I love color. Always have. While I can appreciate a neutral aesthetic, gimme all the golden yellows, earthy greens, deep blues, shocking pinks, soft lilacs, fiery reds, and sunset oranges! Those and every color in between.
My mom was a huge lover of color. The house we grew up in had green countertops. As in, vivid LEAF GREEN. In our living room was a yellow floral couch. Not a pale, delicate, dainty floral, but a bright yellow couch with big bunches of flowers - purple irises stand out in my memory. Anyway, a love of color flows through my veins - and my heart.
While I don't take cookie orders (I generally make cookies just for fun), every so often, there's an event that compels me to break out the piping bags.
More about House of Colour Houston...
About two years ago, I found Laura from House of Colour Houston. There are many consultants across the world actually - House of Colour is a UK-based company. I wrote all about my experience in this post. You'll find more details on the process there. Let's just say this isn't your mother's color consultation. I should know; I went with my mother to one back in the 1980s.
A color and style consult with Laura from House of Colour is life-changing. Not to mention, she's one of my very favorite people.
*photo credit: French Cuff Boutique
Last week, pre-Texas frozen tundra, Laura had a little event for her color and style clients. I had so much fun chatting with and getting to know these other women, all decked out in their colors (even masks!) And then there was the shopping! Since I've had both a color and style session, Laura was able to look at what I was trying on and say, "Nope. Too blousy for you!" "Try that in a smaller size." "This color is perfect!"
I wonder if Laura will come with me every time I shop? Maybe if I promise to bring cookies?
Seasonal color palettes
For the cookies, I wanted to represent the four seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter. (I blame James Taylor for making me always wanting to say winter before fall.) When you get your colors done, you'll find your WOW colors within that season and what your sub-season is. As an autumn, people assume my best colors are rust and orange. WRONG! While those are in my palette, some of my best colors are teal, peacock, olive, and mustard.
- Spring: Leaf Green and Coral
- Summer: Dusty Rose and Lavender
- Autumn: Mustard and Peacock (Ameriolor actually makes a PEACOCK food coloring!)
- Winter: White and Bright Pink
Recipes for making the cookies...
- Perfect Every Time Cut-Out Cookies: this recipe is my go-to cut-out cookie recipe. It's a vanilla-almond cookie that's soft but still substantial enough to hold up to decorating, packaging, and shipping.
- Royal Icing: my no-fail royal icing recipe. It's perfect whether you're piping, flooding, making flowers, or doing food coloring "watercolor"...see below.
- Laura House of Colour Houston, Instagram and blog: Wear in Fashion History
- French Cuff Boutique (where the event was held...I was so impressed with how helpful they were that night and when Mr. E when he went in to shop for Valentine's Day)
- Glamfetti (Did you see those "seasonal" balloon bunches in the photo above???)
