Elmo Cake and Cupcakes {Sweet Friday}

Elmo Cake & Cupcakes
 
 Back in August I was asked to create this Elmo Cake for a sweet little boys 1st birthday.
 
I made a 2 tier white and chocolate cake, covered in light blue fondant, and decorated with Elmo.
 
 
 
I was asked to make 6 crayon cupcakes and 6 Dorothy the fish cupcakes.

 And Elmo Cupcakes. I love how all the cupcakes turned out. Those fish look so cute.
 
 
 
~Sesame Street Cake and Cupcakes~
 
Here is the cake delivered to the party sitting on the cake table. Love it!
 
Have you made a Sesame Street Cake? I'd love to see it! Share it on my Facebook Page HERE.
 
I hope you're having a Sweet Friday!!!
 
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How To Make Fondant Ruffles {Tutorial}

 
DIY Ruffle Cupcakes
 
 Thanks for stopping by today! You may remember the Cheetah Ruffle Cake and Cupcakes I made a few months ago. If you do not remember, here is the link. 
 
I've received several emails asking how to make edible ruffles like the Cheetah Ruffle Cake, so here is my tutorial.
 
 
You will need:
Fondant (any color) - I used black.
Edible Pearls (silver, white, or both) - I used Silver Dragees.
Ruler
Water
Brush
Wooden Dowel
 
 


Roll out your fondant double the length you need. Cut your fondant. I cut my fondant the width of my ruler and as long as it was rolled out.
 
It was rolled out about 16 inches and 2 inches wide. Exact measurements do not matter.
 
 
 

 Accordion fold your fondant.
 
Cut off the excess fondant to create a straight edge on the top and bottom.
 
 
 
 Use your wooden dowel and press it down in the middle of your accordion fold. This will make your ruffles. 
 
Roll your wooden dowel from side to side to make the fondant smooth.
 
 
 
Down the middle of your ruffle press indentations with the backside of your water brush. This will help hold some of your beads in place.
 
 
 
 With your brush, add some water down the center of your ruffle and then add you beads or pearls.
 
Do not add too much water.
 
 
 
 Press your beads down to secure them in place. Move your finished ruffle to your cake or cupcake.
 
Thanks for reading!
I hope it was super easy to follow. If you have any questions please let me know.
 
 

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Coat Hanger turned into Bow Holder. DIY CRAFTS

DIY Bow Holder
 
 Sometimes it's hard to find the perfect bow holder to match your daughter's room. If that's the case then find something that does match her room decor, like wall art or a coat hanger, and turn it into a one of a kind bow holder.
 
My friend asked me to turn this Owl Coat Hanger into a bow holder.
 
 It's easy to DIY.
 Here is the Owl Coat Hanger before I did anything to it.
 
First I took the hooks off. They just unscrewed right off with a screwdriver.
 
 Then, I added 3 double layers of ribbon with my hot glue gun. You can make the ribbon however long your short you want it. Of course, the longer the ribbon is the more bows it will hold.

The white ribbon is glued with small dabs of glue 2 inches apart from each other. This will leave room for the bow and the bow will stay in place and not slide all the way down the ribbon.
 
I added 3 bows at the top of each ribbon and glued them in place. I used Turquoise, Orange, and Light Pink Ribbon to match the owls.
 
 
 At the bottom of each ribbon I added a large Rhinestone. This will hold the ribbon down so it doesn't sway from side to side when no bows are on it.
 
 
You're finished! Hang up and started adding some bows!
 
What else could you turn into a bow holder?
 
 
 
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DIY Lip Gloss. Kids Craft.

Make Your Own Lip Gloss
 

Isn't fun having a little girl? You get to "play" and "create" pretty things with her. I haven't made lip gloss since I was eight years old at a friends birthday party, but I've never forgotten how to make it. Now that I have a pretty little girl I get to do fun creative stuff with her.
Here is how we made lip gloss...
 
You Will Need...
 Vaseline- We used baby Vaseline. I recommend regular Vaseline but this baby Vaseline worked fine.
Spoon and Cup -(doesn't need to be a measuring cup)
Drink Mix - Kool Aid, Crystal Light, Store Brand, etc.. We used Target brand Market Pantry Cherry
Lip Gloss Cases - These are bead cases I found at Hobby Lobby
 
Please note: This will actually stain lips so I would recommend using a very light colored Drink Mix. We used Cherry. I wouldn't use cherry again. I would use Pink Lemonade, Lemonade, or Tea.
 
 Get the kids involved. Even the young boys :)
 
Have the kids scoop out Vaseline into their cups.
 
 
 Melt your Vaseline in the microwave until it is smooth.
 
Pour in your mixture. Any amount you decide will work. We used half the pouch.
 
 Have your kids stir the mixture then pour it into the lip gloss containers.
 
 
 Tap it and even it out. Put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set back up.
 
That is it! Your little girl will love making her own lip gloss. She can pass out the others to her friends.
 
 
 
 
These lip gloss are fun little gifts for sleep overs, party favors, or Christmas stocking stuffers.
 
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How to keep people on your blog longer

How To Keep Visitors On Your Blog Longer
 
Do you have a blog and you're frustrated that visitors do not stay on your blog for even one minute? Isn't it frustrating to know that no one is interested in reading your content that you've spend hours taking pictures of, editing the pictures, writing, posting, and promoting? Blogging is tough. Many people give up but if you "keep trucking" (as my brother would say) you could have a popular blog in the near future.
 
 
 
Here are my 7 tips to help visitors stay on your blog longer...
 
#1. Link Within.... Do you understand the term Link Within? If you read any of my post you will see a link to another post or section for my blog. For instance, if I write a Sweet Friday post I will have a link to all my other Sweet Friday post. Chances are, if you are interested in this Sweet Friday post then you may be interested in reading more of my Sweet Friday post. Did you see what I did there? I just linked within. Each "Sweet Friday" is a link that will send you to a different Sweet Friday post. Do not link to something random that you want to be seen. Make sure it's the same topic that you are writing about. I wouldn't have a cake post linked to a family update.



#2. About Me.... Honestly, people are nosey; in a good way. They want to know who is writing this blog. Maybe, they are interested in knowing you, or maybe they want to know if you are just like them. If they can relate to you then you might have just won over a new follower. Maybe, they want to see if you are similar to them. In there head they may think, "If she can do this, I can do this."



#3. Popular Post... If your reader is loving the post they originally found your blog from, maybe they want to read more interesting popular post. How to peek their interested in staying longer is to have a few Popular Blog Post on your sidebar. Popular Blog Post is very easy to add to your blog sidebar and people will read them.



#4. Blog Archives... This does the same thing to peek readers interest in staying longer as the Popular Blog Post does. Blog Archives will take your reader from your very first post in the order you posted it. Blog Archives can be added to your sidebar or you can create a separate page for it. Maybe, your reader wants to see how you've grown; from your first post to your post from today. How your crafts have evolved, to the growing of your cake decorating ability, from poor quality pictures to your new professional quality pictures. Or maybe they just want to see how many post you write per day, week, month, or year. People do not like a dead blog. Blog Archives will let your reader see everything you've written throughout your blogging journey.



#5. Avoid Dark Colors... This is pretty simple to understand and follow. Don't you hate it when you find a great post that you're dying to read, but you go to their page and almost everything is black. When that happens I leave within 10 sections. My eyes can not adjust to a black background and hot pink words. As you can see while reading this, my background is white with black words. This is what I'm talking about. Keep it clean and easy to read.



#6. Have Less Side Ads... Having less side ads is double edge sword. You want your side ads on your blog to make money for your blog. Every blogger wants to make money from blogging, but what are you doing? You are sending your readers away from your blog. Your reader is reading your post, but they see an ad for 75% off their favorite boutique. They can't focus on what they're reading, because their womanly shopping senses kick in and they click the ad leaving your blog. Yep, you've just lost your reader and chances are they have left your blog without signing up for a newsletter. Bummer.


#7. Pictures... If you are going to write a blog post have a picture. It's simple, but so many people do not have a picture when blogging. If you are going to write a tutorial about how to make something have some pictures to go with it. Don't you hate when you want to learn how to make something and they give you step by step instructions with no pictures. How do you follow? Pictures are key, even if they take forever to photograph and edit. It'll be worth it.




Thanks for reading. I hope this post was helpful for you. I've been dying to write it for a long time. If you are interested in more blogging tips sign up for our daily emails (right sidebar). I plan on having a full series of blogging tips soon. (Do you see what I did? I just Linked Within again)
 
Do you have any other helpful ways to keep readers on your blog for longer?
 
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Optimus Prime & Bumblebee Head Cake

Transformer Cake
 
Are you a fan of the Transformers? I do not know anything about them other than the obvious of switching from car to machine, but I get cake request for Transformer themed cakes all the time. To tell you the truth, I actually cringe when someone request a transformer cake. So much details and sometimes I doubt if I'll be able to pull it off, but I'm always up for a challenge.
 
 
This is the Transformer Cake I finished up earlier today. It is a 2 tier cake, stacked three times per tier. The top tier is red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and the bottom tier is vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. This cake has a lot of details but it was easier than I thought it was going to be.
 
 
The top tier of this fondant Transformer Cake is Bumblebees head. The cake is covered in black fondant and dusted with silver pearl dust. Then the yellow was added, then the details. The details was black fondant, again, covered in silver pearl dust.
 

 
The bottom tier of this Transformer Cake is Optimus Prime's head. It's covered in blue fondant, with blue, black, and silver fondant details.
 
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest creation :)
 
What are you baking up this weekend?
 

Burlap Fall Pumpkins

Burlap Covered Halloween Pumpkins
 
Halloween is over and now is the time to decorate for fall and Thanksgiving. Have you started to decorate yet? Have you already taken down all your Halloween decor? Before you do, try to repurpose your Halloween decorations. Here's an idea....
 
 
Cover all your Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins with burlap!
Or any other fall themed/colored fabric.
 
 
This is so simple to do. Just cover your Halloween Pumpkin with burlap, tie it with string or a rubber band, cut off the excess fabric, and add a satin bow to finish it off.
 
 
 What do you repurpose from Halloween to Fall?
 
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