Stenciled Cupcake Medallions! {Part 1}

These are SO easy. Like I always say: "Little effort, Big impact". These will take you no time at all AND you can do them way ahead of time so that they don't add to the stress of the event that you are planning. AND they are adorable.

I love, love, love them! 

I had the absolute BEST time making these with the Lovely Brooke Walker on Studio 5!

Click HERE to see the Segment.

Here's your tutorial:

I found this stencil pack at Hobby Lobby. I it was $3.99 but if you use your coupon, you can get 40% off.

It has so many stencils! (12, to be exact)

I cut each stencil out individually...

Then I rolled my fondant...

I chose a cookie cutter from this adorable set that I also found at Hobby Lobby. :)

I chose the scalloped one because it was the best size for the cupcake. You want to keep your medallions in proportion with your cupcake. If it is too big, it will look a little silly.

Dry your medallions on a cooling rack. They will dry MUCH faster that way because of the air being able to circulate around them.

Wait until they are completely dry and then chose your favorite color mist color. This is from Wilton and you can find them at any craft store that carries cake supplies. Even Walmart carries them! It's like an airbrush machine...in a can! :)

Place your stencil FLAT on your medallion...

I usually start moving my hand before I start spraying and then just spray a light dusting. If you spray too much, it will cause your design to bleed.

CAREFULLY lift off your stencil taking care not to smudge the design because the color mist is still wet at this point.

Place those pretty little things on your home-made or store-bought cupcakes!

Bam...you officially look like a rock star now. ;)

Here's another option!!

I found the pink & zebra cupcake wrappers at Hobby Lobby and guess what...they are the SAME wrapper! It's reversible!

 Make sure to wipe off your stencil in between medallions!

In Part 2, I will be showing the tutorial on how to make these Metallic STAMPED Cupcake Medallions!

Floral Crowns...for your CAKE!!

Floral crowns have been trending all over the blog sphere lately so why not translate that into cake?! 

Here is a very simple photo tutorial on how to create this look:

Supplies: Floral sprig, Floral wire, and a pair of wire cutters or scissors to cut the wire.

I chose a nice, full sprig with lots of bright, colorful buds for this cake. I loved the contrast of the deep, dark pink of the flowers with the soft, pastel pink of the buttercream.

Bend your sprig starting at the bottom with the woody end. 

Simply wrap your floral wire around your sprig where the bottom and the top meet.

And there you have it. A beautiful floral crown for your cake! Add a large focal flower and any other filler flowers that you want and you just can't go wrong.

Not your typical 'Frozen' Cake!

My sweet little angel girl turned 4 a couple of days ago and like the rest of the 4-year-old population, she is obsessed with the Disney movie 'Frozen'. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, "A FROZEN CAKE!" was the obvious reply. As I scoured Pinterest and Bing for cake inspiration, I saw the same blue-and-white-ice-castle-themed interpretations of the movie. Not that that is bad. I saw some gorgeous and creative cakes. I just wanted to do something a little...different.

Personally, I was OBSESSED with all of the beautiful Scandinavian design, fashion, and scenery in the movie. It HAD to be on this cake. Also, instead of the Ice Castle, I wanted to create the Arendelle Castle. Then it came to me... Frozen...in the Springtime!! It is Springtime after all. 

I wanted to pull in subtle aspects of the movie that only a true fan (like my 4 year old who has seen the movie a million times) would appreciate. Let me take you through them...

ANNA:

The repeating design around the cake is the design on Princess Anna's Winter dress that she buys so that she can search for her sister, Queen Elsa, up in the North Mountain.

The Arendelle Castle:

The Arendelle Castle seemed to fit much better with the "Springtime" theme of the cake. Plus...it hasn't been done before. :) This was made from Rice Cereal Treats and fondant. I used an impression mat to get the brick texture on the fondant. 

 Elsa and Anna:

For the portraits of Elsa and Anna, I had them printed out on edible paper and adhered them to some fondant disks that I had cut and dried out ahead of time. Then I piped a delicate beaded border around them with royal icing.

"Sven's Antlers"

I just love that adorable reindeer, Sven. I had to represent him somehow. I cut a pair of antlers out of gumpaste using an exacto knife and painted them brown with food coloring. Then I simply added some beautiful fresh flowers (because it needed some floral) from a vase of flowers that I had sitting on the counter from Easter. It was the perfect touch!

Olof:

Of COURSE I had to represent Olof. But this is a Springtime scene, remember? So I brought in the purple flower that he sniffs a couple of times throughout the movie. I simply cut out the petals using a large leaf cutter and shaped them in a Wilton Forming Tray. Then I painted it purple and added some stamens. The kids pretended to sniff it and quote Olof all night long.

So there it is..."Not your typical" 'Frozen' Cake. Now let's see what YOU come up with!! PLEASE e-mail me your pictures. I would just be so thrilled to see them.

Oh...and here's another something sweet that I just HAD to share with you. My Alice on her birthday enjoying her new clothing rack stocked full of Princess dresses. She's changed 5 billion times already.

I got the idea for this Dress-up-Rack from the blog Dear Lizzy and I couldn't WAIT to do it for my own little Princess. Go HERE to see her MUCH better version. :)

It's Personal...

One of my favorite things to do with cake is to personalize it. Taking the time to add personal touches of your loved one into their cake makes them feel special and loved. It doesn't have to be complicated or difficult. It just has to be personal.

This past weekend was my adorable niece's birthday. Even though I had so much to do for Easter and my own daughter's birthday, I still had time to whip up these easy cupcakes and throw some personalized cupcake picks on top. It took me probably 1 1/2 hrs total and I figure that if I don't have that kind of time to make someone feel special, then chances are I'm probably way too busy. 

And when this is the result...It's all worth it. She almost died laughing from the "Huge Face" cupcake pick. It was the favorite of the night.

This is my brother, Mary's daddy. He sure loves her. In fact, every body loves her and with everyone holding, eating, and talking about these cupcakes that were all about her, she sure felt the love that day.

 So cake on everyone! And spread some love through cake this week.