Mini Magic!

So, my whole life I have been in love with pretty much anything in miniature. So it is appropriate that I went to a card making class and did all miniature cards! Love them and cant wait to create more.

A Summer Cake

My little sister Summers cake was one for the books. Many months of planning and work went into this Sartell Girls masterpiece.
Summer's original drawing she had kept and worked on for many years.

Summer Heather’ cake was a three-month production from start to finish. We actually were trying re-invent the wheel with this eye-popping cake. Summer had drawn and re-drawn her cake for four years. This is the original drawing. I'm sure glad she is the last child and this was our last wedding to plan and implement.

We, Darcy and Summer and SK believe we can do ANYTHING…Hmmmm

Summers original scaled drawings were sent to a silk-screening company in California.



The Cheap Transfer Sheet Company.

They laser cut a stencil and used the stencil to paint real chocolate powder onto Mylar sheets.
The sheets of chocolate designs on clear Mylar were sent to us and then the real work began.

We designed a mold which could be adjusted to different lengths. Lay the chocolate transfer sheet chocolate side up of course. Tape it securely. We taped the metal stainless steel flat rods to the length according to the sizes needed for the finished product. Our biggest was 4″x16″ by 1/4″ deep.

In a double broiler we melted pure white chocolate and stirred till very smooth, then poured it into the readied mold. A stainless steel scraper was used to pull the melted chocolate over the mold. Not overworking. Then scraped the excess chocolate over the edge to re-use again.

Each mold configuration was made to match the cakes layers. I made 8 sets for each cake layer. which there were 4 layers soooo…that makes a total, ahhh? 32, 1/4″ deep by 4″ tall and 5″,7″,16″,18″.

When the chocolate had cooled and hardened, we slipped a cake decorator spatula under the mold, wax paper and hardened chocolate. Very gently lifting up. We used a warm knife to cut around the edges of the mold to loosen the chocolate from the mold.Turning it over you can see the transfer sheet with the dark chocolate drawings. Peel the transfer sheet off very carefully and the design stays on the white chocolate. Some hits and misses can be expected so we made an extra 10 just for any last second emergency. We so glad we had multiples of left-overs on hand. In transit some of the “sidewalls” came loose from the actual cake and shattered. We were able put up new walls when we arrived at the venue. ( I learned from the best, Ron, my dad is a custom general contractor). New walls? No problem. We kept all the finished pieces cool and dry till ready to use.

The chocolate walls were “glued” to the crumb coat frosted cake (which by the way is just a first coat of frosting decorators use to control cake crumbs from getting into the final frosting coat.)

We used white royal icing to “glue” the walls to each side of the cake layers. We all know there isn't a cake out there actually square, plumb or level. We had to adjust the walls by filling in behind areas with royal icing. using a metal square to keep an eye on the level, plumb and square issues. A ribbon was used to tie the walls to the cake till they were dry and sealed. When all four layers were stacked and stable

I started the piping which ran around the base, corners and edges of each layer. We used black butter cream icing. When this task was completed mom set about the next phase: Fresh flowers.

http://sksartell.blogspot.com/

Oh by the way the bottom layer of cake is a plywood box with holes drilled in the top and dry ice inside to protect the three upper layers of cake from the heat. We just decorated it to look as if it were cake. Try cutting into that layer with a cake knife…

As the cake was in its last minute "project" phase, the bride hovered...having to add her two bits.
Who would have known this day would hit temperatures over 100 degrees. As we battled on, tempers ran a little short and we needed to keep the cake as cool as possible.

But onward and upward we prevailed. The end artistic masterpiece was complete.

Thanks for joining us in the journey..

The Sartell girls had fun...Forces of Nature Is What We Are...

Cupcake Crazy!

I love cupcakes. They can be the most delicious bite if done well. I have done these cupcakes for my Cub Scouts. Who ever said "kids don't have a pallet" were dead wrong. Kids can be your worst critic when it come to just pure Good flavor. These are a dark chocolate cupcake with fresh blackberries as a filling and a rich chocolate butter cream frosting. The boys raved about them. Said they were the best cupcakes they had ever had!! Yippy for me. I think I will make them again.

Baking up a storm!

There is no better motivation then guests coming to get the kitchen juices flowing. Besides the fact that I love to bake. I decided I wanted to try some new things. I made Cranberry Orange Bagels and Home made Graham Crackers. Now, I had made bagels before when I was in Culinary School but never this kind. I use to buy them at the school bakery and loved them. The cranberry kind that is. So I ventured out on my own to make them. And OH BOY! Are they good!!!!



Then I had a huge craving for graham crackers but did not have any nor had the money to spare to buy some, so I searched online for a recipe and found one that looked promising. Tried them out and they are so much better then store bought. But, and there is a big but. They are a huge pain in the rear to make. Very time consuming and tedious. Will I make them again, you ask? Probably, but only for special occasions.

Bold Backgrounds

I attended a class where I learned how to paint the backgrounds and elements of a card or scrapbook page. It was so much fun. So this morning I worked on a few cards that I think are so much fun.

On the Hunt

My latest project is for a Nieces husband. He is an avid hunter and she wanted to do something special for his birthday. So we decided that I would make a cake for the occasion. The cake is a French Vanilla cake that I split into thirds and colored it brown and green so it would look like camo. The fillngs are a home made caramel on one layer and a home made fudge on he second. Topped with chocolate fudge butter cream frosting. Yum ,Yum! I found the figurines at the local bakery. They will usually sell you the kits.

A few more old projects

This time I want to share with you some of the cards that I have done. No fancy introduction needed just having some fun.

A few old projects

I wanted to share a few old projects that I have done. Love them and they are super easy. Maybe they will get your creative juices flowing and make some your self.

The first project were these totally cute letter blocks. They are made with lengths of 2 by 4. Cut into varying sizes. You can do them all the same size or different sizes. It is all up to you. A little bit of thick wire and some paint.

For mine, I sanded down the edges, painted them with a brown wash and made the word Faith. The letters are a little time consuming, but worth it. Bend your wire into the letters you want, leaving a small amount at the ends for fastening. To fasten them to the block use a drill and make a small whole at the bottom of the block where you want the bottom of the letter to start and insert the end of the letter in the whole and give it a little tap with a hammer to secure. Do the same with any other loose ends.




Second project I an again using pieces of cut up 2x4 but this time I sanded and painted to a color of green that I liked. I had to do a little mixing. Then painted the blocks and let dry. After they were dry I used a little wood glue and hot glue to glue them into place and clamped together to allow to dry over night. Then using Holley berry sprays from the craft store I decorated my tree. And also painted a little wood star and curled a small piece of wire and places it on top.




Third project was this great phrase tile. Very popular these days. I used an extra tile from a home improvement job. But you can sometimes buy tiles singly at you home improvement store that were leftovers from jobs. or buy a couple and make a few for gifts. A vinyl phrase that you can either make yourself if you are fortunate enough to have a cricut but like many of us, I got it at my local craft store. Make sure you tile is clean and dry. then adhere your lettering.

Oh Baby!

I was approached my my cousins husband and asked if I would do a pregnant belly cake for his wife's birthday. At first I was thinking...You have got to be kidding me? Right? A, I hate working with fondant and 2. I have never done something like this and C. Are you sure she is going to like this? All very valid and concerning to me. But After a little research online I decided it would be a new experience and I should go for it. So here are the results.

P.S. I still hate fondant.


So how this was done was actually not to difficult. I took a large metal bowl and used it as a cake pan for the belly and two smaller ones for the chest. I had to make sure I oiled and floured them really well so the cake would come out after it was done baking. Placed the finished cake on a cake board and filled and frosted them. The fondant was a little trickier. You roll it out to 1/4 inch thick then cover the cake. It has to go on smooth or you will just have a big mess. After smoothing out the fondant I pipped a vine on the fondant. and made the brown sash. I finished all the details with luster dust that I brushed on with a fine soft bristled paint brush. and there you have it!!! Options for frosting and fillings are only limited to your imagination and taste buds!!!

For Gracie

This is to all the moms out there. A lot of people think that a party and a beautiful cake for a child's 1st birthday is a waste of time and money, their argument is...They wont even remember it, why do it. Well, guess what? Its probably partially true that the child wont remember it, but they will see pictures and have stories told to them and they can live the experience through that. Most importantly you will remember it and you will not regret doing it. As a mother of two children myself I do not regret a moment or a penny spent on my kids 1st birthday. So go ahead and do it. Don't listen to anyone else.
So here is a cake I just finished for Gracie's 1st Birth day. Happy Birth Day Gracie!!

Picture Collage

I love having pictures all around my home, and what better way to do that is in some great frames. And even better in a cute and creative collage. I saw this in a store and decided I could do it myself. I did a couple for each room in our home.

Back to my local craft store, good will and yard sales to find frames I liked and which would work well together.

The key to this is looking at the potential of the item not its face value. Because most times you have to refinish things to look like You want them to.

I found my frames and knew what pics I was going to put in each, I refinished most of them. By using a little sand paper to give the frames grit then repainting and roughing them up to look antique. I did use a watered down paint called a wash, to add more of an old world look to some of them. I then took the frames and stacked them on each other and used a small finishing nail to attach them to each other, added wall hangers on back and Walla! So cute. I love them.

Truffles

As many of you know this decadent little bite shares it's name with a wonderful ground fungus which is treasured all over the world for its wonderful flavor. Now even though this is not the truffle used in all kinds of cuisine, in my book it is the most wonderful thing you could put in your mouth.

This is the Chocolate Truffle. If made correctly you should feel guilty just thinking of eating it. I made a Peanut Butter Chocolate truffle for my husbands birthday this week and it was too die for. Rich, smooth peanut butter chocolate filling with a decadent semi-sweet outer coating. It literally melted in your mouth.

Happy birthday my love.