What a whirlwind these challenges have been! So fun, and so many incredible cookies as a result! Can you believe we are already on Challenge #4?
I still have a lot of challenge ideas up my sleeve, but for this one, let's keep it simple. A little while ago, I solicited challenge ideas here on my Practice Bakes Perfect forum, and on my page. The idea that caught my attention for this month was from the talented cookier Tammy Holmes.
The idea is simple. One picture. One inspirational photo, and as many different cookie results as we have participants.
I like simple, but not boring! To keep it interesting, I didn't pick out the picture; I asked Tammy to do it for me. She's got a great cookie style that I admire, but it's not my usual style at all. Perfect to challenge me as well as you!
I totally love the image she selected, maybe because it is so architectural. 
Hopefully though, there should be a little something in it for everyone!
To see the image, click here to go to my Pinterest inspiration board for this challenge.
For the challenge entry, you can do one cookie or a whole set, and multiple entries if they are distinct ideas and cookies. And why would you do more than one set? For more chances to win our prize! As always, the winner is selected at random - and there will also be a Saturday Spotlight featuring those entries that catch the eye of our Cookie Connection contributor panel.
Prize for this challenge:
This month, our prize was generously donated by Ginny of The Creative Cookier. She has a shop that sells custom cookie cutters and cookie decorating supplies, and she's offering the winner a $25 gift certificate to apply toward anything in The Creative Cookier shop!!
Don't be discouraged if you see that someone else does your idea first. Do it anyway - it will still be yours! There is bound to be some overlap with just one source image. We want to see the subtle or wild variations that result from the equation that is your mind + this picture = cookies!
To enter:
- Please post an image of your cookie set to the site under the Practice Bakes Perfect clip set no later than September 7, 2014 at 5 pm central.
- Because these challenges will be ongoing, we ask that you put "Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #4" in your photo caption (subtitle field) AND in a tag, so we can tell them apart from month to month. Please use the title field to uniquely name your cookies as you normally would.
- Please also assign other relevant clip sets and tags to your images, as you normally would. (Meaning don't just use the Practice Bakes Perfect clip set and leave it at that, or your photos won't easily be found with keyword searches.)
- You can enter more than once, but please post only one clip of each distinct entry/cookie set. Multiple clips of the same entry/cookie set are not allowed unless added in a comment beneath the one primary clip.
Once the challenge closes on September 7, we will announce the winner and host the Saturday Spotlight the following weekend. The next challenge will be announced in September after this challenge is closed.
Last but not least, THIS IS NOT A CONTEST!!! These challenges are meant to spark conversation and learning. You are challenging yourself to try new things and stretch as a cookie artist. Just because someone else went to town, doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a shot. I want to see what YOU would do! Of course, there are prizes, but they are given at random, so just participate and you have a chance to win!
If you have a question, or if you need help getting started or just want to run an idea by me or the group, please comment below. I love to troubleshoot, brainstorm, and talk technique, so please don't be shy!
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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