Monday, May 31, 2010

Father's Day Project

I made these frames a few, OK, eight years ago, and thought it was time to resurrect the project.  I still think it is one of the cutest things I ever "saw."  I cut this saw out of 1" pine, sanded, painted, and floated it.  It was designed to rest on the raw wood stand (unpainted so it looks like a saw cutting through a fresh plank of lumber).  Can't you just smell the sawdust!?!  
  
Obviously we never updated the picture since the monsters in this shot are now nine and 12. 
My husband had a smallish desk at work, so I put two eyelets in the top and hung it with a piece of jute.  I am planning on doing this project with some ladies from church and just thought you might be interested. 
I finally knocked-off the procrastination and put some things on my "newborn baby" of an etsy site, and this kit, as well as a few finished frames are available there.  You too can be the proud owner of a "Best Dad I Ever Saw" frame!!!!
Don't want to buy a kit?  Try cutting a saw shape out of cardboard, like a cereal box or something.  If you cut two or three, then glue them together like a sandwich, you will have a nice sturdy frame.  Modge Podge "manly" paper, or paint like I painted mine.  Don't forget to email with any questions!
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Friday, May 28, 2010

Ooops! You need a gift, too!?!

So I was trying to sleep off the cold that hit the moment I finished the Luau cake, when Madison called.  She had been picked up for the sleep-over birthday party and had forgotten to take her sleeping bag, pillow, blanket, toothbrush...are you wondering what she did take?  The last thing sent me flying out of bed.  "Mom, can you bring that flower card, too?"  I suddenly realized that while I was busy making the invitations and the cake, I completely forgot the present!  Aaaahhh!  I so didn't feel up to it, but away I went.

Remembering this from last month...
I started on this...
It took about an hour, start to finish.  Print out the name, cut out the letters, grab some wood, cut off the ends.  Paint black...hold in front of the fan 'til dry...cough, cough.  Paint blue..cough...in front of fan..sneeze. 
Hold cardstock stencil on top of sign and dab, dab, dab that paint.  Plug in the glue gun.  Leave stenciling to dry while you run around trying to find those @(&%!#* rhinestones....cough.  Sand the whole front...wipe...Glue.

Vwalahhhha!  -I SO don't know how to spell that-
Rachel is decorating her room with bright colors and leaning towards the Hawaiian theme there too.  Hopefully this fits the bill.
Now, back to bed :0]

Edible Tiki Hut Tutorial

I made a Tiki Hut for the top of my Luau cake.  I thought I would show you how I did it.

This is how the cake ended up-Totally Stacked! I will get to my opinions later. First, the making!
Our birthday girl asked for one cake to be funfetti-I made the bottom 10" cake out of funfetti cake mix.  I figured there needed to be one that was PINEAPPLE, it was only fitting for a Luau!  The top cake was 8" and made out of that.  Now you should know that it takes 2 cake mixes for a 10" pan that has 3" sides, 1.5 for the 8"-that left just enough left over for a 6" for my family and the cake I baked in a canning jar to make our lovely Tiki Hut!   

I grabbed a couple pineapple cake mixes from the shelf and began to plot. Making it like a pineapple upside down cake sounded yummy, but it needed to be frostable. That lead me to bake it like an upside down cake, let it cool, then cut it in half, put the top on the bottom and the bottom on the top. Confused? I made it like a sandwich, with the pineapple topping as a filling. There After ward, tasting the extra cake I got out of the mix, I could have gone with white cake, skipped the upside down topping and just went with THIS...

I searched for pineapple filling on All Recipes.com and found THIS recipe.  IT WAS FABULOUS!!!  One reviewer said it was sweet.  She is crazy!  It was perfect.  It tasted like custard, or vanilla pudding, but it was PINEAPPLE!!!  You could just eat it with a spoon.  YUMM!

Anyway, to speed this along, I made this cake from those up above.  Loved it!  I am kind of sad I added the flowers, cause that lead to adding MORE flowers and I totally admit I over did it.  It makes me sad all over again to see this cutie.  No use cryen', On to the TIKI HUT! 


So, started with a small cake-again, baked in a wide-mouthed canning jar.  Frosted it with canned white frosting dyed brown. 

I had to search high and low for shoestring potatoes, not at Walmart, but finally found them.  I wanted the Tiki Hut to be totally edible.  Most I have seen were made with toothpicks.  Lay those babies on there-such an easy job you could have you 5 year old do it. 

The next thing was to make the windows and door.  I could have done it with frosting, but I didn't have any fondant handy and not a drop of black food coloring.  That was when I decided to melt down some of these I had left over. 

I bought them 'cause I thought they looked like coconuts, or at least close enough without having to do anything to them.  The technique I actually learned at the Family Fun website for the Volcano Cake I have made several times.  I was actually trying to talk the mother into a volcano cake, but she liked this option instead.

This is tinfoil, in case you can't quite tell. I folded it into the forms, as best I could anyway, of the door and windows.


Throw some candies in a pan and turn on the heat.  I am a terrible person because I cannot possibly wait for the candy to melt at a normal temperature.  I just turn it on, like med high(or slightly higher :0) and let 'er go.

It starts to look like this.  When it is completely melted the candy is all bubbly.  Don't worry.  The bubbles go away when it cools. 

Pour it into the molds.

I couldn't believe how fast it set.  Like 2 minutes.  It was a little warm, but I couldn't resist pealing the tinfoil away to check it out. 


I used my kitchen scissors to chip away any roughness and ...what?  imperfections from my molds?  Well, I never!?!

I took this picture, then I trimmed more and "glued" in place with frosting.

My TIKI HUT looks a little like a bald grasshopper.  Smear a little frosting on top, and apply the first row of shoestring potatoes.

Here is a front view...

Here is a top view... the next step, add more frosting and another layer of potatoes.  The frosting application is easiest if you pipe it on.  I didn't, did it the lazy way (knife) and it was WAY more work.  I think I ended up adding about 3 more layers. 

If you want it less bug-looking, you could have just one window.  I used brown sugar on top of the cake for the sand, by the way.  I have also used mini rice crispies in the past, or graham cracker crumbs.  

Finished product. 

From the top...
And the front, with way too many flowers :0)  The girls at the party loved it.  To a 12 year old, there can never be too many flowers, especially if you can eat them!

Givaway Make-over!

I gave my giveaway a make-over and LOVED IT!!!  I had not one response from the givaway on Tuesday, even after I emailed the ladies directly!  This morning I went online and said that the first three FOLLOWERS that emailed me their addresses and what they wanted would be my new winners!  Within moments I had my winners.  From now on, the givaways will be a respond-and-win giveaway.  My lucky winners this morning were:
Kassandra of financially fit mommy
Sarah from Pensylvania
and

Winners of a True Followers Giveaway

All three wanted the cupcake towels!!!  Wahoo!  Glad you like 'em ladies!

We will see the rest of you at 150!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

It's All About the Color,Baby!

This was my more-successful project today.  The rest of the day I would rather forget, so we will just focus on this little victory!
The phone started out like this.  I bought it at Goodwill for $1-half-price Saturday OF COURSE!
I liked it 'cause it was smaller, and frankly, 'cause it said Emerson-I call Emmalee Emerson every once in a while.  The other big factor was that it was the only phone for $1.  The rest were way more which makes me want to jump on my Why-Is-Goodwill-Charging-So-Much-Nowa-Days Soap Box, but I will resist.
I pulled the do-dads off my phone and was frantically trying to break it open when I finally realized there were two mini screws holding the cover on.  Sheepishly I unscrewed them....And found this.  Wow!  We actually haven't owned a land-line since 2003, so this phone encounter was very up close and personal for me.  Did you have any idea all this was inside?
Here is what we ended up with.  Now, where is that spray paint and do you actually think I can get that all back inside!?! 
Two and a half coats of Rustoleum Auqa...
And let the RE-ASSEMBLY BEGIN!!!  While I was outside spraying, someone put all the buttons in order for me :0)  Wasn't that nice?
 
I only had to undo all the screws and re-open it once, and there were only 3 parts and 5 screws(not counting the one that fell on the floor) left over.  Oh, Eli just came to show me that I mixed up the pound and the star buttons.  They may just stay that way!
Let's see that other shot again...
Yep, and there are the keys in wrong.  I will claim Artist's Freedom of Expression.
Here it is with the kitchen we have been working on for months.  I finally got the fridge doors sprayed when I sprayed the phone.  This would lead me to my more aggravating part of the day-painting the red backsplash!!!  The paint was lame and the worst part...
THE WHITE PEELED OFF WHEN I TOOK OFF THE TAPE!!!
I don't even know how to tell you HOW frustrating that was!  Crisis averted, eventually (grunt, groan).  Hopefully soon you can see a finished picture of that.  Unfortunately, I don't think I have another minute to work on it 'til next week :0( 
That is OK because tomorrow, I get to make a Luau Cake!
Hope you had a STRESS-FREE day.  Someone should have.

Novelty Print Quilt Pattern

I have had a hard time finding good quilt patterns for novelty prints the past couple times I purchased them.  I made up this pattern so tha...