Thomas The Train Birthday Cake

 My son loves to watch Thomas and play with trains and he asked for a Thomas the Train Cake for his 2nd Birthday.

 My kids and I made the trees for the cake out of marshmallows and toothpicks. We covered them with marshmallow fondant and sprinkled them with sparkling green sprinkles.

Strawberry Shortcake Fondant Cake

Strawberry Shortcake 

Made with homemade Marshmallow Fondant

 My favorite part had to be creating the eyes. Don't they just pop!

1 Year Old TV Remote Smash Cake

So.....my cute 1 year old has a thing for remotes, cell phones, and everything electronic! What a better way to celebrate him and his favorites then by making a smash cake that looks like the real deal right? I love to make birthdays extra special.

Smash Cake Remote with Rice Crispy Batteries

 I started by drawing a really rough sketch of the two remotes my son likes.

Here is the fondant Remote without edible food ink. Looks pretty close don't you think! My son will be so surprised when he bites into this baby!

 Step 1: Dirty Ice the cake.

Step 2: Add fondant.

Step 3: Make circles and various shapes for top of remote cake.

Step 4: Finalize fondant buttons and adhere them with sugar water.

Finished Smash Cake ready for my son to devour!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Fondant Cake

 I love working with Fondant! My son wanted a Ninja Turtle Cake for his 7th Birthday, so here is the final product! The Play characters really added a nice effect to the cake. 

Who wants to spend hours making fondant Ninja Turtles right?

Stacked Rice Crispy Treats

Looking for a new twist on the same old delicious rice crispy treat? Cookie cutter shapes work wonders! Make a batch of rice crispy treats by following the directions on the cereal box. After the pan of crispy treats are cooled cut them out with a round biscuit cutter or circle cookie cutter. Stack them and you have a fun way to share an inexpensive but tasty treat. Who can resist rice crispy treats?

 After I stacked a few rice crispy treats I decided a layer of chocolate would really take these treats up a notch! So on went some melted chocolate chips. After the chocolate cooled I use the biscuit cutter and made more circles. The chocolate wasn't really ready to stack quite yet so I put them in the refrigerator for a few min to harden the chocolate.

 YUM!

Halloween Door Decor

It's October again! 

That means Halloween is just around the corner.

This is how I transformed my Fall Wreath into a Halloween wreath in 5 seconds!

Voila!

 Simple Fall Wreath decor update. 

Silver Fondant Airplane Birthday Cake

My First attempt at making a GLUTEN FREE Birthday cake! 

Someone I love was recently diagnosed with Celiac's Disease. I was in denial at first. Allergic to Gluten and Wheat!?! I could hardly believe it. But now I am facing the facts and enjoying the adventure of making things gluten free around my house. Wish me luck! I will need it.

Silver Airplane cake with marshmallow fondant and butter cream frosting!

Colorful Garden Veggies

 Fresh...delicious...colorful...delightfully home grown garden veggies. 

After having my fourth child 2 months ago, I thought I wouldn't ever see my own veggies grow to maturity. By some miracle they survived and I eat the tasty vegetables each day. My body has been craving the important vitamins in these organic garden veggies. 

Years ago, my Aunt Mary created a stunning centerpiece on her table by using garden carrots. What a creative idea! I have always loved the way the carrot stems flop and are so beautiful, not to mention the eye-catching vibrant orange color. This centerpiece would add such charm to an Easter Party wouldn't it? 

Sometimes a simple centerpiece makes a BIG statement. 

Storing Garden Onions

 I found a cheep way to store and prolong the life of my garden fresh Walla Walla onions. 

You got it!.........Pantyhose! No kidding. I purchased bran new hose at Walmart for $1.00 and cut the legs apart. After inserting each onion I tied a knot so the onions wouldn't touch each other. I don't want them to spoil each other by touching. I tied a loop knot at the top and suspended the onions in my basement food storage room.  It is a moderately dry area to store my onions. I really want them to last!  

Ahh...no more onions sitting on my counter.

 This variety of onion will only keep stored this way for a few weeks, 

but hey... It beats eating 30 huge onions in one day right?

 Hanging the onions separately and not on a surface allows for air to circulate through the onions. 

Now, whenever I am cooking with onions, I cut the hose right below the end of a knot and I have a delicious home grown onion ready to eat!

Refashioned Long Sleeved Blue Maternity Shirt

BEFORE...

Here is my lovely blue striped maternity shirt. 

The drawback?...I was pregnant in the summer with lots of long sleeved shirts to wear! 

Can you say  HOT!!!
AFTER!


So here is the process I went through to refashion this long sleeved shirt into a cool summer time maternity shirt.

I began refashioning this shirt by laying another maternity shirt on top as a template. 

After cutting off the sleeves and trimming the sides a bit the shirt had a nicely fitted maternity look.

After sewing the sides together, I ironed the sleeves under and sewed a straight hem for a finished look. 

FINISHED Product! Awe....cool for the Summer!

Red & Black Refashioned Maternity Blouse

Long Sleeved Maternity Blouse BEFORE & AFTER.

I was in need of summer shirts, so I went to my closet and thought hum...which one of these beauties needs a bit of refashioning? 

You guessed it...this baby! Out came this scissors and the sewing machine.

I placed a shirt on top of the blouse to be refashioned as my guide for the sleeve cut. Then I cut an inch below that line to insure adequate material for the hem on the sleeve. The first cut is always the hardest. ONCE that is over...the fun begins!

I ironed the sleeves under a couple times and then sewed a nice straight hem stitch.

All ready to go!

Now, a usable summer blouse for those not so cold days!