These travel-themed sugar cookies are perfect for welcoming a new adventure!

This cookie set was made as part of a virtual baby shower for our friend Sarina. She’s expecting a little boy and plans to decorate the nursery with a playful travel theme—airplanes, hot air balloons, and fluffy clouds inspired these cookies.

With the right tools these designs are surprisingly quick to produce. The secret is using stencils and an airbrush. Below is everything I used and how I put the cookies together.

Travel Themed Sugar Cookies Supply List

For the royal icing

• Powdered sugar
• Meringue powder
• Water
• Scriber tool
• Sandwich bags (for piping)

To decorate

• An airbrush
• Airbrush food coloring
• Cloud stencil
• Hot air balloon stencil set
• Stencil Genie (or something to hold stencils in place)
• Edible markers

To make your own stencils

• Cricut machine (optional)
• StandardGrip cutting mat
• Acetate sheets
• Stencil files for clouds and hot air balloons (for cutting on your machine)

That looks like a lot, but it covers three different cookie designs and the option to cut your own stencils. If you plan to try these, this guide assumes you’re familiar with flooding cookies with royal icing. I flooded each cookie with plain white icing and let them dry overnight before airbrushing. If you need basic royal icing tutorials, there are plenty of online resources; I’ll also share my own detailed tutorials soon.

Let’s start with the cloud cookies. Use your cloud stencil and the airbrush on a low setting. Hold the nozzle perpendicular to the surface and spray gently through the stencil, starting at the top of the cookie. Move the stencil downward and repeat to build soft layers. I usually do four to six passes for a soft, airy look.

For round cookies I like to add a subtle border for a finished look. I used a muted yellow royal icing in a sandwich bag with the corner snipped and piped small beads around each edge.

Next, the hot air balloons. I cut two matching stencils to layer the balloon design—one for the main shape and another for the sections and details. A stencil-holding tool or a bit of weight will keep the stencil from lifting when you airbrush; the Stencil Genie works well for this.

Stencil the base of the balloon, then switch to the second stencil and a different color to add the panels. If you’re making multiple cookies, keep the same color in the airbrush and rotate cookies and stencils so your shades remain consistent across the set.

After assembling the balloon layers, cover most of the balloon with the cloud stencil and lightly airbrush the background so the balloon sits within soft clouds.

For the airplanes, I sprayed a pale color down the center for the fuselage and used the straight edge of the cloud stencil to create wings and tails in darker shades. Small details—windshields, windows, and stripes—were added with an edible marker for crisp, easy finishing touches.

For color consistency I mixed muted tones by adding a touch of brown to the lighter colors. To keep a steady blue, I mixed one drop of brown with four drops of light blue directly in the airbrush cup. When testing or mixing colors in the airbrush, cover the nozzle with a latex glove and gently pull the trigger to avoid splatter and stains—airbrush colors can be stubborn on skin.

When the set was complete I packaged the cookies for Sarina and her family. I was happy with the soft, vintage-inspired color palette and the finished look of the balloons, planes, and clouds.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, consider signing up for email updates for more cookie tips, freebies, and decoration ideas. I’ll also share a step-by-step guide for cutting your own stencils with a Cricut Maker soon.

Thanks for following along—until next time!