Cake Pops! First Try

My sister is getting married (and ignoring the fact that she is being a bridezilla) she decided she wanted cake pops for her wedding favors. After a discussion with my Mom, I decided to to try to make some myself. And using a pineapple cake - I did.

Crumbled pineapple cake

With cream cheese icing added - rolled into balls

Sticks added - dipped in colored white chocolate - some with sprinkles.

Some dipped in colored white chocolate and some with milk chocolate.

And they are yum!

"Chinese Take Out Swan" Favor

I'm always trying to come up with new ideas and themes for favors and gifts, especially for opening night gifts when I do theater. In a recent show there was a key reference and ongoing references to a Chinese restaurant. I was inspired to go with a Chinese Take Out theme and my tradition of some type of homemade candy. (I love to make homemade candy, something that can be both a science and an art.) I already had some mini Chinese style take out boxes on hand, but decided to add a mini aluminum swam full of candy.

For these opening night gifts, I used magic markers to add names and notes to the outside of the mini boxes and filled them with no bakes made from the crunchy noodles found in the Oriental foods aisle.

I started with a regular piece of aluminum foil. I wanted them about the size of a favor to fit in the palm of the hand, so I cut the piece of foil in half, making a rectangle. It needs to be rectangular for the swan to work. (The supplies are simple for this... aluminum foil like you find in your kitchen and something to put inside it. You don't need tape or glue to secure it, the foil will do it all by it's self.)

I placed the candy on the center of the foil, towards one side like in the picture. One end of the rectangle will be the tail (it's the short side) and the other will be the swan's head and neck (it needs to be the longer side). In this case, I used homemade candied orange peels mixed with semi-sweet chocolate chops for the inside. You want enough to give it body, but not too much or you won't be able to close it securely. (They are often dipped in chocolate, but I liked the appearance of the orange peels and chips for this case.)

I started with securing the foil by wrapping it around the candy pieces and folding into itself to keep the candy secure inside. Once again, make sure one end of the foil if longer than the other, one side for the neck & head, the other for the tail.

Roll the neck/head side to to create the elongated neck and shape into a slight hook with the neck leading to the head. Be careful not to tear the foil. (There is no need for any tape or anything else to secure. The crinkling of the foil will be enough.)

Pinch the other end (the tail end) slightly to secure the bottom end from the candy escaping. Fan out the bit of foil to create a fanned tail shape.

Just a few twists and pinches of the aluminum foil and you have a swan ready for any table setting or dressing room table. My mini swans and mini Chinese Take out boxes were a hit with my cast and crew. (The homemade candy inside was a huge hit as well.)

Anything and everything can be used as inspiration. For this I used something that might seem common place to many people, but when personalized, miniturized and filled with homemade candy it was proof that you can find humor AND inspiration anywhere to fit any theme.

Memory Jar - FL

Scrapbooks are great and with computers and the internet we can take and store tons of pictures and videos, even burn them them onto discs or DVDs, but there is more to keep memories close than just books.

Recently, my family headed south to my cousin's wedding, that just happened to be on the beach. Like with most trips, I came back with a selection of pictures and bits that are perfect to scrap book, but I also came back with some other special things that hold just as much memories from that special day. Instead of having them scattered around in various places I took a little inspiration from Martha Stewart and combined the bits into a Memory Jar.

I started with one clean jar with lid. (In this case it was an empty pickle jar, I cleaned and socked really well. I liked the smooth sides.) I cleaned the jar with hot soapy water, removing the label, letting it soak for awhile to remove glue left from the label and any residual vinegar smell.

I filled the bottom of the jar with about and inch or so of sand I had collected from the beach where my cousin's wedding and reception was held. (I brought it back in an empty plastic water container in my beach bag.) This gave a good bottom and base for everything else.

Then came the arranging. I used included shells, a small chunk of coral collected from the beach, bubbles from the wedding & reception, a glass votive wedding favor from the reception (it had their names and the date printed on it in their colors), and sprinkled paper flower confetti (from the reception tables). Using the sand as a base, I placed the large items first (the coral and votive), then placed the shells, confetti, and bubbles around them to create an attractive display. Without anything else added it was already a nice reminder of the wedding and that nice day on the beach with family & extended family.

I painted the lid with acrylic paint (white with a slight marbling of blue streak through it) in it and glued a layer of sand (from what I brought back) to top. Using hot glue I attached a couple of the shells to the top. The let everything dry.

I decorated the outside of the jar too, but it isn't necessary by any means. (I've done others that didn't include anything on the outside.) First, using little dots of hot glue I attached ribbon around the edge, left from a wedding program. Then, I adorned the ribbon & sides with a couple of pieces of the flower confetti and small stick of purple gems I had on hand. (While the gems were sticky on their own, I considered what they were being attached to and  decided to re-inforce them with a bit of hot glue.) I used a little clear glitter paint to add a few extra finshing touches.

With everything dry, I attached the lid, and now have a lovely jar full of memories.

Almost everything came from that trip... adding only the jar (which came from my recycling bin), a bit of paint and glue, and a couple stick on flower jewels that I already had on hand.

Crepe Paper Carrots

My family does holidays in a big way - big family, big food spread, a big gathering. When things in your life are often big (like family and holiday dinners), it's nice to remember the details. This year, I got inspired by Martha Stewart's Crepe Paper Carrots and decided to make a basketful to share with the many bunnies in my family.

As usual, I took a bit of creative freedom and read the comments & suggestions added by people since there wasn't much to the directions I found. Then I came up with my own way of working with what I have and found. (As much love as I have for Martha and her website, some of her projects include little or no usable instructions and you have to figure things out on your own, this was no exception.) Mine don't look exactly like Martha's, but I'm not worried. I'm sure they will be appreciated just as they are.

I started with a selection of candy, small toys, and temporary Easter tattoos (most of which I picked up at a local dollar store) for the filling. (Suckers, licorice, pixie sticks, some gummy bunny teeth, bubbles, little horns, frogs, etc.)

To help give a base shape (and with an unneeded concern for running out of crepe paper),  I started with cut squares of white tissue paper that I folded in half diagonal, to make a triangle. Using a long toy or piece of candy I started the basic shape in the white tissue paper, wrapping it up in a cone (or carrot-like) shape, using dots of hot glue to secure the end. (I love my mini hot glue gun!)


Using green tissue paper I cut the leaves for the top. (I folded the paper, cutting them into strands that resembled grass, then cut the sections apart.) I secured the leaf tops to the top of the basic white cone with a dot or two or hot glue. (This was done at the top of the white tissue paper or along the side of a plastic wrapper on the top.)

Starting from the bottom, I began wrapping the crepe paper upward, tucking more candy, toys, or temporary tattoos as I went, helping to keep the shape with the bottom more narrow and the top wider. I secured the crepe paper around the top (adding dots of hot glue as needed, but remember not to overdo it), then wrapped downward. Wrapping each carrot upward once and downward once, I was able to give each carrots a center wrap tissue paper with two layers of colored crepe paper, tucking in little presents as I went. Using another dot of hot glue, I secure the tissue paper along the bottom or side, tucking as needed.

The carrots are nicely arranged in a basket (at least for now), sitting on some green netting I had on hand.

The rolls of crepe paper I got went a lot further than I thought they would. I ended up getting about 35 carrots from about 1 1/2 rolls of crepe paper and about 2 sheets of green tissue paper (for the leaves). The white tissue paper was something I already had on hand and was cut in wide strips from another project.

These are going to make great favors for our family Easter this year, adding something special to the tables.

I have this weird desire to come up with other vegetables full of little present and made of crepe paper and/or tissue paper for a garden themed party.

It Doesn't Always Have to be Storebought - Handmade Gifts

Handmade gifts are always best & I have a few from friends & family.

A friend made these metallic painted handmade little clay creations for the tables at her wedding (pictured with the green background). (An artist in her own right.) She wanted something original that she made to be a part of the decorations. They had natural variations in the process of hand forming each one. (Some of them has little hearts with her husband-to-be's initials. Mine is not one of them.) It's great to catch little things like rings and earrings or a delicate necklace. (Some of them had had little candles in them.) One of the best things about these - she did something her way and celebrated her art, incorporating it into her special day.

I grew up involved in community based groups (such as 4-H and Girl Scouts), that often put a great importance on volunteering and being a positive part of the community. It may sound corny or idealistic to some, but I would like to think it did help shape elements of my ideals and instill a sense of responsibility.

Napkin Holder

As a Girl Scout, one of these involvements included "adopting" a "grandparent" at a local nursing home we often visited. (Pretty typical community involvement project.) I got a feisty woman who liked to work on plastic canvas needlepoint, including a house design napkin holder (pictured) that she gave me. It's something that years later, I still have and still think of her fondly when I see it. It was something she shared with me.

The photo album was a birthday gift from aunt this year. She has really gotten into scrap booking projects and card making. She embellished the cover inside and out for a personalized birthday present (to go along with a handmade card and cookies from a nearby bakery).

Photo Album Cover

Inside Cover of Album

Paper Box - How To

I love making paper boxes of all different sizes as they make great gift boxes, the smaller ones for trinkets, worry dolls, or homemade jewelry and larger ones for cookies, cupcakes, or other bits. I've been making them for so long, I don't even remember learning. They might have been something my mom taught me and/or something from my Girl Scout days (my mom was my leader for a long time). When working & loving at camp it was something I often taught kids, especially to store worry dolls, jewelry, or just for fun.

They can be made from plain, colored, or decorated paper and are a great way to recycle & reuse newsprint, comics, brown paper bags, doodles, or old wrapping paper. Versatile and can be made in all sorts of sizes.