The vignette inside this cookie egg was made with four techniques: airbrushing and stenciling for the sky; rubber-stamping for the chick and daffodil; and then painting to add color to the stamped images. For paint, Julia chose to extend liqua-gel food coloring, usually used in her royal icing, with a bit of clear alcohol-based extract. She avoids water as an extender when painting close to stamped images because it dries more slowly than alcohol and is more likely to cause the stamped food coloring to run. Interested in more info about these cookie decorating techniques and others? Take a look at Julia’s book Ultimate Cookies. Alternatively, if you prefer watching to reading, check out Julia’s two videos: first, this video about how to stencil the outer window cookie, and then this one about how to assemble the egg.