Just in time to get your Valentines Day cookie orders in we are featuring Renee Lee who is The Cookie Maven. Renee lives (and bakes) in Keller, Texas.Renee makes all her cookies from scratch using good wholesome ingredients like sweet cream butter, Swan’s cake flour, Madagascar vanilla bean and brown eggs. She bakes them in small batches to ensure the quality and she adds a whole lot of love in each batch. We think they are pretty, too! Don’t hesitate to ask if you are looking for something special. Renee will do her best to make it for you.Please enjoy the interview, leave Renee a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love! Renee’s cookie photos are perfect for “pinning”, too if you have a Pinterest page.
I can no longer consider myself a stay at home mom since my daughter is about to graduate from college, so housewife suits me just fine. I quit my day job several years ago and have been baking sugar cookies since 2009. I had spent the past 20 years in an industry that I did not enjoy so I decided to take the leap into what made me happy, baking. From the time I was a little girl I always said that I wanted to be a chef when I grew up. I started making sugar cookies on a fluke; I had never decorated a cookie in my life. I was always making other types of cookies, but never hand decorated. I was participating in a bake sale so I watched a You tube video in how to apply frosting and I was off. I do a little bit of everything, besides baking cookies I am currently going to school and trying to get into nursing school. 
Everything I see, whenever I am at the craft store I am constantly looking at baskets and cookie cutters to see what I can make with them. I always have my phone with me so I can take pictures that give me inspiration. I love to sit with a basket of cutters and think about what I can turn them into. Since I make mini cookies there are not that many cutters, I own several hundred, but it always seems that I am looking for something that I don’t have. You might see a present cookie cutter; I see a backpack, Lego’s, Dreidel, Popcorn, Sponge Bob, a television. The possibilities are endless. The one person that always been my touchstone is my mom. She taught me at a young age how to bake and cook, and how to truly be gracious. She is always doing for others and does whatever she can to help out. She is the most selfless person I know. If there is someone in need she is the first to lend a hand, whether it is giving someone a ride or making dinner for someone sick at church. She is always the first to volunteer; I don’t think I have ever heard of her turn down an opportunity to make someone else’s life easier. I can only hope that someday I can be just like her. She is my mom, mentor, and best friend. 
Christmas, I love everything about it. I start decorating my house in November, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have now have 3 Christmas trees all with different themes. I like to make as much of the decorations myself as I can. I think it stems back to when I was a girl and would fall asleep under the Christmas tree it was so magical looking up at the lights. This year I even carved out all new, bases, mountains, platforms and roadways for my village. It took 2 months and allot of instructional videos on You Tube. And yes I still love to fall asleep by the tree, but now I nap on the sofa, not the floor.I love the community; everyone is so nice and encouraging. Setting up my shop was super easy, and I love the copy feature when making my new listings.
I would love for there to be a place where we could make collections of other member’s items that could be showcased. I market myself everywhere I go, since I make cookies I am constantly coming up with new designs. I take those cookies and bag them up and give them to friends to take to work, it’s free advertising. I am signing up for sampler boxes to put my goodies in, they are a great way to advertise and again I always have extra cookies. Wit the sampler boxes you are only out the cost of the samples and shipping. I also like to participate in at least one large event per year where I am a sponsor, to get my name out. I have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Rebel Mouse, Pinterest, Tumblr, Stumble Upon, and Flickr that I post to daily. Zibbet has the buttons where I can easily share my items, and I have just started a new blog. I always make sure to keep business cards on me, when I am buying supplies the checker always asks what I am making and I tell them cookies and their eyes light up, I then give them a card, its perfect. 
Whew that’s allot, but if you want a company to grow I think you have to work at it. One of my favorite lines is from the movie Field Of Dreams “If You Build It They Will Come”. Try your hand at several types of advertising and definitely get involved in Social media. One of my favorite new sites is Rebel Mouse; it puts your social media sites together in one platform so the people who follow you can see everything in one place. And always use the share button after you post your listing it’s the easiest way to get your product noticed.Exactly who I am now. Not that I don’t like to dream, I just think I am finally at a place in my life that is exactly where I want to be. Where else could I wear slippers and watch Christmas movies at work.Tags: Featured Zibbeters, The Cookie Maven
