Looking for a fun project?  Try one of these great how-to’s made by some very talented bloggers, using supplies from Bake It Pretty.  I just love these ideas!  So charming and creative.   A big thanks to these talented gals for sharing their tutorials with us.

Sweet apple candies by Poppy Paperie

Mini quick bread loaves by Poppy Paperie

Chocolate cameo boxes by Little Pink Studio

Cute as a button cupcakes by Oh Brooke

Here’s how it went down:

Start by baking up a nice batch of sugar cookies.  I always use this cookie recipe and this technique for rolling the dough.  We chose a random assortment of cookie cutters; circles, foxes, hedgehogs, mushrooms, snails, and pears.  Why not?

After the cookies have cooled down you can draw an outline in white royal icing, then “flood” the middle to make them nice and white.  I tried out the royal icing mix from the shop and it worked quite well.  Add about 5-6 tablespoons of water to one bag of mix (and a dash of vanilla or almond extract if you want)  to get a nice, thick consistency for drawing the outline.  You can use a pastry bag and small round tip, or a zip-lock with tip cut off.   Then, mix water into the remaining royal icing until you get a softer, somewhat runny consistency, and use that to fill in the middle of your cookie.  I’m by no means an expert on this technique, but there are plenty of great tutorials on the web – this one from Cake Journal is a great place to start.

Now you must wait for the cookies to dry overnight so you have a  smooth and durable surface to paint on.  Don’t worry about leaving them out, they shouldn’t get dry, (mine were fine.)

Now for the fun part!  Use gel food coloring and water to paint your cookies.  It’s very similar to using watercolor paints, and a little of the gel color will go a long way.  We used small plates as “pallets” and I bought a fresh pack of assorted paintbrushes for this project. 

Max used the food coloring pens instead of the paint, and they worked beautifully.   The pens are also great for doing small details. 

You can even get fancy and mix a little dab of  luster dust into the gel color for a super-shimmery effect.  The photos really can’t capture how iridescent the luster dust is, it’s just amazing.

Let your cookies dry completely (shouldn’t take more than a few hours,) and you are ready to enjoy your edible works of art.  Although, after all of that effort, it might hard to actually bite into them.  But you’ll get over it!

Other Notes:

• A bag of this royal icing mix was more than enough for one batch of cookies.
• You don’t need a huge assortment of gel colors, put those kindergarten skills to work and mix your own custom colors!
• I would reccomend buying new brushes.  Old ones might have paint residue and you don’t want that in your cookies.
• This project is fun, but a lot of work.  Plan ahead and start the cookies in advance.  Bake them one day, flood the next day, and paint them later. 
• Using a lot of dark gel color on the cookies will temporarily stain your teeth/lips when you bit into them!  Keep that in mind if you are going to serve these at a fancy party.  Your guests could be irritated.
• Fancy isn’t always better.  Simple dots, stripes, etc. will look gorgeous.  You don’t have to be an artist to have fun painting cookies. 
• How fantastic are those little fox cookies my sister painted?!  Made me think of a certain movie that just came out on video.  Love it.
• Did I mention how fun this was?  It was awesome.  You should try it.

The first project is oh-so-simple, but they will make a lovely addition to your next tea party!  A sweet little garden of flowering sugar cubes.  Pretty and petite, perfect for stirring into your best English Breakfast or Earl Grey.

* Brown or white sugar cubes
* Small, edible royal icing flowers (click here for our selection)
* Edible “glue” ~ royal icing, melting wafers, and clear scripting gel work nicely

A very simply project, indeed.  Simply apply a dot of your “glue” to a sugar cube and gently press the sugar flower on top.  Royal icing should dry in a few hours.  Melting wafers will harden within 30 minutes.  The clear gel needs to sit overnight, (and may not dry completely solid in heavy humidity, you’ll have to experiment with that.)  I used the clear gel because it is hands-down the quickest!  Ready to use right out of the tube.  If you are going to package the sugar cubes for gift-giving, royal icing would be your best option – and wouldn’t a little bag of these make a perfectly charming gift?

One lump or two?  Of course I had to try them out myself, and they certainly sweeten your tea in a most delightful way.  Sometimes, and you never know quite when it will happen, the sugar dissolves just right and the little flower will float to the surface, drifting gently and quietly in your teacup.

I doubt you could find anything more magical.  Except, maybe in Wonderland.

I love how they layered the differnt sized baking cups to make these sweet prize ribbons.  It looks like a swell project for kids and grown-ups alike!  You can get all the details and instructions for this project in the February issue of Parent’s Magazine – photos on page 84, and instructions on page 132.  Our regular and mini polka dot liners where used in the photo above, but you could use any of the many different baking cups in our shop to make festive ribbons like these!

Happy crafting, everyone!  And many thanks so Parent’s Mag for listing us as their source for this adorable project.

These twinkling, cupcake ornaments are an easy and impressive holiday craft that you can whip up at home!  I was inspired by a vintage ice cream cone ornament I spotted at the thrift store, and I love the retro look of these shiny, foil cupcakes.  The flaky, sparkly cupcake topping is reminiscent of shredded coconut, and a shiny cherry on top is the perfect finishing touch.  You can add a string for easy hanging, or simply display them around the kitchen for a kitschy holiday treat.  Pick your size:  regular, or miniature – both are fantastic for decorating and gift giving!  Just don’t try to eat them, (they really do look delicious though, don’t they?)

You will need:

Styrofoam Balls
- 2.5″ size for regular cupcakes
- 1.5″ size for mini cupcakes
Heavy-Duty foil cupcake liners
- Standard 2″ size
- Miniature Size
Artificial Snowflakes
Artificial floral berry sprigs (in assorted sizes)
Bakers Twine or Ribbon (optional)
Wooden skewers
White Craft Glue
Foam or paint brush
Hot Glue
Scissors
(more notes on supply sources at the end of the post!)

Let’s get started!

Stick one Styrofoam ball onto a wooden skewer for easy handling.  Use a foam brush to paint the upper 2/3 of the ball with a medium coat of white craft glue.

Roll the ball into the faux snow flakes, gently pressing and sprinkling the flakes to cover the ball nicely.  It should look like a frosty, snowball.  (This is a great step to involve the kids with!)

Place the stick and ball into a mug or a piece of foam, if you have one, and allow to dry completely.  I know, I hate waiting for things to dry!  But if you try to glue them into the foil liners now, the sides just won’t stick.  Trust me.  I tried.

When your cupcakes tops are dry, remove the wooden skewers and you are ready to glue them into their foil baking liners.  Hot glue works best, but please be careful not to burn your fingers!  Run a circle of glue around the top inside of the liner and place your cupcake ball inside, frosty side up.  Cup your hands and press gently around the edges to glue the liner on snugly.  Do not push the ball down too far or the bottom will curve and your cupcake will not sit flat, (this isn’t really a big deal if you’re planning on hanging them.)  Due to the hot-glue factor, this step is best left to big-kids and adults.

Choose the perfect “cherry” for your cupcake.  Cut one floral berry from the bunch, leaving about 1″ or less of wire stem.  Add a small dot of hot glue to the top center of your cupcake.  If you are planning to hang your ornament, set a small loop of ribbon or twine into the glue first, then press your cherry firmly on top.  You can push the wire right into the Styrofoam ball, or flip it around to make a cherry “stem.”  Both styles are very cute!

There you have it!  I think you’ll find that making these kitschy cupcakes is very addictive!  So many color combinations, and so much sparkly sweetness.  The mini size cupcakes would look lovely tied to holiday gifts, and both sizes are great for decorating Christmas trees.

I hope you all have fun getting crafty this Holiday season!  If you make ornaments using this tutorial, please send us photos of your work, or add them to the Bake It Pretty group on Flickr.  And I absolutely plan to make Kits for these cupcake ornaments for the shop, but they probably will not be available until January.  However, I’m pretty sure that sparkly cupcakes are not just for Christmas, so I’m thinking that  Valentine Cupcake Ornament kits would be a welcome addition for this February!

Happy Holiday Baking & Making!
~Amanda

Notes on supplies:

Styrofoam balls:  You can find these in most craft stores, and Walmarts.  I bought mine at Michael’s.

Striped baker’s twine can be found in many shops on the web, we also carry it at Bake It Pretty.

Foil Cupcake Liners:  We carry these in the shop, so that’s what I used for my cupcakes.  You can also sometimes get them from your local cake and candy hobby shop.

Artificial snowflakes:  I used the Buffalo Snow brand found at Michael’s and Walmart for $2 to $4 a bag.  There are two styles, plain and iridescent, and both are great.  I even blended the two together for a medium sparkle mix.  One bag will frost many, many cupcakes!

Floral Berry Stems:  These are relatively easy to find and usually inexpensive.  I bought mine at Michael’s, Walmart, Hobby Lobby, and Garden Ridge.  For the large cupcakes I used a cherry size just over 1/2″ diameter.  For the mini cupcakes I used a size just over 1/4″ diameter.   This is a great time of year to buy these, since most of the ones I found were 1/2 off and very inexpensive!

Jessica of Zakka Life shares her tips for making recycle crayons with candy molds! Read all the details over on her blog. 

*Please note:  chocolate molds can not stand up to high heat, and will sometimes warp when used for making crayons.  It depends on the brand of mold, how hot the wax is, etc.  Luckily, the molds themselves aren’t very expensive, so sometimes it’s worth the risk!