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!

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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.

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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!