Saturday, April 26, 2014

Easter Egg Pointillism

I saw these beautifully done, simple looking egg designs on Pinterest... Could I do this?


YES. Yes I can!

Time Length:
     Three minutes an egg

Difficulties: 
     Not having template stickers. I found images online and just used my eyes!
     Not knowing what animals to give what family members.

What made it easier:
     Simple designs.
     Being able to make the designs more exact - you can always make them smaller using the Sharpie.


2024 update:
I tried to put a teeny strip of painter's tape on the eggs before putting them in the color... I wanted to make smiling eggs. 
What made it easier:
     Put the tape on when the eggs are ROOM temperature. Hold it on for a minute or more bit before putting it in the dye.
And... here are some my cousin Cathe made this year!




Easter Centerpiece

 I saw this beauty on Pinterest, and just had to try a version of it...




Time Length:
     What took time was finding the glass containers. (Still I feel I have the wrong sizes...)
     10 minutes to set up

Difficulties: 
     Having jelly beans fall across the counter and onto the floor.
     Squishing the peeps in between the glass. They really are too small.
     I don't like how the jelly beans are all different colors. The original was much prettier. Of course, the gerber daisies used in the original were much prettier, as well.

What made it easier:
     Simple flowers.
     A family that understands I like to try new things.
     I loved using left over flowers for the bathroom, too...

These are in an old salad olive jar.

Easter Bunny Cake

So when you see a bunny cake that looks as simple as this one I saw on Pinterest, you've just got to try it!

 You'll need two of these...

Cut one so it looks like a baseball - these will be the ears and bow tie.

 It fits perfectly on the homemade tray - 25 X 12 inches.

 Oh, no... SO MUCH CUT cake to frost!

 My love showing me how he'd frost the cut portion of the cake...

Without a mouth..

 The finished product!

Time Length:
    Typical baking time, and then an hour... just to frost!

Difficulties: 
     How the HECK do cake companies frost CUT cake?? I had to load on the frosting, then put another layer over that. (This made substituting applesauce for oil in the cake recipe a joke...) I checked on YouTube and found a few videos, but none on how to frost CUT cake. I found out later that I could freeze the cake for a bit... 
     Making a tray for the cake to go on. 

What made it easier:
     New round pans.
     Flour over the sprayed oil on the pans - they popped out without a hitch.
     The fact that my love had a strong piece of box to cut the tray and cover with foil.
     My love helping me stay patient - and showing how he'd frost the sides (put on a LOT, and place it there with a spatula).
     Getting more frosting, so I wasn't afraid of using it all.
     The fact that I really wanted to surprise my family with this cake. That was motivating.