Baby Boy Gift Idea

After three adorable little girls, my cousin just had her fourth child....a boy!  We were all so excited for their family and decided that we needed to get some "manly" toys in that tutu and pink infested house as fast as possible.

My mom had the brilliant idea to get a dump truck toy and fill the bed with toy cars.  I wrapped the cars up in clear cellophane, added a ribbon, tag, and his first set of car keys.  Now there is at least a little male representation amongst the toys in their house.  Great idea, Mom....I think I'm going to use this idea again sometime.

Fans of the Toy Story Cake

Remember my Toy Story Cake I made last year for a friend?  Well, I posted it on a cake decorating site and it has received a lot of feedback, especially once Toy Story 3 came out in the theaters.  I have received dozens of emails from other fellow cake decorators, asking for tips and wanting to see more pictures.

Every once and a while, I will get a picture sent back to me from someone who made their own version of my Toy Story Cake.  Aren't they great?  Keep decorating out there everyone!  It has been so much fun to share tips and tricks and read of your success making this fun cake.  To infinity and beyond!

Improv Dog Leash

My 6 year old came home from school the other day raving about a kid at show and tell who brought a stuffed dog and a leash.  He had to have a leash for his new puppy that he got because he let me pull one of his teeth out. (It was traumatic, and thus required some serious bribery).  

We dug through the fabrics, chose a polka dot print, and we got to work.  Everyone is happy and this new puppy will no longer run away.

Mini Wedding Cake

My son's ABA tutor got married last weekend.  She was planning on doing tiered stands with cupcakes for the guests, but needed a little cake for the bride and groom to cut at the reception.  I offered to make the "cutting cake" as her wedding gift and here it is!

The finished cake is two tiers, the bottom tier only being six inches in diameter.  The cake is a sour cream pound with a homemade strawberry filling.  The bride didn't want fondant, so I did a cream cheese frosting and colored a little for the purple border.  She had a cute monogram cake topper, but we didn't put it on until the cake arrived at the reception.  I didn't go to the wedding, so I'm hoping some of the other guests got some pictures for me with the topper and all of the cupcakes.

Luau Party

Our church had a luau dinner party last week.  I signed up to bring cupcakes.

I wanted to get a little more elaborate and do some kind of tropical flower along with the "sand", but alas, time caught up with me once again.

The "Aloha" signs and graham cracker sand idea is from Bakerella, click HERE.

The "Luau Party" signs are from Paper Glitter, click HERE.

Penance

I usually leave a couple of small things at my parents' home whenever we go to visit.  A sock, a DVD left in a player, a book, etc.  This last trip was my worst ever for leaving things though.  Last week, I received a full load of laundry in the mail from my mom.  Yep, I did a load of wash while visiting, put it in the dryer the night before we headed home, and promptly forgot about it while packing up to go home.

Hello, my name is Brittney.  I am 28 years old and my mom mailed clean laundry to me.  So sad.  I guess it just goes to show that we never truly grow up and still need our mamas every once and a while.

My dad's birthday is this week and needed to get his card and gift in the mail.  I decided I needed to put a a little thank you in for my mom as well....ya know....for mailing me my laundry.  I didn't have time to shop for anything, so I turned to my trusty blogs that I love to visit for help.

Some cards for her to use for friends and family.  I also made some cupcake toppers for her to use when she makes treats for friends' birthdays or her visiting teaching ladies.

oh hello card

Apple thank you card

flower cupcake topper

Yummy! cupcake topper

Dad cupcake topper

handkerchief card (not pictured)

Thanks again, Mom.

Fairy Princess Skirt Tutorial

Jen, our giveaway winner, wanted a Fairy Princess skirt for her little girl.  She requested a light purple skirt.....and unfortunately, this is the best I can do.  I spent two weeks looking for light purple ribbon that would work and finally gave up.  Sorry Jen!  There must have been a wedding or two with light purple as their color because there was none to be found.  I did make you a cute skirt though, and if it doesn't work for you, here are the instructions on how to make it (in case you are able to find light purple ribbon that you like).

You need:

*Ribbon:  I used 7/8 inch NON WIRED ribbon of purple and pink.  The white shimmery ribbon was 5/8 inch I believe.  I used 24 feet of pink and purple and 12 feet of the white. (2 spools of purple and pink, 1 of white)

*Elastic headband: bought at Walmart

*Circle jewels: bought at Michaels

Cut all of your ribbon (at an angle) into 24 inch strips.  Tie ribbon in the middle (or close to it) around the headband.  I like some variety in length for the skirt, so I don't tie every ribbon exactly even.

Tie all ribbon in whatever pattern you want until your headband is covered.

Now, you can leave it like this.  Very cute.

Or you can glue some "bling" on the bottom of each ribbon end.  I used a glue gun to glue two gems together with the tip of the ribbon in between.

Super easy, right?  This one is for you, Jen.  I'll get it in the mail this week!

Hitched

They did it!  My little bro is a married man!

Here's a pic of just my side of the family.  Yep.  That would be my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins only.  And we were missing a few as well.  It's kind of like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but instead of a lamb on a spit, we do BBQ and potato salad.

And here is the bride and groom with all of their nieces and nephews.  The girls kept their headbands on most of the time and the boys did great with their bow ties.

We had so much fun celebrating and seeing our family.  Who is getting married next?  Anyone?