Summer Wreath!

My friend just got married and moved about 350 miles away! We went to visit her and she made the comment that she wanted a wreath for her door. So, while she was at work, we went to a craft store and made a simple, and cute wreath! 

Supplies:

Grapevine wreath

Ribbon

Letter

Paint

Flowers

Hot glue gun

We started with the wreath and just wrapped it with a gold and off white ribbon. We painted a wooden "B" with mustard yellow and topped with gold to match the ribbon. When dry, we just got glued the letter and the flowers to the wreath! She was pleasantly surprised when she came home from work! 

4-wheeler Diaper Cake

We love 4 wheeling and so do out friends that are having a birthday, so this 4-wheeler cake was perfect! Supplies: 

1 bib

5 washcloths

Diapers

Ribbon (optional) 

4 receiving Blankets

bottle or sippy cup

Dishwasher Rack

Stuffed animal

mittens or socks

rubberbands

Use a cake pan and the diapers to make 4 wheels and use a rubberband to secure the wheels. This is where you can add the ribbon to cover up the rubberband if wanted.

Take 2 of the receiving blankets and roll them to be the width of the dishwasher rack plus some to stick inside the center of the wheels. Secure the ends with rubberbands. These will be the axels.

Wrap the dishwasher rack in the 3rd receiving blanket. This will be the body.

Put one washcloth in the bottle to add some color. Stick the bottle or sippy cup on top of the dishwasher rack to be the light.

Use the 4th receiving blanket to make the handles. Wrap around the base of the dishwasher rack, up and around the bottle, and secure the two sides together with a rubberband just above the bottle. 

Put the axels into the center of the wheels. Then lay the dishwasher rack on top of the axels.

Add a washcloth to each of the wheels to be the fenders.

Lay the bib on the dishwasher rack to act as the seat.

Add the mittens or socks to the end of the handles to be the handle bars. 

Lastly, add a stuffed animal to be the rider!

We always make Christmas cut-out cookies, but this year we did something a little different. We found a cookie cutter set at an antique shop. It was a Wilton brand set and it had 10 different sized star shaped to make this tree. They came out super cute and got a lot of compliments. Don't like cookies? You can use anything that you can cut! Rice Krispies, jello, etc! The possibilities are endless.

Simple DIY Party decorations

We recently had a Surprise birthday party for my mother-in-law and I was trying to think of something for centerpieces that would be simple, yet cheap. So I came up with just simple beer bottles painted, will a little special personalized touch, and very inexpensive.

I started with just a simple Beer bottle. In order to get the labels off, I just soaked them in a sink full of hot soapy water for about 15 minutes. The labels came right off and a sponge easily took the glue off.

For a little bit of color, I just painted them with spray paint. Cheap way to add a lot of color to the party!

After that dried, I added a chalkboard paint heart that way I could put a B on the bottles for her name.

I made my own chalkboard paint because it is a lot cheaper than buying some! The recipe is 1 tablespoon unsanded grout (I found mine at Home depot. A 5 pound box for only $6) and 1/2 cup acrylic paint. You can use any color you want of acrylic paint, but I just used black. Just mix really well in a plastic cup with a plastic spoon and wa-la!

 So for a finished product......They were adorable! I added just a simple ribbon bow and some shredded paper at the base. With the carnation and a hint of baby's breath, it looked so cute. I got a lot of compliments on how cute and simple they were!

So, for the total transformation:

I needed something to add to the walls for decoration and I came with this story with candy bars! It was  a huge hit with our guests! I didn't spend much on candy and I just used a foam poster board. The candy stuck great to the board with rubber cement. To eat the candy, they can just cut the ends off the the candy bars and slide them out. That way, you don't loose the store!

She was so surprised and I couldn't have been happier with the way things turned out. The food, decorations, and just little personalized touches all came out perfect!

Wreath

I made this for my sister for Christmas. So easy. Covered the letter with twine and made a couple burlap roses and used lots of hot glue. So happy with the way that it turned out!

I made this one for my Grandmother for Christmas. Instead of using twine, I used just a simple yarn. This also turned out very cute!

Country Baby Shower Gift

I went to a baby shower today and was so happy with the gift that I came up with! I used to work with this girl and her and her boyfriend both love camo and western things! And she loves puppy paws! So I tied all that together and came up with this!

I was really looking for something to put everything in but didn't want just a regular bag. So I was at Hobby Lobby and found a a round box in the Christmas aisle that was 50% off so I found it really cheap! So, I painted the inside and used spray adhesive to glue on the camo fabric!

I made the cutest tie fleece blanket and breast feeding pillow to match using blue for the baby boy and brown with white puppy print for the mommy to be!

I also found the cutest "piggy" bank in the shape of a cowboy hat with a belt around it at hobby lobby!

I made camo and hunter orange burp cloths to hit the dad to be's liking.

I also added in some hangers and a Grow-with-me onsie set from TJMaxx.

I added some baler twine to tie the whole package together and it turned out so cute!

Trying new things!

I have been trying new things a lot lately and here are two creations I kinda just whipped up!

This is hashbrowns, chicken, ranch, BBQ sauce, cheese, and bacon! Brandon absolutely loved this! I didn't care for it as much because I am not a huge fan of BBQ sauce and I added too much for my liking! But you could do anything with this really! If I make it again I would cook the hashbrowns before adding the rest to make them a little more crispy! Or even put them on top!

This is a peanut butter cup pie. I used an oreo pre-made crumb crust. Then I just took cream chesse, whipped cream, and peanut butter to taste and folded in peanut butter cups. It was delicious!

Sparkle Boots

I absolutely love cowgirl boots!! And, I have a new found love for Sparkle! So I thought, how easy would it be for me to make a pair that sparkled! I didn't wanna pay a lot for a pair of boots, not knowing how they would turn out! So, I found this pair at target for only $35. I must say, these are very comfortable! They obviously aren't made out of leather like real boots, so they don't need to be broke in as much.

So the first time I made these, I used glitter mixed in with modge podge. Well, It was too thick and I ended up peeling it all off and starting over. So I sprayed the boots with a spray adhesive and then added the glitter. After letting it dry for awhile I tapped the boots to knock off any excess and then looked for spots that weren't covered and added more adhesive and glitter there. Then I sealed it with a gloss spray I found it the craft department. But beware, these stink! So, I left them outside for a day to get all the glue smell off! 

The first time I wore them, it was pouring down rain and then did great, so I was really happy! 

Tumbler Cup

My boyfriend's sister was having her Cheerleading Senior Night a few weeks ago, and we wanted to get her a gift! We ended up getting her a charm necklace that had to do with cheerleading and her school colors. I also wanted to get a cup and decorate it with her school colors. 

I was trying to find a double wall tumbler (with the lid and straw) to decorate for her. Well, I couldn't find any on short notice that I was able to take the two walls apart to decorate.

But, I did find these cups below at Hobby Lobby, for only $2.57 a piece and just bought scrap booking stuff to put on the white part (which is removable!) I couldn't find cheerleading scrapbook items that I liked, so I went a different route and just used her favorite color! 

Diaper Motorcycle

There have been a lot of baby shower's lately! I swear there is going to be another baby boom! But brother-in-law has a bike and so do a lot of his friends so for my sister's baby shower and her friends' baby showers, I made these! 

These were for my brother-in-law and his friend because they were both having boys. Below was for my sister's friend who was having a girl!

They are so easy to make! You just need:

diapers (any size) - for the wheels

rubber bands to secure the wheels

2 receiving blankets - for the handles and to connect the wheels

2 bibs - for the fender and the seat

bottle - for the head light 

ribbon -  to go around the wheels

mittens or socks - for the handle bars

Stuffed animals.

Use an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan and put the diaper in a circular motion. Put the rubber band around to secure the wheel. You can add your choice of ribbon to add more decoration. Then take the two receiving blankets and roll them flat. Put one in one wheel and around to the second and secure with a pin. Then with the other, add put it through the front wheel, and up. Use a rubber band to hold the two sides together. For the handle bars, stuff the socks or mittens with tissue, toilet paper, or something just to add a lil' padding to them. Then use the bibs to put the fender and the seat on. After that, add your head light which is the bottle. If you want, you can put a wash cloth around the bottle to add more color or design, but it's just your preference. Then, add you animal and you are all set!

More Cakes!

 I got a phone call this summer and I was asked to do a wedding cake and a birthday cake. Obviously I am not a professional, but these are what I came up with. For the wedding cake, they wanted black, white, and purple. I suggested not to use black because it was summer and it would bleed onto the white. 

For the Baby shower cake, they told me they just wanted blue, green, and brown, and polka dots! Well, this is what I came up with. Like I said, nothing spectacular, but they loved it!

Shotgun Shells

This Easter, my family decided to shoot clay pigeons. After everything was said and done, we had 655 shells that we used! My dad told me to find something to do with them, so that's what I did. 

This is the before picture! Let's see what I can do to use all of them!

First, I wanted to make a necklace. So, I cut off the plastic part and kept the metal part. 

Then I drilled a hole straight through both sides.

Then, I put the chain through and got this! I got the chain at Wal-Mart. I was able to cut it to the size that I wanted, and all I had to do was add the clasp!

Next came a picture frame. I bought one at the dollar store and just hot glued the shells to the glass. I will have to find a picture that will be perfect for this frame.

Next, I wanted to do a candle. Just a simple vase (only $1 from the dollar store) and a $1 candle!

Then came a mirror. I am looking for a larger one, but haven't been able to find one that I like yet. This mirror was, once again, from the dollar store. I thought this one turned out cute!

Not sure what this is exactly, but I figured I can come up with a use for it somehow. Maybe a ring/jewelry holder...or something.

Lastly for the night, is a wreath! Maybe it will scare some people away!

I will be finding more ways to use these! Gotta use up all 655!

Cakes, Cakes, and more Cakes!

During my senior year of high school I took a Wilton Cake Decorating Class at Joann Fabrics. It was so much fun. So, I just thought that I would post some of the cakes I have done and a little description.

Here's a cake that I made during the course. We were practicing using flowers and fondant. Personally, I am not a fan of fondant, I'd rather just use buttercream! Nonetheless, people can make wonderful creations from fondant!

This is a cake that I made for my mom's birthday for her to take to work. It was very simple. I just used buttercream icing and did a "scribble" design and had some flowers left over that I put on the top.

This is another one that I made during my class, again, practicing with fondant. 

I made this cake for my cousin's 16th Birthday Party. He was involved in FFA, worked on a dairy farm, and showed steers and lambs at the county fair. I used the color flow icing to make the animals. 

I made this cake for a class reunion. Tried to tie the gold into the cake, so I used a pearl dust for the flowers. Much more experimentation is needed for the pearl dust.

This cake was for my Aunt and Uncle's anniversary. I was just starting with the cake thing, so these aren't great, but they always taste good!

These two cakes were for our local D.A.R.E. instructor. My mom worked with him but it was even more special for me to make it because he was my D.A.R.E. instructor in Elementary school.

Just a couple misc. cakes for a retirement and birthday. So easy to do with the flowers. Gives it a simple, yet classic look. 

Made this cake for my cousin who graduated from Hocking College. He loved it!

This was supposed to be a scrapbooking cake. Turned out okay, not the greatest. 

For the little girl that I babysit! I had so much fun with this. Even froze the cake because I was leaving for Florida. Turned out great! You can't see them, but there are some bananas along the side.