I made these cookies for my niece Haleigh, she is four today.  Our birthdays are only two days apart.  Sharing a birthday in the best month of the year is not the only thing we have in common.  We both love pink and purple, dresses, and mermaids, of course.  In December 2013 and January of this year, I made a few trips back to Minnesota for family.  While I was back, I had the opportunity to share my love for cookie making with Haleigh and her brother, Wesley.  Oh man, did those kids love making cookies.  Every time I see them now they ask, "when we are going to make cookies again?" Here are some pictures of Haleigh and I making cookies.  The first set is from December.  We used royal icing in piping bags.  I use bottles, to decorate all my cookies, so there was a learning curve for everyone that night.  Haleigh and Wesley loved that the icing turned their tongues different colors.  Haleigh was very confident in cookie decorating.  I had barely showed her how to use the piping bag and she was saying "I can do now."  Haleigh was very proud of her cookies.

This second set of pictures is from when we decorated cookies in January.  This time we just used canned frosting from the store, but the kids still had fun.  Can I just say, I wish I could stick my hand in the sprinkles like Haleigh did here.  I love the frosting on her nose in the first picture.  These are some of my favorite memories of hanging out with her.

Now let's get to these cookies.  The mermaid cookie cutter is from here.  The plaque with the crab is from the same place as the mermaid, but here is the link to it,  it's the smallest sized one.  The sea horse I just snatched up on Ebay.  I included a picture of the cookie cutter.  I tried to find another one online without any luck.  The designs for the mermaid, crab, and sea horse all came from my own drawings.  Here are what my drawings looked like.  Based off my paper drawings, I transferred the drawings to the cookies with a food coloring pen.  This is the color scheme I picked for the cookies.  I wanted a color scheme that had light yellow because I wanted the mermaid to look like Haleigh.  I added in red for the crab.  To give the mermaid her rosy checks, I used some pink luster dust.  The flower accent in the mermaid's hair is from Wilton's.  I found them at my local grocery store.

I didn't have a scalloped sea shell cookie cutter.  I just used a scalloped circle and cut off the sides.  I piped and flooded the cookies.  While the icing was still wet, I sprinkled some disco dust on.  Once that layer was dry, I piped a contrasting color on top, my first attempt was not perfect (the green shell in the front.)

I used the same number "4" cookie cutter I used to create these cookies.  I piped and flooded the cookies and let them dry completely.  To create the scaled look I used this stencil.  Once the stenciled icing had dried, I brushed on some luster dust.   

I hope that Haleigh has a wonderful birthday and enjoys her cookies!