Spring Rainbow Spiral Cookies

Spring Rainbow Spiral Cookies

A few weekends ago, I got the itch to bake something. Not to mention my daughter wanted to do some baking with mommy as well. There were so many things that I had to choose from to bake and then stuff I was craving, since I am such a sweet-a-holic!! I kept narrowing the choices down, until I just kind of made up my own thing from a recipe I had already! I love when that happens sometimes. That is how I am with cooking - I always create my own thing in the end from a recipe that I have set out to use. I will glance over it to get an idea of the ingredients and some of the directions and then I throw in my own touch :-)

My kitchen aid mixer has been just sitting around and collecting dust. Since I quit baking on a regular basis along with cake decorating, I just don't use it anymore. Well another reason is I hate cleaning all the parts! I don't like big dishes sitting around in the sink (they take up too much space for one thing and the sink fills up FAST...lol) and I am partly OCD - I have to start cleaning them right away or it will bother me. So instead of getting bothered, I just leave it alone!

I decided on a basic sugar cookie recipe but wanted it to be colorful like spring. The idea of coloring the cookie dough sounded fun, so I came up with the idea to make this batch rolled spiral cookie. I didn't come up with the whole spiral idea, of course, but the idea to try it out on this particular day.

 My Kitchen Aid fluffing the butter and sugar. 

This is what recipes mean when you CREAM the butter and sugar together. It creates a nice fluffy texture when done. Cream it for about 3-5 minutes. Its so cool to see the texture change!

Trying to bake with a 5 year old and take pictures of every step is a little hard. I missed photos of a few steps, but oh well. Maybe next time I will have many more photos.

After the dough was mixed, I separated it into 4 sections and put in separate bowls. Then we started coloring each section by hand. We wanted to get our hands all in the dough. Messy but fun. That took a lot of hand work strength.

Then It was time to roll the dough out. I don't like adding extra flour to the surface to keep the dough from sticking because you will end up with some super flour tasting cookies. So I use wax paper instead. I put the wad of dough on a decent sized waxed sheet and add another sheet on top and roll it out. That takes some arm strength and tires you out for sure! Especially when making a double batch and 4 different colors!

I forgot the photo of the 4th color. Sorry.

The challenge came when I was going to stack them all on top of each other to roll them. It was more like peel a layer of wax paper off and go fast and flip it to the other layer. Once it comes completely off the wax paper onto another layer, if its not lined up, there is really no way to take it off without messing up the dough. Most of mine came in line okay. I think one didnt, but that was okay. 

I then cut the stack in half to have 2 rolls. Other wise the roll would have been entirely too thick! I rolled each section up, wrapped in wax paper and threw it in the fridge. I couldn't get it rolled as tightly as I wanted, but hey it was my first time. I found out afterwards that I should have put it in the freezer for an hour. Oops!

When I took it out the fridge to cut, it started to crumble a little bit, but I managed to get them all done.

Here they are! They were so YUMMY!!

Started with the Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies recipe. This is not my recipe. I have had it for quite sometime, and don't remember where I found it.

Vanilla-Almond Sugar Cookies

3c unbleached, all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 c sugar

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350

Combine the flour and baking powder, set aside. Cream the sugar and butter. Add the egg and extracts and mix. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until combined, scraping down the bowl, especially the bottom.

Roll onto a floured surface (or wax paper in my case). Stack the colors, and roll into a roll. Place in the freezer for 1 hour. 

Cut slices from the roll and place on parchment lined baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. let sit for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a cooling rack.

Note. I usually take the whole parchment sheet with the cookies and transfer them after about a minute :-) I love soft yummy cookies.

And the Winner Is......

Thank you to everyone that participated in the GIVEAWAY last week!

 I really appreciate all of your support! I am so happy to give some goodies away! The note cards and art prints will be available in my shop soon!

 Our Lovely winner will receive all of the following!

I had my daughter help with the drawing of the names! She felt so special to be included in picking someone and told everyone "good luck".

 

 AND THE WINNER IS:

Ruth I will be in contact with you to see what your preferences are on the art prints and the gift card!

{GIVEAWAY} Growing my business

Its a bright new Monday and a PERFECT day to start a giveaway! The past 2 months have have decided to really jump in to my business and make things happen! I have always had the burning desire inside me to have my own business - doing something that I LOVED to do. Designing pretty invitation papery, art prints and planning parties brings true joy to my heart (along with giving back to help others).

I have come to realize that through all the things I have tried before, one of my PASSIONS is creating invites to help others create wonderful memories together with their amazing parties. I LOVE to plan parties. A great party can make someone feel special. And did you know that parties also help with confidence in little girls? I am sure that is with everyone! No matter the occasion, parties truly create memories. It all starts with getting that invitation in the mail to let you know that you have been invited to a fabulous birthday bash!

I believe that there is a time for everything. In the past, I have been extremely quiet with telling others about what I love doing, but this time around, I am not holding back. Even though being comfortable feels pretty good most the time, I am stepping out of my comfort zone. How else will someone know what I do if they aren't informed?  I have huge dreams and vibrant visions and I am going after them. I thought for a long time that I need more of this or more of that, but the truth is I have everything I need right here. Everything is already on the inside of me (and you)! We are equipped with everything that we need in order to succeed!

I want to inspire you to go after your dreams and to dream big. The reality may make it seem completely impossible, but always remember - ANYTHING is possible! No, it won't be easy and you wont always have the answer, but just go for it and the pieces will fall into place when they need to. You don't have to have it ALL figured out!

I NEED YOUR HELP! Can you help me get the word out about Crystal Keefer Designs? I know you have friends that love entertaining and friends that have kids and will need invites for all their special occasions. I would love to become their go to person for all their party papery needs!

On to the GIVEAWAY! I appreciate each and everyone of you and thank you for supporting my business!

Wondering what is on the giveaway list???

1. Something else that I LOVE is coffee. Good tasty coffee. How about $25.00 to pay for your coffee for a week? You will have the choice between a Biggby Gift Card or a Starbucks gift Card!

2. Sometimes we don't say Thank You enough in writing. I LOVE to receive hand written notes in the mail! The Lucky winner will win 1 sample pack of Note cards - 10 note cards all different colors!!

3. Inspirational art prints keep me grounded when I start to think crazy stuff. They are so nice to have around to keep you inspired! I love having 2 8x10s in my home office on the wall. The lucky winner will receive 2 ART PRINTS of their choice. AND they will be able to customize the colors!!

Here is how to enter:

Leave a comment below telling me SOMETHING that you can't wait to do this spring!

- also a way for me to get in contact with you (email address)

-open for the US only (sorry!)

A few other ways to enter:

Become a fan of Crystal Keefer Designs on facebook and comment saying that you did or that you are already a fan!

 Tell your friends about Crystal Keefer Designs and tell them to leave a post on my wall saying that you sent them!

Giveaway will end Monday, April 7th at Noon! Winner will be announced on Tuesday April, 8th!!

Good Luck!!

{Free} Party tags and ideas

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner and the kids are probably going to have a party at school. I designed (well updated a design) some party tags for you and they are FREE!!! Party tags are used so many ways and the uses are endless! I am posting a few ideas on how to use them. There is a link for you to go to to print your own tags closer to the bottom of the post.

{ Mini Cheesecake toppers}

 {Treat tags for gable boxes}

 {Treat box tags}

 {Napkin Tags}

Click the image to print your tags! or click HERE

To use your tags, Print on bright white cardstock. Cut down each column. Use a 2 inch round or 2 inch scalloped punch OR a 2 inch circle punch to punch each design out. In order to punch out a design, you must hold the punch backwards so that you can see what you are punching. Make sure you line it up correctly so that you have an even punch!

Enjoy!

Crystal

Almost March.....

I think the older I get the faster time flies by! One day left in the month and one day left to accomplish a few goals (okay, quite a bit - but gotta be realistic). I actually did pretty good. I used to plan out goals for the whole year, but then my mentor talked about breaking them down by the month. Wow, that is so much better. A lot more get moved that way. I post them in my bathroom on the mirror on the left side. When ever I accomplish one, I move it to the right side. I am more on top of my game than I have ever been! Thankful for that....

So with the new month coming, comes another fun holiday! Well, its not fun to get pinched, though! I created some fill in yourself designs since time goes by so fast. They are instant downloads, meaning whenever they are purchased, you will be able to down load them instantly and print right at home! They are perfect for school parties, a get together with friends, and just any St. Patrick's Day party!

Here they are:

 

My favorite is the clover in the back ground with the over flowing pot of gold! Which one is your favorite?

Fall is around the corner

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Labor Day holiday. We enjoyed time with family and eating WAY too much good food and too much sweets. I am definitely in need of a water cleanse to flush out the junk! Our town had a Labor Day fireworks display set up for the whole town and it was AWESOME! We dont normally have a display for the Labor Day holiday. It rained so much during the real summer months, especially in July and our 4th of July fireworks display was postponed for September. I think they threw in a bit of extra fireworks because it seemed to have lasted longer.

 My daughter enjoying her "Barbie" Snow cone before the fireworks.

The past 4 years we were not able to really enjoy the fireworks because Constance would freak out and cry the entire time. She would just get scared and not want to be there any longer. I told myself this year we would try ear plugs as I realized that she has sensitive ears. Worked like a CHARM! At first she started panicking a little because I didnt have the ear plugs ready when the lights started going out. Once I had them in her ears, she was amazed by them and thought they were awesome! I caught her clapping a few times. Finally I was able to just hold her in my lap and just look up at the sky with her - LOVED IT!

How did you celebrate your Labor Day weekend?

P.S. I shared one free printable on my facebook page. Stay tuned for the next one sometime this week!

Hello New Name!

Hey everyone! OH MY, has it been a while! I took a really long time away and had some decisions to make. When I started working full time in 2011, I became occupied with so much other stuff and pushed Sweet Memories Cakery (name at the time) to the side - Until I completely pushed it away. During my "away" time, I have realized that I missed it here! I missed designing pretty invites and the whole party scene.

I had to make a decision of whether or not I would keep the cakery side or get rid of it completely. As I was thinking, I realized that cake decorating was not really a passion of mine, it was something that I could do and was good at. Dont get me wrong, I loved it while I was doing it, but I seriously could not keep up with both. I will still do baking and cake decorating for my own parties and family, just not for business and selling purposes.

With all of that being said, I came up with a new name and a new logo to freshen things up! Sweet Memories Cakery & Designs is now....... Crystal Keefer Designs!

My New Facebook cover image:

My New Etsy Banner:

I am so excited to dive back in! What is keeping you busy this summer?

~Crystal~