Jamie's dresses

this is my favorite kind of order--one that starts with "oooh! you should call katie!" long story short, there have been parties this year featuring my cookies. one guest, former coworker Mary Jo, passed my website along to her daughter Jamie who wanted a fun way to surprise her friends with the big question. she wanted to leave it up to me, citing a creativity shortage on her part, but i said how about a color, or a picture you like, and she sent back one of pastel dresses hanging side by side, and a preference for blue. so i sent back this sketch.
i traced the dress cutter twice, and the mini bell twice for the dress combo, and showed 2 choices for the text. the two have the same motif with the question marks and hangers. once i got a thumbs up from Jamie, i had the big idea to try meringue powder.

my mother and i have been using the same icing recipe since at least the mid 80s. it involves egg whites, and we've never had one complaint about it. raves and requests yes, but not a peep about egg-related dissatisfaction. that said, our plan, once these cookies were done, was to drive them to Mary Jo, who will mail them out to Jamie's friends, as Jamie is in AZ and her friends are all over, like MN. i wasn't exactly worried for the cookies making these journeys, and i mused at those little million-to-one disasters that only happen to your package on the leaky truck, or in the hot weather, and i thought, why not try an alternate to egg whites, because one day we'll need to. this order has intricate piping, travelling, and the deadline was kinda soft, so if i hated it, i could start over. it seemed a good time to dabble.

it took some getting used to. it was a lot thicker, it dried with a glossier finish, and the cookie remained firmer. plus it didn't have that not-quite-dry, not-quite-dense, airiness from whipped egg whites. the meringue powder provided the elasticity, but not the slight fluff. the end result was a little more taffeta than organza, but still pretty with pearl dragees, pearl dust, and opal sugar. Jamie said they were a hit and all 4 ladies said yes. congrats! and thanks Jamie and Mary Jo for a fun order.

i look forward to a few valentines, marriage proposals, etc. it's such a fun way to pass a message. my favorite kind of art has always been the kind that translates and idea. when i was little i cut out snowflakes and papered the windows in wintertime. the view out the window wasn't enough, it had to be a perpetual flurry. in high school i didn't feel compelled to write a script or act it, but i thought make-up and model building were awesome--as important as the acting or writing, it was the visuals that got you there. Jamie could have sent some blank chocolates and a card, but here's the iconic image of the bridesmaid's duty, "The Dresses," all bright and edible and cheerful. there's that moment when your eyes stop seeing icing on a cookie and they see the picture. like when the paper snowflakes in the window become the weather outside. it's a neat thing to conjure up in people. and then they get to eat it! win-win!
ladies, i hoped you enjoyed your surprise, and to all, stay tuned for angels, stars, trees, more stars, snow, and a metagingerbread man.

black-friday, over the hill, triple birthday weekend

hubby's sister, and other sister's husband, and yours truly, all celebrate birthdays within 4 days at the end of november. somewhere in the haze of turkey and door-busters, we manage to gather at least for lunch. this year Dan turned 40, and Kristi's my age (i'll be vague: younger than Dan), so i whipped up a few purses for Kristi, and Dan got, well, Dan.

these were made with the tombstone and candy corn shapes from a Wilton halloween cookie cutter set. funky graphics were flood icing dots dragged with a toothpick. little snap clasps are dragees. these would be cute with matching shoes. maybe hats and dresses too?

Dan's Dan was made from a pretty-old (80's?) Wilton snowman. at least it said snowman on it; it seems more like Frosty, what with being a biped... anyway, i thought, if i can make a leprechaun with it, why not a different beard, and why not a trumpet in one hand? (yep, he plays, and he's a music teacher.) unfortunately, icing isn't the most flattering medium--Dan's nose isn't flat, for instance. but he is Vegas-sparkly. (chuckle) the treble clefs were black on toothpick-swirled blue and white, and the trumpet valves are tiny gold dragees.

Happy Birthday Dan and Kristi! coming soon, a bridesmaid surprise, a girl's night out, and lotsa Christmas.

"gobble gobble"

got a call from Lois from church, wondering if i had some time to make a few cookies for a the yearly bake sale. i always have time for cookies, plus i had an incomplete set of 2nd hand, brown, hand-glazed plates that i didn't need. 4 big plates, 2 small plates, and 3 mugs, all unfit for the microwave, and ultimately doomed to be dropped over the years. i'm a clutz. i buy my plates at the dollar store. anyway, i picked corn, leaves, apples, and mini pumpkins, leaves and acorns. then i arranged them all nicely in/on their mug/plate, wrapped with cellophane, and put the 12 or so extras in favor bags. i'm told they sold out. (yay!)
in the meantime, they caught Dian's eye, and she ordered more corn and leaves for thanksgiving. this time i added a few purple kernels. i love how any color works--this shape is definitly in my top 10 favorites. thanks Dian!

('hey katie, your pictures are starting to look a little fuzzy.' yeah, as it gets darker and colder, i'm working with poorer light, plus i just recently got new contacts, and it turns out i really needed them! moving on...)


then mom remembered the turkeys i made for Eldra last year and wanted 2 dozen made the same way. i wrecked about 6 before i remembered how i did the tail last time. these little guys drove with mom and dad to thanksgiving at my brother's in indiana.

and then for fun, i made these for Andrew and Grace. one lost a head en route. :( but i'm sure he was delicious.

petite periwinkle pachyderms parade preposterously-proportioned petunias to party in PA

Sharon from church was planning a trip to her granddaughter's 1st birthday and asked if i could whip up 2 dozen. this was an "up to me" order, but i asked if she had any art to reference, colors to pick from, the usual questions to fine tune the dials on my thinking cap. Sharon replied that her nickname for Lucy is "Lemondrop," and that there are elephants in her room.

it usually comes to me as i'm sitting on my living room floor, surrounded by zip lock freezer bags full of cookie cutters. remember those spatial relationship sections of the standardized tests, where you have to look at 6 joined squares and determine if, when folded, it would make a cube? we were actually allowed to use paper and scissors, which i refused to use since that would only test cutting and folding, not whether our brain could think of a solid object when looking at a flat one. turns out i aced that section. and now i sit on my floor, holding pieces of plastic together, and figuring out how to make baby elephants holding giant flowers. (and while i'm great at spatial relationships, the guitar baffles me, and i stink at subtraction. brains, huh?)

i made the flowers lemon-yellow, so "lemon" and "elephant" were both present. the technique of only frosting part of the elephant, letting it dry, and doing the next, made a nice bas-relief effect on the ears, and trunk at the stem. large white sprinkles were dotted and eye-lashed with black food coloring. they were met with Sharon's approval, and good feedback on the grapevine prompted another to request 2 dozen for thanksgiving, coming soon. (thanks Sharon!!)

also on the way: turkeys, birthdays, bridesmaids and the bake sale. plus i finally give meringue powder a try (spoiler alert: i won.)