It's a Tardis

When we met with the couple to see what they wanted for their wedding, a Tardis cake was mentioned for the groom’s cake.  I, not being a Dr. Who fan, thought they wanted a TORTUOUS cake and was a little surprised.  After much confusion and talking with Claire, I finally realized we would not be making a turtle. Although, that might have been a bit easier.  :)

This beautiful Tardis cake that Claire spent so much time painting and getting perfect, was for our first wedding post-babies.  Cutting out all the panels and such was suprisingly easy. The inside is Styrofoam but the outside is all edible.  Not that you’d want to eat all that gumpaste, unless you’re my husband of course.

iSpy With My Little Eye...

...a super fun Pinterest craft!

The minute I saw this, I knew I wanted to make it for my nephew Iain for his birthday.  They travel to Canada often and I thought this would be so fun to bring along on car trips.  I followed the directions to a T from Make it and Love it.  The only thing different is I used clear beads instead of poly fill as they did not sell that at JoAnn's.

Some of the fun trinkets inside?

• alphabet beads
• sports beads - soccer, football, baseball
• stickers
• googley eyes
• buttons

A Gentleman's Cake

Claire and I are making cakes again!   We have done a birthday party, a baby dedication and a wedding.  This is a cake we did back in February.  It was for a "gentleman's theme" birthday party.
My favorite part?  All the different mustaches.

The super awesome wedding cake is coming soon!

DIY: Toddler Birthday Gift

I've always preferred to make homemade gifts.  So with three nephews, a niece, and an almost five year old sister, I've had lots of practice!

These blocks are my favorite and I am so excited to make some for our son when he is old enough to enjoy them.

Baby Wooden Blocks

Tools needed:

• Any size blocks
• Decorative paper
• Sand paper
• Sponge brush
• Mod Podge - safe for babies
• Extras: letter, numbers, stickers

How to:

Lightly sand each block. Trace one side of the block six times onto the blank side of the decorative paper. Cut out.  Glue the paper onto each side of the block with a light coat of Mod Podge. Once dry, paste the letters, numbers, or stickers with the same technique. Coat the block with 3-4 four layers of Mod Podge, make sure to leave time to dry between each layer.  Don't worry, it will dry clear!  I used my Cricut to cut out the letters, but you could use scrapbook letters too.

Playdough

The thing I like about this playdough is you will probably have all the ingredients in your kitchen. It's great for a last minute gift!


Playdough

Ingredients needed:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 cup salt
• 2 TBSP vegetable oil
• 1 TBSP cream of tarter

How to:

Mix all the ingredients together and stir over low heat.  When the dough has pulled away from the sides and starts to clump together in the center of the pan, it is finished.  Remove from heat and let it cool.  If it's still sticky, cook it for a little bit longer.  Knead the dough on a Silpat until smooth. Divide into sections and add color. I just used plain old food coloring.

Gift Bags

To make these fun bags all you need is:

• Iron on fabric letters
• Felt
• Embroidery floss & needle
• Any fabric bags

How to:

Iron the letters to the felt and cut the size you need.  Use the embroidery floss to sew the felt onto the bag.

I hope these give you a few ideas to use for your next toddler gift!

Hello Again!

Well, after quite the long sabbatical, (has it really been over 8 months since my last post?!) I think it's about time I start blogging again.  I want to make a few changes, but overall, the purpose of this blog will remain the same: To share the things I make and love with you.

I knew it would be hard to find the time to craft and bake with a newborn, so I decided to take a little break and see what motherhood was all about. :)

Our beautiful Rowan Eliot was born on September 7, 2011.

I cannot believe he is 8 months already. So many people told me to treasure each and everyday as the time will go by too fast.  I'm so glad I took this advice to heart, because it is so true.  It's crazy how much I love this little guy.

Now that we are in somewhat of a good routine, I feel like I can add blogging back in.  Here are some of the things I hope to add:

• A Pinterest Day - once a week is the goal, but at least once a month.  I have tried so many recipes, crafts, hairstyles, etc that I have found on Pinterest (follow me here!) that I would love to record here for you all. Even the failures - which I've had!
• A "Rowan Day" where you can all see pictures of my cute son and read about the fun things he is doing. 
• A "Get Organized Day" where I will share with you what has worked (and not worked!) for our little family of three.

I just have to say, I am so excited to get back to blogging! :)