St Patrick's Argyle Overlay Stencils
You finished your Corned Beef and Cabbage but still have some room? Don't forget to eat your greens... green cookies that is! In this tutorial, Confection Couture Stencils walks you through how to use our 2 part overlay background stencils in time for St Patrick's day.
All of the tools used for these cookies can be found in the links below:
For this particular stencil overlay background set we start with the solid fill diamonds. Set the dotted line pattern to the side. Place the stencil into the Stencil Genie then line the design up over your first cookie. Now if you have a perfectly smooth top coat of royal icing you may not need to use cookie magnets. To hold the stencil flat to the surface we placed a couple magnets over the stencil around the cookie edges.
When your stencil is in place you are ready to load your airbrush with food coloring. Fill the AirGenie Airbrush about halfway with Amerimist Food Coloring. Turn on the AirGenie with the airflow turned all the way down and test out the flow on a piece of paper towel. Turn the air flow up on the AirGenie as needed until you feel comfortable stenciling.
Now that you are used to the airbrush you can stencil the cookie design. Make sure the stencil is flush to the cookie surface. The airbrush should face straight down about 2-4 inches from the stencil. Use a back and forth motion as you gradually build color through the stencil design. You will want to stencil along the corners and edges of the stencil to get crisp details on the cookie. If the stencil is not sitting flat on the cookie you can use a spare airbrush needle in your free hand to hold it down as you go.
You may want a second coat of color for complete coverage. Be sure that the food coloring does not bead up in liquid droplets because you will have used too much!
Once the pattern is completely covered, you should remove the cookie magnets THEN lift the Stencil Genie off the surface.If you don't take the magnets off first they may push the stencil through the Stencil Genie, potentially smudging your hard work.
Next, place the Stencil Genie onto the next cookie if you plan to stencil several cookies with the argyle pattern. Line the stencil up, place the cookie magnets, and airbrush just as you had before. Finish the first round of airbrushing and set the cookies aside to rest for 5-10 minutes. This ensures the food coloring dries enough so it doesn't smudge while you stencil the next color.
As you wait for the food coloring to dry you will want to prepare the airbrush for the next color. Do this by emptying the leftover food coloring out of the airbrush and immediately load the airbrush with vodka. Run vodka through the airbrush about 3 times until it comes out clear. Use a bit of paper towel on the tip of the airbrush to wipe away any excess color. Then wait a couple minutes for any remaining vodka to evaporate. Water will work in place of vodka but it takes longer for any excess to air dry. This is why we recommend using alcohol for clearing food coloring.
With the airbrush prepared you will continue stenciling with the next pattern just as before:
- Load orange Amerimist Food Coloring into the Airbrush
- Test out the rate of flow on a piece of paper towel
- Place the Argyle overlay stencil into the Stencil Genie
- Line the pattern up over the previously stenciled design
- Put cookie magnets on the stencil around the cookie edges
- Begin lightly airbrushing the color in 2-3 coats
- Pro Tip! Use a spare Airbrush needle to hold the stencil flat against any problem areas on the cookie
- Repeat!
Finish airbrushing the dotted argyle overlay on each green cookie for a platter of perfect St Patrick's Day desserts! For more instruction be sure to check out the video below. Don't limit yourself to green and orange though, these Argyle Cookies could be perfect for any celebration if you use different colors. If you liked this tutorial be sure to like, subscribe, follow, and visit us at confectioncouturestencils.com
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