Every time I do one of these challenges I'm not quite sure what to expect. For this one, I just didn't know if people would be interested in taking the time to mix the colors, but I am so glad that so many of you did! What a splendid array of topics and cookies with variations on the same palette!
A special thanks to Rebekah Shaw of Love at First Bite for her great contribution of the color palette, the mixing directions, and the great blog post to help with mixing these or any colors from the colors you have! I hope you guys will continue to follow along with her blog for great information on mixing royal icing colors!
Without further ado - we have a winner in our random drawing! This month's prize is two packages of gorgeous crystallized edible flowers, similar to these. I know that Janet of Roll Your Own Cookie will have a blast putting them on cookies, cupcakes, or cake! Congrats Roll Your Own Cookie on this lovely entry. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Janet's combination of the challenge palette with soft, organic textures put me in a completely zen mood. Such a soothing visual experience!]
And now, here are our contributors' spotlight picks from another amazing field of cookie submissions!!
A Very Steampunk Halloween by Compassionate Cake
This set is so detailed it boggles the mind! What a great use of the colors. Taking out one blue and adding black made it truly amazing for Halloween! And the characters are a little bit sinister - very evocative of the holiday spirit. A wonderful set from a very talented cookie artist. Psst - did you know these cookies are vegan too?
Under the Big Top by Sugar Pearls Cakes & Bakes
Sugar Pearl Cakes & Bakes did several great sets for this challenge, but this one stood out for the panel, with the sweet and whimsical little story it tells. The details, especially the tiny fondant buttons, caught our eye, and the picture itself is really fantastic too!
Dancing Foxes by kfo
Katie of kfo really caught our eye with her three related fox sets. The picture created here is quirky and whimsical, and the very clever use of the blue colors to create the woodland scene had us not even missing green! The use of wet-on-wet icing is great too - the effect is almost eerie. Great job!
Mediterranean Village by Bakerloo Station
Bakerloo Station did a really great take here on the pebble art of Michela Bufalini. We loved that the individual building blocks were so simple, but the overall impact was a big WOW! And the different uses of texture really add to the effect as well. My personal favorite are all those little wet-on-wet ocean "stones".
Peacock of a Different Color by Michelle West Sion
Another work inspired by art, this piece by Michelle is drawn from the work of Julia Watkins. What a brave leap into the wet-on- wet technique - the whole piece is so fabulously kinetic, even more so knowing how fast she must have worked to achieve the effect. And the colors really come alive all mixed together in this way. Brava!!
Henna Cookie Stack by Montreal Confections
What a great and original idea! Not only are the cookies beautiful individually, but all together or in smaller "flower" arrangements, they really make a statement. Pretty and functional for those times when you need to supply cookies for a group!
Sea Theme by Tina at Sugar Wishes
First of all, a big shout out to Tina for doing the colors in fondant. Not only did she tackle that challenge, but she really stretched herself to work outside of her usual color comfort zone, and did a great job of incorporating embellishments and lustre dust to bring the whole set to life! Lovely!
A New Beginning by Sweetiedoodle
Fabulous and original, we loved how the colors inspired the melding of myth and reality to bring together the peacock and the phoenix in this singular cookie sensation!
Mixing and Coordinating Colors by The Cookie Lab
Wow! AMAZING piping work on these two cookies! Love the way that the colors interlock but maintain their identity on that right-hand cookie! The left one utilizes antiquing to amazing effect, resulting in a piece that we'd love to tile into our kitchen backsplash as soon as eat it!
Camel Cookies by The Royal Icing Queen
The design is succinct, and the execution is perfect, with the colors working really well to create a smart set of cookies. Another great example of how you can use a palette and a subject matter together to create a wonderful set!
Thank you again to everyone who participated. Really, we could always highlight so many more cookies than we have room for here, and we love that there is so much great talent that comes together in one place for these challenges. We look forward to what you might come up with next!
All photos shown here are the courtesy (and copyright) of the designers listed.
Rebecca Weld came to cookie decorating from gingerbread house making. As a "real" architect, busy business owner, and mom of two small kids, Rebecca discovered that gingerbread houses had a way of getting out of hand, and that cookie baking offered her a more manageable artistic outlet. Always eager to be a part of the cookie conversation, Rebecca maintains an active Facebook page as The Cookie Architect, as well as Pinterest and Instagram presences. She makes cookies to inspire herself and others, to feed those needs that art fills in all artists: expression, sharing, stretching yourself.
Photo credit: Rebecca Weld
Note: Practice Bakes Perfect is a monthly Cookie Connection blog feature written by Rebecca Weld that poses inspiration or challenges to get you to stretch as a cookie artist - for practice, for prizes, and for fun! Its content expresses the views of the author and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. Catch up on all of Rebecca's past Cookie Connection posts here.
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