Fiona's 2nd Birthday

Wave and I decided to make Fiona's birthday cake this year for her 2nd birthday. She has become fascinated with butterflies recently, so we wanted to incorporate them into the cake.







We baked two rectangular cakes and used one for the bottom blue layer. With the second, we carefully cut out a butterfly shape and laid it on the first with icing in between the two.

We wanted the colors on the butterfly to be realistic. We mixed edible color gel in a glass with a little vodka and painted all the color on the cake. The vodka evaporates off the cake leaving vibrant color behind.
For the outline of the butterfly we mixed food coloring with icing until we got the color we wanted. We also used icing for the white dots on the wings.
We used black and white candles with polka dots for the butterfly antenna. This worked perfect since she turned two! When we lit the candles, the cake really looked beautiful!




This was our first attempt at making and decorating a cake like this. I think we are both used to making typical dessert cakes. Needless to say, we are very proud of ourselves! I can't wait to make more cakes in the future. :)

Toddler Bed

**edit** this was supposed to be posted in January, but never posted for some reason**

We had some big changes in our household last weekend. Friday we went and bought Fiona a toddler bed. We weren't sure how she would adjust but she did great! It is cute because she gets up in the morning and plays in her room until we come and get her. The past few times she wanted to continue playing and not leave the room.

We are so proud of our little girl! :)

Making A Sweatshirt Smaller

I have so many sweatshirts in my closet that are too big, but I don't have the heart to throw them out.  So I experimented today with making one smaller.  I actually used one of my husbands old sweatshirts that he gave me a while back.  ;)

This will also work with long sleeve shirts as well.
 All you need is an old sweatshirt that's too big, scissors, sewing pins, and a sewing machine.

 Lay out the sweatshirt inside out and line up all the seams.  Starting at the bottom, cut a little off the sides going up to the armpit, but be sure to leave a little room to sew so it's not too tight when you put it on.  I cut mine going in a little in the waist to flatter my shape more.  If the sweatshirt is too big in the arms, cut going up through the armpits to the end of the sleeves.  Remember to keep the curve of the sweatshirt through the armpit.  The above is my sweatshirt cut from the bottom to the end of the sleeves.

Once you have the sweatshirt cut, you can pin it in place and sew it back together.  Once it is sewn together, pull it right side out and you're done! 
(In my first attempt, the arms and shoulders were still to big since it was a mens sweatshirt.  I went back and sewed the arms a little smaller and then cut off the excess.)

Now for Before and Afters!

                   Before:

                     After:

So much better!!  Happy Sewing!

Felt Play Wall

Felt was on sale this week so I stocked up on lots of colors and created Fiona a felt play wall.   

To create this all you need is one big piece of felt for the background and lots of other colors to make shapes and letters.

To attach the felt to the wall, I didn't want to nail into the wall so I bought Command strips.  I stapled the felt to the strips and then attached to the wall.  These are nice because they don't damage the paint, but are durable.  If you don't mind holes, you could attach the felt to canvas or in a frame and hang on the wall instead.

Cut out all the shapes, letters, and numbers that you wish and attach!  Felt sticks to felt easily so there's no need to velcro. Just stick them on.

I think this will be fun to decorate for different seasons also, just alternate the shapes out!  =)

Happy Felting!

 

DIY Table Centerpiece

If you have a glass vase lying around you can make your own table centerpiece.  I love this because it can be as simple or elaborate as you wish. 

I bought the vase and fake flowers for a total of $2 and used leftover garland from the tree to create ours. 

The great thing with a glass vase is you can change it up for each holiday or occasion.  =)  So many possibilities! 

Happy Creating! 

T-Shirt Recon: Tie Front

I have so many t-shirts in my closet that are baggy in the front giving my hourglass figure a boyish one.  Here's a fun and simple way to alter these shirts using just a pair of scissors.

I drew a diagram showing where to cut if you want to alter the sleeves and neck line also.
Make sure to keep all the cuts even so one sleeve isn't longer than the other (unlike my diagram)

Put the shirt on and mark where you will be cutting your holes to tie the shirt at.  They should be right under your chest evenly spaced apart.  Then make these cuts but make sure to keep them small so you don't have gaps when you pull it tight.

For the tie string you can use scrap from one of the sleeves, or a piece of fabric or decorative ribbon.  String it out through the holes so each end hangs out for you to tie.

Tie the string as tight as you wish in a bow or knot.  =)


Now for the before and after pics!

                      Before:

 

                    After:

 

Happy Cutting!

Basic Scoop Neck T-Shirt Recon

There are so many ways to transform an old t-shirt into a new must have.  The levels of altering your shirts can be as simple as cutting off a few inches, to changing the shape and design all together. I look forward to conquering each technique and blogging my success and/or failures.  ;)
 
My first attempt was creating a scoop neck and shortening the sleeves.  I found this to be a simple start.  I started with a boring basic t-shirt.
It was easier in this instance to draw a diagram of where to cut.  Just make sure to keep it even on both sides. 

Once you have made all the cuts, pull and stretch the fabric to get the shirt to roll up along the edges. Then you are finished!

Finished Product Front

Finished Product Back

Happy cutting!