pea-cocky

my first cookie challenge of 2012 came via my friend jane, who'd contacted me to see if i could help her with a bridal shower she was coordinating.  she'd come across some gorgeous peacock-themed cookies, and thought that they'd work perfectly with the glam-themed gathering. 

after perusing the photos she sent me and trading a few e-mails for clarification, i knew what to do.  well, sort of.  i had a good idea of what i needed to do, but my less-than-stellar artistic skills had me stressing over it big-time.  i wanted to come through for jane, so i pulled it together and just jumped right in.

i figured it'd be a good idea to bust out my edible markers first, though, to draw an outline to follow with my piping bag.  trying to do it freehand would've been a disaster of epic proportions. 

and then for the first time in ages and ages, i actually mixed up a batch of royal icing instead of the glaze i've been using.  the glaze is delicious and usually works just fine, but i was nervous about getting these just right and decided that the texture of royal icing was what i needed.  i decided to try sweetopia's recipe this time, and it was perfect.  i didn't need to thin it out with extra water, and the colors mixed in easily.  first - an outline with teal to define the head and the top of the body.

then i filled them all in.

since the color scheme i was given included blue/teal, purple and green, i did my best to incorporate them all in a complementary way. 

i know, it still looks a little bizarre.  but after adding a few details, i busted out the sanding sugar to bling 'em out a little.

see?  does it look a little more peacock-y now?

but i wasn't done yet.  because of the requested bling factor, i'd shelled out the bucks to pick up pricey edible glitter - also known as "disco dust."  after a failed attempt at applying it to a test cookie, i realized that i needed a shaker of some sort.  of course, i didn't have one.  but then the light bulb went on over my head and i totally macgyver'ed me a ghetto-fab, high-tech instrument for even glitter application.

it worked!

and thank god, no royal icing disasters this time.  the next morning, they were completely dry and ready to be bagged.  jane seemed pleased with the final result, and from what i could see on twitter, the shower went swimmingly. 

next up:  cupcake-shaped cookies for a 1-year-old and then "the very hungry caterpillar" themed treats for a sweet set of twin girls.  whee!