airbrushing: the next frontier

man, what the hell did we do before the internet?  because i mean, without it there's no way i would have ever learned how to do stuff, like sew or cook or bake or decorate cookies.  and with so many great cookie-rs out there who are constantly upping their game, using different techniques and tools, i get to build on my own skills too.

my newest thing?  well, first i invested in an electronic die-cutting machine - the silhouette portrait, to be exact.  this thing is freaking amazing - using the included software, you can use it to cut out all sorts of shapes and designs and text.  there's an online store to buy just about any image you can think of, and better yet - you can import your own image to cut out.  i've got a fun set of cookies to do this week, and my very first project with the silhouette was a stencil to use for them:

and what am i doing with this?  well, here's a hint:

that right there is my brand new airbrush.  isn't she shiny and pretty?  i haven't decided if i want to give her a name yet, but i love her so.  and oh man, so much fun to use once i got the hang of it.  i busted out an old cookie i found in the kitchen:

created a makeshift "station" to keep from brushing color all over the counters:

and voila!  

doesn't look like much right now, but just you wait.  it'll be great, and opens the door to so many new possibilities for me.  i'm stupid excited for this.

i got to test it out for real when one of my friends asked me to create some cookie favors using the owl theme for her little one's first birthday party.

now owls, i've done several times before.  but that gingham accent at the bottom?  yeah, doable using frosting.  but potentially even better with the airbrush!  using my paper cutter, an exacto knife and some heavy cardstock, i threw together a quickie stencil to use:

i baked the cookies, flooded the bottom half with plain white frosting, and then when they were dry i broke out the heavy artillery.  first attempt:

not bad, right?  i figured it'd be okay if i had some overspray since i was going to cover the rest of the cookie with more frosting anyway.  later i'd end up regretting that, since the yellow frosting still showed a hint of the blue underneath.  oh well, live and learn.

something else i learned:  airbrush dye is potent as hell.

and one more thing?  when airbrushing in several colors, always use the lightest color first.  because even though you think you've cleaned that gun out sufficiently, shit like this can happen:

also, i've gotta figure out how to avoid this business.

in any case, here's the finished product.  i still think they're cute, and somewhat close to the design i was given.

i also received this photo to use for baby shower cookies:

and sent out these.

another fun set of cookies i got to do last week was a couple dozen mini strawberries.

and to round out the week, more super fun treats:

i'm pretty excited to play with my new toys.  this week should be lots of fun.