Cookie Exchange 2016

Hello there! Are you ready to drool over some Christmas cookies? We held our annual cookie exchange party recently and it was a very yummy time.



We were a smaller group this year, only 7 bakers. My sweet tooth was still appeased.

Since our home was already decorated for Christmas, I didn't have to add much to the table save the cookies.



The only crafting I did was to create these little place cards for each of us.  The little critters from Into the Woods offering up the Santa mug from Beary Merry are so cute! I slipped my stamped pieces into tiny frames that I picked up from Michaels' dollar spot.

Ready to see the cookies?



Chantalle makes these fudgy chocolate crinkles every year because they are so melt-in-your-mouth good.

I loved this cookie. I liked that it wasn't overly sweet, and and had lots brightness from the orange.



These were mine! Cranberry and white chocolate chip cookies, with a white chocolate cream cheese icing and more white chocolate and cranberries on top. If you guessed that you would be in a sugar coma after one cookie, you'd probably be right. They are yummy, but I would skip the extra chocolate on top next time.



Snickerdoodles are already amazing, but add the warmth of the chai spices next to a cup of hot tea and this one wins everything.

What's not to love about a good peanut butter ball? The crunch inside is such a nice surprise.



Along with the chai-spiced cookies, these were on top for me. I just love the warm spice of these ginger molasses cookies.



Last, but not least, these buttery shortbreads were definitely the most festive looking of the bunch! They look like pretty holiday wreaths!

I hope you enjoyed this look at this year's cookie exchange! Merry Christmas, everyone!

♥.

Cookie Exchange 2015

Hey there! Earlier this month, I hosted this year's annual cookie exchange party.  I think this is year 4? 5? that we've been doing it, and every year we jump homes. I moved to a new home this year, so naturally I wanted to show it off!



Every year, I try to decorate our spread a little with themed cookie labels. This year, I decided to use Lawn Fawn's Bannerific and Baaah Humbug stamp sets to create all of my decor.


And, because it's a cookie party, the queen of decorated cookies (in my local area, haha!) Marlyn (of Montreal Confections,) whipped up a few matching cookies that I could use as party of the decor. They were the cutest!



I love Marlyn's cookies, and I love watching her make them! It's like magic, and she makes it look so easy. (click HERE for the how-to video)



We tried to make our cookies look as pretty as Marlyn's.  The salted pistachio cookies on the left were my fave. Honestly, I have snuck a few out of the freezer to enjoy with my afternoon coffee.



If you know the Lawn Fawn stamp sets, you know there is no chocolate chip cookie this size anywhere to be found. I improvized by stamping the empty gumball from Sweet Smiles and adding the little chocolate chips from Milk & Cookies. Voila!

I didn't get around to photographing all of the cookies (or at least, not all of them in focus, haha!) I had some competition when it came to getting the table photographed:



hee.

After the party, I offered a little handmade parting gift:

Each girl got to take home a set of simple tags to use when handing out cookie gifts.

Fleece navidad! I hope you liked this look into this year's cookie exchange party. If you have a cup of coffee in hand and don't want to get up just yet, you might like to check out our other cookie exchange parties:

2014 - an elegant spread

2013 - antlers

2012 - mmmm....cookies

♥.

cookie exchange 2014

It's time to show off our annual Christmas cookie exchange party!



Our group changes houses every year, to give a turn to a new hostess. This year's party was held at my friend Chantalle's beautiful house.  When I got there, she had the basic decoration done, and I helped her tweak the placement of the cookies and added the cookie labels I made on her request. We love to make it as pretty as it is tasty. I love that about this group of girls!

She set us up around the table - a grown-up tea party with so many yummy cookies to sample.

Everyone outdid themselves this year!



For the cookie labels, I used a simple, classic waffleflower frame and gold embossed it. In the same set, I found the little leaf&berry image, which I also gold-embossed for a simple accent.

These chewy gingerbread cookies with candied ginger on top were my fave. Warm and spicy, and everything you want out of a holiday cookie.





I made the caramel thumbprint cookies. When I spied them on Pinterest, I had to try out the recipe. The caramel in the middle was so gooey and delicious!

We had such a fantastic time together!

I hope you've enjoyed checking out this year's cookie exchange. You might like to look back at our past parties:

A woodsy cookie exchange, xmas 2013

A traditional cookie exchange xmas 2012

♥.

mmm.... thank you

With American Thanksgiving just days away, the CSS team is showing off our best "thank you" cards.

I thought I would make a little something to send to the gals who participated in the cookie exchange party that my sister and I hosted together.

If you missed seeing the full party, click *here.*

And it all started with an invitation - click *here* to see the beginnings of our cookie exchange paperie.

If you host a party, and prep all of your own decorations, here's my best tip for you: use parts of the decoration to create quick and easy (and matching!) thank you cards.

I deconstructed the candy cane striped background from one of the leftover voting cards, found an extra tree-shaped cookie image that I had never used, and gently peeled the "mmm..." banner from one of the cookie labels.  Even the holiday twine was re-purposed!  I removed it from a voting card, and used it to thread a festive red button.

The only stamping I did was to stamp the text background on the main panel, and add the "thank you for coming" sentiment, from "favor flags."

Just for fun, I added a snowflake pattern to the envelope - which is A4 sized, to match the thank you card.

So, happy thanksgiving!  And also, see?  creating thank you cards can be so quick and easy!  I hope I've inspired you to create and send out handmade thank you cards after your next party.

Grab a mug of hot something and enjoy your visit to these blogs:

Lori ♥ Jaclyn ♥ Tracy ♥ Dana ♥ Laurie ♥ Jennifer ♥ CSS

cookie exchange party invitation

I hosted a cookie swap over the weekend!  I'm showing off the invite today, as kind of a teaser, before I show off the whole party tomorrow...

When I put out the idea for a cookie exchange in November, I thought my friends would think I was crazy, but apparently we're all smart ladies, who would rather take it easy come December... you know, relax and enjoy the holidays and all that... *wink*

So, right now, I have 9 dozen cookies freezing comfortably, waiting to be defrosted for gifts or whatever (and by whatever, I may mean just for me...) It's like the heavens open up every time I peek into my freezer - all of those beautiful cookies!

As with any party decor, repetition is key to creating a pulled-together look.  So, this invite is the jumping off point for all of the decor you'll see tomorrow.  I used 3 CSS stamp sets to make Christmas come early: "cookie bake," "designer lines," and "favor flags."

I created a candy cane-striped base, and added a texty layer overtop (I adore that background strip from "cookie bake" - it just lists all kinds of different cookies!  What could be more perfect if you're hosting a cookie exchange?)  

My favorite part of this card (and I love it so) is a toss up between the green sentiment favor flag, and the white enamel accents on the christmas tree cookie image.  It looks like those edible pearls you'd see on a yummy gingerbread cookie.  It's the little things that make me happy :)

I tucked the when-what of the party onto a second tag shape... I love the personal touch of handwriting on a card, but I don't think everyone needs to see it front-and-center, either... hee.

If you are thinking of hosting your own cookie bake party this season, do it!  Here are the cookie swap basics:

-your guests come with their pre-baked cookies and the corresponding recipe (1 dozen x the number of party guests, plus an additional dozen for sampling at the party)
-you get to spend quality time with your best lovely ladies before the holiday rush, eating delicious treats
-you leave with enough cookies to gift out to teachers, neighbors, yourself (did I really just write that?  i have no shame...)

And, you can do what we did and turn it into a fun contest!  I won't give away too much, but I was voted best looking.  Er, my cookies were...

Hope to see you back here tomorrow!