Hello Blog....Yes, It's Me.......

Hello blog.......Yes, it's me...after all of the neglect!

It seems appropriate to reintroduce myself to my blog since I've been away for sooo long!

But, I'm back.....again.....hopefully on a little more regular basis this time.

No catching up this time...just moving forward.....

Recently, I posted these cookies on my facebook page:

and  promised to show the method I used in making the speckled eggs.

I learned this technique YEARS ago in a decorative painting class, and figured it

would give me the effect I was looking for.

This method is quite simple, and requires nothing more than:

*gel paste food color.....I used chocolate brown

*a stiff bristle paint brush, or new, unused tootbrush will work well too

*alcohol based extract, or any kind of 'drinking' alcohol will do

Step 1

Mix a drop or two of extract/alcohol with a few drops of gel paste food color to thin it out a bit. 

Step 2

Place your eggs that have been basecoated onto wax paper or parchment to protect your work area from speckle splatters.  I speckled mine right after basecoating.  It could be done dry as well.

Step 3

After dipping the brush into thinned gel paste, using the tip of index finger, gently flick the bristles of the brush while holding over and slightly the the side of the egg to make the speckles.

Be prepared for a stained finger. 

The amount of paint on the brush, as well as how close you hold the brush to the egg will determine the size of the speckles.

Here you can see how a fully loaded brush, held closer to the cookie, produced larger specks, in contrast to the much finer specks made after much of the gel paste had been flicked off, and the brush was held a little farther away. 

Using the same thinned gel paste and a fine liner brush, I added some 'paint' details to the outline of the birds and to define the carrots.

Experimentation will help you find the perfect speckles for your egg.

Happy Speckling