Hi, everyone! Welcome to the recap of Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #57 where @Evelindecora wore the hat of host to present me as the featured guest. I loved the opportunity to teach in a new way, and I can't thank Evelin enough for her support! In my kickoff video, I showed how to make two kinds of stenciled royal icing transfers: "wax" seals and 3-D flowers. Both of these transfers involve a two-step process: (1) stencil the icing to make transfers of a certain shape and then, once those transfers are dry, (2) assemble them with more icing into a larger transfer.
Thank you to everyone who purchased my video, and a big thank you to all who seized the challenge to practice with stenciled transfers, and then submitted an entry. I really enjoyed seeing all of your great submissions! I encourage you to continue to practice as well. Even though the challenge has closed, you can still purchase my kickoff video, and I will still be available if you need help with any of the techniques I demoed.
But without further ado, let's find out the winners of the challenge prizes! This time we have two prizes and four winners, all drawn at random. I'll begin with the winner of the special prize offered by Cookie Connection founder and host @Julia M. Usher (a surprise goodie box shipped to one lucky participant in the United States.). Thank you, Julia!
And the winner is 🥁🥁🥁 . . .
🥁🥁🥁. . . @Stevie Jean! Congratulations! Julia's surprise goodie box (retail value: ~$150 USD) is filled with decorating tools and ingredients that she picked up on her recent teaching trips to Australia and Miami. Steve Jean, please check your email for a note from Julia about what she needs to get you this wonderful prize!
Floral This & That by @Stevie Jean
@Stevie Jean created so many different royal icing flower and seal transfers - it's a true joy to see all of them together! Stevie Jean said she “had a very hard time cutting stencils smoothly”. Cutting stencils by hand is indeed the most difficult part, but her overall results are nevertheless amazing. Stevie Jean also used stencils that she already had - I can’t get over that paw seal, can you?!
Now, on to the next three prizes, which will be shipped anywhere in the world! I'll be sending each of the three winners a set of my homemade stencils, as shown in the photo below.
The first randomly drawn winner is 🥁🥁🥁. . . @Zeena!
Orchids by @Zeena
This entry is one of four submissions (!) that @Zeena made to this challenge. (I so appreciate her enthusiastic participation!) Each stunning orchid transfer was made by assembling flat and contoured stenciled petals (dusted with petal dust) around a gumpaste center, an essential and brilliant addition. The stenciled royal icing leaves, which were dried on a curved surface, look so realistic, and the gorgeous wax seal transfer completes the look beautifully.
The second randomly drawn winner is 🥁🥁🥁. . . @Yazz Ross!
Monarcas by @Yazz Ross
One of two wonderful entries by @Yazz Ross, this creation includes not only a take on my flowers, but also an innovative application of the stenciled royal icing transfer technique to butterflies. Here, Yazz piped all of the black details onto stenciled wings. Her second entry (below) includes yet another innovation based on my wax seal technique, so be sure to read on!
The third and last randomly drawn winner is 🥁🥁🥁. . . @Treatfairy!
The Scarlet Pimpernel by @Treatfairy
An awesome entry by @Treatfairy, and a great presentation of this cookie set inspired by the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel! As Treatfairy commented under her post, "The secret hero [in the novel] always left a scarlet pimpernel flower as his calling card." And so, Treatfairy reproduced it using stenciled royal icing petals! What perfect executions of the wax seal transfer too. I love how hers are personalized with more stenciling - both a heart and a tulip.
@Zeena, @Yazz Ross, and @Treatfairy, congratulations! Please make sure to check your emails where Julia will put you in contact with me so I can send you your stencil sets.
And now let’s have a look at the rest of the spotlighted entries.
Letters from Hawaii by @The Baroque Baker
@The Baroque Baker did a splendid job with both elements in my demo! I especially appreciate her creative use of a fish scale stencil that she already had to make the little yellow petals in the center of the top flower and the tiny green leaves underneath the other one. Her piped letter "H" also fits perfectly in the lobes of her heart-shaped seal.
Clematis by @Zeena
A second gorgeous entry by @Zeena featuring clematis made with stenciled and contoured petals! As you can see, she also painted (or drew, I am not sure which) a line down the center of each petal which adds both interest and dimensionality. And, I don't know if you noticed, but she seems to "sign" her seals with the very same letters and font that are in her watermark. What attention to detail!
Sealed with Flowers by @Ira V. Taylor
Behind each entry there is so much work, and @Ira V. Taylor's cookie is a testament to this fact! She said, "[I] broke at least a half dozen of flowers during the process and one of the . . . transfer[s] flipped right on my face as soon as I took the tape off my rolling pin, and [then I] broke more petals". But she DID it! And I am so happy to see her wonderful cookie decorated with gorgeous royal icing transfers! I also like how she used a different icing color for the stencil atop the seal; it marries well with the colors of the flowers, lending so much visual continuity to the piece.
Sunflowers by @Zeena
Sunflowers are my favorites, and I love how this cookie turned out! Between the stenciled petals and piped centers, @Zeena was able to achieve so much dimension, texture, and realism. What a terrific idea to use a star tip for those centers! The royal icing wax seal transfer seems to be the fil rouge throughout all of Zeena's entries, taking on the role of her signature.
Stepping through the Garden by @Treatfairy
A second striking submission by @Treatfairy (though, sequentially, it was her first one)! I adore this pretty mini garden, which all fits on a 6 x 6-inch (~15 x 15-cm) cookie! The very realistic "concrete" stepping stones are royal icing transfers made with a round stencil, which, once dry, were stenciled again with a flower design. Treatfairy used the same floral stencil to make the many little petal transfers, which she then assembled into her gorgeous succulents! How's that for getting a lot of mileage out of one tool?!
Thank You, Mom by @Zeena
This stunning cookie by @Zeena is a truly labor of love and wonderful tribute to her mom. I was really moved when I finished reading her letter to her mother and later learned that participating in the challenge brought Zeena some needed solace. ❤️
Button Sale by @Yazz Ross
I love how @Yazz Ross spun my wax seal transfer technique to create button transfers. Just by changing the stencil shape and/or icing color, the possibilities for buttons become endless! Yazz also used a nail file (that she only uses on her cookies) to drill the holes. How clever is that?! For more how-to information, be sure to check out Yazz's comments and additional photos under her entry post.
Medieval Manuscript with Wax Seal Cookie by @Dixie Dust and Powdered Sugar
I read that this beautifully executed and elaborate seal by @Dixie Dust and Powdered Sugar was originally meant to be an entry, but she later realized it didn’t meet all of the challenge requirements and so posted it after the challenge closed. I know that I set some rules and deadlines for entering this challenge, but these challenges are, first and foremost, intended to be learning experiences and a way to stretch skills and inspire fellow cookiers. Because this cookie will most certainly do the latter, Julia and I decided to include it in the challenge clip set and this recap. I hope that @Dixie Dust and Powdered Sugar's incredible challenge work helps to motivate those of you who are on the fence about these challenges to participate in the future. Cookie Connection is certainly a safe, fun, and caring place to learn and grow!
Hitting Balls! by @Ryoko ~Cookie Ave.
And last but not least, here is @Ryoko ~Cookie Ave.'s "entry", a set of cookies that she made for my birthday. [EDITOR'S NOTE: "Entry" is in quotes, because Ryoko hadn't posted this set to the challenge clip set either. I added it later because I thought it was a super sweet tribute to Manu. 😀 ~JMU] Ryoko knows I like to play tennis, and so she personalized a tennis racket cookie with a 3-D sunflower royal icing transfer. I am not sure I could ever hit that cute smiley ball thoughl! I got to know Ryoko several years ago when we both participated in Cookie Connection Challenge #16 hosted by @Bakerloo Station. Ever since, Ryoko has prepared cookies for my birthday each year. Again, Julia's website Cookie Connection is truly the place to be inspired, and to make connections and friends!
I would also like to mention @Aproned Artist (aka Samantha Yacovetta) who, motivated by the techniques I shared during this challenge, wrote a wonderful Cookie Connection tutorial where she stenciled transfers and assembled them into the cutest tiny tent. In that tutorial, she also shared a different way to make flat round transfers. Check it out for more inspiration!
And now, the usual video recap! You’ll see some time-lapsed highlights from my demo as well as a slideshow of all of the entries. Enjoy!
Again, a huge thanks to @Evelindecora for always being game to take on any Cookie Connection project! If you missed Evelin's wonderful piped crochet demo that she created when she was a featured challenge guest a few months ago, have no fear! You can learn more about it and purchase it on Cookie Connection founder @Julia M. Usher's site.
I'll be back at the end of September with my Made by Manu tutorials and likely by early October with a new Watch- Learn-Create Challenge. Stay tuned!
Happy end of summer, Manu
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
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