porcupine cupcakes

Elle's first birthday had a porcupine theme. I made her a pink porcupine cake based on the tradition that started with my dad creating a porcupine cake for each of us on our first birthdays (mine was chocolate with chocolate frosting and candy corns). Elle's was chocolate cake with pink "spiky" frosting and pink good and plenty candies used as the porcupine spikes. The cake was just for her so for everyone else I made pink porcupine cupcakes. The frosting was so easy and turned out just they way I hoped.

"spiky" frosting recipe:

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 t. cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla extract

- In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.

- In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes.

(I use my Kitchen Aid and it works great. This is one reason I love this recipe version of this frosting. Other similar recipes have you use a double boiler or place the mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water and mix with a hand mixer. It works, but is much more of a hassle.)

passport protector

I want to try this tutorial for creating a holder for your passport.

felt dolls

I think these handmade felt dolls are charming. You can find the how-to and pattern here.

play kitchen

This is one of my favorite handmade play kitchens I've seen. I love the realistic looking stove and microwave.

lemon cordial

For the past few holidays, I've been wanting to create a neighbor/family gift that was a drink packaged in a cute bottle. However, I've never been able to find a great drink recipe (especially one that was non-alcholic). This lemon cordial idea is perfect. I can't wait to try it out.

dictionary art

This print was created from an old dictionary and clip art. I love how it looks.

pintuck pillows

I always want pillows to decorate my couches/beds etc., but I can never find any I really like. I think I'll look for fabric I like and make some of these pintuck pillows.

party favor bags

These would be so fun for a kids' birthday party. I think they are too big for Elle's "tiny two" party but maybe next year.

envelope bags

I think this is a great idea for making your own gift or favor bags.

vintage suitcase studio

This project would be time consuming, but I think it would be such a fun gift for someone that likes to create.

candy nests

This looks like an easy and fast project from MS - perfect for Easter.

pleated purse

I'd like to try this pattern. I'm wondering if it would work well for a diaper bag???

party invites

I love lemonheads so naturally I love this invitation idea. This was used for a baby shower, but you could use the same idea for any party or event. I think it would be perfect with a letterpressed invite.

party supplies

I just bought these for Elle's birthday party.  I found the best combination of price/quantity here, but shipping was expensive (almost 1/2 the total cost).  Overall it was still a better deal.  I got...

- 250 2oz. paper souffle cups - $4.39 (for cupcakes)

- 250 3oz paper souffle cups - $4.99 (for cupcakes)

- 1000 wooden ice cream spoons - $14.99 (for mini ice cream scoops)

The Wilton brand of cups ranged from $2-$4 plus shipping for only 24 to 30 cups.

Anyone need wooden spoons???

baby shower drinks

I think this is such a cute idea for a baby shower. It just takes a piece of fabric, diaper pin and a bottled drink.

baby kimono shoes

I love these handmade baby shoes. Find the pattern here.

letterpress cards

elum creates amazing lettepress products. The detail and intricacy of their designs are unbelievable and create such beautiful inked impressions. With the letterpress technique, I'm sure they feel as amazing as they look.

for lizzy

Get the how-to here.

[create] chore/activity chart

This is a project I've been wanting to create for a long time to help Elle understand and maintain a basic schedule. I kept it very simple knowing that there are key things I'd like her to do every morning (items on the left) and night (items on the right), but in general, my schedule is inconsistent which means her schedule is inconsistent. I'm hoping it can also help with establishing a bedtime routine that will get her to bed earlier than 10 or 11 at night...seriously what 2 year old gets to stay up that late???

As the first project I made in my quest to start creating with all of the craft supplies I have sitting around, this project used:

- metal sheet (given to me by a friend who bought it from a local steel company that will cut sheets to any size)
-clear pebbles (found on clearance in the home decor section at Target/find at any craft store)
- ribbon
- patterned paper (I used a set of greeting cards that I knew I would never actually write in and send)
- QuicKutz black vinyl and transfer tape
- QuicKutz adhesive-backed magnet sheets
- Silhouette Digital Cutting Tool
- diamond glaze

PART 1: CREATE MAGNETS


- Cut a piece of adhesive backed magnet sheet to fit your piece of patterned paper.
- Adhere the patterned paper to the adhesive side of the magnet sheet.

- Draw a circle around the glass pebble.
(Don't worry about drawing directly on the
patterned paper because you will cut inside of the drawn line.)



- Cut out circle.




- Glue patterned paper to the pebble with diamond glaze.
(You could also use basic glue, a double-sided adhesive sheet, etc.
I like the clearness of diamond glaze and happen to have some in my craft supplies.)



PART 2: CREATE VINYL LETTERING


- Use your Silhouette to cut out desired words in any font you like.
(I used MA Sexy for Elle's name and Ahroni for the chore words.)
- Weed the excess vinyl from the word (shown in picture above)


- Place transfer tape over the top of the vinyl word and rub to adhere to vinyl.
(QuicKutz sells a hook tool and scraper that makes these steps fast and easy)



- Remove backing from vinyl and place vinyl word on metal sheet.
- Rub to adhere to metal sheet and remove transfer tape.
(Transfer tape is just an easy way to transfer vinyl letters or images to your desired surface all in one step without ruining the layout or design of the vinyl images.ie. transfer the entire word 'elle' in one step versus trying to apply an e, then an l, l, then another e
and keeping the letters straight, consistent etc.)


- Thread ribbon through holes in metal sheet to create hanging loop.

- Hang chart in desired location and use pebble magnets to check off activities when completed.

This same project idea could be used to create to-do lists, family home evening assignments, homework charts etc.

[create] projects

I like craft supplies, just like my husband like tools. I like to have a good variety of products and supplies, and this is one place where I have a difficult time throwing something away (there just always seems to be some future creative potential!). Working in the craft industry also hasn't helped minimize this collection of stuff.

Unfortunately, I seem to have a hard time actually using these things to create the projects I want to make. Life, family, church, work, home all seem to take up more time than I have to give. Consequently, my collection grows larger and the list of "things I want to make" gets bigger.

So instead of just letting my stash grow and grow without any use, I've decided to pick projects I've been meaning to make and actually create them. Watch for these projects showing up under the title [create].