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(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…
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?
First off, if you were curious about the story behind Baby Shin’s name, go read Rachel’s comment on Shin’s Baby Shower!!!
I had to post this order quickly while snowflakes still have some relevance. We’re all ready for spring, aren’t we?!
The donor wanted these simple snowflakes, except with white detailing on white – hence, “Even Simpler Snowflakes”.
I painted a little white pearl dust onto the snowflakes; hope you can see it in the picture. I was having a hard time capturing the shimmer from any angle.
In addition to the standard two nets, this order led to my very first recurring monthly order! I thank God for all the generous hearts around me.
Another order from my best donor – my awesome friend and running partner, Paula. She said “colorful” so I did COLORFUL!! She also wanted the cookies to address each of the roles her grandmother has played through the years – daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, friend, cousin, etc; This was a fairly large, not huge, order of 72 cookies, so we got at least 6 more nets to send over the West Africa!
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