easy seat cushions

Ever notice that when you need something it is incredibly hard to find?!

Take cushions for a chair....for my birthday my boyfriends parents bought me a table and chair set...it is an outdoor set but we are using it indoors.It is perfect for just the two of us and it is cute and looks like it belongs in like a little cafe...Well the part that stinks is it is metal so it needs cushions and finding cushions is apparently quite hard. I can't tell you how many stores I went to looking for cushions that would fit or match....it is purple(my favorite color.) Anyways long story short....after many stores and no results I decided I would make my own. I didn't want to go crazy on making them because I figured I'd find some real ones I like somewhere down the line so instead I was looking at napkins or table runners that I could just sew together and stuff.Again that proved to be harder to find one that I liked. And that is where the creation for these cushions came about.

Wandering around Kohl's I came upon there clearance section and what did I find...CLOTH PLACE MATS....they were perfect they had the ocean theme that is throughout my apartment and they were a nice stiff fabric that wouldn't tear easily from pockets or something sharp in our pockets. The real awesome part is it was one that i could pop the seams and stuff it. i didn't have to buy two and sew them together so i was super happy... and i can't complain that i bought two place mats on clearance for $1.25 a piece and had some poly fill and thread at home. so in total i spent $2.50 plus tax on this project.

Here is the how to:

pop the seams on one side of the place mat

fill it up with poly fill.

stitch it up and do a top stitch to match the rest of the place mat

tada the finished project!! How easy was that?! the hardest part was finding the right pattern!

Til next time Goonies :D

TURTLES!!!

Woo 2 posts in one month! Lol it is a miracle...Just kidding I'm doing a 2nd one because I will be out of town all of June so I figured I knock another one out.

This post is yet another cake but there are also cupcakes involved. And yup you guessed it....shaped like TURTLES!

This month was a 50th birthday for Kyle's aunt. The theme was turtle luau and I was asked to make a cake and turtle cupcakes. I knew exactly which cupcakes she was referring to because I had pinned them to my birthday board on Pinterest.

Here is what ya need:

• dreamsicle cake and frosting
• cream cheese frosting
• orange butter cream
• 8" round pans(shell)
• 8" glass Pyrex (I liked the shape and depth of this one for the shell)
•  9x13 pan(fins)
• small bowl(head)
• 12 cupcakes pan and liners
• rice crispy treats
• food gels in brown,green,blue

This picture is to show my layout for the cake and also which pans I wanted to use.

Alright to start off with the cake will be a dreamsicle cake with dreamsicle filling and cream cheese frosting. The fins will be rice crispy treats dyed green and cut to shape, while the cupcakes will also be made out of dreamsicle cake but frosted with an orange butter cream frosting.  As you can tell this cake has become the favorite in my family, they ask for it all the time.

To make the cake you will need:

• lemon box cake
• 3 oz orange jello
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 orange zest
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 eggs

mix all together and pour into pans that are greased, lined with wax paper, and greased again. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes depending on the size.
I made two of these total. One recipe made a 8" round and an 8" Pyrex. Another made my little bowl and 12 cupcakes. After they are done take them out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and continue cooling.

While the cakes are cooling go ahead and make the dreamsicle filling:

• 8 oz sour cream
• 8 oz whipped cream (your own or cool whip)
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange extract

Whisk the sugar and OJ together then add the orange extract. Mix in the sour cream and then slowly fold in the whipped cream.  This is the filling between the two cakes of the shell. It was going to be the cupcake frosting too but it was just too liquidy. I think next time I am going to do homemade whipped cream instead of cool whip.

When the cakes are cool lay the 8" round on the pan you are going to serve it on. Poke holes all over the top of the cake and drizzle an orange glaze over it. The glaze is 1/2 cup OJ and 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Next do a layer of the dreamsicle filling and top that with the 8" Pyrex cake that has also been glazed. Take a knife and use the frosting that spills out as a crumb coat and let set in the fridge. Glaze the head and cupcakes as well plus do a crumb coat on the head with the dreamsicle frosting and place that in the fridge to crust.

While everything is setting up in the fridge lets go ahead and make the cream cheese frosting.

• 8 oz cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar then vanilla until all is combined and smooth. Next split into 2 and dye one green and the other brown. I used Wilton food colors and just added a little at a time until I got the colors I wanted.Frost the shell brown then do the back of the head and place next to the shell and frost the rest of the head. Put back in the fridge to store over night.

Next will make the orange butter cream frosting for the cupcakes.

• 1 cup softened butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange extract
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Beat your butter until fluffy. Add your powdered sugar a little at a time alternating between it and the liquid until fully combined. Add in blue food gel until the desired color is reached. I put this into a piping decorating gun thing and frosted all of my cupcakes with it.

To finish the cupcakes you will need:

• gummy mint leaves
• gummy peach rings
• red and green gum drops
• round cookie cutter

To make the fins you will take the mint leaves and place the round cookie cutter on it. I basically cut the top third of it to make the front fins and left the bottom of it as the back fins. Cut half with the leaves point to the right and the other half with the point to the left. It made it so the ridges were outside. Place 2 small pieces on the back and 2 big pieces in the front. Put a peach ring on top of them and then a red gum drop in the hole of the ring. Then place a green gumdrop on the end to be the head. TA DA!!!! Cute little turtle cupcakes.

NOW TO FINISH THE CAKE!

To make the fins take a basic rice crispy recipe:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 6 cups rice crispy cereal

Melt the butter over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until melted. Take off heat and stir in green food gel. Then stir in cereal until well coated. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and push flat. Let set then flip out of pan onto the counter. To shape I took the fins I made out of paper (first picture) placed them on top of the treats and cut them out. Then I smooshed all the sides of the fins to make sure they were smooth and curved the side that would connect to the body of the cake. Then put the fins on the body.









To finish it off I made the eyes out of ping pong balls and painted the iris and pupil. Then I took black writing icing and drew on nostrils. Voila you are done.














When we got to the party I placed the cupcakes behind the cake to make it look like they were swimming behind their mama.It was a great success and everyone loved it.

Hope you all are doing fun and creative projects and enjoying this wonderful spring. Can you believe it is almost Memorial Day. POOLS ARE GONNA BE OPEN. I am so excited. Guess it is fitting that I made a post about sea turtles huh?!

Til next time Goonies.

Cheeseburger Cake!!

Hello there!

As the title suggests this post is all about making a cheeseburger cake!

I know how exciting right?!

This was for my boyfriends older brother. His parents came to me and asked if I could make him one for his 25th birthday since he had asked for one when he was little but never got it. So of course I said yes and instantly the wheels in my head started turning. I didn't want to do just a rectangle cake cut to the shape of a burger....No, I wanted to make it a 3D cake....yes that is right....3D!!!!!!!!!!

Here's what ya need:

• two 8" round pans
• 8' round pyrex(this was the shape of a top bun I thought)
• wax paper
• two cake mixes- i did devils food cake
• yellow chocolate melts
•  toasted rice crispies cereal
• dried kiwi
• dyed and toasted coconut
• peanut butter frosting
• chocolate frosing

To start I took the coconut and dyed it with green food coloring until I got the color I wanted. Oddly it looks a lot more neon in the pic then in real life. I placed it on a cookie sheet and toasted it in the over. I figured this way the color has set and it won't run on the cake when all the layers are put together.

Next I made the cake mixes accrding to the boxes. To ensure they come out nice and easy I spray the pans with cooking spray, place wax paper on the bottom and respray with more cooking spray. they come out super easy every time. Next I let them cool 10 minutes in the pan. Then remove and let finish cooling.

 this is a picture to show the pyrex dish used to make the top bun.







While the cakes were cooling I made peanut butter frosting and Chocolate Buttercream frosting. Here are the recipes:

Peanut Butter:

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups powdered sugar

mix butter and peanut butter until fluffy
alternate adding the powdered sugar and milk until combined

Chocolate Butter Cream:

• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons milk
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of melted, cooled chocolate chips

Beat your butter until Fluffy
Alternate adding sugar, milk,vanilla until completely blended.
melt your chocolate chips in a bowl and let cool
add into the frosting with a pinch of salt and whip until fluffy.

Take one of the cooled 8" round cakes and frost with the peanut butter frosting. It came out the perfect color of the bun. Next add a layer of green coconut for the lettuce. Take the other 8" round cake and frost with the chocolate frosting. This is the patty so I frosted kinda rough to make it look like meat and not smooth.  I let this set overnight.

To make the cheese I took yellow chocolate melts and melted them in a ziploc bag following the directions on the bag. I took wax paper and made a square on it with the melts and filled it in. I let that cool for a minute. Next I took the 8" round pan and draped the wax paper with the chocolate on it, taping the corners of the wax paper down. This formed the choloate to the shape of the patty so it looked like it was melted on it.

The next day I took the cheese and placed it on top of the "patty" and then placed dried kiwis (pickles) on top of that.

 To do the top bun, I did a crumb coat of peanut butter frosting and let that get a crust. I then placed that on top of the burger and completely frosted it. I smoothed it out using water and a butter knife.

Next I took some rice crispies cereal and toasted in a pan and then placed those on the top bun to look like sesame seeds.

VOILA!!! There we have it, one cheeseburger cake!

To add a little flair to the cake I bought strawberry ice cream topping and pureed it to look like ketchup and found these apricot/coconut fruit logs to be french fries. I felt it just completed the whole look and feel to the cake. He loved it and so did his parents. It turned out really good and what can go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate!

Belated Valentine's Day post. Candy heart cheesecakes

Hello 2014!!!!!!!

It is nice to start a new year out right. All of the Christmas gifts I made were a success especially the pop tab purse. Unfortunately I had to restore my laptop to factory settings due to a mean hidden virus somewhere in the depths of the hard drive. With that being said all my pictures of it are on my external so at least they are ok but I've managed to misplace it. When I do find it I will post those pictures I promise.

But let us move right along into a new craft. This year for Valentine's Day I wanted to surprise Kyle with a tasty dessert instead of spending money on a gift. We had to celebrate a day early because he had a car show that weekend. We had a lovely day though. Ate artichoke, chicken fettuccine with oil and vinegar salad and for dessert here it is....are you ready.....MINI HEART CHEESECAKES! That's not all they were made to look like conversation hearts!!!

How cute is that?! He loved them by the way and they tasted really good so I was pleased. So here is the recipe for how to make them.

I used a silicone heart mold that I got from Joann's on sale for $6. I sprayed it down with cooking spray just to insure an easier removal when they were done.

• preheat your oven  to 325 degrees
• boils some water to fill a 9x13 pan to create a water bath for the mold

Graham Cracker Crust:

• 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• pinch cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons melted butter

In your food processor grind up the crackers to a fine crumb.
Add your cinnamon and pulse then pour in the butter until it looks like sand.
Place 1 tablespoon of crumb into the bottom of the mold and press
Bake 10-12 minutes
Remove and let cool

While that is baking use the time to make the cheesecake.

Cheesecake:(I repeated this recipe twice but I only had one mold so I made it one at a time)

• 8oz softened cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs room temp.

Mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla until smooth.
Add the eggs until completely mixed in.
Now I separated it into different bowls to create the colors
Fill each mold and then place in the water bath and bake 20-25 minutes until there is a smooth film on top but still a little jiggly.
Cool for 1 hr on counter then 3hrs in fridge then 2 hrs in the freezer. This helps them come out easier.
Turn the mold upside down on top of wax paper and gently tug the mold and work the cheesecake out. Flip it over and place on the serving tray. Decorate with red icing and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 here they are right out of the oven. Unfortunately I got some bubbles in this batch but it worked out. They still tasted fine. My other batch did not get any air bubbles so I'm not quite sure why they happened.

 
 Hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's and all did something special. Keep these in mind for next year or even an anniversary. You can realistically use any shape mold and make them for any occasion.

Til next time Goonies!

pop tabs, wire, and hand cramps!

(I will get pictures up as soon as my laptop stops being LAME!)

As you can tell by the title I am creating something with pop tabs. It has been a long process and I have collected pop tabs for oh I don't know maybe 10 months to a year. I haven't been the only one drinking all the sodas around here thankfully! Kyle's family is big so every time we go over to his Grandparents house we raid the recycle  plus his brother saves them up so when we see him he has a whole pile. Then we just add them to the jar that we have going on.

About a month ago I looked at the jar and finally decided that I had enough to start this daunting project.

I decided to use jewelery wire that came from Joann's in their jewelry making section. I grabbed a 20 gauge wire at 8 yards. I ended up buying 3 because they didn't have a bigger role in the gauge I wanted.

When I got home I grabbed a pair of needle nose pliers and cut a bunch of 1-2 inch size wire stripes and started putting them together.

I'd grab one tab and lay the other one on top of it and wrap the wire around it 3 times in the center and then twist off the ends. I repeated that 9 times. I made 14 of these and then I attached them together in three spots, once on top, in the middle, and near the bottom. This made one side of the purse.

To make the other side I did the same pattern but instead of all silver I made a 'N' (for his Aunt Natalka) with the green tabs I had collected. And hooked all those together using the same method as before.

Can I just say my hand and wrist have never hurt so bad in my life. I literally had to put it on ice because it was hurting and swollen. It is such a repetitive process that I would recommend having a bottle of ibuprofen and a tube of icy hot next to you and to do a little at a time. It has taken me about 3 weeks to get these two sides done with just needing to take breaks and having to go back and forth to the store to buy more wire.

When I finished these two sides the wires were all poky and I didn't want them to snag the purse. In order to remedy that I tried flattening them with the pliers and it wasn't working the way I wanted it to. So out comes the hot glue gun to save the day! I put a little blob on each end and let them dry. Next  cleaned all the little lines that you always get with hot glue and it worked perfectly! It did exactly what I wanted it to do without ruining my design. The best part you can't see it from the front of the purse!

Now to make the sides. I ended up buying a little clutch/hand held purse thing at the thrift store for $3. I bought some tiny split rings to connect the fronts to the sides that way there is some flexibility and if she ever needs to clean the bag she can just slide it out. The plan is to just slide the bag inside the pop tabs and then attach a chain to the pop tabs so she can throw it over her shoulder if she wants. If she wants to carry it like a clutch all she has to do is unhook the chain..

I finally finished! It took me a while to finish this thing because my hand and wrists were hurting so bad that I just kept procrastinating. And next thing you know I was in CO for over a month working. I was dreading coming back to WA cuz I knew I'd only have 10 days to finish it before we hit the road. Thankfully the hard part was done, I just needed to put the split rings on to connect all the sides. The last step is just to find a chain that I like and cut it to length to make the handle and then it will be 100% completed. However since I no longer have to twist and cut I am considering it done.

This will be the last time you hear from me for the year so Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy crafting Goonies!!

Anchors Away!

Hello all!

I can't believe that it is August already! How time flies when you are back and forth between states and constantly on planes. I flew out to Colorado twice and was only home in Washington for 3 weeks in between trips. Holy moly it was an insane beginning to the summer. But thankfully I made it home in time for the 4th of July and was able to spend it camping and hanging out with my honey on the beach.

Now that I am back home and enjoying the calm I decided I would finally do something with the canvas that I bought on sale last summer! The Craft Warehouse was having this huge sale and I went down there and found that they had the canvas on sale for like a ridiculous price and ended up getting three 18x20 for the price of one! I should have picked up more but seeing as how its a year later and I have only used one I think I made the right choice.

Today we are making a. anchor picture with stripes, it's something that I see all over the Internet and at stores and I love the look and needed something to put on my wall. Here's what ya need:

• Canvas 
• pencil
• paint and brushes
• scissors
• paper 
• wax paper
• painters tape
• something to measure stripes

Alrighty then! Let's start. First I drew out the anchor the size I wanted. I then put a sheet of wax paper over it and stenciled the shape on there and cut it out. I did the stencil out of the wax paper bc I liked that it isn't quite as stiff as the paper and I was also using the paper as my test sheet as far as what color to use and size of the stripes.

Next I traced around the stencil onto the canvas with a pencil.

I know it is hard to see but it's there.

haha yes I used a thin mint box. I liked the size of the box, it was the perfect width for my stripes so I used it. 

here it is all drawn out.

Next, once you've picked out the color that you want, I traced around the anchor and let it dry. When it is dried, take your painters tape and put it on the lines of the ones you are going to paint that way you have clean lines. Start painting.

 Let the paint dry in between coats. I did a couple bc you could see marks. When it is dry pull the tape off and voila! You have your own anchor picture!

I made a couple boo boos but a little white paint fixed em. I really like how it turned out and the color I chose is pretty cool seeing as how it looks like completely different colors throughout the day! 

Feel free to add whatever you want to it, I had though about putting a quote somewhere on it but I changed my mind. Now it hangs on my wall with a starfish shaped knick knack that I found for free from a thrift store that was closing. 

Have fun creating! Hopefully I'll find some other cool nautical themed items to go around it. 

Cowboy/Western Cake!

Boy have I been busy, I am between trips to CO right now and it feels like I am playing catch up, with crafts and family. Meaning finishing gifts and not getting pictures taken! But what do you do?

Let's see which new craft do I want to post today.....hmmm I guess we'll do Riley's birthday cake since that one was done way back in March.

For Riley's first birthday, Kyle and I wanted to do something special for him since he'll get toys and books from everyone else in our giant family so we decided we would make him a cake that he and everyone else could enjoy, plus it makes it one less thing that his grandma had to pay for and not worry about.

His theme was western so I went all out and wanted to make it like a cowboy/Woody from Toy Story. With the yellow/red plaid shirt and a bandana. I asked if they had a preference on flavor and they said fruity so I looked up a recipe for Orange dreamsicle cake/frosting as well as a raspberry cake.

The recipes are as follows:

Raspberry cake-

• 1 white cake mixed following box
• 1pkg of raspberry jello(4oz)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water

Make the cake following the directions on the box and bake.. Let it cool. I waited to pout the jello on top until I had stacked it into place.Poke holes all over. Mix the jello with the BOILING water and stir until dissolved. Add cold water then pour all over the cake and refrigerate for 2 hours. made 1 13x9 cake

 

Orange Dreamsicle Cake with glaze-

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 box orange jello- 4oz 
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup OJ ( i used fresh)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 orange zest

glaze-

• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup OJ (fresh)

heat oven to 350 degrees. I grease my pans then lay was paper on the bottom and then spray with more grease to help my cakes come out SUPER easy and it helps them cook flat! 

In a large add dry cake mix, jello powder, oil eggs, OJ, water, and zest until smooth.

Pour in pan and bake for 25 mins cool completely and take out of pan.

Poke holes all over and pour the glaze over. Refrigerate a few hours. I made 2 batches of this to do 1- 13x9 and 2- 7"square.

 In between both tiers I used a creamsicle frosting which oh my god it tasted just like a creamsicle! I wanted to just eat the frosting by the spoonfuls! 

Creamsicle Frosting Recipe:

• 8 oz sour cream
• 8 oz cool whip
• 1/2 cup OJ (i used fresh)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange extract

mix OJ and sugar until completely dissolved

add extract

mix in sour cream until well blended

then fold in cool whip and layer between the cakes.

 After I stack the cakes I cover them and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to really set and then I can wipe off any filling that has spooged out....yes i said spooged lol I am not even sure how to spell it but i love using the word! 

I used a cream cheese frosting to frost the outside cakes, I made two batches one dyed yellow and one dyed bright red! 

Cream cheese frosting Recipe:

• 8 oz cream cheese room temp
• 1 stick unsalt butter softened
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

bet cream cheese and butter until smooth

add powdered sugar bit by bit until smooth

add vanilla and salt

(before I add the coloring I take my cakes out of the fridge and do a crumb coat and then out em back in the fridge while I do the other one so it can set and get hard/crusty!)

Mix in food gel colors and frost away. 

I didn't keep track of how much coloring I used I just went until I liked the color.

To get the true red color that I wanted I had to mix RED and CHRISTMAS RED(not pictured!) and I just used bright yellow. I frosted the 13x9 yellow and the 7x7 red

Now put back in the fridge let em set and harden up and set and then take em out to decorate.

I used black, white, and red Wilton icing with a #3 tip I believe and did my lines. the yellow layer got red lines to look like a plaid shirt and the red layer got white and black to look like a bandana, then I stacked the tiers.

use a tooth to make a channel for you frosting. it helped me keep straight.

 

my sketch of how I wanted it to look

I wanted to hide the tier so I went to my trusty Winco and found some marshmallow ropes and used some brown food color stuff and painted it on to make it look like a real rope.I knew no one would eat them so I hot glued it to the plastic tier. I also got some sheriff stars from the dollar store and put those around the corners and I was done.

this as a test one the real ones  I used were 36" so it was one wrapped all the way around.

It was a hit and everyone loved it, it was soooo super moist and it tasted like my childhood eating dreamsicles while laying out on the hot driveways in the Colorado sun after playing in the sprinkler. I was in heaven!