FooDoodlers and a Giveaway!!! (Oh, and how to draw a house.)

FooDoodler: the review
Anyone who reads this blog knows I praise the virtues of Americolor in nearly every post. As for my edible markers, I almost always use their Gourmet Writers. Well, the good folks at FooDoodler sent me two sets of their edible markers to try, the 10-pack fine line and the 8-pack FooDoodler with the wider tips. The results? I was mightily impressed.

While the wider tipped markers would be great for kids (like my 3-year old who went nuts coloring marshmallows) and are good for filling in large spaces, the markers that got me were the fine line. The line is much thinner than even the Americolor Gourmet Writers so you can really achieve fine detail. While the KopyKake food coloring pens have a comparably thin line (and I do like my KopyKakes by the way), I prefer the flow much better on the FooDoodlers, as I found the KopyKake markers ran a bit dry. So while I'll never rid of my Americolor, the FooDoodlers will forever occupy the space next to them in my drawer.

The Giveaway!!!
As I said, I was mightily impressed by FooDoodlers. And so, I went out and bought both the ten pack fine line and the eight pack set for you! Well, one of you, though I do wish I could buy them for everyone.

the prize:
two sets of FooDoodlers and a house cookie cutter
how to win:
just leave a comment to this post and I'll choose one randomly
the deadline:
Friday, July 23, midnight EST

And just to up your chances even more, be sure to visit my other gig. They are also hosting a FooDoodler giveaway HERE. (Be sure to note the different entry rules; you need to click to the entry page, not just leave a comment to that giveaway.)

PS to Victoria et al.: I'm not limiting to the US. The giveaway is worldwide. But it may take a bit longer for a non-US shipment to arrive :)

How to draw a house:

I found this cute little 4-inch house cutter and figured it would be perfect for the markers. I rolled out fondant and cut out houses. Then you can adhere to the cookies with light corn syrup or a thin layer of frosting. Alternatively, you can top cookie houses with flooded white royal icing. To make your own fondant, click HERE. For cookie and frosting recipes, click HERE. For tips on flooding cookies with icing, click HERE and follow steps 1 and 2, letting icing dry overnight before drawing. For tips on where to find supplies, click HERE.
how to draw a house on white fondant or flooded white royal icing:

1. draw two long rectangles--or make the inside lines scalloped-- and fill with brown (please food coloring marker makes, consider a gray!)
2. draw and fill two brown rectangles for the front steps and a brown rectangle for the chimney
3. draw and fill a red door
4. draw and fill squares and a circle with yellow for windows
5. add red rectangles for shutters around the windows and a red chimney
6. outline everything in black
7. add a dot for a door knob, some "+"s on the windows, a square for the window boxes, and a couple lines for bricks on the fireplace
8. make a bunch of dots in the window boxes for flowers

9. add bushes with green, or add lines of grass

(click on picture to enlarge)