This:
is:
GORGEOUS:
Ribbon Rose Light Garland
June 7th, 2010Citrus Jello Treats
June 7th, 2010If you can successfully empty out the rind of some citurs fruit that you have cut in half (you can get some tips from Crazy Domestic) and you fill them will jello, you can slice them into really fun summer treats:
image from All My Favs
And my favorite…if you use a lime with red jello you have yourself a faux watermelon treat:
Image from Chocolate on My Carnium
Indietutes Sewing Tutorials
June 7th, 2010
As someone who pretends that they can sew (and would actually really like to improve this skill) I thought I would share a blog I found that has a ton of great (basic) sewing tutorials. Everything from hemming pants to a tiered twirl skirt:
You can check out all of the tutorials from Indietutes and then join me as I try to sew something! I finally bought some fabric for a camera strap! Wish me luck! (More like tell me to just get to it!)
Wrapped Present Banner
May 26th, 2010I am a sucker for a cute banner or a great garland. Hanging from the stair rail, over a mantle, or haning on the edge of your table, they are the perfect decoration for any event. And when they are easy to make, well that makes them even better.
Molly, from Tuesdays with Molly, created a great birthday banner by wrapping little boxes and then attaching tags with letters that spell out Happy Birthday:
She also made a cute Christmas version that you can see HERE. If you wrap them so that you can still open them from one side, it would be a cute way to store treats for the 12 Days of Christmas or use as an Advent Calendar.
Marshmallow Fondant
May 25th, 2010Fondant is a really fun way to decorate cakes and cupcakes, but making it can be a pain and buying it can be expensive. And when it is all said and done, what is considered edible doesn’t always taste very good. It is actually recommended that you remove it from the cake before you serve it. It is pretty much just for show.
A real fondant recipe uses gelatin, glycerin, shortening, and corn syrup. Mmmmm. Doesn’t that sound yummy.
When my son turned 7 I wanted to try my hand at these cupcakes from Hello Naomi:
I did a little research and figured out that marshmallow fondant was really easy to make and tasted better than the real thing. Basically, you take a bag of marshmallows, melt it, and knead in a box of powdered sugar. And that is what it tastes like. Sugar and sugar. Actyally, it reminds me of circus peanuts:
So that is what I used, marshmallow fondant. It was really fun to make and easy to work with. Here is what my cupcakes turned out to look like:
Not too bad for my very first time making and working with ‘fondant’. I even ended up making a Mario to go with it:
So if you are looking to try your hand at decorating with fondant, give this recipe a whirl. Worse comes to worse you are out a couple of dollars.
Marshmallow Fondant
What you need:
16 oz mini-marshmallows
2 T water
2 lbs powdered sugar
1/2 c shortening (or more! Just keep the shortening out!!)
What you do:
Put the marshmallows and 2 T of water in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, stir, microwave for another 30 seconds, stir, continue until it is melted. Dump 3/4 of the powdered sugar into the bowl. Grease your ENTIRE work space with the shortening and then grease your hands with shortening. Dump out the marshmallow/sugar mixture and kneed it like you would bread dough. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar and keep kneading. You will know when it is done. It will look like this:
Then coat the ball with shortening, wrap it in plastic wrap, put it in a Ziploc bag (squish all the air out) and put it in the fridge over night.
It is messy, but really easy and CHEAP and fun! And your hands are really soft when you are done.
If you want to make colored fondant, add some gel food coloring to the fondant and knead it in. Add more until you get the color that you want. And wear gloves if you don’t want your hands to turn colors. This stuff will last a good long time in the fridge if you wrap it up tight enough, so you can make it ahead of time.