Learning The Art of Sugar Cookies

              I've been eye-balling sugar cookies for some time. Since my first attempt at baking sugar cookies I have always burned them, miserably. I just couldn't tell when they were done, ya know? With my final weekend working at the bookstore that I have absolutely loved working at coming up, I decided I was going to suck it up and learn to make good cookies. I originally considered making a cake, but a cake is hard to split up into individual "take home" size pieces and keep it looking pretty. Cupcakes were another option, but with cookies you can make them beautiful, bag them up, and send them on their way still looking beautiful.

            Cookies became the forefront in my mind when I ran into a photo of Star Wars cookies on Pinterest. They were made by Sweet Sugar Belle. In case you're wondering, this is where I became OBSESSED with making a beautiful cookie and icing it to my heart's desire. Last year, I acquired a 100 piece cookie cutter set from Bed Bath and Beyond for $10. Awesome deal, right? I still haven't used any of them. When I decided to make these cookies, the cookie cutters where still being store at my mom's house and I'm too lazy/procrastinate-y to go pick them up. So I improvised, since I wanted a fairly simple shape.

A "TiVo" cookie cutter

 The only large cookie cutter I had on hand (I did have some small hearts and leaves for fondant but that didn't fit the bill!) was this bizarre TIVO TV cookie cutter my mom found for like 30 cents at goodwill. It had little legs like their logo, but I straightened those out for a more rectangular shape. I also used pre-mixed cookie dough but I was careful dough, but I was careful to let my egg and butter come to room temperature (Seriously, go read every article at www.sweetsugarbelle.com! She has amazing tips, techniques, hints, all that good stuff!) before mixing. I cranked the oven to 400 degrees, and put my smaller set of cookies in for 7 minutes. I smelled the burning before I saw it, whoops! I didn't think they'd burn that fast. Anyway, on my second set of cookies (my "real" cookies) I baked them for seriously, about 5 minutes and they came out beautifully. 

Whoops (7 minutes in my oven)

Royal Icing

A better baked sugar cookie (5 minutes in my oven)


After the cookies had cooled overnight, I mixed up some Royal Icing then split it into bowls for coloring. I knew I wanted the background white, black writing, and pink for the Breast Cancer Ribbon, as these are all part of our logo.
I used the Shpritz method from One Tough Cookie to make different consistencies of icing. It almost seems unfair, they made it so easy for me the first time around in making cookies I feel like I have a head start over those who have worked on them for years! Not like I'm anywhere NEAR that level yet, but now that I'm on the road... who knows ;) . 

Clean Lines

   My outline started out pretty shakey, but by the time I approached my fourth or fifth cookie (why did I move on to the burned ones AFTER the pretty ones and not visa versa? Who knows) my lines where looking mighty pretty! I let those dry about ten minutes, then took the piping icing out of the bag back into the bowl, where I thinned it down with some spray bottle water and turned it into a "flood" icing (I'm telling you, read everything Sweet Sugar Belle has written. Then you can join my lingo for this post!) . I went to the cookies and began "flooding" their middles with the icing. It wasn't as runny as I had hoped, but I used a warm spatula (Think "Smoothing out Buttercream Frosting" method here) to fill them in more consistently.

I was a little low on the white (whoops, didn't think THAT through) so mine were not as "filled" as I had hoped, but it was enough to give a nice white background. I let those dry for about 15 minutes (I should have given MORE TIME, my black icing bled onto my cookies and I'm suspecting that is why!) and wrote "Sue's News" on the cookies. 

Finally, I added the Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon to each cookie, and it became the WHOLE design for one cookie because I forgot to write the store name on there, whoops! It was a happy accident, though. 

There's alot of words here, I hope it doesn't take away from the fun of decorating cookies! Get out there and give it a shot! I'm sure mine will only improve from here, and I hope yours do, too! 

  

"Read" Upcycled Art

Supplies:

• Newspaper
• Scissors
• Hot Glue
• Cardboard (circle, for back of flower)
• Cardboard boxes (For "Canvas)
• Tissue paper in blue, green, and white
• Floral pins and (optional) floral staples
• Stapler

   I made this for an independent bookstore that I work at. I'm always working on something (or, rather, I was, but we are currently going out of business. BOO!) to brighten up the store and add a little character. Originally, I made this Newspaper Dahlia by following the steps using This Lovely Design at Vively Online for her Paper Medallion.
             It took alot of cutting, rolling, and gluing! I was initially going to make two but... this is more of an "at home" project because it was getting pretty messy. I was going to make one for each side of our TV display screen, but when I held up just the Dahlia against the wall...well, it looked almost dangerous. I'm guessing the newspaper colors against the naked wall made it look pretty sharp? Either way, I thought it needed a little more OOMPH! I decided to take two empty snapple boxes (really, any rectangular semi skinny box would do, I just had snapples on hand and they are a great shape) and I attached them together using hot glue and some floral staples that I had from a different project. I added those for reinforcement.


Lay out a double layer of blue tissue paper, and attach to the inside of the "canvas" using stapler (out of sight). Choose location for the flower, then glue generously onto the back and place on the "canvas". After this has dried, use floral pins and staples through insides of flower petals, pushing pins from the front of the canvas, through the cardboard, and bending them in the back. This should keep the tissue paper from ripping and should keep the flower attached with more stability.

Roll the green tissue paper into a "stem" shape, making sure the bottom tucks inside the back of the canvas, and the top end is hidden under the flower petals. Staple the bottom on. While the rest is still loose, cut out the leaf shape from another piece of green tissue paper and dab glue on it, beneath the stem, then again at the tip of the leaf (do not glue too much, just enough to attach it, but still have it look "leafy"). Attach the stem over the raw edge of the leaf with a bit of glue, then attach with glue under the flower petals.

For "READ": Roll up a thin piece of white tissue paper, lay out the shape of your letter, then put a thin line of glue on the back of the paper. Make the shape and, as the glue is still wet, use floral pins through the white tissue paper and all the way through the back of the cardboard. Use as many of these as you'd like, they add a bit of charm AND stability to your letters. For safety's sake, take some pliers and bend all of the floral pins to keep them from stick straight out (like this ones on this piece of art do, whoops!).

It's very lightweight, so hang wherever you need something pretty in your life. I hope this inspires you to make your own variation! If so, let me know! =) Thanks for stopping by.

Ninja Turtle Lego Batman Cake

        My friend Kaylin contacted me about 2 1/2 weeks before her boyfriend Dan's 30th birthday party, saying she REALLY wanted to surprise him and make him a fantastic cake full of his favorite things. Naturally, I was all gung-ho about making what she described as a "Lego, batman, and maybe Ninja Turtle" 30th birthday cake, but I was also a bit skeptical because...well, because Kaylin and I have known each other a LONG time and working on a cake together seemed awfully dangerous  because we really know how to push each other's buttons. Kaylin claims I have a super short temper (yes, pretty guilty) but ask anyone that knows HER and they will tell you that yes, she can really push some buttons. So, you know, there was that. Regardless, we were still both sucking it up and ready to make this surprise birthday cake!
      I baked the cakes, gave them a crumb layer, and had them waiting for decorating which was going to take place on Monday afternoon (which gave us about 6 days at that point). Monday morning, however, I woke up to a devastating message in my facebook inbox that said she would not be available to make this cake because Dan's dad had passed away. This was also the day before Dan's actual birthday. I didn't know the man, but I can assure you I was totally crushed, for both of them. Kaylin and I have both lost dear, loved members of our lives in the last few months and...quite frankly, neither of us have really gotten over it. My dad lost his best friend (which hurt me WAY more then I could have ever expected, it hurts so much to see really...ALIVE people pass on, you know?) and Kaylin's former stepfather and good friend passed away within days of my loss. I loved and cared for them both, they were both too young to go, and even though I functioned and went on about my business those losses have set so heavy on my heart since May.
        I read a book last week that said something I truly believe: "Death doesn't add to death, death multiplies" (Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian). Basically, every loss seems to come flooding back to you at every funeral, so it's like you're going to every funeral at once. The thing is, though, I can't imagine how Dan felt. I cannot imagine the pain of losing my father, I cannot imagine the weight of having it so close to my birthday, and I cannot imagine handling it as well as he has.
      Kaylin was going to cancel the cake because he needed her, and there was no time for us to meet up. They decided, however, to still have the birthday party because there was no point sitting and wallowing at home, you know? That's why, on Wednesday, I began planning the cake again and I didn't get that puppy done until 2 p.m. on Saturday when I had to leave for work. All prep work got done on Friday, and I put it all together on Saturday. Miracle work! I ran out of room on the front so I put the batman logo on the back with a "gotham city" cut out skyline (to cover some ugly fondant work).

Alot of talk, so here are some pictures:

Back of the Cake, seen above

Sewer Lid: Printout of Sewer glue to Poster Board

The Ninja turtles were made of marshmallow fondant and their pupils were wilton's edible marker.

The legos were also mm fondant; I mixed the colors, rolled them out in sheets, then cut them into semi-even lines. I cut my first "lego" and used that as a template for the size of the rest. 

TO make the LEGO wall: I rolled out a white piece of fondant as the base, and used egg whites as an adhesive. Lay the legos in a color pattern, egg white-ing them to the white base. When complete, wiggle into place on the cake (I had chocolate frosting on the cake already and it attached to this. I made a smaller one on the base of the cake, adding circles of fondant to look like the tops of the legos and attached that as well. I then rolled out and placed on one big piece of (very lumpy, whoops!! Ran out of time to fix that) fondant and then took a kitchen knife, feeling the legos underneath, and "peeled back" the outer layer. Careful not to peel too far and show the cake. 

I hope this inspire you to mix and match your own favorite characters. If you like it, it should all be on one cake, dangit.

DIY Make A Coffee Filter Glamelia

                Have you heard about glamelias? If you're on Pinterest and have lots of engaged friends (Like I do) or many wedding interested friends, glamelias have made quite the comeback in the past few years. A real glamelia (which I have also seen labeled as a composite rose, among other names) is many, many flowers (usually roses) taken apart and then oh, so delicately pieced back together around one main flower to form a breath taking, beautiful piece of bouquet art. These were very popular in the 40's and made to resemble those pretty camellia flowers. If you want some examples of glamelias made with real flowers, there are some lovely ones pictured on  Blossom Floral Design 's website.
            A friend of mine pinned a boatload of links to these one day and I was completely intriqued. How on earth did they make something so beautiful without destroying the petals? I explored the web (at this point I wanted to make one because I love a challenge and pretty things) but after searching I realized no, using real flowers is just beyond my skill set at this point. I had many reasons:

• I do not have much patience
• 
  
• I do not have the gentle touch of an experienced florist (or a freelance or amateur or a floral hobbyist
• 
  
• I do not have enough money to rip apart piles of flowers in the name of a "test project" 

        To all of you out there who can make one with real flowers, I envy you and tip my hat to you. For real, they are absolutely lovely. I may someday try this with gladiola because they have those big billowy petals and that seems more manageable to me. Until I get comfortable with the process, though, I'm using coffee filters. There is a seriously awesome tutorial on Natural Beauties Floral.com for the real flower, so I modified it a bit with my fake petals.

Here is how I made my "Glamelia":

  

1. 

   Step 3

   

   Step 4

   Gather Supplies: Coffee filters, sharp scissors, floral tape, floral wire, pliers 
2. Make the Center Rose: Since I don't want to make two tutorials in one, I'm going to redirect you to good ol' Martha Stewart because her web page has a wonderful, easy to follow rose tutorial. This is where I originally learned to make a paper rose, but I didn't follow it exactly this time around: I only had the "wiggly" coffee filters, which are flimsier but I used them anyway because this was an experiment. I took my filters and flattened them out, and they laid pretty nicely. Also, I did not measure my petals I just sort of "winged it" because I have made coffee filter roses previously and have a pretty good idea of what I should make. Lay this aside and grab a piece of wire.
3. Weave petals onto second wire. I put 6 petals on each piece of wire initially. I folded the end 1/4 inch to avoid losing my petals off the other side (*I changed this as I went. I decided to tightly wrap the second wire around the center for more stability*). 
4. Securely attach the second wire to the center rose wire. Twist up a few times, then begin placing the second wire petals against the center rose. When all petals are placed, twist the remaining second wire down the center rose wire, and then secure it with floral tape. 
5. Layer, layer, layer. I initially started out adding 6 petals then wrapping the remaining wire around the "center rose" wire...grabbing another one and starting again. As the hours past (yes, hours, not agonizing hours I was just doing other things and kept layering and layering...) I would add 6, wrap the wire around the center once, add 4-6 more to the same wire, THEN wrap that one. **I probably would have been more affective making it "wider" by attaching the wires in a big circle with the petals THEN wrapping it around the center wire. Mine ended up being very...tall...because I had to keep wrapping farther down the center wire (you know, because the middle was getting so big) so next time I'll just make the wires get bigger with it!

Glamelia progress shots

       6.  Use pliers to pin down any loose wire ends, then floral tape thoroughly from top to bottom.  At this point I also added a festive brown leather strip wrapped around it for added charm and stability.

Wire ends secured, wrap the stem with floral tape then add decor of choice

I didn't keep track of how many petals I made, filters I used, and all that jazz, but I would say there were at least 80 added on top of the center rose, probably more. 

To take away from the starch white-ness of my cheap coffee filters, I watered down some pink and white craft paint together and doused the petals with it, then added some more pink coloring to the edges of the petals. Mine looked cheesy because I wasn't being careful, but you can add some serious color to coffee filter roses that way.

      I hope to make a bigger, more spectacular one next time, but practice makes perfect! That's why I shared this tutorial, so you can ALL practice and we can all get better...together! If you have any questions, comments, or you make one of these yourself, I'd love to know. Just drop me a comment! Thank you so much for stopping by. =) 

Update Metal Lawn Furniture

When spring finally hit (okay, it seemed to completely SKIP spring and go into ridiculous, over the top dog days of summer around here) I ventured out to the deck to spruce it up and ready it for the season. I scrubbed the plastic deck railing WITH A TOOTH BRUSH and a scrubby brush (cleaning product was moot, the thing only wanted elbow grease so I obliged). I also scrubbed the bright white metal table and chairs that hang out on the deck. Then came this mess....

They look a little "wonky" in the photo, but that's just because they're such a mess. They're very sturdy chairs, they just needed a face lift. This was a pretty easy project. I went to my neighborhood Home Depot and picked out a spray paint that noted that it could be used on metal (in the past, I've spray painted metal items with NONmetal spray paint and done OK, but there's always the chance that you're going to get runny paint that won't stick, so beware).

Seen here: Rust-Olean Deep Blue Ultra Cover

I brought home my paint and prepped the chairs and table by wiping all debris off with a damp cloth(scrubbing if necessary) then letting them dry. Once they dried, I simply took them into the yard (see that pink and purple grass under those ugly chairs? That's a previous spray paint project. You may protect your grass with a drop cloth or newspaper, but I personally just mow it out later!) and gave them a through coat. There were a million crevices so be sure in YOUR project to look at: table leg/arm bends, top and bottom of bars, and other areas you wouldn't normally notice... unless they're the wrong dang color, THEN you can see it. 

See The color difference? Wonderful!

This project took almost two cans of spray paint. Not bad for fancy new chairs. To add to the effect, I bought them luxorious new cushions from Gordman's marked down for the end of the season. The cushions were a splurge at $16 each, but those chairs were so darn cute they deserved it!

So, what do you think? I hope you absolutely love it as much as I do! Be sure to leave a comment and tell me what you think, and I'll answer any of the questions you have about this project!

Update A Dated Piece of Art

I've lived in my current home for about a year now, and recently visited a local thrift shop for the first time. I'm not sure how I went so long without going to any of the nearby thrift shops, because I've always been drawn to them everywhere I go. Regardless, I'm glad I went! On my first trip out, I found two nice sheets for $2 each, a set of white canvas curtains for $1.50 that I'm going to scrap for other projects, a totally AWESOME chair that will get it's own spotlight on here when I get around to reupholstering it, and these two charming art pieces for a buck a piece:

Cute, right? My two favorite animals, I do believe! That very serious owl is super glossy and very well maintained. I'm not sure what, if anything, I would change about it (maybe add a pop of  bright color around the outer edge?). For now, though, I like it just as it came. The same could not be said for the panda shadow box. While it is hard to see in the photo, the panda is printed onto the front glass with a "shadow box" style frame behind it. I'm considering finding some neat mementos to put inside the frame, but for now some paint and paper will suffice! Here's how it happened:

Step 1: Gather Supplies 

Step 2: Remove The Card stock backing. I kept this piece (even though it was warped) and used it as a sturdy backer for my new background paper.

 

Step 3: Paint the Frame color of choice

Step 4: Secure the new background paper with tape and add embellishments if desired (I made some little paper bamboo strips! I taped those too!)

Step 5: (This part takes a little patience to get it done right) Simply pop the newly decorated background  into the back of the frame. Stand back and enjoy!

A frame like this is PERFECT to get your hands on. You can change the background to match your decor, add little trinkets to keep them on display, and it doesn't take long to change the frame color with a little craft paint. I hope this inspires you to take on your own little craft projects. Thanks for stopping by!