Thank you to my mom who helped me with a lot of the party, and to my mother-in-law who made the precious party hat.
Here are pics of the decor and treats:
Showing posts with label fondant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fondant. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2014
Take Me Out to the Ballgame - A Very Special First Birthday
My baby boy turned one, and I chose a baseball theme for his very small family party. It was really fun, because there was so much out there for baseball. And since our colors were red and blue, all the 4th of July party stuff worked too! I really enjoyed doing all the concession stand inspired food too.
Thank you to my mom who helped me with a lot of the party, and to my mother-in-law who made the precious party hat.
Here are pics of the decor and treats:
Thank you to my mom who helped me with a lot of the party, and to my mother-in-law who made the precious party hat.
Here are pics of the decor and treats:
Sunday, April 21, 2013
A Low-key Cinderella Party
Princess Leah turned 3! She wanted a Cinderella cake, so I wanted to give her a Cinderella party. We decided to fore-go the big blowout birthday party this year for a few reasons. So, we just had family over for dinner, cake, and fun!
The food
Since I am not a professional and don't have tons of experience, this cake was quite a labor of love. BUT the look on my precious daughter's face when she blew out her candles was worth every back-breaking second!
I didn't have a whole lot of time left when I decided I wanted to make a banner. I made this simple banner in about 45 minutes using my Cricut. If you can't see it, it just says, "Leah is 3!" I used 5" circles for the background, 4.5" circles for the patterned paper, and 4.5" letters. I used the Lyrical Letters cartridge for the font. It took 2 pieces of patterned 12x12 paper, 4 pieces of background paper (also used for letters), one spool of ribbon, and mini glue dots.
I ordered the balloons on Amazon in a pack and had them blown up at Kroger.
For some simple decor, I spent a few minutes and dollars at Party City. I bought paper goods, blue and white streamers, blue tissue paper balls ( I know I can make my own, but I was short on time), and a princess crown for the birthday girl.
The food
A little off of the theme of Cinderella, we had a taco bar. It included all the fixins and soft and hard taco shells. I also included two appetizer dips (jalapeno popper dip from Pinterest and Texas Caviar), chips, rice, and beans.
The Cake!
This was the inspiration for the party. I had many different ideas about how to make her a "Cinderella cake," but eventually saw the pumpkin coach and had to give it a try. I used a homemade funfetti cake recipe and traditional buttercream for the bottom layer. For the top layer, I just used a boxed mix, a coat of buttercream, and fondant. To shape the top layer, I bought a sphere-shaped pan from Michael's.
Since I am not a professional and don't have tons of experience, this cake was quite a labor of love. BUT the look on my precious daughter's face when she blew out her candles was worth every back-breaking second!
Monday, March 25, 2013
Ladybug Cupcake Toppers
Who doesn't love ladybugs??? And these were oh so cute and easy as pie! I made two dozen of these cupcake toppers for my friend Robin. Her daughter, Charli, was turning 2. Fun!
Materials needed: red and black fondant, a tiny amount of gum paste
Here are the tools I used:
a small fondant roller with guide rings, a medium circle cutter, a small circle cutter, a Wilton #10 tip, a small bowl, and a pastry paint brush
Here's how I made them:
Step 1: I used the purple ring on my fondant roller to roll out the black. (I bought black fondant because it is time-consuming and messy to make.) I used a circle cutter the size of a cupcake to make 24 black bodies.
Step 2: I used a smaller circle to make 24 heads.
Step 3: I used a Wilton #10 tip to make a million dots! Ok, 6 x 24 isn't a million. This was the most tedious part. I sprayed a little Pam on my parchment to dip my tip in every few circles. And I used the opposite end of my decorating brush to poke the circles out if they got stuck. Line them up in groups of 6 to make counting much easier!
Step 4: I used the pink rings on my fondant roller to roll out the red. Then I used the same circle cutter I used for the black bodies. Then using a very sharp knife or bench scraper, cut them in half.
Step 5: In a very small bowl of hot water, dissolve a pea-sized amount of gum paste. Then, use a brush to "glue" dots on each red wing. One thing to know about gum glue- there will a sort of sheen on any part of the fondant that has gum glue on it, even when it dries. I covered most of the red surface on top with the glue, so it wouldn't look splotchy. Also, try not to get it too wet or your black may bleed on the red.
Step 6: Let dry. I dried mine overnight. I left all of it uncovered except for the heads. I still wanted them to be pliable the next morning.
Step 7: Attach the heads and bodies by using your gum glue liquid. I like to put glue on both surfaces before sticking the pieces together, but I'm not sure if it matters. Let dry a few minutes.
Step 8: Attach the wings using gum glue. Let dry until they are secure. Done!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLI!
Materials needed: red and black fondant, a tiny amount of gum paste
Here are the tools I used:
a small fondant roller with guide rings, a medium circle cutter, a small circle cutter, a Wilton #10 tip, a small bowl, and a pastry paint brush
Here's how I made them:
Step 1: I used the purple ring on my fondant roller to roll out the black. (I bought black fondant because it is time-consuming and messy to make.) I used a circle cutter the size of a cupcake to make 24 black bodies.
Step 2: I used a smaller circle to make 24 heads.
Step 3: I used a Wilton #10 tip to make a million dots! Ok, 6 x 24 isn't a million. This was the most tedious part. I sprayed a little Pam on my parchment to dip my tip in every few circles. And I used the opposite end of my decorating brush to poke the circles out if they got stuck. Line them up in groups of 6 to make counting much easier!
Step 4: I used the pink rings on my fondant roller to roll out the red. Then I used the same circle cutter I used for the black bodies. Then using a very sharp knife or bench scraper, cut them in half.
Step 5: In a very small bowl of hot water, dissolve a pea-sized amount of gum paste. Then, use a brush to "glue" dots on each red wing. One thing to know about gum glue- there will a sort of sheen on any part of the fondant that has gum glue on it, even when it dries. I covered most of the red surface on top with the glue, so it wouldn't look splotchy. Also, try not to get it too wet or your black may bleed on the red.
Step 6: Let dry. I dried mine overnight. I left all of it uncovered except for the heads. I still wanted them to be pliable the next morning.
Step 7: Attach the heads and bodies by using your gum glue liquid. I like to put glue on both surfaces before sticking the pieces together, but I'm not sure if it matters. Let dry a few minutes.
Step 8: Attach the wings using gum glue. Let dry until they are secure. Done!
Here they are at the birthday party. Robin did a great job with the decor!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLI!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Twin Baby Shower Goodies
I was asked by my lovely sister-in-law to recreate the peapod cookies and cupcake toppers off of Hostess with the Mostess. As far as I can decipher, I believe the original design was from Sweeten Your Day in Utah. They were so cute! I was excited for the challenge. Her friend is expecting twins- a boy and a girl.
Using the pictures off of the site, I recreated them. Here's how:
COOKIES
I needed two batches of cookie dough and a double batch of royal icing for this project. (I used the royal icing for the cupcake toppers, too.)
Roll out and cut your cookies with a scalloped cookie cutter. The original design was a square, but I already had this cutter which was rectangular. Either spray your pan with Pam or use parchment. I had a few stick and fall apart on my first batch. Boo!
Bake them until you start seeing that golden brown on the edges- about 10-12 minutes.
Roll out and cut small circle cookies for the baby heads. I needed 12. Make sure you bake these separately They don't take as long!!
For the icing:
I took out a good amount of white and put it in a piping bag (tip #3). Then, in 3 small bowls, I put a small amount of icing. In one bowl, I mixed in soft pink. In another, I used brown. And in the last, I used egg yellow.Make sure you cover these with a damp towel while you are mixing the others. I put these in piping bags with #3 tips.
Use the rest of the icing to make the green. I kept the icing in my stand mixer bowl, adding a small amount of green and mixing it on med-high until I was happy with the color. Then make a piping bag (I used tip #4) with the green. Always keep your icing covered while not in use, even the tip of your piping bag!
Once the cookies have completely cooled, outline them with green.
Once all of the cookies have green outlines, make your green flood icing. You should be done with the green outline icing, so empty your piping bag back into the bowl of green icing. To make your flood icing, add a teaspoon of water at a time to the green icing. Stir it until thoroughly mixed. Add water until you can drag your spoon through it and it goes back to its original shape in about 3 seconds. When you have the right consistency, cover it up and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. This will allow all the air bubbles to come up. Then, pull a spatula through the icing to get rid of the bubbles.
I use squirt bottles to flood my cookies, but you can also use a piping bag. Make another outline with this icing touching the outline that is already there. Try to cover any imperfections in your outline with the flood icing.
Let these sit at least 6-8 hours or overnight before decorating.
When the flood icing is dry, make the white scallop outline on each cookie. On the boy and girl cookies, attach a circle cookie to the corner with white royal icing. Then, use the brown to make the face on the circle. Add the bow or tuft of hair to the head. Finally, add the name!
For the "Sweet Peas," just do the scallop outline, then write "Sweet Peas," and last add the flower. Use your yellow to add the finishing dot.
Done! (Excuse the messy table in this pic, toddler at work!)
Your hand will probably feel like "the claw" by now. I know mine did. But it will go away. :)
CUPCAKE TOPPERS
I used a leaf cookie cutter to cut the peapods. To get a more rounded edge, I cut out a smaller shape than I wanted and then rolled them out a bit to flatten them. This also made them all slightly different shapes and sizes, which I like.
I then put them over a wooden spoon to get a curve. I let them sit for an hour or so, until they kept their shape. Once they kept their shape, I covered them up. That way, when I added the baby faces, they wouldn't be too brittle.
I then cut out and shaped small rectangles for the stems. I adhered them to the peapods with gum glue.
To make gum glue, dissolve a very small amount of gum paste in about a tablespoon or two of water. Use a food brush to brush it on.
I used a clay extruder that I bought off of Amazon to make the curly ques. I put a small amount of green in the extruder and used the seven-holed disc. After cranking, it made 7 at a time. Time saver! Twist the ends in between your fingers to bring them to a point. Then curl them around and let dry.
Next, to make the babies' heads, I used a small amount of copper food coloring to tint my fondant the flesh color. It looked orange at first, GASP!, but the more I worked it in, the more peachy it became.
I rolled it out and cut it out with a small circle cookie cutter. I rolled each circle into a ball and smashed it with my thumb to make the baby heads. Squish them together in pairs and attach them to the peapods with gum glue.
Now the details:
Using brown royal icing, I put two eyes on each baby face. I used a small heart cookie cutter to indent the smile into each face. Then on the girl baby, I added a small pink bow with pink royal icing.
Lastly, I attached the curly que to the top of the boy baby's head with gum glue.
Let dry. Cute, cute, cute!
Here are the tools I used for this project:
a clay extruder, a medium leaf cookie cutter, a wooden spoon, and a small Wilton fondant roller with guide rings
Using the pictures off of the site, I recreated them. Here's how:
I needed two batches of cookie dough and a double batch of royal icing for this project. (I used the royal icing for the cupcake toppers, too.)
Roll out and cut your cookies with a scalloped cookie cutter. The original design was a square, but I already had this cutter which was rectangular. Either spray your pan with Pam or use parchment. I had a few stick and fall apart on my first batch. Boo!
Bake them until you start seeing that golden brown on the edges- about 10-12 minutes.
Roll out and cut small circle cookies for the baby heads. I needed 12. Make sure you bake these separately They don't take as long!!
For the icing:
I took out a good amount of white and put it in a piping bag (tip #3). Then, in 3 small bowls, I put a small amount of icing. In one bowl, I mixed in soft pink. In another, I used brown. And in the last, I used egg yellow.Make sure you cover these with a damp towel while you are mixing the others. I put these in piping bags with #3 tips.
Use the rest of the icing to make the green. I kept the icing in my stand mixer bowl, adding a small amount of green and mixing it on med-high until I was happy with the color. Then make a piping bag (I used tip #4) with the green. Always keep your icing covered while not in use, even the tip of your piping bag!
Once the cookies have completely cooled, outline them with green.
Once all of the cookies have green outlines, make your green flood icing. You should be done with the green outline icing, so empty your piping bag back into the bowl of green icing. To make your flood icing, add a teaspoon of water at a time to the green icing. Stir it until thoroughly mixed. Add water until you can drag your spoon through it and it goes back to its original shape in about 3 seconds. When you have the right consistency, cover it up and let it sit for at least 15 minutes. This will allow all the air bubbles to come up. Then, pull a spatula through the icing to get rid of the bubbles.
I use squirt bottles to flood my cookies, but you can also use a piping bag. Make another outline with this icing touching the outline that is already there. Try to cover any imperfections in your outline with the flood icing.
Then, fill in the rest. Use a toothpick to move the icing to fill in spots. Also use a toothpick to pop any remaining air bubbles.
Let these sit at least 6-8 hours or overnight before decorating.
When the flood icing is dry, make the white scallop outline on each cookie. On the boy and girl cookies, attach a circle cookie to the corner with white royal icing. Then, use the brown to make the face on the circle. Add the bow or tuft of hair to the head. Finally, add the name!
For the "Sweet Peas," just do the scallop outline, then write "Sweet Peas," and last add the flower. Use your yellow to add the finishing dot.
Done! (Excuse the messy table in this pic, toddler at work!)
Your hand will probably feel like "the claw" by now. I know mine did. But it will go away. :)
CUPCAKE TOPPERS
I used a leaf cookie cutter to cut the peapods. To get a more rounded edge, I cut out a smaller shape than I wanted and then rolled them out a bit to flatten them. This also made them all slightly different shapes and sizes, which I like.
I then put them over a wooden spoon to get a curve. I let them sit for an hour or so, until they kept their shape. Once they kept their shape, I covered them up. That way, when I added the baby faces, they wouldn't be too brittle.
I then cut out and shaped small rectangles for the stems. I adhered them to the peapods with gum glue.
To make gum glue, dissolve a very small amount of gum paste in about a tablespoon or two of water. Use a food brush to brush it on.
I used a clay extruder that I bought off of Amazon to make the curly ques. I put a small amount of green in the extruder and used the seven-holed disc. After cranking, it made 7 at a time. Time saver! Twist the ends in between your fingers to bring them to a point. Then curl them around and let dry.
Next, to make the babies' heads, I used a small amount of copper food coloring to tint my fondant the flesh color. It looked orange at first, GASP!, but the more I worked it in, the more peachy it became.
I rolled it out and cut it out with a small circle cookie cutter. I rolled each circle into a ball and smashed it with my thumb to make the baby heads. Squish them together in pairs and attach them to the peapods with gum glue.
Now the details:
Using brown royal icing, I put two eyes on each baby face. I used a small heart cookie cutter to indent the smile into each face. Then on the girl baby, I added a small pink bow with pink royal icing.
Lastly, I attached the curly que to the top of the boy baby's head with gum glue.
Let dry. Cute, cute, cute!
Here are the tools I used for this project:
a clay extruder, a medium leaf cookie cutter, a wooden spoon, and a small Wilton fondant roller with guide rings
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