Sugar Plum Mermaid Princess Cake

My little girl is 4! I can't believe it, really and truly! Now that she's a bit older, the whole birthday right before Christmas deal is getting much tougher. It doesn't matter what you do, the two seem to muddle together a bit. But I was determined to give her a special moment of her own this year...

Anyway, here's what happens when you ask a four year old what the ultimate birthday cake would be (keep in mind she's obsessed with the Little Mermaid and had just seen the Nutcracker for the first time). "Momma, I'd really love a Sugar Plum Mermaid Princess cake". Ok now what, especially since I've never made one of those cakes with a barbie stuck in it?

So, here's how to make a cheap version of a barbie princess cake... I baked up two 9 inch layer cakes (berry/vanilla swirl). The third layer was a little experiment. Instead of buying a cake pan that I'd use once, I figured out a cheap way to fake it. I used a 6" pyrex bowl, sprayed the inside with Bakers Joy, then placed a tall glass (also greased) in the middle of the bowl. Here's the hot tip - I poured a bunch of dried lentils in the glass to keep it from shifting. Then I poured the batter in the "o" space and baked it until a skewer came out clean. After it had cooled, I flipped the "dress" part of the cake onto a small plate (leaving the glass in place, so that it didn't cave in). I wrapped all the layers in press & seal and let them cool in the fridge for a couple hours.

Now comes the fun part! I stacked the lower 2 layers together with a filling. Then I placed the "skirt" on top and crumb-coated all three layers. There was no need to secure them because the frosting acted like glue. After decorating all the layers I stuck the doll in the hole on top, being sure to push her feet into the middle layer. Then I used mini marshmallows to pad around her. Ta-da princess cake extravaganza! And when we cut the cake the marshmallow middle was a fun surprise for the kids.

I was pretty psyched cause I'm not a fancy decorated cake expert by any means and it still looked like a real-deal cake. AKA, all of you guys can definitely do this! And most importantly, MG was thrilled. Birthday specialness achieved!

-HAPPY SUGAR PLUM BIRTHDAY-

Happy Happy!

Happy Christmas & happy new year!! Thought I'd share a couple merry pics and my new favorite felted slipper pattern. If you're a beginner looking for something more exciting than a scarf to knit or experienced looking for the ultimate quick gift, the Duffers pattern is for you! Plus I think they're pretty cool cause the toe looks a lot like Keen shoes (a Chattanooga Favorite). Thanks SO much to Mindie at "Knitting if not Eccentric" for helping me give some great gifts this year!!

FYI - I used a size 11 needle and doubled Patons Classic Wool, worsted weight, which felts really well with a load of jeans in the washer. I also painted zigzags on the bottom of each slipper with puffy paint to make them skid-proof. The possibilities are endless, have fun!

-HAPPY NEW BEGINNINGS-

And I'm Back...AGAIN!

Okay, okay, you all may be wondering where I've wandered off to... I'm not laying on the beach (unfortunately) and I haven't had another baby that I know of! If you'd like to see a big piece of what I've been up to, go here.

And now for some happy Christmas leaves! My family has been celebrating "handmade Christmas" for years and I'm always on the hunt for new ideas. So you can imagine my joy when I discovered this pattern for knitted leaves. I'm not sure what they're supposed to be for, maybe embellishment, but I decided to knit them up in 100% cotton on #5 double point needles. Paired with a cute soap they make great natural face scrubbies.

Hope that helps for all of you that are looking for last minute gift ideas!
Be back soon, I promise!
-HAPPY LEAVES, SPARKLY FACES-

Bigtime Drool!

So it's been a while since I shared one of my new favorite sites to drool on... Here's an oldie that I rediscovered tonight - Plasticland! I have to say that they've seriously worked on offering more thoughtfully designed items along with the fun stuff. I'm especially in love with the pink cuckoo clock, Matryoshka doll glasses and tape measure. But trust me, there are lots of other happy things to drool on!

-HAPPY COLORFUL GIFTS-

Glitter Hair Goodies

Having a little girl who loves sparkles usually means that all things involving glitter are a necessity. For example - tutus, princess dresses, thrift store old lady sweaters, fairy wings, anything with sequins (and I mean anything), glitter shoes of all sorts, and the ever popular sparkle flower hair accessories. I'm sure you must know a little one like this?!

So you can imagine the pure excitement when MG spied some "fancy" hairbands and barrettes at the store the other day. And then you can imagine the pain and agony when I told her $5.99 for a sparkle flower was too much. Ugh. I felt terrible! Then I realized we could easily make our own version for virtually nothing. A little elmers glue, dollar store flowers and hair accessories, glitter, and viola! MG had a blast gluing and sprinkling glitter and I think they look pretty great. Phew! Another cheap craft to the rescue! Ooo and a white version of this would be great for crafty wedding/bridal hair...

-HAPPY SPARKLE FLOWERS-

Longest Yard Sale Extravaganza

Oh my goodness, I fulfilled a dream of many years today... I shopped at the Route 127 Yard Sale, aka "the world's longest yard sale". My sister and I ventured bravely up Signal Mountain, Tennessee with both kids to see what we could see. It was serious insanity, lots of interesting folks and TONS of great finds! Cars were parked everywhere, bbq was smoking, bargains were being bargained, sweat was dripping and I loved every minute of it! If you're in the area or able to drive to it, the sale is well worth the adventure. Happy hunting!

- HAPPY DREAMS OF YARD SALE FINDS -

Crafty Kids - Doodle Bean Bags!

I love Summer! We've been spoiled with endless days of great weather and swimming, but every now and then we have a doozy of a storm. And when I say doozy, I mean thunder booming within inches of our roof and lightening that looks like fireworks. It's really cozy and pretty but explaining to little ones that you can't swim is a bit tricky. So what to do when it's pitch black outside at 3pm? Craft of course! So here's a crafty kids project for a rainy day...

DOODLE BEAN BAGS:
What you'll need:
- a sharpie marker
- fabric scraps (at least 5 inches square)
- double-sided fusible webbing
- beans or rice
- a little one that's bored

Ok, this is really easy and lots of fun. All you need to do is cut some white or light fabric into 5 inch squares. Iron fusible webbing onto the back. Then, if you're feeling brave or desperate, let your little one doodle on the fabric with the sharpie (be sure to tell them to leave room on the edges for sewing up the bag). Meanwhile, cut the bag fabric into 5 inch squares. Once the doodles are done, cut them out and iron them on to the bag square. Then put the 2 right sides of fabric together, sew 3 sides to join, flip right side out, have your child fill with beans and sew together the remaining side to close. To keep MG busy while I hand-stitched the last seam I had her count beans and name the doodle guys. Then we had a bean bag tossing extravaganza. So much fun and the lack of swimming was long forgotten. Hooray!

- HAPPY RAINY DAY -