Geez, I’ve done a lot for Spring in the past few years. Which is funny since I much prefer Winter. I know, I know, I’m the lone person out there for whom this is true. But snow is so dang pretty, I never tire of it. Just wish we actually got some this year. And I’m the type who doesn’t want the cold to end, I want to wear sweatshirts and sit in front of a fire. And the world is just quieter in winter, and gosh I like the quiet. And… enough longing for Winter. I need to psych myself up for Spring. Above are vegetable garden cookies. Ha, as if I actually “garden.”  As always, you’ll find everything seasonal in the Seasonal button up there, but below I’m linking to a few of my favorites.

I noticed a few themes in the collection. Each one is pretty predictable.

Cherry blossoms, of course, since I live in Washington DC and all. Cherry blossom cookies, painted cookies in cones, cherry blossom marshmallows, painted cherry blossom cookies.

Birds!   Bluebird brownie pops, poured sugar birdie cookies, painted birdhouse cookies, chicken (or hen?) cake pops.

Bugs! Bug marshmallow pops, butterfly cookies, bug topper printable on Oreo Cakester petits fours, bug cookies, easy Starburst dragonfly toppers, fondant bugs.

And of course, flowers.  Felt flower cupcake toppers, gerbera daisy cookie pops, carnation cookie pops, bite-size daisy cookies, how to make a flower cookie arrangement, springtime marshmallows.

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Shown above are, clockwise: Unicorn cookie pops (not shown are the rainbow cake and cupcakes), rainbow cookie bites, unmacaron “macaron” cookie pops, sparkly swirly cookie pops, rainbow pound cake, rainbow daisy marshmallow pops, rainbow cookie push pops, sparkly rainbow marshmallow kebobs, and easy candy lollies.

In light of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d devote a little of my time to rainbows. Hmmm. As my 5-year old is not-quite-as-obsessed-as-when-she-was-4-but-still-pretty-obsessed over rainbows, I devote a lot of my time to them. I know it’s hardly novel for a little girl to love rainbows, but I love that she loves rainbows. I sure did as a kid. I remember one of my first science fair projects in elementary school was all about the rainbow.

I share Kermit’s wondering, “Why are there so many songs about rainbows?” Because rainbows are beauty and magic and mystery. And I hear unicorns ride them. And they lead to wealth. Yes, Kermie, some day we’ll find it. That rainbow connection. We’ll get there. Holy hormones, I’m totally going to cry now.

Your first stop on the rainbow tour has to be this Virtual Baby Shower thrown for Violet by 17 crazy-talented bloggers. The theme: Rainbows. Because much as the rainbow leads to a pot o’ gold (I had to), this will lead you to 17 sweet rainbow ideas.

More must-see rainbow awesomeness:

Easy, bright ‘n beautiful, rainbow wrapped marshmallows by Smart School House.

A big, crazy tower of mini rainbow cupcakes by Hoosier Homemade.

Now and forever one of my all-time faves: Rainbow cake pops by Munchkin Munchies.

Simple and pretty rainbow-topped cupcakes from Meet the Dubiens.

How smart is this? Rainbow sugar cookie bark from Mom on Time Out.

Speaking of smart, rainbow frosting cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes. And with a cherry on top.

Oh fudge, this one has to be in the list. Rainbow paddle pop fudge by Raspberri Cupcakes.

JellO may hold the secret to rainbows. JellO rainbow cookies by I heart Nap Time.

These are two of my favorite things: Rainbow ice cream by Random Thoughts of a SUPERmom!.

Speaking of two of my favorite things: Rainbow chocolate chip cookies by In Katrina’s Kitchen.

I recall being wowwed by these slice and bake rainbow cookies at Good Life Eats ages ago.

I’m a sucker for pudding. How about some rainbow pudding at MAKE.

A good reason to pull out my Babycakes donut maker: Rainbow donuts by Chickabug.

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You know the drill. In my part-laziness, part-actual-exhaustion-from-life thing I am capitalizing on the wealth of stuff in my archives to get me through seasons. No, I mean, I’m sharing these things for all you folks new to my blog. Yeah. It’s total consideration for the new folks. Let’s go with that.

Above are little lamb cookies, now in 3D! As always, find everything seasonal up in that Seasonal button, but below you’ll find links to a few that I especially like.

BUNNIES! Lots o’ bunnies. Some peeking bunny cookies, fuzzy bunny tail cookie pops, easy Peeps cupcakes, raining jellybean marshmallows, super easy bunny candy pops, and bunnies and a silly chick.

This was a roundup of Easter egg decorating ideas I did for Reader’s Digest. It was a few years ago, and still one of my favorites.

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Homemade sprinkles are certainly not an innovation of this blog. I’ve seen tons all over the web. If memory serves correctly (and I’m lucky my memory is recorded over at my other gig),  these rainbow sprinkles from Brave Tart were my first introduction to the DIY sprinkle.

I had some leftover bags of red, pink and white icing (I use my royal icing HERE). So I just fitted the bags of icing with size “3″ decorating tips, lined a baking tray with parchment paper, piped a whole bunch of mini hearts, and let them dry at room temperature overnight. That’s it. Homemade heart sprinkles.

Sprinkle these over ice cream, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, whatever. I dabbed a bit of light corn syrup on the back and stuck one on a marshmallow.

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I think if I actually did celebrate Valentine’s Day in real life, this would be my speed. I’d have to throw some sort of joke in after the “we go together like…” sentiment. Sheesh, my husband sure is one lucky man.

Oh yeah, by the way… for way more than you wanted to know about food coloring pens, edible writers, whatever you want to call them, and how to draw on marshmallows, click HERE.

Some more pairs:

needle and thread

leg warmers and aerobics

peanut butter and jelly

tissues and sleeves

salt and pepper

guitar and pick

Eiffel Tower and Fifi

birds and bees

coffee and donuts

pig tails and ink

puddles and boots

geeks and Star Trek

typewriters and White-Out

Mikey and Life

white wine and motherhood

Mr. Rogers and sweaters

Can you think of any more?

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Feel free to share (nicely)! While my blog's photographs and text are protected by copyright, I do allow (and encourage) you to share ONE photograph with credit to "the decorated cookie" and link to this blog post. PLEASE don't reprint any part of the blog post and PLEASE don't post a photo without credit. Thank you!