Birdhouses and a Birthday!

Our oldest granddaughter turns 8 on May 25 (where has the time gone?) She had a birthday party with her friends today.It was held at a ceramics shop, the kids got to pick a piece to paint.  It was a very fun, no-fuss birthday party!

 

 Her request to her Nana was to make some cake pops. Now I'm not a big fan of cake pops, they are much too sweet for me. However, a Nana always tries to please so I set out to fulfill her wish!

 

I wanted to do something different than just a plain cake pop. We must keep Nana entertained, and not bored, you see! While searching for ideas online I ran across the cutest truffle wrappers and knew they would be perfect for cake balls (cake pops without the sticks!) With the truffle wrappers the cake balls look like flowers. I found an inspiration picture of a garden-themed party with painted birdhouses. My mind went into high gear. It just so happened I had a few unpainted birdhouses in my closet (you can buy them at any hobby store) and lots of material and ribbon scraps. So, with scissors, glue and a little paint, I sat down and decorated a bird house! It became the centerpiece of the cake ball plate and my color theme.

 

 

 

I enjoy making sugar cookies (and my family loves eating them!) My decorating skills improve with each batch I make but they are no where near the beauty you can find at various cookie blogs. I tend to stick to cookie cutters with not much detail because I don't trust my piping skills yet. For favors I made birdhouse cookies, using a mini heart cookie cutter to add more whimsy.

I played with a new-to-me technique; making royal icing transfers of birds. It was easy to do and produced a more uniform bird than if I had tried to pipe a bird on each cookie. To do this I colored the icing and placed in a decorating bag. I found a clip art that I liked so I made a few copies. I then taped some waxed paper to my countertop, placed the clip art under the waxed paper and, using the picture as a guide, piped the birds. I let them dry overnight. They easily pop off the waxed paper. They can be stored for a long time, I put my extras in a mini canning jar. Anytime you have extra frosting you can make flowers, balloons, birds, any image you want, for future useage.

 

 

To use the transfers, I piped and flooded the cookies and, using tweezers, placed the transfer on the wet cookie. Once the cookie was dry, I used a food-safe marker to make the eyes and a little dark yellow icing to make the beak. I will definately be using more royal icing transfers in the future!

My granddaughter was pleased with her Nana's efforts and I got a big hug. She asked to keep the birdhouse for her bedroom. Now her little sister wants one, too! It just so happens I have another birdhouse in the closet, and more fabric and ribbon...

Please join me at Metamorphosis Monday!