Target Pillow Copy-Cat

I saw this luscious ruffled pillow at Target and held on it for several minutes debating if I should totally splurge and pay the $25 for it.  After about the fifth time of running my fingers through the ruffles I realized there was a pattern to the fluffy madness.  I would simply HAVE TO go home give it a try myself.  Afterall, if it didn't work out, I could always run back over to Target :0}  Lucky for my pocket book I didn't need to go back.  I think I got my Copy-Cat pillow figured out!!!

I bought a scrap of muslin from SAS for $1.  It was about 20" wide.  I cut out a 16.5" square and free-handed this spiral onto it.  This whole spiral is meant to be one single strand of ruffle.  Notice how it starts from the outer edge, spirals inward, then folds on itself in the center, spiraling back out the way it came in.  The tail is used to fill in the extra space around the corner.

That one spiral took up about 1/4th of the 16.5" square.

Here is what it looked like with 4 spirals.

I bought 1 yard of cream t-shirt knit from SAS for $2.  The knit was cut down to 2.5" strips the length of the fabric, I think 60".

Next, I ruffled the strips.  When I got to the end of one strip, I just tucked the next on top of the tail end and kept on ruffling.  That is the lazy way to make one incredibly long ruffle without sewing ends together.

Once that yard is ruffled, I was ready to put the whole thing together!!!

Can't wait!

I started with the outside edge, sewed the ruffle on spiralling to the center, around, and back out.  It was a little tricky, but nothing really difficult.

There is one spiral all done :0}  So proud!

Here is my top piece with all four spirals sewn.  I added a 16.5" square to the back, stuffed it with recycled batting and hand-stitched the pillow closed.  That made my grand total a mere $3!!!  That is a $22 savings ;0)

Look!!!  It totally worked!

Now to make more!  This design is so adorable!  I want an entire bedspread out of it!!!  Except I don't want to make it....maybe just a cute little rug for the play kitchen or SOMETHING!   I just can't stop! 

Don't laugh, but I really wanted this pillow for my front porch.  A bit over the top I am sure.  

I have nothing this fancy for my couch.  Guess I will make another one for the couch, cause this one belongs HERE.

This is one set of the door backdrops I made for the wedding a few months ago.  With the pillow it is starting to look quite cozy :0)  Next, I want to paint the bench blue.  A little crazy, I know, but I am thinking it has to happen.  Then maybe a ruffled dust skirt :0)  I sure wish the rest of my house was this fun!!!

Happy Birthday Pennant Printable

It is my baby girl's 14th birthday today!!!  Yay for Madison!!!  I made a pile of oreo cakepop cones to take her at school.  I made this banner to spice things up a bit.

I taped BBQ skewers to the side of the pan to hold the banner.  

I used this printable to print out the banner, cut the pennants out, then just sewed them together, pulling the stings longer at the beginning and end to tie to the skewers.

A little curling ribbon on the top of the poles and SHAZAM!

We have a portable birthday surprise. 

Mads and all her classmates loved the cake pops and begged for more.  We may just have to get one more batch made for them before school is out in a few weeks :0)

You can download the pennant banner printable HERE with Dropbox!

Ipad CupCakes

Did I mention that I actually made 5 cakes last weekend???  Yep, looks like May is going to be cake month.  This batch was particularly fun.  A customer of mine sent me a link to some Ipad App cupcakes she saw online asking if I could re-create them.  Wohoo!  I love a challenge :0)

This is the same lady I made the Ipad cake for a few years ago...

Apparently they are super big fans :0}

I have to admit the bigger apps were easier to make.

They are actually a great project for the fondant beginner.  I had Madison do one or two for me.  She did so well I let her help with a few more.  She made the sunflower and the camera app {black ball with blue ball in the middle}.  With them turning out so cute, I had her do the calculator, email, and clock apps below.

For the cake, I made french vanilla, then filled it with a fresh strawberry/sweetened whip cream mixture and a dollop of tangy strawberry filling.  A little blop of frosting on top to make the fondant stick, and we were done!  Loved this project.  I could have made fondant apps all day :0}

Sorry Excuse for Some Star Wars Guys!

I am embarrassed to even post these, but I also made these Star Wars Cake Pops for Madison's fundraiser too.  They took me all day long to make the three plates of characters and barely resemble them.  I figure if I can do nothing but let you know you really don't want to try this, then my post was not a waste of time :0)

Here is my R2D2.  I ended up painting on melted chocolate with a paint brush.  Looks lovely, doesn't it.

Vader.  I shaped the Oreo Cake ball into the shape it needed to be, then piped chocolate on to make the ridge in the hat and the eyes and mouth pieces before dipping.  I think I needed to pipe a double layer for those marks to show up better after the pop was dipped in the black chocolate.

Princess Leia  

Dipped the ball into flesh colored almond bark, then stuck two Cheerios, stacked up, in the wet chocolate for each bun.  When that was set I dipped her hair with chocolate almond bark.

Luke

Storm Trooper.  Shaped him a lot like Darth Vader, then dipped in white almond bark and painted on the black.  I had purchased a cake pen to write on the black accents, but it didn't work at all with the waxy surface of the chocolate.  Keep that in mind if you ever consider the torture of making these pops ;0}

C3PO

Again, piped the ridge around his face and the eyes in chocolate on the cake pop before dipping.  Would do a double layer for this guy too if there happens to be a next time.  I used a tan color of almond bark, then brushed on gold pearl glaze for the bronzy look.

Yoda, how I hate to make you :0)  I found a package of lovely spring green candy melts at the cake store that was just about perfect.  I filled a cup and threw in three dark green melts to make it just a bit darker.  I am not sure what to say about him.  He just went bad very quickly :0}  

I guess the consolation is that all three plates sold and were competitively bid on!  So that is good.  I also know that they taste heavenly!!!  Remember, Beauty (or ugliness) is only Skin Deep!

Volcano Cake

Sorry for the lousy picture, but this is the volcano cake I made for Madison's Girls Camp fund raiser.  It was auctioned off to the highest bidder, all the money going towards her camp fee.

The lava splashes are the coolest things ever.  Here is how you make them. 

Buy a bag of cinnamon disc candy from Walmart and unwrap all the pieces...I leave that step up to my kids ;0)  Throw them all into a sauce pan and heat on medium until they looks like this... 

You don't really need to babysit the candy, or even stir it that often.  I went about my business, turned around, and all the candy was melted.  It did take about 10 minutes or so for all the pieces to completely melt.

Next, spill splashes onto an aluminum foil lined cookie sheet.  Make sure to make some straight pieces and some in a u-turn style so that they look like the lava is spurting out and then falling to earth.

By the time I poured out all the candy, the first pieces were cool enough to pull up...but still really hot so be careful of not to get burned.  As for the pan, it can be a bugger to clean, so just fill with hot water right away, throw the spoon in too, and it should be ready to wash as soon as the cake is done.  

We made a huge sheet cake, cut a big round bottom, smaller middle, and a smallest top circle of cake, stacked them all up and carved out a volcano.  I let Madison frost with store-bought frosting.  She thought it was the funnest cake we have ever made.  This is so great to make with kids.  They can get all the crumbs in the frosting they want and it only adds to the texture of the volcano.

I had to transport the cake to the church, so I waited to add the lava splashes.  Sadly I didn't bring my camera, so you have to put up with the pictures I took with my phone :0)

Isn't it AWESOME!  We love this cake and have made it many, many times through the years.  We made it for Eli's 7th birthday, a dinosaur party and made mini ones for the kids to take home.  I saw the idea years ago on Family Fun's website.  You can check out the original post HERE.

A couple notes if you plan to make this:

Use a pound cake or other thick cake.  When you shove the lava into the top it will break the cake apart if it isn't a firm cake.

Also, don't make the top too thin.  It is better to have a really wide base, and then a wider spout so there is enough room to insert the lava without it being cut into so many tiny sections that the top falls apart.  

That is about it.  I hope your day "Erupts" with fun!!!

Teacher {Love}

I had a new special request for a "teacher" version of the I {Heart} My Family blocks.  Just thought I would post it in case anyone else wants it.  If you do, you can email me at vanessa.cam5@gmail.com.

Shortcake In A Bottle

I got to take dinner to a cute little family that just added a baby girl to their numbers.  When it came to dessert, I was a little stumped, but heard the light bulb *click* when the thought of strawberry shortcake popped into my mind.   What a perfect treat, and not too heavy or sweet for a new mom.  I am always a freak right away about watching what I eat...until that dies off with the third or fourth night of no sleep :0)

I posted a while back about using canning jars as serving dishes.  This treat is perfect for the jars!  I made the shortcake more like a trifle, layering vanilla cake {made from a box, in case you were about to accuse me of making it from scratch}, fresh strawberries, and my own special blend of white chocolate pudding and sweetened whipped cream....OK, maybe not TOTaLLY light, but definitely refreshing!  I used wide mouth pint jars for the mom and dad, then a smaller jelly jar for their little boy.

Topped the treats off with a fanned strawberry for the presentation factor.

I usually just make chocolate chip cookies, so I am a little too pleased with myself tonight :0}

Adding Photos with Photoshop Elements {Basic Version}

I got a couple requests today for instructions on how to add a photo with Photoshop Elements.  I currently have version 9, but hear that a version near that will work pretty much the same.  I started by opening, for example, my Pinewood Derby PitPass.

Then I open the photo I want to install.

Choose the cookie cutter tool, then choose the shape from the drop down menu of shapes at the top of the screen {only shows up after you choose the tool}.  There are several cool masks that would be fun for the pit pass, but I chose the rounded corner rectangle for this demonstration.  

Once you have your shape selected, click where you want the shape to start, then while holding the left mouse button down, drag the shape as large as you want it to be.  When you have the shape about the right size and orientation, let go of the mouse button.  You should still be able to move that shape around on the picture to make sure you have your picture cropped to your liking.  Once everything is as desired, click on the green check mark and the outside scrap will disappear.  You will only have white grid-looking stuff outside your picture now.  Not sure you like it???  NO problem.  Just hit the undo button, backing things up to where everything went wrong, and start again.  

Once your picture is cropped the way you want, go back to the graphics page, or in this case, the pit pass.  As you can see by the arrows, at the bottom of the screen {or wherever your program shows thumbnails of open files} you can see both the picture file and the pit pass.  Now, just move your cursor over the picture of Eli, push the left mouse button and drag the picture onto the graphic, holding the mouse button down until it is in place.  When you are dragging the picture, you only see the picture the size of the thumbnail.  When you let go of the mouse button, the picture will take it's full size.

You may now notice that the picture you added is not in the right place, and probably not the right size either.  

That is easy to fix!  Just click on the move tool, shown in the upper left hand side {purplish arrow}, looks like an arrow next to a compass-looking 4 arrow thingy.  Yes, very technical language, I know :0)

Once you select the move tool, you can move the picture around on the page wherever you want it, you can stretch it out any which way or rotate it around, then just click the Green arrow, and you are done.

I know that there are more advanced ways to get that picture on the page, like behind the letters and such, but this is a basic way that works great for the beginner!

Let me know if you have any questions or any tips!!!