The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a favorite read in my house.  My daughter absolutely loves it!  And I’m absolutely in love with all of the Eric Carle inspired cakes and parties popping up lately, as are many of you!  That’s why you’re going to flip over today’s tutorial!  The lovely ladies at Cream & Flutter recently hosted an adorable Baby Shower inspired by this classic book.  (You may remember Cream & Flutter from the oh-so-creative and mega popular Gender Reveal Cupcakes we featured last August.)  Well this talented sister duo is back today with a fabulous cookie DIY from their caterpillar party… hand painted and totally incredible!  Today you’ll learn how to make your very own, Very Hungry Caterpillar Cookies!

HUNGRY CATERPILLAR COOKIES
A DIY by Cream & Flutter

1. Make a template by tracing fruit from book.  Cut with sharp pairing knife on cold cookie dough.
2. Cut out hole with small circle cutter.  Place cookies in freezer for one hour to ensure they keep their shape.  Then bake.
3. Outline cookie in white with stiff royal icing.  Fill cookie with thin, white royal icing.
4. Dilute food coloring with a few drops of water.  Paint base color first.  Add details once dry.

A huge thank you to Trisha and Amanda from Cream & Flutter for sharing their hand-painted, Hungry Caterpillar Cookie Tutorial with us today!  You can see more of their Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower HERE on the Cream & Flutter blog.  Enjoy!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Cookies & Tutorial by:  Cream & Flutter

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day draws near!  From here until the 14th, we’re all about the sweet inspiration for Cupid’s holiday!  Because really, nothing says ‘I Love You’ like something sweet and delicious.  Today we’re crushing on some incredible goodies from our friends at The Pastry Studio!  With red glittering hearts and oh-so-pretty lips ready for smooching, these Valentine’s treats are sure to make your heart flutter!

Oh the glitter!!  Red velvet cupcakes and chocolate cupcakes get an extra pinch of shimmer with glittering red heart toppers.  I love the idea of boxing up a cupcake in a craft-brown box and tying with a red polka-dot bow!  Who could resist a delightful gift like that?

It’s all about the hugs and kisses with these charming cookies.  Talk about sweet smooches…  time to pucker up!

And I absolutely love the idea of stacking up your Valentine’s cookies on a pretty white pedestal!  Beautiful cookies deserve a beautiful stand too.  This would be perfect as part of a Valentine’s dessert table or all by itself for a smaller crowd.  Who says you can’t present cookies in a fabulous fashion for your family?

Sending a little love to Sherri and her team at The Pastry Studio for always making us swoon!  You should also check out their lovely Valentine’s Cake that we featured last year (HERE).

The Pastry Studio:
Web:  thepastrystudio.com
Be a Fan:  The Pastry Studio on Facebook
Tweet:  The Pasty Studio on Twitter
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Callye of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle is stopping by to share some of her cookie magic…

For some reason, many people don’t think they are capable of decorating perfect sugar cookies.  This is simply untrue.  With a little practice and experience ANYONE can create beautiful cookies.  Today I’m going to share a fun little tip to help you along on your cookie decorating journey.  I used it to make my latest set of Christmas cookies.

I call this the impression trick.  Before baking, I used a cookie cutter to lightly stamp the dough.  This leaves an impression on the cookie that will serve as a piping guide after baking .

When the cookies have cooled, use piping icing and a #2 or #3 tip to outline the tree design, and after a minute of two of drying, fill with matching flood icing.

While the tree is still wet, drop colored dragees or pearl “ornaments” into the icing.  Let the Tree area dry for about an hour, than outline and fill the rest of the cookie.

Let them dry overnight, and you’ll have beautiful perfect cookies.

Sometimes I’ll use a #1.5 tip to outline the tree or add a few more ornaments the next day.  I like to create collections of simple coordinating cookies with lots of texture and visual interest.  This makes even the simplest of cookie designs appear amazing.

This technique works for MANY different cookie themes. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

If you have the cookie decorating bug, be sure to swing by my blog, The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, where you’ll find all sorts of cookie how-to’s like the Chevron Patterned Cookies pictured above.

Thanks for having me today, I hope you’ll come visit me in all of my cookie craziness very soon!  Happy Decorating!  ~ Callye