Archive for April 9, 2009

Paper Infatuation Part 1

The more I learn about making cupcakes, the more I find myself tempted to spend money! The latest thing I’ve been drooling over? Baking cups.

Confectionery House has really awesome opaque ones in tons of colors,

and Bakerella was just showing off their polka dot ones on her site.

Once the wedding is behind us, I think my summer project will be experimenting with cupcakes! And I’ll likely be giving them away so I don’t have to eat them all myself!

If you’re reading this and you LOVE cupcakes, leave a comment on this post and I’ll start a running list of lucky cupcake recipients! :)

Aquasteel

I found the coolest aquamarine book-binding paper and I wanted to make a hard-bound journal with it. I also wanted to include a leather bookmark and burnt copper accents. Here’s the result:

bluesteel1

Before pasting the boards to the cover paper, I used an X-Acto knife to cut grooves in the davy board, forming ridges. I centered the copper eyelets between the grooves, secured the leather strap for the bookmark, and then assembled the inside of the book.

bluesteel2

I call it “Aquasteel”

How to Create an Xbox Cake

I was asked to make an Xbox controller Groom’s cake for my friend Mikie’s wedding reception. Here are the steps it took to make this cake a success.

STEP ONE:

I baked two rectangular layers of milk chocolate cake, placed buttercream filling between the layers, and used a stencil I created on my computer to cut the cake into the correct shape.xbox-step-1

STEP TWO:
I frosted the entire cake in white buttercream and allowed the icing to crust (appoximately 20 minutes).
xbox-step-2

STEP THREE:
Once the icing had crusted, I used regular Viva paper towels to smooth the icing. This step helps the surface of the cake to more closely resemble plastic–a definite must when you are creating an Xbox controller! ((Note: I realize I could use fondant to give it a ‘plastic’ look…I just don’t think fondant tastes as good as buttercream, plus it’s more difficult to cut when you are ready to serve the cake.))

Next, I piped gray-tinted buttercream on the edge of the cake to match the controller.
xbox-step-4

STEP FOUR:
Using a #12 tip, I created the buttons and triggers on the top edge of the cake to match the controller.
xbox-step-3

STEP FIVE:
I used a second printout of my stencil to make all the buttons and joysticks the correct size. All buttons were created out of fondant that I tinted to match the buttons on the actual controller. All pieces were cut and shaped and left to dry overnight.
xbox-step-5

STEP SIX:
Using the actual controller as a model, I placed the fondant buttons in the correct positions on the cake. I then piped the details on the buttons using thin consistency buttercream.
xbox-step-6

STEP SEVEN:
Using the actual controller as a model, I placed the 3-D fondant joysticks in the correct positions on the cake.
xbox-step-7

DONE!
The finished product…an Xbox Groom’s cake, iced and ready for my friend Mikie’s wedding reception.

xbox-step-8

The finished product as compared to its inspiration.

xbox-step-9

As much as I dislike its taste, fondant does hold a shape pretty well. Thus, all the buttons and joysticks were completely 3-D and made out of tinted fondant.

xbox-step-10

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A New Venture…

I really love making stuff. And our wedding details are no exception. I set out to find the perfect unity candle, but the ones I found all seemed either too plain or too ‘stuffy’ for us. So, I decided I’d just make one! Here are the steps so you can do the same! I might even start designing and selling these babies after May 29th is over and I need excuses to design fun stuff like this!

STEP ONE:
Choose your candle. I went with an aquamarine pillar.
1raw-candle

STEP TWO:
Print out the design/shape/pattern that you’d like to apply to the candle.
2pattern

STEP THREE:
Using a very sharp X-Acto knife, meticulously cut out your design from the pattern.
3cutout
((Looks like fun, huh?!))

STEP FOUR:
Arrange your pieces in a way that will make laying them out easy. In this pic, you can see the areas where I took extra time, and where I got a little impatient and rushed through the X-Acto-ing. ((It goes without saying that taking your time obviously makes it look nicer. But after an hour of cutting the bitsy parts, I realized that even the people sitting nearest the candle would be at least ten feet away.))
4pieces

STEP FIVE (not pictured, due to lack of extra hands):
Apply a collage adhesive (Mod Podge works best) to the back of each piece, arranging them in their correct positions as you go. For my TINY pieces, I found it worked well to “skewer” each piece on the tip of my X-Acto, paint the Mod Podge on the backside using a small paintbrush, then position the piece in place before removing the tip of the blade. ((Call me for clarification if you are prone to cutting yourself while crafting. I’ll give you an in-house demo and save you a trip to the ER.))

STEP SIX (also not pictured): Apply a coat of Mod Podge over the top of the design to seal it and guarantee it won’t peel off. And now…you’re DONE!!
5finished

And no one else on the whole planet will have a candle like the one you hold in your hands! Pretty cool, if you ask me.