Fabric Pumpkins

First, I must start off this blog entry by admitting that my new obsession is holiday crafting. A few friends from church and I decided to get together one night to learn how to make fabric pumpkins and out of it we formed an informal crafting group. I love having creative friends who are willing to share their talents and I also love the great conversations we have as we craft.

Project Materials:

- Fall fabric (1 yard makes 8+ pumpkins depending on size)

- Embroidery floss that coordinates with fabric (approx 3 ft)

- Long sewing needle

- Scissors

- Hot glue gun

- Pillow stuffing

- Pencil or Pen

- Dinner plates of various sizes

- Items to decorate pumpkins (i.e. twigs, raffia, leaves, etc)

Materials in a nutshell.

First, lay out your fabric flat and trace the edges of an upside-down plate on the backside of the fabric. Cut the circle out of the fabric.

Using the long needle, sew around the edges of the entire circle.



Pull the thread so that it gathers evenly around the circle.



Fill the fabric with the pillow stuffing. If you want fuller pumpkins, add more stuffing.




Pull thread tight to close the opening of the pumpkin. If you would like to give you pumpkin ridges, insert needle down the middle of the pumpkin and pull all the way through the bottom. Take needle with thread around the side of the pumpkin and insert through the top middle of the pumpkin again. Repeat, until you get your desired amount of ridges.

Using a hot glue gun, attach decorative pieces on the top of your pumpkin.

You can use the various plates to create different sized pumpkins.

Fun Baby Shower Idea

I recently hosted a baby shower for a good friend of mine, JKuhl. I have hosted a number of showers and each one I like to be different and special so I end up spending a lot of time on figuring out games, food, theme, etc. During my research I came across a great idea in lieu of a game. I bought a bunch of white onesies in various sizes, fabric paint, paint brushes, and foam stamps. Each guest was given the opportunity to decorate a onesie for the baby. Some of the guests were a little intimidated at first, but in the end everyone was excited with their finished product and eager to decorate a second one. Below are pictures of just a few of the onesies that were created at the shower.

The sample onesie that I created.

JKuhl's mom



Rochelle


Heather



Kristen

Elle Bee

Cakes!

Recently, I have decided to take a break from cupcakes and expand my baking repertoire by taking a cake decorating class. This four week class taught me the basic essentials for baking a good cake, filling a cake, and decorating a cake. Many places offer Wilton Cake Decorating courses, but I chose to go with Edwards Cake and Candy Supply, which is located in Modesto. If you enjoy baking and want to take a trip to a baker's Disneyland, then you must visit Edwards. Below are some cakes that I have baked and decorated.

The first cake we decorated in class. The cake is french vanilla with butter cream frosting and a lemon filling. I loved decorating the cupcake cake because I heart cupcakes.

The golf course cake wasn't a cake I decorated in class, but for Father's Day. I used many of the techniques I learned from my class and was very happy with the results.

During our last decorating class we learned how to make roses. I added the Esther scripture to the cake because I planned on sharing the cake with my Bible study group who happens to be studying the book of Esther.



If you have ever thought about taking a cake decorating class, I highly recommend Edwards.

Graduation

On June 12, 2010 I graduated with my Master Degree in School Counseling and received my PPS credential. I can't even begin to describe how great it feels to be done with homework, late night study sessions for the Praxis tests, and endless vacation hours used for interning. Many people are asking me... soooo what are you going to do now? Unfortunately the state of the economy has eliminated many counseling positions, but thankfully I have a stable job with a really good employer. BUT when those counseling jobs do become available, I will be ready!

Woo hoo! I am official!

My greatest support system. There were a few times I was ready to walk away, but he always knew how to talk sense into me.


My parents have always supported my educational efforts. This time around they didn't have to worry about the economic support ;)



Two of the three people that got me through the program. Who would have thought I would look forward to going to class every week after working a full time job?



We experienced it all together... the overachievers!

Theme Crazy!!!

Themes make me go a little crazy. I love themes because they tie things together so well. When I was planning my wedding I came across a cake topper that was of entwined hearts and within a matter of minutes, I was brainstorming how I could use the entwined hearts throughout my wedding. When decorating our living room, we installed a wine cabinet and now that room looks like a gift shop at a winery. I think what I like most about themes is that they keep me focused.

Last weekend I helped throw my sister-in-law a baby shower. I had no idea what sort of theme to use. All I knew is that we needed to incorporate the color purple. After having two girls already, my sister-in-law was ready for a new girly color. Months went by after initially selecting the baby shower date and I still had no idea of what theme to use for the shower. One evening I was talking to my sister-in-law about how she wanted to decorate the nursery with butterflies. It didn't hit me right away, but after I came across a website that had the cutest butterfly cupcakes, I felt my heart rate increase and my brain started working overtime... I had figured out the theme!!!

As I mentioned earlier... once I have a theme I go a little crazy. Below are picture of only some of the butterfly themed items.

We found butterfly decorations to hang in the trees.

We had butterfly table cloths and tableware.

What is a butterfly-themed party without a butterfly net?

Butterfly chocolate molds.

The butterfly cupcake that inspired it all.




Lots of butterfly cupcakes!


The mommy-to-be with the butterfly cupcakes.

The aspiring baker with a tray full of butterfly cupcakes.

Now that the shower is over I can finally go to a store and not go crazy if I find something that is butterfly-themed. I think my mother-in-law and I scared a few people when we were out shopping for the party. Every time we saw something with a butterfly, we could not contain our excitement. Can you blame us?

Cupcake Art

I tried a yummy new cupcake recipe last weekend. The bottom was chocolate and the icing was strawberry flavored. It seems like a simple recipe but there is a lot of work when you bake everything from scratch and the combination of the chocolate and strawberry flavors were perfect. To add a little pizazz to the simplicity, the cupcakes were adorned with tiny candy pearls on the top. I am horrible at taking picture of my creations, but my mom has a natural photo talent. She dressed up the cupcake with real strawberries and took a picture that captured the true essence of the cupcake.

Photo taken by: Roxann Hays

Rocky Road Candy

I was introduced to this yummy Rocky Road Candy recipe by my former co-worker Anna. It is extremely easy, fast and fun to make. I did learn a very important lesson the first time I made this candy. It is very important to know that you are not to heat a stainless steel bowl in the microwave. I know most women know these tricks of the trade, but I must admit I am subject to "blond moments." It only took burning my hand once for me to remember to NEVER do that again.

Ingredients:

- 2 bags of light chocolate melts from Michael's Craft Store

- 1 bag of shelled walnuts

- 1 bag of mini marshmallows

Place the chocolates in a MICROWAVE SAFE bowl.

Heat chocolate until melted.






Stir in walnuts and marshmallows.






Look around and make sure no one is looking and taste a small bite of the mixture.

Place spoonfuls of the mixture on wax paper and let cool for 30 minutes.

Bon Appetit!