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31 March 2012

{Easter} Decorated Cream Egg Animals - More designs and TUTORIAL



So how do you find my little decorated Cream eggs ? Cute aren't they ? I learned this technique a few years ago during a cake decorating course (at Basildon College, Essex, UK) and I really enjoyed the fact that from a cream egg and some marzipan you can practically create any character you like !

As you know on wednesday I posted the full tutorial to make the duck over at Bird's Party. But to make it easy for you, I have decided to include the tutorial at the bottom of this post as well.

You can make as many designs as you want, just experiment ! The method is always the same. Start with a base of egg+biscuit, then add marzipan details.



So I also made a little elephant with a funny crown and an another animal which was supposed to be a rabbit but which actually looks more like a mouse or even a cat...!



Anyway just have fun and scroll all the way down for a fun unexpected character.



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Decorated Cream Eggs - TUTORIAL to make a little duck



For this project you will need:
- Cadbury Cream eggs
- Chocolate covered biscuits
- White Marzipan
- Icing sugar
- Optional: a tiny amount of white sugarpaste (for the eyes)



Equipment:
- Cocktail sticks
- Small brush
- Chopstick
- Knife
- Paste colors (yellow, orange, and a color of your choice for the hat)
- Black food decoration pen (or a very tiny amount of back marzipan)



First, start off by making your bases.
Simply melt a little bit of chocolate (dark or milk chocolate, it does not matter), dip in the bottom of your egg and place the egg in the centre of the chocolate covered biscuit. Leave to dry for a few minutes.
If you are making several decorations, do all the bases now so the chocolate has time to set before you start adding the marzipan.


Then we make the feet
Color some marzipan orange (use a cocktail stick to add a little bit of orange color paste to the marzipan).
Spread a little icing sugar on your work area to prevent the marzipan from sticking to your worktop.
Make a ball of marzipan and cut in half with a knife. That way you get two balls of the same size for the feet !
Model each ball into a drop shape. Flatten by pressing down gently with you finger and use the chopstick to make webbed feet.
Use a little bit of chocolate to attach the feet to the chocolate covered biscuit base.


To make the wings, color some marzipan yellow.
Make a ball and cut in half with the knife. Roll the two halves in two balls.
Flatten each ball with a mini rolling pin or your finger.
Bend slightly so you get roughly the shape of a potato chip.
Use a little bit of melted chocolate to attach the wing to the egg/body.
Find something to support the wing while the chocolate sets. I used the cocktail stick box.


Roll a big yellow ball for the head and glue on top of the egg with a little bit of melted chocolate.


To make the beak, roll a small amount of orange marzipan in a ball. Press the ball with your fingers so you get one fat side and one flat side. Cut the fat side in two with the knife. Model in the shape of a beak.

Using the brush, slightly wet the area of the head where the beak goes. Attach the beak and hold in place for a few seconds.

Roll two tiny balls of white sugarpaste for the eyes. Wet them with a damp brush to make the sugarpaste sticky and press them on the head. Use the food safe pen to mark a dot in the centre of the eyes.


Finish of by making a nice hat for your little duck.
I decided on a dark red hat so I colored some marzipan with "claret".
Roll a small ball and a sausage long enough to go round the ball.
Make the sausage into a ring and place the ball on top using a damp brush to make the contact area sticky.
Add a little ornament if you so wish. I used a tiny blossom cutter to make the flower.



Use a damp brush to remove any left over icing sugar.




Remember: To assemble the duck just follow these two simple rules
Glue marzipan on chocolate with melted chocolate
Glue marzipan on marzipan with water



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30 March 2012

{Easter} Paper Bird Houses or adorable mini-eggs Boxes !



I have a real thing for bird houses. I find them beautiful and delicate. And they are so versatile, you can use them with many different themes.

I have been wanting to try those mini paper bird house boxes for a while and Easter gave me the perfect excuse: I needed some boxes to hold mini cadbury Easter egg (my the kids favourites !).



This is an easy project if a little time consuming (well mainly time consuming for me since it takes me ages to decide on paper combinations !).


You will need:
- Decorative papers or light cardstock
- Ribbon
- Optional: Transparent film (for the window)
- Glue and/or double-sided tape
- Scissors or X-facto knife or better still a Silhouette cutting machine (you can import the PDF from the template)



The template I used is from Stamping Dani (scroll down the page until you find the Bird House and click on the picture to download the template)
The PDF also includes a little bird but I decided to leave it out.

Cut the box, roof and base.
If using, glue some clear film behind the window.
Fold the box and glue. Add the roof (I glued mine on). Add the ribbon.
Glue the base on top of the ribbon.
Fill with Easter eggs !!!


29 March 2012

{MAD Blog Awards} Please nominate That Cute Little Cake

MAD Blog Awards 2012

It is week 2 of the nominations. So please vote for That Cute Little Cake if you haven't already done so. You may nominate me for Blog of the year, Best Craft Blog, or Best food blog, or even better for all 3 !
Thank you so much for your support. It means a lot to me.

The MAD (Mum and Dad Blog) Awards are the UK’s biggest and most exciting awards for parent blogs.

I really need your help to get my little tiny blog noticed !!! There are not many children parties blogs from the UK so it would be great to get known !

Please vote for me here ! It only takes a minute.
Thank you so much.

Virginie




{Easter Inspiration} Decorating with eggs

Today I am sharing some of my inspiration for our Easter table. I have found lots of fun projects to do with eggs. Hope you enjoy them.

Easter custard: Presented in chocolate Easter eggs !

From Sharnel at My Life My Love
Super easy and very cute. I will be having these on my dessert table.


Flower arrangement in eggshells
Love this project from Martha Stewart.

Easter egg vase
Egg place "card"



Egg Candles
From UKTV


And of course if you love eggs, I am sure you will find these egg cosies adorable
I particularly like those from British brand Poppy Treffry


Don't forget to come back tomorrow for more decorated cream egg animals !

28 March 2012

{Easter} Super cute decorated cream eggs !

I am so very excited to let you know that today I am guest blogging over at Bird's Party !!!



If you find this little cream egg Duck with marzipan details cute, then head over to Bird's Party for the full TUTORIAL.
I will be posting other designs here this week so make sure to come back to That Cute Little Cake for more fun animals to make !!!

Have a sweet day









27 March 2012

{Easter} Little paper birdies




I love to decorate the house for Easter ! I don't go crazy like I would for Christmas, but the bright colours and flowers signal spring is finally here and I get a real boost from them !


I made these cute little birdies to hang from my Easter "tree".
They are dead easy to make and so adorable !




You will need
- decorative paper
- assorted buttons
- assorted ribbons or cord
- glue and scissors
- a pen for dotting the eye

I used a template from Hobbycraft which I scaled to 50%.
Print and cut out the template. Use it to trace the bird and wing shapes on contrasting papers or light cardstock. Cut the shapes and glue the wing on the bird. Make a dot with the pen for the eye.
Thread a piece of ribbon onto a button and tie in a bow.
Glue the button on the wing and a loop of ribbon at the back of the bird.
Let dry before hanging your lovely decoration.






25 March 2012

{Shop} A selection of beautiful shops

I am just back form the Hobbycraft and Sewing for pleasure shows at the NEC, Birmingham, UK, and I wanted to share the details of a some fantastic shops I discovered today !

{Papercrafts} Cutting Templates
First off is Cathie Shuttleworth. She sells some amazing cutting templates to make little bags or decorations out of paper. No need for a cutting machine here, you buy a PDF file which you just need to print and cut !
She had this super cute cone party bag in the shape of a mouse on display at the show (sorry no pic, this particular template is not online).

Papercraft samples


{Crafts} Embroidered iron-on designs
If you are after original iron-on designs, then make sure to check Patsy May. They have a huge selection of embroidered characters and letters/numbers.
I bought a very cute little ballerina (the pink one, it had to be pink !) and some pirates.
All their designs are online and P&P is just £1.






{Sewing} Fabrics
Now I know how difficult it can be to find a shop offering a decent selection of fabric. Ever since I moved to Leicestershire, I have struggled to find original styles locally... There is always Hobbycraft (stores nationwide) but their selection is limited. There is also the internet but I like to feel the fabric and see the colours in daylight.
So here are 3 shops that caught my attention:

I was quite simply blown away by the Fabrics Galore shop (Battersea, London SW11 5RH). They had a massive range, and lots of fabrics I had never seen before. I particularly liked their "British" range.
No online shop unfortunately, so you will have to visit their London based shop.

Now, if like me you live further north, you might be interested in Birmingham shop The Cotton Patch. They had a massive stall today with all the Amy Butler and Tanya Whelan fabrics available by the meter or as fat quarters packs. I have just checked their website and there is a huge selction there.

And last but certainly not least, Sew Enchanting (Devon) with stunning fabric designs. Their online shop also is well stocked.

{Sewing} Books
I am not into quilting (yet) so I now very little about it. Seeing all the beautful creations on display has made me realised what you might be able to achieve with (A LOT) of time and patience (and a good sewing machine).

WELCOME

 Stitch with Love

If you would like a book (or two actually) full of stunning and original sewing projects then you might consider ordering Stich at Home and/or Stich with Love from Dandelion Designs. (on offer on Amazon)
All the finished projects from the book were on display on their stall and they are the cutest and most original projects I have ever seen !
Stich at home uses a colour palette of blue/teal and pink while Stich with love is all in natural linen and red, perfect for Christmas.
Make sure you browse their website for loads of additional patterns and kits like one for this sewing bag !

A girls night in sewing bag
Girls Night In sewing kit

That's it from me. I have a lot to do now since I came back with loads of supplies ! I found lots of craft projects to make myself busy so there might not be that much baking in the coming weeks !

Next week is going to be all about Easter on That Cute Little Cake and I am looking forward to sharing some DIY Easter decorations and sweet projects too !

24 March 2012

{Party inspiration} Easter egg hunt party

Easter is just around the corner and spring was definitely in the air today! All of a sudden, the days are warmer and the garden is full of daffodils.
It must time to get ready for Easter day then!

Later next week I will be sharing pictures of my Easter decorations and crafts but today I wanted to show you this amazing egg hunt party from Lynlee's Petite Cake.
Every detail is super cute and the fondant bunnies on the cupcakes are simply adorable.


I love those fondant cabbages ! What a fun idea.



Now, how cute are these bunny bottoms !!!
The "soil" is crushed oreo cookies !

23 March 2012

{Recipe} My favourite chocolate cupcake recipe

I have tried several recipes for chocolate cupcakes and for me, this is the best. The cupcakes are easy to eat as they don't crumble too much but the texture is still light.



Chocolate cupcakes

Will make 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
150g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
185g self-raising flour
80ml milk
3 tablespoons cocoa powder mixed with 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 180 degree C (or 160 degree C if fan assisted)
Line a tin with cupcake paper cases.

Beat butter with the cocoa powder+milk mix until well mixed.
Add vanilla extract, sugar and eggs and beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Stir in sifted flour and milk, in two batches.

Divide mixture into cake cases and bake for 20 minutes.


Recipe adapted from The Australian's Women Weekly Cupcakes and Fairycakes.






22 March 2012

{MAD Blog awards 2012} Please nominate That Cute Little Cake !

MAD Blog Awards 2012

The MAD (Mum and Dad Blog) Awards are the UK’s biggest and most exciting awards for parent blogs.

I really need your help to get my little tiny blog noticed !!! There are not many children parties blogs from the UK so it would be great to get known !

Please vote for me here ! It only takes a minute.
Thank you so much.

Virginie




20 March 2012

{Party}We're Going on a Bear Hunt Birthday Party-Part 2



Today I am sharing the pictures of the Dessert table I created for my daughter's "We're going on a bear hunt" Birthday party.

I created the invitation using one of my daughter's drawing of the Bear Hunt


Since the party was originally going to be held in our local country park, it seemed appropriate to have a picnic. That pretty much set the theme for the party table: a woodland picnic.
I wanted a lot of red gingham on the table and brown bears all over (with loads of chocolate treats !).
It also had to stay simple so everything could be transported to the park.

The table was supposed to be set outside but we had to decide on doing it inside at the last minute since it was raining on the morning of the party.... I had to improvise a last minute backdrop and it was lucky I had a big piece of burlap !


Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese chocolate frosting

Treat bags "holder" !!!

The children really enjoyed their chocolate milk !
The chocolate covered marshmallow bears are traditional French treats








If you missed yesterday's post about the activities during the party and our Bear Hunt game, then you can read all about it here !

Vendors
Cake, Cupcakes: That Cute Little Cake
Invitations, Food Labels: That Cute Little Cake
Bear Cupcake toppers: The Best Paper Supplies on Etsy (That particular shop seems to have closed but there are other vendor selling the same toppers)
Printable paper used for the treat bags: Pretty Pink Patterns from Squiggle Dot Designs
Gingham digital paper: Plaid pack from SheryKDesigns





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