Another Year Gone...

Wow, 2014! Where did you go? The years are getting faster, right? It has been an eventful year, though it went by so fast I have no idea how everything fit! I kept my resolution of posting at least once a month about 80% of the time (which I don't think is THAT bad....). OK, I will try harder this year. Maybe I'll even post twice a month! 

To end the year, I tried my hand (again) at making those pesky-but-beautiful french macarons. I'm always hesitant when making these because 1. the ingredients are not cheap and 2. these things are so high maintenance (humidity, resting period, etc). 

I picked a nice, dry day to make these again, and I was really happy with how they came out. They had a crisp outside and the insides were soft and chewy. I let them rest for a good 30 minutes so they had cute little feet. Half of them were filled with chocolate ganache and the other half with buttercream. I'm now not afraid to make these! :)

For Christmas this year, I did most of my shopping online. My new favorite website btw is RedEnvelope.com. They have lots of different gifts for everyone in the family, and they also personalize a lot of them (giving it an extra special touch!). I ordered these kitchen towels for myself, and LOVE them!

- Have a Happy New Year!!! -

Happy Halloween!

I realize I missed last month's entry...... I had bought these adorable candy decorations at Michael's, which I were dying to use! I remember seeing these last year during Halloween season, and regretted not buying them. These little mummies are holding even smaller jelly pumpkins. Since our school has a nutritional policy and took away all the fun of school parties, I decided to make some cupcakes for the staff. Hey, at least we can have some fun!

 

- look at that adorable face -

Up and Away!

I was asked to bake cupcakes for my friend's baby. You see, Little Luca was turning 1 and mom had an adorable theme in mind! She told me she wanted an Up, Up and Away theme, complete with balloons and hot air balloons. The color scheme was aqua and red, and up and away I went!

- the cutest backdrop for pictures -

I made a couple of different cupcake toppers out of colored and patterned paper using my craft punches. The different designs dressed up the cupcakes and tied the desserts to the theme. A cute topper can make a BIG difference! So bust out your craft supplies, because the possibilities are endless!

- 3D balloons -

- cluster balloons -

I wanted to make one edible cupcake topper, so I took out my fondant tools and got rolling. My amazing friends helped me create these red discs topped with a cloud and a blue #1.

- fondant toppers -

These cupcakes came out fun and festive! 

Happy Birthday, Luca! 

Peter's 30th Birthday

I got a request from my cousin, Sandy, to come up with a poker-themed cake for her boyfriend, Peter. He is celebrating a milestone birthday, the big 3-0. I had made Vegas-themed cupcakes a couple of months back for a coworker, so I thought "sure, I can do this!" Sandy then informed me that there must also be a royal flush represented on the cake as well. This was a bit trickier, but in the words of Barney Stinson, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

The poker chips came out just how I wanted them to! I made black, red, and white ones to have a variety to play around with. The dice I made with white fondant and edible marker. 

The royal flush was the most difficult piece of this cake. I didn't want to make separate cards and stack them on top of each other in fear of an ugly rippling effect, so I kept them as one piece of fondant with indentations to mimic a hand of cards. I had to make a template first and then cut it out, because there was NO WAY I was free handing that!

Along with the poker-themed cake, Sandy wanted cupcakes topped with turtles. Yes, turtles. An odd request for a 30th birthday party, but special to the couple nonetheless. So I busted out my tools and got started molding and sculpting all of the little pieces that I would need for this project. I rolled out green balls of fondant and shaped them to form the turtle shells. I then wrapped the shells with a snake-like piece. The flippers I made from small circle cutouts that I sliced in half. Everything was attached using gum glue adhesive (gum paste dissolved in water). The eyes are drawn with edible marker. 

- isn't he adorable? -

- fleet of turtles -

And the finished product? .... dun dun dun duuuuun!

Happy 30th Birthday, Peter!

Elmo Birthday

Remember my other coworker Diana, who was preggers last year? I made her the elephant topper mini cupcakes for her baby shower last year, and was asked to make baby Nic's 1st birthday treats this year! Babies grow up so incredibly fast! It makes me feel old...

I was asked to bake Elmo cupcakes and a small smash cake for Nic to, well smash. For the Elmo cupcakes, I used the "grass tip" to create his furry face. It is a lot of piping, but you don't need to worry about perfection here! His mouth is half an oreo cookie (I went through lots of cookies trying to get that clean cut, because they would crack). Don't worry if it's not a completely perfect cut, because you can cover it with frosting. For the nose, I used an orange peanut M&M. The eyes were piped on and dotted with a candy-covered chocolate like these, which can be found at craft stores.

 Mama Diana went ALL OUT (with the help of Auntie A) in planning an Elmo-themed birthday party.  There were so many details that were well thought out. They did an adorable job! Gotta love Pinterest, right?

 that's a lot of Elmos...

The smash cake was a 2-layer 6" cake covered in buttercream and sprinkles. The letters of his name were made of fondant pressed into molds, which can also be found at craft stores. The top border are sprinkle stars made by Wilton.

Nic was really intrigued with the smash cake at first, but then I think he got grossed out. He did get a couple of good smashes in before he lost interest, though! If you look carefully, you can see his tiny handprints!

Happy Birthday, Nic!