Baby Shower Cake Pops

Some friends of mine were throwing a double baby shower and asked me to help with a dessert. Since one of them is having a girl and the other a boy, I had to think of something! 

I decided to make some upside down cake pops. I used pink candy melts for the girlie ones and polka-dotted them with pearl candy balls. I used brown candy melts for the boy ones and used blue candy melts in a squeeze bottle to drizzle over them.

Overall, I enjoyed making them for the shower! 

The guests loved them. 

Create.

"The world doesn't need another band, per se. It doesn't, strictly speaking, need another book or another photograph or another album. The general world population will survive without one more stage production and one more gallery showing. 


This is the thing, though: you might not. We create because we were made to create, having been made in the image of God, whose first role was Creator. He was and is a million different things, but in the beginning, he was a creator. That means something for us, I think. We were made to be the things that he is: forgivers, redeemers, second chance-givers, truth-tellers, hope-bringers. 

And we were certainly, absolutely, made to be creators."
-Shauna Niequist

Crafting Secrets.

I've recently given people a lot of tips and tidbits on certain projects, so I thought I would add them here.

Not only do a love crafting, but- just like my momma- I love a good deal. Here are some ways you can make your money go a bit further and, in my opinion, have an even better result:


Tips for Yarn Wreaths
1. Buy a straw wreath. The green traditional Styrofoam wreaths normally run about $5 or $6 and are a lot more fragile than the straw wreaths. Straw wreaths are normally $3 and have a sturdy appearance. I originally went this route to avoid more yarn wrapping- which trust me, you'll thank me later!

2. Buy felt by the yard. Earlier this week, felt sheets were 50% off. Great, but so was felt by the yard. In the end, you get a lot more usable surface space and more felt for your money. I also, once again, found the felt by the yard to be better quality.

3. As my bestie found out earlier this week, a thicker yarn in the end will save you time and money. Even though those dental floss yarns are cute and sparkly, they are hell to wrap and don't cover much surface area. Also, always look for what is on sale and how many yards you are getting for your money. When it comes to yarn wreaths, the quality of the yarn isn't a big deal. You aren't going to war with it- you're just gonna hang it on a door or a wall somewhere!

4. Don't waste your money on the embellishments. When it comes to craft projects, you can end up spending more money than on something store bought if you let yourself get carried away. I haven't paid over $7 for all of my materials for any one wreath- shop the sales, clearance areas, and even your old jewelry box for brooches and earrings.

5. Have fun! Experiment! Try new and different things! Some of the weirdest ideas I've had have turned out surprisingly awesome. Mix fabrics, textures, cutting patterns- you'll stumble on something great!

More to come...

Current Projects.

Some of my projects from the past week...

A wreath for my future sister-in-law for Christmas

Worked on some felt flowers for another project...

Wall decor for my friend Jess for Christmas

Bookends for myself :)

Holiday cake servers for my volunteers

Multi-colored cake servers for my volunteers

It all started...

with a girls weekend in Bloomington.

Okay, well not really. My love for all things crafty was passed down to me from my mother, who my girlfriends affectionately refer to as Barb. When I was younger it seemed that whenever there was a craft project in Pioneer Girls, a wedding shower to throw, or a luncheon that needed centerpieces- my mom was at the top of everyone's call list. I think for a while I kind of thought that everyone's mom was like that. Whether I just assumed it came with the job title or it was all I knew, I quickly began to discover that different moms had different talents- and for some, crafting was NOT one of them. So, there you have it. Some moms sew, some knit, some make a killer casserole, but for the most part...my mom crafts.

So fast forward to a weekend in Bloomington, IN in the fall of 2010. I was sitting around with my former college roommates, who are all still affectionately referred to as "roommate", looking up some fun new home decor ideas. The summer before, our roommate Terry opened up a shop on Etsy called Hair Treasures and began selling the cutest hair accessories you ever done seen. The topic for the day? Yarn wreaths. After finding hundreds on Etsy, and being the daughter of a crafter, I believe my first words were: "Holy crap! 40?! I could totally make that myself!" And so it began.

I returned to Ohio the next day, took a trip to my local craft store (with most likely a 40% off coupon), and immediately got to work. The results of my first wreath?

This wreath was later recycled to complete another wreath. It was a start, but it needed a little help.

After I began making a few yarn wreaths, I began to discover how many crafting/home decor/DIY blogs there are on the world wide web. Wow! Who knew. I love having an idea in my head and googling a few words and being able to find the easiest possible way to do it. I love finding ideas from other blogs and putting my own twist on it to make it work for me. I could seriously read for hours!

I guess starting this blog is my way of sharing with friends things I'm working on, things I'd like to sell because my house is being overrun by crafting projects, and things I'm learning along the way. And in the long run, I hope to improve a lot of things! But in the meantime, here goes nothin'. Now, back to a craft project so I can blog about it... :)