I Love Daiso: Treat Baggies

It's been a busy month of cake projects, and that means lots of cake scraps to make cake pops with.
Today, I cranked out a bunch of lemon vanilla cake pops in short order, to take on the road with me on a production gig to Houston (I have a colleague who routinely greets me with, "Did you bring me any cupcakes?")

"E" is for Ed, my co-worker with the sweet tooth.

To get them safely to Texas, I wrapped them individually in treat bags, which are easily available at cake supply stores, craft stores and even at many grocery stores.

Sweet little lollicakes, in their baggies, all nestled in a box. 

 But at $1.50 for 40 pieces, with twist ties, Daiso has the best deal around.

What is Daiso?Click here.
Is there a Daiso near you? Click here for a list of U.S. locations.

I Love Daiso: Fondant Cutter

This small pizza wheel was a recent Daiso aquisition which I planned to use as a fondant cutter.

It wasn't till weeks after bringing it home that I noticed the words "special issue for cooking cake" on the packaging. Really, a store after my own heart.

And then, when I busted it out to use it, I discovered the other end looked like this!

A fondant crimper, perhaps?

All for a buck fifty. Dude. I LOVE DAISO!

Is there a Daiso near you? Click here for a list of Daiso's U.S. locations.

My Sweet Cake Pan

Happy Valentines Day!

In today's edition of I Love Daiso, I'm celebrating the holiday by featuring this heart-shaped cake pan with the words...

!!!

My friend, Amanda, surprised me with this after I took her on her first trip to Daiso last year. She spotted it and snuck it into her basket when I wasn't looking (awwww!)

I don't have the packaging any more, but I think it actually may have been billed as a "chocolate pan." Maybe for molding candy? That would be one big-ass piece of candy. Although Valentines Day is a fine day for a big ass piece of heart-shaped candy. Or if it is indeed a cake pan, that would be one small and crunchy heart-shaped cake.

I don't really care what it's meant for. "My Sweet" cake pan hangs on the wall in my kitchen. I like to think of it as signboard for my pretend cake shop : )

I Love DAISO! The Preview

 I think "I Love Daiso" should be a blog all its own. Have you ever been in a Daiso shop before?

My first and favorite Daiso in San Francisco's Japantown

For the uninitiated, Daiso is the most awesomest Japanese housewares shop. EVER. Actually it's more than just housewares. It's a veritable treasure trove of things you never knew you needed (banana holder, anyone?)

Screen grab of the Daiso Web site "products" page. And this doesn't even scratch the surface.

Daiso is ridiculous. And I mean literally ridiculous. Once, my friend Amanda and I unwittingly killed a couple of hours making our way through the aisles of Daiso, just reading the "Japlish" (aka Engrish) phrases found all over their product packaging. We died many times over. I looked up the Daiso Web site and found a blurb which pretty much sums up our outing that day:

"Find Surprises & Fun!"

Why am I raving about Daiso on a blog dedicated to cake decorating? Because they have some kick-ass cake decorating supplies, of course! And I don't just mean in their cake decorating section either. I've found many an unexpected addition to my collection of cake toys in Daiso's craft section and bento section. There's also a wealth of fun packaging, party supplies, and food products that a creative caker could put to good use.

And did I mention, almost everything in there is $1.50?!

Keep your eyes peeled - I'll be sharing my finds with you in posts that I'll tag with (you guessed it) "I love Daiso!"