Cinderella Cupcakes

Maggie turned 5.

 

It feels like it should be a crime to grow up so fast.  Am I the only mom that wants to freeze time?

 

Last year all she wanted was Shaun the Sheep cupcakes, but her speech delay has improved so much that this year she actually had several requests for her party.

 

1.  Cinderella themed

2.  A long list of boy and girl guests

3.  Cinderella cupcakes with glass "swippas"

 

All three wishes were granted.  

We ended up having a Cinderella Ball.  With actual dancing and turning our house into a ballroom kind of ball.  It was the real deal.  It was basically kid prom and it was amazing.  I have lots of photos to sort through but while I work on that, how about I show you her third wish?

 

 

Cinderella Cupcakes With Glass Slippers!

 

My dear friend Amy helped me make them.  She's pretty amazing when it comes to cupcakes and cute treats.  She can do anything.  Check out her blog, Indulge With Me when you have time because you will get lost over there for days.  These cupcakes were nothing for her, she tackles much more difficult tasks but they were exactly what Maggie wanted so in my mind these were her best work.

I created the slippers from melted almond bark and a candy shoe mold.  I purchased my mold at a local candy supply store for $1.99.  If you don't have one near you, you can find the same one on Amazon HERE and HERE.  If you've never used a candy mold before the process is simple.

 

First you melt your chocolate, melting candy chips or in this case almond bark.  There are several ways to melt them but I just took a few pieces and placed them in a Ziploc bag.  I then microwaved them in 15 second increments, squishing the bag between each increment, until the almond bark was good and melted.  I then cut off a tip of the baggie and squished the melted bark into the mold.  The chocolate settles nicely into the mold and to get a nice clean back I scrape the mold with the back of a butter knife to get any excess chocolate off.

 

The cupcakes themselves are just boxed white cake.  Amy has tricks to make boxed cake incredible on her blog but for these were were going super simple because the kids are only interested in the frosting anyways.  Amy stirred the heck out the the batter which gave it a really light nice texture.  Much better than how mine usually turn out.  The frosting was made with a combination of butter and cream cheese and the dye was 10 drops of neon blue.  Maggie approved the color as Cinderella's so we stopped there.

 

To frost, Amy used a large star tip and gave each one a nice swirl.  If you have never frosted a cupcake using a pastry bag before you are missing out because it is the simplest, fastes, cleanest and prettiest way to do it.  I got THIS set a long time ago and I use it all the time.

 

Once the frosting was on, we topped the big ones with some glittery sprinkles and a slipper and the mini cupcakes were decorated with sugar pearls.

 

 

 The cupcakes really were SO simple to make and made my little princess' dreams come true.

 

Happy Birthday Maggie!

 

 

DIY Books I Totally Want

I've had my eye on a few DIY books lately. Here are a few that I've been window shopping:


{You can click on the pictures or the links to take you to Amazon where you can read full descriptions, reviews.}


1.  Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love by John and Sherry Peterisk.  I've been following their blog for a little under a year now and I love nearly everything they do.  I look forward to their daily posts with anticipation.  This is the ultimate DIY couple.  I have learned so much about my own personal style and how to make things happen around my house that I never knew was even possible.  If the book is anything like their blog I know I'm gonna' love it.  

2.  Fabrics A to Z The Essential Guide to Choosing and Using Fabrics for Sewing by Dana Williard.  I know basically nothing about fabric.  I know what looks pretty and that's about it.  I sew with what I have on hand and it's mostly plain ol' cotton.  I inherited lots of great vintage fabrics and I know nothing about them.  I feel like this book is essential for me to improve as a seamstress and designer.

3.  Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts.  Three words; Martha Stewart Encyclopedia.  Enough said.

4.  The Handbuilt Home by Ana White.  I first discovered Ana White's blog when it was just brand new and I was hooked from the start.  She is a super hot mom who builds furniture knock offs of really expensive name brand things.  Oh but that's not all, she give you the plans to make them yourself.  It couldn't be easier.  I've built quite a few things and I got the building bug and I can't remember a time that I was more inspired to learn a new craft.  I'm not sure what her first book has in store but I know I want to build everything in it.

5.  Martha Stewart Cookies. I think we can agree that the title says it all.

6.  Famous Frocks by Sarah Alm.  This is a book that is all about iconic dresses from movies.  The book shows you how to make the dresses and even includes patterns to make 20 dresses.  I have wanted to try this book out for a while.  I have never tried a pattern book but the thought makes me a little giddy.

7. The BurdaStyle Sewing Handbook by Nora Abousteit.  I think this book is another essential for me to get if I want to improve my sewing skills.  Everything I know I taught myself or picked up along the way watching others.  I really have no idea how things are supposed to be done and I feel like if I did I would have the skill and confidence to make so much more.  It looks like this book also comes in Kindle form which could be helpful at the sewing table.



Do any of you have any of these books?  What do you think of them?   Any other DIY book advice?  I'd love to hear what inspires you and makes you want to get creative.

Shaun the Sheep Cupcakes {tutorial}

Happy Baaaah-lated Leap Day!!

Leap Day is kind of a big deal around here.  HUGE in fact because this year Maggie got to celebrate her 1st birthday!  That's right, she's a Leap Day baby!

In February 2008 we were expecting her.  Her due date was at the beginning of the month but part way through my pregnancy they pushed her due date back two weeks.  Then something happened that I wasn't expecting she was 12 days late.  Not that's not a typo - TWELVE.  I felt like I was pregnant for 11 months. After about a week over due, the doctor wanted to schedule an induction.  I asked if we could do the 29th because heck I've waited this long might as well get the girl a cool birthday while I'm at it.  Well, I checked into the hospital the night before and they were going to induce me at 6 AM.  Turns out I didn't need an induction afterall because I went into labor that night.  It was meant to be!  A unique birthday for a very unique little girl.  She was the only one born in our hospital (which is a big one) that day.  So special!  

Since I get asked this a lot I'll tell you that we celebrate her birthday on non-leap years on February 28th.  Though I tend to get carried away and celebrate all week.  Also, we have so far not had any problems with her birthday being on Leap Day.  On non-leap years she still gets birthday rewards from stores and I've never had paper work or official document problems with it either.  It's just a super fun day to have a birthday!

Okay - now back to the cupcakes.

It's Shaun the Sheep!!!  

For those who don't know Shaun the Sheep is a clay-mation TV show by the same people that do Wallace & Grommit.  You can watch it on Netflix or buy it on Amazon.  It's actually a very funny cute show. 

Shaun the Sheep is Maggie's favorite everything.  This is her getting ready for bed wearing the Shaun hat her Nonie made for her (more on that one later) and holding the little Shaun from her G&G Cutts.  All while watching Shaun the Sheep on the DS.  At night she asks me to sing her the theme song before she goes to sleep.  Spoiled.

This year the only thing she asked for for her birthday was Shaun the Sheep cupcakes.  When your child who has problems with communicating with speech, never asks for anything, and has a birthday only every four years asks for Shaun the Sheep cupcakes you better get that girl Shaun the Sheep cupcakes!

Here's what I came up with.

Want to make your own?  They are a lot easier than they look.  I promise.

Supplies:

Cupcakes

White frosting

Mini-Marshmallows

Mini-chocolate chips

Wax or parchment paper

Piece of paper

Cookie Sheet

Sandwich bags or piping bags

 Step 1: 

Draw the shape of the Shaun head on a piece of paper.  I practiced a couple of times before I settled on one.

Step 2:

Melt about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chocolate chips in a sandwich bag.  Place chips in bag and place in microwave for 20 seconds.  Take out and lightly squish the chips to mash/mix them.  Continue this process of heating for 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted.  Slice off a tiny corner of the baggie when done.

Step 3:

Place wax or parchment paper on top of drawing.  Pipe chocolate onto wax paper to fill in the shape.  Don't worry if it's lumpy.  The lumpy part is the back of Shaun's head.  You won't be seeing it.

Step 4:

Repeat as many times as you want and place Shaun heads on a baking sheet and place in the fridge or freezer to harden.

Step 5:

Once hardened, peel off the heads and flip them over.  Use the icing to create two dots for eyes.  Inside each white dot place an upside down mini chip for the dark center of the eye.  And you're done with your Shaun head!

Step 6:  

Frost your cupcake.

Step 7:

Cover cupcake in mini-marshmallows.

Step 8:

Use a dollop of frosting to attach the Shaun head to the cupcake body.

These sheep are so cute and so yummy.  The girls loved them but most importantly Maggie loved them.  The joy on her face was priceless.  So happy to make a little girls birthday wish come true!

{P.S.  You can find Season 1 and Season 2 of the show at Amazon.  Along with several short movies that we've never even knew existed.  Also, here is the Shaun the Sheep plushie that she got.}

Real Valentines Day

I know when I posted my Valentines that I said I would post the great Valentines I received from The Stationary Place Valentine Swap yesterday but I was delusional.  I watched 11 kids yesterday.  When in the world did I think I would have time to blog?  Oh well.  Today is REAL Valentines Day.

That's right, while the world is fighting the crowds and overpaying for tokens of love we are treating it just like every other day because for the Cutts family Valentines Day isn't until the 15th.  After a Valentines day several years ago where we went to 4 sold out movie theaters, watched a mother of two get arrested after an altercation with a man over the parking spot we just left at our favorite bakery and having to settle for a romantic dinner of fast food we decided it just wasn't worth the hassle and permanently changed the holiday.  Best decision ever.

So without further ado I'd like to show off the fun Valentines I got from my new pals.  

First up is the coolest piece of mail I've ever received from

Jody @ The Hobby Room

I had to snag this photo from her site because we were so excited about our Valentine that the kids and I ripped it apart and devoured the candy before I could snap a picture.  It came just like this with postage stamped on the front.  It provided us with an evening of fun, opening up each little pockets and giggling as we scarfed it all down.  Let's just say watching a baby eat Pop Rocks is hilarious.

Click on the picture or click HERE for a tutorial on how to make this cool Valentine.

I can see myself sending something like this to my nieces and nephews for their birthday.

The next Valentine I received was from

Beth @ Art and Elephants

Love the graphic print!  It's so simple and beautiful.  I also adored the little touches with the Washi tape and the Van Gogh quote.  I had never heard it before and it is so beautiful!

This next one is from

Michaela

Can we just say CUTE!!!   Valentines day isn't Valentines day without red, pink and hearts and Michaela nailed it.  I love that she used the little hearts as the steam from the cup.  She sure knows how to serve up a hot cup of LOVE!  ; )

Last but not least

Hannah @ Hannah Made

Let's just discuss this bunting for a minute shall we...  I love it!  I love bunting but never have I thought to make tiny paper bunting and put it on a card.  So clever!  The time and patience it must have taken to make tiny flags and and get that bakers twine pulled so perfectly tight.  It has me seeing hearts!

THANKS SO MUCH GIRLS!  

You're all so creative and talented and totally made my day when I received these.  Your kind words and messages were so sweet.  Hope you had a special day filled with love, love, and chocolate. 

Happy Real Valentines Day!!!

Cinnamon Rolls in the Waffle Maker

My husband turned 31 this week.  Happy Birthday John!  For one of his gifts I got him a waffle iron.  Like the nice kind.  That flips.  And is 1 1/2 inches thick.  He was so happy.

I never make breakfast but he loves it.  I've never really cared for it.  So it surprised me that I am more obsessed with this thing than he is and he's the waffle lover.

I've been throwing everything I can think of into the thing.  My favorite so far??

Cinnamon Rolls!!!

Best cinnamon rolls of my life.  Perfectly and evenly cooked in minutes.  They still pull apart and the waffle tops keep that gooey frosting on so well. 

I posted these pics on Facebook and had lots of requests for directions so here's all you need to know.

Step 1:  Open up a can of cinnamon rolls.  I used Pillsbury Cinnabon rolls.
Step 2:  Preheat iron and spray with pan spray if necessary.
Step 3:  Place a roll in each section.
Step 4:  Cook like you would a waffle.  I cook mine on medium heat and then watch the done light to come on.  Im guessing each machine is different.
Step 5:  Top with frosting and try not to eat the whole batch by yourself.

So easy right?!?

Okay, I won't keep you any longer.  I know you're dying to run to the kitchen to make some...

Breaking Dawn Party

I do not apologize for what you are about to see.  Why?  Because this was the BEST.  NIGHT.  EVER.  I know there is some Twi-hate in the world but I will have none of it here.  So come visit our Breaking Dawn Pre-Party and enjoy the festivities.

This was our pre-party for the midnight showing of the latest Twilight movie.  A large group of us had been going to midnight showings all along but I really felt like this year we needed a little more.  So with the generosity of my friend Michelle who volunteered her house along with many other contributers we partied.

 

Edward here to welcome you to the festivities. 

I used my Halloween wreath, changed out the orange ribbon for some red and attached some chess pieces (to represent the book cover).  Behind the wreath I taped a picture of Edward.  Because the party was at night and the porch was dark, his creeptastic stare freaked eveyone out as they approached the door.  Bonus!

My friend, Amy from Indulge With Me executed my idea for Vampire Cupcakes perfectly.  White cake and white frosting with shimmery sprinkles.  They had to sparkle!  Amy found the cupcake wrappers at Hobby Lobby.  Aren't they perfect?
 

Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention that they were filled with blood!!?!?!!!  Who-wah-ha-ha!!

Okay so maybe not blood, maybe it was delicious raspberry filling.  You can get the recipes for the cupcakes HERE.

I know what you're thinking - How could we possibly forget Team Jacob?  Of course we didn't!

We had a whole plate of Werewolf Treats.

Way to save Bella once again!  Good  doggie!  Good boy! 

I used this ginger snap recipe (minus the pepper) and they turned out delicious.  People who weren't normally fans of ginger snaps loved them.  I'll definetly make this recipe again.  Amy found the cookie cutter at Hobby Lobby.  It wasn't as easy to cut out the ginger snaps with the cutter as I would have liked but we made it work.  I baked a whole flat sheet of the dough.  While it was still hot, I cut out the bones and then removed the excess cookie bits.  I then put the bones back in the oven for a few more minutes to firm them up a little more.

Now, now, calm down.  We didn't forget the humans either. 

Introducing Porta"Bella" Mushroom Ravioli.

I made the raviolis from scratch and by scratch I mean, I rolled them out and filled them, so for reals scratch.  I then topped them with a portabella, spinach and garlic alfredo sauce.  Recipes and tutorials to come.

Michelle wowed us with the coolest drinks ever!  She printed out these fun wrappers she found and placed them on water bottles and hawaiian punch.

I made sure to drink my blood type, O negative.  It is the tastiest afterall.

There was lots more food.  Tons actually but I failed to get pictures of it all.

I really should have taken more pictures of the decorations too.  Michelle did such a great job!  She represented all 4 books perfectly by using the items from their covers placed around her house.  Here is her sons chess set.  He's quite the entrepreneur and charged her $1 to spray paint the pieces red! Ha ha!  She also had red ribbon draped, flowers, and red apples along with framed quotes from the movie and the books.  She also made yarn balls {you can see them in the background of the first cupcake pic} and repurposed some tissue paper hanging decorations {also in first pic} by spray painting them black, to hang from the ceiling.


Being the over achiever that I am I also brought my wedding dress to display.  Afterall, Breaking Dawn does feature the wedding of the century!

What's that you say?  Is that for reals a picture of Bella?

 Uhhh.... yeah.... I totally went there.  Bella looks pleased though don't you think?  Well, I know her expression never changes so you'll just have to take my word for it.  Very happy.

And I can't forget to mention this.  Not only did I pull my wedding dress out for the first time in almost 7 years but I also used the leftover red ribbon from our wedding.  Look very carefully... notice the brand of the ribbon?  Cooincidence?  I think not.  I always knew that John and I's love was perfect and timeless. 

Here's all my favorite girls at 2:30 am {about 10 or so didn't make it to the movie part}.  We all had a blast and can't wait for Breaking Dawn Pre-Party Part 2 and... Titanic Pre-Party and... Hunger Games Pre-Party and...

What can I say?  We like to party!

Oh yeah, and if you missed it, here's my mini spoiler-free review and my favorite quote to print out.