I’m frequently asked where I get inspiration for cookie designs. The answer is everywhere! I’m inspired by fashion, fabric, gift wrap, paintings, architecture, other artists, and this cookie was inspired by nature and a painted watercolor greeting card.

Purple Watercolor Rose on Decorated Sugar Cookie

 

I started out by finding a photograph of a rose online and projected the rose onto my cookie using a Pico Projector. I “traced” the petals on to my already flooded and dry cookie with white royal icing.

Watch the entire process here:

While the outline of the petals were drying I prepared by paint pallette and created a gradient of the colors from pink, teal, and purple for the flower itself. The pinks and pale purples were used to create the highlights on the petals where the light would be touching them. The darker hues of purple were to create shadows and add depth.

As I began to build the colors I started with the lightest of the pale purple and then slowly built up the shadows blending them out with a dry or lightly damp brush. I continually referred back to the photograph for reference on where the shadows and highlights were on the rose.

Purple Watercolor Rose on Decorated Sugar Cookie

I used the same gradient technique on the leaves using yellow, green, and brown.

I finished the cookie off by cleaning up any small mistakes on the outer white area of the cookie by using a lightly damp brush and erasing them. This can affect the shiny finish to your icing so I recommend that if you do this you brush over the entire area to keep your sheen consistent.

Purple Watercolor Rose on Decorated Sugar Cookie

Supplies

Purple Watercolor Rose on Decorated Sugar Cookie

This was a fun experiment for me and I was very happy with the outcome. Have you ever tried watercoloring on your cookies? I’d love to see them if you have!

Until next time, remember to Stay Sweet!
April