Well it's that time of year again, when people start looking for someone thing unique for their next holiday party or celebration.  I have a secret life which leads me to bake some fun and creative cakes.  This weekend I am in the process of making a special cake for a surprise 50th birthday party and next week, I have a mad hatter tea party cake request from my own soon to be 17 year old. So I decided that since it looks like this is going to be a heavy baking and cake season for me, I'd start journaling my baking antics.  You can follow along on my other blog http://devonvillagecrafts.blospot.com .

On Devon Village Crafts, I be sharing my creations along with recipes and how-to's.  So if you're looking for something a bit different or looking for a spin on something old, be sure to follow me on my blog.  I will also tweet about my creations so be sure to follow me on twitter @mcprgirl.

If you would like to submit a recipe of your own, please feel free to share it as a comment on Devon Village Crafts.  Happy Baking!

Every now and then I find a product that I just fall in love with. I've been a 4-eyed silly nilly since a very young age. As a kid, I wore the worst looking glasses, from thick black frames to psychedelic tie-dye looking frames. I got picked on a lot by other kids. As I got older I came to accept my demise of being a four-eyed freak. Luckily now I can afford to choose and by frames which show my personality.


Recently, connected with a woman by the name of Ros Guerrero as I contacted her to be a featured member on the Mommy Millionaire blog.  I was intrigued by her product, Ficklets.  They are little eyeglass charms for the kiddos.  I would have to say they are a fun esteem builder too.  Wish I had these when I was growing up.  I decided to place an order for myself and to give as gifts.  Well, my order arrived and here are my pictures.  I put a set on my mother-in-laws specs and she was in love.  I absolutely love my own ficklets. Check them out:

I've been on a baking kick lately. I hate using molds for candies, they block my creative energy.  I only use them when I have no choice. For my youngest daughter's school Halloween Party last week, I donated Mummy Pretzels.  Many of the moms there asked me for directions on how to make my cute little buddies, so I decided I'd blog about it and they can get it here.  So let's get right to it:

What you will need:

A bag of large pretzel sticks - I used store brand
Chocolate Wafers (these work best - no fuss)
White Chocolate Wafers
A small box of nerds or other small candy
Plastic Ziplock bags
Wax Paper
Plastic bags for store pretzels ($1 store carries these)
embellishments

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate all the chocolate wafers in the microwave in a large measuring cup or microwave bowl - chocolate should be the consistency of elmer's glue.  Melt for 30 seconds, give it a stir and place back in for 30 more seconds you should be set. .  
• Line your table with wax paper.  
• Dip your pretzels in the chocolate making sure to coat them 1/2 way and lay them on the wax paper to cool and harden
• Press the candy nerds onto the chocolate for the eyes while the chocolate is still warm. 
  
• Once all your pretzels are coated, place 1/2 of the white chocolate wafers in a zip lock back and pop in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Pull the bag out and massage for a few seconds.  Pop it back in for another 30 seconds and you should be all set.  Massage the bag for a bit to make sure all the wafers melt.  Press the chocolate all the way to corner of the bag removing air and snip 1/8 of an inch off the corner.
• Now the fun begins.  Drizzle the white chocolate over the pretzels in a back and forth motion to form the mummy wraps, going around the eyes and over the top of the eyes as well.  It doesn't have to be perfect, these are mummies.  
• Let them sit for about 10 minutes to harden.  Then flip these buggers over and drizzle chocolate over the back side in the same way you did the front. 

Let the last coat of chocolate dry for about 20 minutes. You don't have to stick them in the fridge.  Just let them set on the table.  Once dry you can begin putting them in individual baggies and embellish the bags. I displayed the pretzels in a pumpkin I got at the dollar store.

Have fun!  These were a hit at the party.  I only made 35 (one bag) and they were gone with in minutes.  Parents were grabbing them as well as the kiddies.

I have a hidden talent that many don't know about and those that do know tend to try and capitalize.  I love sculpting cakes and I really , really, really love making crazy cupcakes.  Cupcakes are just one of those things that are easier to work with because of their size.  They aren't as time consuming as a full size cake and I can still sculpt and mold my creations with ease. I've been on a baking kick lately, it appears that the approach of the holidays has me hitting the ground in high gear with 4 cake orders for November alone - and this is suppose to be a hobby. 

Today I had someone ask me if I could ship my cupcakes ---- hmmmm, pondering I responded that I would have to investigate and see how I can ship my creations and make sure they arrive in one piece.  So I did what every other intelligent being on this plant would do - I Googled!

The results were astounding, I started by reading Cakespy.com's cupcake shipping experiment - hey it was highly entertaining AND informative.  At least I learned "how not to ship a cupcake".   Then I ventured onto I heart Cuppycakes,  she provided a good solution - I didn't think of freezing my cupcakes before shipping.  This would allow my icing to stiffen and reduce the risk of damage during shipping. Not sure how this would work with my chocolate sculptures on some of my cupcakes.  I'll have to investigate this further.

Then I found a post regarding Beantown Baker - I absolutely love this idea - Cupcake in a Jar, absolutely Genius .  Not sure if I'll use it or it would work with my cupcakes but I might give it a shot for individual cupcakes.

Finally, I found what I may have been looking for at BRP Box Shop - actual cupcake box inserts.  I think I could make these work. 

Here's how I could possibly handle shipping a cupcake:

1. Bake and decorate my cupcake
2. Flash Freeze the baby
3. Place cupcakes in a cupcake box with the inserts and a little dab of frosting or liquid sugar on the bottom to hold them in place - you know how you do when you're making pain in the butt roses on a flower nail with parchment.

I'm still unsure about my cupcake toppers which are usually sculpted in chocolate - hmmm. I'll have to do a test and let you all know how this goes.