<a href="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3250-21.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1301" alt="beach ball cookies" src="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3250-21.jpg" width="500" height="317" /></a>

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<p style="text-align: center;">Our good friend, E, turned 2 this week and had a fabulous party at <a href="http://www.parkfun.com/facilities/pools/the-water-works">The Water Works</a> indoor water park in Schaumburg.  Since pizza, cake and ice cream were included with the party, I offered to bring some beach ball cookies as party favors.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3252-21.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1302" alt="beach ball cookies" src="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3252-21.jpg" width="500" height="316" /></a></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">I thought these would be easy peasy, but it turned out that drawing the curved lines freehand was kind of tricky.  It is much easier to follow the outline of whatever shape you choose and then fill the cookie with one solid color and add details once that base layer has dried.  Overall, though, they were quite adorable and well received once packaged.  One thing that I learned right away was to pipe and flood all of the white spaces first before adding any color.  Then, by the time I was ready to fill in the sides, the white had dried sufficiently enough to form a crisp barrier.  If you attempt to add the colors before the white dries, you will not only be working inefficiently -- always work assembly line style -- but the color will bleed slightly into the white, and you won't have a well defined border between the panels.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3265-21.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1304" alt="birthday girl" src="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3265-21.jpg" width="397" height="500" /></a></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">The birthday girl was really only interested in eating ice cream...but we could have guessed that from <a href="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/763-rainbows-and-unicorns">last year's cake fiasco</a>.  hahaha.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3261-21.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1303" alt="IMGP3261 (2)" src="http://www.karolineskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMGP3261-21.jpg" width="375" height="500" /></a></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;">O was happy to join the sweet eating fun as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Happy birthday, E!  We love you!</p>