Caribbean 50th Birthday Cookie

click to enlarge

This is the third cookie in a series of 50th Birthday Cookies that I made for a group of old friends. Each name came with a list of interests and favorite things that I got to pick and choose from to make a complete cookie. 'Chief' enjoys hanging out on his pontoon boat every summer weekend and enjoys a good Miller Lite. His list also mentioned that he loves the Caribbean so I decided to transplant his favorite pastimes onto a Caribbean beach complete with palm trees and crashing waves. The pontoon is based off of his own black and tan boat but set in bright blue tropical waters instead of the Geist reservoir. Besides the detail already involved in the Miller Lite logo I also decided to make this particular bottle one of the new Vortex bottles. It was as simple as using some edible copper iridescent powder to create the look, but it made it something a little extra special. That's what I tried to do for each elements of this cookie, add something special to make it stand out and be a little more personal. 

Surprise Mother's Day Cookie

I wanted to do something special for my mom on mother's day. 
Even though I don't usually freely admit this, my mom actually frequently bakes these cookies while I'm at work so I can have enough time to decorate. Without her help I would probably skip sleep more often than I do now just to make sure these cookies get done on time and I couldn't be more thankful. I'm usually the one taking all the credit for the cookies, but when I can I let people know of my mom's contributions. One thing is for sure, she doesn't get enough appreciation for the cookies or for allowing me to make a mess of the kitchen and then even helping me clean afterward. 

click to enlarge

For all this, and just because we never get to actually eat these cookies much anymore, I decided to make one for my mom without her knowledge. That meant that I had to bake the cookie and clean up the kitchen without her knowing then move all my decorating stuff up into my room so as to keep the existence of the cookie quite and the mess involved out of her kitchen...an added bonus for her :) but ultimately pretty tricky to pull off.

My makeshift workspace...a bit cramped

I wanted to create a beautiful and elegant cookie for my mom, one that showed how much she means to me and how much I appreciate all that she does for us. Since I've been working on my flower making lately and they have been turning out pretty well I decided to keep up the practice and create a beautiful bouquet of my mom's favorite flowers. I chose to do a yellow rose (the flowers from her wedding) and orchid bouquet. Each flower is extremely detailed and something I spent a lot of time trying to perfect for my mom. I think that the white and plum colors of the orchids complimented the yellow extremely well and make the orchids pop while giving them a lot of depth. 


The bouquet itself is well balanced with the long tapering orchids creating a soft silhouette while the roses created a full bouquet all balanced out with some subtle baby's breath. I put the bouquet in a simple and modern glass vase that I think my mom would like if it were for a real bouquet then completed the cookie with some delicate detailing around the bottom half of the cookie. The title was easy enough to come up with, but it was the messages that I added around the vase that made it a bit more personal and special. And even though they are just extra writing they didn't detract from the central focus of the bouquet like I thought that they might, but rather the addition helped add to the composition and the personal feel that I wanted the cookie to have.

A traditional but elegant scalloped edge dotted with yellow stars topped with sugar pearls and finished with a contrasting green border completes the design and wraps up a cookie that I was very proud to present to my mom on mother's day. And, it was made even better because we both got to enjoy eating this cookie after putting so much time and effort into making all the cookies lately.

I already said it on the cookie, but I guess you can never say it too much.

I Love You Mug!

Happy Mother's Day

50th Birthday Cookies

A recent trip to the dentist office yielded more than just pearlier whites, I actually came away with an order for 3 different cookies, 2 of which were made for the same occasion just days later. My dentist is a friend of my sister-in-law and had seen the cancer-free tattoo cookie that I made for her sister, so after I showed her a couple of pictures of my other cookies she asked me to make these two cookies for her husband's friends who are both turning 50!

click to enlarge

What I was given to work off of was a list of some of the things each guy likes. 'Eddie's' list included ski boats, computers, absolute and orange juice, and photography. Since these things don't lend themselves to a very coherent scene of any kind, I tried to break up the list into each element and then incorporate everything else that was needed on the cookie like the name, the Happy Birthday, and the 50 into those elements which took some planning.

I started with the ski boat because I thought it would be a good anchor for all the other elements. But, what's a ski boat without pulling something on ski's? This something happens to be a 5 and a 0...I haven't attempted trying to put people on my cookies yet. To tie in the computers I created a browser page which contains the name and birthday wish not just in plain text but written in html code which I thought was a clever idea. I completed the rest of the cookie by filling in the space with a camera and his favorite drink. I believe this is the first attempt I have made at recreating clear glass and both the Absolut bottle and the glass with the orange juice turned out really well and very realistic. I think all the elements in this cookie, though varied, work well together to create a unique picture of the cookie recipient.

click to enlarge

For 'Chitter's cookie, the list included 'bass boats', 'bass fishing', and 'Budweiser'. This list was a bit easier to work with.  A lazy day spent fishing on the river with some cold drinks sounds like the perfect way to celebrate a birthday so I wanted to recreate that feel on the cookie. 

The bass is my favorite element. It's the next progression of my technique of painting with the icing. I was able to create texture and gradient as well as a lot of shade and shadow which gives the fish a lot of character and depth as well as the realistic look that I was going trying to achieve.

Since the bass turned out so well and I'm feeling more confident in my ability to do the whole painting with icing thing, for my next challenge I want to try and recreate a famous painting on a cookie. I'm not sure when I'll get the chance, but I've been thinking about it for sometime, and I think I'm ready to try. Who knows maybe the next cookie I post will look like a VanGogh!

Field of Tulips Cookie

click to enlarge

I'm such a nice sister... :)

My youngest brother just drove home from Colorado where he has been attending school at UC Boulder and before he even got home he already had an order for me that he was going to take to a friend that night for her birthday. With only a day's notice and work on my schedule for the next day I'm not quite sure why I agreed, but I think it might have something to do with how easily I am persuaded by this particular brother. None the less, the cookie was for a good friend of his who happens to love Tulips. 

I chose to focus on a few detailed tulips of different colors in the foreground that fade out to a full field of beautifully colored tulips. I kept the design very simple beyond that to keep the focus on the flowers. I do however think that the border goes very well with this design and its simplicity puts the focus back on the flowers while containing the scene. 

With the completion of this cookie I can add another flower to my portfolio which now includes tropical flowers, roses, daisies, gerbera daisies, and carnations.