all american hamburger

i made these cute cupcakes for our annual memorial day picnic but they would be great for a fourth of july celebration too and they are so easy. the "fries" are french fried potato sticks. they'll be the hit of the party!

recipe via bakerella

custom cake topper

i recently did a custom cake topper for a baby shower. i love doing completely custom orders for clients and seeing it all come together. the mommy-to-be chose this great modern baby shower invitation. the colors are so unexpected and refreshing. she wanted a cake topper to match the silhouette. what do you think?

and here it is on the cake...



here are some of the cookies i made too for the shower
(unfortunately i didn't get a good shot of these before they were wrapped in cellophane).

i had a fun time working on this order. best wishes jamie and brad!

dirty ash tray

in my little world of cookies, i stumble upon some amazingly talented and creative people. most of them are artists using dough and sugar as their medium. i am just a baker trying to create simple art that tastes good. i was in awe of this creation i came across recently. when i first saw the thumbnail photo, i thought why is this lady posting a picture of her dirty ash tray? then i took a closer look...

that is all edible!!! cookies covered in fondant for the cigarettes, chocolate crumbs mixed with coconut for the ashes and even a lipstick stain!! it was done for a dessert table with a theme of "after the party." brilliant!!! created by the amazing artist of neviepie cakes.

this is what the rest of the table looked like...i wonder if anyone ate any of it? would you?

images: amelia's house

giveaway time!!!

yay! it's giveaway time...aren't you excited? sugarlily reached over 350 "likes" on facebook a few weeks ago and i promised a giveaway. here it is...one lucky winner will receive a $25 gift certificate of sugarlily cookies. to enter, all you have to do is become a follower of my blog and tell me you did so by leaving me a nice comment on this post. if you are already a follower on my blog, just leave me a comment (on this post) telling me. deadline is tuesday july 5th at midnight. i ship cookies anywhere so don't worry if your not local. one winner will be chosen by random.org. good luck!

happy father's day

"the measure of a man is not by how tall he stands but how often he bends to help, comfort and teach."
author unknown

me and my dad circa 1968

me and my dad circa 1973

anthropologie aqua love

who doesn't love anthropologie? these are just a few of my favorite things from their website. some have found a home in my kitchen and some are on my wish list. i'm certainly addicted. is there a 12-step program for anthropologie-aholics? i really don't want to quit, though...

all images anthropologie

asparagus and chocolate?

yes, they do go together! look at this gorgeous cake from sweetapolita. those are fondant asparagus!! can you imagine how much time it took to make these?? i'm in love...

more beautiful creations from sweetapolita here...

i see cookies

remember that famous line from the movie "the sixth sense?" (i won't write it because it's a little gruesome for a cookie blog). well, i see cookies...everywhere, all the time, in everything. it could be a dish towel, a kids tee shirt, wallpaper, a quilt, a card. i get inspired by so many things (occupational hazard, i guess). so instead of doing laundry or dishes, i make cookies. cookies just for me to look at because they make me happy. so here is my latest inspiration as my kids ask me "mom, do i have any clean underwear?"

my newest obsession is vintage aqua mason jars. they are just gorgeous.

image source

look at the beautiful creations inspired by these lovely glass jars...

images clockwise from top left:
1. mason jar pendant light 2. ball jar stationery 3. save-the-date card 4. pinterest

so, i tracked down a wonderful rare mason jar cookie cutter and made this...



wouldn't this make a charming gift for that special friend? perhaps a mason jar filled with flowers or that cute dishtowel and a cookie to match?

more inspired cookies coming soon. what inspires you?

home sweet home

my sister lost her entire house in a fire over a year ago. the new house is finally done and she has moved in....yay!!! we designed the whole thing together which was a lot of fun. it was a very stressful and traumatic year for her but it is so exciting to finally see the new house completed.

here's the house a year ago after the fire...wow

here's the new house...isn't it adorable?



here's her cute capiz shell chandelier in her kitchen. we unwrapped hundreds of shells!!! my sis looks so happy!


and of course, cookies i made for her housewarming shower. that's her dog fritz.



welcome home, nicole.