Decorated Love Bird Cookies

You might have noticed by now that I have a long running love affair with bluebirds.  Somehow, I end up making a variation of them every single year.  I’d almost decided to take a break, but when I discovered these adorable illustrations by Cookies With Character, I knew they’d be happening soon.

Lovebird Cookies SweetsugarbelleKrista’s latest artistic venture, Drawn with Character, takes cookie decorating to a whole new level.  Specializing in clip art designed with the cookie decorator in mind, you can purchase a pre-drawn image {often the most time consuming part of cookie decorating} for a small fee.  All you’ve got to do is pipe.

Although the convenience of a ready-to-pipe design is well worth the cost, once a week Krista is offering something even better than that!  This adorable template is actually part of the Friday Freebie collection {we can pretend it’s Friday} offered weekly on her blog.

You can get these “tweeties” by clicking here.Krista BirdsWhat I love most is how versatile the designs are.  I was able to use the same image to produce three different cookies…my “pet” design being lovebirds made with a mustache cutter.

If you don’t own a mustache cutter, you can pick one up here.

To make these cookies you will need:

For uniform cookies use a food-safe marker to draw a piping guideline before you begin.

Love Birds Cookie CutterOutline the cookie as pictured below.

Love Birds Cookies 1Next, flood the cookie in alternating sections.  Give the first section a bit of time to dry before filling the second one to create a dimensional look.

Love Bird Cookies 2While it’s perfectly okay to wing it {pun intended}, I used my Kopykake to project Krista’s design onto the dried base.  I had to adjust it a little as I worked to make sure everything was in the right place, but the decorating process took almost no time at all.

Begin by piping eyes, beaks, and wings with a small tip, such as a #1.5 or #2.  Then, use a star tip to add a sprig of hair on top and that’s all there is to it.

Blue Bird Cookie How-ToHere’s the progression from clip art to cookie, beginning with a butterfly cookie {cutter can be purchased individually found in this set} as the base.

Start with a flooded cookie that is completely dry.  Project and position the image, fill the larger areas in sections with 20-second icing, and pipe the details with a #1.5 tip.  Don’t be afraid to add your own special touches

Alternatively, you can outline and fill if your more comfortable with this technique.

How to Make Bluebird CookiesI think my favorite cookie ended up being the half-version I piped on a round.

Bluebird CookiesI love how the designs compliment one another.  No matter what your decorating style, Krista’s illustrations make putting together a coordinated platters easy and fun.Lovebird CookiesFor more lovebird madness, be sure to check out these links: