Cupcake Liner Dolls!

Cupcake Liner Dolls!

Here is a perfect sugar craft recycled project for a rainy or snowy day at home!

All you need is cupcake liners, a photo copy of one of my fashion plate images, millinery, trims, glitter, crepe paper and glue.

Turn into ornaments, dolls, garland and more!

Materials:
-Various cupcake liners in colors of choice
-Chip board or sturdy card stock
-Photo copy of Marie Fashion Plate image (found in my flickr site)
-Crepe paper or crepe paper streamers
-Bamboo stick (wood cooking skewers)
-Trims, ribbon
-Various millinery
-Glitter
-Zip dry and glitter it, Beacon Adhesives
-Hot glue gun, hot gun
-Scissors

Directions:
1. Pierce holes into the center of the cupcake liner using bamboo stick, thread the bamboo stick with the liners, layering each one on top of each other, leaving a little space, hot glue in place.
2. After you are satisfied with the skirt height , cut the access bamboo stick, leaving 2 inches sticking out of the top liner.
3. Download fashion plate image, shrink to desired size, print, cut out and glue ontop of chipboard using zip dry, cut out and place on the top of the cupcake liner, hot glue to the 2 inch left over bamboo stick using hot glue, let set.
4. Pleat crepe paper, fold in half and hot glue around the image base.
5. Add millinery, trims and ribbons to your doll.
6. Finally rub on some glitter it glue on parts of your doll, sprinkle with glitter, shake off excess and you are done.

Tips and Tricks:
-If you don't have wood bamboo skewers, layer the cupcake liners on top of each other, gluing sides together or use tooth picks, or strip of sturdy card stock or chip board.
-Use vintage greeting card images in place of the Marie Antoinette image.
-Use your childs or family members photos instead.
-Spray paint the liners for holidays. For Halloween use black liners, a vintage image, chipboard wings and black glitter.
-Make a Christmas tree using green, red or pink liners cut to fit, add mini bulbs or glitter dots.
-Make extra large ones using various sizes of liners or coffee filters.
-Transform these into ornaments, cake toppers or garland.


Hope you are inspired to recycled your party wares!
Magic and Joy,
Lisa!

Red Velvet Cupcakes for Art Opera Pre-Party!

I hosted a Favor & Fun Pre-Party for Art Opera, some of the ladies came over to help make the badges, candy cones & medallions. For the event I decided to make Seaside Red Velvet Cupcakes with creamy vanilla butter cream frosting.

Baking has always been a passion of mine, I'm always on the search for that rare or unique recipe to try, if I can't find what I'm looking for, I'll try and make it from scratch until I get it right.

Red Velvet Cake is a wonderful old fashioned cake that has made a trendy comeback and become a favorite cake taking the baking world by storm over the last 3 years. Everywhere you look the option is: Vanilla Cake, Chocolate Cake or Red Velvet Cake, especially when it comes to cupcakes. These popular favorites are joined w/creamy frosting and sweet decor.

I have had Red Velvet Cake that is so moist, light and delicious, while others have been dry, bitter and average, that includes frosting. To me frosting really tops off the cake with added flavor and just the right blend of sweetness.

There has always been the debate on who makes the best cupcakes, the cupcake wars is what I call it. But what it really comes down to is your own taste buds and what you deem as good, as sweet and delicious, what perks up your taste buds and brings a fabulous ecstasy to them. To me I love my frosting creamy and not too sweet, or bitter, a happy medium of both, while my cake, moist and semi firm.

In the hunt I have found some incredible Red Velvet Cupcakes, some that use buttermilk, some that use vinegar, some with cocoa and with all of the above.
Here is my recipe which combines it all.

Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup (2 sticks butter), softened, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring or red coloring from Wilton
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon vinegar (white distilled)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
-Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.
-In a large mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy using an electric mixer.
-Next add in the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix well each time
-In a small bowl, mix the cocoa and food coloring together with a spoon, then add to the creamed sugar mixture, stir in with spoon.
-Now add half the sifted flour mixture and half the buttermilk to the creamed mixture, then add in the rest of the flour mixture and buttermilk, once mixed, add in vanilla and vinegar.
-Pour batter into cupcake liners nestled inside a cupcake pan, bake for 20 to 25 minutes.


Frosting:
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted marshmallow or marshmallow fluff
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
-Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 3 cups of the sugar, the milk and vanilla, beat until smooth and creamy using an electric mixer, (about 5 minutes).

-Add the remaining 3 cups of sugar, 1 cup at a time, make sure to beat well after each addition.

-Melt marshmallows until smooth, remove from heat, add to creamed mixture, blend until the icing is thick enough to spread onto cake.

-Finally stir in some drops of food coloring or a tiny dot of Wilton cake coloring and mix thoroughly, pipe onto your cupcakes using a Wilton cake decorator gun and the 4B Star Point Tip!

Tips:
-Keep in mind oven temperatures vary, so always watch your cake batter through the window of the oven. Opening your oven door too many times to check can cause baking issues from the air flow coming in an out, so make sure you set a timer.

-When filling cupcake liners with batter, if you fill to the top you will have big top muffin style cupcakes, if you fill 1/4 inch below the liner top, you will have normal sized cupcakes with a nice arch.

-Cake flour is a better flour to use.

Tinsel Wonderland, Part One the Set up!

Welcome to the beginning of Tinsel Wonderland, an art workshop I hosted at the fabulous: Mill Antiques http://www.millantiques.com/ in Historic Lafayette, NJ. A day of magical fun and treasure hunting to be had by all who attended. Set up began weeks in advance by gathering trees, art supplies/goodies, serving platters, trays, party favors/goodie bags, glitter and more. I began cooking 2 days in advance and made my famous cupcakes the night before, they are always a hit, real moist, vanilla and creamy not too sweet and not bitter, buttercream frosting, I'll post the recipe soon.Sharon and Joe at the Mill let me come in Friday to set up, when I arrived they already had the tables and chairs set, that was where the fun began. The workshop was set up in the most magical Christmas room, filled w/pink trees, green trees, classics, vintage holiday treasures all around. My trees would fit perfectly in here.
Not to mention in between setting up I was treasure hunting looking at goodies I wanted to buy, and boy did I, and so did the girls who attended, lol.

After setting up, Mom and I grabbed a late lunch at the Millside Cafe, and headed home.

I then headed over to the market for fresh English Cucumber and dill for the tea sandwiches, breads, cheeses and italian specialties, the ran to get goodie bags for the goodies, and was stuck in traffic for the our towns Christmas tree lighting and festivities, rushing home to meet my weekend guest, the amazing Gina Smith, my dear friend, we have been friends for years, but finaly after all the emails, phone conversations, swaps, we finally met, lol. It was like we met hundered times before.

Let's just say Gina spoiled us beyond words, she arrived w/dessert wine, gourmet cupcakes from yo-cakes, and loads of gifts, I mean it was like Christmas when she arrived. She helped me with the food platters and food set up for the next day: Tinsel Wonderland! My Goodies From Gina!Stay tuned for the next two parts in this incredible adventure, not to mention a visit to the attendees blogs and sites.


Magic, Hugs and Tinsel, Joy
Lisa!


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