I have the honour and privilege of sharing a guest post and giveaway by the wonderful Lucy from Honeycat Cookies. I met Lucy through the Open University and have been an avid follower of her cookie adventures over the last few years. I love her work so much I asked her make our Steampunk wedding favours, which down an absolute treat!
Lucy is an extraordinary cookie artist based in the UK. She’s recently started sharing videos of her working on You Tube and this one, a whale fluke she made as part of an Orkney Nature Festival cookie set commission, is positively captivating. I bet you can’t just watch it once!
So, without further ado, here’s Lucy:
“I spent my entire childhood determined to be an artist of some kind, to the point of going to art college when I left school, at which point I realised that wasn’t going to happen and so became a nurse in a panic. Quite unexpectedly, I really took to nursing and had a twenty year career, which I loved, and barely took up a pencil to draw at all during that time. It was only after I gave up work to be a stay at home mother, that I found myself making cookies and wanting to decorate them. I’d bought a Peggy Porschen book because it had a set of sea-life cookies in them, quite simple but very striking, and I wanted to be able to make something like that myself. And once I started, I couldn’t stop. At every stage, there’s always something better, more exciting, more difficult or beautiful to create, and then you can eat it!
From the beginnning I had to search for articles, and blogs, and watch youtube tutorials, sometimes over and over to figure out a particular technique I wanted to try, and constantly discovered more and more that could be done with a simple biscuit canvas, royal icing and some food colouring. Early on the delicate, often gilded style of Amber from Sweetambs (www.sweetambs.com) caught my eye, and I am still an avid follower, but I also really admire the wit and inventiveness of cookiers (yes we do call ourselves that!) with a wide range of styles, from Mike at www.semisweetdesigns.com, and the world famous cookie painter Arty McGoo (www.artymcgoo.com). I try to absorb something of all of that, whilst creating a distinctive ‘honeycat’ style of my own. If I had to define what makes a cookie a Honeycat cookie, it’s probably that it’s got some lustre painted on it somewere!
I work from home, baking and mixing in my kitchen of course, but doing the actual decorating work at my desk at a window facing our garden, my trusty dehydrator at my side (that may sound bizarre but it’s an essential piece of kit, from simple storage of racks of cookies, to preventing any number of odd tricks royal icing can play on you such as colour bleeding or cratering). My other essential tool is a bradawl, oddly enough, which works perfectly as a scribe tool, and for manipulating icing into small areas of designs. If pushed, I could probably manage without most of the other stuff, like piping bags and nozzles, but I’d still want my dehydrator and bradawl!
Because I’ve only ever once had an opportunity to make sea-life cookies, like those ones that first inspired me, I’d love to make a set for this give-away. One dozen vanilla cookies, in shells, fishes and seahorses, no doubt with some gold lustre somewhere!”
To be in for a chance at winning a set of sea-life cookies by Honeycat Cookies, fill in the Rafflecopter entry form below. UK entries only.
How to Enter
For your chance to win one dozen beautiful vanilla sea-life cookies by Honeycat Cookies enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!
Terms & Conditions
This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 24 hours of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.
The prize is offered and provided by Honeycat Cookies. The prize is one dozen sea-life cookies by Honeycat Cookies. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable. Cookies will be posted within one week of the giveaway close.
If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries and any automated entries will be disqualified.
Closing date is midnight on Monday 19 May 2014 and one winner will be announced that day.
Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary is very fond of Lucy at Honeycat Cookies and is hosting this giveaway on her behalf. This is not a paid post.
Bruschetta with St. Ninians Soft Cheese & Smoked Sea Salt
Yes.. nom nom!
It would be hard!
Not sure if I could bring mysel to eat them but my kids definitely would!
I would definitely take a photo of them and admire them lots. They look far too good to eat, but it would arguably be wasting food if you didnt eat them, unless I could work out how to preserve them forever!
Yes but I would take a picture of them as they are a beautiful work of art, x
I don’t know – they are very beautiful.
I’d try to do it 🙂
We’d give it a good try! They are beautiful though, you have real talent.
I would…but would have to take photos first! 🙂
there are beautiful! I bet the boys would have no difficulty munching them though!
After taking photos I would. They look amazing x
Yes I will be able to eat these.
I might shut my eyes and pretend they’re just digestives!
wow what amazing looking cookies you are so talented and yes would be hard to eat them ,but would have to.
After taking photos of them yes!
@smeethsaysfashn on twitter
thing they would look great hanging on our christmas tree at christmas time 🙂 not sure if i could bring myself to eat them though, there little works of art.
I would! ;D
they look fantastic but I am sure I would manage lol
Only after a taster, But yes I think I would try.
It would be difficult but I would eventually
Yes but I would take photos first!
Yes, they look delicious
After admiring them for a while, I’d have to!
Yes, but I would certainly photograph them to keep a memory of their deliciousness first!
I would admire them for a bit, probably take a photo and then ENJOY them, they were made for eating and enjoying after all
I absolutely agree! 🙂
Hmm well maybe 😉
Yes i would be able to eat them
It would be tough, (they are so lovely) but someones’s got to do it!…………..so that would be me
M x
Yes – reluctantly
I might feel a bit guilty, but I’d still scoff them 🙂
Yes! Though i’d enjoy the design for a bit first
These Look Too Good To Eat
Yes, no problem 🙂
They are quite amazing, however my kids would have no problem polishing them off!
would be very difficult, but they wont last forever 😀
I’d force myself 🙂
oh yes!
They do look amazing, but if they taste as good as they look I think i’ll be able to force it down!
I would make a good effort to.
OH I dont know, it would be extremely hard not to though!
I would certainly give it a go even if they are beautiful
You wouldn’t be able to stop me eating them!
I could, I think I’d have to have a film fest with my little boy whilst we ate them, possibly Finding Nemo to go with the theme!
I certainly would, I love biscuits and hate anything going to waste, so I’m sorry but once I start to nibble on these fine biscuits, I would not be able to stop.
Probably not but I am sure my hubby would!
As long as I had an occasion that they could be pride of place – then yes
Most definitely!
i could but would feel guilty they are gorgeous!
I would definately eat them & share them, as they look really scrummy! Thanks so much for another fab post and giveaway x
I think i’d have to 🙂 I don’t have the most incredible will power in the world 🙂
yumm, yes!
Yes I would relish eating them
I would try not to. But my mum and dad probably would! Lol.
I’d try not to!
wow these are amazing fingers crossed
I would have to force myself, but I would do the job well
I dont think I could resist, they ae absolutly gorgeous though so I would take lots of pictures!
I would have to take pictures first, but then the temptation would be too great
They look fantastic….but yes I could
I’d have to saviour them, but I couldn’t let them go off! I think my daughter would just chomp them! 🙂
eventually
Yes. I would admire them 1st
I’d eat them easily!
They look amazing and I probably would be able to eat them 🙂
They are gorgeous, but yes I would be able to eat them.
Of course, can’t say no to a good cookie
yes i would
i would have to take lots of fotos of them first
I could eat them after showing them to my family and looking at them longingly 🙂
After a quick photo to IG.
They are beautiful! I would definitely admire them for a bit then tuck in nom nom 🙂
They look too good to eat!
I’d admire them for a bit and then..well…yum.
Wow, they look amazing and yes I would eat them, I love cookies.
Nooooo, was thinking how could anyone eat them as soon as I saw them!
These look gorgeous, but I’m sure I’d be able to eat them! x
http://ninegrandstudent.co.uk/
Yes, but nibble slowly around the edges first!
not sure I want to eat them! they look so pretty 😀
if you varnish them I wonder if they would look good framed! they are fantastic! proper pieces of art
Oh My They Are Really Beautiful! So Much Effort Gone Into making Them. I Would Take A Picture Of Them First So I Will Always Be Able To See Them. Then Tuck Into Them!
ooo not sure!! Maybe after I’ve shown everyone first
Yes, the greedy person in me would not hesitate, after admiring them for a while – of course
I’m not sure I could eat them but I’m sure they taste as gorgeous as they look! 😀
I’m not sure if I could eat them,I would certainly have to show everyone them first!