I Choose You: Memory Bracelets

Time to show off my geek side for a minute.  I love Pokemon.  And Star Wars.  But mostly Pokemon.

I made this bracelet a long time ago but it broke and I had to fix it, so I am letting it count today.  Basically I am exhausted still from the cake and I hiked today and I am trying to write a proposal for a HUGE grant.  So I am giving myself a break.

We all need to cut ourselves some slack sometimes.

Anyway to make this I used a 1 inch punch to cut the images out of the cards.

To all PokeLovers out there, I only used cards I had multiple ones of.  I could not bring myself to use my rare ones.  I think you will understand.  Plus c'mon Vulpix is adorable. 

Anyway, I always like to promote attaching the images down with glue before putting resin on, but if you are brave you can skip this.  Just watch your images in the caps because they like to float up on an edge randomly. Let them dry completely.

I use a hammer and nail to put holes in each side and then used larger jump rings to attach the caps.  Now, you may not like pokemon or any trading cards but consider this.  If you were to put pictures of your family into Word, shrink them down and make sure the part you like fits in a 1 inch circle, you could have a cute bracelet with your family in it. 

I always put my pictures in (changing the wrap text setting to "square"), make a 1" circle shape in word and set it to "square as well" and then put the square over the picture to ensure it is the right size before I print.  Very simple.  You could make wedding bracelets, vacation bracelets, whatever you want.

Five caps fit around my wrist perfectly.  I would suggest using the bar and ring clasps because it is just easier to put it on yourself that way.

As an added bonus, I will tell you why my jeans have such a cool patch.  My mom put a piece of black lace over white fabric and reversed an iron-on patch so that when it ironed on it would adhere the material to my jeans (the patches were a little bit wider than the hole).  Even though these jeans are super tight, the patch has held like a charm.

And the top of my thigh no longer shows out of my jeans.  Call me crazy, but I am not ok with my thigh showing THAT HIGH. 

Now go craft and patch.  Hop to.  As for me and my house, we will go to bed early. Pin It Now!

Wedding Cake: Basketweave Lessons

This weekend we were making a gorgeous fall wedding cake.  I went to school with the bride and she has been so incredibly great to work with, so it was important to us that we make it extra special.  Icing lace was not the answer for this cake, and we knew basketweave would be exactly what it needed.  Usually, my sister is the one that does the basketweave on cakes when we make them.  However, she was on a plane to LA.  SO, around midnight I decided that I was going to learn it.

That's right.  At midnight, I taught myself to basketweave.  Which is exactly why I am going to pass it along to you, because you can totally do it as well!

 I practiced this in two sizes multiple times.  Ironically, I later discovered I wasn't using the official basket weave tip (#48).

Now don't get me wrong, Wilton has multiple tips that are officially for basketweave.  But I like 48 the best, the size is perfect, and I suggest it.  It will be the later size on the cakes, this picture is when I used the bigger tip before deciding it had to come back down in size.  I think I had been using a 1D.  For a list of Wilton weave tips go to http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30C1CD-475A-BAC0-5CDB07AA69762110

Anyway, the basic method is the same and the size is up to you.  Here is how you do it:

First, put a vertical line down your cake, as straight as you can.  (Draw top up or bottom down, whichever is easier for you)

Next, put horizontal stripes over the vertical strip, overshooting it one quarter of an inch or so.  It's nothing to fret over, you will find this is a very forgiving decorating style. The number you need will depend on what tip you are using and how tall your sides are, but try to make the first round hit the top of the cake and come really close to the bottom.  The top is especially important.  Do it first or fix it later (as I did).  You need to leave room between each line the size of the tip.

The bottom isn't as picky, as you will put piping over it.

After you have the horizontal stripes across, put another vertical line that goes over the ends of those horizontal line.




You will then put in another round of horizontal lines that will start in between the ones from the previous row.

You want to get as close to straight as you can, and always keep your icing tight to your cake so it does not droop.


As you can see, this one is much smaller than the one above.  We ended up not liking the big for such a small layer, and decided to scrape it and start over with a smaller weave.  Always do your smallest layer first, because if you hate it you only have to alter one.  I don't think I would mix sizes, personally.

You will keep doing this all around the cake, and when you are done add your piping to the top and bottom.

 Here are the top layer and middle layer after they were completed.


Some people do not base ice their cake under basketweave.

The great part about basketweave is you can make it as easy or miserable as you want.  You can use the smallest or largest tip.  You can make the verticals closer or more spaced out.  You could even alternate colors if you wanted.  I am serious, it is forgiving.

Just don't have icing that is too soft.  That can be an issue.


My mom was awesome and swooped in to finish the piping for this cake while I slept for a few hours to get back up and decorate again.  We power nap in shifts.


We added chocolate leaves, roses, gumpaste leaves, chocolate branches, and german chocolate candy acorns to make a fall garland to cascade down the cake. 


This is my favorite angle, thank you mom for taking it, because it shows how the density of leaves progresses as the cake goes down.

I absolutely love working on cakes with my family, and I love being able to contribute to someone's special day.  I sincerely hope they love their cake and have a lifetime of happiness together.  They really are such a great couple.

Here is the cake from the front.  I could not be more pleased with it!  After this, it is on to prepping for the next cake in late October, and working on my gumpaste skills for a range of decorations.

Get craftin'! Pin It Now!

Gumpaste Lilies

 I like to think of myself as a gumpaste guru in training.  A few years ago I made some pretty cool orchids for a wedding cake.  I hadn't made them before and really had little experience in gumpaste, but when they turned out so beautiful it spawned my obsession with gumpaste flowers.  I plan on in the next few days running down orchids and possibly calla lilies, but for today I will focus on my newfound skills of stargazer-type lilies.

You Need:
-Gumpaste (I use the powder mix from Wilton for now)
-Food coloring (I use the paste kind)
-Gumpaste flower cutter kit (I like the big one from Wilton)
-A lot of powdered sugar




I really don't like kneading in color because I get it all over me, but I have developed my own way of minimizing this. I use a knife to put a small dab of color on the gumpaste (mix to package directions) and then I roll it in on itself into a ball. I then use a rolling pin and roll it out multiple times and fold it over and roll again, doing this until the color is mixed in enough that working on it with my hands is no longer annoying.  You need to have powdered sugar constantly at the ready because gumpaste will stick to everything if you don't keep dusting it.



Once you get the color you are looking for, roll it out fairly thin.  I don't measure it, but I usually shoot for the thickness of a quarter or so. 

Cut 6 petals out of the gumpaste with the wide lily petal cutter in the Wilton set, or the equivalent with whatever set you buy.

Use your roller again to thin out the petal.  You want it to look delicate, but not be so thin that it becomes to fragile.  I just give it a few rolls up and down the petal, and rarely go side to side.







This is a trick that I love.


Use the side of your cutter to put lines up the petal.  You want to do this after rolling it because I tried it the other way and it simply erases them. 

I shoot for about 3.  It gives the flower some variation without having to add so much color.

 The number one thing to keep in mind with gumpaste is that you need a VERY well thought out system to dry the flowers.

If you look at how the Wilton instructions tell you to do lilies they put them on florist wire and then attach them all together later.  I don't like this method because I don't want some kid to run through the reception hall, grab the flower, and choke on a wire.  SO I developed my own way to make them completely edible.

This lily is drying in one of my mom's sundae glasses.  It is deep with fluted edges, and all I did was line it with aluminum foil to adjust it to the depth I wanted and to keep the flower from sticking.

I assemble the petals (except in this picture for whatever reason) by putting the back 3 down first and then the top 3 on next in the gaps between.  Gumpaste will stick to itself if you wet it just a tad, so have a small cup or something of water on hand when you get to this stage.

You can adjust and curl the tips of your petals to make them have whatever detail you want.


If you press down along the sides of each petal with your finger after you roll them and before you attach them, you can make them take on a curled look.

This flower will need AT LEAST 24 hours to dry.  Do not touch the flower and I mean really DO NOT touch it before those 24 hours.  If it cracks you will have a very sad face.  Once it dries, it is exceptionally sturdy for its delicacy.

You can make stamens from gumpaste and attach them after everything dries, or you can use the plastic ones in store.  But again, I don't like the idea of people choking.  You also can consider making them from chocolate, which will make them the most delicious piece of the whole flower.

Gumpaste has no flavor.  It luckily makes up for it in exceptional beauty and shapeability.

After the lily is dry you can paint some pearl dust on it to give it some shine.  And by can, I mean will because seriously, sparkle is never an option.

GET ON IT!

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Gum Paste Painting

 This the season to be fall-y!  See what I did there? :)

Anyways, I was messing around with gumpaste today because I need to get back in the swing. Gumpaste requires you to operate on a much higher level.

AKA, I have to be patient.  And I hate that.

So I wanted to experiment with painting it, and since it is the fall wedding season I thought fall leaves was a perfect way.


I cut these little leaves out using the ivy leaf cutter.  Next, I put orange, yellow, and brown food coloring (the paste kind) into a styrofoam bowl.



I just wiped it on the side of the bowl, like a pallette.  I dipped a paper towel that I rolled into the color and then quickly dipped it in water. This makes it more liquid to use.


Using this method with three different colors I sponged them on to the leaf. 

It is super simple, but such a cool way to get some color on your gumpaste.

Sparingly on the water! Pin It Now!

Lure Me In

FINALLY! The fishing lure statement necklace I promised...or promised to myself at least.  I thought I had lost the pictures to it yesterday, but by the time I woke up this morning my pictures were mysteriously back on my phone.  I did not sync it or restart it...and I have no idea how they got there.

But I am ok with it, at least my pictures are there. 

So to make this I took apart a decorative belt that came with a pair of dress pants.




Yes, I'm serious.  That is where I got the chain and the pearls.  I doubled the pearl strand but ended up taking it apart so that I could lace it through the black chain.

See, lacing it through the chain.


I love to do this with things.  Small chain through large ones, ribbons through chains, and strands like this through other chains.



It really helps mix it up in your necklace.



Next, I attached the lures with jump rings.

I would just like to say I don't recommend wearing it with a neon yellow athletic shirt.



However, I thought you might like to see how it lays.


AKA Perfectly.

Here is the necklace not on me.  It is really cute! Go make some alternative jewelry right now!




I went hiking again, if Gretchen reads this she will fall out of her seat.  I am really loving being on trails, it is such a fun way to enjoy the outdoors.  My friend and I were talking about how crazy it is that some people could not sit out along a trail and just enjoy the world. 


God made a beautiful earth.  Go out and just enjoy it.  Just sit there, preferably near water, and enjoy. Pin It Now!

Cinnamon Craisin No Knead

A few days ago I did a recipe of no knead bread, and mentioned that I wanted to try other flavors.  This time, I made more of the dough and added extra yumminess to get cinnamon craisin bread.  I wish there were pictures...

But I updated my phone without backing them up.  Yes, I am one of those.  Luckily my mom saved the day, as usual, and is emailing me one as I speak.  Thank God I send her pictures every five seconds.

-3 C all purpose flour
-1 1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp yeast (yea I know, you have to eyeball it from 1/4)
-1.5 c lukewarm water (you may need a tad more depending on how you measure your flour)

-Cinnamon and a cinnamon/sugar mix
-brown sugar
-handful of craisins

Mix the first sections of ingredients together in a bowl and cover overnight to rise.  I let mine rise about 18 hours sitting in my gas oven, and it seems to rise best in these circumstances.  When I was ready to put the yummies in it, I floured my counter and turned the bread out on it.  Once it was out, I put more flour on the top, turned it in on itself a few times, and smooshed it out (in lieu of rolling it).  I mooshed it out as thin as I could, and then covered the top with craisins.  I poked them into the dough and then covered the top with a layer of cinnamon sugar mix, a thin layer of cinnamon, and a nice coating of brown sugar.

After this I rolled it into a log and tucked the ends under.  I plopped it in to a lightly greased Oven Lovin' pan and put it back in the oven to sit a bit (about 2 hours) and rise again. 

Bake it at 450 for about 30 minutes or so.  Depending on what you use it may need to go about 5 minutes longer.  My pan sides usually come up much higher than my dough, and I feel like this cooks it faster.  It will get a nice golden brown and you know it is ready.

It is DELICIOUS!

And my mom approves. Pin It Now!

Sweet Christmas: Cupcake Ornament

 To say I like to bake would be a bit of an understatement.  Don't get me wrong, I despise cleaning.  But I adore cake.  Probably a little more than I should.  The day my metabolism slows down...

I'll be starting a workout challenge I suppose.

LUCKILY decorative cupcake ornaments are calorie free.

You need:
-Ornament, mine was one that has a string already through it, very handy for decorating
-A cupcake paper, I used ones that I missed and were doubled when I made muffins
-Puffy paint and excessive amounts of glitter, as it should be



 Use mod podge to attach the cupcake liner to the ornament.  It will come out more round instead of having a flat bottom, but that's ok.  If you want to try to avoid this, just glue the sides, but realize that you will need to figure out a way that it doesn't get smashed when you store it.

Use puffy paint and "ice" the top part of the ornament.  I brought mine down all the way to my paper so the silver ornament wasn't showing, but you may choose to paint your ornament or use a different color and not paint all the way down.

Add a LOT of glitter.  I used a combination of my polyflake (super fine super shiny) and some pink glitter (gaudy and fantastic) that I had. 

Funny sidenote...I really don't even like pink.  It is kind of ironic.

Next I used my red paint and put it around the top part to make a cherry for my cuppycake ornament.


Then I came to the sad realization that although it was superduper cute...it wasn't a real cupcake.  Nor did I have any real cupcakes.

BUT I DO still have pumpkin ice cream sandwiches in the freezer, and that is kind of the same thing.

Hang it on something and let it dry overnight.  I am still using my method of clothespinning ornaments to hang off my closet hanging organizer.

It's very effective.

Happy crafting!

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