Corsage Boxes Perfect for Fondant Toppers

I recently participated in a service exchange with the ladies in my church. I decided to give away fondant baby cowboy boots.

 

I made a denim colored flower to go along with the boots. I used small pieces of extra fondant to hold the ruffles in place while the flower dried.

Once the fondant was dry, I could remove the supports and the flower was ready to go.

To help speed the drying process along, I put the fondant decorations into my food dehydrator. If you would like to try this, make sure the temperature is set to off. You don't want any heat to melt all of your hard work.

I love trying to find new ways to package treats and decorations. I found a corsage box at a craft store, and these fondant toppers fit in perfectly.

See?

I really enjoyed spending time with my friends from church and participating in the service auction.

What are some creative ways you like to package your sweet creations? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Baby Blue Cowboy Boots

Last month I got to make a cake for a cowgirl baby shower.

http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2013/01/welcome-baby-jenna.html

I loved making those little boots, and last week I was happy to make another pair  - this time for a boy!

...and the back...

...and a quarter for size comparison.

I can't seem to get enough of fondant decorations. They're so much fun!

STATS:

Kathy's Custom Cakes Baby Cowboy Boots Template
http://media.cakecentral.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/510013/BootTemplate2C.jpg

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipe/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Valentine Cookie Favors

I don't know who first came up with idea of putting a cookie in a cd sleeve, but I love it. I think it's brilliant! I love that the packaging is cheap and even comes with its own little window, perfectly shaped for a round cookie. These would be great to send to school for Valentine's Day. 

For this cookie, I followed Martha Stewart's recipe for cowboy cookies. The only change I made is that I used a 1/4 cup of cookie dough for each cookie instead of a tablespoon. I was able to fit 6 cookies to a cookie sheet. Then, I covered the cookie dough balls with as many pink and red M&M's as possible. Pack them in tightly because they will spread apart as the cookies bake.

The cookies will spread to about 4" in diameter. That seemed to be just the right size to fit into the cd sleeve without sliding around. I wrapped each cookie in plastic wrap before placing them into the cd sleeves.

This was a fun project! It would be fun to let the kids help with the baking, and then let them decorate the cd  sleeves however they like with markers and Valentine stickers. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

STATS:

Martha Stewart's Cowboy Cookies

http://www.marthastewart.com/260966/cowboy-cookies

Welcome, Baby Jenna!

My friends and I had a great time putting together a baby shower for our sweet friend, Shelly. The expectant parents already have a name picked out for their new baby girl...Jenna. I love her name, and I can't wait to meet Jenna when she comes!

Laura was in charge of the decorations, and the room looked so good! I wish I was able to take pictures of all of the decorations she put together. She decorated the walls with huge cactus plants, a boot and a sheriff's badge made from colorful butcher paper. The tables were covered in pink and brown tablecloths and pretty cowboy hats decorated with girly bows. Everything was so cute! Luckily, I was able to get a picture of the cute welcome banner she made.

We planned a western-themed shower and made western food to go along with it. We had Mexican Lasagne (courtesy of Colleen), Creamy Tortilla Soup (This soup was SO good, and Colleen posted her recipe here: http://myfoodiefavorites.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/creamy-tortilla-soup/), cornbread muffins (courtesy of Lesley), barbecue meatballs (courtesy of Amelia), Russian potato salad (courtesy of Liliya), fruit (Liliya again), homemade salsa and chips (courtesy of Kelly), and root beer floats for the drinks (Lesley again). I loved that Lesley called them "Sarsaparilla Floats." I am so grateful to have such fun and talented friends!

Amelia and Lesley planned some great games for the baby shower. Here's the cute sign Lesley made for the "Do You Know Your Baby Vittles?" game. We don't use the term "vittles" nearly enough, in my opinion.

Here's the cake I made for the shower. It's strawberry cake, filled with cream cheese frosting, covered with a thin crumb coat of cream cheese frosting, and then completely covered with chocolate ganache.

Here's a closeup of the baby cowgirl boots. I'll post a link to the template I used to make the fondant boots in the STATS section at the bottom of this post.

*UPDATE* I just realized as I posted this, that I attached the boot waist incorrectly onto the sole of the boots. The downward scallop should be at the front and back of the boot, not at the sides under the pull straps. And to think I so carefully placed the pieces exactly wrong. LOL! Oh, well. Live and learn.

Cake Anatomy

 

Strawberry Cake

1 (16.5 oz.) box of white cake mix
1 cup flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 (3 oz.) package of strawberry gelatin
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup pureed strawberries
1/2 cup citrus soda
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar, and strawberry gelatin in a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, beat together sour cream, pureed strawberries, citrus soda, and eggs. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet, mixing on low speed at first. Then, beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until well combined. Line a 9x13" baking pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour cake batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes then raise oven temperature to 350 degrees for another 20 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

STATS:

Kathy's Custom Cakes Baby Cowboy Boots Template

http://media.cakecentral.com/modules/coppermine/albums/userpics/510013/BootTemplate2C.jpg 

Ganache Recipe, Tips, and Videos at Art and Appetite

http://www.artandappetite.com/2009/11/ganache-instead-of-buttercream/

Cream Cheese Frosting

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/Resources/Recipes/TraditionalCreamCheeseFrosting.aspx