2nd Annual Cupcake Challenge and Winchester Star!!!

I did it again! I signed up to do the Red Wagon Ministry 2nd Annual Cupcake Challenge :)

For those that do not know the Red Wagon Ministry, it is a local organization that helps kids in need.  Specifically providing diapers for the needy. Last year I participated in their first Cupcake Challenge. Although I didn't win, I had a ton of fun and we raised a lot of money to buy diapers!  It was AMAZING!  You can find out more about this great organization by going to www.theredwagonministry.com.

This year the theme is Nursery Rhymes. I entered into the category of "Down in the Barnyard" and my rhyme is "Old McDonald".  Pretty sure I know what I am doing with decorations and flavor. I will post lots of pictures as I begin the process :)

The other day I was contacted by the Cupcake Challenge wonder woman, Ms. Jody Stephenson. She needed a few of us bakers to do an interview for our local paper, The Winchester Star.  We also needed to bring a cupcake and a recipe. Well I made Bryan go to our tax appointment alone just so I could go to the interview!  Myself and 2 other bakers were interviewed.  They took pictures of our cupcakes and us.  It was fun! I have never been interviewed for the newspaper before!  Pretty sure she said we would be in it on Wednesday, in the cooking section.  So you Winchester people keep an eye out!!

I made an updated version of my Orange Creamsicle Cupcake. My previous cupcake was a box recipe, but edited. This one is from scratch and has a cream filling and an even creamier frosting :)  Check out the recipe by clicking here or clicking on the name.  I wish I had a picture :( I forgot to take one. If I can get one from the newspaper then I will attach it later!

More updates to come!

Bake on!
Jean

Mmmm Edible Stamping???

You read that right. Edible stamping. I also made my very first video! I did a post awhile back about edible stamping and  now I have perfected the technique! Plus I made a very short video demonstrating how to do it!

Hope you enjoy!

Craft on!
Jean

Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Here is a super cute card I created for a workshop that I did today for my friend Nickie. Have  I mentioned I love cupcakes?

The colors I used for this card are Whisper White, and all the new In Colors, Wisteria Wonder (the purple), Lucky Limeade, Island Indigo, Pool Party (the light bluish), and Calypso Coral. I love these colors! I also used a bit of our Red Glimmer paper which I am happy happy to say has made it into our new Catty! To make the shape of the card, I cut a 5x10 card, folded it in half, and placed it on the Clear Scalloped Square die for the Big Shot. But when I placed it on the die, I did not put the fold over the edge of the square, instead I sort of had it right underneath where it would cut, that way when I put it through the Big Shot, it only cut on the 3 sides, leaving the fold!  The whisper white piece on the inside and the outside is the same size, 3 3/4 x 3 3/4. I then use my Build a Cupcake punch and cut out one cupcake from each of the 5 In Colors. Then just mix and match pieces, gluing them onto the white piece.  I had some hang off, some sideways, get creative! I used Calypso Coral ink and our Swirls and Curls Summer Mini Hostess Stamp set to stamp Happy Birthday at the bottom. I trimmed off all the cupcakes that were hanging off the white piece. Then I ran it through the Big Shot with the polka dot embossing folder, with the dots popping up. I glued a small washer underneath the embossed cupcake/white piece before I glued it to the card. Then I used Lucky Limeade and the larger scallop circle punch, layerd that with Island Indigo and the 1 3/8 circle punch. I think punched out two more cupcakes for the cupcake in the middle on the circle and scallop circle. I glued a magnet on the back of the middle cupcake piece so that it comes off and is a cute magnet! Thats why it is popping off of the card!

Let me know if you have questions, hope you enjoy!
Craft on!!
Jean

Edible Rubber Stamping!!!

Long time no blog! I have many things I want to share since I have been in "summer hibernation" mode since school ended. Usually for 1-2 weeks after school lets out and I start my summer break I hibernate in the house and don't go anywhere! I catch up on reading, crafting, whatever I WANT! lol.

Every year I do a Luau with friends right before the end of school. I wanted to do something different, so I decided to mix my love of rubber stamping with cupcakes!  

 Since I did this sort of last minute - I didn't get the edible markers that you can use to write on cakes. I think that if I had those it would have made a cleaner image - but as soon as I try it out - I will share!!!
I started off with a white sugar sheet (designed for the Cricut Cake, but they make several types now). Fondant or gumpaste will work too!  Then I took food color spray and sprayed it on a paper plate. Then I stamped my stamp into the color, coating it well, then stamped it onto the sugar sheet just like you would with normal ink and paper!  I tried liquid food coloring, but it is just too liquidy and does not stick to the stamp well. Thats why I think the markers might work well. But if not, the spray worked great! I let it dry for a minute, then cut out all my pieces.

I know some people who use stamps to press into fondant and they use those stamps only for food to keep them food safe. I had only used one of these previously and I sterilized it well before using it. Since this was a personal project, cleaning it seemed fine to me. But if you will be using your creations for commercial use or for any other non personal use, I would recommend only using the stamps for food - keeping them separate from your actual crafting stamps.

I will blog more soon!! I have some cute crochet items I have made and some adorable bookmarks!

Craft On!!!

Jean

Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes!

So every month we have a birthday party for the kids in my classes who have a birthday at some point in that month. We used to do individual ones, but with a group of 16 thats a lot of birthdays!  The kids love cupcakes and they are much easier to deal with when serving a bunch of kids!  So this lately I have been dying to try and make Orange Creamsicle cupcakes. Well I usually start off with a basic cupcake recipe and edit from there, but, silly me used up all my flour and cake flour at my Cupcake Challenge a few weeks ago and didn't realize it! So I was forced to mess around with a vanilla cake mix. I was pretty nervous. I haven't done that! So here is my recipe for the Orange Vanilla Cupcakes and the Orange Buttercream Frosting!! It was a huuuuge hit and they were very yumm! Even my friend Stephanie who doesn't like Creamsicles liked these!

Orange Vanilla Cupcake

1 box vanilla cake mix
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (squeezed right from the orange!!)
1 tbsp or so of orange zest (I am bad with not measuring!)
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (not whipped)
a few drops of yellow and red food coloring to give a nice orange color - not required though

Just mix all together, then fill lined cupcake tins. I baked at 350 deg. F for about 15 min.  Pop them out to cool when they are done.

Orange Buttercream

1/4 cup fresh orange juice (squeezed right from the orange!!)
1 stick unsalted butter at room temp.
1/2 cup shortening - I used the white shortening sticks, not butter flavored
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp orange extract
4 cups powder sugar

I creamed all the ingredients except the sugar first, then added the sugar about 1 cup at a time. You can add more sugar or less  depending on the consistency and the sweetness that you prefer. The frosting I did came out light and fluffy, which worked great for the Creamsicle feeling!

Hope you enjoy!!!

Bake on!!
Jean

Cupcake Challenge!

So I have not posted for awhile because I was busy baking, baking, baking, oh, and baking. I had 10 dozen  cupcakes to make, 5 for each category, and I made my stepmom, Laurie, some birthday cake balls.  The Cupcake Challenge was a fundraiser to benefit the Red Wagon Ministry and CCAP, providing diapers for those in need. I entered in the "Best Taste" and the "Best Decoration" categories. So here are my pics!!

 Here are my yummy Cherry Limeade Cupcakes. Complete with straw, cherry, and lime slice. I LOVE Sonics Cherry Limeade drinks, so I made them into a cupcake! These were loved by everyone and went pretty quick!

Here are the Best Decoration cupcakes. I cut out wrappers using my Cricut. I made honey vanilla cupcakes with no egg! I ran out of eggs, and didn't have time to run out. So I subsituted some things. They came out great! Then I did a lemon glaze with swirls of melty chocolates, then dusted pink luster dust over top. I was going for springy!

I did not win anything, but had a great time! Here is a picture of the cake balls I made Laurie. Cake balls/pops are so easy to make! I followed Bakerella's recipe of I baked cake, crumbled, with 1 can of frosting. Mix it all up and its like yummy playdough! 

I will be posting more soon, and more often! I will have April Stamp camp pictures soon!

Craft On!

Jean