Craft It Yourself

Bakery Fakery

To make a faux cake that looks good enough to eat, start with a 9" round foam cake form. Place it on a piece of cardboard covered with parchment paper or wax paper or an appropriate size round cardboard cake board. Scoop lightweight spackling into a small container and add your desired color of craft paint or gel paste food coloring. Mix well, adding paint until you have a “frosting” color you like.

Start with a conservative amount of color; too much paint or food coloring can result in the spackling becoming too runny. Use a knife or wide wooden craft stick to “ice” the cake with spackling, just as you would a real cake (see photo A). If using a knife, be sure to wash the spackling off before it dries. Allow the spackling to dry overnight.

To embellish the frosted cake, mix coloring into additional lightweight spackling. Place the spackling into a piping bag with the desired tip and use it to create decorative edging around the top and bottom of the cake (see photo B). Add four swirls of spackling on the top of the cake. Place an artificial strawberry on top of each swirl with the tip of the strawberry facing out. Allow 24 hours for the spackling to dry before moving the cake into your display.

Creative Candle Sconce Materials:

• Piece of wood for back, approximately 91/2" x 3" x 1/4"

• Empty 12-ounce chicken breast can

• 1" metal L-bracket

• Flat black acrylic craft paint

• Metallic silver acrylic craft paint

• Flathead screwdriver

• Hammer

• 13/16" boring bit and drill

• Coping saw

• Small craft paintbrush

• Sandpaper

• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Instructions:

1. Round the edge of one end of the piece of wood. Using a glass or can as a guide, draw a rounded shape with a pencil and use a coping saw to cut off the edges to create a nice curve. Smooth rough edges with sandpaper.

2. Use a flathead screwdriver and hammer to create indentations around the rounded edge of the wood (see photo C).

3. Drill a hole in the center top of the board with the boring bit and drill. Be careful not to drill completely through the wood with the bit, but allow the center to create a hole about 1/4" wide. The outer edges of the bit will create an indented circle around the center hole (see photo D).

4. Paint the wood piece and the metal can black. Apply several coats for complete coverage. Let dry.

5. Lightly brush silver streaks of paint onto both the wood and the metal can. Use a rag to smear the paint and thin it out.

6. When the paint is dry, lightly sand the piece to age it a little. Make sure to wear down the edges.

7. Heat up the glue gun and secure one edge of the L-bracket to the center front of the bottom of the wood piece (see photo E). When that is dry, use the glue gun to secure the wood piece to the can by applying glue along the bottom of the L-bracket as well as the bottom of the wood piece. Add glue to the back lower portions of the wood that come in contact with the sides of the metal can. Allow the hot glue to dry. 8. Fit a battery-powered candle, such as a taper style in a stand or a chunky pillar, inside the finished piece and hang or a wall or place on a tabletop. Embellish the can with greens, if desired.