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: Basketball Cupcake

This week I'm showing the last of the 3 sports cupcakes. The basketball. It isn't quite basketball season yet, but since it's just around the corner I decided to show it to you this week. Here's what you need to make one:

-Fontant smoother
-Black edible marker
-Orange fondant (made with orange, and a touch of brown and red)

-Take a 1" ball and flatten slightly with the fondant smoother

-Using the fondant smoother again, round off the edges.

-Take the black edible pen and make a two lines that cross in the center, then a half circles on each side.

Don't forget to check in next week when I start my halloween cupcakes!

Happy Tuesday!

Tuesday Toppers: Cake Cupcake

I had such a great time this past weekend. We have an annual Johnny Appleseed festival near us that we go to every year and I was lucky enough to get to go both days! On top of that it was my sisters birthday weekend so I made her a cake (I hope to post it soon) and we went out for dinner to celebrate. Unfortunately I'm going to have to workout for the next two days straight to make up for all of the yummy food I ate over the weekend, lol. Now on to this weeks topper. I'm finishing up my series of cake cupcake toppers and showing you how to make the cake topper. Here's what you will need to make one.

- Fondant smoother
-Knife
-Paint brush and water
-White, light and dark pink, and red fondant.

-Take the white fondant and flatten just slightly.

-Pinch the top and bottom edges all the way around.

-Then take the fondant smoother and smooth it into a cake shape.

-Take both of the pinks and roll into thin ropes. ( I think I'm going to have to invest in a fondant extruder!)

-Take the light pink and zig zag it back and forth bunching it as you go, making it about 3/8" wide.

-Cut in half.

-Take the paintbrush and water and lightly go around the bottom of the cake. Next take on of the halves of pink and go around the base (it may not come up in once piece, and if it doesn't just piece together going around).

-Take the paintbrush and water and do the same around the top. Then take the darker pink fondant and make a scallop.

-For the cherries on top make 5-7 small balls of red and evenly place them on top of the cake with a little water.

-Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Tuesday Toppers: Monkey Cupcakes

In this weeks edition of Tuesday Toppers I'm bringing out some cupcakes that I made for my daughters class as an end of the year treat. Most of the teachers at her school have classroom themes and last year her teacher did frogs and this year it was monkeys. So I went to work on a topper that was cute, but didn't take too long to make, mainly because I had to make 30 of them! They ended up being a huge hit so I thought I'd share them with you. Here's what you will need to make them (unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the items needed ):

-Rolling pin
-leaf veining tool
-1 3/4" circle cookie cutter
-Small metal icing tip (doesn't matter which one)
-Large metal icing tip (doesn't matter which one)
-Knife
-Black edible marker
-1 1/2" 5 petal flower cutter (i used a wilton one that came in a rose making kit)
-Paint brush
-Brown and tan fondant

-Roll out the brown fondant to 1/4" and Using circle cookie cutter cut as many circles as you need.

-Take the circles and stretch slightly to form an oval.

-Roll out some of the tan fondant to 1/8" and using the large piping tip cut out circles for the mouth.

-For the eyes take some of the tan fondant and roll out very thin. Then take the flower cutter and cut out pieces with at least two of the petals.

-Take the knife and cut off any excess pieces

-All of the pieces ready to assemble.

-Take the eye pieces and with a touch of water attach them to the face.

-Do the same with the mouth.

-Take some more brown fondant, make a thin rope and cut small pieces for the nose.

-Shape the pieces into tiny triangles with your fingers and attach to the face.

-Using the black edible marker make two dots for the eyes.

-And a small u for the mouth.

-For the ears, take the small icing tip and cut out some circles.

-Cut the circles in half.

-And squeeze the flat edge to make it narrow.

-Using leaf veiner, make an indent in the ear and attach to the back of the face. If you'd like to make the bows just roll out what ever color you want and using the small icing tip cut out a circle and pinch it the center and you have a super simple bow!

Now your ready to do some monkeying around :D

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Tuesday Toppers: Tribute to Grandma Helen

My grandma Helen (also know as muggo :) was one of the sweetest, caring, and giving people I've had the pleasure of knowing. She had a long life, living until 91, but I selfishly wish I could have had a lifetime more with her. It's just not going to be the same without her. One of the things I loved most about her was that she loved us unconditionally. I've always struggled with my weight and she would always tell me how beautiful I was, even if I didn't think it was true. And she never had a lot of money, but the love she showed us was worth more than all of the money in the world.

Growing up she had a lake cottage that we spent our summers at and I will never forget the wonderful memories I have from those summers. Swimming, playing cards, going down to the little junk store that was nearby. I can still picture her, at her first cottage, sitting at the breakfast table without her false teeth in. This was a rare thing because she hated not wearing them , but I remember she would make funny faces for me right before she'd put them in. She also had this cheesy little trick she would do with her thumbs making it seem like she was pulling her thumb apart, but she did it so well it actually looked like she was :) and of course being a little kid I thought it was the coolest thing! Of course I could never forget our endless games of euchre that we would play around the table laughing and joking and having the greatest times just being together.

She was also famous for her crossword puzzles! If she was sitting it was a good bet that she had a crossword puzzle nearby. And knitting, oh she loved to knit. She would make us all knitted dolls and knitted slippers, and she loved her washcloths. She was the one that inspired me to start knitting. So in today's edition of Tuesday Toppers I'm honoring my sweet Grandma Helen and making the things that remind me of her the most. Her knitting, our euchre playing, and her crosswords. Today I'm going to show you how to make the crossword puzzle, and here's what you will need to make one:

-Rolling pin
-2" square cookie cutter
-Black fine tip food marker
-White fondant

-Roll out fondant to 1/8".

-Using a 2" cookie cutter, cut out a square.

-With cookie cutter (or back of knife) make 5 lines equally across.

-Turn and do the same so you have a guide for your marker.

-Using a black food safe marker make lines following the indents.

-Now you can fill in a few squares and add the numbers and a few letters, and it ready to go!

I'll miss you Muggo!