from playing card to bookmarks

I wanted to make bookmarks for monkey #2's upcoming Paris party.

I found Eiffel Tower playing cards at JoAnn's and made them into bookmarks

here is how I got from the before to the after



playing cards and scrapbook paper



I sprayed spray adhesive to the back of the scrapbook paper
 and stuck the cards to the paper



I cut out the cards, punched a hole for the ribbon
 and then using my CM circle punch I clipped the corners



when I was done I finished them off
with black and hot pink ribbon

Why they make cheap kids shampoo

There is a reason that they make cheap shampoo for kids.  It's because kids can not resist dumping out all the contents of the bottle to make a big ole' bubbly mess.

This is what I found when I went to see what was taking Monkey #3 so long in the shower. 

First of all he was running the shower with the drain stopped to make it a shower bath.  Second, he emptied not one but two bottles of shampoo into the tub. 

ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS!  Oh thank the Lord that it is bedtime for monkeys.  I need a breather.  I have tried pump bottles, small little shampoo bottles but that darn boy just can resist the bubbles.

My Lil' Marine's 5th Birthday

When my husband was deployed to Afghanistan I wanted to make our little monkey's 5th birthday memorable.

Since Daddy is a Marine Monkey #3 wanted a Marine party.

Using PVC pipes and fabric I made him a tent.

I set up a little boot camp for the kids to go through.  I first had them line up and did a cadence

"I don't know if you've been told

Monkey 3 is 5 years old

We're all here to celebrate

Have some fun and eat some cake"

I made all the guests USMC tee shirts to wear
for the party and to have as a take home

 

 

Then we had some rounds of tug o war
Since I don't fit Daddy's uniforms, Monkey and I
went to local surplus store ad got Momma boots and trousers.

and target practice

Monkey #3 loved cheering his friends on

The first time that Monkey #3 saw a photo of Daddy
and an MRAP he said that he wanted
an MRAP for his cake.  So Momma made an MRAP

Make a wish

I used some of Daddy's gear as part of the decotations.
The kids had fun trying things on

Girls' Room - all done

Over the past few months I have changed up the girls' room 

I think that I am done for now.

Monkey #2 loves peace signs these days and Monkey #1 loves sea animals.

Monkey #2 likes pink and monkey #1 likes purple

I made the girls a pin board for them to show case their art. 

The desk in it's new home

Love these knobs from Hobby Lobby (Love it even more that they were on 50% off this week)

what's old is new

I love Craigslist!  I love trift stores and yard sale furniture finds.

I found this dresser yesterday on Craigslist for $20

With some sanding, paint and new knobs I was able to give it a new look for my daughters' room

 The top was scuffed and bubbled but that didn't matter because was going to sand and paint it anyway.

 I used a hand sander for the top because the top was really damaged and it had a thick coat of varnish

 It took about 3 full coats of paint

I let the paint dry in between the coats.

 Final coat, waiting to dry

 Ta da! 

The paint color I used was called Gum Drop. 

Even though the desk is dry I am going to let it sit in the garage a couple days to make sure the paint has a chance to cure.

making changes

Monkey #3 needed a change in his room 

Okay,  I needed a change in his room. 

I hadn't painted his room in 4 years and thought that would be a great start.  This spring monkey #3 started T ball.  He is loving it!  I use to have his room done up in a sports theme and then last year I did military theme and this year, we are back to sports.

 Not sure why, but the day before monkey #1's party I felt the need to see what the new paint for Monkey #3's room would look like.  I started by doing the wall behind his door and before I knew it I was done painting the top portion of the wall toupe.

 Below the chair rail is going from denim to crimson.

 I have always loved a scoreboard print found online at Land of Nod.  But I did not like the price tag so I bought a 24"x36" canvas and prepped it and painted it today. 

Yesterday I found a deep red desk and chair on craigslist for $45!!!  Lil Man loves it and has turned it into Lego central. 

The making of the Ocean party cake

Monkey #1 loves dolphins and asked for there to be dolphins on her cake.  I had a dolphin candy mold so I used left over chololate from the gold fish pretzel snack for the party and made dolphins for the cake. Totally cheating since I would normally cut out the dolphins.  Monkey #1 did ask for chocolate shapes on her cake because #3 had them on his. 

As I was going through the steps of making the cake I took photos for the first time of the steps so I could share.

 This is the top tier of the cake.  I baked two of these and

 using a bread knife I cut the top off of both cakes.

I spread the frosting on the bottom layer and then placed the top layer on bottom side up so the cake will have a nice flat top

I then applied the crumb coat and set it in the fridge to chill. Chilling the cake is very important because it makes it easier to work with.  If it is summer you may need to chill it many times while working with the cake.

Quick Tip:  If you don't have time to make your own frosting, you can use store bought but add some powdered sugar to it so it will thicken it up.  Store bought frosting can be too runny.

 While the cakes were chilling in the fridge, I worked on my fondant.  I forgot to take a photo of the fondant before adding the color.  I use store bought Wiltons fondant and Wilton's paste food coloring.  Some of my friends make their fondant, but where I live it is very reasonable in price so I just buy it.

I rolled the fondant out like a pie crust.  I have a fancy little fondant roller but I don't really care for it.  I like having the hanldes on the regular rolling pin.   I dusted the surface with icing sugar so the fondant wouldn't stick.  If you are finding the fondant is a bit too sticking dust your hands with powdered sugar.  You will notice my hands are covered in the powdered sugar.  :)  Also, if you hands are too warm the fondant may be too sticky.  Washing your hands in cold water can help or having an ice pack handy to cool your hands down works too.

Fold the fondant in half to get ready for placing it on the cake.

 I prefer to roll my fondant very thin.  If it is your first time you may not want to do that because if you are not careful it can tear. 

Now for the fun part.  Shaping the fondant on to the cake.

 Using one hand, slightly pull down on the edge of the fondant and with the other rub the fondant that is on the side of the cake.  This takes a bit of practice and patience.

When you have the fondant smoothed out using a sharp knife cut the excess edge off.  Leave a wee bit of length because the fondant tends to shrink up a bit.

 I then took a skewer and stuck it in the bottom tier all the way and marked it.  I then cut it and 3 more like it so they could be placed in the cake to support the top tier.

 I put a dallop of frosting in the center to act as glue for the top tier

 I wanted to add a little wave pattern to the top tier so I rolled out a strip of fondant and using a pearing knife I cut out my design.


 Water is the "glue" for working with fondant.
You don't need a lot.  Just dip your finger in the water
and run you finger along the area you want the fondant to stick.

 Now you are ready to decorate

 I gently stuck toothpicks into the backs of the dolphins
and added frosting then stuck them to the cake

 I love this stuff!  It's edible glitter for cakes. 


 I apply it gently with a new paint brush.

It adds a shimmer to the whole cake.

 ALL DONE!