Hugs & Kisses Cake Tutorial - Jillibean Soup

Hello blogging friends!

As a kid my Mom would let me add designs or words onto the top of meatloaf with ketchup before putting it in the oven. This was usually just a smiley face or a Hello. Years later I am still playing with my food! Today I want to show you how you can use a Jillibean Soup digital cut file to decorate a cake (or brownies as I have done here) for Valentines Day ... or any day really when you want to tell someone you care! I have sent messages on the tops of cakes to friends battling cancer to make them laugh or just to offer encouragement. Heck, if you don't bake you could even do this with store bought brownies or cake!

Here's how you can make one too! Once you have decided on a design, you may need to alter it slightly to prevent the insides of letters from being discarded. Look at the O's in the XOXO. Marcia used the knife utility to cut away a portion of the O at the top and bottom so that the middle of the O would stay connected. She also did this for the larger loops in the S's and the K. A tip for using the knife utility ... Make your design bigger, then cut out the parts you don't want before sizing it as needed to fit on the top of your cake. Cut it out of any cardstock you have on hand in your stash. (I like to use colored cardstock, since I use mostly black and white on my layouts.)

After you have baked your cake and it has cooled down, place your stencil on top. Pour some powdered sugar into a sifter (or in a pinch use a strainer with small holes). Sprinkle powdered sugar evenly over the top. Then remove the stencil. A wet brush works really well at picking up stray pieces of sugar.

And here is the finished result ...

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup
Digital Cut Files: Hugs and Kisses / Design ID #276708

Other: Silhouette Cameo, cardstock, Brownie Mix, Powdered Sugar.

Are you ready to give it a try? I would love to see your cakes if you do!

Have an awesome rest of your week.

~Marcia

Bon Appetit - Jillibean Soup

Hello blogging friends,

I managed to scrap another layout of my European vacation using the gorgeous new You Make Miso Happy collection from Jillibean Soup. I love the pastel florals in this collection, but what caught my eye were those houses in the pea pod parts. I thought they would be perfect for a foodie layout. We tried a lot of different foods everywhere we went. On our last day in Paris my daughter told me we had to try escargot. "You want me to eat a snail!" I said. Well I did ... and I liked it, a lot! Never be afraid to sample the local cuisine. Snails taste a lot like sauteed mushrooms. The trick was getting them out of their shells. We were given a device that looked like a clamp to hold the shell and a little tiny fork to dig the snail out with. If you are looking for a fabulous Parisian cafe close to Musee d'Orsay try the Cocorico. We ate here a couple times it was so good!

I used a Jillibean Soup Tile digital cut file. I love these tile digital cut files. They are perfect for my food layouts as they remind me of the ceiling tiles from farmhouse kitchens. I used the fun yellow pattern paper to back the cut file. I did my journalling on vellum as I did not want to cover up too much of that beautiful background.

I layered lots of the pea pod die cuts with an enamel heart shape to draw attention to my title. I dug out my stash of Jillibean Soup corrugated alphas. I love their texture. There was a lot of brown in my photos and the brown alphas helped to pull the color scheme together.

By printing my photos in a strip, it helps to tell the story.... I look a little hesitant, don't I? lol.  I love my facial expression ... but really they were so good. I would definitely eat them again. To even out the title under my photos, I added a few houses in the opposite corner above my photos with some enamel hearts on top.

I really love how this turned out!

Supplies:
Jillibean Soup You Make Miso Happy collection
Jillibean Soup You Make Miso Happy Dashi pattern paper
Jillibean Soup You Make Miso Happy Pea Pod Parts
Jillibean Soup You Make Miso Happy Epoxy Shapes
Jillibean Soup You Make Miso Happy Stickers

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
~Marcia

Poogan's Porch - JustNick Studios

Hello blogging  friends!

Sorry I have been so quiet here on the blog. Life is just busy at the moment. I have multiple house projects going on at the moment getting ready for my Thanksgiving company and trying to help out my Mom and Dad at the same time getting some chores done there too. This past weekend I was able to get away and scrap with some friends though. It felt so good!

Today, I have a travel layout for JustNick Studios to share featuring one of my favorite restaurants in Charleston, South Carolina. Poogan's Porch was named after the owner's dog and is set in this old quaint house. The food is AMAZING!!! If you are looking for some down home Southern food and a charming setting, this is the place. For my layout, I wanted to use a cut file that reminded me of those beautiful decorative tin ceilings you find in old houses. The Quilted Circle Background was perfect.



Can you imagine that awesome design as a beautiful ceiling? Some of our favorite dishes we sampled were the Pimiento Cheese Fritters with Green Tomato Jam, the Macaroni and Cheese, and the Chicken and Waffles. Here are some detail shots...









Here is the cut file I used today ...



Thank you so much for stopping by today! Have a great week.
~Marcia