Fancy a Spot of Tea?

Is there a cookie explosion going on in this world? I think there might be. Maybe I have been under a rock this past year, but recently I am discovering a new cookie artist almost every day. There is some serious talent out there. It's inspiring and motivating. The best part? The cookie world is pretty darn friendly in my experience. Idea sharing and tutorials abound in cyberspace. No wars here...just peace, love and cookies!!!

Here is a great example of learning from a cookie friend...

I got an order for teacups and teapots and I wanted to change up the design from what I had done in the past. I got my sketch pad out and starting working on the ideas. I had recently watched SweetAmbs tutorial on brushed embroidery cookies and I really wanted to test it out myself. I thought it would be perfect for this tea set.

I tested out three variations of the brushed embroidery technique...plus, yes, that is a '3-D' cookie in the back (more on that in a bit).

With the blue tea set, I tested the brushed embroidery with two colors. Instead of just using white, I added in a little pink accent. I really liked it too. I hope to test more colors in the future. 

With the green tea set, I used an entire flower. I liked it enough to use it for the order, but I may need to practice my flower shape just a little more. 

Remember, these cookies are decorated by hand, so there are variations from cookie to cookie. I think my second attempt on the teacup was even more successful.

On the pink tea set, I did partial flowers that ran off the edges of the cup. I did a standard pink tea set, and then I also made a special 3-D teacup and saucer for the customer. These particular cookies were shipping across the Atlantic to England, so I knew they had to be R-T-A (ready to assemble). I baked three toothpicks into the teacup cookie.  

Then, before I iced the saucer, I made three holes in the cookie. I iced the cookie and put the toothpicks in the holes to keep them open while the icing was drying. They perfectly matched up to the toothpicks in the teacup. A little tip...make sure your toothpicks don't stick out too far when you bake them into the cookie. Otherwise, the cookies will not be flush against each other. 

Do you like my little heart cookies to go on the saucer? I tried to make them look like a cute little classic iced sugar cookie. 

Here is the final product of the RTA 3-D cookie. What do you think? I got this idea from an advent wreath cookie set that I got from my friend Anita of Sweet Hope Cookies. She used this same idea with the toothpicks. It works great and it's pretty easy to do.

Here's how a bird would see it. From this view you can see that I iced both sides. That way, the cookie would look cute 360.

And in case you are wondering about my crazy teacup and saucer design, it's actually based on this tea set I got for my mom (a tea lover) for Christmas a few years ago. I think it's brilliant: a spot for your teacup and a spot for your cookie. Perfect!!

HERE ARE A FEW OTHER COOL FLOUR BOX UPDATES...

- If my cookies had elbows, they'd be rubbing them with the celebs. The full story is coming tomorrow (Sunday)!

- My taxes are done. Woooo! And our mortgage is almost refinanced. Phew...didn't want to miss out on the record low interest rates. 

- I have more than 10 cookie projects to get on the blog. Even with the Valentine's Day rush, I've been busy with custom orders these past few weeks. However, lots of decorating and no blogging has created a big backlog of photos. Over the next few weeks I hope to blog a little more often and get all the photos out here.

- My St. Patrick's Day cookie designs are in progress. I'm an Irish girl...so these are fun to make! I will be making limited quantities of the SPD gift boxes due to another large cookie order that coincides with the 17th. So, if you're interested, please email me and I'll notify you when they are available for order! It will be first-come, first-serve!

- I got several surprises in the mail this week. Books and cookies for me! I have to take photos so that i can show you just how spoiled I am!

- AND...Flour Box Bakery is going to be featured in the March 4th edition of Good Life in Happy Valley (published by the Centre Daily Times). The photographer and reporter have already visited. I can't wait to see the article when it comes out next Sunday! I will post a link when it is available.

See you back here tomorrow... Anne