Sunday, November 6, 2011

More Homemade Cookie Cutters

So, I was cleaning up my craft room after making my homemade 
cookie cutter I posted about previously and had a lot of the
aluminum pan I used left over.

 I didn't want to throw it away so I bit the bullet and decided to make 
as many cutters as I could from what was left of the pan.

My niece is expecting her first baby around Thanksgiving so
I made some cutters the shapes of baby items.


Now, I know you can buy cutters in shapes like these but
I was able to choose my own graphics and customize
the cutters to what I wanted rather than what you
get in the standard package of baby shapes.

I was also able to make them the exact size I wanted too.
The bottle cutter is 2.5 inches wide at the bottom and
a whopping 4.75 inches tall!

I made the bottle cutter a little bigger than the other
ones as I wanted to be able to have a nice
big surface to write the baby's name and birth
information on.



The more cookie cutters I made, the faster I got at it! 
I must also confess that making these has become a little addicting!

It's quite fun to watch the cutters taking shape and trying to find items 
to shape the aluminum around to get the proper curves, etc.

Here are a few more pictures of the individual cutters I made.
(The bib cutter is  turned upside down so you see the wrapped edge of the aluminum.)



The thing is, I still have a lot of aluminum left!
All these cutters and the tutu I made previously came from just
the bottom portion of the pan.  I still have all four of the sides left!

If you would like to see a step by step tutorial on how to make these
homemade cookie cutters yourself, leave me a comment saying so.
I'm not sure anyone even knows my blog exists so I won't waste
my time if I don't get any responses.

Oh, and one more thing!
I was so wrong when I said that it would be expensive to make these.
I was assuming that I was only going to make one cutter out of the pan but, as you
can see, I have made 5 so far and still have enough aluminum left to make
at least 4 or 5 more!

The pan I bought cost me $2.19 (I did spot the same pan elsewhere for $2.00)
and lets assume I get 9-10 homemade cutters out of that one pan,
that is only .21 to .24 cents per cutter!
You don't need to buy any other supplies as the aluminum can be cut easily
with ordinary house scissors (I wouldn't use your good ones).

Has anyone else made their own cookie cutters?
Maybe you have a tip or two you could share!
What worked for you and what didn't?
Would love to hear what you have to say!


Until next time, 

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Homemade Cookie Cutter

I was hooked the minute I saw royal icing cookies I found while blog hopping.
As if I don't have enough hobbies already, now I'm going to add cookie decorating?

Bake at 350 and Sweetopia are two of the sites I adore for instruction and inspiration.
Those are some talented ladies!
They make the most beautiful cookie creations. 

Well, long story short, I got busy and made some of my own.
I purchased the basics (piping tips and bags and some Halloween
cookie cutters) and this is what I ended up with.

Although I have a long way to go before my cookies
look like the ones at Bake at 350 or Sweetopia,
I didn't think they turned out to bad.

I felt like baking today but the only cutters I had were of
the Halloween variety.
No appropriate cutters, itching to bake, what's a woman to do?
Well, if your like me, you make your own!

I had recently seen a post where someone had made cookie cutters and
although I read it, I didn't bookmark it.  I searched but, for the life
of me I couldn't find it anywhere in blogland.

I knew the post said they used aluminum flashing from the 
home improvement store but that was about all I could remember.

I had looked through DH's workshop but couldn't find any flashing.
As he was at work and I was itching to go, I looked around and
found I had some of those disposable aluminum pans on hand.

I printed out a picture of a long tutu that I wanted to use as a template
and went to work on the aluminum pan.
I cut it up, pounded all the little indents out with a rubber hammer, 
folded, twisted, bent, crimped and cursed.
(Don't underestimate the power of a few choice words! I think I ended up
scaring the aluminum into submission!)

After about 30 minutes, this was my finished product.
(The "cutter" side if facing up in this picture.) 

You can see the lip of aluminum I folded over so 
that it wouldn't cut my hand when I pushed on it.

Is it perfect? No. 
Does it work?  Well, you tell me!
Take a look....

Pretty little tutu cookies waiting to be dressed with icing!
I found that the slight imperfections in my cutter (wavy edges)
were almost nonexistent after the cookies were baked. 

Am I going to make all my cookie cutters?  No sirree, Bob.
Getting both sides to be symmetrical was not an easy task. 

Cutters are so inexpensive (well, at least the ones I will be buying)
that it doesn't make sense to make all your own cutters as
the aluminum pans aren't cheap themselves.
If I need a cutter I can't find out locally or need a special
design that isn't available already, I will certainly give it another go.




Until next time,