Princesses and Pirates!

This great little coffee spot in Carytown does kid's parties, and they have given me a chance at making their cakes.  This is the second party I've done, and I'm so excited about it!  The place itself is small enough so you can see everything, and yet large enough so your kiddo has room to romp around.  There is an infant play area and a "big kid" play area, and everything is clean and kept tidy.  The coffee is excellent and the staff is SO friendly!  They are affiliated with the church that meets at the Byrd Theatre on Sundays (I can't think of the name!) and it's just one of the best places to take your kid when you need a little "me" time.  They also have activities like story time for the little ones.  Their parties are reasonably priced, too!  So I just really like working with them.  Anyway, I'll get on with the sweets!

The theme was a Princess theme (with pirates for the boys), so I made some gumpaste crowns by using a large cutter that comes with the floral kit from Wilton, then shaped and cut, and put in a weird holder that I got from the Children's Museum to dry...I know, weird.  I don't even know what this thing is.  But it worked perfectly!  After they dried for two days, I thinned different colors with alcohol and painted on the gems.  Then I let the alcohol evaporate completely over the course of four days (just to be sure, this IS a kids party!)

For the pirates, I cut circles of gumpaste, then used the leaf cutter and rolled the results LONG.  I used those for the bandanas.  I then drew on the faces and decorated the bandannas using the aforementioned thinning technique.

After baking over 40 cupcakes (you have to always make a few extra for the ones that don't make it for whatever reason) and cooling them, I made the buttercream, colored it, piped it, and placed the crowns and pirates on.  I think they're adorable!  Except when some of the princesses went hussy and  joined the pirates.  That was just uncalled for!