Saturday, April 27, 2013

Spring Flower Photographs

Flower Photo by Nina's Show & Tell
A bit of spring color from the park...

Daffodil Photo by Nina's Show & Tell

Nasturtium Photo by Nina's Show & Tell
 And our garden.

Ginger Snap Pogens

Do you remember Ginger Snap Pogens?

When I was growing up in Southern California in the 70s and 80s, these were a delicious store-bought treat. They were thin, crisp, and spicy, and in the shape of animals with minimal detail, often just an eye poked into the dough.

Pogens Inspired Gingersnap Cookies by Nina's Show & Tell
I made these using this Pogens Gingersnaps Recipe with a few variations. I added 1/2 cup flour, chilled the dough, rolled it to 1/8" and cut shapes with cookie cutters.

 Gingersnap Mouse Cookie by Nina's Show & Tell

 Gingersnap Snail Cookie by Nina's Show & Tell
I love the simplicity of these cookies.

Pogens Inspired Gingersnap Heart Cookies
These are even simpler! It was nice to take a break from fancy decorated cookies.

Pogens Inspired Gingersnap Scalloped Cookies
This project was a yummy trip down memory lane, and the results were very close to the cookies I remember.

Thanks to a fellow blogger, I was able to track down this Pogens brochureI'd love to find a photo of the original cookies!

Baseball Birthday Cookies

Baseball Birthday Cookies by Nina's Show & Tell
Personalized Baseball Birthday Cookies

I'm happy with how these came out, although I was wishing for a Kopykake projector while I was decorating them!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Birthday Season

Early spring is a busy time in our family! All three of our birthdays are within 10 days of each other, so there is a lot of celebrating to be done. Easter often occurs in the same week and a half, sometimes falling on one of our birthdays.

Family Photo by Nina's Show & Tell
An outing to celebrate Easter and my birthday.

Wildflowers by Nina's Show & Tell
We love wildflowers!

Birthday Ice Cream by Nina's Show & Tell
Yummy ice cream for my birthday dessert.


G Monogram Cookies by Nina's Show & Tell
Gracie's birthday was next. I made these monogram cookies for her to share with her class. She chose the colors and design. To see more cookies, visit me over at Nina's Cookie Shop.

Birthday Hat & Cupcake by Nina's Show & Tell
We had a party for her at a local park on a very windy day! I embellished the hat and made yummy pink cupcakes. It was a new recipe for me, Pink Lady Cake made with strawberries. Gracie chose pink icing and helped decorate the cupcakes with sprinkles.


Balloon Flower by Nina's Show & Tell
The party had a garden theme, and this balloon flower was supposed to decorate the gazebo at the park. The wind interfered with the decorations, so it adorned our house instead. This tutorial from All Things Simple was very helpful!


Birthday Cookies by Nina's Show & Tell
The cute napkins are from Target, and I embellished a party store birthday hat with ribbon for the birthday girl. I made the flower cookies for party favors. You can see more flower cookies over at Nina's Cookie Shop.

Sets of 50 Little Birthday Gifts by Nina's Show & Tell
Next came Art's birthday. Gracie and I made him a card and bundles of 50 things.

Opening Present by Nina's Show & Tell
Gracie LOVES wrapping presents and picked out the paper and bow.  She also loves unwrapping presents!


Bacon, Avocado & Tomato DIY Sandwich by Nina's Show & Tell
We wanted a simple dinner that would finish well with apple pie for dessert. A DIY BAT (bacon, avocado & tomato sandwich) was perfect! I made mayonnaise from scratch for the first time. Thanks to this recipe from Alton Brown and these hints from Andrea the Kitchen Witch on using the KitchenAid mixer, it came out well.


Apple Pie by Nina's Show & Tell
Finally it was time for pie! I like to use a combination of apples; for this pie I used Lady Alice (which I just learned is a new variety) and Pink Lady apples. With a crumb topping and vanilla ice cream, it was a delicious finale to our birthday season!

Friday, April 5, 2013

Train Cookies

Train Cookies by Nina's Show & Tell
Train Cookie for a 3rd Birthday Celebration

I was inspired by the colors on these train cookies at Sweet Creations by Debbie. They were for a 3rd birthday, too! I also like her accent cookies.


Wilton Train Cookie
I used a variation of these wheels on the Wilton cookie cutter packaging.

Train Cookies by Nina's Show & Tell
All packaged up and ready for the party!