Sweet 16 and more cake!

My cousins daughter turned Sweet 16

I really just don't know where the time goes but I do know that she is maturing into a beautiful & sweet young lady.

My cousin asked if I would make a cake for her family birthday dinner & I because I knew I would have so much fun making her cake, I agreed.

All she said was that she wanted a round chocolate cake & that I could do whatever I wanted for the rest.

So I decided on a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting & a chocolate ganache over the top. Because I mean seriously........ who DOESN'T like ganache, right?? ya that's what I thought too~

I was pleased with the outcome & the Mr. said "who knew we had a pastry chef in the house"

Which made me feel quite nice because that to me means my cake looked just as good as one you would buy in a bakery (tasted like it too)
Here is the birthday girl with her cake
(isn't she the cutest)


Here is a closer look of the cake with the paper Lolli-pops I made for her topper. I liked using the paper lollies because they were fun & lets face it...doesn't everyone like stuff with their own name on it haha, I know I am guilty~

and here is the paper Sweet 16 banner I made for her so she would have a memento :)
and because I like making them so I guess you can say I seized the opportunity

So Happy I caught the reaction of a 16 year old who really likes the gift you got her...........very priceless!

I love that I can incorporate my creations into everyday life and in turn make other people happy in the process.

The Scouts Cake Bake Auction

This week my son learned how to bake a cake. It was so nice to share that time with him in the kitchen (& discover that he really did understand fractions)

His scout unit had their annual cake bake auction fundraiser. The boys make cakes with little to no help from their parents. The cakes then get judged by a panel of judges from the community so that the boys can get awards for different categories. Then they get auctioned off to the highest bidder.

for us it started with Fire & Ice (& a few fish)

My son wanted to do a camping cake so we came up with all kinds of ideas for water & fire & ended up melting jolly ranchers~ I think mostly because he just wanted to eat ALL the extra JolliesI think the fire came out pretty good~looks like a cozy campfire to me

he also wanted to be sure that we had trees. Sugar cones were the sure way to go but the decoration of them was a little different. I knew I didn't want to walk him though making icing specifically for the trees so we raided the cabinet & used melted butterscotch chips & iced the cones with that & sprinkled some green sugar on them. They came out wonderful & I highly recommend that technique

Doesn't he look so happy mixing the ingredients~ I just love it

Here he is testing the consistency of the batter

tyring to pour the batter in the pans evenly

Ready for the Oven

(excuse all the ash in the bottom of the oven~I used the self cleaner last week & lets just say it was like a war zone in there)

FOR ICING ~ the best part

of course it was a HUGE battle from within for me to not grab the spatula & help him ice it when I watched him rub so hard back & forth that I just knew the cake was going to get lobbed off lol ;)

But all my anxiety went away when I peeked through my fingers & saw that he did just fine, as you can see by the cute little tent he made out of pretzel sticks, melted butter scotch chips & fruit by the foots

Here are some of the other cakes laid out on the table getting the judges once over.

And here he is holding his Judges choice Award!! Getting him to take this picture took a little coaxing. I think he got a little embarrassed having to accept the award in front of all those people

but in the end he was very excited about it & I think he was very proud of his accomplishment

Isnt it such an awesome display!

I know I was proud of him because he was willing to learn something new & he was able to express the ideas that he wanted to have happen. He was open to suggestions & he learned that great successes come from dedication & hard work

So here is to my little guy (well really not too little anymore) Who was creative himself this week

Finally out of the oven & cooled enough to transfer

2 wreaths & a sled

Christmas may be over but I cant help sharing some of the goodies I made for our home

LAST Christmas (2010) The Mr. & I were grabbing some bagels at Panera Bread & I noticed a really cute wreath they had hanging up. It was right then that I decided I was going to make one for my mantle. I patiently waited until the after Christmas sale & got everything I needed at a super great price

I purchased a metal wreath frame & christmas picks, stems & a large plastic candy cane from Michaels & I got the ribbon from Sam's club.

making this wreath took about 2 hours because I attached ribbon loops with wire to the metal frame (my finger tips were a little sore after that) but it was so well worth it

I attached the floral picks & ornaments with wire as well.....I impressed myself because I did not use the glue gun for anything on this wreath.

There it is.....above the mantle on Christmas Eve. Looking at this every night made me so happy~just look at the pretty glow~ makes the heart warm & fuzzy

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This coco colored glass ornament wreath was made with ornaments that I have saved year after year that were just taking up valuable storage space. I could never bare to part with them because the color is just so wonderful (especially on a tree with pearls). I haven't used these ornaments since I became a Mom & my kids handmade ornies became the highlight of my Christmas tree.

So this was the year I would make something with them to make them the star of their own show....so after seeing several wreaths like this on pinterest, I made my move.


I hot glued the tops to all of the balls & simply strung them on a wire coat hanger...that was it plain & simple. I used 60 in all & wished I had more. My original thought was that I would not use any ribbon BUT I had to make a bow to hide the fact that I didn't have enough to go all the way around. But all in all, I think it came out great & looked fabulous above my buffet where my faux chocolate Santa stands

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This was also the year I displayed MY childhood sled~that sled brings back all kinds of fun snowy memories! Even my sister said Man I remember that sled, that just put a smile on my face. There is nothing more comforting than being able to look at something you know brings back such fun memories of childhood

all I did was attach a centerpiece greenery to the front & add a leftover piece of ribbon & some plastic candy canes that I got on sale last year at Target...That was it, easy peasy



There you have it, the pieces I have been planning on putting together for at least a year...I think it was well worth the wait



until next time...Happy Creating

the things you can do with boxes & buckets

I have been MIA from my Blog BUT I was busy busy during the holiday season. I was more creative this holiday season than the last several put together!

I even customized some gift containers & boxes to specifically hold ornies that were made for my brother & sister in law & my sister & her husband.

And it was so much fun to do....especially since my youngest son was in on all the action.

I tried to take items that were headed to the trash or were just going to sit around here forever.

I used an old gift box from my Mary Kay Days & converted it to something worth keeping for quite sometime & I took a bubble gum tub & fancied it up in 2 ways to help store items for the holidays.

It amazes me what you can do with Mod Podge!!! It is my new best friend!

On the box I mod podged some cute Christmas wrapping paper on the bottom 1/2 & painted the top 1/2 with regular acrylic craft paint. I inserted ribbon on the sides to hold the top down

(& to make it look pretty)

On the 1st tub I mod podged the tub & placed Christmas wrapping paper around the tub & on the top lid. I then applied another layer of mod podge over the paper. I also added a flocked ribbon on the edge & a flocked "merry Christmas" cut out on the top

(but forgot to take a picture of it)

before

after

These were the cute beachy ornies packed inside for my sister in law. I made them with the sand & shells we found on our Family vacation In Navarre Florida

Next is the glitter bucket (I love how this turned out) especially since the bubble gum bucket has significance to my brother! he know s what I am talking about ;)

This was done by applying Mod Podge to the bucket & sprinkling the glitter on. once that seemed dry I added a layer of Mod Podge over the glitter very carefully!!!

Doesn't it look so pretty! and you surely wouldn't have to do this just for Christmas!

As you can see I added a ribbon with a small unbreakable light shaped ornament that I used as a gift tag~it makes it so festive & I have been doing this for years!

Here is what was locked away inside.....my son made this & I think he did a great job! This too also had sand & shells from out beach trip. So double meaning, not only did he hand paint it but he used the mementos from the trip! I love that he is so crafty just like me!

This is a little bit of what I have been up to lately & I have more to come.

Hope you enjoyed ~ Happy Creating!