Wedding Surprise

This was definitely a CHALLENGE for me.  I have never made a favor for a wedding or a decorative take home gift for a large group of people.  I liked the idea of a 3-D cookie, inspired in no small part by all of Julia’s 3-D creations. There are five cookies to the favor. A five inch base, three small cookies for the base and a dome for the top.

I wanted to use the challenge to practice making smaller flowers.  Many people on this site are quite gifted in creating detailed, delicate blossoms. I am not one of them.  So, I gave it a shot. Several, in fact.  As it turns out, I am still not one of those people who can make detailed, delicate blossoms.  Most of my flowers turned out about twice the size I wanted them to be.

Design wise, I was inspired by the colors and textures in the challenge photos.  My initial plan was to dip the dome in the same color icing as the base and place the smaller flowers in a decorative pattern.  However, given the size of the flowers, I decided to create a full bouquet.

Lifting the dome reveals the surprise and serves as a commemoration of the event. My penmanship is terrible however - in both piping and an actual pen.

In terms of packaging  - the dome is kept somewhat in place by the four sets of roses.  The roses act knobs that keep the dome from sliding off.  I placed it in a square box that I had (I would probably opt for an all-white box for client presentation).  I nestled the favor in two separate fillers.  One is shredded wafer paper.  The other is organic pumpkin seeds. I think I like the pumpkin seeds better ( I purposely picked a seed that I thought would match the palette.

I have never been paid for a cookie, so I have absolutely no idea about pricing.  I did however, think about whether or not I could duplicate the cookie 75 times and theoretically planned according. The majority of decorations are royal icing transfers, which can be made well in advance.  It also made assembly quite easy. For me, applying the transfers is much easier than dipping the domes.  It also hides any imperfections in the actual cookie surface that might otherwise be visible through the dipped icing.

Wow!  It’s beautiful and quite an accomplishment.

Ooh, such a clever idea with the surprise inside! I love it! And congrats on being the first entrant! Just out of curiosity, how many flowers went on the dome? And how big is the dome?

Such a neat idea with the dome. Very well executed.

@Stevie Jean posted:

Wow!  It’s beautiful and quite an accomplishment.

Thank you so much for your kind words Stevie.❤️

Moc krásný nápad i provedení. Gratuluji👏👏👏😍

@Julia M. Usher posted:

Ooh, such a clever idea with the surprise inside! I love it! And congrats on being the first entrant! Just out of curiosity, how many flowers went on the dome? And how big is the dome?

Thank you so much Julia. I surprised myself by finishing this so early. But in these waning days of summer, this is the only time window I had. I told various family members that I needed to focus on my wedding cookie and they’re still trying to figure out who’s getting married!
The silicone mold I used for the dome is the 002. The opening measures 2 3/4” (not sure if this is the proper way to measure domes!) There are a total of 44 flowers on the dome, various shapes and sizes.

@Kyra Manthe posted:

Such a neat idea with the dome. Very well executed.

Thank you so much Kyra!

@Dita posted:

Moc krásný nápad i provedení. Gratuluji👏👏👏😍

Thank you Dita!❤️😘

@LisaF posted:

Thank you so much Julia. I surprised myself by finishing this so early. But in these waning days of summer, this is the only time window I had. I told various family members that I needed to focus on my wedding cookie and they’re still trying to figure out who’s getting married!
The silicone mold I used for the dome is the 002. The opening measures 2 3/4” (not sure if this is the proper way to measure domes!) There are a total of 44 flowers on the dome, various shapes and sizes.

LOL about not knowing the wedding couple! Thanks for the scoop. Lots of flowers - a real labor of love!

WOW!! Lisa, a great surprise with the rose dome !!! Absolutelly genial!! Your whole project is very well thought out and a magical example for everyone else !! Great, simply great, Lisa!! ❤️ @LisaF

@Icingsugarkeks posted:

WOW!! Lisa, a great surprise with the rose dome !!! Absolutelly genial!! Your whole project is very well thought out and a magical example for everyone else !! Great, simply great, Lisa!! ❤️ @LisaF

Aww Gabi.  Thank you so much for your kind words. ❤️😘

What a beautiful cookie Lisa @LisaF. I loved the fact you challenged yourself to make these flowers. Practice is the key and I think with your willingness to learn you are off to a great start. I love the hidden surprise cookie. Great job dear.

@Zeena posted:

What a beautiful cookie Lisa @LisaF. I loved the fact you challenged yourself to make these flowers. Practice is the key and I think with your willingness to learn you are off to a great start. I love the hidden surprise cookie. Great job dear.

Thank you dear Zeena @Zeena. I’m really trying to play around more with royal icing and modeling chocolate. I feel more comfortable with fondant and gum paste but am definitely trying to expand. You’re so right though - practice is definitely the key !❤️😘🍪

What a beautiful floral arrangement Lisa @LisaF!! I've always been partial to flowers (I was a floral designer many, many years ago). I just love the variety of colors and shapes of different flowers. I was surprised to read that you don't feel especially confident with your flowers??? What? They're wonderful Lisa. As I know only too well, we are our worst critics but don't be hard on yourself my dear. This is a beautiful cookie and the box is a perfect presentation package for highlighting all the gorgeous colors of your flowers. These are really well done!! Awesome work my dear friend ❤️❤️❤️ Hugs...

@Cookies Fantastique posted:

What a beautiful floral arrangement Lisa @LisaF!! I've always been partial to flowers (I was a floral designer many, many years ago). I just love the variety of colors and shapes of different flowers. I was surprised to read that you don't feel especially confident with your flowers??? What? They're wonderful Lisa. As I know only too well, we are our worst critics but don't be hard on yourself my dear. This is a beautiful cookie and the box is a perfect presentation package for highlighting all the gorgeous colors of your flowers. These are really well done!! Awesome work my dear friend ❤️❤️❤️ Hugs...

Thank you for your kind words Carol. I’ve been so inspired by all of the detailed, intricate work that so many do on this site. Unfortunately, I don’t always have the patience or discipline. I’m working on it though! I so appreciate your encouragement.❤️😘🍪

I really like how your surprise cookie has a place for a hidden message below the beautiful bouquet of royal icing flowers, which turned out very elegant by the way. And I like how you've cleverly added roses on the bottom cookie to hold the dome in place. Also, using edible items as part of your packaging is definitely thinking outside-the-box (or is that inside-the-box?) Everything you've done shows that you really put a lot of thought into your entry, and the colors and design coordinate beautifully with the inspiration photos.

@Sweet Prodigy posted:

I really like how your surprise cookie has a place for a hidden message below the beautiful bouquet of royal icing flowers, which turned out very elegant by the way. And I like how you've cleverly added roses on the bottom cookie to hold the dome in place. Also, using edible items as part of your packaging is definitely thinking outside-the-box (or is that inside-the-box?) Everything you've done shows that you really put a lot of thought into your entry, and the colors and design coordinate beautifully with the inspiration photos.

Thank you for all of your encouraging and kind remarks Christine. As I mentioned, this was definitely a challenge for me. I really had no idea where to begin. I just kept rolling around ideas in my head and again as I was making it. Fortunately it all came together - but it was definitely touch and go for awhile !

How lovely!  I love surprises, and I'm sure any recipient would be delighted to find the surprise too!  Great idea and well executed!  

@BevH posted:

How lovely!  I love surprises, and I'm sure any recipient would be delighted to find the surprise too!  Great idea and well executed!  

Thank you so much Bev.❤️

Very pretty! This would make a lovely addition to the table.

@Tina at Sugar Wishes posted:

Very pretty! This would make a lovely addition to the table.

Thank you so much Tina 😘

This is very pretty and I cannot eat....

@Ryoko ~Cookie Ave. posted:

This is very pretty and I cannot eat....

Thank you Ryoko. You may not be able to eat it but my husband did! Quite quickly even despite all the effort I put in!😂😂❤️❤️🍪🍪