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make your own cupcake wrappers

A few days ago, someone asked me if I wanted to help make some wedding shower cupcakes. (Umm, YES, please.) And then I realized that I have NO IDEA what a wedding shower cupcake should look like. So I did what any normal person would do. Which is... absolutely nothing for a couple of days. Then I spent some time with my good friend, Google Images. And then I got this great idea to use cupcake wrappers. (You know, those pieces of paper that go around a finished cupcake.) But...you know....since I live in Korea...I have limited options. So I decided to make some. I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find a template and re-sizing it over and over again until it fit. Seriously, my children almost went hungry in the process. (It's a good thing my son licked the bowl after all the cupcake liners were filled. I think it gave me that extra 20 minutes I needed.) Seriously though, I love making liners. You can make them in any color and pattern you want. And it makes me feel bette

and the Korean goods go to...

So...I've got this whole pile of Korean stuff just burning a hole in my apartment. It's anxious to get on its way. And I'll be honest, I can't wait for it to leave either. There were a few cross words between us yesterday...and things just aren't going to be the same from here on out. I think its just time to let go and live our own separate lives. So after adjusting for double posts (I'm so glad to know that I'm not the ONLY one who forgets to leave contact information!) ... Tara from The Sugar Tree I hope you are ready because this random assortment of Korean goodness is headed your way! Send me your address when you take a break from saving the world.

Boy graduates vs. Girl graduates

I made some graduation cookies. I don't actually have any "graduation" cookie cutters....so I used this guy. Happy Graduation Class of 2011! And...Congratulations....and...Good Luck!

Royal Icing Recipe with Dried Egg Whites

How to make royal icing with powdered or dried egg whites - a royal icing recipe for making decorated sugar cookies.  I'm actually kind of surprised that anyone cares how I do anything . When people first started asking me how I make royal icing I would reply with, "You know...just like everyone else does. Egg whites...powdered sugar....done." I really wasn't trying to brush anyone off or keep some kind of weird icing secret. And it was only later that I found out that most people use a meringue powder to make royal icing. But it's still basically the same way. Yield: about 8 cups Author: Georganne Bell Print Recipe With Image Without Image Royal Icing with Dehydrated Egg Whites A creamy smooth royal icing for making decorated sugar cookies that uses powdered egg whites. ingredients: 1/4 cup dried egg whites 2/3 cup room temperature water 1 Tbsp lemon juice (or 1/2 tsp cream of tartar) *** BOTH ARE OPTIONAL 2 pounds powdered su

the thing about Korea

~~~CONTEST CLOSED~~~ I don't know why I've kept this whole "living in Korea" thing quiet for so long. There are some great things here that you all should know about. And one of the most adorable cookie cutters I've seen in a while. I lie awake at night feeling bad that none of you have ever seen this cutter. Okay, no, not really. But I can imagine that if it ever occurred to me late at night, I probably would stay awake thinking about it. In fact...I've decided to give away some of my favorite Korean things. So....here we go! This picture represents the sum total of cookie cutters I have purchased since moving to Korea. Just LOOK at that adorable little hippo cutter! It's maybe 2 inches wide. Maybe. (P.S. In answer to quite a few questions -- my husband is in the army. They told him to move here. They let us come with him. We LOVE it.) Most kitchen utensils come in pink here. I know this is totally a crummy picture and you can't tell...but the sp

confession to a crowd

It's time that I just come right out and say this to everyone. I live in South Korea. It's in Asia. I moved here with my family last summer. I love it here. It is, however, quite a bit different from the United States where I have lived pretty much every second of my life until I moved here.   Its hot and HUMID here in the summer. Like, really hot and humid. I always imagined that they would have beautiful, folded Asian fans for sale everywhere. As it turns out these type of fans are about a million times more efficient. Seriously, a million is not an exaggeration. My 4 year old can get a gale force wind going with one of these fans. I'm telling you -- its a genius design. This is bibimbap. It might be my new favorite food. Of all time. If you have a Korean restaurant near your house, don't even think about it -- just GO. There is a pretty good chance they will serve bibimbap. Food places here are a little different from the states in that it is not uncommon for t

Navy daisy cake

I don't know why I do this to myself. My little girl is going to have her first birthday next month. I want to make a cake that is navy, white, and yellow. So that's basically all I can think about these days. Someone needs a cake for something completely unrelated to my daughter's upcoming birthday? No problem....I basically make her birthday cake anyway. And between now and then I will probably exhaust all possible navy, yellow, and white designs in my head and the day before her party I will be totally stressed out because all of the designs are "used" and nothing will be fun and exciting anymore and I will have no option but to change the whole party to red and white. Maybe I can trick myself by trying to plan a red and white party NOW....and then switching to a navy, white, and yellow party later. Okay...so as I'm writing this post...as I'm waiting for the picture to upload ... this young daughter of mine that will be having her navy, white, and ye

Owl cookies

Things rarely work out exactly as I imagine they will. Like, one time, I planned this huge Thanksgiving meal for kind of a lot of people  (more than 20) while my husband was deployed with the army. And then in the two days before Thanksgiving... every single person canceled. So my little boy and I had macaroni and cheese for Thanksgiving dinner. Not quite what I had planned. (This is not a depressing story. Don't feel bad. It's funny. Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving Dinner. My little boy loved it.) Almost every single cookie I make is another example. Let me show you what I mean. 1) The square owl cookies-- the brown completely bled into the blue. This was not ideal. Buuut...it looks kind of rustic, so I'm going to go with it and call them "rustic owls." 2) See the blue square cookie on the right? I was going to make a lot more of them. But for some reason, I forgot and didn't make very much blue icing. At all. Soooo....I made a whole bunch of purp

a flower on a cake

I made a cake. It was kind of a last minute thing. Which...as it turns out...works pretty well for me. I'm kind of into that whole "instant gratification" thing. So a lot of what I make doesn't require hours of planning and preparing and thinking and...you know...whatever else people with lots of patience and exactness do when making cakes and cookies. The flower was a bit of a challenge though. Flowers need time to dry so they don't look wilted when you put them on a cake or cookie. Its a good thing I had just made those cameo cookies. I had a bag of white chocolate chips just STARING at me from the counter while I was standing there wondering how in the world I could make a flower in only a few minutes. In the end...I just rolled up the petals and dipped the back in melted white chocolate. Instant flower. And in other news...Easter candy is on sale. I don't know what is wrong with me. I walked past that rack 4 times. I rifled through the candy and reali