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Cookie Swap - It's Pretty Sweet Cookie Book Cover Buy it! Cookie Book Cover Buy it!

"This really is the ULTIMATE cookie book. Whimsical, elegant, colorful, and creative!! What more could you ask for? You will not be disappointed.”

Colette Peters

Celebrity Cake Decorator; Owner, Colette's Cakes

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May 17, 2012 9:29am

Julia Usher baking in her home kitchen
Noshes and Notions

From My Where Women Cook Shoot :: Photo by Julia M. Usher


Mother’s Day Community Cookie Collection:
Join My Second Collection

Since Mother’s Day is just around the corner, I didn’t want to wait another whole month to launch my second Community Cookie Collection. So here you have it!

To the uninitiated, a Community Cookie Collection is a space that I’ve set up on my site to allow cookiers to share their work, for learning and inspiration. Though you can “like” entries in a collection just as you can on Facebook, it isn’t a contest - just a laid-back and convivial place for the amazingly talented community of cookiers to show off their stuff. I’ll still be doing my quarterly Pinterest contest, complete with prizes; this is simply another way to connect and share in the meantime. Expect a new collection here about once a month.

This collection’s theme is Mother’s Day - natch. Let’s see what you’ve got!

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Jumble of Julia's Jewelry :: Photo by Julia M. Usher


Celebrating the Everyday:
A Study in Repurposing, and Taking Time to Breathe

OK, so this feature isn’t my usual special party, but it is a celebration in its own right - of the smaller things in life that we (or at least, I) too often take for granted. After a whirlwind winter of event-hopping to promote my latest book, I finally returned home earlier this month. My first obsessive-compulsive impulse upon “landing” was to tend to the many home projects that have been calling out for attention for months - like taming the dust bunnies bouncing in every corner and the honeysuckle that’s choking my backyard. Alas, I couldn’t muster the strength. My next impulse was to start my equally large number of neglected work projects - instructional videos, assorted TV pitches, a new book proposal . . . the list goes on. Yet again, no taste for this stuff. I waffled for a while with no sense of purpose. Then I did what I rarely do . . .

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My Papel Picado and Medallion Cookies :: Photo by Julia M. Usher


Cinco de Mayo Community Cookie Collection:
Share Your Work and Eat Up Inspiration

NEW! More cookie fun! Because there’s so much inspiration and learning to be gleaned from others on the Internet, I wanted to create a space for friends, followers, and fans to share their cookie decorating work. Though you can “like” entries here just as you can on Facebook, this isn’t a contest - just a laid-back and convivial place for the amazingly talented community of cookiers to show off their stuff.

I’ve been messing around with Linky Tools, the platform for this forum, for some time, and love it! But preparations for my book tour have prevented me from giving it an official trial until now. If you’re the more competitive sort, no worries. I still plan to run my Pinterest contests on a quarterly basis. (Stay tuned for my summer bridal-themed one.) But in between contests, roughly each month, I’ll be creating new cookie collections like this one…

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Chat with Julia News From Julia's Kitchen
  • Julia’s new book Ultimate Cookies, a collection of cookie art projects, has hit bookstores nationwide. Take a bigger look at the sneak preview (below), view her new book trailer, courtesy of Visual Quill, or purchase now! decorated sugar cookies, cookie place cards, royal icing, cookie decorating
  • Julia is elated! Her favorite supplier, fancyflours.com, is sponsoring her book tour. They’re also supplying cookie cutters and kits to go with the book! View them here. fancy flours, cookie decorating supplies, Julia M Usher
  • Click here for info about Julia’s book tour. And here to download her “Book Tours of the Digital Age” presentation, which she delivered at the IACP Annual Conference earlier this year.
  • Did you know Julia has a spiffy new newsletter? View the latest issue with expanded cookie decorating tutorials.