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Julia's May Stencil Release - Live Sweetly!

 

Hello! It's once again time for my monthly stencil release, and I've got two sweet sets that I've been teasing you with for a while now! Yes, I'm releasing an adaptation of the bakery-themed Dynamic Duos™ sets that I originally custom-designed for a girl's bat mitzvah back in March! As a reminder, here are some snapshots of the kids' cookies made with those sets at that event:

IMG_8068IMG_8058

Some pretty proficient young decorators, eh?! Anywho, when I posted these and some other event photos back in March, I received an overwhelming number of requests to release these sets to the public. And so, after some tweaking of foreground elements and messages and frames, I give you these aptly called "Live Sweetly" sets - and more!

New May 2019 Stencils Large

Referencing the picture above, you'll see that this month's release includes three new sets/stencils and one reminder:

And what do Stencil of the Month Club members get this month?! Glad you asked! You'll get both my Live Sweetly Dynamic Duos™ Background Set and Confection Couture's Bake-Stir-Sprinkle Accent Stencil. This specially curated bundle is worth $22.99, but Club members get it for only $14.99! Plus, as long as you stay a member, you also get 15% off anything else on the Confection Couture site! In a picture, this is what Club members will get:

SOM OFFERING BORDER

Pretty tasty, huh? (Sorry, I can't resist the food metaphors this month! )

Now, onto what's in the background set. It's extra loaded! I know, I know, I say this almost every time I release a new set, but my background sets truly do keep getting bigger and bigger (better too)! In addition to having five (versus the usual two or three) foreground elements (i.e., cupcakes, mixing bowl with rolling pin, cherry-topped mini cake, plate of macarons, and sugar and flour bins), it's got an entire extra stencil (the first Swiss dot "background").

Live Sweetly Dynamic DuosTM Background Set (9 pieces)BackgroundBorder final

I usually apply the dot background as an overlay as the very last step, but I'll talk more about this process at the end of this post. First, a glimpse of some of the many design possibilities provided by just the background set . . .

Canister cookie Pink plate nice most context

Note that the basket on the green plate is actually open at the top, allowing a few "croissants" and "macarons" to fit (barely) inside. I made it by stenciling just the basket element of the background stencil onto a thin sheet of fondant. I then cut around the basket, shaped the cut fondant piece into an arc, and let it dry until firm. The sugar canister is also dimensional, but made an entirely different way. In that case, I sprayed the canister onto paper to create a piping template. I then covered that template with acetate, and piped over the canister with white royal icing to create a transfer. Once that transfer was dry, I airbrushed it using the canister on the foreground stencil. Hopefully, the above cookie gives you a taste (oops - another food metaphor ) of how many different ways these stencils can be used.

Here's a closer view . . .

Canister Detail GOOD

As for how I made the cute little macarons and croissants (and the challah, French bread, rolling pins, pies, and tarts . . .) that add ever more detail and dimension, hang tight! I'll be releasing a video in July where I demo all of those embellishments, and another one that shows exactly how I used these sets to create these cookies!

Here's another variation with both canisters stenciled directly onto the cookie, and a little "egg" atop a mound of "flour" . . .

SINGLEBREAD MOST CONTEXT GOOD

The "egg yolk" is a teeny royal icing transfer, and the "egg white" is piping gel, which remains shiny for quite a long time. The "flour" is powdered sugar that was "glued" onto the cookie with thick white royal icing.

Yet another variation with a directly stenciled macaron pedestal-platter . . .

Macaron no Mess Close

And some more sneak peeks of the teeny royal icing embellishments that I'll cover in my upcoming video . . .

IMG_4227PIECLOSE

IMG_4223CHALLAHCLOSE

Now, let's see how the messages and frames look with all of the background and foreground elements! But first, an overview of what's in that set . . .

Live Sweetly Dynamic DuosTM Message and Frame Set (7 pieces)Message and FrameBORDER

As always, you can airbrush-stencil the messages and frames directly onto cookies, as shown below . . .

Just a SPooful Pink Plate

Or you can make fun, dimensional fondant plaques with them, much as I made the shaped basket at the start of the post (except that I kept the plaques flat)!

LIVE LOVE NICE MORE CONTEXT

And another with a fondant plaque . . .

Made with LOve Pink plate more context more exp

Now, let's get back to that dot overlay, the extra stencil in the background set. I think it lends nice textural interest to the background of the cookie, especially when airbrushed in a relatively light color. Here's an example of what I mean . . .

MESS AND DOTS MORE EXP

Since my foreground elements are all very saturated, it's much easier to apply the relatively pale dots after everything else has been stenciled onto the cookie (as opposed to laying the dot stencil earlier and masking off areas to allow room for things like the cupcakes and message/frame shown above). I simply set the dot stencil atop the cookie and carefully sprayed, avoiding any areas that were already airbrushed. And, if I had oversprayed and gotten pink on any of the darker elements, it wouldn't have been the end of the world. In fact, you probably wouldn't even see it!

And here's a closer view of this cookie, which uses at least one element on every stencil in both sets! It was a tight fit, but I am pleased with the result!

Mess and Dots SQ

And that's all she wrote, as they say! I've covered several ways to use this month's sets, but if you have any questions, never hesitate to ask.

Before I sign off 'til next month, here's my usual recap of key links:

  • To purchase my Dynamic Duos sets, click here.
  • To join my Stencil of the Month Club, click here.
  • To see my entire stencil line, including my Prettier Plaques sets, click here.
  • To view my videos that show how to create layered looks with my stencil sets, click here.

Again, if you have any technical questions about these stencils, just email me at sweetlife@juliausher.com or leave a comment below. Please, however, direct all ordering and Club questions to my stencil partner, Confection Couture Stencils, at service@confectioncouturestencils.com. Thank you!

Attachments

Images (18)
  • Julia's Live Sweetly Sets in Action!: Cookies and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Bat Mitzvah Girl's Cookie: Photo by Julia M Usher
  • Another Bat Mitzvah Girl's Cookie: Photo by Julia M Usher
  • Julia's May 2019 Stencil Release: Cookies and Photos by Julia M Usher; Stencil Graphic by Confection Couture Stencils
  • Julia's May 2019 Stencil of the Month Club Offering: Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils; Graphic by Confection Couture Stencils
  • Live Sweetly Dynamic Duos™ Background Set Contents: Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils; Graphic by Confection Couture Stencils
  • Cookie Made with Just the Live Sweetly Background Set: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Canister and Basket Dimensional Details: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Another Cookie Made with Just the Live Sweetly Background Set: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • And Another Cookie Made with Just the Live Sweetly Background Set!: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Royal Icing Pie and Tart Decorations: Royal Icing Decorations and Photo by Julia M Usher
  • Challah Bread and Macaron Decorations: Royal Icing Decorations and Photo by Julia M Usher
  • Live Sweetly Dynamic Duos™ Message and Frame Set Contents: Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils; Graphic by Confection Couture Stencils
  • Cookie Using Both Live Sweetly Dynamic Duos™ Sets: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Another Cookie Using Both Live Sweetly Dynamic Duos™ Sets: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Still Another Cookie Using Both Live Sweetly Dynamic Duos™ Sets!: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • Dot Overlay in Action!: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils
  • A Closer View of Cookie with Dot Overlay: Cookie and Photo by Julia M Usher; Stencils Designed by Julia M Usher with Confection Couture Stencils

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Comments (7)

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SugarDotCookies posted:

The stencils are gorgeous and your 3-d elements are just beyond beyond! 

 

Thank you  so much! I had fun designing them!

Love, love, love the wide variety Julia @Julia M. Usher!! Being a club member has been such a wise choice for me as I use your stencils so frequently, mix and match different stencil sets together, make some of the RI embellishments to add even more diversity...well, you get the idea that I love these stencil sets . (Totally unsolicited comment.)

The "baker" motiff is extra fun, I started down this cookie road as a baker first. Thanks for all your hard work in creating these sets with so much variety ❤️. (BTW, they do just keep getting better and better .)

Last edited by Cookies Fantastique
Cookies Fantastique by Carol posted:

Love, love, love the wide variety Julia @Julia M. Usher!! Being a club member has been such a wise choice for me as I use your stencils so frequently, mix and match different stencil sets together, make some of the RI embellishments to add even more diversity...well, you get the idea that I love these stencil sets . (Totally unsolicited comment.)

The "baker" motiff is extra fun, I started down this cookie road as a baker first. Thanks for all your hard work in creating these sets with so much variety ❤️. (BTW, they do just keep getting better and better .)

I said "bigger and bigger" not "better and better", but I accept your praise with great enthusiasm! Thank you - so thrilled you're enjoying them!

Julia M. Usher posted:
Cookies Fantastique by Carol posted:

Love, love, love the wide variety Julia @Julia M. Usher!! Being a club member has been such a wise choice for me as I use your stencils so frequently, mix and match different stencil sets together, make some of the RI embellishments to add even more diversity...well, you get the idea that I love these stencil sets . (Totally unsolicited comment.)

The "baker" motiff is extra fun, I started down this cookie road as a baker first. Thanks for all your hard work in creating these sets with so much variety ❤️. (BTW, they do just keep getting better and better .)

I said "bigger and bigger" not "better and better", but I accept your praise with great enthusiasm! Thank you - so thrilled you're enjoying them!

Oops...to me, both adjectives (bigger & better) are applicable. Live sweetly right back atcha .

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