I Heart Thee

I call this: The Tree O' Hearts. I made these little hearts out of my stash of fabric scraps.

Hearts in a jar. More fabric hearts I made, along with a strand of wood ones.

Boxed Treats! These were made out of "those" chocolate boxes. I removed the top layer, and painted them.

After we ate the chocolates, of course!

Family of Hearts. Here's my seasonal frame, with my made up quilt block.

Lovely Snowman. One of my Valentine's cross-stitch.

My February Table Runner (and how I ended up with those scraps of fabric I've used for several projects).

This heart tour wouldn't be complete without the hand painted 2 x 4 LOVE Sign.

Hope you enjoyed my Heart Craft Tour!

Mo' Cake

Another month has passed me by! January is one of those months where every weekend there's a birthday party. By the time it gets to our oldest daughter's birthday, I'm birthdayed out! Along with those resolutions of,  I'm going to eat healthier...I'll limit myself to one piece of cake. Quite the opposite for my oldest girl, who "Mo' Cake ", is a phrase she learned quite well very early in life. I wonder from whom she inherited her sweet tooth?
This year we combined my nephew's, and her birthday party. Since we had an hour drive, I didn't dare decorate the cake until we got to my sister's. My daughter hadn't made any requests for a specific cake, she just said "Sursprise me". I have wanted to make cupcakes right in the ice cream cones before, so I finally did!
I made a 8" round cake, and the rest baked right in the cones. Made coolwhip frosting, (I'm not big on the super sweet frosting. I would rather have a plain piece of cake, than one loaded with all that buttercream [just a side note!]) I stuck the cones with a toothpick so they wouldn't wobble. So easy, fast, and so cute!

I thought I'd post the cake I made last year. My daughter had requested a "Littlest Pet Shop" cake. This one, was a little more time consuming. I borrowed a house form pan from a friend. Made two cakes, and made a "Littlest Pet Shop Playhouse".

Obviously, I did not make the pets. The bird and the mouse are held up with toothpicks. But I did make the little sugar flowers!

 I finally attempted the royal icing a couple of months prior. I made some sugar daisies for my littlest girl first birthday. With the left-over icing I spent the rest of the evening playing, and practicing.

I shaped some taffy and placed them in between the two cakes so it looks like a house that opens up.

There you have it! One of a kind birthday cake! Not bad for a complete amateur like me!
 One of these days I'll attempt Fondant.

Think Outside The Box

Here's another thrifty $2 box I found last summer.

I can work with this!

At first I did think a jewelry box for me, maybe?

Then I thought  it could make a cute little sewing box. Put a padded top, with a pretty fabric to have a place for those needles I keep losing while stitching on the couch. . . I always end up finding them.(Well except for that time hubby found one stuck to the bottom of his shoe!).

First, some minor surgery needed.

A quick spray of  "Ivory Silk".

Spray painted the handles,

hinge, and yes, even those little screws black.

And after deciding on the paper, finally covered the inside.

Then it came to me . . . Perfect place for the tv remotes!

Seems we have more of those, than jewelry anyway!

Now the remotes don't get lost in the couch or elsewhere, and I am a lot more careful with those needles!

Trouble Strikes Again!

I'm reporting that Trouble has struck again!

This happened about 10 minutes ago. Some might make the assumption that littlest girl is covered in chocolate . . . but evidence proves otherwise.

Guess who's been going through the make up drawer again?

Her face and hands are covered in what used to be an entire lip stick in the "Coffee Glace" shade.

Suspect was found guilty. Restitution was paid by suspect's mother, who should really keep a closer eye on this one! And if you see this face, lock all your vanities and bathroom drawers, you never know when Trouble will strike again!

Crafty Cabinet

I had been wanting a china cabinet for years. Seems for every occasion coming up, I would tell hubby he could get me a china cabinet. Obviously not a priority, nor a necessity. It was originally intended for the front room, but there really wasn't much room for one, unless we got rid of the couches. That wasn't an option. Then I thought; There might be just enough room for a corner cabinet. However, not really finding one I liked in my price range, I was going to design my own, and have hubby's brother build it for me.

My plans changed slightly. I now thought "If I could find one small enough . . . I could have one in my kitchen! I spotted one, just the right size. But when we went to buy it,  hubby spotted an even better, simpler looking one. I love how the dishes stand out in my perfect little black cabinet.

After that hubby said, "I know you. You'll still look for one for the front room. If we buy this one, promise me you won't buy one for the front room". I promised, but he didn't say anything about my craft room! I wanted something totally girly for my craft room. I thought it would be fun to not only display my little mismatched teacups and such, but I could also place neatly folded quilts, and cross stitches. .  . It would be sort of like my lovely little shop. I looked and looked at the online classifieds, and I came upon the perfect cabinet! For real this time. One of the things I love about old furniture: good quality at the fraction of the cost, so I can paint it how I want. Heirloom white (cream) of course!

One of things I loved about this cabinet, was the hardware.

(It was made-over at the close of the summer season, but just barely getting around to posting it.)

Here it is in the priming stage:

Looking lovely already . . .

Finally finished!

I decided to leave the chicken wire out for now.

I sprayed painted all the handles and hinges a rubbed oil bronze color.

No more china cabinets for me - for now.