Kid's Spring Cookies

The kid's and I made some Spring cookies yesterday for a playdate. Since we weren't rushed, I decided to make it a teachable moment. I try to do this with many things during the day, but it's not always possible due to our busy schedules. However, yesterday we had time so we achieved it!

We talked a lot about measuring & weighing things... they were both fascinated with the kitchen scale I use to weigh the flour. Then we talked about the different shapes we were making, especially helpful for the two year old who seems to be more interested in these things now.

When it came time to decorate we talked about the different colors we were using and then did lots of counting and sorting.

I would be lying if I didn't tell you that there was some taste-testing along the way, but that's part of the experience as well! The activity was successful not only because we had fun and learned, but more importantly because we were able to share the end result with good friends.

Proudly linking to the following parties:

Rustic Shamrock Cake

Monday night I went to my first cake decorating class. It was nothing like I expected it to be, but I still learned some useful things. The first thing I learned was to make a wall of frosting when doing the filling, this worked great when I made the Shamrock cake yesterday. I also learned that our local grocery store sells undecorated cake rounds- great for emergencies!



Unfortunately I didn't learn much more. The teacher spent most of the class talking about her business, which while interesting, didn't help me with any cake decorating techniques. While she made frosting and decorated a cake with stars/polka dots, she did it in a manner that the students couldn't really see. I still felt inspired to bake a cake yesterday... and let's just say, 'rustic' is an understatement.



I used the recipe for frosting found in our class booklet and it was SO thick I had a hard time frosting the cake, which is why it looks so uneven. It also didn't yield enough to cover the entire cake- thus the crumbs here and there. I didn't have enough to do a crumb coating. I wish the teacher had explained a bit more about the techniques she used. I might just got back to my usual recipe which works great!

For now I will try to remain positive regarding the next few classes and be glad that at least my cake tasted awesome! I'm actually pretty proud of my improvised shamrock and little stars!

Proudly linking up to:

Headbands for Growing Bangs

It seems like we have been trying to grow out my daughter's bangs for years, and I honestly don't know if we would have been able to do it without these headbands. We tried everything available at stores and they all hurt her, so after a while I gave up and would just pin the bangs back with a clip. One day my sweet friend Aline gave us some headbands that she had made and it was love at first sight. They were cute and comfortable!



I loved them so much that I started making them to match every outfit my daughter owned. I always make them reversible so that they match more than one outfit and I love using random remnants for more unique styles. I really like this tutorial, although I had to tweak the measurements a little when making them for my daughter. Let me know if you make some!

Linking up to Works-For-Me Wednesday,

Minnie Mouse Outfit Redux

I am very proud to post my very first complete outfit... and just in time for our trip to Disney! I was inspired by this one. The minute I saw that picture in my reader I knew my daughter had to have it for our upcoming trip.



I changed things a bit based on what I had at home and taking the weather into consideration. I highly recommend this tutorial for the skirt, so cute!



I've been wanting to make korker bows for a while and finally went for it! I followed this tutorial and LOVE how they turned out. I can't believe how easy they are to make. I made two so they can be used for pigtails, and attached them to lined-alligator clips.



The verdict: She LOVED it! We had to cut the photoshoot short because it started to pour, but she made sure to get in a couple of twirls before going inside. Apparently the skirt is very "twirly-swirly" and that makes it a hit in our house.

Proudly linking to the following parties:

Repurposed Garden Bag

About 5-6 years ago my husband gave me a beautiful garden bag for my birthday. You see, back then I had all the time in the world to garden. However, since our garden isn't very big, I never used the bag. Instead I opted to keep all my tools in a box right next to the vegetable garden. This bag has been in a closet since then... sadly waiting for a job.

Lately, as my sewing projects increase, so do the number of things I need to do them. Because I am a sahm, I don't always get to do my crafts in my "craft room". I needed something to transport my tools of the trade so that I could sneak in "crafting" moments as the kids allowed. Enter the garden bag... it is perfect!!! I love all the pockets because I can have everything organized and easy to find.



It is the perfect size to carry a couple of project/inspiration books along with my tools of the trade. I find that I am more efficient now since I spend less time looking for things and I am happy because I get to carry around a cute bag! The best part is that this cost me NOTHING and it decreased the clutter in my house- score!

*Proudly linking to the following parties:

Works for Me Wednesday, Thrifty Thursdays, Frugalicious Friday, and

Construction Theme Birthday Wrap-Up

My son's second birthday party was a success! It was very small, but we all had a great time. I feel blessed to have been able to make so many things for the celebration. Here is a quick wrap-up:



Construction Birthday Banner
Kid's Tool Belt Favors
Birthday Applique Shirt
Bulldozer Birthday Cake

Thank you for joining me on this journey... it's been a blast and I can't wait for the next birthday party!

Proudly linking to the following parties:

Try and Tell Tuesday,

Bulldozer Birthday Cake

And finally the cake... which was very easy to make. I followed this recipe and probably had it done in about 30 minutes. The hardest part was getting the right color for the frosting. My son absolutely loved it, success!!!

The recipe conveniently called for a frozen pound cake which needed to thaw out. While that happened, I took the opportunity to prepare the other items. The kids loved the dirt which was really crushed chocolate graham crackers.



The frosting went on along with the yummy treats to make up the windows, tires, lights and other bulldozer components.



It turned out much smaller than what I imagined, but it was perfect for our small party. It served 10 people.



The best part was my son's face when he saw it... he said "Wow, a twack!" Tomorrow I will try to do a wrap-up of his birthday party to include all the crafts. The tool belt favors were a huge hit!