Saturday, December 23, 2017

{Queen Bee} Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2017 has been such a great year filled with lots of baking, decorating, and party planning. I thank all of my readers and customers for your love and support of my small business. I look forward to all of the baking and decorating 2018 will bring!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Friday, December 22, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Gingerbread Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Run Run Run, as fast as you can, because these Gingerbread cupcakes are so delicious!

My good friend is a December baby and every year she request gingerbread man cookies....and every year I am just so swamped with cookie orders that I can't seem to find time to make them for her. So this year, I decided that instead of cookies, I would make cupcakes! Boy was she surprised and quite delighted when I brought her these gingerbread cupcakes topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and adorned with a chocolate gingerbread man.
They were so tasty, that not one of these little guys were able to get away. These are the perfect December treat!

Monday, December 18, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Peppermint Bark Chocolate Covered Oreo Snowflakes

This time of year many people can't wait to get their hands on peppermint bark. I mean, what a great combination....chocolate with peppermint, it is absolutely delicious. So I took a traditional holiday dessert (and personal favorite) and added a little something extra....an Oreo! Making them into large and mini snowflakes was just the perfect touch for creating a festive holiday treat. I just love having the option of eating a bite size goodie or indulging in something on the larger side. They also look so pretty placed on a platter. These little snowflakes would make a great pairing with a hot cup of coffee or hot cocoa. What sweet gifts these would make! What goodies are you whipping up this holiday?!

Saturday, December 16, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String

Just like the song goes, "brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things"! These are indeed a few of my favorite things. I absolutely love taking my cookie creations and packaging them up in these cute little boxes ready for gifting!
These are my large boxes that hold 4-5 sugar cookies depending on the size of cookie. As you may notice, one of my customers asked for 5 cookies so I included a smaller sized candy cane with my north pole characters....they have a nice layered cookie look. My other customer ordered 4 cookies....these lay nicely and feature the cookies without any stacking. Both look so cute!
My other way of packing isn't in a brown box at all, but an assortment of cookies on a platter. These aren't intended for gifting, but instead look great featured on a table at a holiday party or gathering.
Whether it be in a box, on a tray, or just individually, these cookies are the sweetest gifts to give for the holidays!

Friday, December 15, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Jolly Wishes from the North Pole Collection

Christmas time always excites me because I get to create COOKIES! The only problem is trying to narrow down my designs....I can never choose, I always want to make everything! So this year I narrowed down my designs to four important characters from the North Pole....Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, and an elf. But I couldn't do this collection without including some festive cookies to compliment each character.
Santa needs his mitten when he is out delivering presents to the children. Mrs. Claus isn't complete without her tray full of gingerbread man cookies. Rudolph has a red nose that shines so bright like a Christmas light. And of course what elf doesn't like candy canes....as Buddy the elf says, Elves live off of the 4 main food groups: Candy, Candy Canes, Candy Corn, and Syrup!

This collection brings a smile to my face and hopefully to the many people who receive them this Christmas.

Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, and the Elf send Jolly Wishes from the North Pole!  

Thursday, December 14, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Christmas Cookie Kits

As you probably know, this time of year is super crazy busy with shopping for presents, decorating, holiday parties, looking at lights, shopping for presents, and of course more shopping for presents. Therefore I thought that this year, I would help all the busy mom and dads who want to do all the fun holiday stuff with their kids, but may not have all the time to do it all. Thus, I created cookie kits! All that is needed are kids (and/or adults) to decorate them. So no shopping for ingredients, baking (or cleaning up after baking)....just the fun stuff!
The kits were filled with a dozen large (4-5 inch) sugar cookies in three different shapes: gingerbread men, trees, and candy canes. Also included in the kit were buttercream frosting in three different shades (red, green, and white) and of course three different kinds of sprinkles. I also added a few mini plastic cups with lids to hold the sprinkles or to store any leftovers, a knife to spread the buttercream, and extra piping bags in case someone got extra motivated to try different size and shapes of tips (or to store leftover frosting).
 
Everything was nicely placed in these boxes with instructions on care and use of the kit. Lots of fun with little hassle! Look for more cookie kits to come in the near future! Also, these are perfect if you are having a birthday party and are looking for a fun activity to do with the little ones!

Happy cookie decorating to all! Tis' the Season!



Thursday, November 23, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Pumpkin Cupcakes Perfect for Fall

What is the Fall without pumpkin flavored goodies?! For Thanksgiving I thought it would be perfect to create pumpkin cupcakes with a light and fluffy cream cheese frosting. Even better, this year my daughter assisted me in the kitchen and we had so much fun measuring and mixing. This time of year is about family and what a perfect opportunity to be together and create such great memories.
To decorate the cupcakes, I created chocolate leaves brushed with a little gold luster. These were also taste tested by my daughter, and she gave a giant thumbs up!
Wishing you and your family and very blessed and happy thanksgiving filled with many special and sweet memories!

Friday, November 17, 2017

{Sugar Bee} A Piece of Pie

I don't know about you and your kids, but for some reason, mine will not eat pumpkin pie. In fact, I may be the only one in my household that loves pumpkin pie (pumpkin anything really)! So this year, I figured I would make pumpkin pie, but in the form of sugar cookies.
I love the way they look all arranged in the form of an entire pie, but they also just look darling individually placed on a plate.
These pieces of pie also come with a dollop of "whipped cream" on top....a staple on top of pumpkin pie if you ask me! In this form, I am sure this pumpkin will be gobbled up by my kids! As for me, I am looking forward to the real thing!

What is your dessert of choice for Thanksgiving?!

{Sugar Bee} Always Thankful for Cookies!

Every year I am always thankful for my family, friends, good health, my home, job, and of course cookies! I am fortunate enough that my husband and kids can put up with my messes and my not so undivided attention at certain moments so I can have the time to devote to one of my passions....cookie making!
This year for Thanksgiving I have created a set that just screamed Fall! Scarecrows, pretty pumpkins, black birds, and sunflowers (I just love these flowers, can you tell?)! I am so happy with the way they turned out and I sure hope that my customers are just as happy....well, hopefully even more happy because they get to eat these yummy treats!

What are you thankful for this year?!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

{Party Bee} Dia De Los Muertos Dessert Table

The day after Halloween last year, I knew I wanted to create a Dia De Los Muertos dessert table for the following year. So let me tell you, I was so excited last month when I started designing my table and decorations for Halloween. The Day of the Dead decorations are so colorful, festive, and easy to do! It is a celebration that lasts for the few days between Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos.
When I started my design, I knew that I wanted a bright but limited color palette for my printable collection. So my primary color scheme was red, black, blue, and yellow. This helped keep things a little balanced and overall cohesive. For an added pop of colors, I wanted to have lots of paper flowers to adorn the table. These paper flowers are very traditional within the Mexican culture, as are the papel picado that are replicated in my printable collection.

As you know, I love sugar cookies and so I knew I had to create some for my table. I created sugar skulls and flowers with skull centers. The color palette was a little lighter than the rest of the table, but I liked the variety of hues. I can't get enough of sugar skulls and I just loved the way these turned out
I also knew I had to create chocolate covered Oreos, so similarly I made sugar skulls and mini flowers. These were so saturated with color and looked so bright and lovely on the table.
I am a big fan of balance and cohesion, and the flower toppers on the cupcakes balanced out the colors from the chocolate covered Oreos quite nicely.
 
I couldn't resist adding margaritas to the celebration! Really what is a fiesta without margaritas?! Though these ones were adorned with coordinating straw flags and placed next to a beautiful Calavera Catrina!
I cannot have a table without water bottles. These are one of the simplest and cost effective items that can be used on a dessert table all while adding to the decor. Not to mention, water is necessary after eating all these sweets!
I tried something a little different this year and created chocolate covered Pretzels...let me just say these were super rich with the crazy amount of chocolate that went on the pretzels. Death by chocolate is truly what these bad boys are....but aren't they beauties!
Lucky for me, my best friend, Gabby, makes the cutest cake pops and she so kindly added to my table by creating these adorable sugar skull cake pops!

I had such a fun time creating this dessert table. If you are interested in creating a table like this, check out my printable collection for next year!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween and Feliz Dia De Los Muertos!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Making it a Sweet Dia De Los Muertos/Day of the Dead

It is November 1st and in my culture, today we start celebrating Dia De Los Muertos. So as we remember the loved ones that have passed away and celebrate their memories, I have created some treats to make Dia De Los Muertos extra sweet!  These traditional sugar skulls and flowers are perfect to lay on an alter, dessert table, or for a little gift. 

Feliz Dia De Los Muertos!

Sunday, October 29, 2017

{Queen Bee} Bootiful Halloween Cookie Packaging!

 
I love to give cookie gifts and I just can't help but to package my cookies in these bootiful cookie boxes. This year my kids teachers' will be receiving a small but spooktacular set of cookies to enjoy with their family this Halloween. I enjoy teaching my kids to appreciate their teachers and that they can show their love and appreciation all year long. It doesn't have to be with gifts, but with their attitude, rhetoric, and behavior. But in this case, they are getting some ghoulish goodies! 
This type of packaging is always offered with my flash sales or if custom orders meet my minimum quantity. Keep an eye out for my Thanksgiving and Christmas flash sales!

Friday, October 27, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Brewing up Cookies for Halloween

 
Halloween is in a few days and I am busy whipping up some goodies! When I started planning my Halloween cookies over the Summer, I had such a hard time deciding on what I wanted to create because there are so many cute designs and themes! So after much thought and narrowing down, I decided to create two mini sets that could also work well together as one.
First was my Frankie Collection! Here I created Frankenstein and his Bride all ready to go out Trick-or-Treating! I made Frankenstein and his Bride (inspired by designs by Fresh Cut Flours and Sweet Sugarbelle) as well as a pumpkin candy bucket and a plaque sign held by monster hands (also inspired by Sweet Sugarbelle).
Second was my Witches Brew Collection! With these our little witch (design by Semi Sweet) is brewing up a little Hocus Pocus by creating poison apples (design by Angelica Made Me) in her spooky couldron (inspired by Life's a Batch).

The best part about these two mini sets is that they can easily be mixed and matched or combined entirely since they have a coordinating color scheme and well, monsters and witches just seem like they would be hanging out together at the monster mash bash! 

All these cookies have me very excited for Halloween!

Wishing my readers a sweet and spooktacular Halloween filled with ghoulish goodies and a few tricks with your treats!

Monday, October 23, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Sugar Skull Chocolate Covered Oreos

Halloween is a week away and I am starting to get to work on all of the sweet treats that will be adorning my dessert table. Here is a sneak peek of just one of the yummy goodies that I will serving. Can you guess what my theme is this year?!

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

{Sugar Bee} Cookies for a 3-Ring Circus

 
I was so excited when I was asked to create cookies for a little boy's 3rd birthday party. Hudson is turning 3 and to celebrate his special day, his mom is planning to throw him a 3-Ring Circus themed party. It is such a cute theme and I had so many ideas it was so hard to narrow it down!
After a lot of brainstorming I came up with a set that I think depicts a 3-Ring Circus perfectly. When I design cookies for birthdays I always love to personalize the cookies with an initial of the birthday child or the age in which they are turning. In this case, I chose to do both! I created a number 3 in a festive circus tent pattern with blue pennant banners. I mimicked the red and white color scheme on the traditional popcorn bucket, but added a touch of black on the H which helped tie in the Ring Master's mustache. The butter on the popcorn also helped tie in the yellow on the clown. And of course the clown was a must because who doesn't think of clowns when they think of a circus?! The hardest part for me was deciding which animal to create for the set....do I choose an elephant, a seal, a monkey, or horse? But ultimately I chose the lion because kids are always excited and awed with the lions at the circus. They are also fun because I get to use sprinkles and what child doesn't love sprinkles?!

I had so much fun with this set and I hope the birthday boy loves them as much as I loved making them!

Happy 3rd Birthday Hudson!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

{Sugar Bee} 80th Birthday Cookies

When I got a request to make cookies for a couple who are turning 80, I was so delighted to be a part of such a special day! This sweet couple is having a joint 80th birthday party and it was essential for me to create something that was elegant, festive, and fun!

I was told that these two are big Green Bay Packers fans so I knew my touch of fun and whimsy would be to create sugar cookie cheese wedges with the Green Bay "G".  The main color scheme of the party is black, white, and gold....all very elegant! However, I needed to pull everything together with the cheese wedges, so I included the green and yellow into the color scheme in the form of flowers and leaves for a pop of color and to create a cohesive cookie display while still looking pretty.
I kept the the chocolate covered Oreos very clean and elegant with white and gold being the main colors. These can be incorporated easily on to a dessert table and coordinate with just about anything.

I am so happy with how everything turned out and I hope the birthday "boy" and "girl" love their special treats!
Here's to being 80 years young!

Monday, September 25, 2017

{Party Bee} Dia de los Muertos Halloween Printable Collection

It is that time of year again, my absolute favorite time of year......Halloween time! I have been waiting all year to create this printable collection as I knew I wanted this to be my decor and overall theme for Halloween this year. So I am so excited to introduce my Dia de los Muertos Halloween Printable Collection!

This collection is $20 and comes with the following:

* 5x7 invitation (double-sided optional) (envelope not included)
* Circle and square tags (perfect for cookie tags, party favors, cupcake toppers, table decoration, etc....the uses are endless!)
* "Dia de los Muertos" banner
* Happy Halloween/decorative banner
* Imitation papel picado banner
* 4x6 signs in 2 designs
* Treat bag labels in 2 designs
* Water bottle labels in 2 designs
* Straw flags
* Patterned paper

To order this collection, just send me an email with the party information you want included on the invation (i.e. date, time, place, RSVP, contact, etc.), receive the files electronically, print out what you need, then cut and assemble!

Have questions? Refer to my FAQs page or send me an email!