this is *only* a test

i got some Wilton food-writing pens. i don't like them that much. when i make lines with a paintbrush, though they can be shaky, they're much thinner than what the pens can do. why? the tips of these markers are chubby like Crayola markers. i need teeny-tipped markers. also they're meant for fondant--after a few cookies, the tips were getting worn out and fuzzy from being dragged over a sugary surface. anyway, here are some tests. when i get done with decorating, i sometimes make royal icing puddles on wax paper and let them dry. then later when i need a practice surface i don't need to make extra cookies.

here's yellow on black, dusted with gold pearl dust.










i drew circles, then added a little line of a 2nd color, then blended them with a wet paintbrush. got a bunch of different colors--then brushed with white pearl dust and outlined in black.


this is the same technique, but with single colors.










same technique with the paintbrush, but no pearl dust. the Chinese characters were copied from a tea tin; i don't know what it says. :)




also a pen and paintbrush effect, but with a layer of brown sanding sugar, then regular piping/sugaring for the snow.













this is one reason why i don't do trademarks--yeah, you can tell it's the stooges, but really, unless i'm using edible paper and printing out the images, no trademark or logo is ever going to be totally precise. it's a cute attempt at best. and the way i see it, if you want trademarked cookies, call up the company that makes the product. i did this by piping onto wax paper, laid over the image. i think if i were really doing a 3 Stooges party, i'd create some pie-in-the-face image.

my next post is trucks and ponies, and i used the black marker for both, but when i got done i took a razor to the tips to see if i could taper them more. we'll see if that helps. or i'll find a different brand. or i just won't let my pony cookies have eyelashes anymore...

and coming next month: 6 dozen gluten-free, red-dye-free, luau cookie pops. no problem.