Using My Talents for Good

I feel that I have been blessed with many talents, and that I have an obligation to use them to help people and to make the world a better place. So when I heard that my friend's ward (church congregation) was collecting hats for the local children's oncology ward, I knew I wanted to participate. In addition to what I would otherwise have donated, I have pledged to make and donate one hat for every item sold in my Etsy shop between now and the end of February. This project is special to me because a few years ago, I began a tradition of donating hats to children with cancer, in honor of my son who passed away from SIDS at 4 months. I have donated 4 hats (two to a charity and two to specific children). My goal is to donate another 4 hats to this specific drive, as well as any additional hats made in conjunction with sales.

Tutorial: Royal Icing Butterflies

See the full cake here.

I'm sorry I didn't have the forethought to document the step-by-step in pictures. So you'll just have to go off the photo of the finished thing. These need to be made at least 2 days in advance, to allow proper drying.

Here is the recipe I used to make the royal icing:
-2 lbs powdered sugar
-2 Tbsp meringue powder (or egg white powder, you may use 2 egg whites instead)
-1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
-2/3 C water

Dissolve the meringue powder into the water, then throw everything into your stand mixer and let it go until it is a smooth, even consistency. It should have a "stiff peak" consistency, which means that the peaks of the icing look sharp and don't move. We will actually be using "soft peak" and "flooding" consistencies, but we want to start off with "stiff peak" in case you need to use it for any other decorations (such as flowers). If it is too soft, mix in more powdered sugar until you get the stiff peaks. Now put it all in an airtight container, because it dries quickly. Only pull out what you will be working with. To make the other consistencies, simply add water, little by little, until it is the right consistency. According to one of my books.





Stiff Peak - Suitable for most piping tasks. The icing peaks stay firm and sharp. Don't make it too firm or it will be difficult to pipe.

Soft Peak - This is the basic consistency for flat icing a cake. The icing should hold a peak that just falls over slightly at the tip.

Flooding - To "flood" a shape, the icing needs to be much looser. To test, spoon a little into a bowl and the lines and edges of any peaks should fade within 8 seconds.

What you'll need to make the butterflies:
-food coloring (I use AmeriColor gel dyes, but I think any food coloring will work)
-pastry bags (I prefer using parchment triangles and making disposable bags because it really minimizes the clean up time)
-template of butterfly outline(s)*
-wax paper or parchment paper
-Wilton tip 3 (or other small round tip)
-cardstock

*Note: I got the templates from the book Pretty Party Cakes, but any simple outline of butterfly wings would work.  Here's one I just found at the top of my Google search:

I like the ones that divide the wings into top and bottom sections, because it adds more definition and allows you to use multiple colors. But anyway, you want the wings to be 1.5 inches to 2 inches tall.

Directions
1. Mix your colors and prepare your pastry bags.
2. Put wax paper over template. Using Wilton tip 3 and soft peak icing, pipe the outline of the butterfly wings (do not pipe the body).
3. Use flooding icing to fill the top wings. If you will be decorating with sprinkles or sugar, apply now. Allow to dry.
4. Use flooding icing (in a complimentary color, if desired) to fill the bottom wings. It should meet the top wings (so the actual piped outline in the middle of the wing is no longer visible). As before, if you are using sprinkles or sugar, apply now. Allow to dry.
5. Repeat for all butterflies.You may also decorate them by piping dots in a contrasting color once the wings are dry.
6. Pipe a couple of feelers (antenna) for each butterfly in a matching color on a piece of wax paper.
7. Let everything dry and set for at least 2 days in a warm dry place.
8. Fold some pieces of cardstock or thin cardboard into a "V" shape to support the wings and line with a piece of folded wax paper.
9. Pipe a small line of royal icing in a color matching the butterfly into the fold of the paper. Lift the wings with a small spatula and place them in position on either side of the "V" shape. Allow to dry.
10. Pipe a head and a body in the middle between the wings and stick 2 feelers carefully into the head. Allow to dry in position for at least 3 hours.

Activity: Egg Carton Counters

I was in charge of teaching a math lesson for my daughter's educational toddler school. We made egg carton counters to focus on number recognition and counting. This is a very easy, inexpensive way to work on numbers with your child. Below, I describe five different activities you can do with your child to work on different aspects of number. Today we focused on the first three: recognizing and naming the number, counting up to a specific number, and learning what each number represents. The other two are more advanced, teaching the concepts of addition and subtraction.

Label the compartments of an egg carton with the numbers 1-12 in order.

I made little number cards (2.5"x1.75") out of cardstock and had each number on one card. I got all fancy and pulled out my Cricut machine to ink the numbers on. But you could just write them on scraps of paper if you didn't want to put that much effort into it. Anyway, there are several different activities you can do with these!

#1: Number recognition - teaches them to recognize the numbers out of sequence

I had my daughter randomly choose a number card, then I would ask her what number it was. She knew some of them. If she got it right I would say, "That's right! That's 2!" or whatever number it was. If she got it wrong or didn't answer at all, I would say, "That's 9. Can you say 'nine'?" Then I'd say "Okay, where does 9 go?" And she would find the spot. She likes pairing things up with their match, so this was probably her favorite part.

#2: Simple Counting - teaches them to count in sequence

I forgot to take a picture of this one, but this is what you do. You have the child select a number card, and you can repeat the steps for the number recognition activity. Once they put the number card in the corresponding compartment, you help them count up to it using the counters. We used Cheerios, which proved a little too distracting for some of the kids, but I was worried about them trying to eat beads or stick beans up their noses. Anyway, any small item will do. Then starting with the first compartment, you put one counter in each compartment -- counting out loud -- until you finally put one where the number card is. So your child picks 4, you have them say the number and put it in compartment #4. Then help them put in one Cheerio at a time as you count "1... 2... 3... 4!" Hopefully they count along with you.

#3: Number Values - teaches them what each number represents

Start the same way as before, by letting the child pick a number card. Then find the corresponding compartment and put that many counters in it. So if your child picks 5, you help them find the compartment labeled 5 and count out loud as you place five Cheerios (or other small item) into it. This helps them to see the number written, hear its name, and see that it represents a certain amount of things. You can leave the counters in the compartment as your child picks a new card, until they have gone through all 12.

#4: Addition (Advanced)

As your child becomes more familiar with numbers, you can use these to begin teaching them the concepts of addition and subtraction. For addition, set two small piles in front of them. Have them count how many Cheerios are in each pile. Let's say one pile has two and the other has four. You say, "We have two, and we have four. What is two plus four?" Then using the method described in Activity #2, use the compartments to count up to 6. Then reinforce, "Two plus four is six!"

#5: Subtraction (Advanced)

For subtraction, start with the counters already in the compartments. So let's say we start with six. Say "We have six Cheerios! What happens if we take away two? What is six minus two?" Take the counter from compartment 6 and sit it in front of the child while saying "One." Then take the counter from compartment 5 and add it to the pile while saying "Two!" Then explain "We took away two. How many are left?" Now help the child count the remaining four Cheerios. Reinforce: "We had six. We took away two. Now there are four. Six minus two is four!"

Tutorial: Royal Icing Flowers

See the full cake here.

Royal icing may be my new favorite decorating technique! I used the same flower piping techniques I learned using buttercream as a teenager taking my first Wilton classes. But royal icing not only holds its shape better, but it allows you to create them ahead of time. You can also rearrange them on the cake without destroying them.

Anyway, here is the recipe I used to make the royal icing:
-2 lbs powdered sugar
-2 Tbsp meringue powder (or egg white powder, you may use 2 egg whites instead)
-1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
-2/3 C water

Dissolve the meringue powder into the water, then throw everything into your stand mixer and let it go until it is a smooth, even consistency. It should have a "stiff peak" consistency, which means that the peaks of the icing look sharp and don't move. There are also "soft peak" and "flooding" consistencies, but we want the stiff peak for flowers. If it is too soft, mix in more powdered sugar until you get the stiff peaks. Now put it all in an airtight container, because it dries quickly. Only pull out what you will be working with.

Now, what you'll need to make the flowers:
-food coloring (I use AmeriColor gel dyes, but I think any food coloring will work)
-pastry bags (I prefer using parchment triangles and making disposable bags because it really minimizes the clean up time)
-flower nail
-wax paper or parchment paper
-Wilton tips 3, 4, 104, 352

To color icing, put the amount you want in a separate bowl and immediately cover the rest to keep it from drying out. Here are instructions from a book for making the big 5-petal flowers and the daisies:

5-Petal Flower (white) and Daisey (pink) -- sorry one of them chipped as I was setting up for the picture.

5-Petal Flowers
1. From a sheet of parchment paper, cut small squares slightly larger than the flower to be piped.
2. Make a paper pastry bag an snip the tip off the empty bag to produce an opening large enough to fit a metal piping tip. Drop a Wilton 104 piping tip inside the bag, narrow end first.
3. Fill the bag with appropriately colored stiff-peak icing.
4. Pipe a small dot of icing on top of the flower nail, stick one of the paper squares on top, and hold the nail in one hand.
5. Hold the pastry bag in the other hand at a 45-degree angle to the nail, with the wide end of the tip touching the middle of the flower nail and the narrow end pointing out and slightly raised.
6. Squeeze out the first petal and give the nail a one-quarter turn as you move the nozzle out toward the edge of the flower nail. Use less pressure as you are moving back toward the middle and curve the nozzle slightly to give the petal a natural shape. Stop squeezing as the wide end touches the middle of the nail and lift up the tip.
7. Repeat this 4 more times to make all the petals.
8. Remove the flower with its base paper from the nail and leave to dry.
9. Pipe small yellow dots (using Wilton 4) into the middle as stamens.

Daisies
1. Use a Wilton 104 piping tip and some stiff-peak white royal icing.
2. Prepare your pastry bag and paper squares for the flower nail as above.
3. Mark the middle of the paper lined nail with a dot of icing.
4. Start at the outer edge of the nail, holding the wide end of the tip away from the middle and the narrow end towards the middle of the nail.
5. Slightly touch the paper with the wide end of the piping tip, squeeze out the icing and pull the tip toward the middle as you release the pressure. Stop and pull the tip away.
6. Repeat for 8 or more petals, while turning the nail appropriately.
7. Remove the flower with the base paper from the nail and leave to dry.
8. Pipe small yellow dots (using Wilton 4) into the middle as stamens.

The roses, rosebuds, and leaves I made from what I remember learning a long time ago, and I just made up the little yellow flowers. I'll try to give the best instructions I can.

Leaves, little flowers, and rosebuds (apparently I forgot to take a close up of the rose)

Little Flowers
1. Using a Wilton 104 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing, make a dot and release pressure as you drag toward the middle.
2. Repeat for remaining 4 petals and allow to dry.

Leaves
1. Use a Wilton 351 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing. One of the sharp points should be touching the wax paper, the other should be straight up in the air.
2. Briefly apply pressure to the piping bag, then release pressure and pull away.
3. For a slightly wider leaf, apply pressure a bit longer. For a ruffled leaf, apply pressure even longer and it will ruffle itself. End the same way, by releasing pressure and pulling away.

Rose
1. Using a Wilton 104 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing, make a small mound of icing on the wax paper (on the flower nail).
2. With the wide end of the tip down and the skinny end pointing straight up, pipe icing on top of the mound while spinning the flower nail all the way around (you will create an upside-down cone).
3. Touching the wide end to the base of the cone, pipe as you turn the nail 1/3 of the way around. Release pressure and lift tip.
4. Turn the nail backwards a tiny bit and start the next petal so that it overlaps the one you just made by a little bit. Pipe as you turn the nail; release pressure and lift up.
5. Continue making petals around the flower until it is the size you want.

Rosebud
1. Use a Wilton 104 piping tip and stiff-peak royal icing. Place the wide end down on the wax paper, with the skinny end raised about 45 degrees.
2. Pipe and draw a figure "S" with the icing. Release pressure and lift tip. Allow to dry.
3. Following the directions about, pipe one or two small leaves directly on to the rosebud, starting at the base and pulling toward the top.

New Cake Decorating Techniques

Royal icing, chocolate bowls, and sugar frosted fruit... The young women in my church needed a nice cake for one of their activities, and I was more than willing to do it for them. It has been almost 3 years since the last time I made a big, fancy cake. I wanted to try out some new techniques and started making the decorations a few days in advance. I was very pleased and excited about the final product!

I stacked two hexagon tiers, iced it with chocolate buttercream, adorned it with royal icing flowers and butterflies, and topped it with a chocolate bowl filled with sugar frosted berries.

See my tutorials for making chocolate bowls and sugar frosted fruit.

See my tutorials for making royal icing flowers and royal icing butterflies.

Pattern: Basic Earflap Hat (6-12 years)

When I started learning how to crochet, I relied heavily on free patterns. So in order to return the favor, pay it forward, and help the next generation of crocheters, here is my pattern for a basic earflap hat.


Sizes 1-3 years and 3-6 years

MATERIALS:
U.S. Size I/9 (5.50mm) crochet hook
Worsted weight yarn

6-12 years

Rnd 1: In a magic ring, make 8sc, slst to join. (8sc)
Rnd 2: Ch2 (counts as first hdc here and in rest of pattern), hdc in same st as joining, 2hdc in each remaining stitch, sl st to join. (16 hdc)
Rnd 3: Ch2, 2hdc in next stitch, [1hdc in next, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (24 hdc)
Rnd 4: Ch2, 1hdc in next, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 2, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (32 hdc)
Rnd 5: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 2 stitches, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 3, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (40 hdc)
Rnd 6: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 3 stitches, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 4, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (48 hdc)
Rnd 7: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 4 stitches, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 5, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (56 hdc)
Rnd 8: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 5 stitches, 2hd in next, [1hdc in each of next 6, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (64 hdc)
Rnds 9-18: Ch2, 1hdc in each stitch, sl st to join. (64 hdc)
After Rnd 18, fasten off.

Fold hat in half so that joining seam is entirely on one side (this will be the back). Go to one of the edges; the fold is where the middle of the earflap will be.

EARFLAP #1
Row 1: Starting 6 stitches to the right of the folded stitch, attach yarn with sc. 1 sc in each of next 12 stitches. (13 sc)
Rows 2-12: Ch1, turn, sc2tog, 1sc in each remaining stitch. (Row 12 will have 1 sc2tog and 1 sc)
Row 13: Ch1, turn, sc2tog. Fasten off.

EARFLAP #2
Row 1: Starting on the left of finished earflap, skip 19 stitches. Attach yarn with sc in next stitch. 1 sc in each of next 12 stitches. (There should be 19 open stitches on each side of the earflap.) (11 sc)
Rows 2-12: Ch1, turn, sc2tog, 1sc in each remaining stitch. (Row 12 will have 1 sc2tog and 1 sc)
Row 13: Ch1, turn, sc2tog. DO NOT fasten off.

BORDER
Row 1: Beginning at corner of earflap #2, ch1, sc evenly around edge, making 3sc in the corner of each earflap, sl st to join. If you are adding a contrasting color around the edge, fasten off. Otherwise, complete Row 2 with same color.
Row 2: If you are using a contrasting color for the edge, attach with sc. Otherwise, ch1 and sc in same stitch as joining. 1sc in each stitch around, but make 2sc in the corners of each earflap. Sl st to join and fasten off.

Pattern: Basic Earflap Hat (1-3 years and 3-6 years)

When I started learning how to crochet, I relied heavily on free patterns. So in order to return the favor, pay it forward, and help the next generation of crocheters, here is my pattern for a basic earflap hat. (I will eventually publish all sizes, but I wanted to at least get up what I have written down already).

Size 6-12 years

MATERIALS:
U.S. Size I/9 (5.50mm) crochet hook
Worsted weight yarn

1-3 years/3-6 years

For 1-3 years:
Rnd 1: In a magic ring, make 8sc, slst to join. (8sc)

For 3-6 years:
Rnd 1: In a magic ring, make 8 hdc, sl st to join. (8 hdc)

The rest of the pattern (except round 17) is the same for both sizes.
Rnd 2: Ch2 (counts as first hdc here and in rest of pattern), hdc in same st as joining, 2hdc in each remaining stitch, sl st to join. (16 hdc)
Rnd 3: Ch2, 2hdc in next stitch, [1hdc in next, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (24 hdc)
Rnd 4: Ch2, 1hdc in next, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 2, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (32 hdc)
Rnd 5: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 2 stitches, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 3, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (40 hdc)
Rnd 6: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 3 stitches, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 4, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (48 hdc)
Rnd 7: Ch2, 1hdc in each of next 4 stitches, 2hdc in next, [1hdc in each of next 5, 2hdc in next] 7 times, sl st to join. (56 hdc)
Rnds 8-16: Ch2, 1hdc in each stitch, sl st to join. (56 hdc)

If you are making size 1-3 years, fasten off after Rnd 16. If you are making size 3-6 years, continue to Rnd 17.

Rnd 17: Ch2, 1hdc in each stitch, sl st to join, fasten off. (56 hdc)

Fold hat in half so that joining seam is entirely on one side (this will be the back). Go to one of the edges; the fold is where the middle of the earflap will be.

EARFLAP #1
Row 1: Starting 5 stitches to the right of the folded stitch, attach yarn with sc. 1 sc in each of next 10 stitches. (11 sc)
Rows 2-10: Ch1, turn, sc2tog, 1sc in each remaining stitch. (Row 10 will have 1 sc2tog and 1 sc)
Row 11: Ch1, turn, sc2tog. Fasten off.

EARFLAP #2
Row 1: Starting on the left of finished earflap, skip 17 stitches. Attach yarn with sc in next stitch. 1 sc in each of next 10 stitches. (There should be 17 open stitches on each side of the earflap.) (11 sc)
Rows 2-10: Ch1, turn, sc2tog, 1sc in each remaining stitch. (Row 10 will have 1 sc2tog and 1 sc)
Row 11: Ch1, turn, sc2tog. DO NOT fasten off.

BORDER
Row 1: Beginning at corner of earflap #2, ch1, sc evenly around edge, making 3sc in the corner of each earflap, sl st to join. If you are adding a contrasting color around the edge, fasten off. Otherwise, complete Row 2 with same color.
Row 2: If you are using a contrasting color for the edge, attach with sc. Otherwise, ch1 and sc in same stitch as joining. 1sc in each stitch around, but make 2sc in the corners of each earflap. Sl st to join and fasten off.