Size Matters
Funny business, this cake and cookie operation of mine.
Not only do I have to be creative, I also must be on my mathematical toes. Which, for me, is quite a stretch. For whatever reason, the formulas I employ on a daily basis are the ones that I filed away in a special corner of my brain after learning them in 8th grade math class. Like quickly figuring out the circumference of a circle so the ribbon that adorns the cake board gets measured and cut to perfection.
Or, the subject of today’s post: what to say when a prospective client asks about the price difference between a 2.5 inch cookie and 1.5 inch cookie.
So what, who cares, you say? A little bigger, a little smaller, it’s not that big a difference.
I’m sorry to say this to you, but your assumption is incorrect.
Allow me to show off my one math trick illustrate.
The square on the right looks a lot bigger than the square on the left. We’re talking square inches now.
[cue the formula 'l x w = a']
Each side of the square is 2.5 inches. Multiply 2.5 x 2.5 (the height and the width) and you get 6.5, according to my trusty calculator.
Now, multiply the smaller square’s stats. 1.5 x 1.5 equals 2.25.
6.5 square inches is a far cry larger than 2.25 square inches. It’s not quite 2.9 times larger.
It works the same way for rectangular cookies.
Circles are a little different:
The circle on the left has an area of .78 as opposed to the circle on the right which has an area of 3.14. And, yes, we’re talking about the difference between a 1 inch circle and a 2 inch circle.
Consider this when figuring out the quantity of ingredients for your cookie dough and royal icing. Be mindful that it’s going to take more of everything, including the most mystifying of all pricing factors, labor, to make and package these cookies.
Size does matter, especially when it comes to your bank account.
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Real Luck
Just when I thought I had liberated myself from my own holiday cookie idea torture, I received an email asking if I could create a group of Saint Patrick’s Day goodies.
Saint Patrick’s Day cookies for ‘Real Simple’, a website heralded for its modern, highly functional design ideas for all our everyday living needs, to be precise.
“Sure I can”, I typed back with one hand to the editor, while wiping the sweat that was trickling down my forehead with the other.
After that panic and sweat subsided, the idea came to me. Shamrocks & clover: simple in form, decorated in graphic patterns, celebrating the kind of aesthetic that is ‘Real Simple’.
It worked. They liked it.
And this is the result. I’m over the moon about it!
Do you see the cookie that says ‘Lucky’? That’s how I feel today. Lucky that I can do what I love to do and be paid for it. Lucky for my family, my friends, my good health, my everything.
To celebrate my luck, I want one of you to be lucky, too. I’m letting go of my brand new copy of Julia M. Usher’s most recent book, “Ultimate Cookies”. It’s THE ultimate in cookie decorating. Anything and everything you’ve ever imagined (or in my case, not imagined) is in this book along with detailed, step-by-step instructions for achieving these glorious designs. It’s perfect now for wonderful Easter ideas and other spring holidays.
It can be yours, too. A winner will be chosen at random by Thursday, March 8 and announced on Friday, March 9. Leave a comment here telling me why you should be the lucky winner of this book, and tweet about it. (follow me, too, if you don’t). If you’re new to my Facebook page, ‘like it’.
Celebrate your individuality, your creativity, and of course, your own luck!
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