[Events] Head Over Heels Surprise!

Do you remember this necklace that I made for our dear friend on her "Surprise High Heels Party?"  I forgot to show you how we decorated the hall for the celebration.  She loves wearing high heels so we decided to make it our theme and used gold, black and white.  The topiary centerpiece were handmade using gold and white tissue paper, wooden dowels, faux flowers and crystals arranged in a tall glass vase with stones and moss. We printed pictures of high heels and I applied Ranger's glossy accents to make it look oh so shiny, just like most of her shoes and adhered it to the glass centerpiece.  We made a total of 20 which really looked pretty.  The giant shoe on the background was  painted on a foam core board and adorned with red and white flowers.  The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was made using cricut.

Golden Birthday Celebration
Black, Gold, White
DIY decors

The letter blocks were handmade as well -  we painted it black with a gold trim.  There were a lot of guests so we had to figure how to best arrange the round and rectangular tables, 2 sets of buffet tables, roast pig carving table, dessert table and the sound booth.  It turned out pretty well.  We placed a separate presidential table which allowed them to have a perfect view of the program.  The cake was orange chiffon made and beautifully decorated by Jane&Jill.   

Oh it was wonderful to see her so happy, being surrounded by so many people who love her.  Husband and I were super tired but it was the "good kind of tired."  This was my first major events arrangement and (pardon my boasting), it was beautiful!  

Soli deo gloria!

♥  michelle

[Baking] Star Wars Cake and Polymer Clay Personalized Topper

We celebrated a dear friends 16th birthday and it was inspired by Star Wars.  I made the green cake which is "Pandan cake."  The cake is made using the extract of Pandan leaves.  It is very common in Asian cuisine, mostly used in desserts.  It is very aromatic and makes desserts tasty.  However, I think it is an acquired taste because I know some Asians are not too fond of it.  I called it "Yoda Pandan Cake."

"Youda Pandan Cake" and "Red Velvet Star Wars Cake"

The personalized cake topper is made from polymer clay.  It incorporates some of our birthday celebrants' things:  longboard, violin, red chucks and her red backpack.  It was my first time to make such and it was challenging.

The blue Star Wars cake was made by Jane&Jill cakes.  The cake was red velvet - delicious!  I added the topper which was pretty cool too because the light saber lit up!

I helped out with the table decorations as well.  I printed out the images from MeckMom and added them to chocolate and white chocolate peanut butter Reese's mini cups.

I love helping out in themed parties.  It's fun brainstorming and making the most of available resources.

Cheers!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Wilton Wednesday] Buttercream Icing

Welcome to Wilton Wednesday!  

Today is about Buttercream Icing.

I have never tried making buttercream icing in my cakes so it was pretty interesting.  

You can find the recipe HERE.

We had to make a double batch for class:  

2 cups vegetable shortening, meringue powder, 2 lbs powdered sugar, water or milk, vanilla and a dash of salt.  

I used McCormick pure vanilla and though it didn't discolor my icing, you might want to use a brand that will not tint your icing (such as Wilton vanilla) especially if you want it stark white..

The procedure is pretty simple.  Mix all the ingredients and beat until smooth.  Add the water or milk a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.  I learned that there are three types of icing:  Stiff, Medium and Thin each had its own purpose.

Stiff icing is used for flowers with upright petals like the rose.  Notice that the spatula doesn't move.

Medium icing is used for stars, shells, borders, rosettes, zigzags and flowers with flat petals.  The spatula will move slightly and start to lean.

Thin icing is for printing, writing and leaves.  It is also used for icing the cake.  To test for consistency, the spatula will fall over.

 I baked a boxed cake for class... not as good as the real thing but it works for practice.

I tort the cake and filled it with this Grave's Mountain Cantaloupe Peach jam from Virginia.  Oh, it was delicious! This was given to us by friends from their trip.

I used thin icing to crumb and cover the cake.  I didn't add a lot because I didn't want to waste it and it's too sweet to my liking.  I added gel color and piped stars and swirls in my cupcake design.

I learned how to make the pearl border too.  I was fun!

Oh well... I need to practice, practice and practice some more.

A friend of mine asked me how much sugar I consume a day with all my baking and cooking.  Not too much.  The secret is sharing and spreading the joy with others.

See ya'll next week.

♥  michelle  ♥

[Wilton Wednesday] Course 1: Decorating Basics

Welcome back to The Cabby Crafter!

We have good news for my dear readers who love to bake.  We have designated today as 

"Wilton Wednesday" 

and will do so every Wednesday until we run out of things to share with you.  LOL.

Disclaimer:  This is a personal blog of The Cabby Crafter and is not sponsored by or in anyway connected to Wilton Industries, Inc.  Thank you very much!

I have always loved baking since I was young.  My mother would bring me with her to her baking class (she's a nursing professor and took baking classes in the University where she taught) and would let me mix, use the hand mixer, crack and separate eggs and finally lick the mixer prongs.  I have baked a lot of cakes before and took a few courses on my spare time.  Did I mention that I've always wanted to have a glass refrigerated case and a bakeshop?   

My love for baking was rekindled over a year ago when I started to bake cakes for gatherings and church pot share.     Surprisingly, people besides my husband loved my cakes.  Whenever I would bake a new recipe for the first time it would always be above par - except for the icing, that is.  

I need to practice more.

And more.

One day ago, I enrolled in "The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating Course 1:  Building Buttercream Skills" at my home away from home, Hobby Lobby.  I have always been a fan of Wilton though I regret not being able to visit their office during their tent sale in Woodridge, Illinois in the 2 years that we were just an hour away from them... sigh.

The course was not cheap but thankfully, it was 55% off when I signed up - that includes the nice and colorful Course 1 book.

I had some stuff at home but of course, I had to buy the Decorating Basics Student Kit which cost $34.99 (you could never have enough tips or spatulas, my Dahlings!).

The kit included everything you need to get started (that's what the label read).

12 Decorating Tips:  Round 1,3,12; Star 16,18,21; Open Star 1 M; Petal 104; Leaf 352, Bismark 230; Drop Flower 20; Multi-opening 233

4 standard couplers

2 10-inch reusable featherweight bags

2 disposable decorating bags

6 parchment triangles

15 in Flower nail

Cupcake nail

Decorator brush

12 Flower template stickers

9 in. spatula

Practice board with stand and patterns

Our teacher, Ms. Debra was very informative.  She taught us the basics and secrets of baking, how to make buttercream icing, how to make and determine the icing consistency.  We were asked to bring cookies to practice on but we didn't have time to do it but I'm gonna practice at home.  

I will be sharing with you more about it next week.

Our take home message:  Practice, practice, practice.

This is a 2 hour x once a week x 4 week class.  Fun huh?

Come and visit us next Wilton Wednesday, okay?!

See ya!

Happy baking!

♥  michelle  ♥