Wednesday, December 31, 2014

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A collection of my 2014 work:





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Thursday, December 25, 2014

Chocolate gingerbread with snowy landscape

I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas with this video!

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Monday, December 22, 2014

Gingerbread decoration for your Christmas table


White Gingerbread Christmas Centerpiece
Today I would like to share a few ideas about how to decorate your Christmas table with gingerbread.
This first picture is a white centerpiece made of bells and stars.

White Gingerbread Christmas Napkin Holder
This napkin holder is made of two Christmas trees and an oval. There is also a rectangle piece inside to help the assembly. Step by step instructions for this project (and many more) are available in my Gingerbread Christmas Wonderland book.

White Gingerbread Christmas Napkin Rings
This set of white napkin rings is very easy to make and nicely complements the white decoration.

Gingerbread Christmas Centerpiece with Holy pattern
The first piece of the holy set is a simple centerpiece. Just a big circle cookie with a big, fat candle.

Gingerbread Christmas napkin holder with Holy pattern
And a napkin holder with the same holy pattern.

Gingerbread Christmas place card with Holy pattern
Finally some matching place cards.

Gingerbread red heart place card
You can also combine the napkin ring with the place card.

Red Gingerbread Christmas candle holder
Some simple red and white candle holders.

Gingerbread Christmas candle holder
All natural - chocolate gingerbread and regular gingerbread with white icing.

Gingerbread Christmas candle holder
 Still the natural combination.

Red and white Gingerbread Christmas candle holder
Red and white candle holder: powerful and elegant.

Gold and white Gingerbread Christmas candle holder
And finally the festive white and gold combination.

I hope you enjoyed this collection and I could give you some ideas...

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Monday, December 15, 2014

Snowflake cookies

Snowflake cookies

I love snowflake cookies. It's easy to make beautiful snowflakes, because symmetrical patterns always look great. And of course snowflakes are all different, just like in nature. This first picture is my 2014 snowflake set. I used gorgeous shiny blue edible pearls to decorate them. I found them in Hungary during my summer visit and could not wait to use them for my winter cookies


Snowflake cookies

This is my very first snowflake set from 2013. Just white icing and the cookies. Also played with different shapes and sizes.


Snowflake cookies

And here is the big snowflake. This is a giant cookie cutter with all the details built in it. It's a gorgeous shape and I used a few pink edible beads with white icing. This cookie is also from last year, you can find step by step instruction to make it in my book, Gingerbread Christmas Wonderland.


Snowflake cookies

Enjoy the beauty of winter!

Snowflake cookies


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Friday, December 12, 2014

Christmas tree cookie - variations for one cutter

Christmas tree cookies

I recently bought a 5 inch Christmas tree cutter and I decided to play with it a little. 
Let's see the result.

Christmas tree cookies

This first set is just simple cookies. I started with green flood icing on all of them, just the decoration is different.

Christmas tree cookie
 This is the ideal project of we work with kids: just a few Christmas sprinkles decorate this tree.

Christmas tree cookie
 This tree is decorated with white icing, using brush embroidery. We will make this cookie Monday during class at Gallery 916.

Christmas tree cookie
 This tree has some curly curves and a few golden pearls make it more festive.

Christmas tree cookie
The lines on this tree are painted with green twinkle dust and I added some silver pearls in two different sizes. This looks gorgeous in person, I would definitely need to work on my photo skills to be able to show all the lights and sparkles.

Christmas tree cookie candle holders
The next set is a few Christmas tree candle holders. I cut a hole in the middle of the cookie after baking, when it was still warm. I also baked some circle cookies to put under the candle.

Christmas tree cookie candle holder
 This is the back side. The candle sits on the circle cookie. The two pieces are grued together with the icing.

Christmas tree cookie candle holder
 This candle holder has a little brush embroidery with the same color as the flood icing and a bead border around the candle.

Christmas tree cookie candle holder
 Just a few lines and a few silver pearls...

Christmas tree cookie candle holder
 ... and the gold version.

Christmas tree cookie candle holder
And yes! I run out of the flood icing before icing the last cookie. But I did not mind too much: decorated the bare cookie with green icing and I like the result.

Christmas tree cookie candle holder
 Here, instead of the circle base, I baked together two trees to make a nice base for my candle and placed the third tree in the middle. 

Will you decorate some Christmas tree cookies this year?

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Thursday, December 11, 2014

Gingerbread candle holder


Gingerbread candle holder

We don't always have a lot of time for decoration, but still want it to be beautiful and unique. These candle holders are truly pretty and they can be decorated really fast. They can make a nice little gift around Christmas.

For each candle holder I baked two snowflakes using my yummy gingerbread recipe.
When the cookies were still warm, I cut out a circle from one of the snowflakes with a round cutter that is large enough to fit a candle inside.

I let the cookies cool completely, then made simple white, piping consistency royal icing.

First I decorated only the tips of the bottom snowflakes (we don't see much of them). Then used royal icing to glue the second snowflake (the one with a hole) on top. Put a tea light candle inside and decorated the top snowflake.

If you look closely, you will see, that the middle is the easiest pattern ever. Just a few straight lines to make the snowflake, a few dots to fill the gaps and an outline. And still, how pretty it is?


Gingerbread candle holder

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Friday, December 5, 2014

Santa is coming to our house tonight

Yes, I know we have almost three more weeks until Christmas. But in Hungary and a few more European countries Santa arrives December 6th.

Santa cookies


When I was a kid, we cleaned our boots and put them to the window sill. By the morning our boots were filled with goodies (chocolate, candies, oranges, nuts) if we were good. Naughty kids got a willow switch. As many of you probably have no idea about what it is, I attach a picture.


I usually got lots of goodies and a willow switch too. Nobody is good all the time, right?

Here is my Santa cookie:

Santa cookies

And a closer look:

Santa cookies

Now my kids are awaiting Santa. They don't have boots (as it's never that cold in Kentucky) and are window sills are not wide enough for them. But the kids already decided to stay up until they see Santa...

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Saturday, November 29, 2014

White bell cookies with poinsettias

White bell cookies with poinsettias

These bell cookies were my first "play-cookies" of the season. What a play-cookie is? Cookies I make for the pure joy of creating.

These are designs that cross my mind, then I play with them in my mind for days, weeks, or even months before I have the time to make them. Most of the time they are too complicated to make them to sell and I don't even want to make them again. It would ruin the fun.

I wanted to make some bell cookies with poinsettias and decided to add a little lace to make them more interesting. A great start for a wonderful season!

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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Hanukkah cookies

Hanukkah cookies

A friend of mine suggested me last year to make some Hanukkah cookies and I said I will and also ordered a set of cookie cutters. But I did not make the cookies and I felt so bad about it!

These cookies were on my "to do" list for more than a year! And it's not because I can not find time to bake and decorate a dozen cookies to make a friend happy. It's because to create a set I need information. I not only need to know which colors to use, but also why.

This Hanukkah cookie cutter had 6 different shapes and I knew only 3 of them. For the other three I had no idea what they were:


Instead of baking the cookies, I was staring at this cutter, trying to figure out, what could it be. Then, of course, I searched the internet for Hanukkah information and found out, that this is the Chai symbol. At this point a cookie decorator could stop, draw the symbol and proceed. Not me! I wanted to know more...

Chai: This symbol, commonly seen on necklaces and other jewelry and ornaments, is simply the Hebrew word Chai (living), with the two Hebrew letters Cheit and Yod attached to each other. Some say it refers to the Living G-d; others say it simply reflects Judaism's focus on the importance of life. Whatever the reason, the concept of chai is important in Jewish culture. The typical Jewish toast is l'chayim (to life). Gifts to charity are routinely given in multiples of 18 (the numeric value of the word Chai). (source: http://www.jewfaq.org/)

So now, I know this symbol, I like it and I am ready to do a Chai cookie.

And by now, I now a little about all of them.

I even wanted to know the sound of the Shofar (A ram's horn, blown like a trumpet as a call to repentance.) It's amazing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jR20-0sy1Y

Making cookies is a great way to learn about other cultures. And I have so much more to learn!

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Friday, November 21, 2014

Russian themed cookies 3 - Matryoshka doll

The last set of the Russian collection is the matryoshka doll cookie set.

 Matryoshka doll cookie

matryoshka doll, also known as Russian nesting doll or babushka doll, refers to a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890. Traditionally the outer layer is a woman and the figures inside may be of either gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme; the themes vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders.

Growing up, we had two sets of these dolls. My dad brought them from Moscow and we loved playing with them. And two sets never seemed to be enough, so for this tea party I created three sets:

 Matryoshka doll cookie

 Matryoshka doll cookie

 Matryoshka doll cookie

 Matryoshka doll cookie

 Matryoshka doll cookie


 Matryoshka doll cookie

 Matryoshka doll cookie

 Matryoshka doll cookie


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