Easy, Inexpensive and Cute Baby Gift!!

Sorry friends for my lack in posting. I will admit it: I have been a slacker! Moving on....a friend of mine had a baby recently and so I made her this little frame for her daughter's room.

I didn't know her baby room colors, so I chose something I liked, hot pint and black. I used the common and super inexpensive wood frame found at Michaels. Love those frames. I use them for EVERYTHING!

I originally found this idea on Rachel Berry Blog last year and have made some for other friends, but remembered to actually take a picture this time.

added some fabric roses and tulle for some girly flair

There you have it! Simple, inexpensive and personalized for that special touch.

Music in the Park - Bowler Wedding

I wish I could tell you this was just the beginning of ALL the work that went into this reception, but it's NOT!  This is the night before the reception, all of us ladies HARD at work. 

This woman - MARY WILSON.  She is insanely talented and probably one of the greatest women you will ever meet.  I am a better person by just knowing her.  She has more talent in her little finger than I could ever hope to have!  She cooks, bakes, sews, knits, crafts, creates, serves her family, children, church, and neighbors AND is the most giving woman on the planet.  The best part?  She does it all with a sincere SMILE on her face!  She is freaking AMAZING!

Let me just start off by letting you in on a little secret.  Tenting the church gym is never a good idea - it looks beautiful, but it is A LOT of work, and I mean A LOT!!!  I slipped on that stinkin' tulle and about broke my leg and arm.  So, if you are up for it, DO IT!  But know ahead of time what you are getting yourself into!  I now consider myself a PRO!  I seriously think I climbed that 14 foot ladder over 150 times yesterday!

The  Ice Cream Cart - I have to tell you, we had the CUTEST Ice Cream man serving the guests!  He had on a vintage ice cream hat and apron, black and white wingtip shoes, OH, he was the BEST.  To bad I don't have a picture to show you :(

The tissue balls - which are now known as the POOFY BALLS (gotta love my honey Mike) hanging over the Ice Cream Bar.

Which was FILLED with tantalizing treats, splendid sweets all to top the ice cream and satisfy your taste buds.

Music was a must - especially with the theme!  The piano, tables, and side tables were decorated with rose topiary's and musical luminaries.

The "THANK YOU" for coming boxes.  Displayed so elegantly on a table for the guest to take as the left the reception.

All of the boxes are handmade, along with the vintage sheet music flowers on the top.

To hide the accordion doors (or to distract, I guess!) we hung sheet music flowers, pictures and love sayings making them look as if they were floating in the air.  Here is where the guest were able to leave the gifts - in a big wooden wagon and below a stone water fountain.

Tulle and luminaries tented the venue, giving just enough light, offering a walk in the park at moonlight feel.

Holly and I are pretty proud of these little meringues!  They look ADORABLE and they taste FABULOUS!  How tacky would it be to set out a spray can of whipped cream?  So, we piped meringue into swirls and baked them to create the same effect.  Oh, but let me tell you these little goodies are delicious and were snatched up like potato chips!  People were eating them by the handfuls!  YEP, that good!

Definitely a night to remember!

The centerpieces for the tables.  Vases filled with roses and several musical luminaries glowing.  The table runners were all handmade by a woman in a neighboring ward.  The are so elegant and pulled the tables together.

The cupcake tower!  It turned out even more beautiful than I had envisioned it.  I custom made the stand to fit into the theme of the wedding, using all vintage sheet music.

Another shot of my beautiful cake and cupcakes - breath taking!

Me and cutie pie Madison!

Julie, Holly, Tami

The girls relaxing for a minute on a park bench, taking a much needed break.

The hours and hours that went into creating this affair will forever be burned into my brain.  I am physically exhausted.  But, have you ever just sat back and stared at what you have created and smile?  This is how I feel about the event.  Everything turned out better than we had planned. 

Besides being called the "kitchen help" several times....

It truly was a night to remember.

(Photography by Wendy Winget & Holly Worthington)

The Musical Cake

I AM SO EXCITED to share this Wedding Cupcake Tower with you!

The theme for the wedding was "Music in the Park."  The bride and groom LOVE everything musical, so they wanted it incorporated into the wedding theme.  The colors were black and white (of course!) and RED!  Oh, I love the color red, especially for a wedding.  There is something so stunning and romantic about the color RED!

Once the fondant is on, the fun part begins....

Oh, she is B-E-A-Utiful!

I just can't get enough of it, I love how it turned out!

I hand made all the musical notes and bars.  And used a fondant cutter for the flowers.

To read about the "Music in the Park" wedding, click here.  All the little details are what made this reception AMAZING!  (Did I mention that Holly and I are two of the four wedding planners??)  Yeah, you gotta check it out!

Luck of the Irish

Somewhere over the rainbow you might find your pot of gold. Well, I like to eat mine. And I am totally THRILLED to share this post with you. You might have guessed that I can create something someone else has already made, a.k.a. copying. I love to make things and I am very good at copying, just not creating. I just want to scream at the top my of lungs that I finally created something: Rainbow Fruit Pizza! And just in time for St. Patrick's Day too. What a yummy way to serve fruit.

Okay, if this isn't an original idea of mine and it has already been discovered and in blogland for years now, please don't dash my spirits right now. Wait until next week to tell me that I once again am not original. I can take it, but not until next week, okay? Thanks.

I will let you in on a hint. Just make the regular fruit pizza and then cut in in half. Bam! {love you Emeril} There you go, your own rainbow.

Okay, super simple recipe here folks:

-your favorite sugar cookie dough

-your favorite fruits (think colors of the rainbow)

-this topping:

8oz pkg cream cheese

8oz container of whipped topping (small tub)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c sugar

Beat cream cheese. Add vanilla and sugar. Fold in whipped topping.

Spread the sugar cookie dough on your baking sheet to make a giant circle. Bake as directed. Cool completely. Prepare your fruits. I used a large serrated knife and went around the baked sugar cookie to release it from the baking pan. I then cut it in half! This will make two rainbow fruit pizzas. I transfered the half rainbow to a serving dish. Spread with half the topping and the add the fruit, arranging to your desire. Super simple. Super yummy. and Super impressive. You have one to eat and one to give away, again, adding to your impressiveness.

Not too shabby on my photography, I must admit. Makes me want to reach into the screen and pick off a grape and pop it in my mouth.

with edible clouds

or with your pot of gold

Which ever way you like it, it is a delicious treat that any little Leprechaun would love. Whip one up tonight for your little leprechauns!

Scrabble

I have the best friend in the whole world! 

I love scrabble more than anything, well I might love Julie more for making me this adorable scrabble picture with my families names on it! She even took the pieces from her own scrabble game! She will add on to this post to tell us how she made this masterpiece! 

Love you so much Julie!

Hey friends! - It's me, Julie.  Can you tell how much Holly LOVES Scrabble?  Just a little bit, huh? 

The use of Scrabble pieces is a HOT TICKET ITEM right now, it's all over the crafting blogs but I have yet to see something like this!  So, I am a little excited about this!

To start off, I used a coupon and purchased a magnetic board at the local craft store.  Pulled out some cute paper, paint, distressing ink, magnets, and Mod Podge from my "Crafting Closet" then raided my Scrabble game.

1.  Paint the wood on the magnetic board.  Sand edges to distress.

2. Cut paper to fit metal sheet and distress edges with ink. 

3. Mod Podge paper to metal.  Or you could use spray adhesive?

4. Distress edges of scrabble pieces with ink.

5. Apply magnets to backside of scrabble pieces.

6. Arrange your family scrabble names and ENJOY!

I am really lovin' this idea because it is multi functional - it can be used for decor and also if you want, you can use it to play!  If you attached magnets to all the pieces, you could use it as your scrabble board.  It wouldn't have all the "special" squares on it, but it could still be a fun version of scrabble.  Don't ya think?

Go, get your SCRABBLE on!

Yummy Goodness

I have a crush. A fetish. An obsession. Not really sure what to call it, but I do spend a lot of time with Kate and Sara on their blog Our Best Bites. Now, I crush on them at home and drool over their luscious photographs in my new cookbook of theirs. Just came in my mail monday. The hubby was sweet and got it for me for valentine's day. Because I am such a fan, I was elated he did so well as giving me a thoughtful gift. Now that I think about it, it was a selfish and clever gift for himself. Think about it. I cook from my new dream cookbook and he eats like a king. Smart man, my hubby is. Oh well, I guess we both win from this.

I have been trying recipes from their blog for a while now. I am elated to have them all in one nice, neat little book at my fingertips. Plus, they have this really cool little section in the back called the "rollover ingredient" section. If you have extra of an ingredient, say buttermilk, look there for recipes to use it in. Genius.

So, here is the link to one of my favorite little recipes of their and a reader favorite too: Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos. hEaVeN!! And fairly simple to make too! Just try it. You will be hooked like I am. Maybe they should hire me to endorse their blog, cookbook, recipes, etc. No really, their recipes are really really good.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

Don't forget to make the Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing! This is a knock off of Cafe Rio's dressing and it is dreamy. This dinner makes my knees weak. Make this for me and I will do anything for you. Really!