Something that I’ve always wanted to spend a little more time learning how to do, is cake decorating. Like, full on flowers, fondant, hand piped designs and the whole nine yards! But I know it takes some time to practice and get good at and I just haven’t had oodles of extra time. So, instead of decorating an extravagant cake, I decided to start with something small……and fancy up some sweet little cupcakes. But not just frosting and sprinkles, because I think I’ve got that covered. ;) I wanted to try something a little more fancy that would be fun to bring to a party or luncheon….but not take tons of time to do!
So when I realized this month’s Michaels Maker challenge was “Back In Class”, I decided to grab a kit from my local Michaels store, and learn how to fancy up some cupcakes! And let me tell you……I had SO MUCH FUN!
Michaels has classes you can attend in your local stores, to learn everything from knitting and cake decorating to card making and jewelry design……but they also have so many little kits to help you learn new skills at home. And this kit I found, was a perfect starting point for someone who’s never done much more than frosting and sprinkles. That’s me!!!
The finished candy designs might look tricky —– but let me tell you, if you can trace, you can totally do this!!!! The kit comes with bags, tips, plenty of templates to trace (and you could even print more off on your printer), and a practice board with a plastic flap to draw on. They also have so many colors of melting chocolate that you just melt in the microwave, pour into one of the bags, and you’re all set!
You just slide the template under the plastic flap, trace the melted chocolate right onto the design, and then let the chocolate cool off. Once the chocolate has hardened, just bend back the clear plastic, and peel off your design.
Now you can top anything from cupcakes to full sized cakes, with your little edible chocolate designs. Didn’t they turn out cute?!!
So many ideas are running through my head, since giving this a try! And the best part — it was kind of relaxing to sit and trace all these little designs onto my plastic. Such a fun new skill!
And while I was busy taking a few pictures of my pretty little cupcakes……I somehow missed these sneaky little fingers grabbing one of my extra mini cupcakes. Hahaha…..little turkey!
I think Oliver was surprised that instead of taking it away, I took pictures instead! But hey, when you’re the baby of 4, you kind of get away with things like this! Haha! :)
These little cupcakes aren’t perfect, but to be honest, they turned out better than when I’ve tried to do something similar in the past. Love it when that happens!
In fact, when my 9 year old Elli saw these, she asked me where I bought them!! Ha…..I told her for that comment, she could eat them all up when I was done!
And just think, all it took was a little kit to help me out!
Now tell me, have you ever tried decorating with melted chocolate? Have you had any luck? If you’ve never tried using a template, believe me, it works wonders!
Good luck…and let me know how it goes for you!
-Ashley
For more “Back In Class” inspriation, check out these great ideas from other Michaels Makers:
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