For The Love of Cupcakes!

 I finally tried my hand at gum paste.  

I have been faithfully using homemade marshmallow fondant for the past few years...  However I have read some really great things about gum paste and the ease of making flowers with it.  I cannot say that is was incredibly easy, but I did like my results.

All my supplies!

I used the store bought Wilton gum paste for my first attempt. Which I would do again, because it was much faster then making my homemade fondant.  Making marshmallow fondant takes a loooong time and it is a real work out!  

These are the two shaping tools I used.  They were not spectacular, but they came in a Wilton kit.  If I were to ever get serious about gum paste I would purchase the metal tools. 

After mixing my color into the gum paste, I also added in a bit of crisco to make it more pliable. I covered my counter with powdered sugar and rolled the gum paste out to about 1/4 of an inch.  I wanted simple flowers, so I used the Wilton flower shapes shown above. 

 The green tools are what I used to shape the flower petals. These came in the Wilton kit as well.  This part was a bit tricky.  It took me several attempts to get the look I wanted but eventually I discovered that the ball shaped tool worked the best.   You just sort of roll the tool with gentle pressure around the edge of the petals. The pink square is a piece of foam that you use to cushion the gum paste as you shape it.

I made a very simple shape.  These are by no means fancy flowers!  :)

The final gum paste result with little black pearls in the center!  I used black frosting to attach the pearls to the center. 

And here are the cupcakes completely decorated!  I was very happy with the final look!  In case you are curious about the flavor, these were chocolate cupcakes filled with raspberry filling and a cream cheese frosting.  This is a favorite in my family! 

Happy Baking!  

Our Favorite Beach-side B&B, Las Penitas Nicaragua

On grey winter days, such as these up here in the U.P., it's nice to have memories of places like the one below.  My husband and I took a 5.5 month backpacking trip in 2011.  We started in La Paz, Boliva and made our way all the back up to Mexico by hopping on buses, boats, and even a little plane at one point. I will post more about our trip as time allows.  For now I will start with one of our favorite stops along the way.

 The place below was a little B&B in Las Penitas, Nicaragua.  The B&B was called Sol y Mar. It is run by a lovely couple and their son.  We typically stayed in much shadier places to save money, but by the time we reached Nicaragua and Costa Rica, we were ready for some minor luxuries - here that meant a fan in the room, breakfast, and a cute doggie to play with.  Yippee!  

I hope they still have the playful pup that was there, her name was Muchacha. - OH, in fact I just found a picture of her.   

We had direct access to the water, we were only feet from the ocean.  The photo below was right outside the B&B.  There were incredible waves that crashed off of these rocks every morning.  Yes, we stayed more than one night.  We couldn't help ourselves.  It was to peaceful.  I spent most my time here reading up in that balcony you see in the top photo.  You could sit up there and watch others along the beach, or the waves, or simply close your eyes and listen to the water.  

Our host provided us with a little cocktail our first night here.  It was incredibly strong and I had to drink two of them because you don't turn a gift down.  (My husband doesn't indulge in alcoholic drinks)  

On our second day we were sitting up in our little tower watching the beach and we saw a woman and her significant other walk into the water - we knew she was about to face the wrath of the crazy waves.  And no doubt, she did.  Only loosing her shoe to the wave-madness, thank goodness.  After a few minutes of trying to save the shoe, she and her guy gave up.  Within seconds of their surrender the shoe came up on shore, so I ran down and grabbed it and jogged over to the couple to give it back.  They asked if I was a lifeguard...  :)  

Yes, I am indeed.  Guarding the lives of flip flops in Central America!  You know, I think I would give up my life here in the states to be a flip flop lifeguard... who wouldn't?   

If you are interested in staying at the Sol y Mar, you can actually find their information by googling them.  We found them by chance.  We hopped off of a bus and walked until we found something we liked.  

Anyway - if you are facing the grey days of Winter, I hope this warms your spirit and gives you a smile.  Spring has to come around sometime.  

And two more pictures to you leave you with:

My husband tempting the waves.

A view down the beach, to the left of the B&

Feel free to share a backpacking story of your own if you wish!  Happy & Safe travels everyone! 

Homemade Deodorant

Have you done it yet?

Have you made the switch to a natural deodorant?  Aluminum free, alcohol free, preservative free, icky-stuff free....

I finally did.  Here is my homemade deodorant in my Etsy shop-

In my recipe I include coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax, aloe vera gel, vitamin e oil, arrowroot powder, baking soda, and essential oils (tea tree and any other oil for scent). 

I may continue to tweak my deodorant recipe until I find the perfect consistency. I want it to be a little more solid than it is right now.  But that should be a fairly simple fix - more beeswax.

Coconut oil will blow you away when you find out what it is capable of.  It is sort of like a super hero in disguise.  No really!  Coconut oil can be cooked with and used in natural bath and body products.  

Here are few things it can do:

• It is a natural SPF of 4
• It is an excellent moisturizer and massage oil (great reason to use in deodorant)
• Great for baby's  bottoms before putting on their diapers
• Works as a hair conditioner if you do the "no poo" method - also helps with frizz
• It is a natural antibacterial (making it a great addition to deodorant)
• It is an anti-inflammatory 
• Mixed with baking soda - it makes a great toothpaste
• When ingested regularly it is known to help with all sorts of ailments including alzheimers, allergies, mental alertness, heartburn, nausea...etc. 
• This list goes on for miles!  After a little research you will come to find that coconut oil is indeed some sort of magical oil.  

The other ingredients are also great for your skin, but I had to brag on coconut oil for a bit. 

Some folks are allergic to cornstarch - so I use arrowroot powder and baking soda.  The arrowroot powder is very silky! 

 Tea Tree Oil :

The tea tree oil is another magical ingredient.  Tea tree is great for deodorizing, and it is a natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral.  Tea tree can be great for acne, warts, bug/tick repellent, and for cleaning in times of sickness.  Again - another magical oil.  

One Sacrifice to going Natural:

One thing that does need to aired about natural deodorant is that it is not meant to stop you from sweating.  It is not an antiperspirant.  It is meant for deodorizing... which makes sense.  It is called {deodorant}.  It will help kill bacteria and help keep the bad smells at bay.  Your body needs to sweat.  That is how we control our temperature and release toxins. 

The deodorants that are antiperspirants contain chemicals that stop you from sweating.  Doesn't sound very natural or healthy does it?  

I highly encourage everyone to do a little reading so that you can make your own informed decisions about what you put on your body.   

Find it here:

You can find my homemade deodorant for purchase in my Etsy shop : 

https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/MelaniesApothecary

It is $10.00 for a 2oz twist up tube.  You get to pick your scent!