Did I mention that I just finished up a top secret project?  Shhhh.. It’s true!

And I’m not here to tell you about it or show it to you.  Totally top secret.  Instead, I will share this random collection of bird-themed cookies I just made to celebrate the seemingly miraculous advent of Spring. Yes, spring in the North Country happens in May.  And by happens, I mean, the temperature is consistently above freezing and it’s even been this thing I’ve heard of called…warm?  And sunny, and dry.  A miracle and I’ll take it.

I made a birdhouse, and a couple of birds. Both birds kind of go with the birdhouse, but not with each other unfortunately.  So, you’ll see we have a couple of different birdy vibes happening, some more realistic than others.

But first, the birdhouse.  I love this and it turned out much better than I expected.

The main thing you are wondering about, based on previous comments alone, is the finish. The carefully hand painted  (or was it etched?!?) crackle paint finish.

Hahahahahahahahahaha!  Guys! It is so much better than that.  Why? Because it was a stamp.  Like, a rubber stamp.  Seriously, the fastest, easiest, coolest cookie finish.  And it took me three minutes.  I LOVE IT!

I was inspired by a gorgeous Easter set by Baked on Briar that I loved, so I went looking for a crackle stamp, and found this one instead.  Even better for what I had planned! And while I wasn’t ready to break the bank with stamps….let’s just say that when you go looking for a stamp like this, you will find more options than you ever dreamed of.    Here is the one I used:

And just in case I haven’t dispelled enough of the cookie magic, let me just also say that the scrollwork perch is a fondant mold.  I didn’t pipe that.  Though now I want to try.

I made one bird cookie where I went for realistic, with the painting help from a fabulous tutorial from Honeycat Cookies (like this, but you know, ten times better!!) I came up with this guy:

And last but not least, I have a kind of epic silver dragee collection going now, largely thanks to How Sweet is That, so I was also inspired to make this super realistic, super safe to eat bird!

By the time I finished all these cookies, they were minimally edible, so I let my brother eat them.  He assured me that it was fine that I stuck them in this tree for photos.  In case you were worried.

So there you go! Spring is here!  Blessing on all!!!