tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46955525545445201842024-03-05T20:28:23.722-08:00The Butterfly Sweets BlogSummer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-64220251440403617362015-03-02T22:57:00.001-08:002015-03-02T22:57:17.424-08:00Wild Wild West<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This past weekend, my amazing 11 year old graduated from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. There's always a big ceremony for this, along with a party that's called the Blue and Gold Banquet.<br />
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For the past 5 years, I've made cakes for the banquet, but this year since my son was graduating, I wanted it to be special. We had the group of boys over one night for a meeting, and let them design the cake themselves!<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Years ago, back when they were all tiny 1st Grade Tiger Cubs, they named their den The Rattlers ("We're Den 3! We do our Besssssssssssssssssst!"), so that was their jumping off point. What they landed on was a wild west cake with snakes, barbed wire, and cacti. I was excited to do that theme, because to be honest I was running a little low on the basic blue and gold colored cake that somehow or other related to scouting. This was a very welcome change from the...um...dull-ish subject matter.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The bottom tier I wanted to make it look like it had been wrapped in rope. This was easy enough to accomplish - I covered the cake in fondant, and then twisted long strands of fondant together to make the rope, and then wrapped the cake.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The middle tier, though, is special. I found a shadow outline of some boy scouts hiking. I painted the tier to look like the sunset, using yellow, orange, and brown food coloring mixed with vodka. I then placed the cutout of the boys onto to it. Kind of cheesy, but it's the five scouts (same number we had) hiking off into the sunset towards their new adventures. Sniff.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The top tier is a Native American drum. </span><br />
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Not shown in these pictures is an arrow, supposed to look like the Arrow of Light. I stuck it through the middle tier. It was OK, but I didn't really like the way it looked overall, so I decided not to show it here, although it was present at the banquet. Some boys ate it when no one was looking, though. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Most of the decorations are modeling chocolate. All of the cacti were hand molded. The barbed wire is modeling chocolate I rolled in silver highlighter powder, and then used my clay extruder to make long strands before twisting the strands together. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The snake is also modeling chocolate. The scale texture was added with a piping tip, and I painted a diamond pattern on its back to make it look like a rattlesnake. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">The cake board was fondant. I used a knife and a fork to make the wooden pattern, and then painted it with a mixture of food coloring and vodka. </span><br />
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All of the scouts in attendance fought over the chocolate decorations, but I hoarded them off the cake and secretly served them up to the graduating boys. :)</div>
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Congratulations to the Den 3 Rattlers! And best of luck with your new Troops. :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2010</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015</td></tr>
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Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-41865181263412941942015-02-09T21:00:00.001-08:002015-02-09T21:00:49.317-08:00Chalkboard Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's that time of year again! Sweet Times in the Rockies, 2015 edition. This is a cake competition that is held at the Denver Convention Center, during the Denver Home and Garden Show.</div>
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Lately this competition seems to be one of the few times I am able to cram making a cake into my schedule (being a mom to three young kids is crazy busy!), but I am SO glad that I do this every year; being able to be creative and stretching myself to make something beautiful. </div>
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And I LOVE THIS CAKE.</div>
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The design was heavily influenced by The Sweet and Saucy Cake Shop, mostly the top and bottom tiers with the little black and white ropes. But I wanted to add some of my own elements, like the chalkboard, all the wafer paper roses, and the stripes from modeling chocolate.</div>
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For the strings on the top and bottom tiers, I used a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Walnut-Hollow-Extruder-Crank-Handle/dp/B004478EWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423189127&sr=8-1&keywords=walnut+hollow+clay+extruder" target="_blank">walnut hollow clay extruder</a> to make long strands of fondant. I then (carefully) twisted them together. This is tricky, and sometimes the strands will break, which basically means you will probably need to do this several times to get it to work.</div>
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The striped tiers were done in alternating strips of white and black modeling chocolate. I made several batches of modeling chocolate, but unfortunately none of them turned out. I think it was due to the dry climate here in Boulder, which made my modeling chocolate crumbly. I ended up purchasing some <a href="http://fondarific.com/" target="_blank">Fondarific</a> modeling chocolate that worked great! </div>
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To get the stripes even and straight on the cake, I used <a href="http://jessicaharriscakedesign.com/2012/04/chevron-inspired-safari-themed-baby-shower/" target="_blank">Jessica Harris's Wax Paper Transfer Method</a>. It is such a wonderful technique, and everything comes out looking clean and perfect, without a ton of extra work. I would have never, EVER, gotten my stripes on like this is it hadn't been for that method. I rolled out the chocolate with my pasta roller, on the thickest setting. And then just ran that through my fettuccine cutters so that every stripe was the same exact size. Makes for quick work. </div>
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The chalkboard element was one of the easier components of the cake. It is a simple panel of black fondant, and I used a very small paintbrush with white food coloring to paint on my design. One fun thing about chalkboard elements is that they don't have to be perfect. It's OK to even wipe a little powdered sugar over the black to make it look like a chalkboard that's recently been erased. I love the idea of that! Slightly distressed looking.</div>
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The wafer paper flowers were very time consuming, though. Because I don't have a food coloring printer, I had to hand paint each petal. (I wanted a more saturated color than just dusting with petal dusts.) To do this, I used <a href="http://www.cakepaperparty.com/2014/02/color-wafer-paper/" target="_blank">Summer's (from Cake Paper Party)</a> tutorial. I made my own colors with petal dust and vegetable oil (maybe I've been out of the loop too long, but I could not for the life of me find Americolor oil based colors anywhere), then dabbed a make up sponge onto the paper to get a good saturation. It takes time, but the deep richness of the colors makes it worth it.</div>
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The smaller flowers are ranunculus, and the largest flower is a rose. The little tiny flowers around the chalkboard are rolled roses. I learned how to do them from <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/delicate-wafer-paper-cakes/515" target="_blank">Stevi Auble's Craftsy class</a>. I like wafer paper so much better than gumpaste. There's no making the gumpaste or rolling it out, or trying to figure out how to stick all the wires into your cake, or worry about breakage. You get perfectly thin petals, that are easily moldable into something lovely. </div>
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All in all it was a great weekend! Looking forward to it next year. </div>
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#sweettimesintherockies #waferpaper #waferpaperflowers #waferpaperroses #waferpaperranunculus #chalkboard #chalkboardcake #chalkboardwedding #modelingchocolate #waxpapertransfermethod #chalkboardlove #whimsicalcake #vintagecake #butterflysweets #butterflysweetscakery #coloradoconventioncenter #coloradohomeandgardenshow</div>
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This cake, I'm pretty sure, is special. I'm in a haze of infatuation over it. I love its warm gold leaf, and the pattern on the double barreled tier, and just everything else.<br />
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This is my Sweet Times in the Rockies 2014 cake! It was labor intensive, and a couple of those tiers were redone three times (*ahem* slightly embarrassing to admit) but I don't care. Because it turned out just like I wanted it!<br />
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My first vision of this cake was to base it on the theme of the movie Frozen. I researched patterns and colors for a good month (you can see that here on my <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/buterflysweets/frozen-inspiration/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> board), and worked very hard to get the colors just right. The colors were absolutely spot on, in deep plums and inky blues. But once I got the tiers covered, I hated it. It was dark, heavy, cartoonish, and just a little juvenile. I couldn't see my vision anymore, and had no idea how I would pull off my design. So, I did what any other artist would do and ripped all the fondant off to start from scratch, with less than a week before the competition. This turned out to be exhausting and challenging, and totally the right decision. <br />
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The other day I posted a tutorial on <a href="http://butterflysweets.blogspot.com/2014/02/valentines-cake.html" target="_blank">how to make ruffle roses.</a> Those took the largest amount of my time, to be sure. However, I love ruffle rose cakes and they are so on point for the moment. I may even make a few more of them before they go out of style. <br />
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And can we talk about gold leaf for a minute? Because that stuff is very challenging to work with. This is how my tiers looked three days before the competition: <br />
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A big mess! I worked for a long while to get the gold leaf perfect, seamless, and as smooth as was humanly possible. Gold leaf is an imperfect product and it will never be 100% flawless, but I was trying to get it as close as I could. After all that work, though, I took a step back and didn't like it. While it was pretty and shiny, I felt like it was a little TOO shiny. What I decided to do, in keeping with my Shabby Chic theme, was to take a brush and a paper towel to distress the gold leaf. It seemed a little crazy to mess up something I had just spent hours working on, but what I ended up with was a brushed gold, with white peaking through, like an old piece of repainted furniture. That with the perfect pink roses was exactly what I was looking for and a good call for the overall theme of my design.</div>
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For the double barreled tier, I wanted a vintage pattern and I didn't want to stencil it. So I ended up buying some Wilton icing sheets and a craft punch. This particular punch is the Martha Stewart All Over Page Punch, in a design called Canning Pattern. I bought it from Michael's, but haven't seen it at Hobby Lobby or on Amazon. </div>
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It does take quite a bit of time to cut out the pattern in a precise pattern, to make sure everything lines up just perfectly. When you're done, you just wet the back of it with some water and position it on the cake. I do think wafer paper would also work well instead of the icing sheets. I did practice with that material, but found it a bit too transparent to show the design well with the paleness of my pink, but if you are using colors that contrast each other, wafer paper would be great. </div>
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Now for my wafer paper roses...I just love them. I have never worked with wafer paper, and I liked it so much better than gumpaste. Gumpaste is fragile, it's always breaking on me, I'm always having to deal with wires and stems and figuring out how to stick all that stuff into my cake without it showing. Not so with these. You just cut out the petals, and attach them with some Tylose glue, and they are lovely.</div>
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As I worked on these, I applied pieces of gold leaf randomly onto the fronts of the petals. I let that dry, and then assembled the rose. It was surprisingly quick and easy, and really pulled my cake together. I'll try to make a tutorial on these soon!</div>
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So, how did the cake do? I'm happy to say in got Third Place in the Professional Category. Not too shabby (ha ha, see what I did there?). These two cakes were First and Second place. </div>
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I think the green and silver one is so pretty, and I think she might have watched the same Craftsy tutorial I did. I unfortunately don't know the names of the artists, but if anyone else does, let me know! Congrats to everyone! There was some beautiful artwork at the show! </div>
Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-22412243428784383732014-02-14T19:25:00.000-08:002014-02-14T19:25:25.087-08:00Valentine's Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happy Valentine's Day! Last week I made this beautiful Valentine's cake, which I am unabashedly in love with. This was my first time with silver leaf, a technique called the wax paper transfer method, and ruffle roses. The techniques are time consuming, but not overly difficult.<br />
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Last year when I won first place at <a href="http://butterflysweets.blogspot.com/2013/02/new-mexico-wedding-cake.html" target="_blank">Sweet Times in the Rockies</a>, one of the things tucked into my gift bag was a free Craftsy class. It went unnoticed for a long time because it was hidden among the other papers and leaflets, but when I found it, I promptly used it for Jessica Harris's <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/simply-modern-cake-design/358?_ct=fhezusj-tujqyb-sbqii-ydifyhqjyed&_ctp=358" target="_blank">Simply Modern Cake Design</a>. And let me tell you, that class is amazing. There were some techniques that I learned (such as how to get crazy sharp corners on your cakes) that I think will change the way I make cakes forever.<br />
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The first technique, ruffle roses, was not in the Craftsy class but I figured out how to make them none the less. Here's how I did it!<br />
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For the first step, I picked a circle cutter that was close to the height of my cake, but just a little smaller. This tiers was 4 inches tall, so I used a 3 1/2 inch cutter to impress on the side, to guide me where I would want the outside row of my petals to lay.<br />
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Next I took a small amount of gumpaste and ran it through a pasta roller. I began at level 1, and worked my way down to level 5. I felt like level 5 was thin enough to look delicate and pretty (not thick, clunky petals), but still strong enough to handle the thinning of the edges and the spiraling I would do onto the cake.</div>
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I used my trusty wheel cutter and cut out some strips. These were about 1/4 inch thick, but can vary based on the size of your flowers or the size of your tier.</div>
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Then using my (very old) foam pad and a ball tool, thinned and frilled the edges just like I would with a gumpaste flower.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTHSL4L8fLsA438alhN0DIXNX1Z1u-ewvpBGpkPTIOyImyojtMW3frMwSumHaADc19jLnUfXYGcUCeZ68g8HOOAxW01BOcCbeqysffNbO37GGrtJAmlJYY4G-h-ozIDRau50r_lUG0hNC/s1600/rufflerose4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVTHSL4L8fLsA438alhN0DIXNX1Z1u-ewvpBGpkPTIOyImyojtMW3frMwSumHaADc19jLnUfXYGcUCeZ68g8HOOAxW01BOcCbeqysffNbO37GGrtJAmlJYY4G-h-ozIDRau50r_lUG0hNC/s1600/rufflerose4.jpg" height="143" width="200" /></a></div>
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Using the circle impression I made in the first step, I placed the ruffles in a circle. I like to use Q-tips in this step, because it put the perfect amount of water on the cake. Also, the size and softness is really great for manipulating the ruffles into the position you want them. As you place the ruffle on the cake, be sure to gather it in spots to add texture - if you don't, it will look flat.</div>
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Then repeat that step again. Here you can see that the strip I cut was a little long and I spiraled it inwards. This works great! Just keep spiraling in the strips of gumpaste...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX629u6813c1HJAD5_gb4fdlGSL7_J7PSiqDnHgb2QhtuZw2bvI9HEEO3FVbnjDpxvMF3vfIkDlMspWBNBA0CvLLYO0wgyEpCbYwlIQ6aayzZWqWK_TX2XIszzqygsv7PgsyoEVlNK4q-B/s1600/rufflerose7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX629u6813c1HJAD5_gb4fdlGSL7_J7PSiqDnHgb2QhtuZw2bvI9HEEO3FVbnjDpxvMF3vfIkDlMspWBNBA0CvLLYO0wgyEpCbYwlIQ6aayzZWqWK_TX2XIszzqygsv7PgsyoEVlNK4q-B/s1600/rufflerose7.jpg" height="186" width="200" /></a></div>
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until you get a nickle or so sized hole in the center. Then, make a ribbon rose for the center. Wet the back of it with some water, and carefully place right in the center.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4xVvR7qzHuAchEuUbJR2EKdQV_QUZhj7W6HNTbuJjhuidHD3YKu4LJRT8NCbx_QWsYKAAIaCCmxmmxZ8JhbtH6pPT5A1NB8_kCwDq44647wfppn960R7i0L7ycB9EV9WLsvyC6SZ3NQK/s1600/rufflerose8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4xVvR7qzHuAchEuUbJR2EKdQV_QUZhj7W6HNTbuJjhuidHD3YKu4LJRT8NCbx_QWsYKAAIaCCmxmmxZ8JhbtH6pPT5A1NB8_kCwDq44647wfppn960R7i0L7ycB9EV9WLsvyC6SZ3NQK/s1600/rufflerose8.jpg" height="168" width="200" /></a></div>
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And then you've got a gorgeous ruffle rose! It really couldn't be easier!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9_CMm0aDlXvryIt-BuYmI3Ao2VmUaqsz110RtxP8qiq-duuRJym1zw1efa89UPNjkB-srqtron0CcnRmL5T-Qo-UtxM_lLBktmv90w8oLuS6ktI7W3yN5FEF0BdcDuMaW-rKSKxwnnxk/s1600/rufflerose9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz9_CMm0aDlXvryIt-BuYmI3Ao2VmUaqsz110RtxP8qiq-duuRJym1zw1efa89UPNjkB-srqtron0CcnRmL5T-Qo-UtxM_lLBktmv90w8oLuS6ktI7W3yN5FEF0BdcDuMaW-rKSKxwnnxk/s1600/rufflerose9.jpg" height="199" width="200" /></a></div>
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Looking at the photo above - to fill in those white triangles between the flowers, continue to cut strips of gumpaste and place them accordingly to complete the design. When picking where you will imprint the circle cutter, pick a spot where the petals will touch, but not quite overlap.<br />
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For the offset chevrons, I finally tried a technique that I have been wanting to try for a while now, which is the wax paper transfer method. This was in the Craftsy class I took, and it's pretty darn brilliant. I was skeptical, but all those pieces in the chevrons went on so effortlessly and quickly that I'm a convert. Here is a tutorial here, if you don't have access to the class: <a href="http://www.craftsy.com/class/simply-modern-cake-design/358?_ct=fhezusj-tujqyb-sbqii-ydifyhqjyed&_ctp=358" target="_blank">Jessica Harris Wax Paper Transfer Method Tutorial</a><br />
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Silver leaf is a beautiful finish you can add to your cake, but first it's important that you make sure it is edible. I purchased mine on Amazon, and it comes in a little book of leaflets The silver sheets are attached to wax paper. It is terribly delicate, and will tear easily in your hands, so you need to be careful when working with it. When you are ready to attach it, you get the area of your cake wet (Q-tips worked well here for me, too), then let it gently adhere to the sides. Then take a brush and very, very lightly smooth it onto the cake. <br />
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I'm really looking forward to making some more cakes using these techniques - in fact, I'll be using a few of them for my next competition cake on February 14th.<br />
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Happy happy Valentine's Day!<br />
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Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-88673357089364874922013-12-23T16:55:00.001-08:002014-01-02T19:50:32.758-08:00My First Gingerbread House from Scratch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoUJLg0wjnCfzeluZI50P9-YFsA3HCS6mEaZZWKQbw2w7TBJCQ11GdKUr98aqG5cWP2BnParL8GcMZyUFQ6HfNgWIYoAU5LwVe5EkVR1Nk8ZnR03SKJJnn7VVfgulXr8iHBt19gUnuSUJ/s1600/gingerbread7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoUJLg0wjnCfzeluZI50P9-YFsA3HCS6mEaZZWKQbw2w7TBJCQ11GdKUr98aqG5cWP2BnParL8GcMZyUFQ6HfNgWIYoAU5LwVe5EkVR1Nk8ZnR03SKJJnn7VVfgulXr8iHBt19gUnuSUJ/s320/gingerbread7.jpg" width="320" /></a>Gingerbread houses have always had two speeds for me: Those kit things you get from places like Target, or those impossibly detailed ones like Martha Stewart makes with sugar stained glass windows or by the really intense competitors at OSSAS. I wasn't really up for attempting a Martha Stewart one, and every year I let my kids make one of the kits but I try to let them do that all on their own.<br />
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A week or two ago I was on<span style="background-color: white;"> <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/buterflysweets/gingerbread-houses/" target="_blank">Pinterest </a>a</span>nd came across a really beautiful gingerbread house that wasn't fussy, or overly complicated, or anything else. It was just <i>lovely.</i> And as I researched more and more, I realized that there is a person on Flickr that is incredibly creative and talented with this genre or sugar art. I can't find much information on her, but she goes by the name <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/57223777@N00/" target="_blank">Sassybeautimus</a> </span>and she is AHmazing. Take a look at her work, she is so inspiring! I decided to take from cues from her, and also my very rainbowy 2013, and make a rainbow hued gingerbread house.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmjRK15kzEm4wrQKnc6mh1CZJ3kfaJwwV2VtH4eRt9f52smgWZ-5L5-KKJ2KtcpAZ8muE2fKHGEjqpI0wMQBipO2WR71OSP10BhE55k2fWbf5mjsO0BiP3sI59hUsFkJF8ADN98c40hCW/s1600/gingerbread6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKmjRK15kzEm4wrQKnc6mh1CZJ3kfaJwwV2VtH4eRt9f52smgWZ-5L5-KKJ2KtcpAZ8muE2fKHGEjqpI0wMQBipO2WR71OSP10BhE55k2fWbf5mjsO0BiP3sI59hUsFkJF8ADN98c40hCW/s320/gingerbread6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm a pretty big fan of <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/12/spicy-gingerbread-cookies/" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen</a>, and happened to find a link to a yummy gingerbread recipe online. It worked pretty well, BUT, I got some bubbles on the panels during baking that stuck around after they cooled, making the surface uneven. This was a bummer, but a friend of mine told me the bubbles come from layers of butter and flour. She keeps an eye on hers during baking and pops them with a pin to diffuse the built up air. Next time! Here's the recipe I used:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14.488636016845703px; text-align: justify;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14.488636016845703px; text-align: justify;">6 cups all-purpose flour</span></div>
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4 teaspoons ground ginger</div>
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4 teaspoons ground cinnamon</div>
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1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves</div>
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1 teaspoon finely ground pepper</div>
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1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt</div>
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1 cup (2 sticks or 1/2 pound) unsalted butter (at room temperature)</div>
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1 cup packed dark-brown sugar</div>
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2 large eggs</div>
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1 cup unsulfured molasses<br />
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Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes</div>
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Before baking, I cut out templates to the dimensions I wanted for the house. I rolled out the dough, then traced the templates with a knife. After baking, I chose to let the pieces to sit out overnight to get nice and stiff to be stable enough to construct the house. If I was making this recipe primarily for eating, I would definitely store them in an airtight container to make sure they would stay the right chewy texture. </div>
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The next morning I got to work. The first thing I did was cover the board I was using in a thick royal icing to give the panels something to stick to. The panels went together perfectly with just a little royal icing on the seams. I waited a couple of hours to attach the roof to make sure everything was stable (the roof is pretty heavy with all those fondant hearts!), and set to work with decorating the house.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe4WMz5ram1wdwH4o-ZSZ7kI99ggLqfCudyhYIG0IDSafKp8HrpvAbvNe6EAH8U8padCym1AZ1otIa48Ozj_A4LLAgpBdtZ-yRNMD0nvwbqS-bTIK1f0AL1P3Q88CjgjSBhj9sW_3Psk7/s1600/1480579_644471408927453_1668269129_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe4WMz5ram1wdwH4o-ZSZ7kI99ggLqfCudyhYIG0IDSafKp8HrpvAbvNe6EAH8U8padCym1AZ1otIa48Ozj_A4LLAgpBdtZ-yRNMD0nvwbqS-bTIK1f0AL1P3Q88CjgjSBhj9sW_3Psk7/s200/1480579_644471408927453_1668269129_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I used a little bit of candy, but didn't like what I found in the candy stores and used mostly royal icing and fondant decorations. The roof is decorated with over 200 fondant hearts. I added the cute little snowman and Christmas tree in the yard. I also decorated the sides of the house with fondant peppermints and other lollipop type candies! I also used royal icing on spots of the roof to look like snow. <br />
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This gingerbread house was a lot of fun to make, I might have to make it a Christmas tradition!Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-548335849599687652013-09-13T21:06:00.001-07:002013-12-16T07:25:35.117-08:00My Little Pony 8th Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aLChOdNuW62misQoKzlv6O11Wo_KUhQrKBPs0RPlGRd-xU8zb1W6gmd59NYlWq-EMOWGexOK7dLZfd3huKmEIG5yeteJvzFanx9SM09D6-ZSlHhGfQ9D8LMWAxrKsbjxETgsdECVvOpD/s1600/C8-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aLChOdNuW62misQoKzlv6O11Wo_KUhQrKBPs0RPlGRd-xU8zb1W6gmd59NYlWq-EMOWGexOK7dLZfd3huKmEIG5yeteJvzFanx9SM09D6-ZSlHhGfQ9D8LMWAxrKsbjxETgsdECVvOpD/s320/C8-6.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Rainbow cakes seem to be a little common around here lately! This week, my beautiful daughter turned 8. That's beyond hard to believe for me, because it seems like just so recently I was making her a <a href="http://butterflysweets.blogspot.com/2008/09/wall-e-cake.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Wall-E Cake</span></a>. Luckily, though, she is that delightful type of eight that still revels in princesses and ponies. </div>
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My Little Pony has gotten a bit of a revamp since I was a kid and has surged in popularity recently. Charlotte has been obsessively watching the episodes on Netflix, and begged and begged for a My Little Pony cake for her birthday. Done. It's like a (prettier) slice of my own childhood. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxKTrCRM5jvbvFOT1moq_QKEaogiHx2_qv1B-dwzrDxFbUxI2ZfjijNjFnCjY2ol2IV-8C7shwe81GOq2ZEfaYcqMBfWXWzdqgR-77lDMLIJd0lPmdjCLdYcpQKzs3UdFRNc4VCvaXuCi/s1600/1231446_10200556141615335_1080427616_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxKTrCRM5jvbvFOT1moq_QKEaogiHx2_qv1B-dwzrDxFbUxI2ZfjijNjFnCjY2ol2IV-8C7shwe81GOq2ZEfaYcqMBfWXWzdqgR-77lDMLIJd0lPmdjCLdYcpQKzs3UdFRNc4VCvaXuCi/s320/1231446_10200556141615335_1080427616_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The cake was actually easy peasy. As has been my habit lately, I collected inspiration on <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/buterflysweets/my-little-pony-cakes/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>. T</span>he top tier is from a design I saw there. A purple fondant covered cake with rainbow hued flowers. The flowers are fondant, I didn't even have to use gumpaste or Tylose, and I used my tiny violet cutter for them. I made the centers also out of different colors.</div>
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The bottom tier I wanted something very frilly and girly, because that describes my daughter pretty well. After covering it in fondant, I used a pasta roller to roll out very thin strips of gumpaste. I believe I used the 6 setting. Next I cut out the thinned gumpaste into ribbons, about 1/4 inch wide. I dampened my fondant with some water, and then just zig zagged the ribbons onto the cake. It made these pretty little ruffles!</div>
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I did try to juxtaposition them so that when I put on one ribbon in the direction left-right-left-right, I countered the next one with right-left-right-left just so that it wouldn't look too uniform and perfect.</div>
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After that, I took vodka and sprayed down the cake, and then applied hot pink glitter to the ruffles for lots of shimmer. The glitter stuck on the ruffles like a charm.</div>
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The rainbow on the top of the cake is thin ropes of gumpaste that I attached with wooden skewers and placed on the top of the cake. The clouds are gumpaste, too!</div>
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The tutu I used from Aislinn's birthday last month. And the ponies-I know in the cake world that buying plastic toys and putting them on cakes is considered kind of...lazy since you aren't shaping gumpaste into some lovely edible art. But ya know, nothing makes a kid happier than these little figures they can play with for a long, long time. :) But below is a pic of the cake sans figures.</div>
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And the inside of the cake? Chocolate with hot pink vanilla frosting of course!</div>
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Charlotte loved her cake, and so did all of her friends that came to her party. Happy birthday to the kindest girl I know!<br />
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Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-31318829444846071012013-08-27T22:09:00.000-07:002013-08-27T22:09:14.567-07:00Rainbow First Birthday!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This weekend is a pretty amazing one for us-our little baby's first birthday! Aislinn has just been the cherry on the top of our sundae, and it has been beyond wonderful having a baby around now that the two other kids are a bit older and in school.<br />
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I saw this cake by <a href="http://www.wildorchidbaking.com/gallery-wedding.php" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Wild Orchid Baking Company</span></a> awhile back, and the instant I saw it, knew it would be perfect for Aislinn's first birthday. <br />
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I tweaked the design a little bit because I wanted it to be a girly, almost dayglo rainbow full of bright pink and turquoise. I think that's what I got!<br />
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This is another cake where it is important to measure and put the decorations on precisely. After covering the cakes in fondant, I took my heart cutter and indented the shape directly onto the cake, going around the entire base, and keeping the spacing as symmetrical as possible. Next, I took a graphite pencil and a ruler, and drew lines from the bottom point of each heart to the top of the cake to make sure the hearts would stay in alignment and not get crooked on me.<br />
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I cut out the colors for the bottom row, placed them on, and then continued on to the second row and so forth. It actually didn't take long at all!<br />
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For the number I used a fondant/tylose mix and decorated it with purple disco dust. Remember, disco dust is no longer considered an edible decoration so only use it on parts of your cake that will not be consumed. <br />
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For the final touch I decided to put hearts on wires. I twisted them around my finger to make spirals and then threaded the hearts right on. Pretty cute!<br />
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For the tutu, I went to a local craft store that sells fabric and bought a yard of each color of tulle. Then I cut squares of the tulle, about 3X3 inches, then gathered the top and pinned it with straight pins. I loved how it turned out and felt like it really added a lot to the cake.<br />
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I really loved A's little smash cake. I just did a rough job frosting it. I cut out little hearts and then attached them with string that I hung between two paper straws. It was a perfect smash cake. </div>
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All in all, our little baby had a great first birthday. She ate cake, but mostly enjoyed squeezing it between her fingers. Happy birthday, Aislinn!<br />
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Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-31633694845877128792013-04-13T09:40:00.001-07:002013-04-13T17:28:02.800-07:00Icing Smiles Cake for Davein<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_euJ83qKZUvEPKmVPxIk67OyQHJX7540v7XB_c4EFghPgJlTVZ-csxZB1CIpqJRfJ0NYIpB7kq8dyU0bL8W6ixNYwJKtJFaBlMKrlYva_nC3ipixIehMxgsNn-YMCc0EPR5FtwDk09MgD/s1600/jake4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_euJ83qKZUvEPKmVPxIk67OyQHJX7540v7XB_c4EFghPgJlTVZ-csxZB1CIpqJRfJ0NYIpB7kq8dyU0bL8W6ixNYwJKtJFaBlMKrlYva_nC3ipixIehMxgsNn-YMCc0EPR5FtwDk09MgD/s400/jake4.JPG" width="249" /></a><a href="http://www.icingsmiles.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Icing Smiles</span></a> is a wonderful organization that provides cakes for seriously ill children and their families. I started following them last year on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/icingsmiles?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Facebook</span></a>, and signed up to volunteer as a cake maker in Boulder. About a month ago I finally got a Call to Action from them. I cannot tell you how happy I was to make a cake for this little boy and to be part of such an amazing charity!<br />
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I made this cake for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/supportdavein" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Davein</span></a>, who is battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Davein is turning six years old this year, and requested a Jake and the Neverland Pirates cake. My kids are a little too old for this show, so I didn't have a lot of knowledge on it. A trip to the Disney Store and several Google searches helped enlighten me. And thanks to Pinterest I was able to collect most of my inspiration for it in one place, on my <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/buterflysweets/icing-smiles-inspiration/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Icing Smiles Inspiration Board</span>.</a> (Pinterest is my new favorite brainstorming tool, by the way.)</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR7jbHU1Alm94uXln64n3brRgCU6aOoUhuOFVYkuM4Y4oLxUuhKJs95TjigwJukTAg0VhryplDf_mq-ryDaSQZn5BCYmxryIwsoi5ipmZUWW0oIxmjawLvT7CuJYFO87WfobMuYMSVjN_N/s1600/jake5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR7jbHU1Alm94uXln64n3brRgCU6aOoUhuOFVYkuM4Y4oLxUuhKJs95TjigwJukTAg0VhryplDf_mq-ryDaSQZn5BCYmxryIwsoi5ipmZUWW0oIxmjawLvT7CuJYFO87WfobMuYMSVjN_N/s320/jake5.JPG" width="251" /></a><span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;">The first thing I made was the pirate ship. It is made from gumpaste, which I painted brown with food coloring and vodka. After scoring the sides of the ship with a sharp knife to make the wood planks, I stippled the color directly onto the gumpaste with a paper towel dipped in the vodka food coloring mixture. The sails of the ship were made from Wilton icing sheets. I had never used these before and they were perfect for what I wanted. They ARE difficult to cut and a little brittle (so they break easily) but I love how clean the stripes are and how they turned out. The pirate flag was regular gumpaste that I hand painted with black food coloring, and also stippled the edges with brown color to make it look weathered. The cannon and little porthole windows are painted gold. I won some neat prizes from Sweet Times in the Rockies, and one of the things I got was a spray gold food coloring. It worked like a dream-no drips or streaks. It wasn't as metallic as painting with gold pigment, but I was super happy with how fast and easy it was. For the waves, I used a couple of different colors of blue gumpaste and rolled it into little curlicues, which I placed around the base of the ship. Those little curls might be my favorite part of the whole cake.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The middle tier was fun, because I decided to hand paint it with a very fine tipped brush. I painted a star on it for a compass. I did not dilute the food coloring on this tier with vodka-just painted straight from the bottle.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">The top tier and then also the banner with the inscription at the base of the cake are gumpaste that I wanted to look like weathered canvas. I cut it roughly, with some cutouts in the middle. And then again with brown food coloring and vodka, brushed it around the edges to give it the look I wanted.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">And now the figurines...ah yes. Those. I kinda struggled here, because I don't like using plastic figures on my cake (even though I have for Nate and Charlotte because they love those figure sets from the Disney Store). It isn't really art, right? And it is more artistic to make them myself, right? But Nate and Char INSISTED, over and over again, that the toys would be better because then Davein could play with them later-and what would he do with fondant ones? I finally succumbed to their reasoning.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0vrEeswo9dDImW2zaT0KxLCP1nCXvG1pkuTnCDHGS7qCH9D4kXmUmM9tLOTxVYA34EGB6FCckfqkcpq3EL99A9teIPBgJa5cOkylqvwiztAQElxD4mi7iFMfc7Cxynif-lE3ZY5ccdzq/s1600/Davein'scake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB0vrEeswo9dDImW2zaT0KxLCP1nCXvG1pkuTnCDHGS7qCH9D4kXmUmM9tLOTxVYA34EGB6FCckfqkcpq3EL99A9teIPBgJa5cOkylqvwiztAQElxD4mi7iFMfc7Cxynif-lE3ZY5ccdzq/s320/Davein'scake.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="color: black;"><br /></span><span style="color: black;">On to the cake board. I covered it first in blue marbled fondant for the sea, and the "glued" crushed grahm crackers to it for sand (I used light corn syrup). Then I tossed some little gold coins into the sand for prosperity. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">This morning Davein picked up his cake and he loved it! Happy </span>6th <span style="color: black;">Birthday Davein!</span><br />
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Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-85217201559363444292013-03-13T16:51:00.003-07:002013-03-13T16:56:18.143-07:00Blue and Gold Blizzard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since my son started Cub Scouts a couple of years ago, I have been lucky enough to get to make the cake every year for the Blue and Gold Banquet. I'm usually given free reign on the design as long as I work within the realm of Scouting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Jo3sSzlZvN1N7kWJ_JlVDc7CIOI_XfuL9rV7y3UAtUHIlB0x9bzygdiIyzI8S2JN0wwMfcwLE63FommPgzhij2sZreDd1w3pThAk6hVxDw46Wj-FzK1j4NNHaAMxAAEFIEJw8UXuxhM5/s1600/campingcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Jo3sSzlZvN1N7kWJ_JlVDc7CIOI_XfuL9rV7y3UAtUHIlB0x9bzygdiIyzI8S2JN0wwMfcwLE63FommPgzhij2sZreDd1w3pThAk6hVxDw46Wj-FzK1j4NNHaAMxAAEFIEJw8UXuxhM5/s200/campingcake.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2012 Blue and Gold Banquet Cake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKuTj02P9i2OvwErdjwLWr-nr4SafK5rBZFBvXVSKbJgHYqTl98TxhbzD3xKMxH26Jd7XhYveJpsqoDUHzp0yLic74D-ls8rNICGQuC4r8fMNjtTu7P5E5xDPzEPjGQ9F6R8-eEtjqDXP/s1600/195174_185505801490685_7014750_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYKuTj02P9i2OvwErdjwLWr-nr4SafK5rBZFBvXVSKbJgHYqTl98TxhbzD3xKMxH26Jd7XhYveJpsqoDUHzp0yLic74D-ls8rNICGQuC4r8fMNjtTu7P5E5xDPzEPjGQ9F6R8-eEtjqDXP/s200/195174_185505801490685_7014750_o.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 Blue and Gold Banquet Cake</td></tr>
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This year I really wanted to do a cupcake tower instead of my usual tiered cake. I have always wanted to do one of these because I never have really had an opportunity before and I've often been inspired by bakeries like <a href="http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/category/pastry-images/cupcakes" target="_blank">Pink Cake Box</a> that do lovely ones.<br />
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The banquet was scheduled for two weeks ago and I spent a couple of days baking and decorating ten dozen cupcakes. I made Oreo, Vanilla, and Red Velvet flavors. They were perfect. I also made a 6 inch cake for the top and decorated it with some little fondant figures on a bridge. And then the day of the event...there was a blizzard here in Boulder. A full-on-road-closing-shut-everything-down blizzard. The event was cancelled. I was stuck with 120 uneaten cupcakes. Ugh. Luckily between friends, neighbors, and coworkers we were able to give them all away. But it still meant that I would have to remake all of them when the event was rescheduled.<br />
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As luck would strangely have it, there was another severe snowstorm this weekend as well! That's life in Boulder for you! Thank goodness this snowstorm wasn't severe enough to cancel the event again.<br />
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After last time, I took a slightly easier way out and just made two flavors or cake-Oreo Cake with Vanilla Frosting, and Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Frosting. The Oreo cake is basically my regular chocolate recipe, but with a cookie in the bottom of the cupcake. It tastes pretty awesome and was pretty popular among the boys.<br />
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The theme this year for the "Twelve points of Scout Law" and I wasn't sure how to make that interesting. Awhile back, when I lived in Texas, I did a cake with that as a theme and had piped each value on the tiers of the cake. That tends to be more of an Eagle Court of Honor thing, and not something all that fun for little boys in Cub Scouts. So I decided to use the Crossover Ceremony as inspiration instead.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle Court of Honor Cake, circa 2008</td></tr>
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The Crossover Ceremony happens at the end of the school year and the boys walk over a bridge to symbolize becoming the next rank of Scout. So I made a tiny bridge out of brown gumpaste. I scored the pieces of fondant to look more like wood and then attached them to the cake with wooden skewers. <br />
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When the bridge was complete, I made each individual rank of Cub Scout: Tiger, Wolf, Bear, and Webelo. I tried to make their heights correspond to their ages and ranks, with the little Tiger Cubs in the front. I also attached them to the cake with skewers through the legs.<br />
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Once I had the boys on I felt like something was still missing from the cake, so I added the apple tree with a little blue bird in a nest. The leaves of the tree are just small balls of gumpaste in different shades of green, with the red apples randomly dispersed. I like how the tree turned out (although it does look like it is covered in M&Ms) because it added some color and whimsy to the cake. <br />
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I hope the boys enjoyed the cake and cupcakes, and good luck to everyone in the next year! <br />
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<br />Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-75358899067257609342013-02-10T19:14:00.000-08:002013-02-10T19:14:28.870-08:00New Mexico Wedding Cake<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I6SVVqlcxIU8IL4-xUf2iGSPgmu6c-Xyb44VdfX-SRFs1aaKwYMOjNFN-su6mglhvC1AOdBHt3gpxa_AbMH177Rt2fiHr-VZ9ZOM-NxRfokEiqXc-vbhmdc_zZUUJkA5ij7XcOMvzmeD/s1600/Newmexicocake41.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_I6SVVqlcxIU8IL4-xUf2iGSPgmu6c-Xyb44VdfX-SRFs1aaKwYMOjNFN-su6mglhvC1AOdBHt3gpxa_AbMH177Rt2fiHr-VZ9ZOM-NxRfokEiqXc-vbhmdc_zZUUJkA5ij7XcOMvzmeD/s320/Newmexicocake41.jpg" width="249" /></a>It's time for Sweet Times in the Rockies 2013! Last year I did not enter because I had another event and was unable to do that and a competition cake. So I was very happy to have things work out this year so I could enter again!<br />
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People who know me know that I get a lot of inspiration from my daughter Charlotte's dresses, because she's an awesome little fashionista with way better taste in clothes than I have. This cake came straight from her First Day of First Grade Dress. <br />
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The dress is basically a pattern of very deep, bright chevrons. It always reminded me of New Mexico colors because of the turquoise and orange. When planning for this competition, I didn't know what I was going to make until I was getting Charlotte dressed one morning and the dress pretty much jumped out at me from her closet. A chevron cake, with the coolest of all desert plants-succulents. <br />
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I did a ton of research and drew a lot of sketches to try to hit the right tone. I compiled most of my inspiration here, which was a huge help to have something to continually flip back to. <a href="http://pinterest.com/summerrippe/stitr-inspiration/">http://pinterest.com/summerrippe/stitr-inspiration/ </a><br />
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As for my sketches, I was pretty lucky to have a group of friends that I could ask questions and advice from, and had them vote on which sketch they liked best. Huh-looking at those four pictures now I realize I went with none of them. <br />
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While I knew the basic pattern and colors, I didn't know what to do about the middle tier. I kept thinking of trying to make some rustic lace with Sugar Veil, but it just didn't seem to coordinate with my design. One night I finally just Googled "New Mexico Jewelry" and came across lots of leather bands with turquoise sewn onto them. It was the perfect addition.<br />
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Then the work began. And let me tell you: Chevrons. Are. Hard. And maybe it's just because I am out of practice (can I blame that on the pregnancy, too? Like being unable to run three miles anymore?). But seriously, hard. I decided to individually piece them onto the cake, which I really liked in the end because it made the cake look more like hand made pottery.<br />
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One thing I will note here is that if you chose to do a chevron cake, you should carefully check your math before embarking on decorating the cake. I actually did not do this in the beginning and the chevrons did not meet up in the back. So I had to recover that tier and start again, basically losing a couple of hours worth of work. The math is pretty simple-just take the circumfrence of the tier, divide it by the number of chevrons you will want, and then you get the length your chevron should be. <br />
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The leather band around the middle tier was fun, but I had to get creative with the texture. I have some impression mats, but none of them were right to make the fondant look like tooled leather. So? I used the covering from our florescent light (washed first, of course). The texture was pretty spot on. Next, I took some vodka mixed with brown food coloring and stippled the surface. This part is important, because at first I painted it with regular strokes and it came out dark and heavy handed. This resulted in me needing to take off all the fondant, recover the tier and start back at the beginning (more labor lost, le sigh). Stippling got the color on in just the right amount and I think helped with the worn leather look.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMwr9_ITReuqWqwSUnOEZOAvzDBoB5Lu_7V3VOZwcVX8dourXONI993iMX-dIZbw8cX5OS2XnYyqF9K6t2_lse6BWfMKzOMvnagyhht5E9QVKywL3iBJW2-nRjUmOouAK5wBsptPU1b9L/s1600/gumpasteturquoise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipMwr9_ITReuqWqwSUnOEZOAvzDBoB5Lu_7V3VOZwcVX8dourXONI993iMX-dIZbw8cX5OS2XnYyqF9K6t2_lse6BWfMKzOMvnagyhht5E9QVKywL3iBJW2-nRjUmOouAK5wBsptPU1b9L/s200/gumpasteturquoise.jpg" width="200" /></a>The turquoise gemstones were really fun! These were made from gumpaste. I hand molded them into the shape I wanted and let them dry. Next I painted them with two coats of Confectioner's Glaze (check online cake suppliers), drying between the coats, and then let them dry overnight. When I got up the next morning, the gumpaste had cracked a little bit. This turned out to be in my advantage because it gave me a natural pattern to vein the turquoise. Taking a very fine tipped brush, I painted the veins with black food coloring and vodka. Following the cracks both masked the imperfection but also made the turquoise look more natural. I made the coral stones pretty much the same way, but did not vein them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV1lH72Fz5bB0UXY9HWgrCVezX8G1vZLgjBJfTY7RztRoVvpO1pNYmkRNg4u8uztSRvWk8nhFWJPt0AA7AuxTCskme6mK0jlkUkyHZXu6ewuxPYLM5SZgI5gNp3ghgQJE4RSkkSsZ-VQN/s1600/succulentcloseup1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV1lH72Fz5bB0UXY9HWgrCVezX8G1vZLgjBJfTY7RztRoVvpO1pNYmkRNg4u8uztSRvWk8nhFWJPt0AA7AuxTCskme6mK0jlkUkyHZXu6ewuxPYLM5SZgI5gNp3ghgQJE4RSkkSsZ-VQN/s200/succulentcloseup1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Succulents are one of my all time favorite plants and I was excited to get to make some. <br />
I ended up following this tutorial for the succulents that went on the cake but tweaked it a little. <a href="http://www.pixel-whisk.com/2012/04/succulent-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">http://www.pixel-whisk.com/2012/04/succulent-cupcakes.html </a> Since I did not have the cutter she used, I had to draw out my own templates and then use an exacto-knife. Also, I used different colored petal dusts than she used-I chose Chartreuse, Moss Green, and White. These turned out well and I was able to just place them on the cake with some edible glue.<br />
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Which brings me to the edible glue, something else I had not used before. It's pretty cool actually and made from Tylose and water. Take 1/4 tsp of Tylose, mix it with 2 Tbsp of hot water. It will be clumpy, and that's fine. Cover, put in the fridge over night. When you get up you will have a clear, sticky gel to work with that won't show up like royal icing will. It seemed to work just fine. <br />
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One of my most favorite parts of the cake is the base. In my Pinterest inspiration board, there is a cake on a wooden board that I just loooooved. I looked at a lot of stores for something similar. I even went to a wood working shop and scoured the internet for cheese boards. Nothing was right. One afternoon I serendipitously ended up at Williams and Sonoma, and this was on a display table at the very front of the store. I measured it-the cake would actually fit! Being from Williams and Sonoma it was over priced, and I thought and thought about it for a couple of weeks before finally buying it. By then it was on sale. I have to say, it's pretty perfect. <br />
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And, it ended up winning First Place in the Professional Tiered Cake Category. Lots of work, but totally worth it. <br />
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<br />Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-67202594789893557142013-01-23T16:12:00.000-08:002013-01-23T16:12:00.088-08:00So It's Been Like Two YearsAnd what have I been up to? Well the answer is A LOT and very little of it was cake related. First: When we moved to Colorado all the way back in 2009, I was pretty overwhelmed with the beauty of where we lived. Colorado is a wild place and for the first couple of years all of my time was spent exploring it, hiking open space trails, going up into the high mountains, and soaking up every bit of natural beauty that I could. <br />
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And then after that? Well, I was up to this:<br />
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Meet Aislinn Rose! She's pretty much the awesomest blue eyed baby you would ever get to meet. She was born six months ago and takes up just about every moment of my time. Being my third baby, I know how quickly time goes and pretty much just want to hold her every second I can while she is little. And she's already starting to get squirmy with wanting to chase around her big brother and sister.<br />
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So anyway, while I was pregnant with her I had a lot of free time on my hands due to the fact that Charlotte was finally in school full time. I was hoping to make a few cakes here and there but as luck would have it, the smell of fondant didn't agree with me so much. So cakes were on hold once again.<br />
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Now it is late January 2013, which means Sweet Time In The Rockies is coming up! This is a local cake show in Denver that I entered before and am entering again on February 9th. And then after that, I have another cake coming up for a Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet.<br />
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With home baking now being legal in Colorado, I am hoping to make about a cake per month to slowly get my feet wet again in the cake world. So stay tuned!<br />
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But until then, here are some of the cakes that I have made the past couple of years, but didn't put on the blog. Enjoy!<br />
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Charlotte's Sixth Birthday Cake-Rapunzel!</div>
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Nate's 8th Birthday Cake - Ben 10</div>
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Boy Scout Blue and Gold Banquet Cake 2011</div>
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Charlotte's 7th Birthday Cake - Merida/Brave</div>
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Nate's 9th Birthday Cake - Pokemon Pokeball</div>
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Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Banquet Cake 2012</div>
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Also, if anyone is interested, here are my Facebook and Pinterest Pages (gotta stay plugged in, apparently):<br />
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Butterfly-Sweets-Cakery/112875872087012<br />
http://pinterest.com/buterflysweets/<br />
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<br />Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-8130401320598492102011-04-07T08:34:00.000-07:002011-04-07T08:36:25.410-07:00HB 1139 and HB 2084<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; ">Can you please spare a moment this morning to email the members of the Public Health Committee? The bill needs to be on the hearing schedule when it comes out tomorrow, or I'm afraid it will die on the calendar again. Emails below:</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: normal; "><span>Lois.Kolkhorst@house.state</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>.tx.us<br /><span>Elliott.Naishtat@house.sta</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>te.tx.us<br /><span>Carol.Alvarado@house.state</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>.tx.us<br /><span>Garnet.Coleman@house.state</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>.tx.us<br /><span>Sarah.Davis@house.state.tx</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>.us<br /><span>...Veronica.Gonzales@house</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>.state.tx.us<br /><span>Susan.King@house.state.tx.</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>us<br /><span>Jodie.Laubenberg@house.sta</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>te.tx.us<br /><span>Charles.Schwertner@house.s</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>tate.tx.us<br /><span>Vicki.Truitt@house.state.t</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>x.us<br /><span>John.Zerwas@house.state.tx</span><wbr><span class="word_break" style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -10px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span>.us</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: normal; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: normal; ">The body of your email can include something like this: </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; ">"I support the Cottage Food Bills, HB 1139 and HB 2084. Please move these bills forward for a hearing as soon as possible."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; ">Thank you for your support!</span></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-71045179855843052892011-02-12T12:08:00.000-08:002013-02-09T20:06:53.216-08:00Mosaic Cake<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXCboZrKfy_3tqwhNREzdXiHvw2VdHcNzgtOnZp1K7B3l6Vw85fBOciB8wlbQ52hGNUgH6RrQVYImNZGkv2Mx6Ok2Da_LDfMNhWYjJNvM0NvpGH_qzqP1UhjY1RCP8mYyzaiBqg9rAZN5/s1600/mosaiccakewatermark.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572900404142063970" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvXCboZrKfy_3tqwhNREzdXiHvw2VdHcNzgtOnZp1K7B3l6Vw85fBOciB8wlbQ52hGNUgH6RrQVYImNZGkv2Mx6Ok2Da_LDfMNhWYjJNvM0NvpGH_qzqP1UhjY1RCP8mYyzaiBqg9rAZN5/s400/mosaiccakewatermark.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 256px;" /></a>Like any one who has a small child, I was easily coerced into seeing the movie Tangled that came out around Thanksgiving. My daughter Charlotte fell in love with the newest Disney princess as did I, but what transfixed me more was the amazing artwork and images that made the movie so prettily breathtaking.<br />
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First of all, the color purple was everywhere, in every shade. Rapunzel loved to free hand paint the walls of her tower. Mosaics were throughout the town, and the sun was an especially important theme. And who could forget those pretty lanterns? So of course what this added up to me was how to design a cake around all these images (keep scrolling to see some examples of my inspiration).</div>
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Since moving to Colorado, though, I haven't had many excuses for making cakes. Lucky for me, it was time for Sweet Times in the Rockies again. Hooray! </div>
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I've always wanted to make a mosaic cake, and that was my jumping off point. The cakes were all covered in fondant as normal, and then I hand cut. each. one. of. those. tiles. and placed them on the cake in different designs. How long did it take, you ask? Centuries. (OK, I estimate around 60 hours from beginning to finish.)</div>
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The bottom tier showcases the golden lanterns floating into the sky. I hand painted the lanterns with a mixture of Super Gold dust and vodka. The next tier was a purple, pink and yellow swirl pattern that repeats throughout the movie. The next tier features the sun which you see in the town square, Rapunzel's crib and throughout the palace. I also painted the sun with the Super Gold mixture. And the top tier is the purple, pink and yellow swirls again.</div>
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572901934597607058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SK2VSyRo1OK5AgVESxiC08yNdAC3xCxVxJtYK2mu47h4gLfoucs2L_VK0yObbmMXdNnzpqD9K02TA80EJBfNFKy9F2bUPVzHuMDiUVleWXlRC_ZEybqUVrJm0vjRf8jv6tRFy-Qlu26B/s200/sun+mobile.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 108px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 200px;" /><br />
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At the top of the cake is Rapunzel's magical golden flower, which gave Rapunzel her golden hair. In the movie, the flower loosely resembles a lily with swirls coming out of it. To make it I used a lily cutter, dusted it gold, and then used Isomalt (Cake Play new Isomalt sticks are awesome!) to make the swirls come out of the top.</div>
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Once that was all done the cake looked intricate but flat. So I added on the pink flowers to each tier, with isomalt swirls coming out of them too. Pretty cool cake, I have to say!</div>
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572901931477265698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjknQVua6RUwwnbhitmP-ZXsJ_3755G1_GdMhfBZqmk8a9Sye9OWQuYj0HPkZzRzJytum5NT0oSVSWhFunhB1b8mtARxAe7VNPkfS1841L9e5i6wLwoJJbYGXxhd-8ux9Rl5giAehu0c82C/s200/tangled_rapunzel_poster_20.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 144px;" /></div>
Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-70535383675461612252010-04-21T16:11:00.000-07:002010-04-21T16:21:55.477-07:00It's Here! It's Here! It's Here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gdYkZMz6cQTByKO0RzR7h4g4ludEeuhg7-m_-vJotVyJas8dXAMgJE4VQbJtbDwSwiO_ILAWbH-2za01yiajJNyipgkUO69fXptssdioA4G3-xs7EPYGc6ggirB7g6Wg_L2qHUt_CGxJ/s1600/brideandbloommag3005.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gdYkZMz6cQTByKO0RzR7h4g4ludEeuhg7-m_-vJotVyJas8dXAMgJE4VQbJtbDwSwiO_ILAWbH-2za01yiajJNyipgkUO69fXptssdioA4G3-xs7EPYGc6ggirB7g6Wg_L2qHUt_CGxJ/s400/brideandbloommag3005.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462733394731604434" /></a>As you can tell, I am very excited that the spring/summer 2010 issue of Bride and Bloom magazine finally made it into the stores!<div><br /></div><div>I feel as though I have been waiting forever to see it, but this afternoon it was sitting on the shelves of our local Borders as I shopped with my children. They have also been anxiously looking for it with me every time we go to the bookstore and were just as happy as I was that is was there.</div><div><br /><div>This is my first time to be featured in a national bridal magazine, and I was given an entire page for my Turquoise Cake with Black Scroll Work. It was one of my very first cakes, and has proven to be popular with clients with lots and lots of requests for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to the Account Executive Richelle Gingerich for noticing my cake and getting it in the magazine for me. I am incredibly honored!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SRtBK9eK9XzCXKwFmSLfNg4KQ6ya9DCiNiEPIwXjBsS-VGTIS-M-HGelk91HtE2b3-7ZcHmdlea9HlEimqin_TspgHcjMezOR4MJ1t0AHNrM6lUuZ5mh3V2cszjfNTrKcr4DQ_sKHMHZ/s1600/brideandbloommag1003.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SRtBK9eK9XzCXKwFmSLfNg4KQ6ya9DCiNiEPIwXjBsS-VGTIS-M-HGelk91HtE2b3-7ZcHmdlea9HlEimqin_TspgHcjMezOR4MJ1t0AHNrM6lUuZ5mh3V2cszjfNTrKcr4DQ_sKHMHZ/s400/brideandbloommag1003.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462733381691347570" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRTdUdlPsyL1H8sCogkEFm95ktGNwHYi7U-z9whxqnhq8ArjCsquYKv01LTBFGe0w2AmPzbE_F-fZwYHrLOsulJCPMJk8qSMGtizGnnBlhGcxNRt2LO-JalpVriJ3hitOxzxnM4e029CF/s1600/brideandbloommag2004.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 291px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPRTdUdlPsyL1H8sCogkEFm95ktGNwHYi7U-z9whxqnhq8ArjCsquYKv01LTBFGe0w2AmPzbE_F-fZwYHrLOsulJCPMJk8qSMGtizGnnBlhGcxNRt2LO-JalpVriJ3hitOxzxnM4e029CF/s400/brideandbloommag2004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462733372133266594" /></a><br /><br /></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-23051983432390170732010-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:002010-03-16T15:24:47.834-07:00Ni Hao Kai Lan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GxmtG64Aik7BbYfPw-DG2ksRCu5qHrkU46t1f6uFn45EbGdQR5brxJcigovZCWeI8g2G_6vQz8ag1Z-EETjixhPCepVZOASSoGVJ1-ONvoD4fHJ5a2_Yj_29x5sbF5sbQRaaiqxHppvv/s1600-h/Kai+Lan+cake.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9GxmtG64Aik7BbYfPw-DG2ksRCu5qHrkU46t1f6uFn45EbGdQR5brxJcigovZCWeI8g2G_6vQz8ag1Z-EETjixhPCepVZOASSoGVJ1-ONvoD4fHJ5a2_Yj_29x5sbF5sbQRaaiqxHppvv/s400/Kai+Lan+cake.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449002045913342194" /></a>Today I made a cake for a coworker of my husband. Her daughter was turning 4 and loves Kai Lan (just like my daughter!)<div>Kai Lan is one of those light hearted cartoons where everything is bright skies and sun, cute animals, lots of flowers and in general happy looking. So that's pretty much where I jumped off.</div><div>The background of the sky was made in pale blue, with a border around the bottom to look like rolling green hills. Mr. Sun is front and center, because he is a major character. His face was panted with food coloring, and I also added fluffy white clouds cut from fondant.</div><div>All of the figures were hand molded. To add some more color and whimsy, I added on bright fondant flowers to the green hills.</div><div>My husband was happy to report to me that his coworker loved the cake. I'm happy to say that I do too!</div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-40785869861159847022010-02-12T19:38:00.000-08:002013-02-09T20:08:53.999-08:00A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_u23QoAZZV7zdyyrLT790Fhjkf9aJIoVADVgG_fjRuF6eYgf8HjMZS69f-XyWbo0YshI7KMC0WEK-apJ-U2o0SwAqHZYCD_L7PRm8idm4lR-rJB3PwTNNkOPuEdBgTq5vlnyUdZT8Z5q/s1600-h/cinderella2wtrmrk.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438325054678379586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS_u23QoAZZV7zdyyrLT790Fhjkf9aJIoVADVgG_fjRuF6eYgf8HjMZS69f-XyWbo0YshI7KMC0WEK-apJ-U2o0SwAqHZYCD_L7PRm8idm4lR-rJB3PwTNNkOPuEdBgTq5vlnyUdZT8Z5q/s400/cinderella2wtrmrk.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 273px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcykFRP7nHctuU0e5kjrI3EIri3fhLsBw9Hk7mHG2fcD7ErCO5jEO3hWu6Pw2w4wJjw7r6Ew32OChU9Uja10j2aBZBuNuiWeNXgUij3VeF5_S_g4yfhfBfCrbMQtdULUJ1REoB_is6-Q8m/s1600-h/damaskcomp2wtrmrk.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a>This weekend I participated in the Colorado ICES cake show Sweet Times in the Rockies in Denver. It was fun to finally christen my new kitchen with some cakes! I have been really missing decorating, so it was also great to get back.<br />
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With my first cake, I bought some stencils that I just adored the designs of. I realized how much the large scroll design looked like Cinderella's carriage one morning when my daughter pointed it out to me. I was practicing the technique and she gasped "that's for Cinderella!" I took a step back and realized she was exactly right. This started me in a whole new direction where I wanted to center the cake around a Cinderella theme. I tried my best to color the cake Cinderella blue and thought a glass slipper for the top would be perfect, along with some gumpaste bows.<br />
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The "glass" slipper for the top is white chocolate that I poured into shoe shaped molds along with a heart mold for the accent at the toe. When it was set and I pieced the shoe together, I absolutely slathered it in disco and luster dust.</div>
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The rest of the cake was also covered in luster dust to make it glittery and luminescent.</div>
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I am thrilled and delighted to say that I received First Place in the Professional Category!</div>
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For awhile now I have wanted to make a damask cake and while perusing cake stencils on the internet, came across this set that I decided I could not live without. I had never used cake stencils before, but decided it is always good to learn new techniques.</div>
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I chose a square design and I wanted my corners to be super sharp and clean, so I used a technique where I cut out panels for the sides of each tier and their tops out of gumpaste and then allowed them to dry over several days. When they were dry, I took my stencils and used a thick royal icing for the designs. Basically you use an offset spatula to smooth the royal icing over the stencil, and after it is completely covered, you gently pull the stencil off and you have a beautiful design!</div>
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There is, of course, some trial and error involved in this. It takes both patience and time. But if you stick with it the work is well worth it.</div>
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Black and white damask is rather popular, and it is nearly </div>
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always paired with red or pink as an accent. I wanted to try something different and chose yellow anemones to contrast. I love how it looks! Anemones are imperfect flowers with large black centers, and I thought it would contrast with the prim and proper damask. I am really happy with how it turned out.</div>
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This cake earned 3rd Place in the Professional Category!</div>
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This was a great weekend for me and I had a wonderful time competing! </div>
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Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-56567878520839486452010-01-20T20:59:00.000-08:002010-01-20T21:33:38.731-08:00AnnouncementsNow that we are settled here in Colorado, I just wanted to let everyone know what is going on with Butterfly Sweets. <div><br /></div><div>Coming up on Valentines weekend, I am entering a cake show in Denver. I am so excited! I have greatly missed decorating cakes. I will be making two cakes and cannot wait to see how they turn out. I will be trying some new techniques I have never used before, and am hoping to make so unique additions to my portfolio.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, something I am even happier about is that I have been contacted by The Bride and Bloom magazine, and they will be featuring some of my cakes in their spring issue! This is the first time I have been featured in a bridal magazine. It should be out some time right after Valentine's Day, and I will be posting pictures as soon as I get my hands on a copy.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lastly, to stave off some of my cake withdrawal, I've started a blog on baking. I decided to make it separate from this blog since this one seems to be focused on decorating. It is at <a href="http://butterflysweetsincolorado.blogspot.com/">http://butterflysweetsincolorado.blogspot.com/</a>, so please take a look! My first post is a little long, but I plan to start baking tomorrow. </div><div><br /></div><div>As far as Butterfly Sweets goes, I currently do not have a kitchen to rent, which means that I am not taking orders. Hopefully this will change sometime in the near future. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-13098065064909919232009-10-20T20:49:00.000-07:002009-10-29T19:29:23.824-07:00I know...I know<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeYIukYCRJKU6S5LUVnmV28lEg4_s7dOkOndK1rEZ8C7EShJUxoiV0w0Wz2oLeZUqQBSj_AhDmRgDMe0TIrqgSegJGwKbzCT9-KwBHX2ptXBM-ONxnkLLvIXQTw_Ilky5BB1dt6EilO9d/s1600-h/Mbirthdaycake.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeYIukYCRJKU6S5LUVnmV28lEg4_s7dOkOndK1rEZ8C7EShJUxoiV0w0Wz2oLeZUqQBSj_AhDmRgDMe0TIrqgSegJGwKbzCT9-KwBHX2ptXBM-ONxnkLLvIXQTw_Ilky5BB1dt6EilO9d/s320/Mbirthdaycake.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398212737721917122" /></a>So I know it's been forever since I have posted, but I have a good excuse, which I will share with you later. :)<div><br /><div><div>I took most of the summer off this year, because it was the last summer I had with my little boy until he started Kindergarten! And then life in general got hectic, so I only made a few cakes for a select group of friends and family.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier this summer, I made a sweet little princess cake for a friend of Nate's. They went to preschool together last year, and I just love her mom! I also made a cake for her last year, my Girly Dinosaur Cake. This year she wanted a pink cake, with some turquoise and purple on it. We decided on polka dots, with a beautiful princess on the front, and a crown on the top.</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_NIkTMU_zyGaKCJjtqq9-mEjoxtNhztBCm0MSpJ1ZhCnsBos63PzbYDzAPsSz6iAgR5keKmKIUDZe5uvziLh0rk_6kui0sHwx1ro_VtrvWFqgYWw5dWOUTrC-Y558L6keTnG1MuilMrE2/s320/ariel1.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398211861366314834" /><div>Once summer began to come to a close, I made this cake for Charlotte! It was her 4th birthday this year, and all she wanted in the world was a Little Mermaid cake. At first she wanted me to make Ariel from fondant (yes, my four year old thoroughly knows what fondant is!) but after a trip to the Disney store, she coerced me into buying a set of figurines that were of Ariel's sisters. Charlotte and I made this cake together, and I am very proud to say that she made all of the starfish. The shells and starfish were liberally doused with disco dust, and the sand is brown sugar.</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfnuMVlURHp-G4xzJej_WNPqqJ2TlMKw-4ZxIwh4B7XvXrG73e6p4A4P8AdFPHmb2fE-YMFUJGuQSDnRJqqYeZ681M6rrV4uWgvzGnfvmJFCcL3bHva-ejap4WwNN5i1eqIATee4wj38j/s320/OSSAScoffeecup.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 252px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398211575173336530" /><div>Soon after that, I entered the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show again. I wanted to make a cartoon-like cake. The coffee cup on the top was from chocolate fondant mixed with Tylose. The whipped cream is royal icing, and the cherries are fondant. At the last minute I decided to add on the cute little strawberries. This was a super fun cake to make, but it did not place in my division.</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jDD-gIqJrI-9I2D69n0M3b6okJNW8AO799_lo0AtNvXdsRAqazpDSBwrmKMJxoyuoDxcrTM2Gbtob18RN1H_igu7O2aD70bQr5Oi_STXRun-3mb3NmYuDh0GiWU2ksjUTDrY3Sy_OcDC/s200/nates6thbirthday.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 105px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398212487923226898" /><div>Last but not least, I made my son, Nate's, 6th birthday cake. Nate is absolutely Bakugan crazy, and he wasn't too particular with the </div><div>design of the cake as long as it had lots and lots of Bakugans on it. I ordered some edible images, and then decorated the border of the cake with Bakugans instead of my regular fondant balls. He was very happy with it!</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL4xp7YW-4NaZKNRG5VWmszaWbk0t7p-1_ix4DIeEuIwyTQlz1UtkLCDEDSYak2K74-HnKPzQzj1Oer2zpoYpJXesKGOVsIAsyj1jX5CFoNo5noAkWLxB9-X-V13hxy8igMgAyiiS0IoAH/s200/rockymountains.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 160px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398212995355966130" /><div>I have been receiving lots of emails asking why I am not taking orders, and would like to make an announcement regarding this. At the end of October, my family and I moved to the Denver area after my husband was relocated for a job position. We are very excited to start this new chapter </div><div>of our lives, but I am sad to leave behind all of my wonderful clients in Dallas. I am hoping to start making cakes in Denver soon!</div></div></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-2015894889346581512009-08-03T15:25:00.000-07:002009-08-03T15:28:03.667-07:00Butterfly Sweets Featured on AOL!I am so proud to share that Butterfly Sweets has been featured on AOL's new site, Party Central! Three of my cakes were featured, including my Circus Cake, Princess Cake, and Raggedy Anne Cake. Please check them out at: <a href="http://www.holidash.com/party-central/birthday/food/bizarre-birthday-cakes">http://www.holidash.com/party-central/birthday/food/bizarre-birthday-cakes</a><div><br /></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-91120914163192124682009-07-01T12:00:00.000-07:002009-07-01T12:10:39.232-07:00Wedding Season!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y2uGXBHdFFXQRYN-l1mONWnIBBMyE7rp60U03sQm_fOtmmbwFUVcONmyQzl9OBg4LopPE5fWq4YtXIHFVh-PAcJmWjQWrL_RF48mcvWU2YlsZWVW3PVrGs1ZgonWDQnZ-Rl6TJrBdjWJ/s1600-h/tiffanyboxcake.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0y2uGXBHdFFXQRYN-l1mONWnIBBMyE7rp60U03sQm_fOtmmbwFUVcONmyQzl9OBg4LopPE5fWq4YtXIHFVh-PAcJmWjQWrL_RF48mcvWU2YlsZWVW3PVrGs1ZgonWDQnZ-Rl6TJrBdjWJ/s320/tiffanyboxcake.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353568969640494610" /></a>I love June, and all the weddings that are associated with it! The two cakes that I have recently made are both designs that I have been dying to make for quite a while.<div>First is this beautiful Tiffany Box inspired cake. These are 3 square tiers, 6, 9 and 12 inches. The color was achieved using Americolor Turquoise. For the bows, I wanted them to be messy and unfurled, like a present wrapped coming unfurled. The bows are all gumpaste and I painted them with white disco dust. And then lots of pretty, gumpaste cutout flowers and hand sculpted roses.</div><div>The border was made with a bead maker, and is also gumpaste. </div><div> Next, I made this really pretty purple cherry blossom and dogwood wedding cake. This one was fun, because I love making gumpaste flowers!</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKaH3-x0vWRh8zlw9kqGuglRXm2KhZ6DEhROUyJP0z8rBh3ihgNtwyQPOnDLj-Xyv813k3dcT1k82OZ-IhYuG7HpWq-XzqYO6_0c8ZoZxZSvigKCUX7JWcYJEUW-1NmkNnBHElQtex20Nr/s320/cb1.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 222px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5353568862357819362" /><div>The cake was painted purple to achieve a nice, bright color that would be less likely to fade. It was painted using a large brush, Americolor Electric Purple food coloring and vodka.</div><div>The branch that twists its way around the cake is chocolate fondant. I detailed the branches with a gumpaste tool to impress a wood like pattern onto it. </div><div>The flowers were all made from gumpaste and cut from blossom and dogwood cutters. Once they were dry, they were dusted with Cosmo pink petal dust. I attached them onto the cake with royal icing, and then piped pretty little centers onto each one.</div><div>I really loved making both of these cakes! </div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-63093467237385678962009-06-21T21:56:00.000-07:002009-06-21T22:13:05.250-07:00Partridge Cake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2K_FuHof7FqN9XLAXwlVCjzc9u6sZNHVAMc40wBfzsgE9TxbY9t0tOncdXcADP59ft4DB5CHMw5CLR5x8TMw-HGnM03E4HAtYFS1veynvlIOlbn2ELJ5UzVoltPldjV_Ut29oTVfF10S/s1600-h/Patridge+Cake.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 303px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz2K_FuHof7FqN9XLAXwlVCjzc9u6sZNHVAMc40wBfzsgE9TxbY9t0tOncdXcADP59ft4DB5CHMw5CLR5x8TMw-HGnM03E4HAtYFS1veynvlIOlbn2ELJ5UzVoltPldjV_Ut29oTVfF10S/s320/Patridge+Cake.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350011793149116802" /></a>My wonderful repeat client Eleshia, whose family has ordered at least 5 cakes from me in the past, ordered another cake from me for this weekend.<div><br /></div><div>This family loves the Pink Cake Box as much as I do, and ordered a version of one of their cakes, only in different colors. The original was done in red and blue, but since was Morgan's First Birthday, they wanted me to change the colors to pretty pinks and greens to match her nursery bedding.</div><div><br /></div><div>The partridges were hand molded in bright pink fondant, and the details for the eyes and beak were black fondant. The butterflies were also fondant.</div><div><br /></div><div>The ribbon around the bottom of each tier were done using my ribbon cutter so that the top of the ribbon was done in a zig zag pattern. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the bottom tier are abstract flowers. They are layered with dark pink, light pink and black fondant discs, and then have green royal icing dots piped around the border. They also have teeny little green leaves!</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope that Morgan had a wonderful 1st birthday!</div><div><br /></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-89374936558433024372009-05-27T11:06:00.000-07:002009-06-01T15:32:06.269-07:00Pink Alligators, Purple Leopard and Blue Turtles<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhit6rwgPkP9Nm_xyLpIOg4WLh8vmUsomkAurFpjkZas1hPKWj-DwKgTjQvhBgIw7W2Ef9CUw7flM6698X0qZ_wwktMR3P0vPxaG7BVx5600JGcKGp_X3jeFtnyqoFeB2vRBOtCCVvtj3/s1600-h/brynlies2ndbirthday.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhit6rwgPkP9Nm_xyLpIOg4WLh8vmUsomkAurFpjkZas1hPKWj-DwKgTjQvhBgIw7W2Ef9CUw7flM6698X0qZ_wwktMR3P0vPxaG7BVx5600JGcKGp_X3jeFtnyqoFeB2vRBOtCCVvtj3/s320/brynlies2ndbirthday.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342072460731500082" /></a>My oh my was I ever overwhelmed this week! Mostly because it was the last week of school, which meant fun parties, graduations and other ceremonies to attend. But add several cakes in the mix and I am officially swamped!<div>In addition to my son's Tae Kwon Do cake, I had some other orders to take care of. One for a friend of mine, and then two other high labor orders from some very, very good clients.</div><div>Last year, Audra ordered the Over The Top birthday cake <a href="http://butterflysweets.blogspot.com/2008/05/over-top-birthday.html">http://butterflysweets.blogspot.com/2008/05/over-top-birthday.html</a> for her beautiful 1 year old daughter. This was an extremely lucrative design, because I am constantly getting requests to replicate it. This year, she ordered from me again to help her celebrate Brynlie's 2nd birthday. </div><div>She had decided on an accessories theme-purses, shoes, cell phones and the like. We both did research and finally decided on a design first done by Cakes By Ashley. We tweaked it a little bit and added the purple leopard print to the middle tier and turquoise as an accent color. </div><div>The accessories are all gumpaste and hand painted. The leopard print is also hand painted, and I was so excited to get to do this. I normally will dilute food coloring with some kind of clear alcohol (vodka for example) to paint with, but this time painted with straight good coloring and a tiny brush, to make sure the color was strong enough. Audra also ordered 3 dozen cookies from me, but I did not get a good photograph of them.</div><div>I hope you had a great 2nd birthday Brynlie!</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR9A3P4YMl7CUffKaRNpge762hmv2x5nGcQf6-DHrOH4y-9McNVx_j7SgPt5En8Y1nrln8Liv5jGWh2yAiwsemn9gndnyGm60t_SpByyE1UWako0vw-6Bos-F0zuyS-IwNBt5n3duq1zBq/s320/pregnant+lady+cake.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342489188519334978" /><div>There is a great family who has ordered several cakes from me in the past year. They are the sweetest, nicest people and I loved working with them! This year, Eleshia ordered three cakes</div><div> from me and some cookies. </div><div>One of her friends is expecting a baby boy, and is very excited about the turtle bedding she has picked out for the nursery. Being as enamored with the Pink Cake Box as I am, she decided on a cake like this one-blue and chocolate brown-with the pretty pregnant lady made from fondant on the top. And to compliment the cute turtles, I made these turtle sugar cookies! It is all so cute together. Thank you so much, Eleshia! See you again in a couple of weeks!</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs7Dw0Mvs3hgMSnpDc_OWq915LHzYBiQ27n8FaBa51fvGBiqNuPofFh5TkESIVPjpTeZ-E1RF05h57DRDyKrf1_fDaYfjZZaUgmgepTrNkBGoOtJJt985EbcvrU9rqqPkvGFRngEpD3T2O/s320/turtlecookies.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342489370893167714" /><div><br /></div><div>Last but not least, I also made this Pink Alligator cake. Once upon a time, my husband and I were very good friends with another couple, Sam and Kate. Our two husbands have known each other since the 8th grade, and then I came into the picture in high school, then the three of us went to the same college. On the night of our rehearsal dinner, we met Sam's new girlfriend, Kate. We were very close friends for years but with school, jobs and babies, our weekly get togethers have dwindled down to about once per year. :( </div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AomBwNVbpAfF_I22w_9QZduNeUKie4OTPI72jFaMRkTMx8ykOqLSyiWNtUf6Rs1eX44HE2jnJbN07ZktM2nXUYTRwlLiwzSXw8Qp0BEcl7h6tjxERnH7cejNJxBEPfRHNwZt02KZj5GU/s320/emmas3rdbirthday.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 320px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340567354824481922" /><div>Kate sent over an email about a week before their daughter Emma's party, asking me to make her birthday cake. I was already a little overwhelmed with all of the end of year festivities, but I have a soft spot for Emma and worked her in. Emma wanted a pink alligator party, and Kate picked out a repeat cake of mine-the Girlie First Birthday Cake. But to add a funny touch, I put on the adorable little pink alligator onto the front of it. Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma! </div></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-83833499685512636002009-05-26T21:26:00.000-07:002009-05-27T06:41:20.130-07:00Proud Mommy! (And A Tae Kwon Do Cake)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0F7QByLaNudaew9CTvdNjZx-vr0MGbewxMZE93otl2LXcFufEMQ4MAF29WIX_GN335uH9Mb1lh2Gh0LQspr_ht3yu3LRNPEoOhk5_A6NJmJV7E0G_1VJYYYW3qIpG1oKgIjOSEWPbFQq/s1600-h/natesorangebeltcakewtrmrk.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu0F7QByLaNudaew9CTvdNjZx-vr0MGbewxMZE93otl2LXcFufEMQ4MAF29WIX_GN335uH9Mb1lh2Gh0LQspr_ht3yu3LRNPEoOhk5_A6NJmJV7E0G_1VJYYYW3qIpG1oKgIjOSEWPbFQq/s320/natesorangebeltcakewtrmrk.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340357292666051730" /></a>Since there was a cake involved, I can officially post this. My 5 year old son had a big night tonight-testing for his orange belt in Tae Kwon Do as well as his preschool graduation ceremony. I am always looking for a reason to have a house full of people, so thought it would be a perfect excuse for a party. And more importantly, a cake!<div>The graduation cap is all fondant, but the top is fondant mixed with Tylose. The tassel was made by running some fondant through a pasta shredder.</div><div>Everything else is pretty standard stuff-all fondant. I used an impression mat on the orange belt fondant to replicate the fabric pattern on his belt. Also, I had to put wired stars on the cake, but had a fun time making the wires spiraled. </div><div>I also made my little boy's likeness in fondant, which he had a fun time devouring.</div><div>Nate had a great party and a full house full of family. Congratulations on all your accomplishments Nate! We love you! </div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItrw_js_EITeQ0prUjuAUY-92h16rako4oQj4jKGKa0qGVxj-YbB3UKowf4kl56inh-XwEB0aHFDrZ1k1VTU43x4UKPxD-D-u_11Xze2-nG5NO3MY53g_Q7dhlGSwIP8-QZ_WLjNLFYpE/s320/IMG_4776.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340358276524187122" /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYshJzNPaPW06_8kdo0IdkYyMobCPqCQz8vLvxmwUK-W_So1tbSLwExiDcVXPQZH7DuqHusZq55A21p4p5_RF1SG8-J5xoXqZCspoxlb-I2vj7TvYiiepwGWB7EY2TRI5sLWJ2YbwFhKW/s320/IMG_4701.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 270px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340356971220113282" />Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-43336942381625007382009-05-20T12:12:00.000-07:002009-05-21T14:45:27.757-07:00Hunny<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU3KC1MMDI69dgHP9rft-4fRHgGnwhRUydvIUchqUtPec9WbeyhL99OhfxurHKr9RrkQcKGCiNQ1caE3xjgrEGPY-FdpUhzmfcvUO35yj3eEB5SubnZIcqXMnKojaY7KAwNMkSVufNxZI/s1600-h/winnethepoohcakeresizedwtrmrk.jpg"><br /><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU3KC1MMDI69dgHP9rft-4fRHgGnwhRUydvIUchqUtPec9WbeyhL99OhfxurHKr9RrkQcKGCiNQ1caE3xjgrEGPY-FdpUhzmfcvUO35yj3eEB5SubnZIcqXMnKojaY7KAwNMkSVufNxZI/s400/winnethepoohcakeresizedwtrmrk.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337986886529338082" /></a>Last year I made a cake that some of you may remember-the very cool Indian cake that was for the police officer that was being shot at when I called to fill her order. She was so happy with that cake, that she hired me again this year to make her daughter's 2nd birthday cake.<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_iJAlz49-AozdeNyWODG_h8e1hmPQJBbTXr1yUvQxHNBJzEaOlYzYvDakbYR8mx6I6mBd-gphPwIBrwcBzyOf30lMlLcfZhdPyRFa9yENRY1L_EulvhW4WwNsdBnx41abOQXrsAtlDBSl/s1600-h/winnethepoohcakeresizedwtrmrk.jpg"><br /></a>Anya wanted Pooh and the gang on the cake, but her daughter Morgen had a hard time deciding what she wanted on the top of it. After much discussion, she settled on Pooh holding a hunny pot.</div><div><br /></div><div>As usual, all my animals are made from pure fondant. On Eeyore, you can see that he has delicate stitching, which is really cute and makes him look more authentic. Also, all the details, for the stripes on Tigger and the bumble bees, the eyes, etc, are all hand painted with black food coloring and vodka.</div><div><br /></div><div>The hunny pot is also made from fondant, but the honey pouring from it is yellow royal icing-perfect touch! Also perfect-the dozen honey bees swirling around the cake, hoping to get a taste of the yummy stuff inside. </div><div><br /></div><div>I hope Morgen has a great 2nd birthday!</div><div><br /></div>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4695552554544520184.post-48187926042190475092009-05-11T11:56:00.001-07:002009-05-11T12:06:23.556-07:00Parent's Pick Awards!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">I am so excited to announce that Butterfly Sweets was nominated for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Best Birthday Cake in Nickelodeon's Parents' Picks Awards! We need your help to win! You can vote for us once a day, every day, from now until July 15 at http://www.nicksparentspicks.com! Thanks for your support!</span></span>Summer Rippehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11857645757435437943noreply@blogger.com2