Konnichiwa and welcome to the greatest show on earth!
OK, maybe not the greatest - no tight rope walkers or fire eaters here, but we got rare and beautiful albino elephants, a Harlem Globetrotter wanna-be seal, a dilapidated tent, a Tom Selleck moustache look-a-like ring leader, and a couple Kokeshi dolls. HUH!?!
Yup, Kokeshi Dolls! Nothing to do with the circus, but it was the first thing I wanted to try out on my KopyKake!
If a year ago, when I cut each detail for these fondant Kokeshi Doll toppers by hand, you asked me whether I needed this piece of equipment, I would have answered a resounding YES, YES, YES!! If asked a month ago, you probably would have gotten a meh. Today, a half-hearted yeah.
My on the fence attitude is probably as a result of my unfamiliarity with its use. It didn't help that the room was flooded with sunlight at the time, or that the image my printer spat out was sub-par, or that a certain someone was rushing me to go out, or that whenever I tried to pipe a line my shadow got in the way, or... well, you get the picture - lots of variables. I just need to play around with it a little.
Worse than being on the fence, however, were the events surrounding the delivery. The equipment itself was on sale for a very attractive price and that's where the feel good part of the story ends and CUSTOMS monster rears its head! A nasty, ugly word that will forever be associated with this piece of equipment (well, for the first week, or so, not so much any more).I won't bore you with the details, there would be too many expletives involved. Let's just say the fees would have exceeded the cost of the projector. For those aware of the saga, you will be pleased to know that after days of relentless emails and phone calls to the carrier, the vendor and the 'bad people', I was able to recover some of the charges.
Let's shake that horrible mess and move on. I plan to make some going away cookies for a BFF who will be relocating to the US in a few weeks --- leave room for tears here. These were my practice cookies. A slight improvement from some of my earlier attempts at royal icing. Remember these Baby Bump cookies? Yikes!!
With Kokeshi dolls practiced and devoured, I felt like starting a circus. Not the kind where animals are held captive or are mistreated. I will have nothing of the sort! In my circus, the animals roam freely and were created to be enjoyed.
I did the elephants free-hand, as I did with these Elephants In the Room baby shower cookies. Simply outline and flood. The tent, seal and circus guy were KopyKake tests. I am not thrilled with them, but they are a part of my circus family and no one gets left behind.
With a little more practice, I'll be bringing you edible works of art the likes of Paul Gauguin. You just wait and see...hahahaaIn the meantime, go ahead and ooh and aah at the feats performed by this bunch. Feel free to get as close as you want, the only biting will be done by you. ;)* I used the same cookie recipe that I used for my Coco-Vanilla Cookies.
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Jacquee CS says
I'm glad to hear that you were able to recover some of the costs involved in getting that new KopyKake to you. Keeping my head out of the way was one of the biggest things I had to learn myself when using it. I love your *test* cookies and your Kokeshi dolls are really cute. I think the more you decorate with your KopyKake, the more you are going to love it.
Jacquee CS says
The cookies are adorable
Jacquee CS says
Really cute. You should check out sweetsugarbelle if you want easy tutorials for royal icing. But keep doing it....that's the only way. R
Jacquee CS says
Yes, my big head is always in the way! 🙂 I'll get the hang of it, soon, I hope!
Jacquee CS says
Thanks for the encouragement, Radhika!
Jacquee CS says
Thanks, Goreti.
Jacquee CS says
Yikes! I always fear customs when ordering something from the states. Glad you could recover some. Have fun getting to know your kopykake 😀
Jacquee CS says
I know! I order form overseas all the time and this was the first time I'd ever been hit by such outrageous a fee. Just means that I'll make good use of it. 🙂