Summer Sprinkle Collection

I have always had an issue with the cost of getting a respectable sprinkle correction started. Don't get me wrong I love to decorate my cakes and cupcakes with sprinkles. I will even buy cute specialty sprinkles, (like the pearly kind) but the average sprinkle just isn't worth it. Recently a friend was making fourth of July cupcakes and couldn't find red, white and blue star sprinkles. This got me thinking how hard would it bee to make my own sprinkle??  

A month or so ago I made cupcakes for a Henna party and used a frosting to piping decorative stars. After a day the stars turned hard and a little crunchy. Then the idea struck me like a day old cupcake to the head...What if I used this frosting for sprinkles?!!?

 I new if I was thinking this someone else had too....and sure enough I was right.This link to Rainbow Sprinkles is easy and fun. I used meringue powder to make my egg white and used orange extract, but other than that I followed the recipe. The stars and strips dried at the same rate (24 hours). After the sprinkles completely dried I broke them up and moved them to a DRY container.  The only problem I had was finding a safe place to keep them while drying, and waiting a full 24 hours! To get these awesome colors I used gel food coloring and regular liquid fluorescent coloring.

A much faster sprinkle can be made with regular granulated sugar and food coloring. I would of liked to use larger sugar crystals, but I was determined to use what I had in house for this sprinkle collection.

 I used a glass bowl and simply added sugar and food color  then mixed with a spoon. Mix the color evenly and if the color is to light just add a drop or two more!

Creating a cute home for my Summer Sprinkle Collection was just as important to me as making them. I recently rescued (from my mom's garage) a spice cabinet that belonged to my great grandmother. This little cabinet had a thick layer of dust and spices dating back to 1993! With a bit of block oil I restored the wood finish and bleached the glass jars. I had found a perfectly cute home a sprinkle could be proud of.

 To make my bow secure, I used a tiny dot of hot glue. You can't even see it!