Keep yer chin up!

I was at the Portland Farmer's market a few weeks ago and noticed "keep yer chin up" carved into a bench. It was perfect; just what I needed to read- like when John Lennon attended Yoko's art exhibit for the first time and climbed a ladder to read "yes" written on the ceiling. A sparkle of positivity. A moment of encouragement.

Since then, I've had 5 orders come in for From Scratch and Sniff. Despite the fact that I can't seem to catch a break with these festivals and outdoor markets, I'm making some really great friends up here who are incredibly supportive and seem to really enjoy my baking. I also had my first out-of-state order which was pretty exciting (thanks Jane!) :)

Sometimes I'm down on myself for not having had the foresight to attend cooking school instead of going to college, but really I couldn't have known at that point that this is what I want to do. I think I've got enough raw talent and the smarts to figure out what I don't know to make it though. Only time will tell!

My most recent project was hand-painted sugar cookies. It was a tedious task, but, oh man did I love it! I created soccer themed cookies for one order and scuba themed cookies for another. I'm not as happy with the cookies done in color- perhaps it's the dye I used in the icing (Wilton Icing Colors) instead of plain old food coloring. I'll have to experiment. I just wasn't happy with how dull the colors came out. I was very happy with the ones done in black, however and I'm pretty sure I've got another order for soccer cookies coming up soon!



This weekend I have 2 orders to prepare: a lemony cheesecake with raspberry sauce and oreo truffles and a cookie plate. Sadly the festival I work for is starting this weekend and I'll be working 90 hour weeks for the next 6 weeks leaving little time for baking. I'm planning to have a cookie/dessert tasting party in late August, though. I'm going to bake samples of all of the products I currently offer and have people come (and encourage them to bring people!) and do taste testings and allow them to give me some feedback. I'm also going to have order forms available and discounts on orders placed right there. I'm hoping it will help to get my name out there a bit more. My biggest task at the moment is to create a damn logo so I can start cranking out some business cards!