Country Living Peach Street Style: Making The Cut

My whale tail cupcakes were a huge

hit at the Baby shower.

Everyone was wondering if the whale tails

were edible, and where I bought them.

They were surprised when I told them that

they were indeed edible,

and that I made them with my own hands.

The whale tails were made out of

Marshmallow fondant.

Marshmallow fondant is so easy to make.

These are the simple ingredients that you will need

to make marshmallow fondant.

Place the marshmallows in a large microwave safe bowl

and add 2 tablespoons of water. Place in

the microwave and heat on high for 30 second

increments, stirring after each 30 seconds

until marshmallows are completely melted.

Remove from the microwave.

If you are adding coloring and flavoring, now is the time to add it in.

I added 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Add in the powdered sugar and stir. You won't be able to

completely blend in the powdered sugar with the spoon, but that's o.k.

Marshmallow fondant is VERY sticky.

Using the Crisco shortening, apply a generous amount onto

your hands and work surface. Empty the fondant onto the

work surface and start to knead the dough until the

powdered sugar is completely incorporated.

Roll the dough into a ball and grease the ball

using the Crisco shortening. Wrap in Saran wrap

and place the dough into a Ziplock baggie.

Refrigerate for 2 hours, or more.

I couldn't find a whale tail cookie cutter,

so I improvised by creating my own.

I wanted to be able to use my cookie cutter

over and over again. I wanted something

that I could easily manipulate and bend, but not break.

I was thinking that a piece of aluminum

would do the trick, so Hubby and I headed to

Home Depot and discovered this.
I'll be able to make A LOT of cookie cutters!

Once I had my aluminum, I found a picture of

a whale tail that I liked on the internet and shrunk

it to the size I wanted using our home printer.

Using a piece of string I traced around the outside

of my design, overlapping the beginning and end,

to determine how long I needed to cut my aluminum strip.

*Use caution when cutting aluminum as it is VERY SHARP*

Using the string as a guide, I cut the length of

aluminum and then cut the aluminum to 1 inch wide.

Hubby cut my aluminum with a utility knife and ruler on a piece of wood in the garage.

Once I had my aluminum strip cut, using a piece of sandpaper,
I sanded all the edges, rounding the corners.

Now I could start shaping my cookie cutter without cutting my fingers.

Using the picture as a guide, I started forming my cookie

cutter, using my jewelry making tools to help form the shape.

I overlapped the ends by 1/2 inch. I took a nail and made 2 holes,

and added 2 eyelets, found in my craft room, and adhered the cookie cutter together.

Time to roll out the fondant and use the cookie cutter.
Before rolling out your fondant, grease your work surface
using the crisco shortening.
Roll the fondant out to 1/4 inch thickness.

Before I used my new cookie cutter
I washed it with hot soapy water with a little clorox added.

Use the cookie cutter just like you would any other cookie cutter.
This cookie cutter is even dishwasher safe!