Thursday, December 23, 2010

MORE Christmas Sugar Cookies!


I've been having such a good time decorating sugar cookies. Practice really does make a difference and each time I make a new batch, I think my skills improve a little. So with this is yet another Christmas batch, but this time there are new adorable characters in my X-mas crew. Once again, I refuse to buy specialized cookie cutters to be used once a year, and then, frankly, put away for safe keeping and never to be found again. I began by sketching out my ideas and figuring out how many steps of icing and drying needed to be done.


I began by piping outlines to my little polar bears and penguins with black. In the second step, I flooded with white once the black icing was dry. As I was doing this, I decided there should be a frosty backdrop of snow and snow falling. While the icing is still wet, you can drop a second color in for a smooth effect.


The owls and birds were done the same way: start with brown, allow to dry, and move on to the next color. It really helped to sketch these out first, especially with the sparrows, because the shapes are a bit odd without conceptualizing the finished image.


Details like leaves, beaks, eyes and feet were added at the end.


Yes, Christmas polar creatures accessorize.


And after a troop of holiday animals made, I just started doodling messages like "Happy New Year" and random filigree work. Sometimes you need to doodle.







6 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness NANCY! So pretty!!!

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  2. OOH. Do you use piping bags or those little squeeze bottles?

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  3. Cindy, I use disposable piping bags with a Wilton #1 or #2 tip.

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  4. WOW You sure you don't want to open a small shop? I'll take care of your marketing :) You are more than good, you are VERY GOOD. Better than most!

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  5. Those look so pretty!!! I need to invest in a piping bag! And Tips...so pretty much startching from scratch!

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  6. Beautiful and thank you for the tips :)

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