Pink Flip Flop Cookies

I had a request to make chewy sugar cookies for a spa day. The client wanted flip flops with LOTS of pink in different patterns. I decided to use two different shades of pink to make it more varied. I didn't have a flip flop cutter, so each one was traced by hand (had to work fast because the dough was getting softer the longer they were at room temperature). Here they are in their glittery glory (you can't really tell from the photos, but I did brush some disco dust on):

Wedding Cake Showcase

I have been working on these dummy cakes for quite a while now; only when I have free time or when the boys are asleep. That's the bonus of the cakes being fake, you don't have to worry about it spoiling. I will be having them photographed professionally, so it will look better than what I have here. The purpose of this exercise is to show some of the techniques I can do for future orders and to give inspiration. Enjoy! :)

Embroidered flowers

(4" high dummies in 6", 8" and 10" rounds)

This style is relatively simple. Royal icing is piped on, then brushed inward for dimension. The marshmallow fondant (MMF) leaves were cut and overlapped to finish the borders, and I made them in the three sizes from smallest to biggest; they were also highlighted in white. The cake board was covered in thinned royal icing and sanding sugar was sprinkled on. Royal icing dots were piped randomly on. The fondant was made from marshmallows with strawberry J-ello and a bit of leftover orange MMF.

Sea elements

(carved 4" dummies in 6", 8" and 10" rounds)

I decided to make it topsy turvy. For the bottom tier, I folded strips of berry J-ello MMF and had it wrapped around. Royal icing items: dots, netting, and coral topper (using a grape stem as a base!). Other items were MMF: lily and lily pad, pearls, plants, and coral. The sand is made with light brown sugar.

Vintage pearls and roses

(4" high dummies in 6" and two 8" rounds)

This cake was the most time consuming: each ribbon rose was rolled and formed by hand. I really like how it looks vintage yet unique with the 8" high bottom tier. The purple MMF was made using grape J-ello, but it wasn't dark enough, so I painted all the roses with a violet/almond extract mixture. Of course, a pearl collar had to be a part of this creation, topped with little blossoms to add interest.

Block Bake Sale

Earlier in the week, my neighbour sent out flyers to neighbouring houses to hold a yard sale today. We don't have much stuff (I try to avoid stockpiling items that we won't use. Sidenote: if you have tons of things collecting dust, I can help you decide what to get rid of so you can also enjoy reclaiming your space). Instead, I wanted to have a few baked items to sell: cupcakes, sugar cookies and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I sold them at a discount (it was a yard sale, after all).

 Caterpillars on the move

 Snowy bunnies

 Spotty trains

 Plaid power

 Blue blossoms

 Pink blossoms

 Band of butterflies

 Cute, eh?

 Happy hearts

Race on!

30 Years Young!

2011 marks the end of an era... we 1981-er's are going to turn 30 this year! To celebrate this momentous occasion, a couple of my fellow '81 girlfriends and I will be going to Ste. Anne's Spa on Monday. It's a whole-day thing, so for the first time, I won't see my boys from 9am to 9pm!  Hopefully, James can survive. I wanted to bring along some sweets, so I'm bringing oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (not pictured), sugar cookies, and cupcakes.

 Lemon-flavoured sugar cookies with "30" and butterfly chocolate transfers

Top left: chocolate banana cupcake topped with peanut butter SMBC icing

Right: chocolate sour cream cupcake topped with chocolate SMBC icing

Bottom left: vanilla sour cream cupcake topped with vanilla SMBC icing

All cupcakes have a flower made with dark and white chocolate

Happy Birthday, 1981 Babies!