Halloween Wreath

For this Halloween season, I decided to make a wreath that I saw on Pinterest.  I used 6 yards of tulle and tied lots of knots around the wreath.

I ended up loving it.  Very simple and took about 30 minutes to an hour.

Bluth Walk On

For those who don't know, Arrested Development is coming back!  Well, they are coming back for a short stint on Netflix and then there will be a movie.  I'm a huge fan of Arrested Development so when I heard they were doing a contest to be in an episode, I had to try.

I made cupcakes that have to do with the show.  There is the Blue Man, Bluth Company logo, Banana, Chicken, and G.O.B. initials.  I wish I did something a little more inventive, but I couldn't think of what to do!

Flat Apple Pie

Just for fun, I made Pioneer Woman's Flat Apple Pie.  The Apple pie itself is a great and easy recipe.  Then you fold up the crust making it look a little different.

They came out great, but they did leak a little.  It was a little odd to give as a gift since they didn't know if I screwed up or if the pie was suppose to look that way, but it was still tastey!

U.S.S. Dean

For one of my Boss's birthdays, I decided to make a cake.  He is into sailing, so I tried to figure out something to do with that.  I had a hard time figuring out how to make a 3D boat out of food, without spending a million hours on it.  So, I ended up running to the store and looking for a toy.  I found this cute little boat.

I just did variations of blue for the water and put in a little island on top with brown sugar.  However, it wasn't until I was putting on the boat when I realized that I was putting the boat on the island, which makes no logical sense.  Oh well.  I secured the boat with a dowel and added a small sale.

The cake was chocolate with fresh strawberries and vanilla frosting.  It was really tasty and I was proud seeing I didn't dedicate much time.

Fall & Halloween Decor

I bought glass blocks from a craft store that was going out of business.  I bought several and have been struggling coming up with ways to use them.  One thing I've done was make one for each season.  Below is Fall.  On my Cricut, I printed out images on brown vinyl and stuck them onto the front of the block.  On the back, I attached scrapbooking paper.  I like the overall look, very simple.

 For Halloween, I didn't do anything until the night of.  I happened to have these promotional Coca Cola bottles.  They light up various different colors and I have several hanging around my house.  So, I quickly wrote Happy Halloween with my Cricut and lined it with white paper.  Then I stick a small piece of tape on it and put it directly on the bottles.

 They actually looked really cool when they were all lit up.  We hung them outside to set a scary mood for trick or treaters.



Cake Balls

My first time making Cake Balls was a huge hit (I had previously made cake pops for Christmas).  I made Red Velvet for my Boss's birthday.

So, I made them again for Boss's Day.  I made Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting, Chocolate with Chocolate frosting, and Vanilla with chocolate and vanilla frosting.  They were another big hit.

I put them in these glass containers I found at Hobby Lobby and whipped up a cute little tag on my Cricut and it instantly became very impressive.  I put a little bit of tissue paper at the bottom of the containers so they wouldn't stick.

These cake balls I made by hand and varied the sizes.  I do have a cake pop maker by Baby Cakes, but when you do them by hand and roll in all the frosting, they taste so much better.  Very moist.  If you don't know how to make Cake Pops/Balls, I recommend "Cake Pops" by Bakerella.  She's the best and I read her book, which is how I learned.

Christopher Garren's Let Them Eat Cake

One of my favorite Cake TV shows is Amazing Wedding Cakes.  I was in California for Mother's Day weekend and I just HAD to stop by their shop.

I was lucky enough to get a picture with the master himself, Christopher Garren.  I let him know that he is the best on that show.

Quite frankly, he may be the best on TV.  His shop if flawless in execution and he has an excellent team.  I was so giddy the rest of the day.  I met Christopher Garren!!!  Don't you love it when you meet your heroes?!

By the way, his cakes are really good too!  We had cookies and petit fours that were fabulous!

The Royal Wedding

I didn’t actually get up the morning of the Royal Wedding.  I was too lazy.  I did celebrate though with a Tea Party.  My friends and I got our best hats on and dressed up for the event.

I made scones (which are delicious) with an orange glaze.

Cucumber sandwiches.

Crumpets and jelly, which are basically just mini pancakes.

Coconut Macaroons.

I was very proud of my lay out and everything was so yummy.  So yummy in fact, that as I was putting away leftovers, Roscoe (the dog) decided to eat EVERYTHING.

It was a fabulous tea party and I just loved the wedding!  Hope you enjoyed it too!

Cute Car

I did NOT make these so I can't take credit, but a friend made them for a cub scout Pine Wood derby.  Aren't they so adorable!!!  They are Twinkies with mini Oreo wheels.  Perfect dessert or snack for any type of racing/car event.

Cricut Crafts

It's hard to balance my hobbies.  I feel like I do one or the other and lately it's more Cricut projects since it's new to me.  Here is what I've done lately:

Customized Letter

Mirror with Vinyl Lettering

More Picture Frames with Vinyl on Frame

Wall Decor

Easter Egg Basket

As a donation for a Baseball group, I made an Easter Basket Cake.

It’s German Chocolate with Coconut-Pecan filling.  Chocolate Buttercream for the basket weave.

Then, it’s green colored coconut for the grass and peeps and jelly beans.  It was really simple and took no time at all and came out really cute.

Easter Eggs

I saw a commercial for Rice Krispies Treats and they made these cute little eggs with M&Ms inside of them and I HAD to make them.

I didn't take many pictures, but if you go to the website, they give you a tiny tutorial and have lots of other recipes and creative things to make for all holidays.

 

Also, I learned that Peeps has more than just the marshmallow birds and bunnies.  They have stuff all season long.  I'm making a cake for this weekend and I have to copy an idea I saw from their website.  So genius and so cute!

 

Cricut Projects

One of the things that has distracted me from cake decorating is the Cricut!  I got one as a very early birthday gift and I have spent a lot of time trying to learn how to use it and play with it.  I did not get a Cake Cricut, but I did not want one either.  I don't even like using fondant because I think it's kind of a cheater/easy way to do things, so the Cake Cricut would be right up that same alley.  For others who are interested in buying one, go ahead if that's what you want, but do know that I've heard nothing but complaints from those who have bought it.  They say it's not that easy to use and it's more time consuming.  However, if you want perfection, that might be the way to go.

Anyways, back to the non-cake Cricut.  I have been making crafts with it and learning vinyl lettering.  It has been a lot of fun and I've been trying to figure out how to incorporate it with my cakes and other daily things I do.

March Madness

Since the start of this year I have been very busy with other crafts and things that I'm involving myself with.  Honestly, I have too many crafts on my plate, so I have a hard time balancing them.  I just go from project and project.  There haven't been too many birthdays or things I need to make cakes for, so that has taken the back seat.

For March, I did want to make these cute little Pots of Gold that I saw on Makes and Takes.  They used pipe cleaner, while I used ribbon, but it's the same effect and a little easier.  I thought they were so cute and simple.  Just perfect for gifts.

Missionary Cake

I took a "Tall Cakes" class at JoAnns to learn how to stack cakes.  So now I can easily do wedding cakes.  This didn't turn out perfect, but it was for class.  However, I did use it for my cousin's mission farewell.  It is suppose to look like paints with pinstriping on the bottom, a belt, dress shirt and tie.  It also has a missionary tag and RWH means Return With Honor.  Overall, it was pretty good and I was quite happy with the elements.

Inside, the top tier is Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting, middle tier is German Chocolate, and bottom tier is Chocolate with Strawberry filling.

Keeping in Simple in January

For January, I made gluten-free shortbread cookies, which were not the prettiest thing I've created.

I tried to add some "flair" to them by adding a drop flower of cream cheese with sprinkles.

I also made Lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  I was working on simply frosting them, since I have struggled with them not looking right in the past.

For "flair" here, I spray painted them reddish orange.  Not too exciting, but something for the month of January was done!

Last Minute Holiday Cake

I gave myself way too short of time to do this cake.  I was amazed that I turned it out so quickly, but it was a mess and I wish I could have taken the time to fix it more.

It's red velvet with cream cheese frosting.  I have never decorated the cake fully with the cream cheese.  This recipe I found was half buttercream and cream cheese.  It appeared to work well at first and tasted very good.

However, I even got the frosting to a whipped stage and there was still little chunks of cream cheese that I couldn't get rid of.  They were so tiny, but when you are piping, they find their way out.  If you can see my lettering, I was doing okay until the bag burst on my very last letter!  So, I went over it and had to call it a day.

This was a very simple cake, but a feat for sure.  It's suppose to be a wreath and have poinsettas on it.  Below the rope border looks great though!  Even with all the flaws, it tasted great with the berry medley in the center.  I don't know if I would recommend the mix with cream cheese, but it does taste so much better with it.

Happy Holidays!

For a Holiday cake, I decided to do chocolate with mint filling.  For the filling, I chopped up Andes mints and it was so delicious!

For decor, I tried a rope border that was new for me.  The rope work came out much better then my dots and even my shell border on the bottom.

I did better with the writing, but I should have taken the time to mix in a little piping gel to make it smooth.

For the top, I made cake pops for the first time!  I have an autographed book by Bakerella that my mother got me.  The pops are actually much harder than I expected them to be.  You have to be very fast when you work with the candy coating.

I just loved the cake pops once the hard work was over.  They were made out of red velvet and they were so cute!

My Wonderful Christmas Gift

My parents bought me the most wonderful mixer for Christmas.  It's so much better than using a hand mixer and my arms are so grateful!

It's a Breville, which I wasn't familiar with at the time.  However, now after going to the store and doing some research, it's way better than a Kitchen Aid.  Kitchen Aid does have the famous name and many accessories, but this is so efficient in the mixing settings, timings, etc.  It's actually scraps the bowl clean, too!  It is amazing and I can't say more good things about it other than I am so happy I got one!

Next Great Baker - Episode 1

Since I love The Cake Boss, I had to at least give Next Great Baker a shot.

I think I'll watch the whole season just to give it a full go and it sounds like I may learn a thing or two.  I am a little disappointed so far.  It's not that it's a bad concept or anything, it just sounds so forced.  Maybe it's because Buddy has a script?  I don't know, but it doesn't flow and it feels awkward.  The other thing is that Buddy is the only one talking most of the show and I think it would appear a little more natural if say the guest judges give a summary or two.

As far as this episode is concerned, I loved the little intros to the competitors.  I noted that most have gone to a school and have some form of a technical training.  There are a few who just bake on the side and while some are really talented, I do think that they may be the first to go.  You got a small preview of the competitors, but not enough to fall in love just yet.

Joe Glasser won the Baker's challenge which was the first part of the show where competitors had 2 hours to make any dessert to wow the judges.  Joe blew the judges away with his Rosemary flavored cake, but later banked on the immunity that he had won.  His cake for the Elimination challenge, with the theme of "Celebration", was the worst cake by far and the judges (Mauro and Mary) even wondered about revoking the immunity since it would only be fair to the other competitors.  However, even when Joe admitted that he deserved to go home, he wanted to stay, so Buddy kept his word and Joe will be back to bake next week.

Another character that was easy to hate right away was Pamela Ahn.  She had also done really well with her Taro cake in the Baker's challenge, but her Chinese New Year cake for the elimination challenge was horrible.  Not to mention this, she had left cakes in the oven overnight and could have burnt the bakery down.  She lied about her knowledge of it and seemed insincere as to the effects it could have caused.  I wanted her to leave so badly.

Kendra Jordan left first and it was anticlimactic.  I think she wanted to leave, so she did.  She left on the box truck, which was hilarious and they should have done more focus on that!  I loved Danny's little cameo!

I have a feeling that the crowd favorite with be Gregory "Greggy" Soriano, who is self-titled "The Lady Gaga of Cakes."  He is a sweet and flamboyant character that has fun lingo that is "fab" and makes everyone "jel."  Initially, my favorite is Corina Elgart who is house wife turned baker and seems to have a lot of talent.  I will root for her, but that can always change especially seeing the different clips for the upcoming episodes.  I'm excited to see where the show takes me and perhaps teaches me.