Happy New Year!
We just got back from spending the holidays with our family in Spain and I am so excited to get back in the crafting saddle again. A lot happened in the past month and I can't wait to show some of the fun stuff I created. Before we get to that, I wanted to post the tutorial for my children's washcloth aprons which were a hit with all the kids.
These aprons are easy enough that you could whip up a couple in an afternoon. Let's get started!
These aprons are a great idea for any kid who got a play kitchen for Christmas, or maybe just for those who like to help out in the kitchen. They are easy and fast to make!
You will need a washcloth (mine measure 12x12 and come in a pack of 9), felt cut outs, ric rac, some matching buttons and thread.
First step is to decide what decorations you want and trace them on to your felt. In this case I did flowers, but you can do anything. Keep it simple as to not overwhelm the apron since it's small.
Then add some detailing to the felt cut outs. I like to use buttons as I think they give a great dimension. I did car shapes for my son's apron and used the buttons as the tires!
Attach the shapes to the washcloth using a coordinating thread that will make them stand out a little. I like to place the shapes in a corner as I think they look cuter that way.
Carefully pin the ric rac around the washcloth. I am a relatively new sewer and still require a LOT of pins. I find ric rac tricky, so I take my time pinning and sewing it on.
Because this is a fast and easy project, we will use ribbon for the tie. My whole design is actually based on this orange ribbon with white/yellow daisies. I picked the ric rac and felt flowers based on those colors. Pin the ribbon on the top edge making sure to leave enough on each side so that it can be used to go around the child's waste to tie on the apron. 
Carefully sew the ribbon on the top and you are done! The possibilities for these aprons are endless, this tutorial just shows you the method. Using the washcloth makes it a fast project because you don't have to cut or hem and can just have fun embellishing. Can you tell that's my favorite part? Please link back if you make one of these, I'd love to see!Proudly linking to:
Inspired by the famous 
While a tad time consuming, they were relatively simple to make. The hardest part was probably transporting them to the party. I'd like to find a better method than a Styrofoam board the next time I make them.
I used vanilla cake, chocolate frosting, green candy melts and assorted candy for the decorations. While I thought the sprinkles would be more popular with the kids, the red balls seemed to win in terms of popularity.
Bakerella has published a book with all her recipes and methods which are also posted on her blog. My favorite tip is adding Crisco or paramount crystals to the candy melts. This makes the consistency smoother and liquid longer which is important if you are making a lot of them. Let me know if you try making them!
Since we are not Jewish, I had to go out and buy some cookie cutters. I decided to go with a pretty simple set and just spice it up with different colors of royal icing.
The dreidel is my favorite out of all of them... so easy and elegant. The yellow is done using a #2 tip.
The star was very simple to make. Next time I'll use a #2 for the detailing as well, I found the line made by the squeeze bottle too thick.
The menorahs were going to be my favorites until I noticed, while taking these pictures,that they were each missing two candles. Back to the drawing board, or the oven I should say. I had to make another batch and decorate them with the appropriate number of candles.
So while not pictured here, I ended up remaking the menorahs so that they would have the correct number of candles.
The customers loved them and I am so pleased with my first completed order. Yay!
