It all started with the idea of making cookies for my own baby shower back in 2010. It became my mission to start learning all about the cookie decorating world so that I could make something presentable enough to give as favors at my shower. I was a pregnant lady on a mission....there was no stopping me. Rob bought me my first set of cookie cutters when we were at lake Chautauqua that summer. It was a set of plastic Wilton animal cookie cutters...he bought me the entire set of 50 cutters just so I could have the 1 that I needed, the lamb. What a great husband.
It's all pretty much a blur since then....except for a few snippets here and there. I remember getting a set of 8 food colorings for Christmas (thanks to my awesome cuz, Sarah) and I remember thinking that it was such an awesome gift...one that I'll never forget because it was the start of my collection. I remember making Steeler cookies very early on and omg, they were so awful-looking. But at the time I thought they were so good. I remember going to my favorite cookie supply-site to order cookie cutters and thinking that it was so awesome because they were only like $1 a piece and I planned to spend $50 to get free shipping. I mean, how often do you get to add 50+ items to an online shopping cart? It was really fun. The true whirlwind started right after that. The facebook page was launched on May 10, 2011 with 15 cookie pictures and I did my first order on May 18th. I remember framing my first dollar bill and feeling really really proud. Then came the blog, then came my first trade show, then came "the binder" that holds it all together, and now....
Hundreds of cups of sugar, many many teaspoons of vanilla, a crazy amount of pounds of flour, and thousands (thousands!) of cookies later, here I am. My life has changed dramatically since one year ago in so many ways but the best change of all has been watching my daughter grow into this funny, talkative, curious, and smart little girl. I say to Rob all the time that I can't believe that we actually get to keep her!! It feels like a dream.
So back to business.... want some free cookies???? I'm doing a giveaway in honor of my 1-year anniversary and the prize is...Your choice!....either $10 off your next order of cookies or a free dozen sent to you during the first week of May (the design will remain a surprise!) Friends....family....you're all eligible to win so please enter!
To enter:
Comment on this blog post and tell me what your all-time favorite Give Mia Cookie design has been from the past year. You can see all of the pictures on the facebook page at www.facebook.com/givemiacookie There are 5 albums of pictures to choose from!
and don't forget to include your name and email address, too!!
Your entry should look(something) like this:
Rob Hogue
robhogue@hotmail.com
my favorite cookie design was the WVU cookies! I have the best wife EVER! And I'm going to do all of the laundry this week and every week for the rest of my life!
you know....something like that
Want a second chance to win? Ok! Leave another comment on this blog post and ask me any question that you might have about this crazy Give Mia Cookie world.
(i.e. "How'd you come up with the name?" or "How many food colorings do you own?"
or "When do you find time to sleep?")
I'm planning to do a blog post in the coming weeks where I will answer some of the questions and let you into my world a little bit :)
and don't forget to include your name and email address, too!!
***The winner will be chosen randomly on Saturday, 4/28***
Here are the "official" guidelines for this giveaway:
- Entries will be accepted from Monday 4/23 at 9:30 pm EST until Friday 4/27 at 12 midnight EST. Entries received after the specific time period will not count. Sorry, procrastinators!
- Prize: Your choice....either $10 off your next order of cookies or a free dozen sent to you during the first week of May (the design will remain a surprise!)
- How you will receive the prize: If you live locally in the Pittsburgh area then we can set up a time where I can deliver the cookies or of course you could pick them up, too! Otherwise, the cookies will be shipped via FedEx or Priority Mail. I can only ship to U.S. residents!
- Only 2 entries allowed per person (see entry instructions above)
- The winner will be notified via email, I'll post it on Give Mia Cookie's facebook page, and I'll post it on the blog, too. Basically...I'll find you :)
- Email addresses will not be used for any other purpose other than to notify the winner
- The winner will be chosen randomly using http://www.random.org/
- I reserve the right to delete any posts due to profanity, etc.
LOL at your example!!! hahahahaha!!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my entry:
Ingrid Williames
iawilliames@yahoo.com
My favorite design was a more recent one: ALL the Easter ones (the eggs, the animals, the crosses (!!!), and the Easter baskets) were amazing!! But if I have to pick ONE, I would say the Easter baskets...they were so detailed and absolutely gorgeous!!
I really liked the communion cookies!
ReplyDeleteDiana Messner
dianamesssner@gmail.com
Ok my second entry:
ReplyDeleteIngrid Williames
iawilliames@yahoo.com
While I'd love to know the answers to how many food colorings you have, or how you have enough hours in the day or how many hours of sleep you get :), here is my question: Do you come up with most of the designs yourself or do you see them somewhere and take it as a challenge? (Apart from designs like "Elmo" of course, since that's a commercial one). And one more because I'm curious: where did you get your sugar cookie recipe from? Family recipe? Your own tweaking? Cookbook?
That's all! :)
Trinity Truair
ReplyDeletetrinity936@hotmail.com
Favorite design is either the whales or the Elmo...if I have to choose one, I'd say Elmo, only because my youngest is obsessed and she likes looking at them, too!
Trinity Truair
ReplyDeletetrinity936@hotmail.com
How on earth do you get your hands to stay so steady!?
Jackie Larkin
ReplyDeletejlark7106@live.com
My favorite design so far has been the Mickey Mouse cookies you made for my Zachary's 1st birthday!!!!
Jackie Larkin
ReplyDeletejlark7106@live.com
Have you ever considered opening your own bakery?
Courtney Orth
ReplyDeletePAsweety99@aol.com
My favorite cookies were the ones you made for the girls not simply because of the desig, but the meaning they had to them. The success of a year with twins and all the things they learned...,as you celebrate one year...,the girls will soon be two.
Courtney Orth
ReplyDeletePAsweety99@aol.com
Have you thought about doing wedding cakes?
Brandi Budris
ReplyDeleteBrandi0517@hotmail.com
By far the Scrabble letters! I am a Scrabble fanatic and the only thing better than playing would be eating the letters after!
Brandi Budris
ReplyDeleteBrandi0517@hotmail.com
What is YOUR favorite cookie to eat?
Nicole Corson
ReplyDeleteAdamnicole0617@aol.com
Id have to say the hello kitty cookies/birthday cake for Makayla's birthday and the construction collection you did for Nickolas' 1st birthday. Both kids were thrilled with their special cookies and it was memorable to see their faces when they saw the cookies! Everyone ooo'd and aww'd over your creations! Thanks again for helping to make our special occassions even more special and of course YUMMY!
Nicole Corson
ReplyDeleteAdamnicole0617@aol.com
So since I always ask you random ?s I am now finding it difficult to come up with a ? Lol....how are you able to get the details so precise and perfect?! I am still finding a hard time believing you had never done construction vehicles prior to Nickolas' party because they were so darn cute and perfect!! You are extremely talented.
Amy Mattila
ReplyDeleteThemattila4@Gmail.com
My favorites, of course, were the girls 1st birthday cookies! They were a HUGE hit and so thoughtful of you! Hoping to make them a birthday tradition :)
Amy Mattila
ReplyDeleteThemattila4@Gmail.com
Have you ever thought about opening your own shop/bakery? Or doing cookie parties for kiddos? (I know, that's technically two!)
corcoran6033@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteKim Corcoran
This really is a hard choice cause you do so well on all of them it's hard to pick but I'll have to say my favorite cookies have to be the princess crowns from Mallory's birthday. Just seeing her face when she saw them made my day. Thanks again Katie
corcoran6033@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteKim Corcoran
How do you make the icing so perfect looking?
April Piccolo
ReplyDeletepiccolos@verizon.net
I have many favorites, but I really, really, love the barnyard animals. They all turned out so cute!
Leslie Blunkosky
ReplyDeletezoya.leslie@hotmail.com
I have two favorites...the Mickey Mouse cookies that you made for our sons first birthday party and the chocolate sugar valentines day cookies I ordered weeks after his bday party because I was going through withdrawl from your cookies lol :-)
Leslie Blunkosky
ReplyDeletezoya.leslie@hotmail.com
What was your favorite/challenging cookie you have done?
Chrissy Mickolay
ReplyDeletecmickolay@gmail.com
My favorite cookie was the Hello Kitty. My daughter would love that for her birthday!
Chrissy mickolay
ReplyDeletecmickolay@gmail.com
What was the hardest cookie you had to design?
Debbie Staffen
ReplyDeletescdls5@comcast.net
The popcorn is my favorite. Plus all the steps to complete - amazing!
Julie Soose
ReplyDeleteJuliesoose@verizon.net
Even though I ordered the Hello Kitty cookies, I think my favorite one is the artist''s palette and paintbrush that you just posted this week. What a cute idea!
Julie Soose
ReplyDeleteJuliesoose@verizon.net
I can't imagine shopping for all of those ingredients every week in addition to your family's regular groceries...how much flour, sugar, butter, eggs do you go through in a typical month and where do you keep it all?
Allison Freeman
ReplyDeleteallison.n.freeman@gmail.com
I don't know how to choose a favorite cookie design, but I'm going to go with the summer design with the flip-flops. My backup favorite were the Halloween cookies!
Erin Klimkowski
ReplyDeletelittlelovephoto@yahoo.com
Your designs are amazing! Can you draw too?
Sorry, of course my favorite cookie is the butterfly :)
DeleteAllison Freeman
ReplyDeleteallison.n.freeman@gmail.com
How many orders do you fill in a day, and how many hours do you have to work to fill the orders? AND how far in advance are you taking orders now?
Sarah Vierra
ReplyDeleteSarahvierra@hotmail.com
My favorite cookies were Addie's birthday cookies this year - I just said "princess theme" and you totally went to town and gave us about 6 different designs - all BEAUTIFUL and so thoughtful. I've never been disappointed in an order, and my husband swears by your cookies (and he's picky!).
Sarah Vierra
ReplyDeleteSarahVierra@hotmail.com
What was your favorite cookie to design?
Stephanie Brining
ReplyDeleteBrining@me.com
My favorite cookie you made was the popcorn buckets you made for my daughters bday party!
Stephanie Brining
ReplyDeleteBrining@me.com
What was your most challenging cookie design and how long did it take to decorate?
Tracy Freyvogel
ReplyDeleteTAFreyvogel@aol.com
Seriously ALL of them!! AMAZING work! So hard to choose just one but the Easter egg ones with the names on them, really jump out at me so I guess those would be my #1 :)
Tracy Freyvogel
ReplyDeleteTAFreyvogel@aol.com
How many hours a day do you spend cookie making and do you bake and decorate all at once or bake then decorate later when you have more time?
Claire Giblin
ReplyDeleteCMG75@pitt.edu
My favorite design is definitely your ice cream cone cookie. I LOVE the look of the double-scoops with the sprinkles/jimmies on top! Too cute!!
Claire Giblin
ReplyDeleteCMG75@pitt.edu
How do you juggle being a mom with baking and decorating so many cookies (on top of running your own business)?! I have a 4 month old and I can't imagine how crazy it must be to design and create them all!
When do you get all the baking and decorating done? I mean a toddler is a fulltime day job and you gotta sleep sometime...lol
ReplyDeleteKathy Davis
justme729@gmail.com
Kathy Davis
ReplyDeletejustme729@gmail.com
My favorite cookies are the daisies you did for Nicole-Shay's bridal shower last July. They were so cute, packaged beautifully and tasted yummy!!! Thank you, again!!!
Barb Pastor
ReplyDeleteBp1123@aol.com
My favorite would have to be the Easter cookies. The basket you made was so precise and had so many details to it. I can't imagine how long those took to make.
Barb pastor
ReplyDeleteBp1123@aol.com
How long did 1 of those basket cookies take?! Are there ever times where you actually get a break from making cookies?
Sarah Ogle
ReplyDeleteogle.sarahe@gmail.com
It's so hard to choose a favorite. I'd probably have to go with any of the baby shape cookies. The teddy bear is probably my favorite in that group. The flip flops are a close second, especially since I want warmer weather right now!
How do you manage to have any time to do this with Mia running around? I know that Mia is a great kid, but she's a "pre-toddler" which does require a lot of energy. ;)
ReplyDeleteAmelia Hanna
ReplyDeleteahanna5@mix.wvu.edu
My favorite cookie design would have to be a tie between the margaritas (YUM!) and the Mickey & Minnie Mouse cookies.
Amelia Hanna
ReplyDeleteahanna5@mix.wvu.edu
What was the most challenging order of cookies you've ever taken on?
I am in love with all of your cookie designs, but I think the Hello Kitty cookies are latest favorite.
ReplyDeleteJen Majcher (also cousins with your cuz, Sarah!)
sweet_pea926@hotmail.com
2nd entry:
ReplyDeleteAs a stay-at-home mom who also runs her own business, what do you do with Mia when you are making cookies? Especially as she gets older and her nap times must be getting shorter...
Jen Majcher
sweet_pea926@hotmail.com