debor026

Erin said she wanted to go to Build-A-Bear for her birthday and to go with that she wanted a "Destruct-A-Bear" birthday cake. She wanted to make a bear at the store and pull one apart with a cupcake cake. I heard a friend talking about putting cupcake papers into a shaped pan to make a cake that was basically precut. She was doing it with a flower shaped tin but said she got the idea from someone else who did it with a round one. I thought that would be a good basis for a pull apart bear and easier to frost than separate cupcakes. I have to admit, it worked better than I thought it would. I frosted everything in chocolate and just put the white frosting right on top of it. For the nose I used a Starburst cut in half. Then, to make the lines for his mouth I dipped a butter knife into the chocolate frosting and drew with the point of it. Add a couple of eyes from M&Ms and two ears from extra cupcakes and you have yourself a very quick and easy Destruct-A-Bear cake...

I started this blog on my birthday in 2009 as my 30th birthday present to myself. As the 4 year anniversary of that is coming up next month I thought it would be fun to go back and showcase some of the most popular projects that I've done since the beginning. Lamps in Toyland has certainly been one of the biggest. This was inspired by an artist named Ryan McElhinney. My creation as I made it is here and the finished lamp is here . Toy Lamp The headboard I created for Erin's tween room has been featured a few times.  This project was under $20 to make and it created a great statement piece in her room. Grow Tween Headboard The Monster Truck Birthday cake made a pretty big splash on Pinterest.  It was really easy to make and the kids loved it! Monster Truck Birthday Cake My stone cabinet knobs/pulls were fun to make and I like that they have some history to them. Stone Cabinet Knobs/Pulls The framed foreign coin collection also went kind of viral on Pinterest.  I t...

So many new visitors today.  Welcome!  I've got a few fun projects in the works right now and I'm looking forward to getting those projects up here in the next few weeks.  My two oldest boys have been sharing a bedroom and it's time to get them into their own spaces so we are remodeling.  The framing is up, electrical is in progress and hopefully the drywall will be coming quickly along behind that.  As they have two very different personalities they will also have two pretty different bedrooms so the crafting going in to that will be fun as well.  I just snapped a quick photo with my cell but look for some more fun pictures to come!

I started messing with some beads and wire and, though I thought I was going to make a nest ring, it turned into these instead. My friend told me they look like "whimsy".

My middle child is having a birthday and this year he wanted a chocolate cake. On Pinterest I came across this Chocolate Wasted Cake and I knew he would love it! (minus the alcohol, of course, as he's only 9). My pictures (below) do not do full justice to her cake and you should check out the original. Also, hers has a tasty twist if you are making it for adults only. For the chocolate drizzle on mine I melted chocolate chips in a double boiler and used some Torani Almond (Orgeat) syrup to thin it enough for drizzling. If you do it the same way, be careful not to use to much drizzle, as the Almond syrup has a really strong flavor. I was thinking that using peanut butter could be really tasty, too, and would be a little more subtle. Can't wait to try it!

I found an idea on Pinterest ( originally from Lucy Designs ) that I wanted to try out. But, since she doesn't have a tutorial, I thought I'd explain a few things about it that I was wondering as I went into this project. What you need: 2 urns/pots 2 tomato cages (these were 56 inches from tip to end) Garland (for my size of cage it took 6 of the 9 foot garlands, or 54 feet, for each tree) Lights (I used two 100 light (24 foot) strings per tree) The total height of my finished trees is 67 inches. As I was buying the tomato cages (yup, they do still have some at Home Depot) I checked the fit of the cages to the pots and it was perfect to sit in there as they were. They are not in any way secured to the pots and can lift right out. I love this because it means I can store the trees and use the pots throughout the year and when the plants die in the fall I can just set the trees over the top of the pot and into the rim. Since I just bought these pots, the inside is still compl...

A few months back I saw someone demonstrate a way to tie up extension cords that I thought was just genius (see the technique here ). Then today I realized I could apply the same method to make a bracelet and it came out pretty cute in just a couple of minutes. If you'd like to make your own, here are the steps. 1. Create a loop in your string. 2. Feed the long end of the string into the loop, making another loop. 3. Pull the first loop tight to create a slip knot. 4. Feed the long end of the string into the loop to make another loop but do not pull it tight this time. Repeat this step to your desired length. Because of the loops you will have a little play in the bracelet that will allow you to slip it on even if you knot the ends like I did but you could attach some jewelry findings instead if you would prefer. To get the look of my bracelet I just did the steps above with 4 strings at once (with hemp cord) instead of a single string. I estimate you can have this finished in ...