Wanted...

When my son Cash turned 2, he had a cowboy themed birthday party.  I like to find ways for the decorations & favors to be personal for our guests so I decided to make wanted posters for everybody.  They were a hit.  Every kiddo and grown up had wanted posters that were personalized just for them.  It was so fun choosing what their crimes and cowboy names were!  And it made a great party favor too!

I started with tan colored card stock and my word program.  I made a template to start with so I only had to change a few things as I did each poster.  I used a black and white photo of each person on their poster too.  I was able to find a photo of every person saved on my computer but you can also have friends text you photos of their kids if you are missing any. 

Giving Back

"There is no such thing as a small act of kindness."  Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I'm such a blessed person.  I love my life.  I have so much to be thankful for.  Sure, I have struggles like everyone else and I do have things in my life that truly make my heart ache.  But I know that no matter how bad things in my little bubble are, there are countless others who carry many more burdens than I ever will.  Others who need to smile.  Others who need help and support...maybe even from someone like me.

My Take on a Buttercream Cowgirl Cake

Here's my take on a cowgirl cake made with buttercream.  

I made a 3 layer, 10 inch, bottom cake and frosted it (smooth) in pink buttercream.  Then I piped on black and white paisley designs to look like a bandanna.  I made a separate 3 tier, 6 inch cake and frosted it in white buttercream.  Then I used canned chocolate frosting to make the cow spots.  Before frosting the cakes I added a little homemade simple syrup to each layer to keep it moist.  I also used my candy molds to make pink and white chocolate boots to place around the cake.

  

Bath Towel Solution!

3 kids + 3 bath towels = one big mess! 

Our old system for hanging bath towels was to hang towels on the closet doorknob.  It didn't work for many reasons...

#1.  Three towels didn't fit properly.

#2. The bottom towel never got dry.

#3. My kids didn't like hanging their towels so they wound up on the floor.

I needed a better system so I searched Pinterest (my go to place for all things crafty) and found a few different towel hanging solutions.  I chose the bits and pieces I liked and came up with a simple and inexpensive solution to our towel debacle.

I turned this...

Into this!

Here's what I did...

Spring/Summer Window Decor

First of all, let me apologize for these pictures!  They are pretty bad, I know.  It was a very sunny day so no matter what I did, the window acted as a mirror.  I tried to blur out images of the parking lot but this is the best I could do with what I had to work with.

I did a really simple window painting display at my son's preschool and thought it could be something fun to do at home as well.  If you find yourself feeling crafty and want to jazz up your own windows, just grab some acrylic paints and get started.  This was super easy and didn't take long at all.  I painted on the inside of the window because I wanted it to last through the summer, but you could paint on the outside and just hose it off when you are tired of it.  

I usually draw my design out on butcher paper and tape it to the outside of the window to use as a guide.  I did this with the larger flowers so I knew where to place them but then I freehanded the rest in.

(This is a shot from inside.)

A Very Sweet Thank You Treat

I love Pinterest...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  

I am so happy when it is gift giving time, I no longer have to agonize over an inexpensive, creative gift to give the people I love and appreciate.  Pinterest has examples of anything you can think of, plus a million things you never even imagined!  Anytime I see something I like, I just pin it to one of my boards and save it for later.  For an OCD brain like mine...it's genius!  

It's the end of the school year and I needed a fun thank you gift for my kids teachers.  Since I'm a teacher too I know the kinds of things they love.  And let me tell you, sweet treats and gift cards are always appreciated by every teacher!  I definitely wanted to find a creative way to say thank you to our teachers.  So, I searched Pinterest and I was NOT disappointed.  

Here's what I did... 

I bought a ton of candy bars and gum.  Not just any though...specific candy that was used to write a message to our favorite teachers.

Pinterest had several different messages to choose from.  I chose the sayings I liked, made a couple of my own and put them into the order I wanted.  

Here's the message I used...

Cars Cake Tutorial

A lot of people have sent me questions about the construction cake I posted a few months ago.  This weekend I made a similar cake so I figured I'd turn it into a mini tutorial which may help.  

DISCLAIMER!!!!  

I am not a cake decorator.  I'm just a mom who likes to try to make cool cakes for my kiddos and their friends.  My way may not be the RIGHT way but it's the way that works for me.  Hopefully you can take some of the ideas here and tweak them to work for you. 

You can totally make this cake!  It's pretty simple!

This is the tip I used...the "grass tip".