Make some waves at your next get together with these Under The Sea Cookie Stencils from Confection Couture!
Here's what you'll need:
- School of Fish Background Cookie Stencil
- Sea Creatures Accent Cookie Stencil
- On The Sea Words Cookie Stencil
- Circle Shaped Cookie Cutter
- 2" Circle
- 3" Circle
- 4" Circle
- AirGenie Airbrush System
- Gyro-Cut Craft and Hobby Cutting Tool
- Cookie Magnets
- Plastic Bottle with Dropper Tip
- Quadrant Masking Tool (x2)
- Stencil Genie
- Screen Genie
- DecoPac Airbrush Food Coloring
- Super Red
- Malibu Blue
- Electric Blue
- Navy Blue
- Sugar Cookie ingredients
- Royal Icing ingredients
- Glad Press'n Seal
- Paper Towels
Getting Started
The first step, of course, is to bake and ice your cookies.
Masking
Load 5-6 drops of Super Red DecoPac Airbrush Food Coloring into the reservoir of your AirGenie tool. For the Three inch round cookie, cut a piece of Glad Press'n Seal and place it over the stencil, using your fingers to flatten it and remove any bubble or wrinkles.
Next use the Gyro-Cut tool to trim around the desired element, in this case the "Under The Sea" text. Turn the blade sideways and use it to lift one corner of the trimmed plastic, allowing you to peel it away.
Now, take your Stencil Genie and separate the upper and lower portion, placing the thicker side down, magnets facing up, on your workspace. Place the stencil on top with the chosen design centered inside the square.
Use a Quadrant Masking Tool to protect areas surrounding the stencil from overspray. Next, place the Screen Genie over the stack of tools and lock everything into place using the remaining piece of the Stencil Genie.
Lastly, use cookie magnets, in stacks of three or four to further help keep the stencil flat against the cookie surface.
Airbrushing
Be sure to test out the volume of spray on a stack of paper towels prior to airbrushing each cookie and color. Adjust the flow as needed by turning the knob on top of the unit.
You can also use a long needle or chopstick to press down any of the stencil edges that are continuing to lift away from the cookie as you move around with the airbrush.
Apply the color in light coats using a small, circular motion. Once finished, place this cookie aside for now.
Each time you use the Screen Genie with the same color but a different cookie, use a clean paper towel to wipe down both sides of the mesh. This will prevent excess buildup of the color on the screen and subsequently the cookie.
Repeat the above process of masking for the crab design, leaving the eyes covered.
Stencil the body of the crab using the Super Red colorant.
Cleaning the Stencil Tools
To clean the stencils, masking tools, and Stencil Genie between colors, remove any Press'n Seal and rinse them in water. For the Screen Genie, you can either rinse it under running water or spray water backwards through the stencil. Dry everything completely using either paper towels or a lint-free dish towel.
Cleaning the Airbrush Tool
To clean the airbrush tool between colors, rinse out the reservoir three to four times with clean water. Next, reattach the hose, fill the reservoir, and run water through the tool until empty. Repeat once more with water and then again, this time using an inexpensive 100 proof vodka.
Navy Blue
Next, isolate the octopus design using the Quadrant Masking Tools. Load some Navy Blue colorant into a clean airbrush tool and color octopus onto half of the 2" circle cookies.
While you have the navy blue loaded, use the Glad to mask off the far right fish on the Under The Sea cookie and airbrush it.
With the navy blue still loaded and using the Glad plastic, mask and airbrush the crab's eyes.
Next, using the Stencil Genie and the chopstick, airbrush the top third of the 4" cookie with the fish background stencil, allowing the color to fade as you approach the middle of the cookie.
Electric and Malibu Blue
Now, switch to Electric Blue and airbrush the middle of the cookie, fading upwards into the darker blue and downwards into the bottom third.
If you have a spare airbrush tool, place this one aside (a measuring cup with a spout works great to keep the tool upright). If not, skip ahead two steps and come back to finish this one after you've swapped out colorants.
Finish the cookie by airbrushing the bottom third with Malibu Blue, fading it upwards into the Electric Blue.
With the Malibu loaded, mask and airbrush the far left fish on the Under The Sea cookie.
Finish this cookie by switching back to Electric Blue and airbrushing the middle fish.
Your Under The Sea cookies are now complete and ready to take the plunge into the mouths of your family and friends!
