Tiny Treats

These adorable treats below are miniature and edible cakes we made. We got the idea from the American Girl publishing book, Tiny Treats. Step by step tutorial below... First, take two sandwich cookies (think Oreo) and put a layer of whipped frosting between them. Second, frost all the way around the cookie. Third, add any extra embellishments (more frosting, sprinkles, etc.) Fourth, let them sit overnight (or for several hours at least). The moisture from the frosting makes the cookies soft. Fifth, bite into and enjoy!

Topsy-turvy Cake

Wow--I had no idea trying to make a topsy-turvy cake out of clay would be so difficult.

First of all, the amount of clay needed to create a full cake was more than I wanted to use. Secondly, to keep my edges clean proved more difficult than I anticipated. Thirdly, I had no idea just how many teeny-tiny balls of white would be needed, or how easily they'd be knocked off the cake if you picked it up the wrong way (even after baking!)

It's done--more or less--and it looks pretty cute, if a little imperfect. My daughter loves it, and that's what counts.

By the way, I built up the bottom by fashioning a support around a wooden dresser knob with white clay. This allowed me to use less clay for the green body of the cake.

If you look carefully in the picture, you can see Jenny's superior cake just behind and to the right of the cake.

Monkey See, Kitty Do

We tried our hand at making two of the simpler cakes on the front cover of Jenny's book--the monkey and kitty cat cakes--out of polymer clay.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see the monkey and kitty cakes at the top.

I cut the monkey's face freehand, as well as cat's light colored area around the mouth. (What do you call that on a cat? The muzzle?) I used my new, handy-dandy clay extruder (which needs really soft pliable clay to work well) to get the pieces for the mouths, nose, whiskers, etc. I wish in hindsight I had paid a little more for a better quality extruder--one where you twist a handle or something instead of trying to push clay through with brute force.

Lastly, I found a packet of inexpensive disks that were the perfect cake platter size at the craft store. We painted them with acrylic paints I had on hand.

What do you think?

I've already got the next couple of polymer clay posts ready, but in the future, I will try and post some in process photos as well.

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A word to those working with polymer clay for the first time. Read the baking directions when you are rested or just take note of my blunder. I misread the directions in haste and when I was tired, and was looking everywhere amongst my friends for an oven that would bake at 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Ovens baking that low do not exist. Ummm, yeah--that was 130 degrees Celsius--not Fahrenheit. The cat and monkey got a little dusty during the two days they sat there until my brain kicked in after rereading directions on baking.

I also made the mistake of not realizing you cannot use the same tools you use for polymer clay on food items. Luckily I had planned on the shape cutters being solely devoted to clay beforehand.

Fantastic Deal

I love a great deal. I think most of us do. So in the spirit of sharing, I'm going to put in a plug for these adorable "Trinket Dishes" I found at Michaels. They are in the clearance bins for $.50 where I live. I told a friend in Minnesota earlier and she got the last four at her store.

They measure 2 7/8" across and are the perfect size for 18" dolls.

I'll fill you in on the adorable cookies that are sitting on them later, but for now if you are into doll sized miniatures, run out and pick up a few!

My Newest Hobby

So my house is in a bit of upheaval--we're attempting to finish our basement-- and I don't have great access to my vinyl supplies at the moment. I've been looking for another creative outlet.

On her birthday, my daughter received an "Our Generation" doll from Grandma and Grandpa. "Our Generation" is Target's version of an 18" doll. They have a lot of cute accessories that come with some of the dolls. My daughter received Jenny who comes with a little storybook as well as some supplies like a bowl, whisk, eggs, and pretend cupcakes. The advantage is the dolls, clothes and accessories are cheaper than the major brand cough:AmericanGirl:cough of 18" doll out there. (Which we still love to look at and wish we could afford).

Jenny
The hairdo, by the way, is courtesy of my daughter's efforts. It's a bit unusual up close, but she was letting her creative juices flow.

Jenny's book

A few of Jenny's accessories

In reading the story, we thought, "Wouldn't it be great if we could make some of Jenny's desserts?"

This started us on a bit of a baking bonanza. We've made pretzels and tiny cakes and cookies in her EasyBake Oven. We attempted a single tier topsy-turvy cake for Valentines Day. (I'll post pictures of that another day). We've made chocolate chip cookies and they were really delicious. My waistline however, cannot handle a continuous influx of sweets (I AM trying to lose weight--and it starts with the food I eat).

So what to do?

Now you need to know I come from a family of at least three generations of artistic women. My mom and sisters are all really creative. My mom paints, sews, and used to sell some of her creations in shops on consignment. Back when ducks and geese were all the rage, she sewed ducks out of various calico material, and then arrranged them with flowers inside crates that could be hung on the wall. One day I'll track down a picture of some of the things she made. My sisters draw, paint, stamp, design and are skilled photographers.

My grandmother had two main creative outlets. First she was a master gardener of roses. She had more types of rose than I could count, and she created a beautiful peaceful haven in her backyard. I have never met anyone with quite the same touch with roses and flowers as she had. Her second outlet was in working with her hands and making things. She made a felt wall hanging (which incorporated some embroidery) that placed at the state fair many, many years ago. Another project of hers was one that inspired me--my Grandma, knowing her granddaughters loved Barbies, made us all pretend food for Barbie out of polymer clay.

I wish I knew where my little tin of food was, but I don't. It was fantastic though. We had little cakes, doughnuts and chocolate chip cookies. She painstakingly made cabbages, lettuce and cauliflower as well as potatoes, carrots and a slew of other foods. I loved that tin of food and I played with it all of the time.

And each time I played with the food, I knew how much my Grandma loved me because she took the time to make something wonderful.

So, after talking it over with my daughter we decided to make some pretend food from polymer clay for her 18" doll, Jenny. We decided to tackle the various treats shown on the cover of Jenny's book.

The first thing we attempted was chocolate cupcakes with a white liner. The liner didn't turn out as well as I would have liked, but it works. We found an easier way to do cupcakes when we tried to create the smiley face ones. We created the whole base out of blue, then made sure our "fondant" faces would cover the whole base. This worked infiinitely better.

My first attempt at polymer clay food.

The better looking smiley cupcakes.

On a whim, I picked up the clay extruder when I picked up the clay. I'm sure glad I did! It made doing the smiles a lot easier than it would have been otherwise.

I even found little mini white "bakers boxes" for "Jenny's creations".

After we saw how cute these little cupcakes turned out, we were hooked! We definitely have a new hobby now, and for a while (at least until I can get my vinyl supplies unburied), I'll be posting pictures of our creations.