Crafting for the "Face of Hope" Cancer charity!

My grandmother, whom we call "Meme " is a member of an organization that participates in quite a few charity events. I had the opportunity this time to help in one event called the "Face of hope". Basically it is where her organization members are given a plain mask to decorate and they auction off the finished masks to bidders to raise money for a Cancer charity. This was my first time making a mask and they are alot more work than I thought..Although it probably would have been easier if I weren't so anal!

                                                                         Original mask

                                                  The finished product: Inspiration- Butterfly Masquerade.

                                       I used 2 butterflies bought from Michaels, Pearl paint, tacky glue, sequins, glitter, (I forget what it's called but it's a mix between yarn and fake fur), black ribbon and purple beads

 Meme! She loved it! Ok so she's a complete sweetheart and probably would have still loved it even if  I used popsicle sticks and stickers..but I'm so glad she liked it! 

  

                           Next charity project: "Purse-suit of a cure"- You decorate a purse for a Cancer Charity! Can't wait!

My 1st Wonderland Baby shower Craft- Giant Tea cups

Inspiration: Giant Stacked Tea cups

My $1 store Materials:

1) Three Giant tea cup- $3

2) Two Giant lollipops $2

3) Wacky Ribbon (on hand)

4) Flowers (blue)- $1

5) Random Embellishments (On hand)

6) Cake pops to stick in (Home made)

 I will also stick in some misc baby items, onesies, mittens, etc (Given) or found at $1

I'm debating on stacking them uneven or purchasing plates to set in between these like in the photo....

 IN PROCESS- Will post pics by end of the week and begin another craft! 

Wonderland-Baby Style!

   So here's the deal , I'm almost 7 months pregnant with a baby boy and I've been hoping for the nesting instinct. Last time I was pregnant I came down with nesting fever and cleaned EVERYTHING. It. Was. Awesome. This time around, I think I got jipped. My nesting instinct has manifested as annoying control freak habits which are starting to come out as I am planning my baby shower.
  
  I will say that I do have a burst of energy for crafting; I'd almost rather it be cleaning but hey, I'll take what I can get.  The theme we've chosen is Alice in Wonderland/ Mad hatter! I'm so excited! There are so many great ideas that can be incorporated into it, and my favorite part: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO MATCH! I HATE having to find the perfect shade to match everything. Here was my original inspiration for the theme:
http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2010/05/02/alice-in-wonderland-garden-tea-party-oc-style/

     and in the process, I came across some of these ideas  from other crafty people on google!
      (None of these are mine but I do plan on using them as inspiration for my baby shower. I will be making all of these from $1 supplies and will post pictures and tutorials for the "Knock offs"! ):

                                             These are the wax "soda bottles" - found at my $1!

 

                                                          "EAT ME" treats! Easy and cute!

                                                 Some Alice in Wonderland Themed Invitations

                          Painting the Roses red (Another future $1 craft I plan on trying!)

                                                           Large stacked and painted Tea cups!


                     

First day of school!

My daughter is now officially a 1st grader! Today was her first day, and she was psyched. Equipped with pencils, glue sticks, plastic bags (insert the million things they asked for here) in her Disney Princess book bag and holding our "Suck up to the teacher gift" as I call it, we ventured into the world of knowledge of Elementary school!

 The craft I ended up choosing was a mixture of cake pops made to look like Apples http://www.bakerella.com/candy-apples/

 and the pencil vase found here: http://amandaparkerandfamily.blogspot.com/2011/08/tutorial-teacher-pencil-vase.html

After this picture, I printed out a tag with the teacher's name, the year and a lion (the class mascot) and hot glued it to the front. My cake pops looked a little different from the pictures (I'm new at the whole cake pop deal) However I think they turned out great! Two friends of mine met up with me this past weekend and we made them for the teachers together since we all have children starting school. It was a great bonding experience! I think we need to start getting together to do a monthly craft! Possibly start a club?...with T-shirts and a logo..and a club song...OK maybe not that extreme BUT a monthly get-together with friends for some crafting sounds great. I can't wait for Halloween crafts to start!

                                     Here are some pics from our apple cake pop extravaganza!

                                                              Valerie and Justine

                                                   Chocolate cake pops ready for dipping!

                                                                            Finished!

My cake pop experience

I followed the basic cake pop instructions of Bakerella's youtube video on "How to make cake pops." My ultimate goal is to make Apple shaped cake pops as a gift for my daughter's teacher on the first day of school. I did a practice run of regular cake pops (like the one in this video) and I also attempted the Mario Mushroom cake pops from this awesome tutorial: http://raptortoe.com/2011/01/24/1up-mushroom-cake-pops/. 

They are in general quite easy to make, however the trick is to keep them "frozen". You don't want them rock hard, but If they aren't cold they tend to fall off while dipping them in the candy melts/ chocolate or fall down while drying. These were my finished products:

     Mario Mushroom-I didn't have large white sprinkles for the spots, so i used white chocolate chips which ended up melting. With a bit more practice, these would come out amazing!

                    
 The regular Cake pops (as in Bakerella's video) came out great! I had two little helpers who did an awesome sprinkle job!  We'll definitely be making these again!

DIY cake pops

Cake pops: I see these at virtually every party/gathering I attend and was always so jealous of the ladies who were able to create them! Last year one of the moms in my daughter's Kindergarden class even made them for all the students on Valentines Day, I simply must learn how to make these things! Luckily for me, you can learn just about anything on the internet! I came across this page on how to make them:  http://www.ratedbymom.com/2011/04/diy-cake-pop-recipe/  I love blog recipes with picture instructions, i'm what they call a visual learner. I can't wait to try them out! I had no idea they were so easy to make. Once I master the basics I plan to dominate the vast world or themed cake pops! Check out these adorable themed ones,

Sesame Themed Cake Pops (With instructions) from :http://www.bumpsmitten.com/2011/08/diy-tutorial-sesame-street-cake-pops.html

Toy Story Alien Themed Cake Pops, found at: http://www.bakerella.com/pop-star-anju-in-canada/

Cupcake Cake Pops (instructions included) , found at: http://www.bakerella.com/make-your-cupcakes-pop/

Hello Kitty & Spiderman with Batman & Ninja turtles! Also found at bakerella.com

Mushroom cake pops found at: http://bellabaker.blogspot.com/2011/05/super-mario-cake-pops.html
 and instructions found here: http://raptortoe.com/2011/01/24/1up-mushroom-cake-pops/

It'ssssaaaa mariiiooooo found at: http://www.facebook.com/Bakerella/posts/151738131562398#!/photo.php?fbid=177609412293892&set=a.172326919488808.64831.161385933916240&type=1&theater

back to school gift for the new teacher!

My daughter is now going into 1st grade and I found these on Crissy's Craft Blog! This is a great back to school gift for her new teacher, and of course for her wonderful teacher last year! It's made from the bottoms of 2 soda bottles that have been painted cut, filled with candy and glued together to look like an apple. How creative <3 I can't wait to try it out!

Here is the link: Crissy's Craft: Apple {Teacher Appreciation Day} made out of soda ...

Dollar store Halloween Wreath made from scrubbers!

My new favorite website: Dollarstorecraft.com! I am a huge Dollar store junkie for random craft materials, and this just gave me about a million ideas! Halloween is just around the corner and I found these on the site. They are adorable and look realy easy to do! Here is the website with instructions:
Make a Bath Scrubber Halloween Wreath

Cutest summer snack ever!

So I was cruising around the net looking at craft blogs because...well....i have no life. Anyways, I came across this and thought it was so adorable. My daughter is having a beach themed birthday party. This would be perfect. All the kids are going to love this! Here is the link with instructions:

Sun Scholars: Bite Into Summer Vacation!

Diapercake tutorial

   Two of my Diapercakes (Made for friends)

  Jungle Themed 3-tiered Diapercake

 Pink and Brown Safari Themed Diapercake

 I hope soon to make my own tutorial but for those interesed in making one, I always refer them to this basic video that I came across on Youtube! :

Good Luck! I'll be adding much more to this post when I get a spare minute :)