Sweets & Sprinkles: Works for Me Wednesday

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Cookie Favours and Personalized Tags ... Works for Me Wednesday

Wouldn't you love to get one of these?

I know I would! But maybe I'm biased... ;)

In the past couple months cookie party favours have really taken off in my baking life. Given my new found obsession for everything cookie I am beyond thrilled! It has been a win-win situation all around... I get to make beautiful, delicious cookies, my clients have a one-stop-shop for Thank You gifts and party go-ers are excited to leave with a yummy treat!

BUT no party favour would be complete without a personalized tag. Tags not only say "Thanks for coming!", they also look really cute!

{oops...its a little blurry...sorry ;)}

Here are some tips I have/things I do to create the perfect personalized tag for cookie favours:

Use Photoshop!! It takes some practice and a lot of googling {if you're somewhat computer illiterate like me!} but I love that you can create moveable layers. I almost NEVER like the first tag I design and print off. Either the text is too small, the picture isn't right or the placement of everything is off. Photoshop is awesome for making small changes without redoing the whole thing. If you don't have Photoshop, no worries!! Gimp is available FOR FREE download online. It is a similar program and, did I mention, FREE??!! Gotta love that!

Cute fonts are available everywhere online. You aren't limited to the ones that came with your computer!!! Here are some of my favourites:

Once I have designed a tag I save it as a jpeg, open up a new Word document, view it at 100% and open up the image. The next part is super scientific... ha! I take one of my finished cookies, put it in a small candy bag, twist the top and hold it up to the screen to check for size. I know, I know...probably not the best way but this is Works for Me Wednesday right??!!

Once the size of the tag is adjusted I simply cut and paste it as many times as it will fit onto the Word document. Print it off, cut each one out, hole punch the corner and voila! A beautiful tag to go alongside your beautiful cookie!

Such a simple and thoughtful DIY way to thank your guests!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Stamp Embossed Fondant Cupcake Decorations... Works for Me Wednesday

*...and a long post to go with a really long title!*

I have a confession to make...

Sometimes I steal. Well, okay, not really steal... but more like take a look around for ideas :) That sounds much better doesn't it!

It's kind of a hazard of having your own blog. You become obsessed with other peoples' blogs. You want to know what they are doing, how they are doing it and when you can start doing it! On any given day I can be found on my computer gathering ideas and inspiration for my own baking projects. Pinterest doesn't help ;)

As much as I love to check out my fellow bloggers' work I also love to share. I guess I wouldn't be here otherwise!

So, my obsession with baking blogs, my love of sharing and all the "How did you do that?" questions I have fielded over the years have led me here... Works for Me Wednesday. Works for Me Wednesday (WFMW) is a blog linky party hosted by the amazing Kristen over at We are THAT Family. Every Wednesday bloggers link up their tips, tricks and tidbits that have made their lives easier. It's a big old share-fest! And now I've decided that it's time to get in on the action!

Today's Works for Me Wednesday..... stamp embossed fondant decorations...

It is fitting that I have chosen to start off WFMW on the Sweets & Sprinkles blog with stamp embossed fondant decorations because it is the very first fondant technique I learned when planning my own wedding. I saw beautiful, monogrammed cupcakes on the Martha Stewart website {here} and had to figure out exactly how to get the same look! It is actually quite simple to do and is still one of my favourite looks for cupcakes.

Here's what you need:

Just a few things to note...

I use cornstarch on my work surface to prevent the fondant from sticking when rolled out. I have read that icing sugar also does the trick but I always end up wearing it so I avoid it if I can! I have enough icing sugar in my life as it is!!
I prefer rubber stamps to acrylic. I'm sure that acrylic work just fine but I like the cushion of a rubber stamp better. I don't actually know if it makes a difference in the end but it makes sense to me! Never tried acrylic, gonna stick to rubber!

Now we're ready to start!

First prep your work surface with a sprinkle of corn stach and roll the fondant out fairly thin. I use the rings on my rolling pin as a guide. If there is a little corn starch on the "good" side of your fondant brush it off with your fingers now. It will be much harder to get off after the fondant is stamped.

Next, stamp your fondant! You want to use a firm pressure so that the image is transfered deep enough into the fondant. Too light and the image won't be visible, too hard and the fondant will stick to the stamp leaving you with a distorted, possibly torn image. I rock the stamp a tiny bit with my fingers to make sure that I have pressed all sides of it evenly into the fondant.

Place your cutter over the stamped fondant making sure the image underneath is positioned correctly.

And cut!

Easy right?! And so pretty!

Monogrammed cupcake decorations are also stamped using this technique...

Here it is SUPER important to stamp the fondant first so that you can accurately position the cutter. If you cut first it is hard to see exactly where you are stamping on the shape.

Another tip... notice how I cut my rubber stamp above? When I bought this set of alphabet stamps the capital and lowercase letters were one piece. I peeled the rubber off, cut it into two and now just use the one letter I need. The tree stamp below is one of my favourites. I have never actually used it as a tree! But I love the swirly pattern and it translates really well to fondant. The trick is to find a pattern you love that is the right size for your cutter. No one ever asks "Is that a tree stamp you used?"!!