Cookier's Spring Fling - Day 3

The final day arrived with sadness and excitement.  Sadness that this exciting experience was coming to an end, and excitement because Glory of Glorious Treats was teaching a PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION!!!  Glory had so many tips and tricks for getting just the right shot.  With the right lighting, background, and props, a plain cookie on a plate can transform into what appears to be a masterpiece! 

After Glory was finished, all of the instructors came to the front and we had an open forum with them.  They answered questions from organization to etiquette in reposting and pinning pics.  Once they were done, gifts were presented to Kay and May for all of the hard work and effort put into organizing and pulling off a weekend like this. 

This was a once in a lifetime experience to be included in the first annual Cookie Two Shoes Spring Fling!  I want to personally thank Kay and May for EVERYTHING and I hope to see you again in the future!

Happy decorating!!!!!

Cookier's Spring Fling Day 2 (Part 2)

So after lunch, Ali of Ali Bee's Bake Shop taught us the art of brushed embroidery.  We were given 2 of her favorite brushes to use and were able to practice the technique on pre-iced cookies.  This technique was fun and easy to do and, with a little practice, could look so elegant! 

Ali, me, and Callye!!

After our time with Ali, we cleared our cookies from the table and Callye of The Adventures of Sweet Sugar Belle talked to us about thinking outside of the box and looking for inspiration in magazines and every day life.  She also talked about using cutters in a way that they weren't made for.  For example, I turned a onsie cutter upside down and it doubled as a frog. 

Before wrappping up, we presented the instructors with aprons that we had all signed previously in the day.  Once this photo op occured, everyone joined in to catch a shot!  The instructors found this to be funny and requested a shot of their fans!   

The day ended and we were on our own for dinner.  After a delicious dinner and some much needed caffiene, Kate and I decided that we just could not pass up our first, and probably only, opportunity to see Thunder Over Louisville!  We headed to the water front to the edge of the Ohio River to view the beautiful display of the largest fireworks show in the North America.  Kate and I were on the interstate and the excitement was building as we could see colors changing above the tree line with an occasional colored sparks.  We finally found a baseball field to park at and walk to our final destination because the police had major roads blocked off.  I jumped out, snapped this shot and we started to walk.  About 1000 feet from the car, we realized we could no longer hear any booms in the sky and traffic had begun to pick up towards our direction......   Yes... WE MISSED THE SHOW!!!!!  Here is my one lonely picture.

This concludes Day 2!  Stay tuned for the final day of the Cookier's Spring Fling!!!

Cookier's Spring Fling Day 2 (Part 1)

BIG day today!!!!  We met our fellow cookiers in a meeting room on the first floor of our hotel for a breakfast catered by Panera.  Following that, we headed to a local summer camp where we had full range of the entire dining hall. 

Kay and May took the time here to distribute our "goodie bags" and aprons.

Here's a few shots of what's inside!!!! 

(Yes!! These are Karen's new cutters she recently announced!!!!!)  A big thank you to all of the companies who donated to our bags!!

Ok, so our first speaker was Maryann of  The Cookie Artisan.  Maryann spoke about cookie platters 101.  Her presentation was super informative and definitely inspiring!  (notice the last name in the platter on the pic!)

Our next presenter was Pam from Cookie Crazie.  She schooled us all in working with glaze.  I loved the consistency and I definitely think I will take a shot at it again. 

Following Pam, we heard from Karen of Karen's Cookies and she spoke about piping and stenciling. We were able to practice on pre-iced cookies courtesy of Kay and May. 

From here we broke for a deliciously catered lunch and vendor visiting.

 This ends Part 1 of Day 2 and I will resume tomorrow evening when I am not so tired and have a faster Internet connection.  ;o)

Stay tuned!

Cookier's Spring Fling Day 1

So, I'm here in Louisville Kentucky with my friend Kate, from Kooking in Kate's Kitchen at the Cookie Two Shoes first annual Spring Fling!   May and her twin sister Kay, of Cookie Two Shoes, had the idea of bringing cookiers together to learn techniques and tips from some of the top cookiers there are.  When Kate caught wind of this, she took the chance of asking if I would go and I certainly couldn't turn this opportunity down!  So after months of waiting, on Thursday after work, we packed up the car and hit the road!

We traveled west towards our halfway point which luckily happened to be Kate's sister's house in Charleston, WV.  After spending the night, we hopped back in the car and continued west for another 3.5 hours to our final destination of Louisville, KY. 

We arrived an hour and a half before we needed to be at the University of Louisville for our first day of the Spring Fling!  Upon arriving, and meeting about 65 other cookiers, Kate and I could hardly believe our eyes when the "Cookie Queens" themselves were introduced and held a question and answer session. 

(Thank you Stephanie Johnson for the great pic!)

From the left you have Ali, of Ali Bee's Bake Shop, Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, Glory of Glorious Treats, Pam of Cookie Crazie, Maryann of The Cookie Artisan, and Karen of Karen's Cookies.  This is big stuff people!!

After some great conversation, we all headed off to dinner on the Ohio River at Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill and Margarita Bar. 

We returned to the hotel room with full bellies and tired eyes and relaxed for the night.  Stay tuned for day 2 of the Cookier Spring Fling when the real fun begins!!