*Preliminary* report: CookieScape (yum!)

[StarsGoBlue]

Well after the...um...dubious? "success" of the Singing-Telegrams-Thwarted-by-Security-Scarrens plan, I had kinda resolved to swear off all project-type activities and return to my comfort zone of letters, letters and more letters...


But my dear friend DOA ("I'm a Dominar of action!") recently inquired about another little idea-in-stasis, the Great Farscape Cookie Caper.


The Cookie Caper, which was designed to be a follow-up to the Singing Telegram Plan, very simply involved us getting some custom-iced cookies in a Farscape motif (no severed heads or severed hands, I promise, LOL) and sending them with the Best of Season 1 DVDs to the network heads at Showtime and UPN and also Viacom.


Then after Henson's returned to the family I thought it would be nice to send them a batch too, but Tiriel et al beat me to it (and SUCH A NICE JOB y'all did of it!!!).


So anyway I did some consulting and here's what's what.


We could do custom-iced shortbread cookies, where I give them a pic/logo (or several) and they freehand ice them. Don't have a firm cost on this yet, as it would depend on the complexity & how many designs & colors, etc.


These are the BEST iced cookies ever, and are a nice hefty size (about 4" diameter). They are regularly priced at $1.85 per cookie, so we can figure for custom icing it might be $2.00-$3.00 per cookie.


My original thought was to order an assortment, reflecting the various characters/critters of Farscape (Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, Chi, Rygel, Zhaan, Pilot, Moya, Scorpius, the Farscape logo, etc) with different colored backgrounds. It's the most creative and eye-catching, IMHO. But that's also fairly complicated and might be pricey---I'm bringing some ideas in for a more specific quote later this week, so we'll see.


The other option that we could choose is an edible photo overlay, like they do on cakes. They showed me a set of 25th-wedding-anniversary cookies done using the couple's original wedding photo that they scanned and reduced and then decorated with some extra icing and sprinkles---SOOOOOO cute! Those ran about $3.00 per cookie.


The least expensive option, done this way, would be with one image. Color or b/w doesn't matter, so we could simply go with "Farscape" in the Farscape font or a cast pic or something---I'm not too worried about copyright in this instance.


We could do the multiple images too, but the more we scan the more it will cost, too. And I'm not sure how people feel about eating that edible-photo stuff...I tend not to, myself.


So...suggestions? Feedback? Which option do you like the sound of? What graphics/pics, colors, etc do you prefer?


I'll check back for the next few days and then take a couple specific plans in for pricing near the end of the week.


I believe we still have the funds leftover from the Singing Telegram plan, that we can put toward these cookie baskets and DVDs. The Dominar can give us an update on that.


*******Stars :D

Up to no good once again! :rollin:

[AyuRocks]

Well, while reading about cookies, I thought it'd be cool to have a photo cake.. 2 sentences later, you mention it :)

I think the photo cake would be a cool thing to do.. cookies as well. Sorry that I can't give advice about colors etc.. maybe something will come to me later.

Ashley

[Roland]

Stars, what about "wanted" cookies? The wanted pics are so awsome!!! :D

[AyuRocks]

Personally, I think they'd make better caked since they're *rectangular*.

edited to be geometrically correct.. ahahha

:aok:

Ashley

[Roland]

Yep! sorry AyuRocks! Didn't think of that. But square cookies could be nice too. Kind of Farscapish! :D

[StarsGoBlue]

Hee hee, Roland you are psychic---have you been hanging around energy riders and/or Chiana, lately? :lol


I did indeed have Ratscape's wanted images in mind for the cookies...and the shape doesn't matter. We have to crop & reduce them anyway.


We'll see if that's what most people think is best, and of course we'd ask Ratscape for permission to use his artwork in that case.


I'm just not much of a cake person, and I'd think that shipping cake is a bit more tricky than cookies.....


*******Stars :D

[Kerlin]

LOVE the Wanted posters idea! Stars, what do you mean you wouldn't eat the photo frosting? It's exactly the same as normal frosting...the colors are just more subtlely mixed. :)

[Roland]

Also, How about IASA logo cookies??? :D

[VBKatLou]

Well, I have a feeling that depending on how inticate the photo/poster/whatever is, the photo icing might look better. Is this place close to you or are you doing everything over the phone? You may want to send them samples of whatever pics you want to use and ask their opinion.

I just have this image of Viacom receiving a box of unrecognizable blobs :eek: :rollin: and going "what the frell???!!!"

edited to add - do you think they'll know what IASA is? Do some more Roland. I know you have a bunch of pics :)

[Shipscat]

Could we send some severed hands and heads to scifi? Okay, maybe that's not such a good idea..

You know, I made some alien cookies once..to take to an X-files thing-and my friend wouldn't try them because they were grey.

[StarsGoBlue]

Oh no, no phone fun this time---1) I am still traumatized by the Singing Telegram Incidents, and 2) everybody else, esp. Twich and KellEy-red (did I spell that right?) seems to have better phone luck than I do.


This place is right by my school, and I stop in there for lunch on a frequent basis (and for cookies, naturally). The owner is a great guy and we once spent time getting our cars smog-checked together, so we've bonded. :lol:


*****Stars :D

[Roland]

Aeryn: Hey Chi! 'want a cookie?
Chi: Uh, It's red!?
Aeryn: Well, so is your hair. Go on have a bite! Yummie...

[Selena]

I wish I had enough cash to start my own business ... I'd have to hire the lot of you ... you lot are astonishing, and incredibly creative! :aok: I love the suggestions.

[Roland]

Ernie: Have a cookie, Cookie!

[Roland]

How about a Peacekeeper logo cookie?

The pic I wanted to attach is to big. sorry!

[aeryncrichton]

My first thought was the Ratscape wanted posters, too.... Or at least the images of the characters from them..... They should be simple enough to use, and they're lovely.

The IASA and Peacekeeper logos would make nice cookies, too, if you're not using the photo thing.....

And to go along with Shipscat's X-Files cookies, my future daughter-in-law is promising cookies in the shapes of stakes and other weapons for our Buffy Finale party tonight...... (And she made us B5 "triluminary" cookies for, um, I think the B5 Rangers movie.....)

[StarsGoBlue]

Warning: The musically sensitive should insert fingers into their ears before proceeding....


<<Stars takes a deep breath, opens her mouth and...>>

*SINGS*


"C is for cookie, that's good enough for me...
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me...
C is for cookie, that's good enough for me,
Oh! Cookie, cookie, cookie starts with C."



Ah. The joys of a Sesame Street childhood!


******Stars :D

[DentArthurDent]

Aeryn: Again with the Cookie Monster! LOL

This is a great idea Stars, I think the ratscape stuf would be good...

AFD

[AyuRocks]

I think the PK symbol would be great on a cookie, Roland :)

Ashley

[Dominar of Action]

I definitely vote to use 4 or 5 of the Ratscape pictures, if the bakery thinks they will come out well. They're so distinctive. I like the IASA or PK symbol ideas, too, but I'd be afraid that the reference would be a bit too obscure.

As for funds, we've got $597 in hand from contributions, less whatever was spent on the telegrams ($150? Is that about right Stars??) and baskets ($116). So, a quick and dirty budget to shoot for is $597-266(?) = $331/3 = $110 per basket. If we put a $30 BOS1 DVD set in each basket, that still leaves at least $80 to spend on cookies and shipping for each one.

[mycattoldme]

I love this idea!!!

You know when I was working on the cookbook cover (volume 1) I was going to make muffins and sort of "stencil" ratscapes wanted art on to the muffins using different colored icing and the images turned out pretty good - you just have to use ones that aren't too busy cause the top of the cookie is sort of small -- unless of course they make cookies that are more like 4" or larger??

[StarsGoBlue]

We haven't spent any of the money we collected on the NON-telegrams, unless you paid for any of them, Dominar dear???

:confused:

I don't think you did, but at the moment my brain is swiss cheese....and I know you had discussions with Kerry there at the end.


Anyhoo, we don't owe anyone anything as far as I know, so what we have in the bank is what we have to work with.


Plus, Jadeshand had a good point when I PM'd her about the ad, that we might want to include the Hollywood Reporter people on the list, and that got me thinking about TVGuide again, too.


So we should nail down who to send to as well as what we want sent.....and we wouldn't need the DVDs for *all* of the baskets, just for Showtime/UPN/Viacom.


******Stars :D

[StarsGoBlue]

Oh, and mycat, the cookies are about 4" in diameter (they're circles, although they have a nice egg-shaped one too).

*****Stars :D

[Dominar of Action]

No, Stars -- no funds were spent on Viacom/NYC at all, given the problems we had in LA. I was referencing the reimbursement costs of the baskets and telegrams for LA only. PM me and we can chat about the details :)

[grapeshot]

There's also a Farscape patch, which would be less obscure than the IASA logo. (It's the Farscape mission patch that you see on Crichton's jacket in the first season.)

[Bandana Girl]

I think ratscape images on Cookies would be good, also the Farscape 1 patch. A cake would be a good idea, but only if one of you guys deliver it yourself. The graphics section of the board has a lot of ideas.

[farscapefan4eva]

my two bobs worth :eek:

i think the cookies would be better than a coke as there easier to deliever, however if you want the companies to share tbhe goodies out then a coke is easier to share. I like the idea of using the ratscapes images as they dhouldnt infringe copyright with maybe the farscape logo to. Either way sounds like a top idea and a yummy one to. Just a thought what type of cookies are there gonna be, wouldn't buttermilk ones be a good tie in (ala grandma crichtons from through the looking glass!)

[Mrelia]

I love this idea! A word of caution though, remember that red, purple and black icing is sometimes bitter. Check this out before we order 50,000 Peacekeeper cookies :)