CookieCrazie Classes at CookieCon 2018!

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Excitement is in the air!

CookieCon 2018 registration begins next Wednesday, March 14 @ 7 PM MDT on www.cookiecon.net.

I am happy to share with you that there will once again be CookieCrazie classes offered before CookieCon gets underway. 

This year they have streamlined the Add-On Workshops (formerly called Pre-CookieCon Classes) so that you sign up for them WITHIN the registration for the main CookieCon ticket. [In the past, these were done separately and with multiple pre-classes offered by nine different instructors, it was pretty chaotic.] 

This year there are TWENTY instructors doing Add-On Workshops....so there are TONS of hands-on workshops to choose from. You can read about all the add-on workshops HERE.

I'll be teaching a total of four classes. 

Wednesday September 12
Falling for Glaze - 8 AM to Noon
Falling for Glaze - 2 PM to 6 PM

Thursday September 13
Tis the Season for Glaze - 8 AM to Noon
Tis the Season for Glaze - 2 PM to 6 PM

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FALLING FOR GLAZE
Wed AM & Wed PM CookieCon 2018 Add-On Workshops
Hands On Instruction To Decorate Five Rustic Autumn Cookie Designs
Let's explore many creative techniques using corn syrup glaze icing to create rustic autumn decorated cookies together. With such a wide array of possibilities to create texture – from molding cookie dough, layering glaze icing, embossing partially dried glaze, and adding edible clay embellishments, there will be lots of tips and tricks shared to allow each student to come away with many things to incorporate into their own decorating style.

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TIS THE SEASON FOR GLAZE
Thurs AM & Thurs PM CookieCon 2018 Add-On Workshops
Hands On Instruction To Decorate Five Christmas Cookie Designs
Let's explore many creative techniques using corn syrup glaze icing to create Christmas decorated cookies together. With such a wide array of possibilities to create texture – from molding cookie dough, layering glaze icing, embossing partially dried glaze, and adding edible clay embellishments, there will be lots of tips and tricks shared to allow each student to come away with many things to incorporate into their own decorating style.

Registration begins on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 7:00 PM MDT.
www.cookiecon.net
Sign-up for the Add-On Workshops happens at the same time as purchasing a CookieCon 2018 conference ticket.
[Note that Add-On Workshops are each an additional cost beyond the CookieCon ticket price.]

What a joy it will be to see many of you and to decorate cookies together!
Let's do this!
 

CookieCon 2017 Cookie Entries & Pre-CookieCon Classes

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CookieCon 2017 is just a memory now, but I wanted to be sure and share with you about the Pre-CC classes that were offered at CookieCon, and also share the cookies I made specifically for all the events. (For a summary of the general convention, check out this blog post.

Pre--CookieCon classes were originally created at the CookieCon event in September 2015. You can read about the adventures that happened at that event HERE.

This year's CookieCrazie classes included two Going Rustic classes on Wednesday and one Adding Shabby to the Chic class on Thursday morning. (Here's a blog post with class descriptions). All of these classes happened before the actual CookieCon festivities began on Thursday afternoon.

The preparations for these classes can be overwhelming, but thankfully I had some WONDERFUL friends that pitched in and made the prep fast, easy, and fun. :) Plus, I got to go to Salt Lake City early and see a freshly fallen snow. It was gorgeous!

Lisa Provenza-Bebar was my helper for the classes, and she is amazing! Even facing a personal crisis in her life, she was determined to fulfill her commitment to me and did it with over-the-top effort. I appreciate her so much. I definitely couldn't have done this without her!

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After spending many many hours getting everything ready for the classes (especially overnight on Tuesday!), it was all worth it when each class filled up with eager cookiers that wanted to learn and experience all they could. I enjoyed teaching them so much.....and I'm extremely grateful they put their confidence in me and invested in my classes. 

In the end, I believe everyone went away learning several new things.....and many expressed some "aHA" moments where they acquired some skills or tips that will transform their decorating.

I enjoyed every second of this decorating experience. 

So once classes were over, CookieCon began.
I kind of felt like I was now on vacation. NICE!

I brought several cookies to enter into the Sugar Show.....and then other cookies to give away.

My main Sugar Show entry was in the Food & Beverage category.
I love breakfast foods.....so this seemed fitting. :)

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For the Cookie Town, I created two entries....a Sweet Shop and a cute brick house.

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Everyone at CookieCon received custom cutters made exclusively for Cookie Con by Ann Clark Cutters. Several of us were asked to make our own versions of these two cutters for AC to have on their website before the participants even knew they were getting them.
Here's two sets I came up. 

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I made some burlap BG hearts for all my students to enjoy.

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And I made some fun tag cookies to share with friends.

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And that's all I've got. ;)

CookieCon 2017 was a joy.....and I'm so thrilled that I could participate in many of the events.

I highly recommend going in September 2018!

CookieCon 2017 Adventures

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My mind is still reeling from the adventures of last weekend's CookieCon 2017. It would be impossible for me to give you a complete overview of the event, but I wanted to at least highlight a few of the experiences and people that made it a very special memory.

This year's CookieCon marks the fourth event of its kind. I have had the privilege of being at each one.....and I can honestly say after each event that it gets better and better. Mike & Karen Summers (Karen's Cookies) really know how to pull together 500 cookie decorating lovers and allow them to experience lots of inspiration, instruction, and sweet relationships.

Now that I'm home and have had a couple of days to process it all, let me share lots of photos and a little of my perspective.

I arrived in Salt Lake City a few days early in order to prepare for my pre-CookieCon classes. I'll write more about that later.....but for now, I'll just say that those classes were weighing pretty heavy on my mind, and all I could think about were my students and making sure they had the best experience possible. Once that huge portion of my week was complete, I could relax and enjoy being with friends (old & new), and soaking up all that CookieCon 2017 had to offer. 

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CookieCon began when Mike & Karen took to the stage in the huge ballroom and delighted us with an evening focusing on how cookies make such a huge difference. Katy Metoyer (Sugar Dayne) was the keynote speaker.....and she truly spoke straight to our hearts about how "My Cookie Friends are Real".

The Sugar Show is always a highlight of the weekend. To see everyone pour their heart and soul into a cookie (or a set of cookies) and then display them all together in one wonderful-smelling-room was overwhelming in a good kind of way. The categories were "Anything Goes", "Cinema", and "Food & Beverage". Here's just a sampling of the fabulous cookies to be found there.

Also in the Sugar Show room, there was Cookie Town.
Wow! It was a collaboration by not only cookiers attending the show, but also any others that wanted to submit an entry but couldn't be there. It was AMAZING!

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There was truly a little bit of every structure you can imagine. 
Everyone was mesmerized as they walked along it's "streets". 
There were so many entries that it was easy to miss some with each pass.
Here's a sampling of some of my favorites.

Seven classes were offered to participants on Friday. 
It was a whirlwind day going from class to class to class.
One friend said that it was too much for the mind to hold in just a few hours time. :)

My favorite class was Angela Nino's on watercolor roses and wafer paper roses.
The subject was so unique and fascinating to hear about.
And the fact that it was her first time to teach and she did such a great job was very impressive.
(Oh, and also......I love color.....and Angela uses lots of it. 😊)

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Saturday was opening decorating.
It's such a unique experience to be in the huge ballroom with every medium possible to decorate a cookie. Plus, you are surrounded by fellow cookiers that share your passion.
I just walked around the room and marveled at people's creativity.

During open decorating, each cookier is given a mystery shape to decorated. 
They have a few hours to create a cookie that is entered into the final sugar show competition.
But this one is different in that the decorator is coming up with the design and then executing it in a challenging time-frame and environment.....albeit super stocked with every cookie medium and tool possible. Look at these designs done on a fox-shaped cookie!

But hands down the best part of CookieCon is the relationships that are renewed and cultivated, and those that come to life for the first time.
Truly the sweet friends I've made at these events are some of my dearest ones.

Mike & Karen work long and hard for 18+ months to bring this incredible opportunity to us.
They are dear dear people that display just what the cookie community looks like.....
friends helping and supporting others and enhancing the world with cookies.
(Thank you, dear friends!)

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Now we have to wait another 18 months for another rendition of the greatest show on earth.....

CookieCon 2015: Greatest Sugar Show on Earth!

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of participating in CookieCon 2015.
Having been to the previous two CookieCon events and enjoying them immensely,
this year's event was just as over-the-top as the others.

There is no other place in the world where so many cookie decorators gather, fellowship, and learn from one another, plus display so many of their brilliantly decorated cookies.
It was quite the extravaganza and highly recommended.

Since I taught some of the hands-on pre-CookieCon classes (this was a new feature this year),
there was MUCH prep work to be done before embarking on the trip.

Being the CRAZIE person that I am,
I volunteered to make 450 small sample cookies for a tasting event during the event.
This was in addition to the 200+ cookies I needed for my classes and for display!

It was pretty tedious to make such a number, but after they were completed, the results were worth it.

 Since I decided to enter the sugar show for the very first time,
there were some special cookies to be made for that event.
(Super fun, by the way!)

 Here's a photo of all the cookies and edible clay flowers I packed in my suitcases.

They were carefully stowed away in shipping boxes and then placed in the luggage.

And suddenly, it was time to go!

The flights there went very well.....and ALL the cookies arrived intact at CookieCon!

It was time to prep for the pre-CookieCon classes.
I could NOT have done it without these two precious ladies!
Nancy Paine (Seasons of Joy) and Cristin Sohm (Cristin's Cookies) were essential for the success of my classes. I was so honored that they helped me provide quality instruction to my students.

[Stay tuned for a full blog post on the pre-CookieCon classes.]

After prepping and executing three-4 hr long classes in 48 hours, it was time for CookieCon to begin.
All three of us were exhausted, but the energy of the event propelled us along.


Mike & Karen Summers opened the event on Thursday evening
and welcomed all 450 cookie enthusiasts.
Oh.....the excitement in that room was electric!

Lisa (The Bearfoot Baker) shared how powerful the cookie was.
And then she read a unique CookieCon exclusive book entitled
"If You Give a Cookie Decorator an Order".
Each page shares Cookie Connie's story, and all of the illustrations are done in COOKIES.
I had the privilege of providing one of the nineteen pages in the book.

[Stay tuned for a full blog post featuring the book and a chance to receive a copy!]

This was a first for me.......contributing to a book, and signing my autograph in said book. ;)

The Sugar Show was out-of-this-world AMAZING.
Here's just a sampling of the many amazing cookies shared in that room.

Here are the two CookieCrazie entries:

On Friday, we had the privilege of hearing from seven awesome instructors.

Monica Holbert  •  Cookie Cowgirl

Susan Carberry  •  The Cake Cottage

Nadia Kalinichenko  •  My Little Bakery

Dotty Raleigh  •  Sugar Dot Cookies

Jeanette Durham & Laurie Thompson - SugarBliss Cookies
Bridget Edwards  •  Bake at 350
Mallory Mae Chiavacci  •  ButterWinks 

As you can see from the photos......a fantastic time was had by all. :)

Saturday was open decorating day.......along with lots of other fun activities.

Participants were challenged to decorate a "mystery shape" and enter it in a final sugar show contest.
These cookies were decorated on the "spur of the moment" with only a few hours to enter.
AMAZING!
And the variety of interpretations and styles is incredible.

The event was concluded with a huge banquet and awards ceremony on Saturday evening.
There was a enormous number of prizes given out and awards presented.

And just to delay the goodbyes.....there was a karaoke and PJ party AFTER the banquet.

It was truly an unforgettable time with life time cookie friends.

 I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a special event.

CookieCon 2015: Greatest Show on Earth!
CookieCon 2015 Book
2015 PreCookieCon Classes

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Here's blog posts on the previous CookieCon events:

 CookieCon 2014: The Greatest Show on Earth.....for Cookies, that is...

2012 CookieCon: The Cookie Event of the Decade 


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Here's the awesome sponsors of CookieCon 2015!

Visit their sites and let them know we appreciate their support of CookieCon. :)

Cookie Con 2014: The Greatest Show on Earth..... for Cookies, that is..... :)

 

[WARNING: This is an extremely long post with lots of photos! :) ]

It's taken me a whole week to recover after arriving home from Cookie Con 2014.

I've been meaning to write this post and have planned things in my mind to put in it......

but have had trouble sitting down and getting the job done.

The event was so consuming (physically, mentally, & emotionally) that

once I arrived home.....I felt behind in everything else in my life.

And every time I've got on the computer......my "20 new FB friends from CookieCon" haha 

and the Cookie Con FB page were FILLED with tons of posts and things to read.

 I've found myself glued to everyone's enthusiasm,

which made me even more behind....instead of catching up.

But alas.....I'm finally able to sit down and tell you all about the 2014 CookieCon experience.

My, my......it was so much more than I thought it would be.

I think the idea of making 450 cookie friends is probably all you need to know about why it was 

overwhelming....and yet, so exciting.

The premiere Cookie Con in November 2012 was phenomenal.

You can read my post about it here.

It didn't seem like it could get any better than that. 

And yet, this latest Cookie Con was equally phenomenal......

for some of the same reasons.......but also for different ones.

When you are really passionate about something......something as crazie as  decorating cookies....

most of the people in your life don't understand.

But Cookie Con provides an avenue to be with people just like you.....

where talking about cookies non-stop for hours and hours is perfectly normal.

And so......the journey began for me on Wednesday morning, March 19.

I left from my home near St. Louis, MO and worked my way to Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Via a very "indirect route".....I flew to Phoneix and then on to SLC.

But the cool part about that was I got to see the Grand Canyon from the air......

and lots of other BEAUTIFUL terrain on my flight.

I've got to say that the best part of Cookie Con 2014 for me was being with the people.

It seems like every day I was with a different set of cookie friends (sometimes several different sets) 

and had a blast with each group.

On Thursday, many of us took the SLC Trax system to Orson Gygi (prounounced Gee-Gee).

It is an amazing kitchen supply store with everything imaginable for cooking & baking.

Included in all their stock is all sorts of things that cookiers LOVE!

  Tatiana (from Moscow, Russia) is the sweet lady in the bottom two photos.

She was the "big spender" at Gygi......as so many of the things carried there she can't get at home. :)

Registration on Thursday afternoon.......

And then it was time for the exciting opening.......

Karen & Mike (creators of Cookie Con) greeted us first thing.....

and then Liz & John Adams (Arty McGoo and "Mr. John") treated us to a 

plethora of music and videos depicting "Cookievision".

Check out the videos presented in their presentation here.

It ended with all the instructors of Cookie Con on stage rockin' the house down.

Friday was filled with class/instruction by some fabulous presenters.

 Angela of Oh Sugar! Events, Susan of The Painted Cookie, Georganne of LilaLoa, Anne of Flour Box Bakery,  Liz of Arty McGoo, Amber of SweetAmbs  & Myri of Chapix Cookies

The event was attended by cookiers from 16 countries and 44 States.

We even had some very special celebrity guests (haha).

And the prizes were out of this world......awesome. 

There were all kinds of extracurricular activities to get involved in.....

The Sugar Show was filled with so many wonderful cookies.

I couldn't vote for a "winner" because there was just too much talent and incredible-ness on display.

The many vendors and sponsors of Cookie Con 2014 gave us lots to inspect, explore and 

either splurge on......or plan to save for.

(See the entire list of sponsors and vendors at the bottom of the post.)

Karen & Mike invented the Notta Cookie and it debuted at Cookie Con 2014.

It's a re-useable practice cookie that allows you to practice decorating/stenciling/airbrushing on it,

and then you just clean it off and start over again.

Everyone received a NottaCookie in their swag bags.

They are available from Karen's Cookies here.

I had the special privilege of going to ABC4 in SLC (local live news)

for an interview about Cookie Con on Friday afternoon.

The entire interview is here.

 Other Cookie Con interviews:

Karen (Karen's Cookies)

Georgeanne (LiaLoa)

Liz (Arty McGoo)

Friday night I got to see a beautiful view of Temple Square and the downtown area of SLC.

Saturday morning was BRP Box Shop's presentation.

Kip, Connie, & I worked together in the last few months to develop their new basket box.

It debuted at Cookie Con and everyone got to take a basket box home.

The baskets come in five different colors and are available on BRP's website.

And some the craziness happened.

Liz (Arty McGoo) had challenged Kip (BRP Box Shop) to a dance off after he showed his

moves to everyone on the Cookie Con FB page the week prior to CC.

Watch this amaze-ness if you dare.....

Kip & Arty Dance-Off

Saturday morning/afternoon was filled with open decorating in the main hall.

Nearly every imaginable decorating tool/ingredient was supplied to practice decorating.

And from that decorating came these amazing cookies (and many more!) 

in the mystery shape cookie contest.

There was lots of time to hang out with everyone and enjoy good conversation and taking photos....

 

Saturday evening was the Cookie Con Banquet complete with a delicious meal

and lots of awards and speeches about our weekend together.

After all the "formal part" of Cookie Con was over.....

there was lots of mingling and enjoying those last few minutes with each other.....

since so many would be leaving that night or the next morning.

 Karen & Mike Summers were our hosts for the weekend.

Boy do they know how to put on a superb event!

We're all so grateful for all their hard work this last year. 

And also, a big thank you to all the "purple apron" people who gave tirelessly to make sure that Cookie Con 2014 was a HUGE success.

Sunday was spent saying goodbye to many......

and spending an extra day with those that remained until Monday.

There are lots of great memories from these photos.....

Departing day........time to go home. 

But not without tons of memories, new friends, and treasures in my heart. :)

So long, Salt Lake City!

And once I got home and caught my breath a bit.....

I had lots of things to unpack, enjoy, and anticipate using. :)

BRP Box Shop gifted us with tons of samples....a very happy box of boxes. haha

Between purchases, swag bag, and gifts.......it was quite a cookier's delight.

Here's all the official vendors and sponsors of Cookie Con 2014.

What fun it was to see their products and in some cases, get to know the people behind the product.

BRP Box Shop 

Karen's Cookies  

Nielsen-Massey   

The Cookie Cutter Company    

Dream Cutters   

Ann Clark   

The CookieCountess: Stencil Land!   

CAKES N SUPPLIES BY XIMENA   

Kurabiiki   

Sprinkles N Stuff Decorating Supplies   

Ribbon by Design    

Salsa Sweets   

Mother of Cakes Sugar & Cake Academy   

American Tradition Cookie Cutters   

Fiesta Cake Supplies   

Icing Smiles, Inc   

Gygi    

Velata   

Truly Mad Plastics   

The Cake Cottage   

Edible Artists Network   

Sunflower Sugar Art   

ASM Cutters & Things 

Made by Daisy   

Designer Stencils   

Spices, Etc.   

Kool Cookie Cutters   

Americolor   

Springerle Joy   

Twirled Up, LLC   

Tru Color   

Cake Crafts   

Artfully Designed Creations  

Arty McGoo   

Foose   

Whisked Away Cutters    

Glory Albin     

Fancy Flours    

Fondarific 

ieWOW, Inc. 

Small Food Business  

Julia Usher   

Cookie Con 2014 was a fabulous event loaded with inspiration and instruction.

But most of all it was an incredible time with all those who love to decorate cookies.

What a joy!

♥♥♥