

4.“Beauty and the Beast” received the breakfast bid the next morning. A “Be our guest towering breakfast kabob.”

My daughter had so much fun at this party! Oh, did I mention that the girls were 16-17 years old? You are never too old to be a princess! With a little planning, a few cookie cutters , and some great snacks, look at the memories that were made. Oh, all the girls got to take home their princess cups that you see in the pictures.

Let me know if you have any questions about this party idea. I would be happy to get the answer from my friend Darla- Party Planner Extraordinaire.

What memory are you planning?~ Tammy

Cookie decorating station at your next birthday party.

Mon, 02 Mar 2015 14:34:14 GMT

Give a table full of kids a few cookies, some sugary decorations and see what they come up with.

In today's blog, I will give you all the steps you need to create a cookie decorating station that will be a fun and memorable activity at your sweet little person's next birthday party. Wait a minute you say! Kids and decorating cookies? Yes, you heard me right :) Do you want to be known as the coolest Mom or Dad among your kid's friends? Then trust me and do this. You will not only hit a home run with your own kid, but with each kid that comes to the party. Basically you will have hit a Grand Slam !

Here is a list of supplies that you will need to gather for the party:

Bakery boxes - to put finished cookies in to send home. Check at your local bakery or go to Amazon here. These require some assembly, but you can do it! These are cupcake boxes, so watch your cookie size if you go this route.
Butcher paper or plastic table clothes to cover your tables with. You'll thank me later :)
Cookie cutters - either go with birthday theme or pick a few of your favorites here. Remember to watch the size of the cookie that you make, so they will fit in your cute bakery boxes.
Make up about 3 dozen sugar cookies the day before. Find my favorite recipe here. Depending on how many kids you have coming to your party, you will want at least 3 cookies per kid, plus a few extra in case one breaks.
Pre-made royal icing. Find my favorite recipe here. If you want to have a couple of different colors to use, you will love this Americolor Soft Gel here. Perhaps you are not all in on this part; just buy some good ole Betty Crocker tubs of frosting at the grocery store and set out plastic knives for them to spread frosting on. No judging here :)
Decorating squeeze bottles are so handy and easy to use for these kid parties. You may have some at home already, or you can find them here. If you feel really brave and want to hit not only a home run, but a grand slam, get some decorating bags all filled up. Your call. With those, you will need tips and couplers.
Decorating supplies - Here are a few options. Sanding sugar, Candy Confetti, Edible Glitter. Mini chocolate chips, M&M's, Candy eyeballs from Amazon here. I know I've left some ideas out, think fun!
Wax paper in case you need it when sending cookies home.
Toothpicks to use as decorating tools- very useful to help marble. See a great marbling video by @sweetopia here. She will inspire you!

Now on to the Party!

Set up your cookie stations around your table. Put a plate of 3 or so cookies at each station. A variety of decorating supplies (Egg Cartons with top torn off are great for this), bottles of icing or little bowls of frosting- whichever way you decide to go. A note card or something with the decorator's name on it. They WILL want to take their own cookies home.

Oh, you might want to monitor how many layers of icing they put on. Might be good to show them all how to outline their cookie, then go in and fill in the blanks. My experience has been some young decorators will pile on the icing about 2 inches thick, then put another 2 inches of sanding sugar on. Original, but when they get home, that cookie will probably go in the trash :) Have them repeat the phrase, "Less is better." Or maybe not?

When all the decorators are done with their creations, now is a great time to have some kind of game planned, or time to open presents, or eat one of their cookies! The goal is to get them away from the cookie stations while the creations dry- about 30-45 minutes. That way when it is time to send them out the door, the cookies will be dry and you can box them up in the cute bakery boxes, with their name on top.

Clean Up~ Remember the 2nd supply listed above? The butcher paper or plastic table cloth? Well, it's time to take all the containers off and roll that up and pop it into the trash can. Yes, that is the best part of clean up. When you simply roll it up and give it a toss.

Congratulations! You have just made some lovely lasting memories with every kid at the birthday party! You have hit a Grand Slam. Now you will be known as THE coolest Mom or Dad in your town ;)

Time to sit back and relax. You did awesome! 364 more days till you can do it again. Unless you have additional kids. Then you are just warmed up perfect!

Let me know if you have any questions. I love to help solve any kind of cookie problem.

~Tammy

Happy Valentine's Day

Sat, 14 Feb 2015 14:37:24 GMT

Valentine's Day 2015...

A day where we celebrate the love for those around us. Whether that be of a spouse, child, family member, or boyfriend/girlfriend. V-Day is the one day where we go all out exclaiming of our deep love.

I am celebrating my wonderful husband Joel~ he is such a hard working man! Not to mention a great cook, fixer of all things, good listener, patient father, dog lover, and cat tolerator :) I think what I appreciate the most about him is his ability to put his family's needs before his own.

To my daugher K- the sweetest 17 year old I know. She is a good friend to those around her, and a hard worker in all activities that she does. She tolerates my singing along to Taylor Swift too!

To my son T- the future is so bright for him as he is in his first year of college. He takes his classes very seriously, and is doing a fabulous job being a student athlete as well. We miss him at home, but know that he is loving his independence while away. I'm thankful he tolerates my texts to him :)

Although I may mention my inner family and all the attributes that I appreciate, I want them all to know, that no matter what they do in life, I will love them with every fiber of my being. As I tell our kids, I will love you no matter what, because I "birthed" you!

Who are you celebrating this Valentine's day? Is it someone in your present life? Maybe someone who is no longer with you, but you have loved them with every fiber of your being. Perhaps it is someone you have not met yet? This is beginning to sound like the beginning to a Nicholas Sparks book...(I love his books).

I'll close with this quote:

"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." ~Alfred Lord Tennyson

~Tammy

All About Shipping

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 17:33:36 GMT

For today’s blog, I thought I would give you all a glimpse of the process from the time we get your order on our website to the time it ships out.

You are at home on your computer and you log onto our website at www.cookiecutter.com. If you are a new customer, you will need to create an account with us. We will ask you all the important information. :) If you are a returning customer, you will just need to log in by using your email address and password. Something fun and important to note here is that as soon as you place your order on our website, you will officially begin to collect your reward points! Yes, we believe in rewarding you. Just like at Panera :) You can read more about our Rewards Program on our website here.

You can find cookie cutters on our website by either doing a search or by browsing through the categories. Choose whichever is the most fun!

When you have your order complete, you will submit the order. That is when we get busy!

Each morning, we come in, and print off the orders that have been placed on our website.
Next, we go and “ pull ” all the items you ordered.
Then we look to see which shipping method you chose. During the checkout, unless you have a large order, you will always have a choice in the shipping method.

First Class mail through the post office- This method is the cheapest and SLOWEST . This is only a choice if you are ordering just a few cookie cutters and the weight of the package is no more than 8 ounces. Transit time is about 5-7 days.
Priority Mail through the post office- Transit time is anywhere between 4-5 days. Sometimes as fast as 2-3 days. All orders ship from the Kansas City, MO area. This is not a guaranteed service, so if the package is late, we are not able to refund shipping.
FedEx Ground - Transit time is about 4-5 days, again depending where the destination is. If you are a neighboring state, it is usually pretty quick. Not a guaranteed service either.
FedEx Express - this is a 2 business day delivery. Weekends do not count. This is a Guaranteed delivery, except in cases of extreme weather or natural disasters. You will have to pay more for this service, since you will receive it in 2 days. At least you can take comfort in knowing that you could not have driven for the same shipping price :)
FedEx Standard Overnight - Welcome to the Cadillac version of shipping. You will need to be sitting down when you consider this shipping method/cost. You will receive your package in 1 business day by choosing this method. Warning , if you order on a Friday, and you choose Overnight shipping, your package will arrive on Monday, not Saturday…thus the “business day.” This too is a guaranteed delivery , except in cases mentioned above in the FedEx Express shipping.
When the shipping method is determined, we choose the appropriate shipping box . We pack and ship your order accordingly. It is at that time that you will receive an email from us stating that your order has been shipped. Always expect an email from us when your order is shipped. If you do not hear from us, you need to call us because there is probably a problem with the email that was entered. We communicate pretty much at every step of getting your package to you. After you receive our email, you can begin tracking it on the designated website.
Most of the time, we have very good service from all of the carriers we use. Of course there will be exceptions. It is at those times where we appreciate your understanding. Especially when packages are delivered to the neighbor :)
Well, that concludes the “A day in the life of www.cookiecutter.com ”. I hope that you have learned something of value from reading this.

Now go make some memories !~ Tammy

New Year, New Beginnings

Thu, 22 Jan 2015 14:42:03 GMT

Welcome to 2015! Have you all had a great start to the year? Any exciting events coming up?

I always like January! Basically because it feels like a new start. A couple of things I always find myself doing is: cleaning out closets (mine, not my kids!), wanting to organize the pantry, and scrap booking.

Do I get all of those things done each January? No, but I did get my closet cleaned out :) Oh, what about the healthy life-style habits that many of us start up? Yes, that is still going in full swing at our house. I am also one of the "going to the gym" people. Currently I am watching "Friends" on Netflix. I find that if I get started on a good old tv series, I feel like it's a reward to go do a machine as I laugh over an episode of "Friends."

I also like that Valentine's Day is coming up. As far as making cookies go, this is perhaps the easiest for me. Hearts! Many colors and many sizes. Why not mix a little Valentine's Day into each meal that you have at your house? Heart pancakes, heart sandwiches, and heart pizza? I have found so many ideas on Pinterest!

Lucky for me, I am the person who has been given the fun job of all social media. I say that with complete honesty. Many days as I find myself on Pinterest, I almost feel guilty for having so much fun. Then I think to myself, someone has to do it :) Back on point now, how amazing is Pinterest? You can find almost anything on there. Whether it is a recipe or how to paint a wall. As far as I'm concerned, Pinterest is right up there with Google.

Well, if you'd like to take a look at our Pinterest boards, click here . I would love to see what you are pinning. You can find us on Facebook here. Follow us on Twitter here.

I would love to hear what you would like to hear about either here in the "blog" or on Facebook. Leave me a comment below and tell me what you want to see or hear.

Happy January!

Tammy

The Thankful Season

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 13:49:06 GMT

November is on its way. I love November! One of my favorite memories in November is the birth of our second child, our daughter.

It was November 27th, 1997. It was actuallyThanksgiving Day. The husband and I were preparing a Thanksgiving meal to share with some great friends. This was our first endeavor of doing it all ourselves. Turkey was in the oven, rolls were rising, stuffing was in the works, and of course the chocolate pie was chilling in the fridge.

As mentioned earlier, this was our second child. Our first child was 7 days late, so naturally, we assumed that our December 2nd due date would not even come close to being accurate. Why would we think any different? That's usually the way it worked, right?

Well, you guessed it! About 11:00 a.m., things are starting to wrap up in regards to the Thanksgiving meal. The turkey still had a bit of cooking to do, but for the most part, we were ready. Then, something happened! There was a small trickle issue, not involving the faucet. That's all I'll say about that :)

We called our friends to tell them the surprising news. Yes, we were headed to the hospital to see about having a baby. Would they come over to our house and take the turkey out of the oven at the designated time? They would have to eat without us. We would hate for the food to go to waste. We would look forward to a couple of turkey sandwiches in a few days.

So off to the hospital we go. Our baby girl was born. We had a healthy, happy baby girl. She still is to this day! Oh, my sweet Dad brought me Thanksgiving dinner at the hospital.

November is such a great month to be thankful.

Our hope for all of you is that you are reminded daily of blessings you are thankful for. You have many things to consider: your friends, family, job, house, the sunrise each day, your pets. I would love it if you shared in the comment section what you are thankful for.

Happy November!

Tammy

Halloween and Harvest Parties

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 13:54:15 GMT

Fall is officially here! Now is the time to start thinking about those Fall Harvest and Halloween parties that will need to be planned. Cookies are a major player in those parties. I hope today's blog helps you get motivated and inspired to make memories for the special people in your life.

Lucky for me, I got to spend some time on Pinterest yesterday for inspiration. That certainly did not take long. After viewing all the creative and cute cookies that are out there, I was ready to pack it up and go home and bake and decorate cookies. Do you ever feel that way? I have found that I need to really ride that emotion when it hits, or it does go away. What about you?

So I pinned a bunch of cookies and craft ideas on our Pinterest. Here is our Halloween board.

One interesting thing that I discovered is that our Gingerbread boys(B941 orB1366x) that are typically used at Christmas, are branching out to Halloween now. When he is not acting all cute at Christmas, he takes on a part-time job in October as a mummy! Who knew? You can see him here in his night job as a mummy. How cute is he? Here is a different take on another mummy .

I think that my favorite cookies would be the ones that involve the swirl or marbling effect. I'm excited that it IS that easy to create such a cool look using a toothpick! Check out these cute pumpkins.

You may notice that I chose many cute cookie ideas for you to look at. Please also note that most of them are very doable for the mom like me, who wants to do a bit more than just take from frosting out of the Betty Crocker tub and slap it on. Don't get me wrong, because I have done and still do that occasionally. I feel that these cookie ideas that I found can be done with everything you have in your kitchen. If you need a little help on any of these or others, check out our Pinterest boards or Pinterest in general. Make sure you have a little time to look around, because it will be a whole other world.

Please note that all of these ideas were created by someone other than myself :) I only hope to aspire to be there one day.... Let me know if you have any questions on anything. I would love to help!

Go make memories!

Making Memories

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:57:11 GMT

The days of summer past. Hard to believe that summer is over and school has started back in most states. The one thing that I look forward to during summer is the relaxed days and nights. We go to work, spend time as a family, and do our daily activities in a relaxed manner. Not to mention the fun things we throw in to make life fun.

Although I do like summer, my favorite season is Fall. Fall is when things really start to pick up everywhere. Kids go back to school, school activities start up, the leaves begin their "changing of color." Let's be honest here, I look forward to the crisp like temperatures. Yes, I am a sweatshirt gal. Who's with me on that?

Here at Cookiecutter.com, Fall is also the time when the cookie cutters start to ship to the stores and homes around the United States. I get excited about that because the folks that buy the cookie cutters are getting ready to make memories with those they love. How are people making memories with the cutters you ask? Imagine have a birthday party for a 6 year old girl. Princess theme. Crown, slipper and princess dress cookie cutters. Do you have the image yet? Yes, they are going to be decorating their "princess themed" cookies that someone has gone to the trouble to bake ahead of time for them. Just imagine a small group of 6 year old girls gathered around a kitchen table with a blank sugar cookie, bowls of colored icing, small containers of sprinkles and sanding sugar. The possibilities are endless!

We had quite a few of those parties when our kids were young. Oh, and please don't think that cookie decorating parties are limited to little girls. We had plenty of little boys heaping the frosting on the cookie, then piling the sugar and sprinkles on 3 inches tall. Yep, they like them some decorations :) One piece of advice is to do the decorating at the very end of the party. Have some kind of small box or cardboard squares pre-cut to put the cookie on so that they can take it home, THEN eat it. I'm only half way kidding on that piece of advice.

I know there are many of you out there with some awesome party advice for the young parents out there. Please feel free to share your best advice when throwing a party for your child. Whether it be about activities, supplies, games, we can always use some new helpful tidbits.

Until next time,

Tammy :)