Menu Planner

Seems like everyone does meal planning now. I'm jumping on that bandwagon n an attempt to save money. I hear it's incredibly helpful and saves a lot of time, too.

So, I designed myself a menu planner today. I've seen several online, but none that really suited my needs. I think this one will do the trick.

Here is the blank one

 Here is one I've filled in.

Monster Valentine Box

I made this box for my nephew. It took me a few hours & didn't turn out perfectly, but I was pleased.

I started with a cheese cracker box. I glued construction paper to it using tacky glue.

Next I took some foam butterfly shapes & cut them to make a horn shape. I used two & glued them back to back so I could use the bottom halves to glue onto each side of the box.

 Sorry I didn't get step by step pictures. I had tacky glue all over me. 

For the hair I took loops from a kids' weaving set and cut them in half to make long strands. 

I used different color groupings to add interest and make it more of a fun monster. 

Next, I poked holes in the top of the box and took the strands in one hole & back up through 

another so that both ends were sticking out (making 2 tufts of hair from each set of strands). 

I taped the strand part that was left inside the box to help keep them from sliding out.

 I used scrap pieces from the foam horns to make the teeth. It was a trial and error type thing, so I was thrilled when it worked out! I used tacky glue to stick them inside the box. I was worried they would come loose when he "ate" the Valentines, but they didn't. They held up to first graders! :)

 The rest of the box I just decorated with circles cut from foam and pieces of construction paper.

 I'm really happy with how this little monster turned out. It was my first time making a Valentine box like this and I feel like it was a success! I did a lot of clapping & jumping up and down. :)

 Thanks for looking!

First Birthday Plans- the cake

ARRRGGG!! I guess no matter how much I wanna be "that mom" (Ya know, the one who makes everything home-made and it looks like something straight off the pages of a magazine) it just isn't in my blood. :( 

First, my pretty cakes broke into pieces while I was putting them together. Somehow I (with Anna Rimer Johnson's help) managed to piece them back together with icing. 

Next, fondant that I rolled smooth until I got blisters on my fingers & hands pleated up on my cake and wouldn't smooth out. 

The icing on the cake (pun definitely intended), however, was when every single royal icing snowflake and decoration I made broke into pieces instead of sliding off the parchment paper like "they" say it's supposed to. Really. I'm not joking. One almost-whole snowflake made it within inches of my cake before shattering into little pieces. I'm fairly sure it did it on purpose just to tease me. 

Oh well. At least I can laugh through my frustrated tears. :) Plan B is now in action... fondant off, re-ice cakes, and apply flaked coconut over entire thing. Here's to hoping it looks ok. I'll post pictures later.

Oh, and by the way, birthday girl Isla found this entire process to be extremely entertaining, so it was most definitely worth the entire headache. :)

Update:   

DG (only store in town) apparently doesn't have any coconut. On to plan C-- I like to call it the "spackle look" or "acoustic ceiling" haha. Shew. My nephew Logan was right. I should have had Carlo's bakery make it.  

Update 2:

OK guys, pulling fondant off a cake that is already just pieces held together with icing is not a good idea. It's back in pieces, haha! New plan. We will have a lovely store-bought cake. I have no shame. I tried & that's enough for me. Next time I'll choose a simpler cake to attempt.  

First Birthday Plans- theme & invite

It seems fitting for my first post to come as I prepare for my daughter's first birthday party. I've been brainstorming and planning for this event since she was only a couple of months old. This past year has flown by!

My original plan was for a rainbow polka dot themed party. I thought that would be easier to DIY since I could mix & match colorful things I found on sale and polka dots are fairly easy to make. I've decided to move that theme to next year :)

You may wonder why I changed my mind if I already had great ideas pulled together and a general plan in place. The answer is I found out about a theme called Winter ONEderland! I heard about this theme from a friend on a message board and fell in love with it. Since it obviously only works for a first birthday, the rainbow polka dot plan got pushed back. So, I began gathering new ideas and made myself a new board on Pinterest. Here's a link if you wanna check it out http://pinterest.com/alainafraser/winter-onederland/  

I took the ideas I found and made my own invitation. I designed it to fit into a standard #10 envelope to save money. I made it in Photoshop.

Now I'm working on food labels and decorations. Oh, I'm also making her birthday tutu. I'll share pics of all those as soon as possible!

I guess that's all I have to share at the moment. I'm looking forward to sharing the rest as soon as I finish them up!

Until next time--
Alaina