Tis The Season

Hey folks!  It's that time of year, and it means that I can finally post the Holiday Series!

These are not quite miniatures, and it's not quite painting, but it is still quite fun.

Yes, Christmas Cookies!  Gingerbread and Nutmeg cookies to be more precise.

Of course it all starts with a good dough.  Using the ancient mixer to stir away at that batter...

The Nutmeg dough is much easier to shape than the gingerbread dough, and it does not fluff up quite as much.  This means the shape you cut should be guaranteed to look like what you intended!

Now for the really messy part.  Or one of the messy parts.  Spreading out the flour on the table to make sure those freshly cut shapes don't stick!  This is a two person job, and a rotation of fresh chilled dough from the refrigerator and back to the table.

Uppy is very interested in the cookies, as all of the Ugly Dolls are.  We had to watch them closely...

As each sheet baked, we got a chance to try out the new stackable drying racks.  These were a huge boon, and made the process a lot easier than past years, as space is always at a premium.

Cleaning all the dough and flour out of these is not gonna be easy, but they are many of our favorite shapes.

This image gives you an idea of the difference, as you can clearly see the expansion of the gingerbread vs the lighter nutmeg dough.

This was Cathy's new experiment!  She saw this online, and had to try it.  We did some research, and gathered some materials.  It was decided that the nutmeg dough would be better, since it would keep the impressions much better without that expansion.

The weathering process!  Cathy brushed on some of the cocoa powder, wiping away the excess.  Sounds a little familiar, eh?

In tomorrow's episode, we get to see some "painting", including the creation of the paints !!

Stay tuned as Santa's Workshop kicks into full Holiday gear!!