teacher subway art

I kept seeing these super cute teacher-themed subway art images on Pinterest and I knew I just HAD to have one for my classroom!  I took pieces I liked from some images I saw and incorporated my own ideas as well.  Let's just say I'm stinkin' pleased with the way it looks!  Furthermore, I found a website which will print it on vinyl and enlarge it (25.5"x33") for $25!!!  That's right, vinyl.  NOT paper.  Even the Kinko's poster printing couldn't beat it.  I'm pretty stoked to see how it REALLY looks.  If you're a teacher/know someone who is/just want a great teacher gift and would like a personalized copy, just leave a comment with the name you'd like inserted and your e-mail address and I'll send it out as a .jpg.  You can have it enlarged yourself, or just print it on an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper and frame it!

**UPDATE**

As of Saturday, October 8, 2011, the free subway art offer is no longer valid.  Thanks for your interest!

Fondant Cakes

A lot of people avoid making fondant cakes because they think it's too difficult. It's really not that bad though. It's a little time consuming, but once you get the hang of it, using fondant is pretty easy.


I started by baking the cake in 6 inch and 9 inch cake pans. Sometimes I make the cake from scratch...not this time. Boxed mixes work great and they are huge time savers. One tip: let the eggs sit out a bit before you add them to the mix.


After the cakes have all baked and cooled, wrap them in seran wrap and put them in the freezer. I usually bake the cakes a few days before. It's easier for me to spread out the process. Once the cake is frozen, you'll need to level it. You can use a cake leveler (you can get them at any craft store...walmart even sells them) or you can just eyeball it.


I wrapped and froze the leveled cakes because I didn't have time to do more. You don't really need to freeze them again after leveling though.
Ready to assemble the cake? For the top layer, cut out a circle of cardboard slightly smaller than the diameter of the cake. They sell precut circles if you'd rather just buy one. Wrap your circle in foil.

Get your leveled cake (look how even the top is...perfect...and if you let your husband have the dome you cut off it might make his day)...

...put a dollop of frosting on the foil covered, cardboard circle...and the put the cake on top of that. I have the circle sitting on parchment paper. This is just to make moving the top layer around easier.

Frost your first layer.

Then place the next level on, leveled side down. So the part that is a little browner and was on the bottom of the pan will be on top. This gives you a smooth surface with nice corners to work with...it's also a lot less crumbly.

Apply a crumb layer of frosting or dirty ice...same thing. Basically just frost the whole cake with a thin layer of frosting. Try to make it even. While you let that level set up (I sometimes put it in the fridge for a while) you can assemble your other teir. Once the crumb layer has set up a bit, frost your cake again and try to make it really smooth.

This is the crumb layer - see how you can see the cake through bits of it? I didn't take a picture of the fully frosted cake.

Now it's fondant time. Wilton sells fondant. You can get it at any craft store (or again, walmart). You can totally use store-bought fondant. It's convenient and super smooth and really white. And it tastes gross. I've used it and it's great, but I prefer using homemade fondant. It's much cheaper and tastes much better. There are recipes and tutorials all over the internet. I might post a making fondant tutorial sometime...but seriously they're everywhere.

After you make your fondant, you can color it. For this cake, I wanted soft pink, hot pink, and purple. I use wilton gel to color fondant. It's a lot brighter and bolder than just food coloring. But you can use food coloring if you like. It works too. For the soft pink, I used hardly any pink gel. I used more for the hot pink. And then I mixed pink and blue gel to get the purple I wanted. It kind of looks greyish in the pictures, it's not...promise. To mix your colors, twist and knead the fondant until the color is even. Before:

After:

I sometimes wear gloves (latex and powder free, food handling gloves) to dye the fondant - just because I don't want pink and blue hands all day.

Roll out your fondant and then lay it over the cake. Try to keep it smooth.

Cut off the excess. I use a pizza cutter.

Smooth out your fondant and repeat with the other tier. When you have both tiers covered, it's time to stack them. Get some dowels or lollipop sticks (again, sold at craft stores or walmart) and cut them to the height of your cake. Then push them into the bottom tier to support the top tier.

Use a few.

Then add a little blob of frosting in the center, and put the top layer on. Now you can add your borders or decorations.

Fondant Roses

I'm making a birthday cake for my neice. I've used fondant for a few cakes but I wanted to try and up the ante a little bit. So I decided to give fondant roses a try.

I started by rolling out some fondant and cutting out small circles - I just used one of my piping tips to cut out the circles.

Grab a circle and start smashing it a little with your finger tips. Especially around the edges. This will make them thin and they'll curl under a little.

Roll the first circle around itself.

Start adding more circles on one at a time (after you've smashed up the edges a bit). You can use a dab of water to help them stay if they aren't sticking well.

I used 9 petals for most of the flowers. But pretty much just keep adding until you think it looks good. I didn't take a picture of just one rose finished. But here is the cluster of roses I put on top of my neices birthday cake. I'll post a picture of the completed cake and some instructions for that soon.

Bias Tape Tutorial

A friend of mine expressed some frustration she was having while making some flower girl dresses and how the bias tape at the fabric store just wasn't the right color she was looking for.  She then decided to make her own!  HA!  I had never thought of that before, so I went to work attempting to figure it out.  Here's a tutorial if you're ever in need of "matching bias tape" and the fabric store doesn't have what you want.

Step 1:  You need to "square" your fabric so it can be cut on the bias.  To do that, just take one of your corners and fold the fabric down along the opposite edge to create a triangle (just like folding a rectangular piece of paper into a square).  Don't just cut strips off the rectangle, or it won't "stretch" like bias tape.

Step 2:  Using a rotary cutter and ruler, measure the strips for cutting.  I wanted the bias tape to be about 1/2" wide, so I cut my strips 2" wide to allow for the folds.

**Note**  The bottom, longest strip has a folded edge along the bottom, so just open the fold and cut it apart.

 Step 3:  Match up the slanted edges of your strips with the right sides together.  You'll want it to create a right angle so that once the angle is sewn, the fabric creates a longer strip.  Also, notice how my edges hang over a bit on each side?  That's to allow for the seam.

 Step 4:  Press open all slanted seams.  You'll also have to do some trimming of threads and seam allowances so the strip of fabric is even.

 Step 5:  Press the fabric in half.

 Step 6:  Open the pressed fabric and fold the edges ALMOST to the center, but not all the way.  This is a bit time consuming, but not difficult.  There are actually super-cool tools you can purchase to do this part for you.

 Step 7:  Re-press the tape along its center so the edges are now inside.

 Step 8:  Add to your project just as you would any other bias tape!

Carseat Cover/Nursing Cover

I love objects that have more than one purpose, so I am very excited about this carseat cover that also doubles as a nursing cover.

I love the poncho design of the nursing cover to allow side coverage while breastfeeding (especially when babies start to kick the cover with their little feet). I started out with 1 1/2 yds of fabric. I used home decor. fabric because it's heavier and lays better.

Next, I cut a slit in the center. I made it big enough for my head to go through and allow for comfort but small enough that it would rest on the carseat right. The size of this slit will differ based on your preferences.

After cutting the slit, I trimmed the edge of the fabric so it wouldn't drag on the floor when put on the carseat. Again, this will differ based on your preferences. I ended up trimming about 4" all around.

Lastly, I used yellow bias taping to trim the edges. On the corners of the slit, I did do some reinforcing stitches before applying the bias taping. I just didn't want it to tear further.And there you have it! A very easy, very useful project!

Maybe one of these days I'll get around to posting a project that has nothing to do with babies, but for now, stay tuned next Wednesday for a new and improved cloth diaper tutorial!