One More for the Road

As I have said before, I loved this challenge.  My last entry however stressed me out a bit because of the structural issues.  I wanted to make sure I ended it on a positive note so I did one more.  And this cookie was pure joy for me! 

One of the things that I miss about NYC is the availability of all sorts of fresh flowers.  There were all sorts of vendors in my neighborhood with every flower imaginable.  Since I am in a rural area now, I thought, why not a flower truck making its way to the city!

I’ve never made a 2D cookie so that was a first.  I did make some missteps in regard to what parts of the truck to ice first.  And it literally rained all week which meant that I though I had extra time because I was stuck inside, it took forever for things to dry.  If I do something like this again, I will definitely tweak the construction process of the truck.  And I may play around with dimension.  (I couldn’t decide exactly how much I wanted it to protrude.)   It’s quite stable as it, which was important to support the weight of the flowers.

The base cookie is gingerbread as is the truck. All covered with royal icing.  The dirt road has an additional layer of brown sugar.

The flowers are a mix of royal icing transfers, fondant and gum paste, some with additional direct piping centers.  The flowers include gladiolus, lilies, echinacea, sunflowers, celosia, and cosmos.  They are resting in individual gumpaste buckets in the bed of the truck. 

I had contemplated having some flowers falling out the back to cover some of the icing smudges.  Then my husband got involved, which turned into a lengthy conversation about how carefully or crazy the driver was driving.  He claimed that the driver would be driving carefully and no spillage would occur.  I reminded him that the driver had technically had already run into a cookie.  So, we compromised and kept all the flowers inside the truck and attributed the smudges to dents and dings acquired when it ran into the cookie. 

so colorful! very nice!

Love this display..it's so colourful ❤️

Lisa, what a pretty idea and implementation!! Totally cool, lovely and beautiful... Great entry!! ❤️😘 @LisaF

What a cool idea!  Love the side view of the truck.  You are inspiring me to build cookie designs in a new way.

Wow, so creative and original, dear Lisa!! I love the truck and all the beautiful and colorful flowers! Awesome entry!♥️

@sylviawilson posted:

so colorful! very nice!

Thank you so much dear Sylvia @sylviawilson. 😘

@Jean Adams posted:

Love this display..it's so colourful ❤️

Thank you so much Jean @Jean Adams.  It was so dreary outside when I was making it - the colors certainly helped my mood!

@Icingsugarkeks posted:

Lisa, what a pretty idea and implementation!! Totally cool, lovely and beautiful... Great entry!! ❤️😘 @LisaF

Thanks buddy.  @Icingsugarkeks.  I wasn't completely sure it would work and was thrilled that it actually did!! 😂😘❤️

@E. Sherwood posted:

What a cool idea!  Love the side view of the truck.  You are inspiring me to build cookie designs in a new way.

That is so nice to hear @E. Sherwood.! I think this site is a constant source of inspiration.  Lately I have just been diving on in and seeing what takes.  ❤️

@Heather Bruce Sosa posted:

Wow, so creative and original, dear Lisa!! I love the truck and all the beautiful and colorful flowers! Awesome entry!♥️

Thank you dear Heather @Heather Bruce Sosa.  I really had so much fun doing this.  I have a lot of ideas and they don't always work out. 😂  It's such a good feeling when they do!!❤️😘

Another great entry with such a wonderful variety of flowers. Your truck and its construction are perfect. I like the story behind this entry, and I can only imagine the conversation that you and your husband had. The smudges, dents and dings are perfectly believable considering the "accident" with the cookie. 😄

Hey Lisa, you really went all out with this entry!!! It looks more like 3D to me than 2D because of the height and dimensions @LisaF. I love all the colorful, beautiful flowers the truck is carrying. You did a wonderful job!!! Red is the perfect color for the truck and the flowers are beyond fun and beautifully done. The finished piece looks to be pretty big. What's the size?

Awesome work my dear. Love it!! ❤️❤️❤️. Hugs...

@LisaF posted:

Thanks buddy.  @Icingsugarkeks.  I wasn't completely sure it would work and was thrilled that it actually did!! 😂😘❤️

that's the only way to learn! That's good Lisa! And that you definitely enjoy baking cookies can be seen in your funny comments.

Very interesting creation dear Lisa with 3D cookie touch and so many flowers!!Great work,well done dear

@Petra Florean posted:

Very interesting creation dear Lisa with 3D cookie touch and so many flowers!!Great work,well done dear

Thank you so much Petra!!

@Sweet Prodigy posted:

Another great entry with such a wonderful variety of flowers. Your truck and its construction are perfect. I like the story behind this entry, and I can only imagine the conversation that you and your husband had. The smudges, dents and dings are perfectly believable considering the "accident" with the cookie. 😄

Thank you so much Christine.  My husband and I tend to have rather lengthy squabbles over inane topics.  It's only worsened during the pandemic.  At least these challenges provide us with new ideas!!😂

@Cookies Fantastique posted:

Hey Lisa, you really went all out with this entry!!! It looks more like 3D to me than 2D because of the height and dimensions @LisaF. I love all the colorful, beautiful flowers the truck is carrying. You did a wonderful job!!! Red is the perfect color for the truck and the flowers are beyond fun and beautifully done. The finished piece looks to be pretty big. What's the size?

Awesome work my dear. Love it!! ❤️❤️❤️. Hugs...

Thank you Carol @Cookies Fantastique for both your kindness and bringing up the 3D/2D topic!  I must say, I don't completely understand the "Ds"!    The cookie base here is 12"x6".  The truck structure is about 6 1/2"x5".  The back of the truck protrudes 2 1/2".  I likened it a bit to one of the pop-up books (or greeting cards).  I thought it was 2D because it still lays flat.  I thought 3D meant you could see all around it (like the two bouquets I did).  I have absolutely no idea what 4D means.  Any clarity would be greatly appreciated!! I was at a dinner party once at which several surgeons were talking about new equipment that enabled them to operate safely because of various dimension features and I was completely lost. 😂

So many flowers, So gorgeous. Lovely colour combination. Great work dear Lisa! 🌷🌼🌸🌺💛💖🧡💜

So creative and colourful! Love 🌸🌼🌸

@Kanch J posted:

So many flowers, So gorgeous. Lovely colour combination. Great work dear Lisa! 🌷🌼🌸🌺💛💖🧡💜

Thank you so much for your kind words @Kanch J.  

@Evelindecora posted:

So creative and colourful! Love 🌸🌼🌸

Thank you so much friend @Evelindecora. ❤️

The photo of different angle, wow that's how your flower truck is!  That's soooo pretty.  

@Ryoko ~Cookie Ave. posted:

The photo of different angle, wow that's how your flower truck is!  That's soooo pretty.  

Thank you so much @Ryoko ~Cookie Ave.  I wanted to give more space to put flowers but didn't want to make an actual truck.  I had to keep it stable enough to hold all of the flowers!

great idea

@PUDING FARM posted:

great idea

Thank you so much!

Such a different perspective! Fascinating. Reading about the conversation with your husband brightened my day

@Manu biscotti decorati posted:

Such a different perspective! Fascinating. Reading about the conversation with your husband brightened my day

thank you so much Manu @Manu biscotti decorati.  I really had a lot of fun with this one.  It was the perfect way to end this particular challenge odyssey! 

Another one full of sweetness and loveliness 

@Joanna Manuel posted:

Another one full of sweetness and loveliness 

thank you for your kindness Joanna @Joanna Manuel