I don't do alot of cookies but occasionally someone orders a birthday cake with matching cookie favors.
Yesterday I did some teddy bears with some brightly colored red overalls, white shirt, brown bear. Later on used food markers to make the face, and blue stripes on the shirt.
Packaged them up which was my FIRST mistake as the moisture from the food marker started to spread on the plastic bags so I quick took the bags back off and touched everything up the best I could.
NOW today the reds and yellows from the overalls and buttons are bleeding and the finish of the Antonia's Royal that I used (thinned down) is not very smooth and nice. Smooth...but slightly mottled, like there was some humidity damage. Maybe still an after effect of wrapping them too soon?
I will just have to give them to the customer and hope she does not notice and/or does not complain...some are not bleeding so badly but others are pretty noticeable.
Was all this caused by wrapping too soon? Or something else? I did not have time to wait hours between colors...I did all of one color and then went to the next color and so on, starting with the brown...then the red, etc.
I knew there was a reason I hate cookies. haha.
I'm so sorry - that must have been frustrating for you!
the "mottledness" may have been because of humidity, but the bleeding was likely because the colors didn't have enough chance to dry before the next color was used.
I have had the most trouble with bleeding with red/white/yellow next to each other or black/yellow/white next to each other.
Especially bright colors next to whites, or reds or blacks - dark colors - you have to let them dry for 8 or more hours before you apply the next color layer. So if I was doing the cookies - I think you said they were teddy bears - I would've put the brown on for the bear, then waited a day, then put the black details on, then the yellow - as long as the yellow wasn't touching the fresh black. And the red, same thing. That could go on right away as long as it wasn't touching any fresh color. Otherwise, I would wait another day to put that coat on.
They are a pain but OH SO CUTE! Way more annoying sometimes than doing a cake! LOL
Oh - and if that does happen (sometimes it still happens even if you think you waited long enough) - what you can do is fix it by covering those bleeding spots with a fondant detail. Such as adding fondant buttons or something to the teddy's overall... Anything to cover up the bleeding spots. Cuz that looks tacky...
Really, that long? Don't the cookies get stale sitting out in the open drying for several days? Seems like I've done them before and my cookies would get a bit stale...the ones I bake are firm, but not crunchy, as I like a semi-soft cookie when possible, and I bake them about 1/4" thick. Maybe even some moisture from the cookies themselves affected the icing....?
Ugh well yeah no wonder mine had problems, with red right near white and some yellow too!!!! The red bled really badly into the white...also I think I put way too much red color in the icing because it began to darken, maybe as the color soaked into the cookie underneath? At first glance the cookies looked fine wrapped and everything but to pick one up and look at it, you can see that colors are bleeding and there was a bit of humidity damage.
Man its such a pain though to have to get the glaze out that many days in a row!!!! *whine whine* LOL.... why people don't charge $15 per cookie I won't figure out.... no wonder I just mostly do cakes! I admire the cookie people on here!
I'll post pictures soon although the pictures I took of the bear cookies were before all the problems set in. I hope the customer was okay with it...it was a first time customer and the husband came to pick up and he didn't seem in a great mood...and I do not like selling the type of cake I sold them (cut out cake similar to a "Wilton style" but instead I cut it to match the party plate and I did the picture on top in flat buttercream instead of stars...its never very "neat" doing all those different colors). And then with the bleeding cookies too...not a fun order.
I rarely ever wait so long between colors! By the time I've iced one color on, say, 20 cookies, I add the next (preferably not touching the first). I DO like to wait overnight to add the black outlines that I put on most of my cookies. I've found that adding brite white to the icing seems to help lessen bleeding problems, too. (Or maybe I've just been lucky!)
I rarely ever wait so long between colors! By the time I've iced one color on, say, 20 cookies, I add the next (preferably not touching the first). I DO like to wait overnight to add the black outlines that I put on most of my cookies. I've found that adding brite white to the icing seems to help lessen bleeding problems, too. (Or maybe I've just been lucky!)
That's what I always do too...but evidently I made the red WAY too red, and then when I packaged them up to retain humidity (of my semi soft cookies) they started to bleed.
The bleeding didn't start until after I packaged them up the first time....
I've also been having a ton of problems with colors bleeding. At first i thought it was just the black but it happened with blue, red, navy, and purple as well. I always allow the base coat to dry overnight (i use glace) before adding any outline or detail, but it still happens. The most frustrating thing is that i don't know why this happens or how to fix it.
On Friday morning i iced raspberry pink dress and high heeled shoe cookies as well as handbags. Saturday night i oulined them in black and gave them some detail. This morning, i went to package them and the black bled into the pink! Besides that, the purses had what looked like oil stains on them and they had the same icing that i used on the others who didn't show this. The mystery continues and i don't know what to do anymore. Very frustrating.
I wouldn't ice/package on the same day. Unless the cookies are teeny tiny and dry solid within....let's say.....12 hours or so. Just because it seemed "dry to the touch" to you certainly doesn't mean the icing is fully dry under the crusted top coat.
I wait at least 18 hours for small cookies and longer for larger ones before I package mine.
The cookies don't go stale within that short period. It's not as if we use soft, chewy cookies to ice anyway. The cookies are generally firmer and crisper cookies for this means of decorating......just like you wouldn't try to carve a 3-D rocketship cake using angelfood cake, we don't usually attempt to do decorated iced cookies with soft, chewy, moist cookies. Just an opinion. 
I've also been having a ton of problems with colors bleeding. At first i thought it was just the black but it happened with blue, red, navy, and purple as well. I always allow the base coat to dry overnight (i use glace) before adding any outline or detail, but it still happens. The most frustrating thing is that i don't know why this happens or how to fix it.
On Friday morning i iced raspberry pink dress and high heeled shoe cookies as well as handbags. Saturday night i oulined them in black and gave them some detail. This morning, i went to package them and the black bled into the pink! Besides that, the purses had what looked like oil stains on them and they had the same icing that i used on the others who didn't show this. The mystery continues and i don't know what to do anymore. Very frustrating.
Mine did that too and the only thing I can think of is that I went overkill on the color in my icing...I think maybe I could have gotten away with less food coloring..did you use a whole lot of coloring in your icing?
In some, yes, but not in others. And when i make black, i do what gemini does and mix all the colors at the end of my task so that i only need to add a bit of black coloring to make it black.
I don't remember it happening with RI but it's been a while since i used it cuz i love the tast of glace.
i use glace and usually don't have much trouble with bleeding, but the last time i did, my black outline icing had to much liquid in it. i stiffened it up a touch and it didn't bleed.
like gemini, i also put the white in all colors first.
i let anything i am putting black on dry overnight.
Now that could be it, I did thin the royal down quite a bit so it was faster and easier to pipe. Hmmm.....
I did just upload the pix btw...the pix were taken BEFORE I packaged them the first time, smeared the noses, and before the red and yellow began to bleed!!!! I should have taken an "after" picture, but I didn't think about it...by then I was only worried about making sure they were presentable!
Also btw she wrote today and they were happy with cake and cookies so I'm relieved.
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-655553-ratio.html
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-20383-patches.html
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-669102-ratio.html
Check for your answer in these threads.
It's a problem that has been asked on CC by members in the past. It could be a number of issues:
1) did you use a large amount of food colouring? Dark colour? Too much and it can crystallize/have dark patches. (For those dark/intense colours you need to tint, use Americolor. It's much more concentrated than other brands like Wilton & CakeCraft.)
2) did you use too much water to thin out the icing? A high concentration/ratio of water/colouring can also cause this.
3) did you allow the icing to mix properly, esp. after thinning it with water?
4) is the area where the cookies are drying humid? unevenly heated/cooling?
5) did a drop of oil/butter/fats get into your icing while it mixed? Were your paddle/bowl/piping bags/tips completely clean and oil-free before you began?
Thank you!!!!! This definitely helped alot.
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It's a problem that has been asked on CC by members in the past. It could be a number of issues:
1) did you use a large amount of food colouring? Dark colour? Too much and it can crystallize/have dark patches. (For those dark/intense colours you need to tint, use Americolor. It's much more concentrated than other brands like Wilton & CakeCraft.) YES I was not careful how much americolor I added, just squirted a bunch in since I knew I wanted it bright.
2) did you use too much water to thin out the icing? A high concentration/ratio of water/colouring can also cause this. YES I think I did use too much water.
3) did you allow the icing to mix properly, esp. after thinning it with water? If stirring is not properly, then yep I messed this up too. haha.
4) is the area where the cookies are drying humid? unevenly heated/cooling? This was fine.
5) did a drop of oil/butter/fats get into your icing while it mixed? Were your paddle/bowl/piping bags/tips completely clean and oil-free before you began?[/quote] I think this was fine.
kitagirl, your cookies and matching cake are adorable 
I've add bleeding problems too when my RI is too thin
I always let dry overnight then wrap. They don't get stale, the RI and or glace will keep them fresh.
WOW! Your cakes and cookies are truly amazing! I just LOVE the teddy bear cookies and i cannot see the bleeding! They are just the cutest things!
Thanks! Well like I said, I took the picture RIGHT after I made them. The bleeding occurred by the next day. 
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