Piping Practice in 1:12

i have shared previously my love for Rosey Sugar, and since christmas is approaching, i decided to do more piping practice. each cookie is approx 6.5mm to 8mm wide. these are the results of the past weeks' worth of practice. i am going to pick out my fave designs and bang them out for my etsy store, so expect some in there next week :)

i was trying to sort out which were my fave designs, i tried not to imitate any cookies i'd seen, but i suppose some common elements are inevitable since they're snowflakes. the important part for me is getting the piping lines and joins clean and thin. i think my fave ones are the geometric snowflake cookies, i'm not so fond of curlicues, more because they're technically more challenging trying not to get the polymer clay sticking and winding up in a lump while i pipe.

i used mini piping bags which you can figure out how to make by doing a simple google search, keep the tip clean, and have a very steady hand. the mix is simply polymer clay + liquid polymer clay mix, it's hard also to explain the consistency, it has to be thin enough to pipe through the miniscule hole, yet viscous enough to hold its line. you can see some of my cookies were thicker as the mix kind of spread out after piping. all this is very tricky and so, i can honestly say, it comes down to practice practice practice. no special tips, tricks nor tutorials. you just gotta get in there and figure out the mix, consistency and PRACTICE. be prepared to be super frustrated. i think it helps if you're familiar with piping real cookies, of which i have zero experience . but as you can see, it's do-able. if you mess up, wipe it off and try, try again.

of course i had to make some gingerbread men and trees. again, these are practice pieces, and testing the consistency of the piping mix.

 i used paper punches to make all of the above shapes, except for the wee gingerbread boy & girl which i shaped and molded. the piping for all of the above were first attempts and have to be adjusted and improved, but i believe i am getting there.

my arm and shoulder are killing me from mixing the piping 'cream', so naturally i'm grouchy and grumpy. BUT! i'm so happy to show off this little tree!!! i hope to fill it up with more details, but i want to keep it somewhat monochromatic, as is my 'style'.

i'm off to the museum :) i need a break from all this intensity -_-" then it's back to making more more MORE cookies! ^ ^