11/16/2025
In collaboration with Fixxology, who donated the cookies, I was able to help add the logo for East Idaho's first Giving Machine ribbon cutting ceremony this morning. ✨️ I was delighted to be asked and to use my time and talents towards such a worthy event. It's a busy time of year so, like you, I have to be selective. First round of 500 cookies looked beautiful until 20 minutes after being finished packaging I noticed the ink "bleeding" 😖 I immediately unpacked them ALL and started to trouble shoot the problem. Since I specialize in royal icing cookies I knew that the buttercream recipe could be the cause but I did several test prints /packaging a couple weeks beforeband all went well. What was the deal? All that time, money and materials.... wasted! Ugh!! I wanted to cry. I was already going on little sleep, had a FULL day coming up and a custom order I needed to start on. I was soooo frustrated but one thing my mom taught me is when things go wrong you can cry and complain or you can get back to work and figure it out.
We each have the ability to be incredible problem solvers (and that gives me much less of a headache) so I got started on what I could. Scraping the icing tops off, individually smoothing each one, then round 2 of printing, drying, dusting, and finally packaging. With zero minutes to spare, they arrived to be enjoyed with no idea the trouble those little buggers caused. Haha! My best guess is that my house was warmer and/or the butter ratio was higher than when I did the trial run. There was still bleeding with round 2 but it was minimal and when all is said and done..... it's a cookie.
Special thanks to my siblings who show up again and again with just a text or early morning phone call. So grateful for my people! I am even thankful for challenges and trials that teach us life lessons, build our character, and help us be more resilient for the next time! ❤️
The Giving Machines will be at corporate offices in Chubbuck for 2 weeks. It's a terrific way to kickoff the holiday season! Take your kids and the opportunity to be a part of something truly special and unforgettable ✨️ Who knows, maybe there will be cookies.😉