bee in our bonnet

I Love Clear Packaging

2012-02-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

I have a special place in my heart for clear packaging.

Clear boxes are a food crafter's way of ~~showing off~~ letting their food take center stage!

We are dedicated to the details of our edible creations, (mixing the perfect shade of icing, getting the right consistency, adding some sparkly luster dust for "cheeks," and cleaning out the tiny #1 tips, etc.)

So why not show them off?
Why should the lucky recipient of these happy heart cookies* have to open their gift to smile!?

I think they will already be smiling the second you hand them this cute little clear box!

Or how about putting them in a simple clear CD sized envelope?
{A little twist on my usual cellophane bag routine.}

I do enjoy packing my treats about as much as I enjoy making them. I love specialty boxes, unique favor bags, colorful gable boxes, and everything in between.

But lately I'm just obsessed with the understated simplicity of clear packaging.

Because the second someone sees you walking down the hall holding this box, the cupcakes will scream, "Hi! Look at my handmade Valentine garnishes**!" Yep, these babies TURN HEADS! People start striking up conversations with you in an effort to become instant friends and possibly gain a cupcake out of the deal. Then when they realize you aren't giving them one, they request to purchase them. Then when you decline to sell, they will start salivating. {True Story}

Because this box is CLOSED! But look at how rad the cupcakes still look! Try being trapped in an elevator holding these. You will fear an impending attack. {Also a true story} But it will all be worth it when you hand over a special edible gift and eyes light up.

Am I making a big deal about this? YES! But apparently I'm not the only one who is enamored with clear boxes. Ever since this post, I've had several emails asking where I got my clear cupcake box. The answer is that I bought the single square box at my local cake store, which doesn't help you all. But then came a revelation as I discovered clearbags.com. Yes, a whole company dedicated to clear packaging! And they have a whole section of food safe clear packaging (including single cupcake boxes like the one I used)!

That is where I purchased these half dozen boxes. I was really happy with the quality. They were strong enough to stack and hold the cupcakes pretty stable for safe transport. I liked them so much, I just placed another order. I wish I could buy a million of every size clear bag and box. One can dream.

So consider being anti-opaque, when packaging all of your adorable Valentine creations!

Let them shine, let them be seen!
Let them be drooled over from across the room!

*The happy heart cookies were made with these tips and recipes.
**The cupcake garnishes were made with the same royal icing, piped onto parchment paper, instead of a cookie. After the icing dries, it will pop right off the parchment for you to use on your cupcake.
The designs were inspired by these cupcake garnishes by Sweetopia.

A... You're Adorable

2012-02-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm trying not to poop out as I parent number six. Even though I mostly just want to sit on the couch and read, I have to stay strong, I've got years of parenting in me still. So, the baby just turned two. Sniff. And it's time to start teaching him his letters. I made an ABC book in 1997 for my kids that are now teenagers. It's looking a little dated, I'm wearing tie-dye. Yikes! Time for a new one.

I love this song that the kids have sung at school over the years called 'A' You're Adorable originally recorded by Perry Como but it has been redone by many, including Sesame Street, listen here for a trip down memory lane.

I cut these letters out of cardstock and did a photo shoot against a black sheet.

It was a good idea until little monkey wouldn't hold the letters and I resorted to taping them to his shirt.

And then he thought it was fun to crinkle up or tear the letters. And I'm chanting to myself "Don't poop out, stay strong!"

He was not enjoying the photo shoot and by now I was thinking he wasn't so adorable. So, the new plan was props.

Ashleigh called during this fine mothering moment and told me that I could get like twelve apps for 99 cents each that will help kids learn letters.

That might have been a better idea.

But, I'm not pooping out. And I will not be defeated by a two year old so I gave him a nap and persisted through the alphabet.

After adding the words in photoshop and developing the pictures, the laminating was the easiest part thanks to laminator love from Ash which we gushed over in this post.

I'd like to say he loves his book and goes to sleep with it every night. He doesn't.

But, if only to prove to myself that I'm still trying to be a good mom, it was worth it.

....but then again, 99 cent app sounds like a really good mom to me.

Class Valentines bulk-food style

2012-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

The last time I was grocery shopping I passed by the bulk-food bins and decide to multi task and buy some Valentines! I didn't have a plan, but I'm a make-it-work kinda gal so I buy first, plan later.

First I saw these candy necklaces. I knew my 6 and 8 year old girls would think these were the bomb dot com! They are already wrapped and they were 15 cents each! You can't even get a store bought My Little Pony Valentine for 15 cents. Score!

Then I tried to think of a clever little saying to go with it and every combination of sweet, neck, around, love sounded creepy, so I went with a classic, "Happy Valentine's Day. First graders don't read clever sayings anyway, right?

Then I happened upon a bin of fairly giant jawbreakers. Individually wrapped. They were more like 90 cents. But, they're so cool. And when you are a fifth grade boy, you've got to be cool. And, he's my middle child...and we moved to a new school this year...and I may have some guilt issues...and I'll stop now. Let's just say, I bought the jawbreakers. Here is the front and back of the tag.

I bought a huge bag of Hot Tamales to see if my teenagers wanted to give out candy. My fourteen year old boy took me up on it. Surprising...Maybe he figures until he hits his growth spurt he can impress the ladies with candy. He he.

Once again, I had a little trouble coming up with a cool and clever tag. Hope you have a "Hot" Valentine's Day..I think you're "hot"....Have a "fiery" Valentine's Day. These might land him in the principals office. So I played on the fact that his favorite color is red and he thinks it's sweet that his name has the word red in it. And, he's easy to please.

The moral of the story is...stop and browse that bulk-food section. You never know what Valentine treasures you'll find.

Think Ink- Guest Post

2012-01-27T09:04:00.000-08:00

I'm guest posting over on somewhat simple today!

For all of you who have told me "I don't have a steady enough hand to pipe out detailed cookies" or
"I'd rather scratch my eyes out than spend 30 minutes decorating something my kids were about to eat..."

Well, this post is for you! You are going to have to ice a base layer first. But after that, you will only need your stamping and spray painting skills. No piping detail here...

Go take a look!

Valentine Cookies

2012-01-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a look inside the cookie jar.

There's lots you can do with just pink, red and white frosting.

For the sugar cookie recipe and royal icing recipe, refer to this post.

I outlined and immediately filled for nice clean frosting edges.

I think my favorite one was my sassiest cookie yet. I'm really walking on the wild side with this one.
This cookie is "sealed with a kiss."

I used my trusty alphabet cutter set to make hugs and kisses.

I used "wet on wet" techniques for a flat cookie.

And some were done with a "wet on dry" technique which results in a dimensional/textured cookie.

I made these little lace darlings without a projector. {Cue applause}

These were just simple scalloped edge hearts and I attempted to make them look like they had a lace edge. You might have to look close...

After the red was dry, I made a white edge. After that was dry, I put a little more icing on and used my paint brush for a little "brush embroidery" style edge. This one is only done on one side.
Can you tell the difference?

And I also made some big cookies (that weren't made to fit in the jar).
But I do love a basic rectangle cookie that is open to all possibilities.
I busted out my projector for this little phrase.

And then I broke down and tinted some icing a really light turquoise.

So we will end on that sentimental note: Love is... going out on a limb.
How do you like my cookie equivalent to a greeting card?
Hallmark, if you need me to write for you, let me know. hehehe.

Linking up to The Girl Creative!

Valentine in a Jar

2012-01-23T22:42:00.000-08:00

Jars are meant for cookies.

Cookies are meant for jars.

Ahhhhh the beauty of a "cookie Jar."

I had wayyyy too much fun putting my jack-o-lantern cookies in a jar.

Then some of my genius cookie friends blew my mind with their "parts of parts" cookies.

Munchkin Munchies made an adorable Thanksgiving treat with her "Turkey Cookie in a Jar."
You have to see it assembled. Cutest turkey I ever did see!

The Decorated Cookie made an adorable "assemble your own snowman cookie kit!"

I'm pretty sure kids would love this as much as building a real snowman!

Meaghan is so rad, she has a Sugarlicious book coming out. I can't wait!

Then I saw these Mr. Potato Head cookies from Oh, Sugar! Events.
This little toy was what got my brain thinking about this stuff, then Angela went and made it!
Perfectly executed, wouldn't you say!!! I think these would be the BEST at a Toy Story party!

I can't tell you how happy I was to see each of these ideas because that IS the beauty of blogland! Sharing ideas and creativity is so rewarding. I am constantly inspired by these and other cookie ladies so I felt, for a second that I was "giving back to the cookie universe." Oh man, that was dramatic. But I really am in love with all of these cookies, and their jars.

So I now I have all of these Holiday cookie ideas in my head. But Valentine's really stumped me.
I thought of cupid... But I just couldn't bring myself to make parts of a little cherub. I knew it would involve a bare bootie cookie and I just didn't go there. So although these aren't cookies to be assembled, I still dig the way my Valentine cookies look in a jar.

There are valentines, lace, hugs and kisses (xoxo), roses and love notes all bottled up!

And I love to top it off with a spray painted lid, great ribbon and a tag!

A tag which you can download here if you are doing this project.

And also! My friends at eighteen25 posted an adorable tag today that could also be used for your cookies in a jar.

So make those cookies and buy those jars guys! (I got mine at Target). If you're doing jar cookies, or "parts" cookies, I'd love to see them! Send me an email or comment. Keep it alive cookie makers!!!

Pretty soon we'll be doing Make-your-own-Leprechaun and Build-a-Bunny cookies!
Won't you join me?

Love It!

2012-01-19T10:53:00.000-08:00

I know there's some who don't love the day, but I dig it. An excuse to go on a nice date, get flowers (hint hint), make crafts with my kids and make heart shaped treats? Hello! Looking back on the Valentine projects we've shared on the blog, they are indeed some of my very favorites.

Some of my favorite cake pops in a simple dollar store dish.

An excuse to use sticky foam hearts on a parfait? I'm there!

And some of my favorite cookies ever! I just saw these little mailboxes in the dollar aisle again. They get scooped up fast, so I better go stock up.

My son's Valentine's last year were also a cookie. Shocker, right?

And these are so simple, but still on the list of my favorites.

I shared my favorite strawberry frosting.

Made some silly chocolate suckers.

Adorned some simple chocolate strawberries with hearts.

And I shared one of my hub's all time favorite desserts.

Kathryn is always on top of her game with her kids and their Valentines.
I wouldn't be surprised if she's got this year's ready to go.

And I just LOVE these rice krispy treat kisses she shared.

There's a lot to love around this time of year. Treats and people and blogs alike!

What are you loving? I would love to feature some of your Valentine treats and projects!

Getting Sidetracked

2012-01-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

I got sidetracked...

You see, I was going through my heart cutters because you know the day of LOVE is coming up...

And you know I've been making cookies... because it's a habit I just don't care to break.

But after those cookies were baked, I started in on another project.
Because everyone knows its better to have 10 half-way done projects than tons of completed projects!

The girls and I used a cookie cutter to trace lots of felt hearts.

Then I sewed one little line down the middle to create a little banner.
I hung it up with my "I love you" banner I made out of chipboard last year.

It's kind of a fun getting sidetracked.

But now I have some cookies to frost.

I'm pretty sure I was getting sidetracked from the laundry when I started the cookies.
And so it goes with a bee in my bonnet.

Matchbook Thank-you

2012-01-13T12:07:00.000-08:00

I basically love anything in a matchbook... except matches.

Matchbooks are perfect little paper crafts that can hold treats, cute notes, IOU's/coupons, money, etc.
I can't remember where I first saw them, but I'll give credit to my many years of reading paper craft magazines, craft blog stalking, and watching Martha. Yes, I'm sure it's time well spent, because I remember how to make matchbooks. Check out these adorable "save the date" matchbooks or these personalized favors.

I found that 3" by 6" pieces of paper were a good size for this. Then you can get 8 out of one piece of cute patterned paper. I found this cute American Crafts, double-sided paper in my stash when I cleaned out my craft room. It's amazing the goodness you find when you clean. :)

I'm a firm believer in folding with a bone folder. Clean folds every time!
I know I learned that one from my Martha!

Then I stapled at the bottom and used a glue dot to stick on a little treat.

Next I stapled the message on the front.

Then I glued the saying on the inside and it covered the back of the staple.
If you'd like to print out a sheet of "We mint to tell you Thanks!" in this cute font,
I saved my document and you can upload it here.

I made these as a little thank-you for the substitute teachers at church. It's a small little thanks, but I think the little treat inside makes it fun to receive!

After I made these, my daughter said she wanted to make some for her Valentines.
Then my other daughter said she did too.
Then the first one said, "I called it first!"
And then I said, "guys, guys, there are plenty of matchbook ideas for EVERYONE!" With cute Valentine sayings like, "I think we're a 'match'" and "I'd love to 'strike' up a conversation," we have no need to fret. Yes, I solved that quarrel like mother of the year. Haha!

Because the matchbook possibilities are endless!
(Stay tuned for the Valentine matchbook)

Santa Painting

2012-01-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, I promise to stop posting about Christmas (2011) after this.

This little guy was one of my favorite projects of the season. I saw one (in gray) in a pottery barn catalog a long time ago and wanted one in red. So I put my cookie tools to use again to paint this guy. I found the image by searching "santa pop art," then put it in my kopykake projector. I used the color, "santa red" in acrylic paint and just painted away.

I got it done in the time that my husband watched a movie. But in the morning I didn't like how I could see all the brush strokes so I went over it with a second coat. If you look close, it's still not perfect, but I think the overall look is festive!

I put it above my painted buffet and quite enjoyed seeing his jolly face!

This isn't the first time my projector has helped me decorate my home!
Star Wars paintings
Painting of my daughter
I just love the thing!!!! And I'm so glad I got around to this project this year.

Now if I could only get around to making new stockings and perfecting the art of the crockenbouche.
There's always next year!

Mitten Cookies

2012-01-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

I showed you how perfectly these worked in my cozy bliss basket and I wanted to share more detailed instructions on how to make the cookies.

I used a mitten cutter and my favorite recipe for cookies and royal icing.

You will need to make up two consistencies of red royal icing. A thick (15-ish second) icing to flood and a thin (7-ish second) to fill. Don't forget to pop any visible bubbles too.

While it's still wet, (like right away) make white horizontal stripes with a thin (7-ish second) white icing (with a #2 tip on it). Then I drag my toothpick through, going up, then down.

The closer together you make your white lines and the closer together you marble your vertical lines, it will make it look like a "tighter knit." These have a different look with the wider lines.

I prefer the "tighter knit" look. Wait... I'm not sure why I'm using knitting comparisons considering I know nothing about that topic. That's Kathryn's department. Back to cookies.

After the top part has dried for a good half day, use a medium (10 second) icing to make the cuff. You can use two consistencies of white, but I'm just short-cutting it with a medium consistency. However, I still go through the same motions and outline, then fill.

Next, sprinkle some sanding sugar on, then lightly and quickly tap off the excess. Your icing is still wet, so you can't hold it up too long or it will drip. And messing up a cookie on the very last step is just flat out depressing, so let's not do that.

These cookies are so simple and the marbling creates a fun look for a simple gift. If you aren't making a whole gift basket, you can just stick with the cookies and a "warm wishes" tag!

Cozy Bliss

2012-01-05T22:58:00.000-08:00

Anyone in the mood for some cozy bliss?

I hesitated posting this because it was a Christmas gift, and I've enjoyed my break a little too much and missed the window to share gift ideas. But it's still January so maybe you still need some coziness?

Well, if I were to give the gift of coziness, it would look like this...

And it would be adorably packaged with these items inside.

On a cold winter day, there's nothing like curling up with some hot chocolate and a blanket.

Throw in a magazine,
favorite show,
blog surfing,
a good book,
or better yet, one of my littles,
and then I have created my definition of cozy bliss!

I was going for a rustic (raffia and linen) meets cutesy (polkadots) look for this gift basket, is that allowed? I hope so, because I dig it. I sewed a simple linen sack to contain my favorite brand of gourmet hot chocolate. Then I gathered a couple mugs I liked.

And I made some marshmallow stirring sticks for an added perk. I used this recipe for my homemade marshmallows (which are incredibly fun to make). I love the rectangular, extra large shape that you can only get from homemade marshmallows. The look alone is worth the extra effort for me, but if you are hurried, any marshmallow would do. Then I made stirring sticks by inserting a cookie stick, dipping in chocolate and then sprinkling with crushed candy cane. I wrapped them each individually so they wouldn't stick to each other. If I did it again I would use wooden sticks. These did fine if you stirred until the marshmallow fell off into your hot chocolate. But my kids kept stirring long after the marshmallow melted and the paper sticks started to peel.

The hot chocolate was good and all, but if it is going to be defined as "my bliss" then I'm going to have to have a cute cookie in the mix. So the coziest cookie design I could think of was mittens. If you want to know more about my cookie recipes and techniques, go here.

I also made a linen wrap for the fleece blanket. It covered the distracting label it came wrapped in.
I take presentation and color schemes a little too seriously, I know. I'm dealing with my issues.

So that's my version of cozy bliss (that can be bundled up in a gift basket). ;) What's your version?

Cheers to a New Year and a Clean Desk

2012-01-01T23:21:00.000-08:00

Here's to a NEW YEAR, a clean slate

and a clean desk!!!

I love the feeling of renewal that the new year brings. I love dreaming of the possibilities that lie ahead of me in 2012. I love goal setting and resolutions. Even if I don't abide by them perfectly, I'm still trying to improve, and that feels good.

One of my goals for this year is to get my craft room under control!!! It has been through different phases of messy: from cluttered, to my husband telling me he's turning me into the show, Hoarders.

I'd been using this armoire for about 10 years. It was perfect when I had to keep my craft things in the family room and I could quickly close up shop and hide the mess. But now (yay) I have a room for my craft stuff and I can just close the door to hide the mess. Yes, my friends know that this door stays closed and when I have to invite someone in, I feel shame and embarrassment. I wanted a desk with more workspace and an more open feel. The armoire doors were taking up valuable space now.

So I caught my man in a generous moment, (right after he bought his new road bike) and asked him to make this simple West Elm inspired desk with plans from anawhite.com. Somehow I got distracted from this project and it sat in the garage unpainted, for months. Then I painted it and it sat in the garage for a while longer until I moved out my old desk and painted the walls of my craft room.

*I wanted a light color on the walls and white furniture so that my room would look clean and nice. (I used Martha Stewart Brand paint "tidewater" at 25% opacity. I knew I liked that color but I wanted it lighter so I sort of made up my own little shade of light turquoise/blue).
*I want to add more color with accessories though. Which colors, I'm not sure yet.
*We made custom shelves in this room but this time I didn't need a custom size and I knew it would take a while for my handy man to get to it. So these IKEA shelves did the trick this time. They aren't near as sturdy, but they will do.

I did change a few of the dimensions from the original plan. I wanted the workspace to be a bit wider and I adjusted the side shelves to be a bit bigger so they are more in proportion.

So now it's time to start organizing my supplies on this new clean slate. Its kind of all just thrown in the room right now and I can't wait to make it look pretty! I'm ready to make this project a priority and I'm pretty sure that it will make all of my other projects a little easier to navigate as well!

For now, I'm just reveling in the fabulousness of this new day and this clean desk!
(Did I mention it was bad before? Like, REALLY BAD... like HAZARDOUS BAD! Trust me, this is a new year's miracle)

A Trip Down Christmas Card Lane

2011-12-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

I love going to my mailbox in December. The bills and the junk mail are still there but so are Christmas Cards from dear family and friends. So to our dearest blog friends, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

I love (for the most part)the yearly tradition of sending our family Christmas Card. For years I made my own card, scrapbook style. My personal Christmas card policy is to include a picture each year, usually alternating just kids and whole family. Lets face it, I look pretty much the same year to year, just add a few pounds and a few wrinkles and no one needs to see that. I also include a short update on our family because I adore reading Christmas letters from friends and family. So just for a laugh here's a trip down memory lane.

2002

This is a hoot because I was obviously in an embossing kick. And a tearing paper kick. Wow! Also the first year I made my card instead of sending a separate picture and letter.

2004

(Sorry, can't find or even remember 2003) Definitely a more simple approach in 2004, but don't worry, I made it more complicated of course by trying to find kraft colored envelopes that opened vertically. I finally found some online and they arrived in an ugly manila color. So sad.

2005

Trying to master the fine art of printing the letter directly on my cardstock.

2006

I'd like to note that this was pre-Cruicut so I cut out the brackets by hand. And employed my children in the annual Christmas Card sweat shop.

2007

Not my favorite card or favorite haircut on my son. Bad hair trends happen...Merry Christmas!

2008

I'm pretty sure this was the year I wanted to sue myself for waiting too long to buy cardstock and red or green was nowhere to be seen. When life gives you lemons... black can be a Christmas color.

2009

When you plan a family picture at the beach and your 6 year old is so petrified of the dog 100 yards away that she ruins all of the pictures with her tortured expression you....do a picture montage. I designed this card in Photoshop and uploaded the whole thing to Vistaprint. I was pleased with the linen paper it came on and loved the price and ease. I was converted to digital!

2010

I'm so lucky to have a talented photographer niece at Shandi Marie Photography who took these pictures and then sent me a template so I could design the card in Photoshop and have her order them for me. I adore the pearl paper. I had to pay more for the card to open horizontally, but I couldn't resist having our 8 people lined up like that.

2011

And, I cut yet another corner this year when Shandi told me to check out the card templates for photographers at HiStudio. I loved all of them, picked one out and Shandi worked her magic.

I have lots of fond memories of getting together with dear friends as we all cut and pasted our homemade Christmas cards. But, now I have new memories of not making this process harder than it needs to be. The most important thing is keeping contact with loved ones and sending our Christmas cheer. The moral of the story is... when life gives you 6 kids and a busy holiday season...order your digital Christmas cards.

ABC Gingerbread Men

2011-12-20T22:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had ABC (already been chewed) gingerbread men? No?

You're missing out.
And they're missing appendages.
But they still smile through the pain. Ready to give you a tasty treat.

When I saw these funny cookie cutters, I just couldn't resist.

I made sugar cookies and frosted them brown using the outline and flood method. You could even just use gingerbread dough and skip the brown frosting, but my people prefer sugar cookies.

Then they got some simple squiggles of white, and smiley faces. The package had sad faces for an example, but I decided these guys were happy. I decided they got the joke about "ABC" cookies and they were happy to be headed to a 6th grade classroom to make kids smile.

Then they got two little red hots to finish the deal.

These were so simple, that my daughter did them with me. I have to say, she's 11 and fully meeting my cookie standards these days. I outline and she knows how to fill, but not over fill. She knows how to glue on the red hots with a small dot of frosting so it doesn't show. And she is always very happy to share our cookies with her friends. I just may have a little cookier on my hands.

If you think these little guys are fun too, you can buy them here.

Nutcracker Cookies

2011-12-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

Have you gone to see this little man?

My girls had the privilege of being in the Nutcracker again. It makes for a really busy holiday season with two sets of practices and performances to keep up with. And that is the reason why I didn't let my girls try out last year. I just thought something had to give and told them we were taking a year off. They almost didn't forgive me, but they were happy to be back in costume this year. One as a "bonbon" and one as a "party girl." They make it a really great experience for the kids who are in it.

They love hanging out backstage with friends, being very silly.

They love rubbing shoulders with their ballet heroes. This is our fave dancer, Elease!

So of course I had to take the opportunity to make a Nutcracker cookie. They gave them to their cast mates "stage-family." I've thought about making these lots of times, but always wimped out. This year I went for it! Just made rectangular cookies and used my kopykcake for the black outline and filled in. I ended up kind of disappointed because I kept thinking there was more I wanted to do. I wanted to add disco dust, rosy cheeks and more detail in the hat and jacket...

But I was so busy doing a kajillion ringlets and buns and stage make-up,

6 days in a row that I ran out of time for more cookie detail.

I love my little men though. They made a special gift!

Even though it is quite a commitment with volunteer hours and lots of hours taxi-ing the kids around, it is really worth it. There is something really magical about the Nutcracker, I cry a little every year at certain points in the show. I can help it. I can't describe it. It's just magical. Even my little guy will sit through it just to see the soldiers battle the rat king!

I hope you get to get dressed up with your little girls and see your local Nutcracker.

Or if you can't, just make some Nutcracker cookies and call it good!

Gingerbread House Cookie Kit

2011-12-14T08:46:00.001-08:00

I'm sharing a cookie project today over on the fabulous eighteen25!

You'll feel like a kid in a candy store when you see how fun and easy these gingerbread houses are!

So go over and check out my guest post and grab some hot chocolate because you'll want to stay a while. Eighteen25 is crazy amazing!

p.s. If you're trying out this project too, and you'd like to print out a cover for your craft box,

you can download my version, HERE!

http://www.box.com/s/my5gpog0ny425hth35op

Coaster Tray

2011-12-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

I made myself an early Christmas present.

You may not need this gift. Your children may drink from color coded cups, or drink a full 8 oz. at once and then put their cup in the dishwasher, or only use one cup a day, rinsing it between milk, water and juice. You may run loads in your dishwasher that don't look alarmingly full of only cups.

You are a better mother than I am.

I have lots of lovely counter space in my new house. This is a good thing for when Ashleigh and I made 4000 mini cupcakes and 600 cookies in my kitchen last week (which is a whole other post).

But, it's not a good thing when you have 8 bodies drinking their recommended 8 cups of fluid a day. The beautiful counters are then littered with various drinks and the children are shocked when you put "the cup I was drinking" in the dishwasher.

The idea, sweet children o'mine, is to put your cup on the coaster with your cute initial. So that I know you are still drinking it.

It was very easy and inexpensive to make. I used ceramic coasters from the hardware store at 18 cents each. Modge Podged paper and initial onto the tiles. Glued the tiles to the painted wood board with E6000 glue. I applied several more coats of Modge Podge since we are lucky to keep it to one spill a day around here. I glued some little wood legs on and screwed in some handles. It may not be so easy to get the kids to actually use it.

I was pretty pleased with myself for actually trying to fix a problem that drives me nuts instead of just periodically huffing and puffing about it. I thought it was self explanatory. Then my dear husband asked if I made this contraption for the kids to put their backpacks on..... Ummmm.....Does he actually live here? I guess he has harder problems to solve at his job. I'm just taking motherhood baby steps here. Next on the list...get the baby to stop coloring on himself.

I {heart} Real Garland and a Winner!

2011-12-05T22:04:00.001-08:00

I'm sure most of you are on top of your holiday game, all decorated and trees trimmed.

I, on the other hand am still tying to get my act together. I decorated today, but I still don't feel my life is complete yet. Because I haven't bought my garland yet.

Here are a few pictures from last year to show you how beautifully some fresh pine garland can snazzy up some holiday decor:

This takes dedication considering that I'm allergic to this beautiful greenery. I get little white bumps that itch and irritate my skin if I handle it. But that doesn't stop me from putting on some gloves and going for it!

I usually get it at Costco. It is 15 dollars for a whole lot of it.

You've seen the shelves my husband made. They are the perfect place for my greenery and other miscellaneous things.

My shelves are the perfect place to display my advent calendar. I got this from pottery barn but it would be so easy to recreate with tea light holders and vinyl letters. My kids are constantly reminding me to light the candles at night. It's pretty exciting when they're all lit on Christmas Eve!

I also love my subway art from my favorite girls at Eighteen25. And of course my shadow box is going strong again this year.

And for the past few years I have done something unconventional with the Christmas cards I receive. I put them on the fresh garland that hangs on the stairway. I punch a hole and tie them on with a ribbon. It makes me so happy to see all of the cards from my family and friends on display and I get excited as it fills up! It is the last of the Christmas decor I take down in late January!

And before I go, I'm excited to announce the winner of the cake pop stands I made.

Heather! I will email you and send them off!
I hope you get them in time to display something fun this Christmas.

Peppermint Lollipops and a Giveaway

2011-11-25T09:39:00.001-08:00

These are taken straight from my girl Martha. She was the first to teach me all about royal icing, years ago. And I've been wanting to make these for a long time but I've never gotten a candy shaped cutter.
So I decided to make them into a peppermint lollipop with a simple circle cutter.

You have to roll your dough a little thicker to fit a pop in. Then bake as usual.

Martha shows you how to do these, but I thought I'd take some pretty pictures too.
(For my recipes and an explanation on frosting consistencies, click here).
1- outline with thicker frosting
2- fill with thin
3- pop bubbles
4- make a star
5- swirl with a toothpick
6- swirl in the opposite direction
7- repeat
8- repeat

I tied them up with tulle and displayed these on the pop tree I made.

And they also look pretty fab on these simple pop stands.

And in honor of having 1000 facebook fans, we are sending these to one of you. You can adorn your Halloween (next year) and Christmas sweets table with treats on a stick. Cake, cookies, pies, cinnamon rolls, oreos, anything is cute on a stick....

Yep, I did round two of making some stands for some future events and I was thinking of you!
-Just leave a comment if you make desserts on a stick and are interested in these!
-Tell me that you follow one way or the other.
-Enter before December 2nd.
-Or if you'd rather make your own, check out this post for simple instructions.

Just a fun little way to tell you guys that we love ya!

Twilight Baby Shower

2011-11-21T22:47:00.001-08:00

Did you see the movie this weekend?

Well, I'm no superfan, but I like to embrace my inner teenager every so often and watch a sappy movie.

So I have this tradition (4 times running) with friends, that we have dinner together and then go to the midnight showing. We regret our tired eyes the next day, but we have so much fun with any excuse to get together. So I also have a friend who is having a December baby and insisted she didn't need a shower. So I took the opportunity to turn this dinner into a surprise baby shower for her. She knew she was coming to the dinner and movie, but didn't know it was her shower. We embraced the twilight theme for the night. She has a good sense of humor and could handle the silliness of her friends.

She could handle my silly newborn vampire cake pops!

I had fun with my halloween pops and knew I could turn them into "newborns" with red, blood thirsty eyes. You know how newborns are...

When out of the ribbon color I need, I just cut a fabric scrap. I laughed at myself when it reminded me of a Cullen-ish scarf. You know how fashionable those cool kids are.

I tucked them in the place setting, complete with the coolest napkin ring around.

Yes, twilight black and red, along with baby blue (for my friend's baby) were the colors for the night.

I even busted out with my first movie poster ever. Edward looked so serious, I had to make him say something cheesy. Kathryn gave me this awesome line, "I may sparkle in the sunlight, but it's nothing compared to Leah's pregnancy glow!" Lame and funny. Perfect!

So the great thing about my friends is that everyone wants to help. Literally, so many helpers, there's almost nothing left for the host to do. I even had tell some people it was all assigned out! So I wanted to show you how fun and creative my friends are as they embraced our silly shower theme.

My friend made fabulous invitations, inviting people to a shower for Leah and Bella. We can't forget to celebrate Bella you guys.

Melissa gave me permission to share her fun decorations! She brought in these huge chess pieces and I was dying that she made them!

I was dying even more when I looked up close and she told me she made them with paper plates, bowls, a burger king crown and other miscellaneous items. I would've never guessed! Creativity at it's best!

Then she hung this wreath on my door to greet the guests. She made it from the pages of a Twilight book! Don't get upset, you could still read the pages if you tried really hard. Actually, maybe not.

She embellished with a few items taken straight from the book covers. Melissa is killing me because she just had a baby AND busted out this fab decor. I'm so impressed!

Another couple of friends did "bite" sized desserts with some raspberry sauce that they labeled as blood! It was the BEST raspberry sauce I've had. I must get the recipe!

And yet another creative genius friend made these vampire dinner mints.
Oooooo how I love a soft cream mint! And in a custom design! She used a candy mold!

I wish I had pictures of the favors that another friend put together. They were popcorn and candy wrapped up for them to take to the movie! Perfect to-go treat. And did I mention she made yummy Italian Sodas (Volturi Style) to drink!

The list goes on with the help and fun this night was. This post supposed to be about Twilight but I'm getting side tracked thinking about how awesome my friends are. In the end, I think our guest of honor was truly surprised and grateful for the fun! She rolled with it and looked past our cheesy theme!

Kathryn is worried that when her baby looks at his baby book he is going to have lots of questions about why he had a vampire baby shower. Sorry Leah, you can blame your silly friends!

Gumdrop Turkey Cookies

2011-11-19T10:42:00.001-08:00

Do you remember those apple turkeys you made as a kid with the gumdrops and circus peanuts?

Well, I've attempted to recreate this kids craft with cookies!

It's "old school" craft meets new and improved craft!

And frankly, "old school turkey" looks a little jealous. Hahahaha!

No really, the gumdrop turkey has a special place in my heart, and my kids had just as much

fun putting them together as they did the cookie ones.

I've done a step by step tutorial over on Somewhat Simple today!

So if you're still looking for something to keep the kiddos busy while you slave over your

meal on Thursday morning, this is a great thing to do!

Check out my guest post HERE!

Turkey Cookie Place Cards

2011-11-16T08:25:00.001-08:00

I'm super stoked to be over on eighteen25 again today! These 3 sisters are just fabulous! I've been trying to see if they'll adopt Kathryn and I, but for now I'll settle on hanging out with them for the day!

I'm sharing these fun cookies that can serve as your place cards, or favors, or both!

Go over to my guest post to see how I used the brush embroidery technique on a turkey!

And I'm positive you'll stay a while to see all of the goodness that eighteen25 has going on. Printables, gift ideas, giveaways, and my recent fave is their "Christmas planner." Thanks for having me again Jamie, Jodie and Jen!

Pop Tree

2011-11-13T22:49:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! You know I've been on a cake pop kick lately... And I'm always on a cookie kick.

So, I can't wait to show you my latest project! My pop tree is the perfect place to display my edible creations at Christmas time! And you know that time of year is right around the corner...

So you must go check out the "Crazy Christmas Crafters" over at I {heart} naptime!

I am one of many guest posters who are sharing 50 Christmas ideas all month long! 50 ideas people!

Here is my "pop tree" guest post! Come check out how I made this little pop display!

Wannabe Shark Pops

2011-11-07T21:19:00.000-08:00

It had to go and end. :(
Soccer is over for my little guy. I really looked forward to my Saturdays when I could watch him run beside the ball. (No, not in front of it). But he was so darn cute out there. We had a great first year of soccer and to celebrate the end, the boys needed a treat to go along with their shiny medal.

They named themselves the "blue sharks" at the beginning of the season. And since I was totally over the shark cookies, I thought I'd try to make shark pops!

For a minute, I thought I was a sculptor. After my recent pop successes I thought I could conquer the pop world! So when my cake was soft, I made these. Then chilled them. Then put the sticks in and chilled them some more.

Then I started dipping. And I looked at them. And I thought... hmmmm.

Why do these look like fish?

My hubs pointed out that they were missing the fins on the sides.

Gahhh! Darn pectoral fins! No wonder!

I started to disassemble them when my husband made me stop. It was really late and he insisted I sleep instead of correct my sharks' anatomy. It was all I could do to heed his reasonable advice.

It was bugging me so bad! I know they are 4 year old boys, but when it comes to my food sometimes, I get a little bit of the perfectionism bug. The part of me that picks apart every flaw. That nagging, disabling, perfectionism.

I thought I could get over it by adding some gummy sharks in the midst. It helped a little.

The boys loved their treats for the 2 seconds before they were in their stomachs. I realized it didn't matter. Until I looked at the pictures. It's bugging me again!

But in an effort to ditch my tendencies and accept my mistakes, I am sharing my
"pectoral fin-less, wannabe shark pops" with you.

Matching Desserts

2011-11-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

Remember how I like my kids' Halloween costumes to match?

Well, sometimes I like my food to match. Cookies and cupcakes at a shower are like siblings on Halloween. They look cute in coordinating looks.

I got to make these for a long time friend and the request was to include onesies and flowers.

(Cupcake toppers are fondant with white royal icing accents).

Different enough to add variety, but matching enough to satisfy my "theme love."

I wish I had a picture of the adorable banner my friend made. It was adorable. Because it matched.

Halloween Philosphies

2011-11-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

I have the post Halloween drag. I'm thinking I would feel better if...

...those kids didn't keep offering me their Almond Joys and Butterfingers (that they don't like),

...I found fewer than 25 candy wrappers on the floor

...the baby didn't keep finding the kids' candy bags, unwrapping lollipops, and sharing his sticky goodness with the couch

...I didn't just make 24 cupcakes for my hubby's birthday and then eat one

Alas, the excitement of finding the right costume has worn off, and apparently Christmas is tomorrow by the looks of Hobby Lobby. But, before we say goodbye to Halloween for another year, we wanted to share a piece of our Halloween with you!

Here are my little spooks: Phantom Ballerina (who is too old to trick or treat but kindly carried baby around, and will kindly eat some of his candy, fair trade), Napoleon Dynamite, Sailor Girl, Snow Princess, Cowboy, and Indiana Jones.

And last year: Minnie Mouse, Groovy Girl, Sock Monkey, Upside down man, Army Guy, Candy Corn Princess

And, before I let Ashleigh have the floor for the rest of the post, I want to note, and it will not surprise those that know us, that our Halloween costume philosophy differs as follows:

Ashleigh: themed costumes, usually handmade, the perfect accessories, she could talk her kids into being anything for Halloween and liking it because they know how awesome she is and that their costume will end up perfect!

Me: I talked my kids into matching costumes once, it was 1998, Dorothy and Toto. The baby was one at the time so I'm not sure if that counts. A few of my kids (and I won't name names) have definite opinions on their Halloween costume in September and will not be dissuaded, so I have given up. I figure, they share rooms, a last name, and all the "good" groceries so it's one night they don't have to share.

*******Insert Ashleigh's Opinion*******

It's true. I'm basically selfish. I have a soft spot in my heart for themed costumes, and from the first Halloween I had more than one kid, I made them matching. Mickey and Minni.

The next year, the oldest wanted to be Ariel, so the littlest was "one of her sisters."
She doesn't look that excited about matching. But this one year old couldn't verbalize her complaints.

Alice and the Queen of Hearts. Basically my fave.
Both were on board because it was their favorite movie at the time.

Dorothy and Glinda. This time, little sister got to be the main character.
Both on board for the theme. Yesssssss!

Enter Kid 3. I'm stoked to have 3 matching kids. They were both so excited about the baby being peter pan, they had no complaints about my fantastic idea.

2009- The fabulous 50's. Not sure how we came to this conclusion. But I don't remember any crying.

Then came 2009 & 2010. Oldest is anti-theme. I threw all my best ideas out there. Cowboy and cowgirls, superheroes, etc. THEY DIDN'T WANT THE THEME. My sister gave me lots of talks about how happy her kids are when they get to choose. How could I be stunting my kids' creativity? Well, I decided to be a nice mom (normal mom), TWICE! I had accepted being done with themes because kids grow up and it's natural. Until...

This year. We have come back to the theme! I did the happy dance. The youngest wanted to be a pirate and the girls had the idea (on their own) that they could be pirates with him. They just wanted to wear big earrings and make-up.

I made the fastest and easiest skirts with tied fabric and cheesecloth.
I threw in a couple of blouses and boots, and we had a pirate theme!

So there you go. I'm sure you can relate to Kathryn's philosophy and maybe there's a couple silly mom's like me out there that try to plant theme ideas starting in January.

Tried and True Halloween Stuff

2011-10-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have new ideas.

Sometimes, lots of times, I just stick with the tried and true.

Royal Icing is my tried and true. It helps me make a quick treat into something unique. Even if I don't have the time to make cut out cookies, I can throw together a box of brownies in an instant. I used my coffin cookie cutter and royal icing to dazzle up my quick brownies.

Pumpkin popcorn balls are tried and true. I blogged about them a couple years ago. And now they are an every year tradition. Easy. Fun. Done.

Target Dollar Aisle is my tried and true. Whenever I need a cute little container for treats or pops, Target is my BFF. I just have to make sure I get my pick early in the season.

Martha is my tried and true. She showed me how to make little pumpkins out of a small orange treat bags a few years ago. And I keep making them, every year. (I added a little leaf and tag).

Squeezie bottles are my tried and true. This pic is 2 years old, but it shows that even your littles can make gourmet caramel apples with the help of chocolate drizzles. Oh how I miss our cousin craft times. MOVE BAAAAACK!

Pinterest is my tried and true. I saw this pin and had to copy the branches coming out of the pumpkins. I got really crazy with the branches this year thanks to a friend who took me spooky branch hunting!

Sometimes it is just warm and cozy to stay inside my box and stick with what I know. Or copy what is on pinterest. :)

I get creative when I'm in the mood. But when I'm not in the mood, I stick with the tried and true.

What are your Halloween "tried and trues?" Do tell.

Halloween Cake Pops and Pop Stands

2011-10-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Say hello to my little friends...
Can I quote a movie I've never seen? K. Thanks! ;)

I've been cake pop-ing the days away lately and growing quite attached to these seven little guys.

Who could resist something so small, chocolaty and festive? Not I... Not I.

I must give credit where credit is due to the lovely Bakerella! She is a genius I say, genius!
Here's a link to her Halloween cast of characters that served as my inspiration.
I was pretty stoked to be made a "pop star" on her site for the second time. It's like they say about getting multiple academy awards, "It is just as thrilling the second time around." {cry, cry, cry}
Okay, I'm being over dramatic, but life is more fun(ny) that way.

Cake pops are nothing new and there's about a million tutorials and books on how to do them. But I wanted to just tell you a few hints about how I made these. I will skip the beginning part about making the cake balls since Bakerella explains that so well.

I've already told you about my candy eyeball hoarding. I explained how simple they are to make in a somewhat simple guest post. Go check it out. I already had a big bag of eyes ready to make these little monsters come to life!

I have developed a serious crush on Dracula. With that receding hairline he is simply irresistible!

Frankie is down with his full head of hair but he seems to be almost flaunting it.
He has a scar to keep him humble though.

Are they horns or ears? Does it matter? He is darling.

Well, as you can see, I've spent too much time with these things as I am now talking as if they are real people. I will try to do a reality check and start talking about them as if they are food. Only food.

Pumpkins were easy. I needed easy at this point. My house was thrashed by the time I got to these.
My kids bring food into the toy room if I'm not looking.

Yep, they are getting even easier. I needed to tidy up just enough to give the illusion to my husband that I have it all together. Yes honey, I can totally care for the kids and the house AND spend hours doting over tiny pieces of cake. {ahem}

Just one more won't hurt. It involves 3 chocolates. I could always just not sleep. Hehe!

So before the blissful marathon of cake pops came the adventures in woodworking.

You see, I envisioned a place where my little guys could stand up straight and secure. Something more solid than styrofoam. I knew it would be so simple (this word is used very loosely) to make some out of 2 by 6 boards. My hubs chopped them all up and I measured the holes 2 inches apart. He advised that the only way the holes would be perfectly straight is if I used a drill press. Drilling them by hand would inevitably leave you vulnerable to human error. So I got my hands on a drill press. Thanks friend!

After I drilled, I finally used that belt sander my dad gave my for my birthday. I wasn't excited about storing it, but it did make fast work of sanding these babies. Thanks dad!

I loved that I was able to make different sized stands that hold the exact number of cake pops that I wanted. Custom deluxe! I'm pretty much obsessed with these cake pop stands and the christmas ones are under way. I'm even thinking I should give a couple away when we hit 1000 fb peeps. Good idea?

And you know my policy that cellophane, tags and ribbon make everything better.
Pretty fun gift if you ask me!

I was pretty stoked about the finished product. Sometimes ideas don't turn out like I had planned.
But sometimes, this time, they did! It was all worth it!

p.s. As I scan this post, I'm noticing that it is very apparent I am running low on sleep.
p.s.s. If you have sent me an email/fb message, I'm really trying to catch up...Sorry!
p.s.s.s. I got bangs. Nothing to do with this post, I just thought you should know.

Pumpkin Lovin'

2011-10-24T09:36:00.001-07:00

I'm the kind of girl that wears white after labor day, wears flip flops in the winter, buys purses from Target and believes it's ok to make pumpkin bread any time of the year. Without fear of persecution.

Pumpkin is too good to save for October and November. There are some days in March that just need pumpkin. I won't apologize.

I decided to come clean with my pumpkin lovin' by giving each cubby in my entryway it's own pumpkin.

And, to give your belly some pumpkin lovin', here is one of my favorite pumpkin treats from Our Best Bites. I usually quadruple the recipe and keep it in the fridge so I can get out the ice cream and add the pumpkin mix for one, two or eight milkshakes at a time.

Who would make 8 milkshakes? And only share four with their kids? Probably some chick that wears white after labor day.

Pretty Pumpkin Party

2011-10-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

I had a few screws loose in my head when I decided to throw two birthday parties in two days. I often overestimate my abilities. But, alas, 14 little girls and 20 teenagers came, they squealed, they ate, they left. And I survived.

Camille wanted a pumpkin party but not scary pumpkins or pumpkins to eat, she wanted cute pumpkins. I made little shirts for each of the girls with an appliqued pumpkin on it.

Which matched the invitations.

We played games like "Prickly Pumpkin" (Hot Potato), "Pumpkin, pumpkin, patch" (Duck, duck, goose) "Pumpkin, pumpkin, whose got the pumpkin?" (Button, button, whose got the button?)

They painted pumpkin masks.

And had pumpkin food (but not pumpkin flavored of which yumminess is lost on 6 year olds)

And pumpkin sandwiches that they could add faces to with lots of pumpkin parts made of fruits, veggies etc.

Pumpkin cake

Don't laugh, it's not my best work but it was one of the best tasting cakes I've made. It makes a denser, pound cake better for the pumpkin to stand. I finally used a Wilton's pumpkin cake pan that I bought on clearance at least 8 years ago....one of my better investments.

1 package (18 ounces) Favorite cake mix
1 package (4-serving size) instant pudding and pie filling mix
4 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

And two of my pumpkin pinterest finds, put into action. Don't you feel so awesome when you actually do a project from one of your pinterest boards?

Scrapbook paper pumpkins

Tissue paper pumpkin favors with candy inside.

Here are three special nuggets of wisdom learned this weekend, which I am now passing on to you....

1. When you buy fingernail polish and practice painting pumpkins on your own nails, just know that kids' fingernails are microscopic. And it won't work.

2. When you try a special technique learned on pinterest to bleach around letters of a shirt you should a) follow the directions and use spray adhesive and b) empty the bleach from the spray bottle before your son tries using it as water to iron his church pants.

3. Little girls squeal louder but teenagers eat more. Be prepared on both counts.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Halloween Classroom Entertainment

2011-10-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

There's a chill in the air, my pumpkins are on my porch and yes, I've already purchased and eaten a bag of Halloween candy.

I love fall and love that at our new elementary school they have a Halloween carnival where the kids are able to wear their costumes! We are used to only "harvest" parties with pumpkins, scarecrows and an occasional spider since they are allowed to study insects.

Regardless of how PC your school is, here are a few of my tried and true classroom party ideas, or halloween fun with your own kids.
(I claim no responsibility if you get fired from being room mom for bringing a skeleton craft.)

GHOST BINGO

You can bring little candies and call out the numbers. For upper grades you could even call out addition, multiplication or division problems instead of just the number.

Here are the links to several versions of the Bingo cards, you could still have more than one winner at a time, but I was counting on having the kids divided into small groups and some kids not paying attention or not knowing math, is that wrong?

Bingo Card #1
Bingo Card #2
Bingo Card #3
Bingo Card #4
Bingo Card #5
Bingo Card #6
Bingo Call Cards

Q-TIP SKELETON

All you need is black paper and have the kids dip the ends of the q-tips in glue. Have the kids cut and glue the head, too.
If you would like a sheet of skeleton heads, and who wouldn't... you can download here...

Skeleton Heads

SPIDER HATS

Grab a pack of the big black construction paper from the teacher and pre-cut 8 strips of paper the long way for each child for the legs. Pre-cut the band for the head, too but wait to size the headband on the kids head and staple. I traced the eyes ahead of time but the kids cut them out. The kids can accordion fold the legs (some better than others). You'll need some adults to staple the legs on.

Some other fun games are "Hot Potato" but use a pumpkin to pass around. When the music stops, you're out of the circle. Play "duck, duck, goose" but change the words to "Pumpkin, pumpkin patch" or "Ghost, ghost, witch."

And just for old time sake, here is a song that our mom always sang at Halloween and it scared me to pieces! You may not want to bring it to your classroom, but sing it to your kids, they'll thank you.

"It's Halloween The lamp is lit around the fire we children sit telling ghost stories bit by bit Till sister Jane says SHHHHH. (Verse gradually gets louder as you get near Sister Jane and then SHHH quiets every one.)

Who's that creeping cross the kitchen floor, Who's that peeping round the bathroom door, Who's that SCREEEEEECHING till it's throat is sore....... (Pause then) IT'S A GOBLIN! "

And now that I've sung that song, I can't help but continue my trip down memory lane and show you Big Bird a.k.a. Miss Ashleigh feeding candy to our dog, Poohsie. Sorry, Ash, I love ya!

Silhouette Cookies

2011-10-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

The problem is that we just can't stop.

Callye (Sweet Sugar Belle) and I are soooooo inspired by pinterest that we have a long list of cookie inspiration. I'm sure those of you who have been on "pinterest inspiration overload" can relate.

So my latest inspirations are silhouettes.
Take a look at all of these Silhouettes on Pinterest.

You've seen basic, generic silhouettes. Like this random old lady.

But what I love about the crafters in blogland and on pinterest, is that they are making silhouettes of their own children into beautiful home decor! Nie Nie's silhouettes were the first ones I remember noticing, back in 2008 or so when I became addicted to her style, story and blog. So, naturally, I wanted to make silhouettes of my children into cookies!

The first thing I did was to take a profile picture of my kids. They were horrible quality pictures, but it didn't matter for these purposes! I printed them out in a 2.5 inch size.

Then I took my cookies that were ready with a base layer that had dried 24 hours. You can refer to this post for details on that.

I cut out those little pictures and placed them on my cookie.

You can decide which way you want the silhouette to face.

Then I simply traced an outline with an edible ink pen and colored it in.

But I didn't really like that you could see brush strokes. Maybe my pens are low on ink, but I prefer the raised look of using icing for the silhouette anyway. So you can just outline and then fill in with icing.

I found that it's a little harder, even with a #1 tip to get their little profiles as exact with icing. In fact, when I told my son that this cookie was of him, he denied it was him. Then in further discussion, he busted out with a perfect movie quote from Tangled. He said, "they just can't get my nose right!" I was dying of hysterics! My four year old has great comedic timing, which makes me even prouder than silhouette cookies. Anyway, I added a little dotty border because I'm addicted to this border right now.

With Halloween around the corner, I've seen silhouettes used in a cute and spooky way! I made a few trick-or-treater silhouette cookies here.

These were made by simply putting the picture into my kopykake projector. It just helped me skip the step of cutting out and tracing. These are just internet graphics, but these would be so cute if you actually made one of your kids in their costume from years past. Now I know how to pose my kids in such a way that they will make cute silhouette costume pictures for next year. Done.
Karen's cookies made some darling halloween silhouette cookies too that are even more detailed!

Now you have to go over to the Adventures of Sweet Sugar Belle and swoon over Callye's Sunburst cookies. Sunbursts are all the rage you know. And they are about to be your favorite cookie too!

Sunburst Cookies
This is the latest in our series. Check out our previous cookies here:

Quatrefoil Cookies

Chevron Cookies

Vintage Inspired Cookies

Mustache Cookies

Pennant Banner Cookies

Owl Cookies

Cupcake Topper Cookies

Subway Art Cookies

Keep Calm Cookies

Ombre Cookies

Onesies and Butterflies

2011-10-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

Onesie cookies might be the simplest, cutest cookies ever. Just the cookie cutter alone is adorable!
I recently made these for the double baby shower of two of my friends! Pretty fun!

I made these for my daughter's little birthday celebration at school. She requested turquoise, pink and purple butterflies. I made some other ones too, thinking that 3rd grade boys might take an issue with pink and purple cookies. Anyway, she loved them. But then again, she is easy to impress.

I got carried away with my toothpick as I just marbled away! I've shown you marbled cookies here and here. It basically involves wet on wet frosting and dragging a toothpick through to create endless designs. Here is a great tutorial on marbling icing. Check it out if you want to give it a try!

Laminating Love

2011-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Call it a kick, call it an obsession, call it a bee in my bonnet...

But I want to introduce my latest love to you, my home laminator.

No, laminating is nothing new, but having a laminator at home, at my beckon call is like a dream come true. I found this little baby at Costco, and it was soooo inexpensive. I knew that if I took my recently printed ABC book to the office supply store, it would cost twice as much to laminate than it would to buy this laminator and 100 refills. It was worth it just for this one project.

I found this darling ABC printable series on pinterest. I love free printable downloads! Here is a link if you want to print them out too. My little buddy has been practicing up for preschool! And the new dry erase crayons work like a dream. They erase with zero residue, promise it's true.

I made a personalized cover, laminated, then had it spiral bound for a couple dollars. I don't have my own binding system, but there is always Christmas!

I think laminating is in my genetics, because my mom was a teacher and loved to laminate everything. She made cute little books for her class and her grandkids. We now treasure some of those homemade books from Grammy.

I too have made some laminated books for my kids over the years. They have been well loved, meaning some of them are in shreds. But I would simply use pictures and low profile scrapbook supplies to create a little quiet book for them. One of my daughter's favorites was when my sis took pictures of her in all different princess dress-ups. She loved looking at these pictures so much, I had to preserve it in a little book.

So the laminating love has resurfaced and I just can't help myself! I made a little name tag for my daughter's flute. Watch out luggage, you're next! haha!

I laminated the soccer game and snack schedule. This way it's easy to tape to a cabinet or wall.

Speaking of inside cabinet doors... I laminated my "Laundry and Stain Removal Tips" from Martha and now they are easily accessible in the laundry room. My precious laminating can protect against humidity too. Martha would approve.

I hot glued a little clip onto laminated papers and made name tags. So sa-weet!

I also made a new, updated version of my baptism book that I posted about way back when. The front and back are laminated and now it is all spiral bound. Same content though. Nothing new there.

And when I love something this much, I spread the word! I forced one on my sister and told her that she really needs it, and she just didn't know it yet! And she has put it to good use!
Look at these adorable chore charts she made. They use dry erase pens with them.

She made cute backpack tags for her kids.

And she made this darling little flip book as a gift for my daughter on her baptism day. Cute words on the front, and pictures on the back. It fits right in with her scriptures!

You would think at this point, that I have been paid by laminator makers of America, but no, I'm just easily excited by things like this. If I'm going to use the ink to print it, I want to hang onto it for a while. Laminating is a perfect way to preserve things.

If only I could laminate my kids and stop them from growing up. No, the laminating has to stop at some point. It won't work for all of my projects, but many of my paper projects are sure to have a shiny, dazzling new plastic coating! Just sharing the love...

Yummy Recommendations

2011-09-30T13:54:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share a link with you today. Have you been to My Baking Addiction?

Well, I highly recommend it. Everything I try from that site has been great! There are so many recipes out there on the web. Sometimes I have high hopes and end up disappointed. But sometimes I try new recipes and they are fabulous and end up in my recipe box. Yes, I'm old school and I still have a box.
So here are two recipes that have ended up in my box:

I love the snickers cupcakes. I've made them with a couple versions of chocolate cake, including the one that it says to use. But what really kills me is the caramel buttercream and chunks of snickers on top. Seriously yummy!

I was inspired by this site to make chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes. I didn't use their frosting recipe, I used the sprinkles recipe, and I also added a chocolate syrup drizzles.

I've often thought that I have a baking addiction, so the site is aptly named for people like me who are always on a quest to find the best and newest recipes. Go check it out!

Ginormous Napkins Make Good Drapes

2011-09-27T22:51:00.000-07:00

Before you judge this room, please consider this the before picture.

Okay, you can judge me. Because I'm not a decorator, or a seamstress. I'm just a DIY kind of girl who believes that where there's a will there's a way! I know I still have to incorporate some color and accessorize in this living room, but I'm pretty excited about my start... because of the gray.

Yes, I have fallen madly in love with gray, along with a large portion of America.
I'm all about neutrals and I've always love black and white anything. So gray is like the best of both worlds, right? I love that the main focus of the room is the piano. So, I have to stay with a little bit of black, but I wanted a lot of gray. The wall color is "bedford gray" (Martha Stewart at Home Depot) and I love it so much, I painted my son's room the same color. The chairs are from World Market and the little table from Pier One. But I wanted to share how easy my faker drapes were to make.

I didn't need functional drapes because of the shutters, so I skipped the whole lining thing. I just needed some pretty fabric to frame out these windows. I used regular 44" fabric and measured the length I needed to make the drapes reach the ground. Then I hemmed the sides and mitered the corners. I used this napkin tutorial to make napkins recently, so I basically treated this piece of fabric like a huge napkin. Is that allowed? I'm not sure, but it's good enough for me!

My fave drape rods are allen + roth from Lowe's. They're chunky and easy to use. The rings come with loops that you could put pre-made drape hooks in, and they also come with little clips you can use!

You can clip these right on top of the fabric like you see here.

Then it will look like this. Which I wasn't that impressed with. I love the function of the clips, but I didn't really want to see them. So I did some experimenting.

What I ended up liking was when I did it this way: I measured my ginormous napkin and divided it evenly to see where I would put my 7 clips. Then I ironed a pleat in each increment to mark where I would place the clip. I placed the clip about 2.5" lower than the top.

So then when I hung the rod, the top of the fabric covered the clips. This is the look I was going for.

See the difference? They are both fine, but I think hiding the clips looks a little more formal.

I have fun experimenting as an amateur designer in my home. I've already picked out some pillows and I'm on the hunt for fabulous accessories. I can't wait for the finished product. The best part will be sitting in this room, listening to my kids play piano, as I look at the drapes and think to myself, "those are some cool and really large napkins."

He is a Shark, I am a Soccer Mom

2011-09-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

I'm the mom of a soccer player. I'm still not quite sure of all of the underlying meanings and stereotypes that the term, "soccer mom" entails, but I'm pretty excited to be one.

After years of ballet and music lessons with the girls, we are dabbling in sports with our little guy.

I'm new to the scene and I'm not quite sure of all the ins and outs of the soccer world, but I'll tell you that I love it so far. I love that he is coached by two great friends who are patient and fun! I love that he asks me everyday, "Is it soccer today?" And I LOVE how stinking CUTE he is in his baggy, over-sized uniform.

He loves running around with his friends at practice. He loves the attention he gets from his older sisters who are so proud of his every move. He loves spray-painting a blue stripe on his hair as his "shark fin." He loves the chant they do in the huddle. And he REALLY loves the snacks!

He is pretty excited to be a "shark," which is what they chose for their team name.
So of course I jumped at the chance to do a shark cookie. And yes I wrapped it up with cellophane and a tag. I know there will come a day when he will ask me not to do cute things to his food (for fear of embarrassment), but until that day comes... I'm livin' it up!

And he and his little friends were pretty excited about their shark cookies!
That shark didn't even make it off the field before it was eaten.

Ahhh yes... These are the little things that just warm my heart.
A happy little boy, and an excuse to make a cookie.

Monsters and Eyeballs- Guest Post

2011-09-23T13:48:00.000-07:00

It's time to stock up on your monster eyeballs. Halloween is a comin.'

Go see my guest post over at somewhat simple to see the monsters that I made with these little eyeballs!

Keep Calm Cookies

2011-09-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

Love em or hate em, they're all over pinterest.
Yes, I'm sure you have seen this little poster, or some version of it if you are on pinterest!
Who knows where these originated, but people can't stop creating new versions.
Just check out what a search of "keep calm" will give you on pinterest!
So I HAD to include these on our series of "pinterest inspired cookies."

These are pretty simple to create. Just make a rectangle cookie, frost a solid color and then write!
I used my projector for this, but free hand would work too!

I don't have a rectangular cutter because I figure I can just cut it with a knife. Well, that is good in theory, but the problem with sugar cookies sometimes is spreading. I find that with my recipe, the more flour I put in, the less spreading is a problem. However, they are softer if I don't add that extra flour. I know there are some recipes out there without leavening ingredients in them, but I tend to prefer the taste of this recipe. Another trick that I find works is to cut out the dough, then put it in the freezer for about 20 minutes, then put it straight into the oven to bake. The colder the dough, the better it will hold it's shape, and not spread.

BUT.... If I want the cookies extra soft and I don't have time to chill the dough and I want clean straight edges, I use this trick: As soon as you remove the cookies from the oven, you can cut/trim them straight. While they are still warm and soft, they can be cut without breaking.

The downside is that the side where you cut will be a little less clean. But the upside, is that from the top of the cookie, it looks like a pretty sharp rectangle.

Here is the bottom edge, that was not cut after baking, if you want to compare.

It's pretty hard to get a lot of rectangles the same size without a cutter, so I'm thinking about investing in a set. But can you tell which one of these I did not trim after baking? And most of the time, no one would notice the rough edge on the side.

Of all the versions of keep calm, this one has to be my favorite. Because sometimes when I see a new, fabulous idea on pinterest, I am having a small freak out and I need to be reminded...

And get ready to FLIP OUT when you go see how cool Callye's

Ombre Cookies turned out.

A Chalkboard... Just Because.

2011-09-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

I made myself a chalkboard. Just because I felt like it.

Chalkboards are all the rage right now. I hesitated to enter the craze right now, because the thought of chalk dust everywhere makes me nervous. But alas, I just couldn't resist the cuteness.

Remember when I made these shelves? Well, they aren't totally done being decorated for Fall, but my chalkboard is giving it a good little start.

In order to get it the right size and shape, I grabbed some butcher paper, folded it in half twice then cut some snazzy curves. I opened it to see if it fit where I wanted it. Then I folded it back up to fine tune and trim my curves.

I just traced my shape onto a scrap piece of 3/4" mdf. Then I cut it out with the jigsaw, sanded and primed. I used several coats of a krylon brand spray chalkboard paint.

Then I nailed in some picture hanging things to attach it on the wall behind my shelves.

Or, it can go on a picture stand. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to use it vertically as well. I'm thinking this sort of thing would be fun for Thanksgiving.

While I was at it, I made one for my sis, so I can't wait to see how she uses it. As soon as she gets her camera fixed, I'm sure she'll be sharing that with all of you too! Hint hint! Wink wink!

And I'm sure she'll thank me for the chalk dust everywhere. :)

Guest Post at Eighteen25

2011-09-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'm guest posting today over at eighteen25! If there is anyone out there that isn't already in love with this blog, then you are about to be.... Go check it out! They have a way of making crafting look sophisticated and classy. They have wonderful ideas and printables to share!

I'm really excited to be a part of their September Spooktacular and I'm sharing my project/gift idea for

Jack-o-lantern in a jar.

You might guess what my inspiration is...

POST EDIT: It just ocurred to me that I saved the tag file and I can share it! If you'd like to print out this simple tag, go to this link here...Jack-o-lantern in a jar tag.

Cupcake Topper Cookies

2011-09-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

....And we're back!

Callye and I just can't get enough of pinterest inspired cookies, so we decided to keep it going and post more whenever the mood strikes, or whenever pinterest strikes our interest!

So, I'm sure you've seen plenty of darling parties with darling cupcakes! And lots of the darling cupcakes out there in blogworld have a cupcake topper in them! I know there are lots of fun shops that sell printable versions, one of my favorites being TomKat Studio. But my job here was to take that inspiration and translate it into a cookie!

These were my back to school cupcakes with cookie toppers!

So I simply made the topper out of a cookie, instead of paper. I used a 1 3/4 inch scalloped circle cutter. I make sure to roll the dough a little thicker when I'm going to put a stick in. Also, make sure the dough is nice and cold. This way it won't get all warped as you push the stick in.

I bake them on silpats (nonstick pan liners) with the stick right in! I also remember to bake for less time than usual. These small little cookies cook pretty fast and we still want them to be soft.

After they've cooled, you can frost a circle and let dry. I did the inner circles and outer edge with "10 second icing." See this post if you need an explanation on that.

I did the border by first piping a circle so I have a clean inner edge.

Then I essentially make dots on the little scallops and blend with a toothpick.
{Can you please pretend I didn't forget to pop the bubbles in this white icing? Thanks!}

So, just as the possibilities for paper toppers are endless, so are the cookie possibilities.
These were so easy. After I did the base and border, I took my edible ink pen and made red laces to turn them into baseballs.

A simple monogram would be fabulous for a birthday or shower!

Cupcake toppers can be very girly, but also very cute for boy parties.
I was thinking of a pirate party when I made these!

This time of year you might be inspired to make some Halloween toppers. I had a little disaster with my Halloween set. I had a candy corn, witch hat and a bat but water ruined them. {Lesson learned: Move the cookies far away from the sink when you do dishes. You might splash!}

This little treat may be the best of both worlds. A small bite of cake and cookie! No one's going to complain about the extra treat!

Callye has some fun pinterest inspired cookies today too!

Go check out her Subway Art Cookies on Sweet Sugar Belle!

Vintage/Modern Wedding

2011-09-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

Wait, is that allowed? Can you pull off not thrift store, not your grandmothers, not get out the moth ball vintage? But fresh, awesome, modern, makes me hate my wedding vintage?

Can you DIY it and still have it look elegant and romantic?

If you are my sister-in-law and nieces, yes you can!!

This is my darling niece, Kristen, and her hubby Keith. If you can't tell they are cute as buttons from just their torsos, here' s the rest of them. I kind of wanna put them in my pocket, they are so darn cute!

Kristen MADE all of these bouquets and she never found a tutorial so she just jumped right in and made it the way she wanted to.

And the boutonnieres. Seriously, stop it.

And don't even get me started on the endless photography talents of my niece, Shandi (Kristen's sister) of Shandi Marie Photography. All of the beautiful pictures in this post are thanks to her and she designs the most extraordinary invitations with her photography.

And if you haven't fainted from awesome overload yet, you might want to sit down. Ashleigh and Michiko catered the wedding! I can brag about them because I tasted everything (more than once) and I couldn't even pick a favorite. It was mouth-watering amazingness! Savory meatballs, Creamy pesto ravioli, Lemon Garlic Shrimp, Bacon-wrapped Smokies, and Tri-tip skewers with Chimichurri sauce which I might want to marry, no offense dear husband :)

And did I mention too pretty to eat? Cake pops with disco dust, Chocolate covered strawberries, Mini cheesecakes with three different toppings, and you are all well aware of the beautiful cookies Miss Ashleigh comes up with.

And, do you see those signs on stands to label the food? Made. By. Ashleigh. She needs to do a post and tutorial immediately if not sooner on those cuties!

Cake? Gorg! We can't take credit for it but it succeeded in vintage modern so it was invited to the blog post.

The girls gathered all sorts of vintage treasure for the centerpieces. Half the tables had vases with branches and half had vases with fresh flowers mixed in to the treasures.

Everywhere you looked there were little details like these chandeliers just hanging from trees. (And a life sized cardboard cut out of their brother who is on a mission in the Dominican Republic. Hilarious! ) I loved the bridesmaids dresses which they happened to find at the mall. Since those two cute nieces on the left are only 17 and 15 they wanted a bit more coverage for the strapless dresses. They used the lining of the bottom of the dress to make a shrug that exactly matched the dress! Very clever girls!

Thanks for letting me brag a bit about some of my favorite people and their talents. I loved every bit of this wedding and I have a feeling there is a very happily ever after in store for these two.

Pennant Banner Cookies

2011-09-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Who has taken part in the pennant banner craze? {hand raised}

Guilty as charged. I'm right on top of that bandwagon! They are just so dang cute!
If you have been around this blog for a while, you know I did one in my daughter's room, here.

Yes, they are all around blogland and ever present on our lovely pinterest!
So this is today's pinterest inspired cookie: a simple little pennant banner.

I decided to do the flags as icing transfers. I made them on parchment paper, waited for them to dry, then they popped right off.

I could have done this with a smaller tip to make the corners more precise, but I just did them with a regular squeezie bottle, then used a toothpick to pull the edges out to a more triangular shape.

I stuck them on my cookie (with a dried base layer) with a dot of fresh royal icing.

Last but not least, I piped the string that "connects" the little flags. Because I did the flags separately, the had kind of a 3D effect and slightly lifted off the cookie. Another great thing about doing them as transfers, is that if you mess one up, no biggie. You just don't use it! I made so many of them because I wasn't sure how many or of what size I would need.

I did some that had a little more space between each flag, but I liked the flags that were closer together.

I also experimented with my edible ink pens. I tried polka dots, but somehow didn't end up with a picture of those. This one simply sends a bday message.

But not only are pennant banners seen all over pinterest, I see my fair share of pennant flags.

No cookie cutter necessary if you have a knife. Roll your dough thicker when you plan to insert a stick. Then cut your little triangles. It will be easier to insert the stick if you do it when the dough is still nice and cold.

College football season is here, so these would be pretty great at your next game day party in your favorite team colors. But I opted for a girly version, tied up with tulle and ribbon.

I think Callye would opt for some Texas Longhorn pennant flag cookies.

Speaking of the great SugarBelle, go see the pinterest trend that she is sharing on a cookie today!

She's going to share OWLS today. And you know owls are everywhere right now!
My sister joked that if you haven't made an owl pillow yet, you need to get crafting. Haha!

Vintage Inspired Cookies

2011-09-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Today I'm going to attempt to copy the "vintage" bloggy trend that is found all over pinterest in fashion, decor and now cookies! Yes, these were inspired by pearls, lace and embroidery that you can see if you click on this pinterest board of mine. And in an effort of full-disclosure I edited these pictures with a photoshop action called "seventies" by pioneer woman. It makes them look a little older. When have I ever wanted my cookies to look old? This is a first people!

I knew that I had seen people make embroidered looking flowers with royal icing on cakes before. I just didn't know what it was called or how to do it. So, I asked the lady at my local cake and candy store and she said, "Oh, you're talking about brush embroidery and all you need is a paintbrush!" So I picked up a paintbrush and went home to google "brush embroidery." I found lots of beautiful inspiration and instruction. Here are a few links to inspire you as well: Wilton, flikr, Ali Bee's Bake Shop , Sweet Ambs, sugarcraft. And you better bet that you can find this on Callye's site too!

I armed myself with some sugar pearls, tweezers to place them and a new clean paintbrush.

You will need to start with a cookie that has a base layer that has dried for about 24 hrs. You also need to sit down with a brush, glass of water, paper towel and white royal icing that is about 20 seconds thick. In my attempt to make a rose, I started with one petal at a time. After it was piped I brushed about 2 times, rinsed in the water and dried on the paper towel. Then I did a few more brush strokes and repeated until I had one whole petal. Then I moved onto the next petal. Once I made it all the way around, I let it dry as I went onto other cookies. Then I came back and repeated the same steps in the inner petals. Once I did the 3rd circle of petals, I put a dot of icing in the center and placed my sugar pearls on.

If you want your flowers thicker like the one below, just use a bigger tip for your white icing. This one was a three and the ones above were done with a #2 tip.

I tried lots of different flower shapes, but the rose was my favorite.

I wanted to make some lace-ish cookies so I checked out this old box of lace (what a treasure that I inherited) and saw that all lace is not created equal. They are all so different, so you really can't go wrong.

But I applied the brush technique to parts of my lace cookies and topped them off with some pearls too!
All of these were done without my projector. I pretty much made them up as I went, having no plan before time. I know it's not like me at all, but every once in a while, I live on the edge!

This one was done with no brush technique but I'm still qualifying it as vintage.

But I did use the brush technique to create a little vintage frame, cookie style! You can see that I just did a scalloped border and pulled in with the brush. Then I went over the frosting with silver luster dust. After that, I piped a border and put the pearls on. And in an attempt to go with the trends, I left the frame empty. The empty frame trend is big! Too bad I didn't make several of them and put them in a collage on my wall. Hehe!

I got a kick out of trying this new technique and making vintage cookies. I used some of these ideas in a vintage style wedding recently! We'll be sharing those wedding details soon! But for the rest of the week, Callye and I will continue to share our pinterest inspired cookies with you!

Now go visit Callye's pinterest trend of the day!

Mustaches!

Quatrefoil Cookies

2011-09-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Are you guys ready for a week of fun cookies?

I am SO excited to be teaming up with the great Callye of "The Sweet Adventures of Sugar Belle."

If you are a cookie fan, I'm sure you know that her work is absolutely the best! Here are a few reasons why Callye is at the top of my list of inspiring cookie decorators:

1. She gives great step by step tutorials on darling cookies.

2. The girl thinks outside the box and comes up with some genius holiday inspiration!

3. She has a facebook page where she shares lots of inspiration and frankly cracks my up!

4. She shares more than just sugar cookie recipes. I must try these!

5. Ummm... Look at her cookie cutter collection. Now you want to be her best friend too, right?

6. I could go on, and on, but you just need to go check out her blog.

Well, I've enjoyed getting to know Callye and "talking cookie" with her. It is fun to chat with someone else who's brain just immediately converts things into cookies. We are both pinterest fans and love to follow the latest blog trends. But how could these decorating, crafting, sewing, fashion blog trends translate into cookie decorating? Well, we set out to find a way! And for the next 5 days we are going to share our pinterest inspired cookies with you!

We are starting out with two of the most popular prints around pinterest and all of blogland! Callye is doing chevron cookies and I am doing quatrefoil cookies.

I started with a plain gray background. Because I'm pretty sure that gray is the new black! And I just can't get enough of it! Here is a link to a post with my recipes and basics of frosting cookies. But if you follow Callye, or I, you know just how to pipe a border and flood. You are basically professional at it, right? So the base layer has to dry for at least a day. Then, I used my kopykake projector to show the pattern right onto the cookie. I used a stiff icing and a #1 tip to do these slightly different patterns.

But if you don't have a projector, never fear! It is simple and easy to do with a homemade stencil!

Hey if people can stencil a whole rug or a whole wall, then we can stencil onto a cookie, right?

I made a tiny little stencil by hand, and got out my fine tip food writer. It is important that your base layer is nice and hard because you put a bit of pressure on it when you hold the stencil in place.

I started in the top, middle. Then went straight down from there.

After I did a row, I started on the next.

I worked my way across one side, then turned the cookie around and did the other side.

Then, because you are a glutton for cookie punishment, you go over your pattern with some icing!

You could keep it exactly how it was with the pattern in edible ink,

but here is an example of how it looks in comparison to a #1 and #2 tip.

For more quatrefoil inspiration, click here to see a quatrefoil pinterest board.

And for Chevron inspiration, you MUST go see Callye's post!

Sweet Sugar Belle's Chevron inspired cookies!

Ice Cream Sundae Gift Basket

2011-08-31T00:28:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love gift baskets? Receiving them, I mean.

Creating them can be daunting. I know you've all been asked to put one together for a school carnival, fundraising event, or something of that sorts. And we all want our gift basket to look it's best, right?

Well, I tried my best in the "presentation" department for my latest gift basket assignment, and I thought I'd share some things that added a special touch to this "ice cream sundae gift basket."

Well the main part of a sundae is the ice cream, but that's a little hard to package seeing as though it will melt rather quickly. But I was so excited to find this stuff that makes homemade ice cream quick and easy. I found it (and the baskets I packed it all in) at World Market. Major score!

And then at the same place, I found these stinkin adorable little containers that have a little scoop in them. Perfect for the sprinkles and almonds. Yes, toasted almonds, not peanuts. That's how I roll. But I bagged a couple of other toppings because I wanted them to sit right in the ice cream sundae dishes I got. They just looked sad when they were empty.

Now the topping labels were fine and all, but I kind of felt like they were messing with my mojo and I wanted to cover them up. So I sewed very simple bags to put them in.

Then I stamped them with some old foam stamps and craft paint. I figured no one was going to wash and re-use my silly topping bags, so I didn't go buy fabric paint. But I did put some cardboard in the bag before I stamped. I was thinking ahead, I tell ya!

And while I was browsing for some white fabric I found this cute polka dot stuff that just screamed ice cream shop to me! I was working under a time crunch, so instead of sewing a full basket liner, I just sewed a napkin and lined the basket with that. I used this tutorial at Skip to My Lou to do my mitered corners.

So all of these ice cream things are great and good, but they provide no immediate cure for a sweet tooth. So, I thought a little cookie was in order for the recipient to munch while they get their ice cream done!

I've done a cookie similar to this before, but I thought I'd show you how simple the steps are:
For my "bubble gum ice cream" I just used medium thickness (10-15 second) pink royal icing and threw on some colorful sugar pearls while it was wet. I let it dry about a half hour in between layers.

For the "mint chip" layer, I did the same with green icing and candy covered chocolate chips. They come in a rainbow of colors, but I picked out the brown ones. I'm dedicated to the cause...

Then I simply made the cone!

After about 5 hours when that frosting was mostly dry, I decided it would be better as a waffle cone.
I do love a good waffle cone at the yogurt shop!

So that is what went into this little basket of mine.
I figured I couldn't go wrong when giving the gift of ice cream!

Assembling this gift basket ended up to be quite a fun (and not a daunting) task! I didn't have any exact plans when I went out shopping. I just seemed to easily find a few items that got me excited! I love it when that happens! So gear up for your fundraisers, friends. I just know you will have gift basket success too!

Bee Cookies

2011-08-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

Lately, I started feeling as though it was a little wrong that I hadn't ever posted a bee cookie.

After all, our blog is called "bee in our bonnet" and the most common project I do is sugar cookies!

It just seems as if our blog needs a mascot of sorts. A bee cookie will do! But I couldn't decide on just one. And I still can't decide. So head on over to somewhat simple where I am posting my bee cookies today. And feel free to tell me which one is your favorite! Here is a sneak peak...

But "bee" sure to click over and see what else is buzzing around on somewhat simple!

Soda Can Flower Bows

2011-08-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

First of all, I call it "soda." I giggle when people say "pop". But, I'm equal opportunity when it comes to cold fizzy happiness. Call it what you want. I like it.

This craft hails from my sister-in-law who lives in Utah, so maybe we should call it pop in honor of all crafty Utahans.

Ready to make em?

First, drink soda, or go to the gas station and dig through trash. Rinse and empty.

Find the section with the nutrition information. That is not cute and I don't want any kind of calories on my happy bows. I used a knife to slice from top to bottom.

Then you have to make some decisions whether to use utility scissors or a knife to cut the top and bottom off. This weighty matter depends on the sharpness of your knife, or scissors or who in the house might be trying to do homework while your knife makes a sound worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. I used scissors. Such complainers my kids!

Now you have a little rectangle of aluminum which you can load into your Cricut. Your Cricut might get mad at you a few times. It's not used to working so hard. I set it on the slowest speed and highest presssure and it still didn't cut completely through but I just eased the shape out with tender loving care. I probably should have gotten a new blade, that would have required a trip to the store right in the middle of my bee in my bonnet.

If you don't have a die cutting machine, never fear. Just cut a circle and cut from the outside into fourths and then cut each fourth in half.

Then round each petal into your desired shape.

Whichever way you cut your flowers, you will want to cut graduating sizes and then bend the aluminum a bit. I bent each petal upward at its base and then rounded the edge downward for a more natural look. Staple the layers together twice upside down and then you can slide your clip under the staple.

What's more natural than metal die cuts on your head. My husband was a bit worried about my sanity but the edges really aren't sharp, promise. The girls were finding outfits to match their new flowers.

I'm thinking they would be fun for spirit day in school colors. They would be awesome as a bow on a gift for a friend who loves a certain brand of soda. The brands of soda and colors are endless. I considered asking my teenager to grab cool ice tea or energy drink cans from people at school when they were done. But, that might be slightly embarrassing at your brand new school so I'll have to stalk them instead.

And this one is for you, Ash. Your very own Diet Pepsi bracelet.

Not that we drink that or anything.

Sweet talkin' our Teachers

2011-08-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We have a winner in our Cake Stand Giveaway! Thank you to all who entered!!! Thank you to Ashleigh's hubby who helps with the powertools and to Ashleigh for designing some dang cute cake stands!

Drumroll please......
Renee from Renee's Soirees you are the happy owner of two sunshine yellow cake stands!

On a side note, today I sent 5 kids to new schools for their first day! First grade through High School Senior and I just have little Boo to keep me company. I might actually have to clean my house today. Or sit around and hope they make new friends. Or craft. Or take a nap to congratulate myself for surviving the summer.

Back to school reminds me of how much we love teachers!!!! Our mom was a teacher and she did not mess around! In her classroom she did cow eye dissections, snail races, taught French, did plays, and had an endless supply of brain teasers for her students.

(Just so you know, it's super uncool to open the freezer to offer your friends some ice cream and find 200 cow eyes staring back at you)

As faithful daughters, we have done our share of coloring, laminating, cutting out laminating, hanging borders on bulletin boards, giving a thumbs up on the new outfit for Open House, and forgiving mom for cow parts in the freezer.

So in our mom's honor (and because we love our kids even when they smell like playground and hope their teachers might overlook that smell as they educate our stinky cherubs) we like to take care of teachers!!

Here's a little something for the first day of school. (Or any time your teachers need some sweet talk)

I was inspired by this fill-a-bowl that our friend Allison (THE crazy hair day magician) made for us with some cool Halloween candy, thanks Allison!

So I decided to fill-a-cup! These cups are so hip that if you don't already own one you feel like a loser. I have cup envy, is it obvious?

I cut some white cardstock the height of the cup, folded the strips and glued each "V" together so it made spokes. I tapered the paper on the bottom so it would fit in the tapered cup cause I'm smart like that.

Then fill 'er up with some back to school goodies! Put the straw in first :)

I made some paper cozies with the teachers' names. And, you don't want your name cozy getting wet when you use your hip cup so HE-LOOOO! I laminated them with the new laminator Ash got me for my birthday! I feel a whole post coming soon about her laminating love affair. She snuggles the laminator sometimes. :)

Hopefully we're off to a great start at our new school. Now, I need to sweet talk the office staff....

Sunshine Wall

2011-08-15T03:11:00.000-07:00

This is the story of the big blank wall above my daughter's dresser. Well it was blank for a few months after I finished her bedding. That crafting with the stars contest really wore me out!
{sidenote: I apologize for the poor pictures in this post. I'm having camera issues}

Last fall, I shared my daughter's sunshine bedding with you. In this post I shared the quilt and I explained that I chose a sunshine theme for her room, to match her happy disposition. I also shared tutorials on how I made the pillows in this post.

Throughout the year, I have been adding things to her blank wall and I thought I'd share them with you.
I made some fabric flowers with my leftover scraps. There are so many tutorials for fabric flowers, it was hard to choose which style to do, but I went with inspiration from Chris.

They sit on a shelf that was in her room before. It was white, but now it is a happy sun yellow! And of course she has this mailbox from Target up there too. She says she keeps her important stuff there.

And just like the sun on the other wall in the room, this little cloud is just something that I cut out of wood scraps. Okay, my husband helps me a lot in this category. I tend to exaggerate my power tool skills. But really, I love the simplicity of a chunky wood accessory that is custom made for a space.

You just need to pick up some of these things in your craft store framing department and your scrap wood can become wall art! And right now I'm admitting that I didn't paint the back. Insert wonky face :/

And this is just something I made in photoshop. There are a bazillion cute "you are my sunshine" printables out there. And here is one more.... I'm super good at sharing now thanks to box.net.
{If you want to download this print, click here}

The lamp is from Target. They had the perfect shade of pink. I added some fabric scraps to spruce it up.

Do you remember these from the Garden Baby Shower? My sister made them for decor and I took the ones that matched her room and hung them right up. How's that for recycling!?

I think that sentimental touches are the best part of decorating. This whole room is sentimental to me because it is just soooo fitting for her and makes me happy just to walk by it. But one thing that makes her extra happy is this little collage of ballet pictures. She is missing her cousin!

The painting on the wall is of her. I made it the same way I made the "Guys on the Wall."
I will tell you more about it soon!

Oh, and I hang all of this with my tried and true method. It prevents a million holes in the wall, since I change my mind a lot. First I trace everything I'm going to hang on butcher paper. Then I tape those pieces on the wall and I can easily play with spacing and move things around.

As soon as I like it, I measure how far down the nail will have to be, then nail right into the paper. Then I place the picture on and it goes exactly where the paper was. So now the paper can be torn right off and I have exactly what I want!

I have to say that decorating my kids rooms has been at the top of my favorite projects list. It is so great to know that they love it, that it is functioning for them and that it is their special little place to be themselves... And that is the happy ending to the story of the big blank wall.

p.s. Have you entered the cake stand giveaway yet? They would be really cute in this room, because they are yellow. But alas, I have already promised them to one of you! Enter here!

I'm linking up to Today's Creative Blog and Skip to my Lou!

Dinosaur Cookies

2011-08-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

There were plenty of dinosaur cookie cutters to buy online. I even bought some.
But when I made them, They didn't impress me much. They were a little too realistic. I wanted my dinosaurs to be kind of cutesy. So I ended up making my own paper template (like I did here) and cut out the vague shape with a knife. The cookies don't end up exactly the same shape, but close enough that I can decorate using my projector and make them look pretty close.

I took these pictures before the color had already set completely. Do you see how the feet are darker than the rest of the body. The color deepens and takes a good day and a half to become it's final color. Red ALWAYS does this and a few others too. I guess I'll add parsley green (avocado and leaf green) to that list. No need to panic like I did the first time. I just plan enough time for it to do it's thing.

These dinosaurs were for a 4 year old girl. So we had to girly up the t-rex (her favorite) with eyelashes (food writers) and glitter cheeks (pink luster dust).

But we need to talk about the fact, that I just can't stop doing scalloped edges and "wet on wet" polka-dots. I experiment and try things different ways, but I always come back to this style. It is always my favorite for a monogram, or number in this case. Thank-you Bridget, I was inspired by you!

Yes, polka-dot and scalloped cookies are so cute, they are bound to become extinct...eaten!
(I'm sorry, sometimes I just can't resist the cheesiness)!

I'm linking to tatertots and jello and Be Different, Act Normal!

Cake Stand Giveaway!

2011-08-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

We are so excited that we have recently hit 1000 followers!
1000 people actually care about our projects? What?
While followers aren't the most important thing, or the reason why we blog, it sure makes us feel good to think that you want to check out our little space on the big old internet! And since I am constantly looking for real or made-up reasons to celebrate things. I think this is reason enough to celebrate! Oh, and it's both of our birthdays this week, so we are in party mode... Let's give something away!!!

We are giving away 2 yellow cake stands.

Yellow because it matches our blog and because yellow is all that.

When deciding what to offer you, our dedicated followers, we looked at our blog stats to see that our most popular post of all time is "Project Wedding- The Cake Stands."

We are flattered that these have been featured on so many sites that we respect! It was even our ticket into a crafting contest a few years back! So it just seemed fitting that we give away something that you love!

My favorite thing is that they are wood so they you can paint and repaint them for any party or occasion.
You can put a plate on them and serve food on them, like at the wedding...

They were red at Christmas, Valentines and for this Ladybug party...

They were pink for this baby shower...
Some are now black and ready to put pumpkins on for Halloween... It's going to be great!

You can use them for serving or for decorating in general!
I think I'm going to put one in my craft room just to put stacks of cute fabric on!

But wait, these cute yellow stands aren't mine, they will soon be shipping to one of you!

So thanks to my husband's help with breaking out the power tools, we have 2 new cake stands that we are sending one of you! There are two ways to enter the giveaway:
*Leave a comment telling us you are a follower. If you aren't a follower yet, just click "follow" in the box on our right sidebar.
*"Like" Bee in our bonnet on facebook and leave a comment telling us you did! We just set up this new fan page and we are excited to offer another way to receive our updates. Just press "like" on our sidebar and it will take you to our page.
(Please leave 2 comments if you did both).
We will pick a winner with "random integrator" in a week. August 17th! Good luck!

But seriously, Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you for your comments, support, and encouragement. You have been patient even if our blog has no rhyme or reason sometimes. We may post 5 or 15 times a month. We may be on a food kick, a painting kick, a cookie kick, a wedding kick, a sewing kick, a scrapbook kick, or who knows what! Yes, whatever is the current "bee in our bonnet," that's what you get on this blog. It has to fit in with our life, and current priorities. Blogging has motivated us and pushed our creativity further than before. And reading your blogs has been the most inspiring thing of all! We love this 2-way street that is the blogging community! We look forward to more!

Make Your Own Stamps

2011-08-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Four years ago when I was planning my daughter's bowling party, I went into stress mode trying to find a cute bowling stamp/dicut/patterned paper- anything that would make our invitations and party bags cute. Now this was before printables were big...it's hard to image such a time, but it's true. So out of that desperation, I found a way to make my own custom foam stamps. The treat bag ended up looking like this:

Now, if you're a crafter, then there is 95% chance that you have gone through a stamping phase. You know, where you buy a million of those expensive things and then don't use them as much as you thought. You with me? I went through that phase with the big wood block stamps and then again with the cool acrylic stamps. It was quite a breakthrough when the clear acrylic block would let me see exactly where I was putting the stamp.

So, I used that clear acrylic block that I had and some sticky backed foam sheets to make my own little bowling stamp.

I free handed and cut some bowling pins, and for the ball, I used 2 sizes of circle punches.

I peeled off the sticky back and put it right onto my acrylic block. Then I used acrylic paint and a foam brush to quickly stamp on a handful of bags. Then the foam peeled nicely off my acrylic block and I washed the paint off with soap and water.

Then I stamped the bowling ball onto all of them in a jiffy. Yes, I just said jiffy and I'm not going back.
I added the red stripes on the pins with a fine-tip marker, and there I had it!

I still have that pile of sticky backed foam sheets that I draw on every once in a while. And recently, when my kids were dying of end-of-summer-boredom, I thought of this little trick again.

They went to town, stamping their own set of stationary. We didn't have any, but craft stores have all sorts of pre-cut foam shapes with a sticky back. Those would be so fun for them to stamp with.

And when there was only one acrylic block to go around, they got creative, grabbing anything clear to put their stamps on.

They made some thank-you cards. I was pretty proud of their creativity when they thought of making a tye-dye look by using different color stamp pads. I think I'm going to start to take lessons from them.

BTW, when you do words, write the letters the right way on the paper side of the foam, then stick them on the block backwards then when you stamp it it will be right again. We may have learned this the hard way. :/

This stamping bit entertained them for HOURS! And somewhere in the middle of it, I suggested they should make a card for their new teachers.

Then I got to thinking that a little stack of stationary would be a great first day of school gift. They would be smiling ear to ear as they told their teacher that they made them some notecards.

(These were made with half a sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock, folded in half. The green was a punched out piece of foam, stamped with a stamp pad, for the other colors, we used acrylic paint).

You could even print "a note from your teacher" on the cardstock before you cut it into cards. Then stamp... You can tell I have "back to school" on the brain, but I know your kids could use their homemade stamps for any sort of occasion!

Now I must go organize closets to see if my kids own anything other than swimsuits. I think I have a little back-to-school shopping to do!

I'm linking up to somewhat simple and the girl creative!

First Day Survival Kit-printable

2011-08-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a few emails about wanting to print the cover I made for the First Day of School survival kit. I'm so glad that some of you want to give this a try. My kids' teachers talked about it all year long! Your teachers are sure to love them too!

This is the file I made: Download here.

Here is a more basic one: Download here.

Please refer to the original post for more details on this project!

p.s. I figured out how to do this download thing on box.net. Now I can share more often! :)

Best Friend Pajama Swap

2011-08-02T10:00:00.001-07:00

Ashleigh and I had baby girls two weeks apart without even planning on it. We just think alike.

And these girls are BFF's! They are dancing, swimming, nail-painting, trampoline-jumping, crafting, laughing, phone-calling girls.

(They are also the bossy, speech-therapist, I know the plan and you don't girls- and that only refers to my sweetie, Ashleigh's daughter is a happy, go with the flow, smiling girl)

Alas I have dashed all their dreams of going to middle school dances and telling that cute boy that "my friend likes you" together because we moved away.

So, in a little attempt to keep their little hearts and souls happy we did a BFF Pajama Swap.

With a quick cut and a quick sewing job, I switched the bottoms of their pajamas so they could have a little part of each other no matter what. The girls decided to switch shirts, too.

So with summertime hair, cool PJ's and a sleepover we had two happy girls.

Swim Cookies

2011-07-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

The season has come to a close. No more sitting by the pool and sweating my brains out.
My flip flop and farmer tan will now start to fade because summer swim team is over.

And how do I thank the swim coaches who's farmer tan is worse than mine?

That's right, with some cookies!

I'm such a fan of swim team for my kids. Nothing solidifies those strokes like swimming all summer long. It's also a great boredom buster. When we have a low key day, they can always look forward to going to swim team. This being my 5th summer, I've never thought of a swim cookie until now! Then it hit me, duh! I could make the simple little swimmer guy from logos and signs. He's kind of cute.

Now I think it's time to work on some back to school cookies. It's coming before I know it!
But first, I must finish my summer goals! More projects to come!

Chocolate Garnish

2011-07-28T14:16:00.000-07:00

You all know how I love my squeezie bottles!

I usually use them for royal icing and cookie decorating...

But they also come in handy when I want to make a custom chocolate garnish.

They just takes a few minutes to make and they make your dessert personalized and extra thoughtful.

You just need to melt your chocolate in a bowl. Put it in the microwave for 30 second intervals on medium power, stir and repeat until you can stir it smooth. (Don't over do it! It will burn or get white and streaky.) Then you pour it into your squeezie bottle. Now, you don't have very long until it will start to harden. I don't like to microwave it once it's in the bottle, so I work fast. You can put your squeezie in a bowl of hot water to prolong the melted chocolate, but make sure no water gets in the bottle. It will ruin the chocolate completely. You can use this little bottle of chocolate to drizzle on your chocolate strawberries, cake pops and other desserts.

But when I'm making a custom garnish, it is as simple as this: Print out a simple image or word on computer as many times as fit on your paper. Set the paper on a pan or plate then cut a piece of parchment paper just as big. {You should actually do this before you melt your chocolate.}

When your squeezie is ready, just trace right over it. When you're done, put the pan in the freezer for 5 minutes. And that's it!

This particular dessert was for a baby shower. The chocolate wafer was made out of 20 grasshopper or thin mint cookies, put in a food processor with one tablespoon melted butter. It was formed into a round with a metal cookie cutter, then baked at 350 for 6 minutes. The ice cream layer was made by mixing a half gallon of vanilla ice cream with 1/4 tsp peppermint extract, pink food coloring and 8 oz whip cream. Then it was frozen into rounds and set on top. Thank-you to my friend Michiko who helped me brainstorm this dessert and also helped me pull it off!

And check out the fancy squeezie I used to garnish the plate! It's one of my prize possessions. I got it as a gift, so I can't tell you for sure where to get one.

But with the help of my squeezie bottles, this dessert is garnished with thoughtfulness and love! :)

I'm actually pretty obsessed with making personal-sized desserts. I posted about "pizzokie love" but I made a mini one using the same concept as the baby shower dessert.

And of course I have to garnish it if I'm making it for someone I love.
My husband appreciates a good presentation. :)

So if you haven't invested in a few squeezies, it's time to give them a try! They cost between $1-4.
That's an inexpensive way to customize your edible masterpieces!

BLT Bites

2011-07-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

"Every time I have a BLT, I think to myself (or possibly say out loud):
"I FORGOT HOW GOOD THESE ARE!"

Bacon makes everything tasty, but do you know what makes these even tastier?
Farm stand tomatoes. Oh man! Where I live, the tomatoes are at their very best right now.
They are ridiculously good! I'm buying them up, borrowing from neighbors' gardens and putting them in every dish I know how. And my husband is requesting BLTs.

But if you have another dish to make and you just want a taste of BLT, just make these as a simple, yummy appetizer. You won't regret it.

I sliced my tomatoes, cooked the bacon and cut it into 4 pieces per strip. Use thick bacon.
Thin sliced bacon has a place and purpose in the world, but it has not business being on BLTs.
Also, tear your lettuce. I love to use butter lettuce, but in these pictures, I was using green leaf lettuce.
I also like to season the tomatoes with a little salt and pepper and give the bacon a little pepper too.

I pick up a loaf of freshly baked french baguette from my grocery store.
I slice it up, then cut each slice in half.

Next, I toasted the bread. I put it in the oven on 450 for just a couple of minutes. I watch it closely because the point of lightly brown to charcoal is a short time.

Next I added spicy mayo. Spicy mayo is just mayo mixed with hot sauce. It adds a nice little kick! It's up to you how spicy you want it. I usually just add 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp. in my little bowl of mayo. I put it in a sqeezie bottle sometimes just to have on hand. You know how I love squeezie bottles! <3

Then I stack it in this order: bacon, lettuce, more bacon and tomato!
Then put a toothpick in it.

Now it is ready for guests to have two little bites of heaven.
And you have to admit the presentation is pretty darling. Who doesn't love a baby BLT?

I ran a little taste panel on these appetizers, with subtle variations to see what people preferred.
I thought I'd tell you the results of my small group's opinions.
Bread: I served them with a slice on top and bottom vs. an open face BLT. Open face BLT won!
I also tried it with toasted vs. soft bread. Toasted won!
I tried buttering the bread before it went in the oven vs. leaving it dry. There was no preference.
(Once the mayo was on, it added some moisture and they couldn't which bread had been buttered).
Bacon: I served some with different amounts. One left them wanting more bacon ratio and three was too much. My taste testers preferred two slices.
Tomato: I made some with a cherry tomato and some with sliced. Sliced was preferred.
Lettuce: Most people didn't like too much lettuce. Just a little for the crunch factor.
Mayo: Spicy mayo was for sure preferred over regular mayo.

Don't laugh, I take crowd pleasing appetizers very seriously. I can't go on my opinion alone.
I prefer these with a little slice of avocado on top too, but they brown pretty fast and if you're making a lot, they can't sit and wait.

I'm sure any way you do it though, you won't get complaints. You will just get someone saying,
"I forgot how much I love BLTs!"

Wedding Cookies

2011-07-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today I'm guest posting on my home away from home, Somewhat Simple!

I'm getting all fancy schmancy with some wedding cookies.

And I'm showing how simply I made these damask cookies with my projector!

Go check out my Wedding Cookies!

Repurposed Necklace Holder

2011-07-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

I "repurposed" something before it even found it's purpose.

Is that wrong?

I made this little thing into a necklace holder for my little tween's fancy jewelry.
Just look at how many treasures can hang on, or thread through all of these loops!

If you remember what her room looks like (posted here) you know that this little blue polka dot jewelry box goes perfectly on her shelf. Even more perfect that it was a dollar, on clearance at hobby lobby. But when I gave it to her, we quickly realized that it was big enough for just her rings and bracelets. Plus, she said if she puts her necklaces in it, they'll just get tangled. The girl has been investing at Claire's, Justice and Target and we need to take care of these rarities.

So an extra necklace hanger was on the back burner until I ran into this fantastic card holder at Pier 1. It is meant to hang vertically and hold greeting cards. Pottery Barn used to have one like it for 40 dollars. I found this for 10 and used a coupon! I know that it isn't typical to repurpose something that you just bought new, but I was feeling rebellious. When I got it home, I bent the flat loops up so that they would hang out from the wall.

Then I spray painted it and hung it. Then I painted the nail I hung it with because it was sticking out like a sore thumb. The color isn't exact, but at this point, I wasn't going to spray paint the nail.

So there it is, on an unused wall behind her door. (Half is covered by the door when it's open). And she is happy to have more room to store her ~~junk~~ fine jewelry!

I used to find bits and pieces of her jewelry around the house, sometimes tangled or broken. Now at least she has a place for it to be put away, and it actually looks pretty cute as wall decor too!

I kind of want to buy another one, paint it red, and hang my Christmas cards on it. But this card holder, however, will never know it's original "purpose."

Tie-Dyed Cake

2011-07-18T00:13:00.000-07:00

My oldest wanted to go to a theme park for a day instead of having a birthday party. Easy enough for mom! But we still had to do the traditional birthday dinner and cake at home. And a girl as cool as this needs a cool cake! Sidenote: I just love this girl, and I'm so proud of who she is!

(digital frame purchased from house of 3)

I remember coming across a tie-dye-ish cake when I googled "rainbow cake" a while ago. But when you google "tie-dye cake" you get lots of variations of cake batter that is dyed and mixed.

This was our take on a tie-dye cake:

You can see my buttercream was a little thick. I was so busy trying to smooth it out, you know, since I broke up with fondant and couldn't use it. By the way, I appreciate all of your comments and sympathizing with my break-up. Apparently I'm not alone. So anyway, back to the butter cream...I used too much, but didn't realize it until I cut into it. But seriously, the birthday girl eats her cake like this anyway...

But something has got to hold the cakes together, so simple buttercream frosting did the trick.
I topped it with curly candles and a mini pennant banner. Pretty simple, and she loved her little sign.

So here's how it went down:
I started with 2 white cake mixes. (I know sometimes I'm a foodie snob, but sometimes I just want it to be fast. Call me fickle.) I divided and dyed. I wasn't really happy with my shade of green, but... "you win some, you lose some." Oh well.

Then I lined my pans with parchment, buttered and floured.

Then little miss birthday girl, helped me pour the batter. I think that how you pour it, has a lot to do with
how it looks in the end. You can decide if you want to pour in small or large amounts of color.

This is how ours looked before baking.
'

But when all of the randomness is layered on top of one another, you get a tie-dyed cake!

You also get a happy "birthday girl!" Which is even better than a tie-dyed cake!

(photoshop action from pioneer woman)

Wacky Wednesday Flowers

2011-07-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

In the midst of packing and my scrapbooking madness, I got to have the welcome diversion of going to our church girls camp as a leader for a week. And, in my usual chicken-with-her-head-cut-off kind of style, I decided to make fabric flowers for the girls 2 days before camp. If every single person with a craft blog on the internet can do it, so can I, right?

The camp theme was "Oh, the places you'll go..." and all things Dr. Seuss. And since Wednesday was "Wacky Wednesday" my flowers could be made of lots of leftover fabric. They have actual Dr. Seuss fabric at our local store so I bought a little with the words on it.

But, I was the leader for 44 girls, the youth leaders ages 15-17.

44 flowers takes kind of a long time. Note to self, there are actually only 24 hours in a day.

Not quite enough hours for cutting 7 circles 4.5 inches in diameter for the bottom layer and 5 circles 3.5 inches for the top layer. And a felt circle for the base. Thankfully Ashleigh rescued me in my late night hours of insanity.

And folding the circle in half and then into an offcentered "S" shape. And glueing to the felt base.

Do that times a million until you have no fingerprints left because of glue gun burns.

For the middles I used a ton of scrapbooking big buttons and accents, like the random umbrella and teacup button I never found a use for and some cute soccer balls and dance buttons.

And finally smile when you see this at camp. A little bit of pretty among the layers of dirt.

And enjoy the rest of the week getting to be my daughter's leader and seeing these cute faces!

And I'm hoping one day I have fingerprints again. :)

The Scrapbooking Bee in my Bonnet

2011-07-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

I may be fired from the blog. Ashleigh only keeps me around cause she loves me, not because I post regularly.

In the midst of our moving date looming :(

I decided to use a delay tactic which I'm pretty sure is healthy. :)

It's called I must completely catch up on scrapbooking instead of pack and organize. So I completed 3 entire albums and caught up my kids' school scrapbooks. I am evaluating my time and how I want to scrapbook. I never scrapbook out of guilt, I do it because I love it. And, my pages aren't fabulous, usually I scraplift a sketch, but the events are documented. But, my time is limited and I can't keep up scrapbook pages about cute faces.

Or pages with no journaling, just because I like the pictures.

Or pages with just a poem because I adore these people.

But I plan to do my beloved Project Life forever. The cute faces and cute kisses can all still be documented. But it will take minutes instead of an hour. And I will continue to do a summary page for each year for each of my kids where I list what activities they do and pieces of their personality.

And maybe a holiday page or two.

And if I must, just a page like this for missy's book because really, how cute are pink soccer players?

It feels great to be caught up and Ash was my cheerleader as my stack of pages kept growing. Then we laughed when her hubby saw the huge stack and said, "Oh did you scrapbook today?"

So, here's my first post in a different city than my sis. It's only been four days and I miss her. So hopefully instead of firing me, she'll come visit. Until then, I'll be unpacking....

Breaking Up With Fondant

2011-07-09T01:57:00.000-07:00

I'm breaking up with fondant.

It wasn't a very long or serious relationship. And maybe if I would have put more time into it and made it a priority, it could've been so much more. It's just each time we spend time together, I end up frustrated or mad. It's not a healthy relationship, and it's an expensive one, at that! Fondant is supposed to yield perfect results, but it just gives me wrinkles and bumps.

From afar, this recent cake adventure looks good. And my friend was so kind to say that it was great.
But it was buckling a little on the sides. Then fondant was sagging away from the butter cream. I don't know if it was the 105 degree weather, or if it's just that fondant is mean to me.

I thought the bow and stars turned out pretty good, not perfect but good.

I start thinking things are okay with fondant and I, then I look and see how fondant is around other girls.
Like Jessicakes! Seriously! Her cakes are crazy amazing! (Thanks Nina for showing me her site)

I'm not ruling out the possibility of us getting back together. It's just that I need to learn a lot before I can deal with our relationship and how you are.

Sorry fondant, no hard feelings. It's not you, it's me...

Patriotic Pops

2011-07-05T09:39:00.000-07:00

I brought these bad boys to the bbq yesterday.

I was inspired by My Juice Cup and her Fourth of July cake pops- adorable.
I discovered this site via Pinterest, which still an obsession of mine and could possibly land me on the show "Intervention."

And I almost needed an intervention when I was having a food coloring melt down in the midst of making these.

You see, I know you can't just use regular old food coloring for tinting chocolate. This stuff is great for icing and other such things. But it is water-based, and any water in your melted chocolate will mess up the smooth consistency of the chocolate. So this is a no go:

So I bought the correct stuff to make my blue chocolate. It is called "oil candy color" and the oil based stuff is perfect for your chocolate dying needs, right? I even know that when making dark colors, you need to use a lot of coloring, so I did, and I got....lavendar. Um... red, white and lavendar? AGHH!

So I added more and I got a darker purple. I was ready to march over to my cake store, which wasn't open on the fourth and tell them that this bottle had been mislabeled and they needed to pay for the emotional damage it caused. Just when I was ready to throw my flag dreams out the window, I tried putting in a little more and it magically turned blue! There was a magical ratio/turning point somewhere along the lines of using half the large bottle. It worked! If I added a little more, it might have even been navy like the label says. But I was content with the deep royal blue.

I tell you this so you can avoid the frustration in tinting your chocolate. There is always the option of buying the chocolate the color you want. But there is a limited color scheme available, and around holidays, you might find the color you need is out of stock.

Long story short, my dreams of flag cake pops with stars and stripes came true.

And I know you've seen enough 4th of July cookies, and it I know it's over, but I had to tell you that I tried Martha's idea. Did you see her "fireworks" on the cover of LIVING this month?

They look a lot like the spider web cookies that Martha taught me how to do, years ago.

Yes, Martha and her cookie expert guest were the ones who started this cookie hobby of mine.

I also tried to go out on a limb and do some other versions of fireworks cookies.

And these fireworks are the grand finale for the patriotic treats for this year.
I hope you all had a safe and happy fourth!

Random Stuff

2011-07-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

I was just going through pictures and found a few things that I hadn't shared with you.

I made these for a baby shower and they matched the baby bedding/shower theme. The bedding was so darling, it made me want a baby girl. Have you seen the cute baby clothes at Target lately?
Killing Me, I tell ya!

These were party favors for a "gym stars" party. Cake pops sound really good right now....

My friend Leah and I made these together for a friend's baby shower that was a "sweet shop" theme.
I wish I had pictures of the whole thing because it was DARLING! Maybe I'll beg them to share picts...
The cookies were inspired by this post.

This was a large cookie bouquet for a fund raiser. It matched the invite.

And inspired by my mustaches on a stick and one of my friends, these were smiles on a stick.
And these smiles needed some straightening out!

But before you think I'm the energizer bunny, or a cookie machine, just know that all of these project have been over the past few months. But the most recent project of all was the goodbye party a group of friends and I threw for my sister. We had a "cupcake bar" with 8 different choices. My friend and I made 200 cupcakes and a bunch of other friends made other desserts!

We decorated with some of the leftover things from my brother's wedding. The party looked great and was a success aside from the fact that we couldn't convince them NOT TO MOVE! :) Oops. How did that slip in there?

Now I'm ready to get going on some 4th of July madness!
I can't wait to crash my sister's annual block party!

How I Feel...

2011-06-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you how I feel?

This is me right now.

So here's the bad news: My sister, Kathryn, is moving away.

Right now we live about 5 minutes away from each other. We have many of the same friends, our kids do many of the same activities, we rely on each other for childcare, we talk daily, we lunch often, we carpool, our husbands are friends, our kids are "besties," we plan parties together, we craft together, and the list goes on..... and on.....

But her husband has been commuting a long way, for a long time, so they decided they should consider moving closer to his job.

This was how I felt. Immediately, shocked and choked up. Lump in the throat, tears coming to my eyes... but I tried to push past it and be as supportive as I could.

You see, in the past, I haven't done so well.

Let me share a tidbit from the growing up years:

When Kathryn announced her engagement, I stormed out of the room crying.
(Granted I was in junior high, and was even more over-dramatic than I am now.)

But I was sure that my sister was leaving me, and that things would never be the same with her leaving home. Yes, I should've been happy for her, but instead I wallowed in my own self-pity. Sad, but true. Her husband (then fiance) tried to compensate for stealing my sister by buying me a VHS copy of Girls Just Want to Have Fun. It kind of worked.

I got excited about being the maid of honor and getting my nails done, so I perked up. I was back to being a happy teenager. True story.

I tell this to you, mostly because it's funny, but also, because it reminds me not to act like an idiot and feel sorry for myself just because my sister is moving away. Her family is on to wonderful things, and I am truly happy for them. So only happy tears are allowed from now on.

Happy tears because:
-I have been blessed to have a sister that has provided a wonderful example to me, my whole life.
-Since losing my mom at a young age, she has been the cheerleader I've needed.
-I'm lucky to have a sister who has always been willing to drop anything to help me.
-She has always been there for me and has helped me survive my hardest trials.
-She laughs at my jokes and thinks I'm as funny as I think I am.
-She sticks up for me and brings out the positive side of me.
-She will only be a phone call away and a few hours away.

Yes, I will survive this.

I think.

I may have momentary bouts of sadness, when I miss hanging out and feel lonely.
(And maybe not get out of my pajamas all day because I'm reverting to my junior high ways, self-pity).

But then I will look on this here blog, and see that she has posted her latest home project, and I will be so exited for the next visit! Yes, this blog will now serve as a way for my sister and I to keep in touch, as well as a way for us to share our projects with all of you! That makes me happy!

So why the emoticons, you say? Well, I thought it would make my sob story more interesting.
And because I'm an emoticon addict. If you've ever texted me, you know that I am a big fan of my emoji app and it's just plain fun to speak in pictures. So I ventured to make some emoticon sugar cookies, just for fun!

I used luster dust to shade the cheeks. It was my first time doing this on royal icing and it worked really well. Whew, you finally learned something useful in this post.

Now we can all end on a happy note!

p.s. Love you sis!

I'm linking to Tatertots and Jello and Be Different Act Normal.

4th of July Cookies

2011-06-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm up to my old tricks again... yep, more sugar cookies!

Click over to Somewhat Simple to see what I came up with for 4th of July!

You will find stars and stripes and, more!

Mini Album Gift

2011-06-22T23:30:00.000-07:00

We gave this to my father-in-law for Father's Day this year.
This is a great grandma/grandpa gift that you could use for their birthdays too!

I made him this little mini album 7 years ago, and he LOVED it. And for the last few years, he has reminded me how much he loves his photo gifts. He even dropped a hint that he could use an updated one. Yes, my scrapbooking has been slacking in recent years, but I decided to dust off some paper.

The last book was a store bought accordion album/card thing.

But this time I made my own mini album with:
1 piece of 12x12 patterned paper (cut in half)
3 pieces of 12x12 cardstock (each cut in quarters)

First I made the binding by gluing my 2 pieces of 12x6 cardstock together to make one long piece that is 6 inches tall. Then I accordion folded it every 1.5 inches. I find a bone folder makes the folds extra crisp. You can trim off any excess, depending on how many pages you are going to want.

Then I glue in my pieces of 6x6 cardstock.

You will end up gluing the cardstock to each other.

When you are at this point, you have all of your pages in, and from the inside you can't see the binding.

Now you need to glue your binding flat.
I put glue in each fold and then put it under a heavy stack of books overnight.

My kids came up with their reasons, "why they love grandpa" and I found some pictures to represent that.

Really not much embellishing, a little paper and chipboard numbers and photo corners.

And there you have a mini album that is easy enough to do with your kids.
It takes a little time, but I'm always glad when I make the effort to give a sentimental gift.
My father-in-law loved it!

I wish I could give a source to where I got this idea. I actually remember doing something to this effect in a church camp as a teen. These ideas just get recycled you know!

I'm thinking I can recycle this idea into:
vacation albums
birthday gifts
baby's first year mini album
and teacher gifts!

I can't wait for you to see all of the scrapbooking that Kathryn has been up to!
It is blowing my mind!

A Cake For Dad

2011-06-19T22:45:00.000-07:00

I had a request for chocolate cake and mint chip ice cream.
My daughter "made" this cake. I measured and she put those ingredients in the bowl.
My little chef was excited to help and very proud of the result.

I've been wanting to buy those cake leveling strips for a long time, but I saw a technique I thought I'd try out instead. Amanda, from one of my fave blogs, I am baker, said she uses old, damp towels to make her cake level (refer to this post). She speaks the truth. The cakes turned out great.

I used Amanda's ideas again on the sides of the cake.
I looked at this post and learned this simple technique is done with an offset spatula.

I topped it with some shaved chocolate and sighed with relief.

But my daughter said, "That's just a cake, not a father's day cake."
And since she is a fondant fanatic, she suggested using some.
I cut out the letters, let them dry for a day, then propped them up with some straws.

I made sure he had his dessert request,
and my kids' showered my husband with about 54 homemade cards.

I'm pretty sure he couldn't ask for more.

"Happy Summer" Teacher Gift

2011-06-14T23:49:00.000-07:00

I've been lucky that my kids' have had great teachers.

Our mom was a teacher and we saw first hand the many hours spent outside of school working on ways to enhance learning. Not to mention the hundreds of hours they spend in the classroom helping and teaching.

The best "thank-you" to my kids' teachers, is probably a genuine conversation, telling them that I appreciate them. But a few fun treats can be a great start to their summer break too!

I gathered a few simple Target finds (and a cute cup from Michael's).

Then made some summer-ish cookies.
I got the cute popsicle idea from one of my cookie heros, Callye at Sweet Sugar Belle.
I love the popsicles. I want to make 500 more.

Then I wrapped it up with a note that says "happy summer."

I hope all of you are in the midst of a "happy summer" too!

Last Day of School Cookies

2011-06-13T11:11:00.000-07:00

This "2nd Grader" cookie is only cool, when you're a first grader.

Last year, on the last day of school, I brought these cookies for my daughter's first grade class.
She is now asking for me to make "3rd Grader" cookies. I guess it will make it official for her.

You know how the kids start calling themselves a "middle school-er" the second the bell rings on their last day of elementry school. And it continues throughout the summer. They have a whole new identity that makes them feel older and cooler.

Yes, another year is almost over and my kids are feeling so grown-up. :)

Fabric Bracelets

2011-06-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick project to do with your kiddos... bracelets made from your fabric scraps!

My daughter realized the night before that she was signed up to sell at her school "market day."

Last time she had prepared for weeks, by making tons of tied embroidery thread bracelets.
Before she panicked, I told her we could work it out. I love it when I get to be the hero! I don't so much like when she procrastinates, but if the end result is that she thinks I'm awesome, I'm good with that!

So we made some cookies, and then went to my stash of fabric scraps. We made some fabric flowers and then I experimented with some fabric bracelets. This was just an experiment, but she quickly loved it!

There is nothing faster or simpler than braiding, but with cute fabric, you can't go wrong!
I know these won't last forever, since the edges are raw, but she can sport the frayed look until she gets over this bracelet, which should be about a week from today. hahaha

We made about 10 and she came home excited that she "sold out" right away! She said that so many people are asking her to still make them one.

While this isn't the coolest thing I've ever done, it was a hit with my 10 and 7 year old girls, so I thought it might be a good summer project for some of you. Here's how I did it.

I used scraps that were approx 15" long and 2.5 in wide. It doesn't have to be exact.
Then we got our little buddy to pinch the ends and hold for us.
Next my daughter braided, trying to keep the right side of the fabric, out.
Then we estimated wrist size and crossed the ends.
She handed it to me and ran a few zig zag stitches with clear thread, to secure it.
Then I cut a scrap off one of the ends
Folded it in thirds and secured that with a dot of hot glue.
We gathered the point of the seam and wrapped our little piece around. I secured it with another dot of hot glue. Then we used a needle and thread to tack it down even more. Then you just need to trim the crazy tails to look like a little bow.

With her cookies and fabric creations, she made out pretty well, making $380 school money.
With her school money, she can shop from other kids' booths and buy some of their creations! Pretty fun!

And she is still digging the bracelet she kept for herself.

"Guys On My Wall"

2011-06-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

I've talked about my son's obsession with Star Wars.

First I gave in for Christmas and gave him some "guys."
Then I gave in for the birthday party.

And now I have lost all control and we are decorating his room, Star Wars style.
I blame Kathryn, because her son has been his Star Wars mentor and she talked me into this room. I told her I didn't know HOW a Star Wars room could be as cute as trains or baseballs, and this will be my only time decorating a little boy room. She assured me it could be done in a way that I would like and that he wouldn't be growing out of the Star Wars phase soon (since we started at the young age of 4). She told me (in a very nice sisterly way) that I should really consider what he likes instead of just my favorite bedding. Then she directed me to this quilt from pottery barn kids. I jumped on board and quickly ordered the millennium falcon quilt. However, when it arrived in the mail, without the sheets (I have a boring white sheet policy) he was disappointed and wanted to know where the "guys" were going to be.

I chose "bedford gray" from Martha Stewart paints for the wall. I painted my living room this color and have been really happy with it. But when I was painting, Justin kept asking me to paint guys on his wall. I don't know if a life size darth vader would give him nightmares, but his requests for "guys on my wall" persisted. So when I found these 10" x 10" canvases on clearance, I thought it was time to fulfill all of this hopes and dreams.

I am not an artist by any means, but I do enjoy a good projector project.

So I gathered my supplies: my kopykake projector (that I usually use for cookies), my stash of acrylic paints, some scrapbook paper with simple, two-toned Star Wars images and my wall color to make sure the colors would look good in the room.

The only colors in the room so far are navy blue (quilt and dresser) and gray (quilt and wall). So I mixed up some paints so I could add a few more muted colors.

Then I spent hours and hours under my projector light, painting these "guys" that my son chose. No tracing in pencil first, I just painted right over the projected image. If the canvas got nudged, it was easy to put it back in place.

I played around with the arrangement and decided on this:

It pained me a little to take down his nautical themed baby room to put these creatures on the wall, but I am actually growing to love them. When I see how happy it makes my little buddy, I just want to give in more! I'm even talking in my Yoda voice at his request. You've never a little guy laugh so hard.

Yes, this is one of the most rewarding projects I have EVER done because he LOVES them so much. Every time I would finish a new painting, he would celebrate, show everyone that came to the door and give me 50 hugs. And oh man, the day we actually put "the guys on his wall," he was the happiest boy on the planet.

Thanks for talking me into the Star Wars room Kass! There's a lot more fun to be had decorating this room, but this is a start!

Edible Paints

2011-06-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

I've got a few kids already out of school for the summer.
It's week one and I just dare them to say "I'm Boooorrreed"
Because all bored children get a chore to do. Really, with all the mess around here, Mama's never bored!

It's really hard to follow a tricked out remote control cookie but I have a fun project that will impress your children and requires no special supplies or skills.
So you may just want to keep this little activity in your back pocket for an "I'm bored" moment.
Edible paints!

Also known as milk mixed with food coloring!

No tutorial required, although I do suggest some new paint brushes.

You can turn your creation into toast.

Or use cookie cutters to cut a fancy PBJ and let your kids go crazy!
Everyone wants permission to play with their food, right?

Here's to kicking off your summer.
I'm wishing you no whining, complaining or fighting of children.
I'm wishing the kids will read quietly, getting smarter by themselves while you do projects.
And then you can laugh and play at the beach while doing the perfect family photo shoot.
If only I were a fairy godmother and my wishes came true :)
Happy start to your summer anyway!

Father's Day Cookies

2011-05-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

Are you getting your man a big screen TV for Father's Day?

I'm just going to give mine the remote. I hope it will do.

At least it will solve that age old question, "Does anyone know where the remote is?"

I shared my how-tos on making some traditional and not so traditional

Father's Day cookies over on somewhat simple today. Check it out!

I also included a few tips on making any type of custom cookie you want.

(Just in case remotes aren't your "thing")

I'm linking to Be Different Act Normal

I Love Pinterest!

2011-05-26T09:53:00.000-07:00

I'M IN LOVE, I'M IN LOVE, AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT! (name that movie)

I want to tell you why I love Pinterest.
It's because my brain is mush.
It's because I'm a visual learner.
It's because my computer bookmarks were a mess.
It's because it is a great source to quickly take me to the best websites.
It's because if I "pin it," it won't let me forget a great idea.

Like sidewalk paint for example.
Equal parts water and cornstarch, plus a few drops of color make for a perfect spring activity!

I originally found this idea through Pinterest. (original link)

Goes on clear-ish.

Dries like chalk. Washes off with water in an instant!

This is just one of the ideas on my "Kid Stuff" board. I have so many projects waiting for me to try.
Pinterest is basically the same thing as bookmarking, but it lets you do it by category, and also has a picture to go along with the link. So you can easily scroll through and find that idea you filed away. It is way faster than reading through my long list of bookmarks. Plus, I can follow other people's idea/picture collections. Go to Pinterest and request an invite to get in on the fun!

I want to find and follow new cool boards! Send me your link!
If you want to follow my boards here is my link: Ashleigh's Pinterest
If you want to follow Kathryn's boards, here is her link: Kathryn's Pinterest
If you are curious to see if people have put your pictures on their boards, type http://pinterest.com/source/(the name of your website).com
I was excited to see some "bee in our bonnet" projects up on your boards! Thanks so much!

WARNING LABEL: Pinterest can be addictive and hazardous to your housework. If you make it past the first couple of days with your jaw on the floor, you can usually recover. I am now back to normal.

Homemade Yogurt with Michiko

2011-05-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

I'm sharing another one of my genius friends this week...

My good friend, Michiko is not only one of the kindest people I know, but is also completely amazing in her (beautiful) kitchen. She has an adventurous, yet scientific approach to cooking. She studies cookbooks and most importantly, experiments until she gets it right. I just try to find reasons to cook with her and hope her expertise rubs off on me!

She recently introduced me to homemade yogurt. She actually made gallons of it for our church Easter party and served it with various fruits and toppings to make the yummiest parfaits on the planet!

I knew I had to learn how to make this stuff, as vanilla yogurt is a staple in our house. So when I discovered that she had written out her recipe over on her blog I quickly bought the ingredients. I'm pleased to say that it turned out great! I gave my neighbor a jar of it and she texted me, "I didn't know homemade yogurt could be so much better than store-bought! Wow."

And this is what I have had for breakfast.... every day this week!
Homemade Yogurt + Fresh Fruit + Granola = Really Yummy

These are the only ingredients you'll need (and you'll need your kitchen scale to measure those ounces):
1 gallon milk
10.5 oz. non-fat dry milk
15 oz. sugar
.6 oz. unflavored gelatin
3/4 c. plain yogurt for the starter

After you come back from the grocery store with your ingredients, go to Michiko's blog for step by step instructions. You will be so happy when you end up with one whole gallon of fresh, homemade yogurt goodness! There is enough to share, but you may find yourself hoarding it. I'm speaking from experience here!

Thanks again Michiko, for letting me share your recipe!
(Oh, and I'll be forever indebted to you for introducing me to steak au poivre).

Ladybug Party with Katie

2011-05-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some serious cuteness?

I'm so excited to tell you about my friend Katie. She and I have been good friends since 2nd grade. We've been though it all together: 80's bangs, perms, braces, middle school, years of cheerleading, ASB, EFY, and now parenting and parties. Katie has a creative talent that I have been leeching off of for years. We used to make creative quotes and handouts to give out at EFY. We made many a "dot-lettered" signs for football games and dances back in the day. But these days I just drool over her home (which looks more like a model home), gawk at her scrapbook pages and DIE over her adorable parties.

So when I got her most recent invitation...

...to her daughter's first birthday, I knew I had to take notes and ask to share it with the blogosphere! Thanks for letting us take a peek, Katie!

She asked to borrow my cake stands which were already red, from Christmas and Valentine's. (See how I made them here). I was so excited for her to use them because that means they are cool. Katie only uses cool things!

The birthday girl was the star of the show! Katie made her tutu and wings. The leggings are killing me!

She wasn't the only one dressed up! Look at the high-chair!

It is all ready for the main event...the cake eating!

She made the cutest banner that had a picture of her from each month of her first year.

The activities and games planned were perfect because they entertained the whole age range of kids that were there. There wasn't a dull moment.

1- They played parachute and bounced the ladybugs around. Katie made these out of loofahs!

2- There was an easel set up where they could paint a ladybug.

3- There was a jewelry making station complete with ladybug beads.

4- She spray-painted a million beans to camoflage some plastic ladybugs that were about the size of a quarter. They could dig and dig with their ladybug shovels until they found them!

5- The kids had a blast pushing each other around in this!

6- Bubbles are always a hit!

My kids' favorite part was the real ladybug hunt. Katie made adorable bug catchers and bought real ladybugs at the local hardware store (gardening department). I thought they might all fly away after the lid came off, but most of them didn't go too far. The kids gathered round as they crawled all over them and managed to get several in their jars. They sat there, still finding for about 15 minutes!

Katie puts a finishing touch on every little detail. She really thinks of everything and ties it all in. Let me show you what I mean...
1- Adorable water bottle labels, coordinating table tops.
2- The matching bins of water, tied with polka dots!
3- The banners were darling, but look what they were tied up with! Coordinating ribbon and ric rac!
4- Ladybug napkins.
5- A matching bracelet for the star of the show.
6- Ladybug bubbles that the kids blew at her right after the "happy birthday" song.

Katie asked me to help her with the food. This was probably the most flattered and intimidated I've ever been, because her party food is always perfect! Katie knew exactly what she wanted and I tried to deliver. She made the cute cupcake toppers and I made some cupcakes.

She wanted chocolate covered pretzels made to look like ladybugs. They turned out pretty fun!

She also wanted some black and red cake pops. Some were ladybugs and some just had a drizzle.

And she gave me a picture (source unknown) of some cookies to make. This was my version.

I made the little ladybugs as "floodwork" on parchment and transfered them once they dried. I did a big red dot, then while it was wet, a black dot for the head. They melded together. Then when they were dry, I drew the line and small dots with an edible ink pen. They were so little (and crunchy) it was almost a little too much like eating a real ladybug!

She put some of the big ladybug cookies in these bug catchers (with easter grass) as the favors.
To die for, I tell ya!

I actually did a ladybug party for my (now 10 year old) daughter's first birthday. It was nothing like this, yet Katie asked me details about it. I showed her my vellum invitation and she was kind not to laugh. Anyway though, no matter how you do it, "ladybugs" is a really fun party theme and I'm sure some of you out there will be inspired to try it out.

Thanks again Katie, for allowing me to share your wonderful party ideas!

I'm linking up to Be Different Act Normal and Tatertots and Jello.

2011-05-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

I've been known to have a stash.
Not the kind that needs bleaching,
the kind made of chocolate, kept for the kind of emergencies when I love my kids so much that I need a time out.

My dad still hasn't let me forget the last time we moved and there were one (or four) empty boxes of Hostess Chocolate Donuts under my bed. I was pregnant!!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)

So when I saw these cute little M&M tins at Michaels, I pictured the tin in my side table drawer filled with M&M's (is that wrong?)

But, I thought some awesome moms and friends needed one, too.

With a fine print warning that seems kind yet straightforward.
Happy early Mother's Day!

Easter Duds in my Favorite Fabric

2011-05-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite fabrics of all time. This gorgeous blue and gray floral from Amy Butler makes my heart go pitter patter. I bought it (and a few coordinating prints) a couple of years ago.

I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it.

(Amy Butler, Lotus)

I nearly fainted when I found this dress, made by an adorable company called, Persnickety. (dresses here) Not only is it made from this dreamy fabric, but the style is beyond cute. The gathered bodice looked so adorable on my sweetie.

I have been matching my girls' holiday dresses for years. And while my oldest hasn't protested the matching, she does prefer a more "grown-up" style these days. So it was like a miracle that I had been hoarding this exact fabric. Yes, the stars aligned in my favor. I used my precious Amy Butler fabric to make a coordinating skirt for my oldest.

I used the Amy Butler "barcelona skirts" pattern as a guide. It is an adult pattern, so I took the smallest size in a little at the waist and shortened it. This girlie was thrilled with how it turned out.

I also added some gray tulle to the lining layer.

So it matched the bottom edge of the dress I'd bought.

To finish it off, I made some fabric flowers. I know I'm really late to the fabric flower party here in blogland. How could it possibly have taken this long for me to get on the band wagon? Well, I've arrived, and I'm staying at the party. They were so easy and fun to make! I used this tutorial, but I want to try more of the million other versions out there. Anyone know of some other adorable flower lessons? It think this could become addicting.

It was a sacrifice to cut up more of my dwindling fabric, but I think it was worth it.

I thought my little peeps were matching enough, but all in their own little style. I loved it, and they loved their Easter duds. If only the stars would align for me to get a good picture of all three of them...

Oh, here's a good one.

No wait, there's random people in the background! Arghmph!
That's okay though... that's what photoshop was invented for!

I'm now thinking of useful ways to use my cherished leftover fabrics!
I'm thinking a bag? A quilt? A bucket of fabric flowers? We'll see!

I'm linking up to Blue Cricket Design.