Happy Wedding Day!

 When I first began baking/decorating...I started out with cakes.

I took the Wilton Basics cake decorating class.

I had always wanted to learn cake decorating.

 As time went by, I got more into custom cookie decorating and cakes fell by the wayside.

I still had a yearning to learn more with cake decorating, but I never really had any requests.

So I didn't really have the opportunity to grow and learn.

 I also had some fears of cakes.

Then...

I got this request.

A wedding cake.

(aaaaggh!)

Major fear set in.  Could I do this?

Was I capable? 

I decided to go for it.

 After all, it was a fairly simple design and a fairly small cake.

I got this.  I can do this.

I read.  I studied. I watched videos. I asked questions.

I was ready.

 I set to work making the fondant flowers.  Amazingly enough, they were very easy!

It was like being a kid all over again and playing with playdough!

I honestly had a lot of fun with them.  I made homemade marshmallow fondant, tinted it lavender, and once finished...added a little luster dust for a pretty shimmer.

 The cake was a gluten-free vanilla with classic buttercream.

Fondant roses.

 The finished product in my frig.

I think it turned out pretty good for my first wedding cake!

After all, it was not only my first wedding cake...but my first gluten-free cake, my first stacked two-tier cake, and my first with fondant roses!

I'd say it was a success!

Not only did I do the small cake for the bride and groom...

I also did 400...yes FOUR HUNDRED...cake pops for dessert for the guests.

I did 200 chocolate and 200 vanilla.

It was a really nerve-wracking, but overall a great experience and one that I was truly happy with.

Congratulations to the bride and groom!

Wishing you a lifetime of health and happiness!

Congrats Graduates! Class of 2015!

 I've only been taking limited orders lately since I started going back to school.

So when I do have an order or decide to do a gift for someone, baking/decorating is super fun again because I don't do it as often as I had been!

 I did this bouquet as a gift.

It was a lot of fun.  I'm not a huge fan of "character" cookies, but "mascot" cookies can be a lot of fun.  These Zeeland West Dux were an enjoyable set to do!

 I must say, getting the right shade of gold was tricky (and I still don't think it was perfect)...but all in all I think they turned out pretty cute!

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo!

 This post is coming out a little bit late...but I had to get it in because I LOVED the way these cookies turned out!

So, my 8th grade son is in Honors Spanish at school and they were celebrating Cinco de Mayo with a fiesta of sorts.  He comes home and says, "I told my teacher that my mom makes awesome decorated cookies and has her own home bakery...so can you make 30 cookies for my class?"  Well, how do you turn down something like that when your kid builds you up like that!

 I really don't have any Cinco de Mayo themed cookie cutters so I had to make do with what I had.  I knew I wanted to do some kind of little plaque with the words "Cinco de Mayo" on them, so I used my little scalloped oval.  I love the font and colors on these...I think they turned out pretty festive.

 Who can resist tacos when we're thinking "Mexican food"?

Not having a taco cutter, I just used my oval cutter and cut it in half with a knife.

Decorating these was a pure treat...so much fun!

 And for a little added fun, I did some maracas in fun colors.

I didn't have a cutter for these either so I just pieced together circles and a rectangle.

 I think the end result was good.

Hope you all had a very happy Cinco de Mayo!

Springtime!

 I tend to be one of those people who gets stuck in a rut.

And it happened with my cookie decorating.

There are SO many techniques out there, and I haven't tried so many of them.

Like I said, I get stuck in a rut...and more than anything...

It's a little bit of fear...a little bit of laziness...a little bit not wanting to "rock the boat".

Call it what you will...I decided it was time to GET OUT of the rut and start learning new things and trying out some of these techniques that are new to me.

I've had an airbrush for quite some time, but it has always intimidated me a little to be honest.

Well, I got a whole bunch of new stencils at my cookie gathering in Livonia last week, so I decided I needed to give them a whirl.

I dug out my airbrush and got to work.

Once I started playing, it was actually pretty fun.

Granted, I still need some practice to perfect the skill...but hey...

I DID IT.

Now I'm afraid I'm going to become addicted to stenciling and I'm going to want ALL of the cool designs out there.

There are so many amazing stencils that are sold by some of the cookiers.

This is just a sample of a few I got in my swag bag last week.

Hopefully, I'll stay OUT of this rut and keep learning new things.

Happy Spring!

Practice makes perfect...

 I haven't had many ordered lately...which has been a blessing in disguise.

As busy as I've been with school (read killer science class), I probably would have been even more stressed out with more deadlines.  I did indeed finish my term, and was able to go to that amazing cookie gathering over the weekend.  Last night, I had some free time and decided to "play cookies".  I got out my airbrush and some of the new stencils I acquired and did a little practicing.  I am waiting on my new stencil genie to arrive, as I think things will improve vastly once I get that.

After I messed around with the stencils, I did some free-hand airbrushing.  These flowers are nothing special, but I just wanted to "get the feel" of the airbrush more.  It is definitely something that takes some practice.

I have a whole bunch more cookies I made to take to the gathering that I didn't end up using.  I will be doing some more playing/practicing in the next few days...and friends/family reap the rewards of my practice (read lots of cookie snacks)!

Mitten Bakers Cookie Gathering 2015

 This past Saturday was one of the most fun days I've had in a long time.

I went to a "cookie gathering" in Livonia, MI.

It was a day full of friendship, fun, food, learning new techniques, raffles, contests, prizes, and an awesome swag bag!

I belong to a baking group online made up of bakers from all over Michigan and a few from Ohio, Indiana, and Canada.  It was so awesome getting to meet these friends that I've only known online for some time, face-to-face for the first time! 

 This gathering was a first for our group and it came together so quickly and amazingly thanks to our awesome hosts and planners Jen of The Cake Girl and Amanda of Amanda Makes Cakes.  You'd have thought these girls were best friends and event planners.  Little did we know, they had only met in person ONCE and had never done anything like this before!

 Our first demo/class was with Kim of Altered Cookie.  She taught everyone some basic airbrush techniques.

 It was fun seeing how unique everyone's simple flower turned out!

 My flower that I airbrushed.

EVERYONE'S finished product!

My flower didn't quite make the trip home in one piece!

 

 Most of our day consisted of cookie techniques, but we were lucky enough to have Amanda of Amanda Makes Cakes do a cake pop demo/class for us!  She makes wonderful creations.  Be sure to check out her page!

 My friend and carpool buddy Madri showing off her cake pop skills!

 Waiting for my cake pop to dry!

Everyone playing  working hard!

 Next we got a demo/class with Heather of SugarNosh Treats  on stenciling. 

 We all got to practice using some of our new stencils in our swag bags!

 Working on stenciling.

My "Super Mom" stencil!

 Up next was Lisa of Gigi's Fresh Baked.  

She did a demo/class on painting on cookies.

 This is a technique I've always wanted to learn but have never tried.

My first attempt at painting on cookies.

Next up was royal icing transfers with Melissa of Mel B's Sweets.

 Everyone working/playing.

 We had a catered lunch!

Pasta, salad, breadsticks!

 The theme of the day was Super Heroes.

We had a Super Hero Cookie Contest in which everyone could vote for their favorite entry.

My entry in the contest.

My sweet friend Cathy made this cookie of ME!  LOL! (inside joke)

"Airbrush cleaner"...another inside joke.

My sweet friend Ronee of That's A Nice Cookie custom cookie cutters.

All of our loot from our swag bag!

Special thanks to our sponsors for all of the amazing goodies:

Baker's Nook

BRP Box Shop

The Cookie Countess

Creative Cookier

Crumbles

Karen's Cookies

Simply Sweet Stencils

Sweet Southern Stencils

That's A Nice Cookie

Artfully Designed Creations

We had such an amazing day.  We left with new knowledge, new goodies/products, and most importantly new friends.  Because as I always say, "Cookie friends are the best friends!"