Sugar Cookie Dolls gets a new focus

By 2005, My little cottage industry was going pretty good. I felt so happy to have finally found something I loved to do and I could actually make a little money doing it. I was selling at a few craft shows, sold to a few stores and I had finally gotten a website. An article on my business was featured in THE STATE newspaper, then, in a local magazine, then my business was featured on an "In your town" on WACH Fox57 news. People just seem to like the story behind my business.

In the summer of 2005, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Was I shocked?...not really. I had mentally prepared myself as a safety precaution, just in case. My main concern, at that point, was making sure that my little girls wouldn't worry about it - I knew I would have to keep everything as normal as possible. It was especially bad timing because I had just had to explain to them the week before my diagnoses, that my aunt (that we were close to) was going to die - because she had cancer.

From the moment I found out, I wanted to tell everyone I know to get a mammogram. I started making pink ribbom fairies and attaching pink ribbons to dolls that I had already made. That experience gave my creations a new focus. I knew I couldn't remind everyone to get a mammogram, but having a pink ribbon on something I made just made me feel like I was at least helping a little bit. I donate $5.00 to the Susan G. Komen for the cure organization when someone purchases a pink ribbon item from my website.

Get a mammogram... it will save your life!
Have a great day! *Toni Kelly*happy girl!!!

The story behind Sugar Cookie Dolls

It all started in 2002. I was a busy stay at home mom with two little girl's, just desperately needing some "me-time". So, I struck up a friendship with a glue gun and * Bah-dah- boom...Bah-dah Bing!... A Fairey Was Born!





Sadly, my grandmother passed away right around this time. As I was helping my mom clean out my grandmother's closet, I had an "Ah-Ha!' moment. You see, my grandma was anything but typical, she was foxy! She always had her hair beauty shop perfect, make-up flawlessly applied, wearing something fancy and due to a height complex - she ALWAYS wore heels. Of course, she would have on all the right accessories and would be carrying the perfect handbag. So, when I was standing there, looking into her closet at all of her belongings all together like that, I started to think about how she would treat everyday as if she were expecting something wonderful would happen. I'm definitely a positive thinker, but - I just don't think I could fathom that level of optimism. It is hard to explain it exactly, but I left my grandmother's house that day feeling somehow inspired.



I ended up inheriting a vast collection of costume jewelry, handbags, high-heeled shoes, craft supplies, etc... She apparently NEVER threw anything away in her 70 years of life. It definitely had something to do with her generation. Anyway, with my new found inspiration, I began incorporating those new items into my glue gun creations. I was able to make such beautiful things, beyond anything I would have ever imagined. It was like the levy broke and an endless flow of creativity just poured out of me and hasn't stopped.



The reaction that I recieved from my family and friends was just the encouragement that I needed to start my own business that I named Sugar Cookie Dolls. I named it that in honor of my lovely grandma: Margaret Cooke Milam aka: Cookie - you can see what she looked like in the picture above.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!
* Toni Kelly *