Happy Halloween!

Just wanted to wish all of the ghost and ghouls out there a spooky Halloween! This is the cake I made last year, I had hoped to get one made for this year, but ran out of time.

The cast iron gate is made out of 50/50 fondant and gum paste and the cobblestone is fondant.

The signs, mouse, and pumpkin are made out of gum paste.

The Haunted house and tree are gum paste too, and since I've had a lot of requests on how I made the tree i'll give you a few quick tips. I took a 1/4" dowel rod and some thicker wire and wrapped the wires around the top. Then I took gum paste and wrapped that around for the trunk. For the branches i made took some more gum paste and wrapped it around the wires. For the face i just took some modeling tools and made the nose, eyes and mouth and highlighted them with some black gel paste.

I hope everyone has a spooktacular Halloween!!

Tuesday Toppers: Frankie Cupcake

This week is the final topper in my Halloween collection. I just adore Halloween, which made doing these toppers that much more fun! I had plans to make another Halloween cake this year, but sadly I don't think i'm going to have time. I've been busy sewing up a storm making Halloween costumes for my two girls and their friend. My oldest and her friend are going as Dorothy and Glenda the good witch and my 3 yr old is going as the wicked witch of the west. Which unfortunately, at times, can be very fitting ;) .

Now for the frankie topper. Its a funny story how he came about. These cupcakes are the ones I made last year for halloween, but i had intended to only do witches hats. Unfortunately my youngest is what I like to call a fondant monster, lol. If you put fondant within her reach, expect for it to not be there too long. As you can guess that is what I did with the witches hats and of course she ate one! So at the last minute I was faced with no more purple fondant and an empty cupcake. So Frankie was born and the little guy that got him I think was happier to have Frankie than a hat! I think it turned into a happy little accident and here's what you will need to make him:

-Fondant smoother
-Knife
-Ball tool
-Green, black, and white fondant

-Take a 1" ball of fondant and flatten sligtly.

-Gently push one side down.

-Finish squaring off the corners with your index finger and thumb.

-Take the small end of the ball too and make two indents for the eyes.

-For the mouth, take the small end again and make a long indent and smooth it out with the tool.

-Take some more green fondant and make 3 small balls for the nose and ears.

-form one ball into a small pyramid and attach with a small amount of water.

-Using the small end of the ball tool make two holes in the sides of his head.

-With the other two balls roll into a tear drop shape with your fingers.

-Take the ball tool and make and indent at the bigger end.

-Insert the ears into the bottom holes. Take two small balls of white and two even smaller balls of black and place in the eye indents with a touch of water.

-Take the rest of the black and make a thin rope. Cut into 8 pieces for the hair and 2 pieces for the head plugs.

-Insert two of the black pieces into the top opening. Take the knife and make a scar on his forehead and don't forget the stitching marks!

-For the hair take the black pieces and taper one end. Attach to the head with a small amount of water or gum paste glue.

Hope everyone has a spooktacular Halloween!
Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday Toppers: Pumpkin /Jack 'o Lantern

This week I'm going to show you how to make the second topper in my halloween set, this super simple pumpkin topper. Its so easy that it would be a great project to do with the kiddies in you life (just use the straight side of a butter knife). It would also make a great fall or Thanksgiving topper too! At the end I show you how to quickly turn it into a jack o' lantern . Here's what you will need to make one:

-Knife
-Black edible marker (optional)
-Orange fondant
-Whole clove (available in spice section of grocery stores)

-Roll out a 1" ball of orange fondant. Take the knife and starting at the bottom, rock the knife upwards to make vertical indentations all the way around.

-Take the whole clove and gently press it into the top of the ball.

-Couldn't be any simpler!

-If you want to make it a jack o' lantern, take the black edible marker and simply draw a spooky face on it!( One helpful tip is to let them sit over night to dry before drawing)

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday Toppers: Witches Hats

Well I think we finally got the flu out of our house! My daughter got it first, then me, then my youngest! It was quite the week! Luckily the hubby had it a few weeks back so I think he's been spared this time around. Now that the house is completely wiped down and sanitized I can pull out the fondant and get back to the fun :D. This week I'm starting the first of my three Halloween toppers, the witches hat. Here is what you will need to make one:

-Rolling pin
-Fondant smoother
-Knife
-2" round cookie cutter
-Purple and black fondant (I somehow forgot to put the black in the picture)

-Take the fondant and divide in half. Make a 1" ball and flatten the other piece.

-Using the 2" cookie cutter, cut a circle for the brim of the hat.

-With the fondant smoother at an angle form the ball into a cone shape.

-Press the bottom down to flatten.

-Pinch edge so it will set better on the base. (ignore the funky colors on my thumb, I just colored the fondant, lol)

-Bend the tip down to one side and with the knife make three indents to simulate the fabric folding.

-Take a small amount of black and roll into a log.

-Using the rolling pin roll it out to about 1/8" thick and cut a 1/4" strip to go around the hat.

-Take some of the excess purple and roll it into a thin rope.

-Place the hat onto the base using a little bit of water to attach.

-Attach the black band.

-Take the purple rope and form into a small circle then pinch out four corners for the buckle.

You are now ready to bewitch your guests with your awesome talents!

Happy Tuesday :D

One of my little ones is sick with the flu, so I won't be able to get a topper in today. Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

Julie :D