Monday, May 20, 2013

Hot Tub Pig Cake {Tutorial}



This is Michaela's youngest son, Max.
Max loves bacon.
Yes, that's a stuffed piece of bacon.
You know the scene from Forrest Gump where Bubba starts talking about all the different kinds of ways you can eat shrimp? Well substitute that for bacon and that's Max's love for bacon in a nutshell.
And I think he may be the sweetest boy on the planet.
As his birthday was approaching, he found this pig cake that went viral on the internet.
And then immediately put a request in.

We searched and searched to find the source and found the original source was a Dutch baker, with no tutorial. (Or if there was we couldn't read it!)

So here is an EASY tutorial for you to make this cute cake for your own "Bacon Lover!"


Making The Pigs
A couple of days prior, you'll want to make the pigs so they can dry.
We are going to walk you step by step!
Yes, you can do this!

What you need:
pink fondant (We used Wilton's brand of pink fondant)
clean surface (we used a silpat mat, but any smooth, clean surface will work) 

Crisco stick

a pointed cake tool for making the eyes and lines (even a toothpick would work)
small brush and water
wax-paper lined cookie sheet 
cornstarch




First, take the wax-paper lined cookie sheet and dust it lightly with cornstarch.









Lay out your mat or prepare your clean surface and take a small amount of the crisco with your hands and grease the surface. Remove the packaging from the fondant and work a small amount of the crisco into the fondant on the mat. Knead the fondant until it is a smooth consistency.









Let's start with the three pig butts. (we just saw you smile!)
Begin by making three round balls with your hands, making them all the same size.
Keep rolling them until they are completely smooth.

Take the cake tool or toothpick and indent a line in the middle of each ball.


To make the tails, roll a small amount back and forth (like a snake) about an inch and a half long. Wind it around the end of the brush to curl it and gently pull it off.
Brush a small amount of water at the top of the butt, and attach the tail. Fondant glues to fondant with water.
Place finished butts on cookie sheet to dry.

To make the floating pig:
Make two balls, one bigger and more oval than the other.
Poke a hole for his belly button.
Add a small oval shape for his snout and attach it with a small amount of water.
Poke two holes in the snout, two eyes, and cut a mouth.

Make two small cone shapes proportionate to the head.
Take the tip of the paintbrush and indent the middle of the cone to form the inside of the ear. Attach ears to head with brush and water.

Make four balls all the same size and form them into an oval shape.
With the cake tool, score a line through the middle.

Put all pieces on cookie sheet to dry.


For the sitting pig:
Make two balls, one bigger than the other and stack them by attaching with a small amount of water and the brush.

Make two logs, flatten and score the ends.
Attach to the body of the pig.











Attach a snout, and with the cake tool, make the eyes, nose and a mouth.






Make another set of ears and attach to the top of the head with the brush and water.
Transfer the pig to the cookie sheet to dry.
Now you have all your pig pieces!



Assembling The Cake
What you need:
12 inch square cake board (wrapped)
2  9 inch chocolate cakes (your favorite recipe baked already and cooled)
Chocolate frosting (your favorite recipe)
Kit Kats (We used 6 king size packages)
Ribbon (You can find the I love Bacon ribbon here)
Green frosting with a grass tip for the edging.

To give it more of a "boy" look, we wrapped the cake board with a red-checked plastic tablecloth that we cut down.

Make your favorite chocolate frosting, and spread a small amount on the bottom of the cake board.
Place first cake down. Frost the top, and stack the second cake.

Frost the sides only of the stacked cake and a light layer of frosting on top.
 You'll now need to unwrap all your KitKats. 
We used 5 packages.
I recommend purchasing one extra. 
Making cakes is stressful stuff! You may need to reward yourself.

Breaking off two at a time, push the KitKats up against the wall of the cake.







Add more frosting now to the top. We added more milk into the frosting at this point to give it a more creamy, shiny, look.
Smooth it out on top of the cake, but it doesn't have to be perfect...they are in a hot tub of mud after all!








Take the pig pieces and start putting them into the frosting.
With a knife, make some splash marks into the frosting after the pigs have been placed.

Use a grass tip and green frosting for the border of the cake.
You can cut out fondant letters or pipe a name on the side of the cake for personalization!

How cool is this bacon ribbon?
You can purchase it on Etsy here.

Tie the ribbon of your choice around the wall of the cake.

And you're done!


We had one delighted "Bacon Lover!"
Happy Birthday Max!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Happy Trails to You!


Looking for something to give your child's classmates on the last day of school?
Well Yee-haw!
We have a FREE bag topper for you!

Since nut allergies are so common these days, we created a S'mores Trail Mix. No nuts!
All you need is:
Golden Grahams Cereal
Mini Marshmallows
Chocolate Chips
(One box of cereal, one package of marshmallows,
 and one bag of choc chips makes 10 bags)
Ziploc Sandwich Bags



Add ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.
Bag about two handfuls into each sandwich bag.

Print out the bag topper

Simply print, cut them out, and fold them in half.
Then fold the bag topper over the sandwich bag and attach it with glue dots or a stapler.

Till we meet again!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Congratulations....You've got cash! {Silhouette Chipboard tutorial}


This month Silhouette sent us a new product....Chipboard!

Silhouette Chipboard is the same as regular scrapbooking chipboard (a very durable card stock), but it's user friendly with the Silhouette Electronic Cutter.

We started thinking about all the grads we know and a fun gift we could give them and use the new Chipboard at the same time!
Since chipboard is so durable, our thoughts kept going towards a book cover.
But what could we put inside for a graduating student?
What does every student want?
CASH.
Cold hard cash.
It does not disappoint.
{10 out of 10 grads approve this message.}

and thought...we could do that with money too!
And use the Chipboard as the cover!
We designed a Free Printable for you to print out with it...10 graduation quotes to inspire your cash-loving grad.

So let's get started!

Here's what you need:

  • Silhouette Electronic Cutter
  • Silhouette Chipboard
  • Card stock 
  • Padding Compound Adhesive (amazon carries it, or most craft stores)
  • paintbrush
  • clips (to hold pad in place)
  • Fresh from the bank, brand new cash (they'll pull it from the back if you ask)
  • Free Printable
  • ribbon

First, head over to the bank for brand new bills.
Depending on how much you'll want to give, you'll want to have enough to make a "pad".
We used 50 one dollar bills.

Next, download the Free Printable here.

Cut out the printable (they are designed to be the same size as the bills)

Once you have your stack of cash, you'll want to create the "pad" so it has time to dry.

Clip the sides of the stack together to hold it in place and place a generous amount of the compound on the top.

Let dry for a few hours.

And now for the Chipboard!
Decide in Silhouette Studio what you want the shape of the cover to be.
We chose a shape from a label set and made it the size we wanted (5x8)
Make sure your cut settings are selected for Chipboard in the menu. Adjust your blade accordingly and click cut.

Now you'll want to decorate the front cover of the Chipboard.
We kept it in its organic color because we liked how it went with the "chalkboard" printable. But chipboard can be covered with scrapbook paper if you wanted to give it a more detailed look.
We chose the words "the graduate" which was a cool, hip, shape in the Silhouette Studio, and added 2013.
Attach the cut shapes to the Chipboard.

Stack both cover pieces together and hole punch two holes on the end.

String some ribbon through the holes to make a "book".

Now if your "money pad" is dry you can attach it with adhesive to the inside of your Chipboard book.

Seriously, what graduate wouldn't love this!
The cash rips off just like a notepad!



This week Silhouette has a WHIMSICAL promotion going on!



(1)    1 Silhouette CAMEO®, 1 pack of chipboard, 1 natural dust cover, 1 $25 download card: $269.99
(2)    1 Silhouette Portrait™, 1 pack of chipboard, 1 grey dust cover, 1 $25 download card: $129.99
(3)    1 pack of chipboard, 1 $25 download card: $19.99

These bundles and prices are only good with our promotion code!
Use WHIMSICAL when checking out!
Offer is good through May 8th - May 15th