Puzzle Hearts - Guest Post by The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle

Happy

World Autism Awareness Day.

 

Our first Guest Poster,

is

Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

 

Take it away Callye.

******************************************************* 

Hi, my name is Callye Alvarado.  Most of time you can find me over in my little corner of the world wide web, but today is a special day.  I'm here visiting Kim's place as the first guest poster of The Cookie Puzzle's month of Blogging for Autism Awareness.  You have no idea the pressure that comes with being first!

When Kim asked me to do an autism awareness post, I said yes without a second thought.  But when I sat down to actually type something, I kind of had a freak out.  Turns out, I didn't know much about autism at all.  My personal experience was limited to things learned from close friends living with children who have the disorder.  

My little freak out led me to the realization that this is the reason we have an Autism Awareness month...so that people like me, with limited knowledge of the disorder, can learn more about it.  On that note, here's a few autism facts for ya.

• Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.
• Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
• Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases
• Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism

 Heavy stuff, huh?


Anywho, in honor of Autism Awareness Month I made cookies which were inspired by clip art. With these simple instructions you can too.

  

 I used a puzzle shaped sandwich cutter and a simple heart to make these cookies.

Begin by mixing up a batch of your favorite sugar cookies. Cut out simple heart cookies and use the puzzle cutter to make a light impression on the heart cookie.  This technique is a simple way to accurately pipe a design without the use of stencils or projectors.

Altenatively, if you don't have a sandwich cutter, a simple puzzle piece cutter will work just as well.

 

See?  It's like coloring.  All you have to do is stay in the lines.

Outline and fill the cookies as shown below.  To prevent the colors from running together, be sure to work in alternating sections, allowing each to partially dry before moving on.

If you went with a puzzle piece cutter the filling process will go something like this.

Let the cookies dry completely and you've got simple yet striking cookies that with a particularly poignant message.

I've always had a special place in my heart for autistic children.  Maybe it's because I don't see them as different or as having a disorder.  Just people...with unique personalities and quirks like just like the next guy.  You've just gotta take a little time to get to know them.

Anywho, I tend to ramble, so I'll stop here.  I would like to encourage you, however, to read Collin's Story {Kim's son} and check out the previous Autism Awareness project I worked on with my friend Mique, of Thirty Handmade Days, who is also the proud momma of an autistic son.

Thank you again, Kim, for inviting me to be a part of something so dear to your heart.