My good friend, Callye (AKA SweetSugarBelle), and I are swapping guest posts today. We've each asked each other ten questions in hopes of sharing with our readers a peek into another decorator's life.
Callye and I met on Flickr almost two years ago when she happened on the cookie decorating scene. Wow.....immediately I was impressed. But over these last two years she has developed into a cookier DYNAMO that blows me away every time I see her newest creation. I have a few years of "experience time" on Callye.....but she has far surpassed me in ability and expertise. I'm so thrilled and honored to feature her as my first guest post on this blog. :)
So let me introduce you to SweetSugarBelle.
In my opinion......
this photo represents Callye's classic designs. Love them!
Why is your name SweetSugarBelle?
I chose this name after a LOT of thought. I tried to come up with an anonymous name for my blog, and came up blank…until one day, I was watching a rerun of Designing Women…that got me to Sugarbakers, which is much too common, so I dropped the bakers, and added Belle, which is my baby girl’s name, and I became SweetSugarBelle…However, if you ask Belle, she is SugarBelle…
What drew you into such a interesting hobby?
I always loved those magazines with beautiful cookies. Two years ago Christmas, I finally had the time to try it. I loved it so much, I wanted to make cookies every day. Not long after that, my Nanny passed away =( I had a really hard time with it, so I used my new found hobby to keep my mind off of how much I missed her.
You've really not been at this a very long time.....and yet you have developed into one of my all-time favorite decorators. Seriously, I really believe that some day we are going to hear about SweetSugarBelle on a national (maybe international!) level. To what do you attribute your amazingly rapid development in cookie decorating?
PRACTICE! Lots of it! When I find something that interests me, I will learn everything I can about it, until I master it. (Or at least that’s what my dad says when I try to tell him I CAN’T do something.) Cookies were something I wanted to do, so I tried to do them the best I could.
I've heard you can crank out cookies in amazing proportions in very short amounts of time. To me, the most amazing part of this is that you are a mom of three young children. How do you do it?
Well, there really are a lot of things that play into it, but the number one reason is that I have an amazing husband. I would like to claim the super mom title, but the truth is, he does a lot of laundry, helps with the kids, never complains on sandwich night, cleans (he’s says it’s relaxing) and he even bakes which is so much fun for me. As long as ESPN is on, which he can see from the mixer, he will do just about anything I ask, LOL!
Your cookie shapes and designs are often very unique compared to everyone else's. Please tell some of your sources for inspiration and how do you make such unique shapes?
Much to super husband's dismay, most of my inspiration comes from…SHOPPING!!! When I go shopping, I am bombarded with images and ideas that could be cookies. I call it cookie think. Its' something all of us cookie-makers end up with. Most people see the world as it is. We see it in cookies.
If I do draw a blank, however, I play a game with my mom and Jenni, I basically email or text them the topic, and we make lists of things that remind us of that particular theme. The best ideas come from this. Like they say, three heads are better than one =)
NOTE from Pam: Glory of Glorious Treats has featured a tutorial from Callye Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE that shows how Callye makes unique shapes from ordinary cutters. And Callye has done another tutorial HERE on her own blog. When I saw these, it totally opened my mind up to a whole new world! Now I can create almost any shape by using the cookie cutters I already have. Awesome.
NOTE from Pam: Glory of Glorious Treats has featured a tutorial from Callye Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE that shows how Callye makes unique shapes from ordinary cutters. And Callye has done another tutorial HERE on her own blog. When I saw these, it totally opened my mind up to a whole new world! Now I can create almost any shape by using the cookie cutters I already have. Awesome.
Of all the cookies you've made, which ones are your most favorite and why?
Whew, that’s a hard one. It changes from week to week. Lately it’s the country-ish Christmas cookies that say Joy, Hope, and Noel.
My all time favorite, probably my special Valentine Collection.
I often make cookies by request, so making the ones I have in my mind is usually much more meaningful to me.
If you had one piece of advice to give a beginning decorator what would it be?
Read and practice. Everything you need to know can be found on the Internet, you just have to look a little. Also, don’t expect perfection overnight. I have made thousands of cookies to get where I am at (I sounded like my Nanny, LOL!)
Please share any tips, tricks or favorite gadgets with us.
So for gadgets I have a list. The first ones that come to mind are my bottles with couplers, and my little purple Wilton bag ties…I have a SO many, it’s hard to list them all…I am planning on putting together a SweetSugarBelle Ultimate decorating kit in the next month or so to give away on my blog.
Of all the things that have come about because you decorate cookies, what one thing blesses you the most?
I LOVE making cookies for kids. It always makes me laugh when kids I have made cookies for see me somewhere. They think I am the coolest girl in the world. They talk to me and want to see what I am doing because I made them feel very special on their special day. That has to be the best. But I even feel that way with adults. Oh yes, and I cannot forget to mention, I have made some of the most amazing, talented, smart, and giving friends through my cookie adventures. You girls keep my brain in high-gear! Even if something happened tomorrow, and I could never decorate another cookie, the friendships I have made were worth every moment! I am truly blessed in that department.
What is your dream for the future as a cookie decorator?
I hesitate to say this, because it’s a lofty dream, but I really would like to write a book. I probably own every book available on cookie decorating, and they basically sit in a closet. I would flip through them, not find a good compilation of what I needed to know, think, "What pretty pictures", and put it up. It usually wasn't a book I could USE. I would like to change that if I can.
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There you have it......a peek into SweetSugarBelle's cookie world and lots of her amazing cookie photos on display.
Thanks Callye for letting me pick your brain a bit. You are dear to my heart and I think you ROCK!
Okay everyone.........head over to Callye's The Sweet Adventures of SugarBelle blog for a look at more of her phenomenal work. And while you're there.....check out the guest blog post she did on CookieCrazie today. =)