Winner + Past Valentine Inspiration

And the Winner, chosen by Random.org is travelingnut.blogspot.com! Please email me (jessietaylortanner@yahoo.com) to receive your $30 code for csn.

I had a lot of fun doing the giveaway, so I am going to scheme up some more. I was so excited to hear from so many people, those I know personally and those I do not- But was still a little disappointed because I know several of you who did not participate in my online roll call. :) Perhaps another giveaway might smoke some more people out. I will be devising a diabolical plan, to be sure.

In other news, my laptop may be out of commission for longer than expected now that my battery is kaput. (Did you know laptop batteries cost about $150? wtf? As you will recall, that reads as exactly "w.t.f" and does not serve as any actual acronym, gleaned from Timm's many hours spent with high school kids.) For now I am relying on old photos, from a project I made 2 years ago, but remains one of my favorite. I made these 'sugar cookies' for Bella's Joy School class when she was a wee 3 1/2 year old.

I was thrilled with them, but was afraid it might not be readily apparent what they were. Then I doubted the greatness of the gift since in general, if you have to tell someone what it is you made, maybe it's not so great. If it needs a label specifically designating its use, perhaps it needs some work. I was reluctant to simply attach a tag that read 'Sugar Cookies' for those reasons. I was belaboring this point late into the night when inspiration struck me:

I was so thrilled with this idea that I ran into the bedroom and woke Timm up out of a sound sleep so I could excitedly proclaim my triumph. "Get it? Get it?! Genius!!!" Or something like that. His reaction, in the middle of the night, left a little to be desired.

These were so simple to make. I used a wool-blend felt, and they have held up remarkably. 2 years later and they look almost exactly as they did when I made them. I sandwiched them in packs of 3, with 2 pink and 1 red, but I think any pastel color would be cute for the icing as well. Of course adding beads or sequins to the icing as sprinkles would be cute too, but I loved the simplicity of these. And the ease. You should totally make some.

I'm going to try and photograph some other things today and move on in woeful misery without my trusted sidekick, laptop, whom I have come to rely upon daily ever since Timm brought (him/her?) home from salvage at school a year or so ago.

Thanks for participating in the giveaway!

Look for another one soon. ish.