Wedding Cookie Favors

Wedding cookies are now very popular in the US replacing the usual bon-bons and meringue kisses as favors. Most of the time, these are soft butter cookies because the light colour makes it easier to work with your wedding theme colours. Why soft cookies and not crunchy ones, you ask? Well, crunchy ones will soften once exposed and not kept in an airtight container. So the best bet is a cookie firm enough to hold its shape and soft to chew. Among the wedding cookie shapes I have are 3-tier cake, dress, bride, groom, church bells, twin-hearts, single heart and a couple of shapes that can be toyed around the wedding theme. Cookies are priced from RM4.50 each. Packaging is priced separately to be in line with your theme.

3-Tier wedding cake

Wedding dress

Bride in bustier

Bridegroom in shorts

Single Heart

New Wedding Idea

I love it when brides take on suggestions of using new ideas to fire-up an otherwise conventional table centrepiece. 2009 has seen hundreds of wedding cupcakes stacked up for in weddings after weddings. Cupcakes are actually brilliant for weddings because there are no wastage (and no over-spending!!). Everyone gets one and it beats the traditional fruit cake anytime due to it's "cute" factor.

This weekend is a young couple's wedding and the bride had chosen a new wedding cake idea. Slated as year 2010's wedding cake trend of the year, cookie-on-a-cupcake is sure to turn heads and draw oohhs and aahhs. See it for yourself!

It's basically a cupcake (choose your favourite flavour or have a mix) and a soft butter cookie on top of it! The cookies are what many brides have used as wedding favors - completely decorated using your wedding theme colour. This is actually the neck aching, back-breaking and time-consuming part with multiple process involved. Now you know why cookie favors are expensive! And be forewarned! The icing used on these cookies are tooth-achingly sweet and there's no way of cutting down on that without loosing the effect on the cookies.

These cookie-on-a-cupcake will be great for small receptions or private parties. You can take this idea further with other cookie shapes. Check out my cookie cutter list and you can think of using them for baby showers, engagement parties, etc. The cupcakes can also be individually boxed as party favors.

Children Cupcakes

After all these years, I am still doing tv/movie character cakes! I stink at copying syndicated cartoon characters and I avoid taking orders for such cakes at all cost. While it restricts one's imagination and limits creativity when it comes to decorating a cake, the main reason for me is dissapointing the child if my Winnie looks like a China-made imitation or Lightning McQueen looking like an old Mitsubishi Lancer!!

Yet, it is so hard to turn down a child's request when he/she specifically wants Aunty Deenie's cake.... awww... I tried and through the years, manage to muster something remotely-alike to a Power Ranger or Ultraman until recently, I found these edible icing prints! God-sent! They are basically sugar paste in sheets and uses edible ink to print out any cartoon or photographs on them. I got a sheet of Disney princesses and a sheet with various Spidey poses yesterday. Needless to say, Little Miss was absolutely over the moon that I was going to use them for her year-end class party.

For the boys

For the girls

So now, I know what to do if children demand and insist for Ben10 or Hannah Montana from their poor mothers!

For A Very Special Teacher

Mrs Tai celebrates her birthday today and her adoring 3-year old class children (and their very thoughtful mums,) decided to celebrate with her favourite chocolate cake. This 7" round cake had mini cupcake faces of the class children and their names "pencil-labeled". I wish I was a teacher!

JULIA Pleated Bag

Side B

New! New! New! The new Pleated Shoulder Bag. The centre A-pleat gives this otherwise simple bag, some character of its own. A shoulder bag that's great for the weekend. As for JULIA, I really, really like this fabric design. Maybe it's the different shades green (one of my favourite colours) and it's eccentric design. While being low-key in green, the hot pink pears screams attention to the bag. The Pleated Bag is an absolute must-have for the coming year-end shopping trips to the malls! Dimensions are 14" at the widest end to 11" at the top with a 20.5" shoulder strap. Comes with 2 pockets inside and a magnetic snap closure.

RM68

Availability: 1

CINDI Pleated Bag

Side B

CINDI in the all-new A-Pleated Bag is such a refreshing sight. The lime green background is simply thrown off its track with this swash of pink! Very much like a young man's life taken over by a sweet young thing ;-) This fabric design will be great for the twenty-somethings (or the jovial thirty (forty)-somethings like the real Cindy, I know). A bright and fun bag measuring at 14" to 11" from the widest end upwards with 2 internal pockets and a magnetic snap closure. The 20.5" shoulder strap will keep the bag snugly near you.

RM68

Availability: 0

ARICA Pleated Bag

Side B

All new Pleated Bag in ARICA. This Alpine-inspired design is so cool, literary... it was the spring colours with winter motifs that first drew me to this bale of cloth. I needed a bag design that could incorporate the motifs as it was basically a big piece of artwork, and the A-Pleated Bag was the perfect bag. Measuring at 14" from the widest end to 11" at the top, it is a good size for weekend mall-hopping. The shoulder strap is 20.5" end-to-end. Inside, you'll find 2 pockets for your mobile phone and breath mints. The bag snaps shut with a magnetic closure.

RM68

Availability: 0

All bags are handcrafted using (sometimes) end-run designer fabrics, so by their very nature, most bags are limited editions. As such, I cannot guarantee that any colour combination or fabric design will be repeated at any time. Kindly check its availability.

JEAN Pleated Bag

This is new! Introducing the all new A-Pleated Bag. This stylish shoulder bag is A-pleated at the centre to give it sillhouette and JEAN is a beautiful design. The greyish background with the berries and branches reminds me of an Australian summer Christmas. This bag will be a great present for your best friend or your favourite (opps..) sister-in-law! The Pleated Bag's dimensions are 14" to 11"(width from the widest end upwards) x 14.5"(h) and a 20.5" end-to-end shoulder strap. The bag has 2 internal pockets and snaps shut with a magnetic closure.

RM68
Availability: 0

PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE Cupcakes

This family chocolate cupcake has a refreshing surprise in every bite. A little bit of peppermint and a little bit of spearmint just for a good old fashioned Christmas chocolate mint treat. It's "snow-capped" with buttercream and a genuine candy cane.

RM36 for a gift box of 6 cupcakes.

GEMMA Slouch Bag

The GEMMA fabric turned out to be the best fabric for the Slouch Bag. Notice how slouchy it is? I love how it falls and how hobo it looks. Very understated, yet the sheen on the fabric gives the bag a little lift in the attention-grabbing department. Think I'll sew one for myself... Dimensions for this bag is 11"(w) x 11"(h) x 2.5"(gusset). The inner lining is a sturdy fabric in dark green, to back-up its fine exterior fabric. Comes with a pocket and a magnetic snap closure.

RM58
Availability: 0
All bags are handcrafted using (sometimes) end-run designer fabrics, so by their very nature, most bags are limited editions. As such, I cannot guarantee that any colour combination or fabric design will be repeated at any time. Kindly check its availability.

CILLA Slouch Bag

The CILLA is back and finally, in a Slouch Bag. After a month-long hiatus, the first bag I sewed had to have this fabric. Something Seuss-y about it and with the green stripes peeping through at the top, I get a sense of hidden prowness... that goes for whoever that uses this bag, too! The CILLA Slouch Bag measures 11"(w) x 11"(h) x 2.5"(gusset) and comes with a pocket inside. The bag closes with a magnetic snap.

RM58
Availability: 0

Counting down to Christmas 2009...

And it isn't too early. I have started soaking the fruits for my regular orders of Great Bakes' annual rich fruit cake and drafted this list of Christmas bakes for this year. I'll add in the photos as and when I find my way out of the kitchen in a week or so. Have fun planning!

PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

* These rich chocolate cupcakes are tainted with crunchy, cooling mint. It's like chocolate candy cane! They'll be topped with mint buttercream and a little candy cane.

RM36 for a box of 6 cupcakes.

CHRISTMAS FRUIT CUPCAKES

* Instead of the regularly-featured fruit cakes, give these mini cakes a try. They are as traditionally rich as they are supposed to be. Just in a different form. Moist and flavourful, these cupcakes will be covered in fondant and aptly decorated for that Christmassy mood. Excellent if they are intended for gifts because they keep very well under the fondant.

p/s: Alcohol can be omitted with these cupcakes.

RM48 for a box of 6 cupcakes.

Note: Cupcakes are of standard size (2") in gold patty cases. They will be in either red or gold boxes, ribboned.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

* Made with my favourite gingerbread cookie recipe, they'll come in all Christmassy shapes. 2 variations will be made available: unfrosted and fully-decorated. The unfrosted cookies will be bagged and sold by weight. Great for festive munching while watching Ebenezer Scrooge in re-runs. Totally healthy! The sugar-frosted and fully-decorated versions will be a treat for children. Great as stocking stuffers and tree decorations (let me know if you want to hang them up, I'll punch a hole prior to baking).

GREAT BAKES' TRADITIONAL RICH FRUIT CAKE

* This cake comes in a 6" round and weighs around 800gms. Also in 2 variations: first is the cake will be as it is and wrapped in foil to keep the cake moist; the other is to have it covered the old-fashioned way with marzipan and fondant, also to keep the cake moist. Matter of who's eating it or who's getting it! Eliminating alcohol for this cake is NOT an option. Yes, we love our brandy in our fruit cake...yummm. Order dateline for this cake is November 15, 2009.

RM55 for naked fruit cake.

RM65 for dressed fruit cake (holly leaves, poinsettias, berries etc)

Do start planning and drop me a line via email or text me for your orders and pick-up date. Last order date is December 1, 2009.

For the curious... yes, I baked and stacked and decorated that 2-tier Christmas Cake. Thank you, thank you ;-) Another milestone for me!