Welcome to another cookie decorating tutorial from Confection Couture. In this How to Stencil Cookies tutorial, we will show you how to decorate summery beach themed cookies with stencil templates from our summer cookie stencils collection.
For this cookie airbrushing tutorial we used our I Need Vitamin See words cookie stencil, our Whimsical Waves Background cookie stencil and our Beach Day cookie stencils. We will walk you through basic how to stencil cookies techniques and how to airbrush multi-colored cookies. Scroll down to watch our How to Decorate Beach Day Cookies video tutorial.
This collection features three beach-themed stencils that can be combined in to make your own custom designs! All of our stencils are made from a durable and reusable 10 mil food grade Mylar and can be used with either airbrushing or royal icing.
Supplies to Stencil Sea Themed Cookies:
- Label Plaque cookie cutter
- 4" Round cookie cutter
- 2" Round cookie cutter
- Summer Stencil collection
- AirGenie Airbrush system
- Stencil Genie
- Quadrant Masking Tool
- Gyro-Cut craft and hobby cutting tool
- Cookie magnets
How to Prepare To Airbrush Cookies
The first step when airbrushing cookies is to securely position the cookie stencil template on top of the cookie. It is very important that the stencil template lies flat on top of the cookie, otherwise when you airbrush the cookie, coloring might fly under the stencil template and blur the airbrushed design. This is called "under-brushing" and is a common cookie stenciling mistake.
Our Stencil Genie tool is carefully designed to hold the cookie stencil in place while you airbrush your cookies. First, place the bottom half of the Stencil Genie around your cookie. Then, position the cookie stencil template over the cookie.
Many of our cookie stencil templates (such as our summer sun cookie stencil pictured above) feature multiple stencil designs cut onto the same Mylar sheet. To stencil a single stencil design on your cookie, use the Quadrant Masking Tool to frame the design you want on the cookie and cover up the other stencil cutouts.
Finally, lay the top half of the Stencil Genie over everything (the Quadrant Masking Tool and the cookie stencil template). You can also place Cookie Magnets on top of the stencil template hold the stencil template in place. (Scroll down to see how we did this on our I Need Vitamin Sea cookie).
How to Airbrush Cookies
First, load a few drops of your first color into your AirGenie Airbrushing system.
Test the airflow on a clean stack of paper towels to see if the airbrush sprays evenly and adjust the airflow dial as needed. The key to cookie stenciling is to airbrush in multiple, light and even coats of coloring until the color has built up. Airbrushing with a high airflow can quickly cause under-spray (when coloring seeps under the stencil template) and over-spray (when droplets of coloring form and run down the cookie).
When your airbrushing system is ready, begin to stencil the cookie in light, even coats of coloring. Hold the airbrush gun about 6 inches away from the cookie facing downwards, not at an angle. Airbrush in smooth, circular motions, don't hold the airbrush gun over one place for too long or you might over spray.
If you notice any stencil cutout start to curl upwards, use a chopstick, knitting needle or similar tool to hold the stencil cutouts in place.
When you have finished stenciling the first cookie, wait a few minutes for the coloring to dry before gently removing the stencil template. To prevent smudging, lift the stencil template upwards to remove it.
Now we will show you how to stencil cookies with multiple colors.
How to Stencil Multi-Colored Cookies
Stenciling multicolored cookies is one of those tricks that looks difficult but is actually really easy to do. There are a tricks to stenciling cookies with multiple colors.
- Airbrush one color at a time and clean the airbrushing system between colors.
- Mask off the stencil cutouts you want to stencil in a different color (there are two ways to do this, we will show you both techniques below).
How to Mask Stencil Cutouts for Multicolored Cookies
To stencil a multicolored cookie, pick one color to start with. Pour a few drops of the first color into your airbrushing system. Because you need to clean the airbrushing system every time you use a new color, stencil one color on every cookie you want airbrush with that color. Then switch colors and stencil each cookie with the second color. (We started with Honey coloring and then used Navy Blue).
Next, you need to cover all the stencil cutouts you don't want in that color. There are two ways you can do this.
Use the Quadrant Masking Tool Stencil Multicolored Cookies:
You can use the Quadrant Masking Tool to frame one part of the cookie stencil template and cover the other cutouts, similar to what we did before. This technique works best with larger stencil designs that have more space between the cutouts. We used this technique to stencil a tri-colored ocean cookie with our Whimsical Waves Background cookie stencil.
We airbrushed the first two rows of ocean waves in navy blue as we did above, and then set the cookie aside (with the stencil template still in place) to let the coloring dry.
When the coloring has dried, we repositioned the Quadrant Masking Tool to frame the next two rows of ocean waves. If you do this when the coloring is still wet, you might smudge the dye. We used chopsticks to hold the stencil cutouts down while we airbrushed the cookie.
While you wait for the cookie to dry, you can stencil another cookie. We stenciled three cookies with Navy Blue coloring. While the navy waves dried one our Ocean cookie, we stenciled our Beach Day Words in navy blue and one section of our beach umbrella cookie in navy blue. You need to clean your airbrushing system every time you stencil a new color, so stencil one color at a time instead of one cookie at a time.
Here is our finished Ocean Wave stenciled cookie looking ready for the beach! We stenciled each row of waves in a lighter color of blue to create an ombre effect. You can also create this effect by airbrushing the same color in a darker or lighter shade with more or fewer coats of coloring.
Use Press'n Seal to Stencil Multicolored Cookies
If you are stenciling a more intricate cookie, we recommend using Glad's Press'n Seal to cover smaller, more detailed stencil cutouts. This simple cookie stencil technique will help you stencil elaborate cookie stencil designs in multiple colors. Although we know how easy this is, your friends and family will be awed by how delicate the stenciling on your cookies are.
For this cookie stenciling technique, first cover the stencil template with a piece of Glad Press'n Seal cut to size. Smooth out any wrinkles and bubbles.
Then, use the Gyro-Cut tool to cut out the Press'n Seal around the first stencil element you want to airbrush. Peel those cutouts away and leave the rest of the Press'n Seal in place over cookie stencil template. (Tweezers can help to lift smaller cutouts off the cookie stencil).
(Learn more about our amazing Gyro-Cut Craft and Hobby Tool here.
Then, position the cookie stencil template and the Stencil Genie as we explained above. Use the Quadrant Masking Tool to cover the other stencil designs on the stencil template. We also used cookie magnets to keep the stencil flat against the cookie.
When you have finished stenciling one color, set the cookie aside to dry for a few minutes. While you wait, place a new piece of Press'n Seal over the cookie stencil and use the Gyro-Cut tool to cut out the next stencil design element you will airbrush. Leave the Press'n Seal covering the other stencil cutouts. Now clean your AirGenie system and add a few drops of your second coloring (We used Navy Blue). Practice spraying on a clean paper towel as before.
When the cookie has dried, realign the stencil template on the cookie. Reposition the Stencil Genie, the Quadrant Masking Tool and cookie magnets if you are using them. Airbrush the second color.
Then, repeat the above steps for the third color (we used Malibu Blue for the middle section of the beach umbrella).
Now for our final stenciled cookie:
Here we used our Press'n Seal technique to stencil the first section of our beach umbrella cookie yellow with Honey DecoPac coloring. (Note on chronology: we stenciled Honey coloring on three cookies before we switched to the Navy Blue coloring we showed you above). Stencil each cookie with same careful airbrushing techniques we explained earlier.
We used the same technique with the Press'n Seal to stencil our I Need Vitamin Sea Beach cookie. Here we stencil the sun in Honey coloring. We used tweezers as well as magnets and the Stencil Genie to hold the tiny stencil cutouts flat against the cookie as we airbrushed.
Here is our tiny sun after we stencil it. As you can see, the Press'n Seal works really well to stencil one tiny detail at a time. This is a really simple technique to create elaborately decorated cookies you friends and family are sure to oh and ah over.
We stenciled the beach day words "I need vitamin sea" in navy blue, and then added a wavy border with our Whimsical Waves Background cookie stencil. We stenciled the wavy border in Navy Blue and Aqua coloring.
And that is how to stencil multicolored Beach Day Cookies!
Watch our How to Stencil Beach Day Cookies Video Tutorial:
Bake in the sunshine with these stunning beach day cookie stencil templates. Airbrush summertime cookie desserts with ocean waves, beach umbrellas, sunglasses, and sunshine! This is an easy, fun DIY cookie decorating tutorial. This blue and yellow stenciled cookies are perfect for Beach Day fun and summer picnics by the sea. Learn how to stencil your own beach day cookies with airbrushed colors and multicolored designs in our how to stencil beach day cookies video and written tutorial.
Find more how to decorate cookies tutorials on our confectionary blog and video tutorials gallery. Shop all our delectable summer cookie stencil today!