Sushi Galore! My Big Labor Day Celebration Meal...

I know this isn't your typical 'end of summer' backyard barbeque extravaganza...but we're not always the typical type of folks that go with the norm.
I was inspired to make sushi for everyone because I've been tweaking my skills & have added 'spice' to my menu offerings. Everyone seemed quite pleased with the results & nobody went away hungry...so I'll chalk this one up to a win!



I'm so proud of my babygirl who got the hang of eating with chopsticks.


Is it just me...or isn't that little hand ridiculously cute?

:o)

Babygirl Turns 4!!! Part 1... the Cake

She's a big girl now & there's not much left of that chubby, cuddly, ball of baby that she used to be. Now she's all a go-go. I only get hugs when she's tired or hurt except for the occasional leg hug while I'm working in the kitchen. She had a fabulous birthday even while having a bit of a head cold from starting preschool a couple of weeks ago & being exposed to different things.

She helped mix up her birthday cake batter...not to be outdone by her older brother, but she left the decorating to me thank goodness. I had her cake all planned before our summer vacation, but one day while shopping at Michaels Craft Store for supplies, I saw the Wilton Carousel Cake Decorating Kit on an endcap & knew we had to have it.
Babygirl was turning 4 & there were 4 horses!
She adores carousels & anything having to do with horses, ponies, unicorns... you get the idea. We HAD to have it.

The kit is fabulously detailed & super easy to clean up. The pieces are made of sturdy plastic & are not flimsy. My only gripe with the kit is that the poles do not snap into the casings to hold the roof in place very well. The lid could easily be knocked off & it took a bit of creativity & some scotch tape to get it to work for me. It was worth it though! The look on my little girl's face when she saw it was priceless....not to mention that Mama had the best fun ever decorating it with pink buttercream, sprinkles, edible glitter... yes! That is glitter you can eat!!! ...and of course tinkerbell. The original cake I was going to make would have been fairy themed, so tinkerbell was paying homage to that.



It was fun for everyone! Even my father in law ate the cake!

Labor Day Weekend... Sad to see Summer End

We had a fabulous weekend with some of the family coming from out of town.
The menfolk worked on those last little projects around the house & yard that needed to be taken care of & watched football while us girls went shopping & cooked up some of the best things I've eaten in awhile. We had peach pie, chicken lasagna, and I made over a dozen sushi rolls last night for a huge sushi feed!
The weather was perfect... hot in the sun & cool in the shade and no humidity.
The sad thing about the whole weekend was that it had to end. It's always hard on the kiddos to see their grandparents leave after the fun & games & spoiling. It was the shortest long weekend ever!

Dolly Donations...comforting orphans in Haiti...

I just couldn't let this rest & had to participate in the doll drive going on right now to send the cutest handmade dolls to an orphanage in Haiti. These kids could really use some comfort & handmade love.

For more info on this, you can click on the button in my sidebar to be directed to the dolly donations blog...or cut & paste this link into your browser: http://dollydonations.blogspot.com/2010/05/active-dolly-drive-free-kids-dolls-for.html

I'll see if the ladies at my church have any free time to whip up a few more. They are in more need of boy dolls than girl dolls & the deadline is fast approaching.

A little info about the craft experience. Each doll only took a couple of hours for me to make & I know they'd go by faster the more I work on.
The pattern is available for free on the dolly donations website.

The cost of materials was minimal. I bought the brown cotton for the doll's faces & arms, & found all the body & legs fabrics in the 'fat quarter' section at my local fabric store, but any fabric would do, I had the black fleece which I used on thier hair as well as the stuffing. It took not quite 2 bags of stuffing to stuff all 7 of these. I had the craft paint too, but if you didn't have anything to start with, this would easily be an under $20 project for one doll.

It was a lot of fun & I'm sure hoping each of these special friends brings a smile to a child that needs it the most. If you have a little free time & would like to try your hand at an easy & fun project, I encourage you to do so!

*oh, and please give Sarah Hanson credit for the doll pattern when folks ask about it...she is very generous to share it so freely!

Cheers!

One Birthday Down...and One to Go! Making Cake Together.

This is a busy time for us in planning the kiddos birthdays...especially with them starting school this year.
Last week was my son's birthday & we had such a fun time in making his cake together. This week he wants to be a chef. :)

He loves chocolate, so we mixed up a devils food cake in 2 9" round pans. I don't know a kid who doesn't like cracking eggs and mixing batter!

We put chocolate frosting in between the layers as well as on the sides of the cake. The cake was then topped with green buttercream frosting...yes... green! My boy loved it!
He loves anything that has to do with trains, so when I found that cute kitschy plastic train which as a bonus it had 6 cars...I knew it would be perfect for the cake. We tossed on some yellow nonperils & added a ferris wheel...along with some blue edible gitter & a merry go round to make it more carnival/circus themed.
Over the summer we went to a carnival & it was pure magic to the kids & this was a fun way to kind of relive that fun time together.

Finally we added the candles & a couple of sugar trains around the bottom & it was done!

I'd recommend trying to make birthday cake together with your kiddos. It makes a great memory, teaches them to follow instructions, and the quality time together cannot be measured...it's priceless.

Glittery Unicorn Wall Art for My Girl

My little girl will be 4 soon, so I made this extremely sparkly unicorn for her to decorate her room. She sees so many sparkly things come & go & will feel so special to have the biggest glittery resin thing I've made for herself!

I'll let y'all know what she thinks of it!

:o)

Amazing Mail Day!!! Craftster Swap Fun!

Hey all!

I just have to share what my super talented partner in the Friend of Craftster Wist Swap made for me!

She crocheted Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffanys in pink and black & then quilted it with super fun colorful mushroom fabric!

Isn't it darling? I have to let the girlie know she can't keep it. This blanket is mommy's!



:o)

Gearing up for Hoop Up, Round 2! A fairy sweet cupcake embroidery pattern!

This is my latest creation for the hoop up round 2 swap on flickr...as well as a new pattern I just added to my etsy shop. I'm planning on making more of my designs available due to all the love they've received within the group as well as several anonymous inquiries.
I have fun stitching them & just hope other folks have as much fun as I do!

This pattern would look great done up in a variety of colorways!

Happy crafting!

The Simpsons Made it to their New Home!

Finally!


So the Simpsons Nativity made it to it's new home today & I can post photos for y'all to see!
It was the most time intensive swap I think I've ever done on craftster, but completely fun & totally worth it! I know my swap partner will enjoy it for years to come!
Here's a top view:

This is what they looked like after they were baked, but not yet painted. Part of me liked them white & could visualize them coated with glitter just like this...but I just knew I had to paint them up in the Simpson's colors! I did toss on some glitter during the clearcoating step at the very end though!

Now I'm on to a new project & cannot wait to share with you my 'fairy sweet cupcake' embroidery!

Photos & pattern soon!
:o)

Shhhh! It's a Secret!!!

I cannot wait to share with all of you dear readers my latest creation! I'm going to have to wait until my swap partner over at craftster gets her swap package before posting the entire project because I don't want to spoil the surprise for her.
I've sculpted The Simpsons as a nativity!
This is the biggest...most time intensive project I think I've ever swapped on craftster. It took me over 40 hours to sculpt the family plus their dog, Santaslittlehelper. I think painting was another 12 hours because you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to paint up to the edge of one colored area without the paint or bristles of the brush sneaking over on another part. I did a lot of touch ups. To finish it off & make it super festive, they're all clearcoated with a sprinkling of glitter. I love when I can work glitter into a project!

Now comes the really hard part... letting go. I've let them dry sufficiently & taken their 'glamour shots'... so now they're sitting on the kitchen table next to a box & roll of bubble wrap. I'll be mailing these out priority, with insurance, and signature confirmation.
I'm disenchanted with the usps right now...but that's another story & I want to be absolutely sure these reach their new home safe & sound!
I hope my partner & her family loves them!

Will post updated photos of the group after they get there...by Friday if all goes well!