Saturday, November 26, 2011

Homemade Crayons


I have been wondering what else we could use the molds to make.  How about some crayons!


First get all of your supplies collected.

  1. Crayons - I ran out on Black Friday and got a great deal on the 96 Crayola pack.  You don't need to buy new crayons - this is a great opportunity to recycle the broken nubbins in the bottom of your craft box. 
  2. Molds of your choice
  3. Knife 



Peel all of the paper off the crayons.  Then chop them into smaller pieces.  You can play with different size pieces to get different patterns in the finished crayon.  Pile up the crayons in the mold.  For the seahorse it took 3 whole crayons.  The koi fish took about 6 crayons.


Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.  Place the molds in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the crayons melt.  After partially melted I added a few extra bits to make sure the mold was full when done.


When I removed the molds from the oven I used the back edge of the knife to slide the melted crayon from the edged into the cavity and clean it up a bit.


Let the crayons rest a bit until cool.  If you are a tad impatient you can pop them in the fridge to help them cool.


Once cool, gently pull the sides of the mold away from your new crayon to remove from the mold.


And there you have it!  Some great new crayons for the kids.

 

A couple close ups of the colorful creations.


 Used the metallic crayons for the seahorse.  Can you see the sparkles?


Close up of the seahorse face.  Very cute and I love the colors!








Added a sand dollar at the last minute.  




Remember if you use the molds for non food items they are not considered food grade after.  Keep these molds separate from the ones you are going to use for food.  I place a black "X on the back so I remember.

Products Used:
Seahorse Mold
Koi Mold
Sand Dollar Mold





Saturday, November 19, 2011

Tiara and Tassels

The next project is a wonderfully detailed tutorial by Robin Pennington showing the tiara and tassel mold -- Thank you SO MUCH Robin for this project!


Supplies needed for the Tiara are: Fondant, Gum paste, or a mix of the two, cutting tools, rolling pin, mat or board for cutting, Isomalt or hard candies, and DTC Tiara mold.


To make jewels I started out by breaking a couple of Isomalt sticks in a silicone cup. Melt sticks in microwave in 15 sec intervals until melted. Stir gently with tooth pick to remove air bubbles.


Pour Isomalt into mold where jewels are located. I used both sides of mold to get all jewels. Set aside to harden. I did this step a day before I started fondant part of Tiara so Jewels could harden. I then removed them and set them aside.


For Tiara roll fondant out flat with rolling pin to desired size. Place on mold and add top part of mold. Press down top with moderate pressure.


Trim excess fondant around edges of mold. You can trim more off after you remove from mold to get a cleaner look.


You can also cut out parts of Tiara to give it that realistic look. This is optional and you can choose what parts you want to remove.


This gives you an idea of how it will look with parts removed.


To achieve the shape of a real tiara place standing up around a glass, bowl or in my case a fondant bucket. Let dry for several days until hard. When using straight fondant you should give it at least a week to set up. If you add tylose powder your tiara will be dry in a few hours. Gum paste and a 50/50 mix will also set up faster.


To get this look I painted the Tiara with petal dust mixed with alcohol and added the jewels by wetting the location of where the jewel will be placed and sticking Isomalt jewel to tiara.


If your wanting to achieve a tassel look to your pillow cakes the DTC tassel mold is quick and easy to give your cake a realistic look.


Supplies you will need include fondant, cutting tool, rolling pin, petal dust, and DTC tassel mold.


Place log shape fondant into mold.


Roll or press flat into mold.


Gently pull tassel from mold.


Trim off access fondant. leave plain or color with petal dust of food color. Add to cake with small dowels or tooth picks and a dab of frosting.

DTC Products Used:

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Let it snow!


The supplies:

- Silicone snowflake mold
- Isomalt stick from Cake Play
- Hot pot for melting isomalt
- Silicone cupcake liner - I use it to melt the isomalt
- Some fun cake sprinkles
- Snowflake quins
- Blow torch - not in pic


First I broke up the isomalt stick and placed it in the silicone cup. Microwave in 15-20 second increments until all melted.


Sprinkle some of the red sugar and snowflake quins into the mold.  Carefully pinch the silicone cup - be gentle and cautious so that you do not spill the hot isomalt on your fingers.  Pour a steady stream into the mold.

Set mold aside for a bit to cool and firm up.


Once set and barely warm to the touch begin to gently pull the silicone away from the isomalt.


On this particular mold I was worried about the centers pulling through the isomalt so I gave it some help.



When removed from the mold there were tiny surface imperfections.  To fix this I got out my trusty blow torch and very quickly ran it over the surface.



 Let the snowflake sit and cool for a bit before touching.

One way to display the snowflake - loop a string through and let it hang.  Doesn't it sparkle?


You can use the melting pot - with a broken isomalt stick melted to dip the bottom of the snowflake....


Set the snowflake where you want it and hold still while it cools.

ooohhhh  shiny!



Products used:
Snowflake #2
Snowflake #1

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Placing an Order at Decorate the Cake

My sister Brenda has oh so kindly offered to help write up some directions to answer some questions that I have received on how to place an order with Decorate the Cake.  I hope this helps answer any questions.  


Hi Everyone –

I am Brenda Badwitch, the Good Twin!!!   Yes, I know you are thinking “Yeah right!”  well look below and I will show you proof!

This is Glenda Goodwitch, isn’t she cute!
This is me, Brenda Badwitch, Do you see my fat lip?   Guess who gave that to me?   Need I say more?

Well, so I don’t end up with another one.  I am here to help show you how easy it is to enter your “Coupon Code” provided by DTC to get your fabulous discounts.

Let me walk you through the process:

  1. Go to http://www.decoratethecake.com/ and SHOP!   Get all of those molds that you have had your eye on for months!  Buy them ALL they are on sale!

  1. Once you have located the items you want select “Add to Cart”, enter a quantity and click on the "Add to cart" icon found on each inventory page.


  1. After clicking the "Add to cart" icon you will be taken to the shopping cart page.  From this page you may update quantities (if you missed it on the first page, or just changed your mind).  Select continue shopping or proceed to check out.

  1. Once you have found all of your new toys, Click on the "Proceed to Check out".


  1. You will be taken to login screen.  Once you enter you User Name and Password Select the “Submit” button.

  1. The “Delivery Information” Screen will appear.  Verify the “Customer Information” and the “Alternate Ship to:” information are correct.


  1. Optionally let DTC know how you heard about them!  (You should let her know I am the best!)


  1. Then there is a box asking for "Enter Coupon code if you have one:"  Enter your coupon code -- must be exact!  All those UPPER / Lower Case letters and Numbers!


Please take note of the code I was given - it is a very special code just for Brenda Badwitch… see even she knows that I am the Good One!

Make sure you enter the code that is specific for you or the current sale!

Just below where entering the coupon code please make note of the "fine print" on the order.

Just a quick on the time frames giving in the fine print -- yes, it may under rare circumstances take 7-10 days for an item to ship.  Most orders leave within 48 hours.  If you need to make sure yours is done quickly please communicate with DTC staff to make sure the requested time frame works within our current workload.




  1. Click on the "Continue with Checkout" button


  1. Shipping method screen comes up. (Select the Option that describes you!)


  1. If your order was over the “Free Shipping” level your screen will look like above.  Else you will be asked to select your Shipping Option.   Select the one that is best for you!
    • Canada / Mexico
    • United States
    • Other Countries
Note:  That the discount is also displayed above!

  1. Press the "Continue" button

  1. Your Order Summary Screen will be displayed.   This one will also show the discounts that have been applied! 


  1. Once you have reviewed, press the "Checkout!" button -- this will take you to PayPal to make your payment

  1. You will then be directed to the “Choose a way to pay” screen.  You can select PayPal at the top of the screen or you can pay directly with a credit card and by-pass setting up a PayPal account.






Hope this helps and that you all have a wonderful time shopping!

Brenda Badwitch
“The Good One”