|
|
(This is an introduction – recent blog posts start below)
I’m thrilled that you’re visiting! This is an online bake sale. It would be my pleasure to create beautiful, delicious, customized cookies just for you. In return, you donate to ChildAlive, distributing mosquito nets to the vulnerable in Western Africa. On a continent where a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds, these nets have reduced malarial fevers by 70% where they’ve been distributed!
Let me show you around…
- Peruse all cookie sets on the View All page
- Search by Category using the tool on the left sidebar.
- If you’re hooked, just enter your email address to the left and I’ll deliver pictures of new sets straight to your email.
- The About Me page will tell you a little more about me and why I started Cookies For Africa.
- And if you decide you’re ready to order, read about ordering details on the FAQ page or go to the Orders to submit your order. I’ll be honored to make something for you and your special event!
Recent blog posts start below…
Happy Selection Sunday!
These cookies were requested by the one and only Ms. Michelle, Jack’s preschool teacher, for her husband’s birthday. Ms. Michelle is a revered woman in our house; Jack sees no fault in her and neither do we. John and I will always be grateful to Ms. Michelle for her high-structure/high-nurture classroom and the boost its given to Jack’s self-esteem. He’s so excited about starting kindergarten next year because preschool has been such a positive, wonderful experience for him. I’m sure there will be many wonderful teachers in Jack’s future, but there will never be another Ms. Michelle.
But back to March Madness – in addition to these Virginia Tech cookies, I’m working on orders for Georgetown and West Virginia University so far – who’s next? Let me know! Surprise a basketball fan and give two mosquito nets all at once.
Go Terps!!! 
This was an exciting order for me – the first time something came through my online order form from a complete stranger! It was so affirming to believe that someone happened upon my site and was impressed enough with the mission and work to place an order without a personal connection! Well, not yet Turns out that the donor lives in Illinois and heard about CFA from my new but already special friend Erika, who is waiting to adopt a girl with critical medial needs from Burkina Faso.
The donor requested pawprint cookies in blue and yellow, which sounded pretty straightforward. Parenthetically, she also mentioned that there was another Grace McWayne logo if I’d like to take a shot at it. Always up for a challenge, I said, “Sure, send me the logo!”
Yikes! I attempted to duplicate the logo onto a simple circle shape. First I tried the whole thing and then just the face. Each time the likeness was poor. The bear looked cluttered or sad or misshapen every way I tried it. A little bit deflated, I prepared for the pawprints.
At the last minute, I remembered that I had just purchased a mini bear cookie cutter (for a Noah’s Ark order I’ll be showing you in a few weeks). I figured that if everyone was getting a pawprint and the bear was just bonus, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t perfect. So I made 30 of these cute little guys. Do you know how easy it is to pop a little cookie in your mouth?? Much easier than a big pawprint cookie!!
So the donor got a little bonus in each bag and I didn’t have to admit complete failure with McWayne – a win/win. Or really, a win/win/win since this order earned another three nets for our friends in Africa. Actually, win/win/win/win because the cookies went into a silent raffle to raise money for another cause. Wow! If only adopting was as easy as making cookies for a good cause…
And, hey, guess who I caught making eye contact with the camera while I was working on these?
This donor recently began working towards his Masters in Public Health. Distributing mosquito nets to vulnerable populations is certainly a public health initiative, so he thought it would be fitting to send gifts of cookies to the three people who wrote his recommendations. The donor told me to “tie in public health somehow”. As with the hurricane lamps, I responded “Sure, no prob!!” but began biting my nails as soon as we went our separate ways.
So what do you think of when you hear “public health”?? I played an informal game of Family Feud with friends and family and survey said… handwashing! Indeed, when I looked up the official What is Public Health website, hand-washing was prominently featured. Microscopes, representing research, also cropped up several times when I was searching for ideas.
I wasn’t sure how to begin my sketching, so I got far more than just inspiration from these illustrations – I simply reproduced them as well as I could.
Syringes (for vaccinations) and pill bottles seemed to fit the theme. Also, I was desperate to get some cookie cutters into the set because shaped cookies are much easier to decorate than the previous cookies!!
Take a look at the pill bottle – malarone (or something similar) is a drug we’ll take to prevent malaria if/when we travel to Western Africa for our adoption. All it will take is a prescription and trip to Target and we’ll be fairly well protected against malaria. But for those who live day and night among malaria-infested mosquitoes these drugs aren’t options. I am so, so thankful that Child Alive was founded to give the most vulnerable protection and I feel honored to contribute a tiny bit to their effort. Finally, I’m thankful to this donor who earned another four nets for those who so badly need them.
I approached this assignment for a 3rd Birthday Princess Party with a lot of trepidation. As a fairy-tale loving girl, I had strong ideas about how the stories should be illustrated and I was disappointed in any fairy tale book that didn’t fit my visions.
I thought this was the prettiest cookie. Hopefully you can tell that it’s a fairly faithful replica of the classic Cinderella dress. At least, it was as good as I could do with the relatively squatty cookie cutter in my “Wedding Cookie Cutter Set”.
This was made from another cookie cutter in the wedding set. As many times as I told myself that I wasn’t going to make this cookie look like a wedding dress… I still did!! I think that was a mistake. I met the birthday girl when I dropped the cookies off. She was an adorable, engaging, spunky little thing who had me laughing within moments of meeting her. I wished all the more then that I had chosen bright and bold colors for the set in general and this cookie in particular.
The donor suggested a tiara-shaped cookie and I loved the idea. I had to make a template and hand-cut these, but I would do it again. They were perfect – except, again, I wish I had used more vibrant colors.
The castle, which was also hand cut, wasn’t my best work – and that is why I’m not bothering to post a close-up!
This was a very fun set, although I would welcome the opportunity to try again with pure, bright, Disney-type colors. Anyone else having a princess party? The most important thing for me, of course, is that two more nets are making their way over to Western Africa! Thanks, Jill, for the order and donation!!
Can you tell what the little guy’s name is going to be?
How about now? Oh wait, you already knew from the post’s title? Silly me!
If there’s anything cuter than baby shower cookies, it’s MINI baby shower cookies!!! I was just so tickled with these. I bagged four mini blocks together so that everyone received the name “G-A-B-E” as a favor.
Everyone, that is, who didn’t receive a onesie cookie.
I enjoyed this project as much or more than any I’ve done so far. The cuteness of the finished product outweighed the tedium of hand-cutting the mini blocks. And, of course, the finished product ensured another 3 nets for the vulnerable in Western Africa. Isn’t it good to know that those 3 people can sleep tonight without waking up to swat at potentially lethal mosquitoes?
|
