Blog: Vertical

Need one of Julia’s foolproof recipes? Some stunning cookie decorating ideas? Or a quick fix on Julia’s latest news and events? Well then, you’re in the right place! Here, you can stay up-to-the-minute current on everything that’s happening in Julia’s kitchen and studio – and in that always-churning mind of hers! IMPORTANT: Julia is still formatting blog entries prior to 2021 to conform to the new site layout. Please don’t be surprised if some back entries look a little wacky, and please be patient as she edits them over time.
Julia M. Usher

More Mermaids

Let’s zoom in to give you more of these mermaids and all of their gorgeous surrounding details. Any guesses as to which techniques Julia hasn’t used on these cookies? Indeed, that’s a hard question to answer given the abundance of

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Julia M. Usher

Face Off

A fish faces off with a mermaid on this fanciful cookie laden with edible treasures. To learn more or to purchase the Underwater Fantasy background stencil used on this cookie, visit Julia’s stencil partner Confection Couture Stencils’ site. For an

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Julia M. Usher

Heart Box Brigade

Have a hankering for a vintage-style heart box? Julia apparently did in February 2018 because she made a large collection of them (hereafter called the Heart Box Brigade series) to use for party favors and general gifting of Valentine’s Day

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Julia M. Usher

Make the Heart Sing

Decked with a red metal rose pin, a vintage heart valentine, and old sheet music, this box in Julia’s Heart Box Brigade series makes the heart sing! Fill it with sweets, and you’ve got a swoon-worthy Valentine’s Day party favor.

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Julia M. Usher

Pretty in Pink

This soft pink number in Julia’s Heart Box Brigade series is decorated with a collage of vintage valentines, a cameo, and a luxurious satin ribbon. Filled with cookies made in a similar palette with Julia’s very own Chrysanthemum Dynamic Duos™

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Julia M. Usher

Wedding Whites

Though this box was originally made by Julia for gifting truffles on Valentine’s Day, its wedding-white palette makes it just as suitable for a bridal shower, wedding, or anniversary party favor. Part of her Heart Box Brigade series, where no

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Julia M. Usher

Bold and Beautiful

An oversized vintage silk rose, bejeweled trims, and ruby-red jewel tones married with rich chocolate brown work their magic on this bold and beautiful box (center) from Julia’s Heart Box Brigade series. Just about eight inches across, it’s ideally sized

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Julia M. Usher

Every Little Detail

“Make every little detail count,” might just be another one of Julia’s favorite mantras. Ironically, carefully curating details that the average person might overlook almost always assures that those details will end up being focal points. Here, Julia’s meticulous placement

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Julia M. Usher

Eggs-tra Close

Let’s get a bit closer so you can appreciate the details and dimension on this egg cookie made with Julia’s Egg Hunt Dynamic Duos™ stencil release. To make the plump little eggs, Julia airbrushed patterns from the background set on

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Julia M. Usher

So Spring

Julia made these two cookies with just the background set in her Egg Hunt Dynamic Duos™ stencil release. Remember: Each of her Duos™ releases consists of two sets, one with the pretty pictures and another with frames and messages. Even

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Julia M. Usher

New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Cookies

Ring in the New Year in the most unexpected way – with these 3-D cookies designed to evoke the geodesic domes that descend on Times Square! Each is comprised of two hemisphere cookies and 40 contoured diamond (or half-diamond) cookies

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Julia M. Usher

Blue-and-Green Beauty

This blue-and-green spin on Julia’s New Year’s Eve ball drop cookie is as stunning as all of her others, in large part because of her careful planning of the pattern and color interplay. Julia started by icing the diamond cookies,

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Julia M. Usher

Dome Details

All of Julia’s New Year’s Eve domes have impressive details, and this one in blue and green is no different. In addition to its carefully stenciled pattern that connects across the entire surface, this dome boasts intricately piped line and

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Julia M. Usher

Pleasing in Pink

This pink spin on Julia’s New Year’s Eve ball drop cookie is so pleasing – to say the very least. It delights not only because of its mesmerizing patterns, but also because it doubles as party décor! For her party

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Julia M. Usher

Black-and-White Beauty

Here, Julia kept her New Year’s Eve ball drop cookie relatively simple insofar as she stuck to one underlying icing color (white) rather than using multiple colors. (The latter requires much more puzzling together of the pieces to ensure they

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Julia M. Usher

Black-and-White Beauty Redux

Wondering how Julia airbrushed and stenciled the elaborate patterns on this New Year’s Eve ball drop cookie? Yep, the process is a head-scratcher for most! Stenciling on curved cookies is not easy, and Julia did many experiments before she discovered

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