Friday, January 22, 2010

Felt Grocery Sets




So cute I love all of these!

Fun Felt Sets

MOVIE PACK- Popcorn, drink, M&M's and Mars bar

TEA PARTY- Tea cups, Tea kettle on a Tea Tray

DOCTOR BAG

POTS & PANS SET

CHEIF COOKING KIT

BBQ SET- Grill, tools, steak, hamburger and hotdog

Flannel Board Story Box


InstructionsThings You'll Need:
Clean pizza box or other sturdy box with a hinged type lid.
Felt.
Tape measure.
Scissors.
Hot glue gun.
2 hot glue sticks.
12" dowel rod.

Step 1:Measure the top of the pizza box. Cut a piece of felt using measurements.

Step 2:Position the closed box with lid hinged in the back. Starting with the top left, glue the felt to the top of the box, and press felt firmly to box. Use extra glue on corners and a large dot in the center. For the most secure hold, put the line of hot glue ¼ -⅛" away from the edge of the box.

Only glue up to 12" at a time to keep the glue from cooling too fast.

Step 3:Trim away excess felt.

Step 4:Use a 12" dowel rod to prop up lid when telling a flannel board story. Use the inside to store dowel rod and flannel board pieces when not in use

Lap Flannel Story Board



Things You'll Need:
Old pair of adult blue jeans.
Scissors,
Tape measure.
Felt,
Thread,
Sewing machine.
Iron.
Pins.
Iron on pellon.
60" length of bias tape.

Instructions
Step 1:Cut open a leg of the blue jeans. Cut a rectangle 20" x 9" from the denim. If there is not enough material, adjust pattern as needed. Cut out one of the back pockets.

Step 2:Cut 20" x 9" pieces of felt and iron on pellon. Iron pellon to felt to help felt hold shape and keep from stretching.

Step 3:Lay denim face down. Place felt on top with pellon in center. Pin together. Sew around edges using a ¼" seam allowance. Trim edges.

Step 4:Fold in half and mark fold with pins or chalk. Sew marked line to create a spine for the lap book.

Step 5:
Sew bias tape around edges of lap book. Trim threads.

Step 6:On the front, hot glue blue jean pocket. Use to store flannel board pieces when not in use.

Fun stories to make for your flannel board:
Hey Diddle, Diddle
Print out, laminate and apply felt or sandpaper to the back of figures of a cat, fiddle, cow, moon and dog. You can find templates online or draw or trace the figures directly onto felt and cut them out. Introduce the figures one at a time as you say each verse. For example, bring the cat out, then the fiddle. Place them to the side of the board and bring out the cow and the moon, and so on until you finish the rhyme.
Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater
Re-enact this nursery rhyme using a large pumpkin flannel board piece, a figure of a man (Peter) and a woman (his wife). Hide Peter's wife under the pumpkin when you get to the end of the rhyme, which describes him putting her in a pumpkin shell.
Pussycat, Pussycat
Make flannel board figures of the queen, cat, chair and mouse. For maximum durability, print the figures onto card stock or another sturdy paper. Recite the story, hiding the mouse under the chair and performing other actions along with the rhyme. Let the children take turns telling the story from different perspectives such as that of the mouse or the queen.
Georgie, Porgie
Print out or make several boy and girl figures, as well as images of puddings and pie (since he's "Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie"). Make sure you add large lips to the two main characters so that Georgie can bestow kisses. Start with one figure of a boy "Georgie" (surrounded by a pudding and pie) and one figure of a girl. Add more boys and girls to the board when you come to the part of the rhyme where "the boys came out to play." Make Georgie disappear when other children appear.
Three Little Kittens
Create flannel board figures of three cats and three sets of mittens. Be sure the cats are large enough to wear the mittens. Color the cats in shades of white, brown, black or gray and the mittens in primary colors. Recite the rhyme once or twice in its original form, then add colors into it, such as "One little white kitten lost his blue mitten and he began to cry...."

Burlap Heart Wreath


Supplies for 1 wreath
1 metal hanger

12" X width of burlap (my burlap was about 50" wide)

glue gun

a rotary cutter to make cutting the strips easier

dental floss

Instructions
Cut 3 - 4" X about 50" burlap strips. Sew these three pieces together, so you have one long strip. To gather the burlap, machine zig zag stitch over dental floss. I used red cinnamon flavored floss so it wouldn't show, even though it looks white in the picture. Pull the floss and gather the burlap.

Bend 1 wire hanger into a heart shape
Adjust gathers to fit around frame, cutting off any extra that isn't needed. Hot glue to wire frame. I used clear fishing line to hang, but a pretty white bow would be nice.

Felt Sandwich with Chips


Basically the construction on these is pretty simple. Everything was handstitched using embroidery thread matching the color to the felt. I only used two threads of the embroidery thread in most cases and I used a blanket stitch on everything. the only exceptions to this are the chips and the chip bag. I whip stitched the yellow circle and white line onto the red bag but I did a blanket stitch to attach the two bag pieces together. **NOTE: You could add a little velcro to the opening of the chip bag if you want it to "close". However, I did not.

Potato Chips and Bag:
The chips were the only thing that were not handsewn. The chips were made by first taking one sheet of felt and cutting it in half to make two sheetsthat measured 6"x 9". Then I placed them together and loaded the sewing machine up with a matching thread color. Then I placed the presser foot along on edge. I sewed vertically following the short (6") end. After I sewed that first line, then I moved the presser foot and placed it up against the first line and used that line as a guide. I continued until the entire sheet was stitched with evenly spaced lines. Using this method the stitch lines end up being about 1/4" apart. Then I used the chip pattern (the cutout shape from the pattern sheet) and laid it on top of the stitched sheet of felt and started cutting. You want to make sure your lines run vertically and are centered correctly on the chip (see the pattern drawing for a rough guide). Because the felt has all the stitching, the chips can be "curled" to look like real ruffle chips!!


Sandwich:
For the sandwich, cut 4 pieces of felt for the white bread parts. I wrote on the pattern to cut two strips of dark brown felt in a 14" long by 1/2" wide strip. In order to do this and get it to fit on one sheet of felt, you will have to cut it out on the diagonal. It will take two pieces of felt to do just this part. But don't be discouraged! Save those scraps! They will come in handy for future felt projects I am sure.

Blanket stitch the brown strip onto one side of the white bread part. You can start in the middle of the bottom of the piced of bread or you can do what I did which is start in one of the indented parts of the side. When you go to handstitch the second white bread piece on, leave an opening large enough to stuff batting in. I just used regular Poly-fil. Try not to overstuff it or you will get puffy, swollen looking bread.

Swiss Cheese:
This was pretty simple. I just blanket stitched the holes first (it is easier to hide your starter stitches that way). The I stitched the two cheese pieces together along the outside. That's it!

Lettuce:
I blanket stitched the outside first. Then I hand basted the main "vein" going from one end to the other. Make sure that you get a good secure knot to start. Then when I got to the other end of the lettuce, I pulled the thread to get the rippled effect. Don't pull too tight, it doesn't take much to get the ripple effect. I added a few more veins coming out from the main one also using a hand sewn basting stitch but those were decorative and I did not pull those tight. Do what you feel looks best. Some of the veins may need to be pulled a bit to get the lettuce effect that you like best. Having the rippled effect with the basting stitches and not leaving the lettuce flat really gives the lettuce a realistic look and gives it a more three-dimensional look.

Tomato:
This was one of the harder components of the sandwich. I recommend cutting out the parts with an Exacto knife. The tomato consists of three parts. The back is red, the middle is pink, and the top is the red cutout piece. First whip-stitch the red cutout piece onto the pink piece but only stitch the middle parts NOT the outside edge. Then I just stitched some "seeds" using the same read embroidery thread that I just stitched the pieces together with. Then put the back red piece on and blanket stitch the pieces together.

Other Sandwich Parts:
The rest of the parts were all just blanket stitched except for the peanut butter and jelly. Those were a single piece of felt cut out using the pattern

Blog: Mojo & Co

Felt Apple


I used: Red felt (free) Green and brown felt (90¢ per sheet) Thread (red, brown and green (from my stash) and stuffer (from a dead teady bear!) oh, white felt, too! (free)
Cost: I didn't take the time to calculate, but it must be something above 3$ for the 5 apples.

For the whole ones, I've run stitched all the part one after the other, closely enough, without gathering and I reverse it all, stuff, and ladder stitched the rest.
For the cut one, I've Overcast stitch the white fabric with red thread. Hand embroiled the seed with brown threat.

The trick to make your red ball look like an apple is to pass your needle were the 4 cuts join right through the apple and again to the 4 cut join at the bottom. You pull a little and make lots of knots, then you sew in the tail.

Felt Foods

SACK LUNCH- Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwich with a fun juice box, cookie and Cheetos chips.

TACO TIME-fun felt taco's and tortillas

FRUIT PLATE-apple, orange, banana and a watermelon slice.

FOOD FRENZY- Pizza, donuts, carrots, chips, banana, eggs, strawberries, Oreo type cookies

CHICKEN DINNER- Chicken leg, mashed potato's with gravy and carrots

Make Cut Apart Felt Food



For this project you will need:

1 sheet Sweet Potato, or orange colored felt (will make 2 carrots)

1 sheet Fresh Cut Grass or dark green felt (will make 2 carrots)

Stuffing, I used 100% wool legacy stuffing but any stuffing will do

1 6inch strip of colored hook and loop in Fresh Squeezed. (will make 2 carrots with quite a bit left over.)

Thread to match orange colored felt.

If you need help with stitches please refer to Putting it all together

Step 1 cut pieces from templates, below



Cut 1 carrot top from fresh cut grass felt.
Cut everything else from Sweet Potato color


Step 2.
Roll stem up stem piece and stitch up as shown, stitching can be done with any color thread, it won’t show.

Step 3
Cut Hook and Loop (aka Velcro) into small circles, obviously you won’t be using this color.
Step 4.
Match up rounds you have cut out, you should have two of each place scratchy side (hook) onto one of the pieces and soft side (loop) to matching piece, stitch into place as shown. Make sure the right pieces fit together, it will be hard to correct later.

Step 5. Sew up sides of rings using a running stitch as shown below, turn inside out so seam doesn’t show

Step 6.
Sew bottom to slice A, the dot represents Hook and Loop (Velcro).
Depending on how far in you made your seam on each carrot ring the bottom and top circles may need to be trimmed a bit to fit properly.

Step 7
Set up like a cup and gather stitch around and lightly stuff.

Step 8.
Place stem into carrot and pull gather stitches tightly, pass needle through the stem a few times to hold it into place, the top is done.

Step 9
Sew tops and bottoms on to remaining rings as specified above. Stick Hook and Loop (Velcro) sides together and Viola! A felt carrot!


American Felt and Craft The Blog

Felt Food


Making felt food is fun, its cheap, easy (no patterns necessary), and FAST! I love the different types of food in this picture. The pizza, sandwich, cookies, chips, fruits, veggies and more. I highly recommend trying it out. Great Christmas gift ideas.

Stirring Up Snowman Chocolate Spoons


Supplies for Hot Chocolate Spoons:
- spoons, plastic work best
- chocolate chips, regular and mini chips
- marshmallows
- coconut, shredded and sweetened
- peanut butter chips
- butterscotch chips
- crushed candy canes
- wax paper
- plate



Have your supplies out ready to go. Heat up your chocolate chips for spoon dipping first. Place a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Take it out and stir, then continue to heat it for 20 second intervals until melted.

Once your chocolate is melted, dip your spoon into the bowl. You'll need to stir it around and turn it over to make sure you've got it all covered in chocolate. Then set the spoon onto a plate covered in wax paper.


When you've got your spoons dipped, it's time to decorate them. For the snowman, place 3 marshmallows in a line down the spoon. I topped one with a peanut butter chip for the hat and a flake of coconut for the scarf. Then two mini chocolate chips get a tiny dip of melted chocolate on the bottom of them before you place it on the top marshmallow for the eyes. Cute

We made a few different kinds of dipped spoons. One is dipped in melted peanut butter chips with mini chocolate chips all over. We call that one the "chocolate chip cookie" dipped spoon, and it is my favorite one dipped in hot chocolate! We also sprinkled coconut on one to look like snow. Melted mint chocolate with crushed peppermint on another, and a melted butterscotch chips spoon with drizzled chocolate on the top. Mmm,

Once you've got all your spoons dipped and decorated, let the chocolate harden again. It goes by pretty fast if you place your waxed plate in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes. Then they're ready for dipping in hot cocoa, or even your hot milk. The snowman one was our favorite to dip. He went for a big swim in chocolate. He was going

Edible Playdough You Will WANT to Eat!


There are many different kinds out there, but the peanut butter varieties really caught my interest. There are a myriad of Peanut Butter Playdough recipes, so I picked the two that sounded best and tried them side by side. The results are just fascinating, so keep reading!

Seriously, making Peanut Butter Playdough with the girls was a lot of fun! And, unlike other recipes (ahem, Mr. Kool-Aid), these recipes are ones that you not only CAN eat but will WANT to eat. Not that the whole point of edible playdough is eating it…but if you’re going to stick it in your mouth, it may as well taste good. On to the recipes!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Shadow Puppet Stage



Supplies:
Freezer paper
Elmer’s Glue
Masking tape
Some kind of paint that will be permanent on fabric, like textile paint or acrylic
A sponge brayer for applying paint
Fabric that will let a little light through, I used a half yard of muslin
Tulle (optional)
Start by cutting the shape of the theater opening out of freezer paper

-Lightly iron the freezer paper, waxy side down, onto the fabric.
-Now comes the fun part. Use your Elmer’s glue to squeeze out some fun architectural features (I sketched mine in pencil first). This is sort of the batik method. Anywhere you put Elmer’s glue will be free of paint. I kept a paintbrush handy for smoothing out blobbie spots.
-Allow the glue to dry.
-Tape off any other areas you don’t want painted. Then, using your brayer, apply paint as evenly as possible.
-Allow the paint to dry according to package directions. I left mine overnight just to be safe.

It’s time to see the results of your work. Pull away the freezer paper, then gently place the fabric in a tub of water and allow it to soak for an hour or two to soften the glue.
Pull it out and into the sink, and gently rub away the glue under running water. Take care not to rub the unpainted fabric against the painted fabric. Admire your results while you allow your theater to dry.

Use toys or even Animal Crackers on tooth picks for puppets.

Tissue Case- Get Better Soon!


Perfect as a favor for guests who are busy wiping runny noses when not attending showers. These felt cases hold travel packs and can be attached to a stroller or car seat with double-sided mounting tabs. To make one, cut a 6 3/4-by-5 7/8-inch rectangle from felt, fold short ends in to meet at center, and pin. Sew sides shut with a 1/2-inch seam allowance, and trim with scallop or pinking shears; adhere mounting tab to back side.

Hot Chocolate on a Stick

The trick to making the best hot chocolate on a stick is using good, serious chocolate that melts easily. A chocolate with at least 70% cocoa butter will do that. More cocoa butter means quicker melting. A bag of every-day chocolate chips won’t melt as fast. You can also find fake chocolate (like a bag of Wilton’s candy melts), which uses vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter. It will melt well, but the resulting cup of hot chocolate won’t be as transcendent. And we’re going for transcendent here. If you really want to go gourmet, use couverture (the chocolate made for dipping truffles), and don’t just melt your chocolate, temper it. But for me, a quick trip to the Winco bulk foods isle to pick up some Guittard chocolate wafers was good enough.
Hot Chocolate on a Stick
Yield: 10 cubes of hot chocolate (ice-cube-tray size)
(use 1 oz. hot chocolate on a stick per every 1 cup milk or cream)

Equipment:
Ziplock bags or piping bags
A double boiler or pan with a glass bowl that can sit over the simmering water
Some kind of chocolate mold, ice trays work great
Stir sticks or a bag of wooden craft sticks like I used (available at any craft store)
Ingredients:
8 oz. chocolate (with at least 70% cocoa butter, see note above), bittersweet, semisweet, milk, and white chocolate all work
1/4 cup cocoa, Dutch processed if possible, sifted
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
pinch of salt
6 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream if you plan to enjoy these right away
Method
1. If your chocolate is in a block, chop it into meltable pieces. Simmer a couple inches of water in a pan and place glass bowl over the top to make a double boiler. Be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water beneath it, and regulate the heat so the water stays at a simmer. Dump chocolate into the clean, dry bowl and stir as the chocolate melts.
2. Once the chocolate is 2/3 melted, with just some pieces of the chocolate unmelted, remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring until chocolate is fully melted.
3. Add cocoa, sugar, and salt and continue to stir until combined.
4. Lift the bowl off the pan and use a towel to dry off any drips of water. Pour chocolate into a ziplock bag and clip off the corner.
5. Pipe the chocolate into your chocolate mold, tapping the mold on the counter to make sure all the chocolate settles into the mold. Add a stir stick and you’re done. The stir stick should stay upright without any trouble.
6. Let the chocolate cool either at room temperature or in the fridge if you’re in a hurry.
7. If you don’t like the look of the chocolate once it is removed from the mold, you can dip the cubes into a new batch of plain melted chocolate for a shinier finish. This also lets you add sprinkles or crushed candy or just lets you dip in fun patterns. I like dipping at an angle into a different color of chocolate.
8. In order to enjoy these, heat up any combo of milk, water, half and half, or cream. I like 6 cups milk with 2 cups heavy cream. One ounce of chocolate on a stick should be melted into one cup milk or cream. So a standard ice cube-tray block, which is 3/4 an ounce, should be melted into a mug with 3/4 cup milk or cream in it.
How to store it: Chocolate will keep in an airtight container for up to a year. Don’t keep it in the fridge because it is really good at absorbing odors.

Candy Wrapper Belt


Materials:
candy or gum wrappers (the bag they're packaged in works well, too)
scissors
straight edge (optional)
tape measure
clear packing tape
double stick tape
x-acto or utility knife (optional)
2 d-rings in width of your choice (D-rings can be purchased at fabric stores. I made belts using 1 1/4” and 1/1/2” rings. These are probably the best for fitting through belt loops on most pants).

1. Measure your waist and determine the desired length of your belt. I used a ribbon belt I had on hand as a guide, too.

2. Determine the width of your belt by measuring the width of your d-rings. Plan to make your belt slightly narrower so it lays flat in the bottom of the ring. 3. Prepare your candy wrappers. I found the Starburst wrappers were simplest to use as they didn't require any trimming to fit into a 1 1/2” d-ring. With other candy wrappers I preferred trimming the sides to remove the excess or the ugly parts. The Tootsie Rolls were simple to trim with scissors, just outside the orange lines and they fit perfectly in a 1 1/4” ring.
I trimmed odd sized wrappers with a straight edge and utility knife. I found the width of the ruler I had was perfect for the 1 1/4" rings, so I placed the wrappers underneath it and trimmed down both sides.
With some wrappers, you could fold the excess wrapper over the back and double stick it down. I didn't want the extra thickness. Also, fyi, if you fold them over without taping them down, it creates kind of a tube belt and I found that annoying.

For my belts, I used about 19 Starburst wrappers and about 25 Tootsie Roll wrappers. The Tootsie Roll belt has a reversible end whereas the Starburst one doesn't. Obviously, a child's belt would require fewer wrappers.

4. Cut a piece of packing tape a couple inches longer than your desired belt length and lay it sticky side up on the table.

5. Begin placing candy wrappers face down in a line along the center of the tape strip, overlapping each slightly, paying attention to the direction your wrappers are facing. I wanted mine going the same way.
At one end, place a strip of double stick tape on the back of your wrappers (about 5 inches long) and place candy wrappers face up. That will be the reversible end opposite the d-rings.

6. Fold the edges of the packing tape running lengthwise overbacks of the wrappers. Cut a strip of tape in half lengthwise and stick it onto the back of the wrappers down the center to seal your belt, overlapping the folded tape edges. I found this easiest to do in multiple short strips versus one long one.

7. At the reversible end of your belt, fold the end over about 1/2” toward the back of the belt and wrap a piece of packing tape around the belt to secure it.

8. Slide the two d-rings onto the opposite end of the belt. Fold the belt end over onto the back of the belt about 1 1/2”. Wrap a piece of packing tape around the belt leaving about 3/4” play for the d-rings.

9. Slide through your belt loops and show it off!

I had a picture of my belt being worn, but can't seem to find it. If I take a new one, I'll be sure to post it. While figuring out how to make these, I discovered you can thread your belt through the rings in 2 different ways: one with the end of the belt coming through over the topside of your belt and the other with the end sliding underneath the belt next to your pants. I had no idea. I'm actually a fan of threading it underneath now which means you wouldn't need to make the end reversible. Seems to hold the belt tighter, too.

On my daughter's belt (which she helped make) I added a loop to catch the end of the belt. Hers was a little thick at the end and needed some help laying flat. I made a short strip using the same process as the belt, circled it around the belt and taped the back side of it to the belt.

And just fyi, plastic doesn't breathe so expect a sweat ring around your waist if you wear one of these this summer.

Eye Spy Bag


For the large one:

1 piece vinyl cut to 5 1/2 inches x 5 1/2 inches

Strips of flannel cut 3 inches wide (I just cut off the sides as I
sew)


For the Small one:

1 piece of vinyl cut to 4 1/2 inches x 4/1/2 inches

Strips of flannel cut 2 inches wide.

Right sides together, sew one strip of flannel to 2 sides of the vinyl. I USE A 1/2 INCHES SEAM. I WANT TO MAKE SURE IT IS SECURE. Cut off excess vinyl. Open seams and finger press. Now add flannel to other 2 sides of vinyl and fabric. You will end up with a square with the vinyl in the middle. Finger press fabric and stitch around vinyl opening to secure--don't want those little balls to escape!

If you are adding ribbon in the seams, baste it down to the top side seam now. If you are doing an eyelet, do it after you have sewn the 2 sides together.

Cut backing same size as the top, sew top and backing, right sides together. Leave a small opening for turning. Turn, attach eyelet if desired, add *pellets and small items. Although you could hand close, I personally like to sew it on the machine--again for safety and security.
I have done the tag in two ways. You can add a piece of ribbon in between the last step and sew it right in the seam . I have also added an eyelet in the corner after I have finished the pouch. Just be sure that the eyelet is in strongly and cannot be pulled out. I have sometimes sewn a zig zag stitch from corner to corner underneath the eyelet to make sure that none of the little pellets get out.

I put tons of things in mine. Some ideas: Try looking in the button section at Michaels, etc. They have buttons and then tiny things that are probably for scrapbooking. Also some of the confetti that you put on tables are fun. They are small and hard to find. I also go to the dollar store and get doll shoes, clothes, jewelry. Wal-Mart carries things for baby showers like diaper pins, bottles, etc. Tiny mirrors are available at craft stores.

Beads
Buttons
Dinosaurs
Cars
Trucks
Flowers
Scissors
Wiggle eye
Paper clip
Money (penny, dime, nickel)
Rubber bands
Stars
Hearts
Ribbon
Snowflakes
Ring
Doll shoes
Earrings

Bouncing ball
Snake
Space ship
Marble
Basketball
Baseball
Football
Soccer ball
Letters
Smiley face
Sea shell
Jingle bell
Bee
Puzzle piece
Ant
Pom pom
Mirror
Umbrella
Butterfly
Cat
Dog
Dog bone
Fish
Fish skeleton
Balloon
Purse
Baby bottle
Dove
Ghost
Pumpkin
Witch
Lady but
Teddy bear
Mitten
Stocking
Flag
Army man
Lego
Lemon slice
Hippo
Giraffe
Elephant
Baby rattle
Peace sign
Cannon
Straw
Monkey
Chicken
Clothes pin (look in the craft section for the tiny ones)
Apple
Orange
Bug
Spider
Gold button, red button, silver button, etc.
Umbrella
Space ship
Lion
Zebra
Penguin
Hand
Safety pin
Moose
Sun glasses
Dog paw

You can also copy and paste small things into a program and them laminate them. I love doing this to personalize it--try a picture of them, a family picture, CTR, picture of Jesus, what about each of the apostles, Their name, "H" "A" "N" N" "A" "H" (each on a different square. Put a Book of Mormon sticker on a piece of paper and laminate it, cut it out.
Religious "I Spy"

Use items found in the scriptures, church history, etc.. For example: a dime (tithing), a seed, a CTR ring, a tie tack, a picture of Christ, a picture of Joseph Smith, a picture of President Hinckley, a red pencil, stickers, a toy anchor, an angel, a boat, Noah's ark items.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Cake- Buttercream Rainbow


This is a picture of my butter cream cake that I decorated in one of my classes. The rainbow was fun with many colors and then I added the beginnings of a family. I didn't have the time to finish them so they don't have hair or faces. LOL O well maybe next time!

The second picture is a close up of the edging.

Cake- MMF Second Attempt


This is my second attempt and making and decorating with MMF (marshmallow fondant). I really enjoy making the MMF and my son likes to help eat it. This time I decided to make mini-cakes so that I would have more chances to decorate. I colored the fondant several colors and then used a circle cutter to create dots of different sizes on the cakes. I think they ended up pretty cute! I gave them away to the ladies I visit teach. They smiled when they saw them and seemed to enjoy them as well.

Cake- BYU and White Roses


Learning to decorate cakes is so much fun. Here are two more cakes that I just finished. The first is a white cake with a fun trip and white roses on it. The other cake was a lot of fun and was made for a BYU football game party. I used the star tip and made a big Y. Everyone seemed to like the look and taste of it. Cake making is so much fun!

Marshmallow Fondant Cake

After watching all those fun cake show for a while I started to get that "I can do that!" bug in me. So I signed up for some classes and even before that I tried some experimenting on my own. These are my first time making and decorating with MMF (Marshmallow Fondant). It was fun and making the fondant really helped me get out some frustration. It was sticky, messy and yummy all at the same time. In the end not the best cake but I didn't have a lot of time to play with. My first experience has taught me a lot and I cannot wait to try again. But first we have to finish eating the first cake. LOL! My hubby and I might have to go on a lot of walks while I am going through this new hobby!
To make MMF:
Ingredients:
One bag of Mini-Marshmallows
2 Tablespoon of water
One Microwaveable Mixing Bowl
A Microwave
A 2 pound bag of Powered Sugar
A Can of Shortening

Directions:
1. Put a good sized pile of Powered Sugar on the counter
2. Place the bag of marshmallow in the bowl and add the water.
3. Microwave for 30 Second and then stir
4. Repeat for 2 minutes or until Marshmallows are completely melted
5. Poor melted Marshmallows over Powered Sugar
6. Knead Marshmallow and Sugar together
7. Keep adding sugar until it becomes dough like

Storage:
Spread shortening all over the finished ball of dough like fondant and then wrap completely around with clear wrap. Place in a Ziploc bag and then store at room temperature.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Felt Quiet Book

This is the quiet book that I made for my nephew for Christmas. It took a long time and I made my own patterns but it turned out really cute if you ask me! My son really wanted it and wasn't to happy when I had to wrap it up and give it away! LOL I guess I will have to make him one too! Even though he already had two of his own!

The cover my mom helped with. The 1st page is Noah's Ark with a pocket inside the ark as well as the water to hold plastic animals. The 2nd page is Pets where you place the pets where they live (green part is a pocket) and Apple tree where you can pick apple from the tree and then put them in the pocket basket. 3rd page was Airplane which was a pocket with sky diver inside and Fireman with dress up gear/clothes as well as a fire truck with a latter and wheels that move. 4th page (MY FAVORITE) was Boys locker room with a dress up figure. The locker has a football outfit and basketball outfit. Along with a basketball court with balls that go throw the hoops and a changeable score board. 5th page is a Treasure Chest pocket that holds a treat to help keep the kids quiet and happy.

That's my Felt quiet book and I think it is so much fun. I have a few more ideas that I will hopefully find time to use and make more books. I also would like to start putting my patterns together so my books can be remade or reproduced. All in due time though!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Blocks

 

These fun Christmas time blocks were made by my mother and given as gifts to different family members for Christmas. I just love the wonderful colors and the sweet sayings on them. The best part is little ones can't really hurt them which is a big plus when you have a toddler. It was easy to make and they made wonderful gifts.

bright