The Cookie Puzzle: April 2015

Apr 28, 2015

Party in Your PJs #53

Welcome to Party in Your PJs!

Guess what? Our party is now one year old! On May 1st 2014, my best friend Melissa from Simply Sweets by Honeybee and I launched this party. Months later, we added Bree, from bumblebreeblog.
While we are not the biggest party out there, we do have a small loyal following, and I appreciate each and everyone of you!

The party has seen some changes, we moved days. We changed how we share your links. We just opened up a group board on Pinterest for YOU to add your links to. I am not sure what the future holds for the party, but I hope it continues for years to come.

I never dreamed the amount of work that hosting a party would require when I started this journey. I still have figured out the secret formula to GROW the party. I know many will say to not let numbers bother you, to not compare yourself to others, but dang, I am human, and I want to be successful.

So....my question to you is....

HOW DO I GROW THIS LINK PARTY?

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GAIN MORE LINKS?

WHAT MAKE YOU WANT TO JOIN A LINK PARTY?

Help me out a little, please! The bottom line is, if I can grow this party, YOU benefit from it also, as more people will see your links. It is kinda like a catch 22, you have to host a big party for people to want to join, but how do you get to be a big party if people will not join.

Last week, I spent time sharing almost every link that joined on Facebook, Twitter and G+. I also spent a LOT of time visiting new to me blogs, reading posts, commenting, and inviting them to join our little party, to those who are new to us, WELCOME! You have no idea how much you joining us means to me! I hope you continue to join us.

Ok...enough of all this stuff....LET'S PARTY!

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

bumblebreeblog |Facebook | Pinterest

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Link Party on Pinterest.

The rules for the group board include:

1. Limit of one pin a day.

2. Just like the party anything goes, but clear wonderful pictures with great descriptions are most successful.

3. Please no Spam ( Spammers will be deleted without warning)
4. If you pin to the Pinterest Board, please link to the Party in Your PJs Party also, the party runs from 7 pm Tuesdays-Midnight Saturday (Central Time)

5. Finally have fun and share this group board with blog friends and followers! The more success the group board is the more success you will see from your pins.

Want to be added to the group board? Follow our Party in Your PJs board and comment on this post with your Pinterest name or email Bree at bumblebreeblog@gmail.com or Kim at thecookiepuzzle@gmail.com

Features from Last Weeks Party!

Bisquick Chocolate Cinnamon Greek Yogurt Banana Coffee Cake

Bisquick Chocolate Cinnamon Coffee Cake | The Baking Chocolatess

Lemon Pound Cake | Makin' it Mo' Betta

DIY Chalkboard with Art Buckets| Curly Crafty Mom

How to Make Easy Faux Wood Crates from Cardboard Boxes by Crafty Journal

Easy Faux Wood Crate | Crafty Journal

Make sure you head over to bumblebreeblog to see her features, we each pick our own features.

All links are pinned to a Party Board...you can follow the board on Pinterest...feel free to follow the board, there is lots of inspiration to be found there.

Ok...let's party!

Rules
-Link to post, not your home page
-Link to something YOU made
-No Etsy or Business Pages
-Link Parties, Roundups and Giveaways welcome
- Don't Link and Run! Please visit other links, make friends, learn something new, leave a comment, we all love comments
-If you were featured, grab a"Featured" button, found in the right side bar
-Consider adding our Party button to your Party Page or Post (button found on right side bar)

An InLinkz Link-up

Apr 27, 2015

Homemade Dog Treats

Are you a dog owner? Do you spoil your dog like I do? If so, you HAVE to try this recipe!

Making homemade dog treats for my boys has been on my baking bucket list for a long time. They mean the world to me, and I want to spoil them. Lupin and Tyson have seen me bake cookies for a long time, they are always by my side, waiting for something to fall on the floor for them to snatch up. Unfortunately, they are not allowed in my cookie room while I am mixing, rolling and decorating cookies. It is so sad seeing their little faces pressed up to the glass door, wanting to come see mommy.

Well, they have to wait and beg no more!

Last week, while I as visiting and linking up to link parties, I came across a post from Dancing Dog Cabin that was titled "Do Your Dogs Love Peanut Butter?" I immediately, clicked on the link and as amazed at what I saw!

First off, her post is filled with the cutest pictures of her fur babies, I just wanted to reach through the screen and give them a pat. But, what really caught my eye, was her recipe for homemade dog treats.

The recipe was simple, using ingredients that I had on hand, mixed up quick and most importantly, used peanut butter, which Lupin and Tyson LOVE!

If you love your fur babies as I do, I encourage you to give these treats a try.

My boys LOVED them...almost too much! I made them on Saturday, and I had to hid them, because they would not stop begging for them.

Melissa was able to get amazing pictures of her fur babies with the treats...my boys...not so much...I managed ONE picture, and it is not so good, but I thought I would share with you anyway!

Here is my boy Lupin getting a treat, with his little brother Tyson, waiting his turn...not the best picture, but you get the idea.

Now, normally, I share recipes that I try here, on my blog, but I followed Melissa's recipe exactly, and I will send you to her blog to get the recipe. To make these for your babies, and see amazing pictures of her babies, being oh so cute...click HERE!

Make sure you come back later in the week, maybe even tomorrow, because, I used Melissa's recipe, and took it a step further, and my dogs were in amazed (at least I hope they were amazed) at what I did.

Apr 21, 2015

Party in Your PJs #52

Welcome back to Party in Your PJs. We are so happy to have you back. Make sure you take the time to read about the party updates....changes have happened!

************ Party Updates.....Please Read****************

We think we have a way that you can get more exposure for your wonderful projects. We have decided to open the Party in Your PJs Pinterest board to all you wonderful bloggers as a group board. Now, instead of us pinning your pins to our board once a week, you can now pin your posts to our group board, at whatever time is most successful for your blog. This way you can utilize the reach and exposure of your wonderful content.. We will still be sharing party features through our social media and are looking into even more ways to highlight our party features and show them off to our followers. So stay tuned for even more way the Party in Your PJs link party rocks.

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

bumblebreeblog |Facebook | Pinterest

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Link Party on Pinterest.

The rules for the group board include:

1. Limit of one pin a day.

2. Just like the party anything goes, but clear wonderful pictures with great descriptions are most successful.

5. Finally have fun and share this group board with blog friends and followers! The more success the group board is the more success you will see from your pins.

Want to be added to the group board? Follow our Party in Your PJs board and comment on this post with your Pinterest name or email Bree at bumblebreeblog@gmail.com or Kim at thecookiepuzzle@gmail.com

Features from Last Weeks Party!

Spring is in the Air Cookies | Simply Sweets by Honeybee

Herb Container Garden | Farmhouse 40

Earbud Zipper Pouch| Our Secondhand House

DIY Wine Cork Hot Pads - very easy and inexpensive project. All you need is wine corks and metal hardware clamps and a bit of hot glue.

DIY Wine Cork Hot Pads | 2 Bees in a Pod

Make sure you head over to bumblebreeblog to see her features, we each pick our own features.

All links are pinned to a Party Board...you can follow the board on Pinterest...feel free to follow the board, there is lots of inspiration to be found there.

An InLinkz Link-up

Apr 14, 2015

Party in Your PJs #51

Welcome back to Party in Your PJs.

************ Party Updates.....Please Read****************

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

bumblebreeblog |Facebook | Pinterest

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Link Party on Pinterest.

The rules for the group board include:

1. Limit of one pin a day.

2. Just like the party anything goes, but clear wonderful pictures with great descriptions are most successful.

5. Finally have fun and share this group board with blog friends and followers! The more success the group board is the more success you will see from your pins.

Want to be added to the group board? Follow our Party in Your PJs board and comment on this post with your Pinterest name or email Bree at bumblebreeblog@gmail.com or Kim at thecookiepuzzle@gmail.com

Features from Last Weeks Party!

World's Best Pizza Buns | A Cowboy's Life

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas | Crafty Allie

Bird Nest Paperweight Note Holder| Hoopla Palooza

Stylish Baking Soda Dispensers | City of Creative Dreams

Make sure you head over to bumblebreeblog to see her features, we each pick our own features.

All links are pinned to a Party Board...you can follow the board on Pinterest...feel free to follow the board, there is lots of inspiration to be found there.

An InLinkz Link-up

Apr 13, 2015

Autism Awareness Chocolate Covered Oreos

April is Autism Awareness month, and I wanted a quick and fun treat to make to share with friends and family. I have wanted to make chocolate covered Oreos for a long time, but never got around to it. When my friend Heather from Twins Plus One Goodies shared a picture of the mold she just got, I knew I HAD to make some!

Aren't they stunning? The mold came from Spinning Leaf and the quality of their molds are amazing. While I have never made chocolate covered Oreos using a mold, I have dipped them before and used other chocolate molds make by other companies. The molds, from Spinning Leaf are the BEST. They are sturdy and strong and the details are the best. The mold I used for this project is their Autism Awareness Sandwich Cookie Mold, and I could not be happier with how they came out!

Since I have never made these before, I followed the tutorial found on their website. It was simple and clear and they offered many tips to get clean and professional looking molded sandwich cookies. You can find their tutorial HERE.

Since this was my first time ordering from this company, I only ordered two molds, the Autism Awareness Mold and the Standard Mini Sandwich Mold, which I have not had a chance to use yet.

If you have been wanting to try Chocolate Covered Sandwich Cookies using a mold, I highly recommend ordering from Spinning leaf, their molds are the best I have ever worked with.

These cookies were easy to make and I love the way they turned out. Collin loved them and I will be making them again soon. I can not wait to order more of these molds and try more designs. Spinning Leaf offers a wide variety of designs and products, standard size, mini size, chocolate molds and truffle molds. I am not sure what I will be ordering next, but I will be sure to share with you soon.

*While this post includes links to Spinning Leaf, I was not compensated for this review, I simply love their products.*

Apr 7, 2015

Party in Your PJs #50

Welcome back to Party in Your PJs.

Welcome to the party! It has been raining here all day, so I am feeling a little gloomy. Do you get like that when you have rain for several days. I think I would enjoy it, if I could stay home, and bake or read a good book, but I have a full-time job that requires me to get out of my PJ, drive to an office and act like an adult!

Bree and I have been talking about making some changes to the party. We are not sure what we will be doing or when it will happen. We are trying to figure out new ways to make the party not only fun but inviting to bloggers. What is it about a party that entices you to join it? Do you you like BIG parties? Small parties? Do you like the host to share via social media? What social media do you prefer? What type of party goer are you? Do you link and run? Or do you hop around and visit other blogs?

Speaking of the last question...this is something that I struggle with, as a link party goer. I like to join as many parties as I can each week, but will confess that I am not always good at visiting other blogs at the party. Sadly, I think this is happening to many of us bloggers. We want to link to many blogs parties but don't have the time to visit other blogs. THIS MY FRIENDS IS A PROBLEM!!! See, for a blogger, we join link parties to get exposure, to gain a loyal following, but if we are not visiting each other, we don't get that. If we are not benefiting from joining parties, we stop joining. See the problem? I challenge each one of you to visit at least ONE OTHER blog that has linked up to this party for each link you add. I am not going to go a crazy and demand it, but, lets spread a little love around shall we.

As the host of this link party, I see just how many views this party gets, how many links it gets and more importantly how many clicks it gets. Clicks mean how many times the links were clicked on, or how many blogs were visited. I will not share that number, because, well....it is sad...and I don't like to be sad....so make me happy this week...click around....make friends....learn something new.

It really is the Golden Rule...Do unto others, as you would have done unto you!

Want people to visit your blog from a link party.....VISIT OTHER BLOGS!

(what is even more sad....is that many party guests will not even take the time to read the party intro...so...lets see who read all of the intro....if you read it.....leave a comment telling me the name of your favorite movie of all time...the movie that you have watch a million times...and watch every time it is on TV....my movie......Forrest Gump)

Now...enough of this busy stuff....onto the party!

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

bumblebreeblog |Facebook | Pinterest

Features from Last Weeks Party!

19 DIY Farmhouse Coffee Tables | Anything & Everything

Upcycled cassette tape holder into a great storage piece for paint

Upcycled Cassette Tape Holder Paint Storage | Casa Watkins

Creamy Fruit Brunch Crescents| Yesterfood

Best Ever Macaroni Salad | Making it in the Mountains

Make sure you head over to bumblebreeblog to see her features, we each pick our own features.

All links are pinned to a Party Board...you can follow the board on Pinterest...feel free to follow the board, there is lots of inspiration to be found there.

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Link Party on Pinterest.

Ok...let's party!

Rules
-Link to post, not your home page
-Link to something YOU made
-No Etsy or Business Pages
-Link Parties, Roundups and Giveaways welcome
- Don't Link and Run! Please visit other links, make friends, learn something new, leave a comment, we all love comments
-If you were featured, grab a"Featured" button, found in the right side bar
-Consider adding our Party button to your Party Page or Post (button found on right side bar)

An InLinkz Link-up

Grab My Buttons

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com/" title="The Cookie Puzzle" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.melanieannecreative.com/images/thecookiepuzzle/button-featured.png" alt="The Cookie Puzzle" style="border:none;" /></a></div>