Cookie Decorating 101

My first cookie workshop was today…

and…

it was GREAT!!!

I really absolutely love teaching…

I even love the prep work…

Planning exactly WHAT to teach, HOW to teach it, and WHERE to bring in each idea.

I can spend HOURS…(many hours)… on handouts…trying to make them effective learning tools…

and today I LOVED getting to know my students…

sharing my knowledge and skills with them…

and watch them have a blast with cookie art.

BUT…

I did not take any pictures:(…

Now, of course, Brad Rice, from WCHS Channel 8 did, but…

I’ll tell you more about that in a later post…

Here are some cookies I made today to demonstrate techniques…

Cookie class 101
Pumpkin Cookies!!

btw…Students, if you have photos of your cookies, I would LOVE for you to add them here)

Preparing for Cookie Decorating 101

I am thrilled…

I have over 60 people signed up for Cookie Decorating 101

I have VERY cool plans for my students…

And I needed pumpkin cookie cutters WITH leaves…

BUT…they are not for sale, even online…

so I bought a few large cutters to reshape…

including this one…

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I had NO CLUE what it was, but it had a lot metal…

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When I got home, I read the tag and turned it… a cheerleader;)

Oh, how funny…

I made this pumpkin cutter-with a leaf-a stem-and a vine…

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I know what you’re thinking…

that is one weird-looking pumpkin cookie cutter…

JUST WAIT!!!

I’ll be posting the cutest pumpkin cookies you have ever seen:)

Linda

A Cookie Story

I enjoy my work…

I create cookie art and paintings…I’m VERY happy…

…BUT…

sometimes, it goes beyond enjoying my work…beyond being happy…beyond being fun…

sometimes I am just totally filled with joy…

and…nothing is better than that feeling.

Let me tell you a little story.

While researching (googling) Hampton, New York for a bridal cookie order,

 I noticed this windmill image~

Windmill

I conferred with my client.

“Oh, yes, that is a symbol of the Hampton region,” she explained.

“In fact we’re using a custom graphic of that windmill on the wedding invitations.”

And she sent me images of the invitation, including this one…

wedding invite

And this is the cookie I created…

cook2

The client loved them. Her daughter (the bride) loved them.

I was utterly filled with joy.

Thanks for following along,

Linda

A Wedding Gift

Toni commissioned me to create a watercolor painting.

Her daughter, Erin, was married in East Hampton, NY last night.

The Hamptons are very special for Erin and her new husband, Bill:

that’s where they met… and Bill owns a house there.

This house.

Hampton House Painting
In the Hamptons

Toni and her husband had the painting framed and

presented it to their son-in-law.

hampton house painting framed
A Wedding Gift

Cookie Decorating Demo…

aaap
Move over candy…it’s time for Halloween COOKIES!!!

Let’s face the facts…

when you’re over 50, if you don’t exercise, you can not move.

So, I exercise.

I joined CURVES last year, and I’m really glad I did!

Open House at Curves in Barboursville is going on this week.

I’m doing a cookie-decorating demonstration from 9-10 tomorrow morning…

Come try out Curves, you may like it as much as I do, and …

come see me decorating some fall cookies:)

btw… CURVES is not just for the 50+ crowd…

there are members of all ages;)

Painting #3 in the 30 paintings/ 90 days Challenge

Barboursville house painting
On Main Street

 This charming, charming house blows me away…

The owner has masterfully added a delightful variety of plants, pottery and metal pieces, dressers!…yes, I said dressers,

metal and wicker furniture, …and just an eclectic blend of very cool stuff to her front yard, front porch and the side yard~~

which is mostly covered by a driveway that she has figured out how to ROCK!…

I’m going to create several paintings from the photos I took at her house…

I did ask permission:)

The house is on Main Street in Barboursville…see if you can find it…

You’ll be glad you did:)…

You’ll notice I used my artist’s creative license to change a few things;)

And…

You may have noticed The Challenge has changed from 30/30 to 30/90…

I did that…

I had to…

to save my sanity…

I knew you would understand.

Thanks for following along,

Linda

Painting #2 in the 30/30 Challenge

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Huntington is blessed with an abundance of beautiful churches… like this one…

Trinity Episcopal Church

As you may already know, I’m painting 30 paintings in 30 days.

Over 700 artists around the world are participating, and, I believe, I’m the only one in WV.

Thanks for following along…  Linda

OH…I have BIG NEWS…about the NEWS!!!

WCHS

I’m sooo excited!!! Brad Rice, a photographer and features writer from WCHS TV Channel 8, will be at our first Cookie Decorating 101 workshop on Monday morning, Sept. 29.  Brad travels the state for interesting stories to feature on Thursday’s 5:00 and 10:00 news broadcasts…He’s creating a little story about our efforts for Maggie… just think about all the people who will hear about our cookie classes:)  …btw…that class still has a few openings;)

A Cookie Mosaic

Jonathan's art
Art by Jonathan Hill

The client asked for a reproduction of Jonathan’s artwork (a vibrant, signature piece in the silent auction at the White Linen Night last Saturday night) on 50 cookies.  Here are the steps I followed:

Step 1: I drew the image on a paper grid representing the cookies.

Step 2: Then, I baked and iced the cookies.

Step 3:  I created a sturdy cardboard display tray with Wilton cake boards, hot glue, a box cutter and a yardstick.

Step 4: Lastly, I “painted” the cookies with food color gel using my gridded drawing and Jonathan’s art on my laptop for reference.  I used a black food color marker for the outlining…

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I snapped this picture in my studio…ok, it’s my kitchen table… just before I started to paint the cookie…Let the fun begin!!

 

mosaic of Jonathan's art
Cookie Mosaic

Here’s the cookie mosaic…

Ok, I forgot to take a picture until AFTER some of it had been eaten!!

Painting 1 of the 30/30 Challenge

Jim’s Restaurant really, truly has delicious food, don’t you agree!?

It’s been family owned and located in the SAME LOCATION for over 74 years!!!

To learn more Jim’s history, check out their website…

http://jimsspaghetti.com/get_to_know_us/…

Jim's