Well hello, everybody! Hope you all had a fabulous holiday season and are looking forward to a wonderful New Year. I know I'm excited to start this year with my idea of a good time - cookies!
This challenge will be simple to describe, but what I love about it is how flexible it is! For this challenge, please cookie an architectural element (or ten)! I was first thinking of door cookies, but you can cookie windows or other architectural elements. The cookie can be as simple or as fancy as your heart desires. It can be as small as brick and stone, or as big as a whole building facade.
I'm not thinking gingerbread houses though. Let's keep it to cookies, please. And of course, as always, it should be something new made just for this challenge!
If you need somewhere or something to get started, I happen to have a whole board of architectural inspiration.
If you feel stuck or confused, please ask questions in the comments. I'm here for you!
And lastly, get creative and have fun!
Prize for this challenge: This is a GOOD ONE! American Tradition Cookie Cutters is offering a $50 gift certificate to the lucky winner of our random drawing. This is a great company, and I know that as much as I love my plastic cutters, tin cutters have a special place in my heart! And, by my calculations, that is 55 cutters for some lucky duck - so get to making cookies! [EDITOR'S NOTE: These cutters are especially cool because owners Laura and Karl make each and every one by hand! Talk about a labor of love! Oh - and the certificate is redeemable for both international and domestic orders; $50 will be deducted from the winner's combined product and shipping total.]
To enter:
- Please post an image of your cookie or cookie set to the site under the Practice Bakes Perfect clip set no later than February 22, 2015 at 5 pm central.
- Because these challenges will be ongoing, we ask that you put "Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #8" 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.
- 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.
- 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.)
Once the challenge closes on February 22, we will announce the winner and host the Saturday Spotlight on February 28. The next challenge will be announced in early March 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!
Again, 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 mother of two small children, 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 bimonthly 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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