I know, I know…but it’s the best name I could come up with.  Every time I find a new polka dot baking cup for the shop it’s a challenge to come up with a new name.  We have so many polka dot cups.  And that’s OK with me, even though it probably drives the order-packers crazy.  Spotty, sweet spot, dotty, polka, hot dot, dashing… um, yeah.  Kinda confusing.

I do really think these new cups are pretty dashing.  Kinda sassy, even.   I’m looking forward to baking with them and I’m even feeling a little sassy myself today, so….. I’m going to giveaway a Dashing Dots Baking Cup Assortment to one lucky reader!

Just leave a comment in this post and let me know what YOU would have named these cups, smarty-pants.  (And you don’t have to go for the alliteration-angle that I so often overuse.)  Be creative, be silly, be serious.  I will close the comments on Monday night and let my darling sister pick here favorite name.  The winner will receive one Dashing Dot Baking Cups assortment plus one of our new Grab Bags, not to mention mad street cred for out-naming me.  *Us and International welcome, one comment per person, and ONLY ONE name suggestion per commenter.  You’ve got one chance here, so you better make it good. Comments with more than one name suggestion will not be included in the contest. Be sure to include a valid email addy so I can contact you.  Good luck!

Something about these baking cups remind me of the eighties (hence the name.)  They have a bit of an edgy, even grungy appeal that I love.  I’m really into the black+white ones, and I know you all will be too.  You can check out all seven colors right here.  (And mini-size too!  Just click here.)

Long time no see!  Sorry for the blog break, but I was beat down with a brutal flu and I’m just now coming back to life.  Don’t worry, I earned it though - hadn’t been sick in ages.  More soon. I promise!
xo -Amanda

Did we really need Coraline to convince us that black buttons are creepy?  Maybe, but at least these little candy buttons are edible, so you can always pop them in your mouth if they start to scare you!  I’ve already written up direction on making these fantastic candy buttons, (you can find that post here) but I just had a major “duh” moment last week when I discovered an even simpler way to make them, perfect if you just need a few for embellishing cookies and cupcakes.  Candy Writer Tubes! 

They are perfect.  One tube fills exactly one, entire button mold perfectly.  How neat is that?  All you have to do is set the tube in a cup/bowl of hot water, taking it out every few minutes to squeeze the sides until the candy is all smooth and melted.  Then, you simply snip off the tip and squeeze the melted candy right into the mold cavities, making sure to tap the mold when you’re done to flatten the chocolate and get rid of air bubbles.  Then place mold in the freezer to set up for about 5 minutes, and they’re done!   You may need to “roll” the tube towards the end, like you would a toothpaste tube, to get out the last bit.  If the candy starts to hardened in the tube before your done, just place the tube back in the hot water and it will remelt, but be sure that no water gets inside the tube.  One full mold makes about 65 buttons in various sizes and shapes; all small, and all very realistic!  (So life-like in fact, I’d keep these candies away from very small children that might be easily confused.) 

The candy writers are perfect becuase the tube has such a fine point.  However, if you are making a lot of buttons, specifically for party favors and to be eaten on their own, I’d reccomend using the bags of candy melting wafers.  They have a better flavor, and it’s just more economical.  The candy writers a great if you are using the buttons as an embellishment, like for cookies and cupcakes, and especially if you just want to make a few because they are so darn fun to make!  Now that I know the Candy Writers work so well,  I’ll finally be able to put some DIY kits together for these buttons and I’m really excited about that!  In the meantime, you can find the button mold here, and the candy writers here.  There are 12 different colors (including the black I used here,) and they all make lovely buttons.  I haven’t done anything special with my black buttons yet….what do you think?  They would make awfully spooky eyes for owl sugar cookies, or gingerbread boys and girls?  Eeep!  I’d love to know:  What would you decorate with these sinister black button candies?

The Bake It Pretty Halloween Shop is now open, and there is a veritable quagmire of sinister supplies available for your baking (dis)pleasure.  We love these Goth-like designer baking cups in black lace, and bloody floral prints.  Or try some quirky and creepy cupcake toppers, sprinkles, packaging, party bags and more. 

Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year! 
We’d love to know:  What’s your favorite sweet treat to make/bake for this ghoulish holiday?

I feel like an infomercial-manic these days, but we really do have so many great new goodies in the shop lately! These baking cups are all new designs: Vintage Damask (in matte and metallic,) Dotty Baking Cups with hard-to-find polka dots on a white background, and Bold Hounds Tooth.  I really can’t decide which one I like best! The sad news? Stock is pretty limited right now, and I worry that they will sell out in the wink of an eye. I plan to get my hands on more as soon as I possible, though.  And I hope these new designs will become Bake It Pretty regulars in the future!

PS – We also have the Dotty and Hounds Tooth in Mini-size…due to arrive tomorrow. (***MINI Cups are now listed, click here for info!)  Also, a new line of polka dot cups in eight colors (with white dots) that should be here soon, as well. I know several of you were anxious for black & white polka dots, and I’m glad to say they are almost here!

Did you know that chocolate molds aren’t just for chocolate?  They are great for soap making, too.  That is one of the few crafts I’ve never tried my hand at, but I sure do love buying handmade soaps, and the cuter they are, the better!  I was so excited to run across Angela’s shop on etsy, Lave-Me! Soap Co.  She uses several of our molds to make very unique items, including her popular camera soap (shown above.)  Details from the website: The soap is black, colored with a natural oxide powder, but the super suds you get from this soap are white! The glycerin base is all veg and detergent free and really great for your skin. Kiss winter dullness GOODBYE!

I’m a just smitten with these little cameras, and there’s a whole slew of wonderful scents to chose from, too!  To top it all off, she’s got a big sale going on in her shop right now, so please hop over and take a look.  Want a chance to win your own Little Black Camera soap?  Leave a comment in this post and I will pick a random number on Tuesday evening, the winning commenter will receive one camera soap in the scent of their choice!  Yay!  *Please don’t forget to leave an email address in the comment so I can contact you for shipping details.  Good luck everyone!

*Comments Now Closed*

And the Winner is…..

Congratulations Cindy!  And thanks so much to everyone who played along.