Tidbits

A Brush with Celebrity

Posted by Anne Yorks on Sunday, February 26, 2012

If my cookies had elbows, they'd be rubbing them with celebrities. Here's the full story...

A few weeks ago I got the sweetest email from a gal named Jo. She wanted some cookies and she lived in England. I have shipped cookies to Spain and Australia before, but international shipping is super expensive. I did a little research and found an estimate and sweet Jo wanted special cookies so much that she was willing to pay for the shipping. 

So then the pressure was on. I mean, seriously, these were going to be some expensive cookies with the shipping. I really wanted them to be perfect and special and arrive in one piece.

Jo asked for 2 dozen cookies: 1 dozen teacups and teapots (which I featured yesterday on my blog) and 1 dozen British themed cookies. She said, "Surprise me with the British cookies...anything you want to do." Yikes...double the pressure (IMO). Then she told me she is the costume designer for a British TV show called Shameless (there is also an American version of Shameless on Showtime, starring William H. Macy). Whoa. Super Cool. So now I have a super special order from a cool British chick that works on a tv set. My little self got pretty excited!


Here is the full set of the cookies that made the final cut. A Big Ben cookie, a Beatles cookie, a soccer ball and spikes, a royal crown, a London Bridge passport stamp, Union Jack on a heart, a classic red phone booth, a Shameless logo cookie, a book of Shakespeare, and four of bite-sized cookies with classic British sayings.



I went back and forth over whether to include Harry Potter or Shakespeare. In the end, I went with Shakespeare...I was most nervous about this cookie, but I think it might be my favorite of the set.
 


Jo shared her Beatles cookie with Tina Malone who plays Mimi in Shameless. Tina is from Liverpool & loves John Lennon and loved her cookie.



I did make the Shameless logo into a cookie...here it is with David Threlfall, who plays Frank, the main character of the show. I think that is pretty cool. But my favorite photo is this one...



This is Jo (left) and her co-workers. How cute...posing with the teacups! When I was a little girl, my sister and I had penpals in Australia. It was so cool corresponding with someone from far away. This was very much the same. To find someone else that loves cookies just as much as I do is pretty cool. I loved being in touch with Jo and making these cookies. It was just so much fun.

Toph and I are planning on checking out the UK version of Shameless. We found it online here. If you also plan to check it out, just be aware it is not G rated, so put the kids to bed before turning it on.

Here are a few more close-ups of the other cookies...



I wanted to do a British flag, but instead of a boring rectangle, I put the design on a heart. The cookie on the right is the London Bridge passport stamp (similar to the stamp I did with my Paris collection for Valentine's Day).



My brother is a fan of Dr. Who and suggested I make Tardis, his time traveling phone booth. I preferred the classic red booth. Plus, Tardis is a deep blue and that would make for blue tongues. 


A little nod to the passion for football, which I know as soccer. I did learn that the UK's national sport is not football. Can you guess what it is? Cricket!! 


Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is generally extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. The clock tower holds the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and is the third-tallest free-standing clock tower. 

Can you translate the following British sayings?


Bee's Knees = Excellent, highest quality
Pip Pip Cheerio = a friendly way of saying goodbye 
Tickety-boo = all in order
Cock-a-hoop = in very high spirits; elated; exultant

These make me smile. I was most curious about "tickey-boo". I asked Jo if that was something only the cool kids said.  

Here is Jo's response:

"As for tickety-boo, the cool kids, definitely, would never use it as its more 'Agatha Christie' than MTV, however imagine my delight when my travel agent confirmed an order with me today saying 'so its all tickety-boo'......brilliant."

All in all, this was such a fun order to make and ship. A sincere thanks to Jo for ordering cookies and sending me those great photos! This is definitely one of those orders I won't forget anytime soon.

Have a very sweet week,

Anne