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

Bevy of Butterflies

Of course, the same stamped fondant pieces can be arranged in so many different ways, leading to almost limitless designs. To create this look, Julia dispensed with the bird you saw elsewhere in the gallery and added a bevy of

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Julia M. Usher

Charmed Approach

Okay, one last rubber-stamped still life in this series, just to demonstrate this style’s versatility! This cookie uses the same vase shown on another cookie in this gallery, but it has an added succulent and more tiny butterflies. Just by

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Julia M. Usher

The Stork Visits Again!

As always, Julia likes to change up photo angles whenever she shoots, even if just to put more visual emphasis on a particular cookie in a set. Here, the focus is on the all-stamped cookie in the foreground. Its floral

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Julia M. Usher

Almost All-Stamped

Here’s a closer view of Julia’s all-stamped baby shower cookie shown elsewhere in this gallery, just so you can take in all of the details. Well, it’s almost all-stamped . . . The dainty roses and leaves in the foreground

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Julia M. Usher

Sneaky Stenciling

Ooh! It looks like some stenciling sneaked into this cookie in Julia’s rubber-stamped baby shower set. While all of the elevated fondant foreground elements were rubber-stamped, the background clouds and grass were airbrushed and stenciled. For an in-depth video tutorial

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Julia M. Usher

Baby Shower Beauty

Here’s another design using Julia’s rubber-stamped appliqué approach. While made for a baby shower, it would also make a darling Easter cookie. Again, all of the elevated foreground elements were rubber-stamped on fondant, cut out, and then dried before being

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Julia M. Usher

Taking Flight

Don’t the butterflies on this cookie look like they’re taking flight? That’s because their wings were airbrushed on wafer paper, cut out, and then attached to the cookie with piping gel. (A little propping with paper towel was needed to

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Julia M. Usher

Background-Only Beauty

Here’s another cookie that relies on only the background set in Julia’s March 2022 Vintage Bulbs stencil release. Even so, it looks incredibly polished and complete with only three of the six possible background elements on the cookie (one crocus

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Julia M. Usher

Welcome Spring

What a welcoming spring-themed cookie – and tabletop! The cookie was made with both sets in Julia’s March 2022 Vintage Bulbs stencil release and her Genie Plaque cutter. And in lieu of a traditional cloth, Julia lined the table with

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Julia M. Usher

Smell the Flowers

We all should stop and do more of that! Decorating cookies is as therapeutic as smelling flowers especially when working with Julia’s Dynamic Duos™ sets. They allow for so many design possibilities that you can’t possibly go wrong. Here, Julia

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Julia M. Usher

Deckled Dazzler

Wondering how Julia made the very organic edge on this cookie? She deckled it, meaning she tore the cookie dough using a ruler as a guide. This technique is so easy and marries so well with floral and other nature-themed

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Julia M. Usher

Monochrome Magnificence

For this cookie made for The Bake Fest 2021, Julia used solely shades of brown (with a hint of bronze) to demonstrate how interesting a cookie can be with just one color. The molded cookie button, embossed royal icing shard,

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Julia M. Usher

Pink Perfection

Richly textured with a single molded cookie, an embossed royal icing shard, and a modeling chocolate bow, this pink plaque, made by Julia for The Bake Fest 2021, is sheer perfection.

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Julia M. Usher

Yes to Yellow

Yep, the textured cookies that Julia made in 2021 for The Bake Fest premiere look great in yellow too – or just about any color, for that matter. Here, she dispensed with airbrushing and stenciling on the background and stamped

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Julia M. Usher

A Study in Transfers

This stylish cookie, made by Julia for The Bake Fest 2021, is a great lesson in royal icing transfers, as it uses three kinds: roses (with a modern flair), embossed (for the shards), and contoured-and-embossed (for the very fun leaves).

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Julia M. Usher

Transfer Trio

Here’s a closer look at the three types of royal icing transfers on the floral heart made by Julia for The Bake Fest 2021. A stylized rose, a broken shard embossed with a silicone lace mat, and leaves, both embossed

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