Valentines Puppy Plaque

There's only one day left until the 14th Feb! Have you got anything special planned? Or are you just going to pretend it's not happening? 😉

Now, I know I say this every year ... Valentines isn't something we celebrate. 

B-u-u-ut celebrate does not equal decorate! 

So, there have been Valentines-themed edibles exiting my kitchen for the past couple of weeks already.     

Last year we did "Puppy Love" for the Valentines cookie class. That was one of my favourite V-Day themes to date. (It has now been eclipsed by this year's "Stuck on You" theme).

I so enjoyed that theme and those colours, that when I saw a clay plaque similar to this, I knew I had to re-create if in fondant.
(Or rather fondant and modelling chocolate - my standard blend).
It's so very quick and easy to do, that if you're only deciding now to make a cake for your special people for tomorrow, a decoration like this will take hardly any time to put together.

I used a little rubber stamp set to print on the "i / you".
If you don't have letter stamps, you could paint it on, or write it on using an edible marker.

Place onto the top or side* of a cake, or make a smaller version to use as a cupcake topper.

(*For heavy details going onto the side of a cake that's been covered in fondant, I use melted chocolate to secure it in place.)

Happy Valentines Day and happy decorating!

xxM

"Stuck on You" Valentines Cactus Cookies

The very first class I offered was Valentines Cookies.
Those days I had mounds of enthusiasm and not much skill, or experience.
We used three colours (red, white and pink), and decorated heart-shaped cookies. Heart-shaped cookies only.
Visionary stuff! 🙈

We've progressed a little since then.
And become a little more imaginative with the theme!

This year it's "Stuck on You"  - cacti being so on-trend. And oh-so-huggable!

I love all the various wet-on-wet techniques one can play with in this theme:

Like this one, with just a bit of feathering on wet-on-wet stripes

and this one, even simpler - just stripes.

That's the easy part.
The tricky bit, and always my biggest challenge, is writing script on a cookie. And it's a must for this particular theme.

If you don't have a projector to make your life easier, then print out the fonts that you'll be using and use a transfer method to get the script onto a dried flooded background.
Here's one way: http://www.sugaredproductions.com/blog/transferring-an-image-without-a-projector/
and here:
http://www.sweetambs.com/tutorial/piping-without-a-kopykake-projector/

 Or throw caution to the wind and copy them free-hand  (which is still a step up from just winging it!). I write the script on lightly with a graphite pencil first, then go over that with icing.

 If you're looking for a great selection of fonts, try www.dafont.com,  or download an app like Font Gallery on your tablet or phone.

There you go... Looking sharp!

😉
xxM