Inspired by this cake from Sweet Paul Magazine, Ava’s cake was simple but still had a big impact.  I am not a baker, cake decorator, etc.  Trust me…you can do this.

Materials…

1. 9 inch iced double layer cake…you can buy it or make your own. Note: If you make your own, Bakerella’s Easy Buttercream Frosting recipe is amazing!
2. 4 straws…preferably paper straws
3. Needle, thread & scissors
4. 16 flag mini 1.5 inch bunting from Modern Frills
5. 2 dozen 1 inch colored fondant circles are optional.  I purchased mine from Kids Cakes.  Note: I almost made my own fondant circles.  After a trip to cake store and a little searching on the internet, I realized I could buy them already done for cheaper than I could make them….perfect!

Instructions…

• Lay your bunting flat on your work service.
• Place one straw by the first bunting flag.  After threading the needle, sew the flag to the side of the stray by the top (see photo of finished cake) with a couple simple stitches.  Tie it off to ensure it doens’t come undone. 
• Take another straw and stitch it to the top of the 5th bunting flag.  Repeat this same step with the 9th and 13th mini flag. 
• Attach the last mini flag to the first straw creating a circle.
• Find the center of your cake and from there, place your straws on the “4 corners” of your cake. 
• Place your colored fondant circles on your cake as desired.

You are done!  Look how happy she is…

Here is a simpler version done with a chocolate cake….

Happy Cake Making!!!

Over the past few months, I have been trying to find a lampshade to use in my master bedroom…that didn’t cost a fortune.  I found a fabulous lampshade at Anthropologie (on clearance…YAY!!!) for my side of the bed.  

My poor husband has had nothing…just a plain lamp.  One evening while watching one of my FAVORITE shows,  Sarah’s House, I saw Sarah do a ribbon wrapping on a lampshade.  It looked so easy and I loved the way the lampshade turned out.  So, I thought I would give it a try….

Supplies:

• Ribbon: I used 25-30 yards of 2 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon.  The amount of ribbon you need will vary greatly based on the size of the lampshade and how much you overlap the ribbon when making the lampshade.
• Drum shaped lampshade
• Hot glue

I found this lampshade for $12.99 at Tuesday Morning.

I started by hot gluing the end of my ribbon to the inside of my drum shade.  I started wrapping…and wrapping…and wrapping…

and wrapping…and wrapping…and wrapping…and wrapping.  I would glue periodically…approximately every 5 times I wrapped around the shade I would put a spot of hot glue on the inside of the shade to hold the ribbon in place.  There is a lot of wrapping, but this entire project only took me about 30 minutes.  

It is really easy…SUPER EASY and you can pick whatever color ribbon you want.  I purchased my ribbon in bulk from The Ribbon Retreat…$20 for 50 yards.  I barely used half of the 50 yards but it was still a lot less expensive than any of my local stores…and the color choices are fabulous!

Happy Lampshade Making!!!

Ava Kate’s birthday party is less than 2 weeks away!  I have a lot to do but I love having a deadline.  When I have a deadline…I get stuff done!   Above all, my favorite thing I made this weekend is a cakestand…and it was so EASY.  Once I gathered my supplies, it took about 2 minutes to make the cakestand. 

I used an amazing tutorial found on Design Sponge.  Here are a couple pictures of the process…

My $.50 garage sale candlestick and $7 Ikea platter now look like this….

I will definitely be making more of these….

Inspired by this amazing tablecloth…

[photo via  Hip Hooray]

I decided to make one for Ava Kate’s upcoming birthday party.  I wanted it to be a pink background with pink, light pink and white ruffles…and a little bit of a vintage look to it.  I used 5 rows of pink tulle, 3 rows of light pink tulle and 2 rows of white pink tulle…(mental note: light pink tulle and white tulle look exactly the same when layered over pink fabric).

Materials:

• tulle ribbon…I used the 5 inch wide tulle that is sold on a spool.  It is sold in 25 yard increments.  I used 2 fuschia pink, 1 light pink and 1 white.
• cotton broadcloth fabric
• coordinating thread
• sewing machine
• patience
• most importantly…a childfree environment so that you can use profanity as needed when figuring out the dimensions.

This project is time consuming but pretty easy once you get started.  I folded my tulle in half to get a fuller look.  Once sewn, I gathered it by hand creating the ruffle.  I then added the ruffles to the fabric.  I marked lines on the fabric before sewing the ruffles.  Specific dimensions and measurements are hard to give as every table is different.  I did my tablecloth is 3 pieces (2 short sides and 1 long side) and then pinned it to the fabric that is on top of the table from the underside.  I am not going to sew the top and sides together so that I can use the tablecloth for different size tables in the future.

 I started getting out some of my serving pieces so I can plan the layout and the treats for the table.  Here is everything scattered all over the table….

and my favorite cupcake stand ever….

Happy Tuesday!

This doesn’t really qualify as crafty….maybe semi-crafty… it is so SIMPLE. 

It is something you can make in 15 minutes AND it is one of my absolute favorite things. 

Materials…

1. old windows…chipped paint is good!
2. vinyl decals … custom ordered from a vinyl decal shop. (My two favorite vinyl decal shops are Elephannie and Right on the Walls.) 
3. 15 minutes of free time…no kids or husbands with long to do lists.

Follow the instructions included with the decals and you will have this…

It makes me smile everytime we sit down together as a family. 

Happy Saturday!!!

Make a personalized gift…that is cute AND super easy…

Supplies:

1. blank notecards
2. fabric scraps
3. fusible webbing
4. letter stencils
5. iron
6. scissors
7. a sweet friend having a birthday…or even better…you can make them for yourself!

Note: I make my own letter stencils by printing the size initial I need on card stock…cut it out and you have your very own stencil.

Step 1: Iron the fusible webbing to the backside of your fabric scraps…the package will have detailed instructions if you haven’t ever used this stuff before.  You will quickly become addicted to it!

Step 2: Trace the letter to the paper side of the fabric/webbing sheet.  Be sure to trace the stencil/letter in reverse.

Step 3: Cut out the letters.

Step 4: Place it on your notecard and iron lightly on a low setting.  It will only take a second or two to melt the glue and adhere your letter to the paper! 

There are so many options…shapes, names, animals…maybe a mini cake stand!!!

How to make your little Superhero Bad Guy smile on his birthday…. 

Supplies:

1. destroyed, ready for the trash, stained Star Wars tee
2. fusible webbing
3. grey/black ringer tee from Old Navy
4. red thread
5. sewing machine
6. almost 6 year old boy having an Star Wars birthday party

and how old are you going to be….

Happy Birthday!!!!!

Supplies:

1. destroyed, ready for the trash, stained Indiana Jones tee
2. fusible webbing
3. solid brown tee
4. white thread
5. sewing machine
6. 4 year old nephew having an Indiana Jones birthday party:)

…about an hour later

I am not quite sure if Indiana Jones qualifies as an actual superhero, but for my nephew…he is THE super hero.   I love finding new uses for “stuff”.