I also had a $1.00, boring gray headband. Clearly the only thing to do was make a steampunk headband.
Here it is:
Not bad for five minutes and 2$. Don't you want one?
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Five Minutes and a Glue Gun: Steampunk Headband
One day I happened to have five minutes and a glue gun. I also happened to have a few tiny gears from a craft store pack.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Funny Things Children Have Said To Me
Here is a brief collection of some ridiculous things small children have said to me while I've been substitute teaching:
11. "I saved ice from a puddle in my backpack, but I think someone stole it."
10. "You are the prettiest substitute teacher I've ever had!"
9. "I don't want to look in the mirror because I am afraid of the skeletons in there."
8. "It's cold and my hands want to go inside."
7. "How do you spell 'colossal squid'"?
6. "It smells like there is a horse parked nearby."
5. "I wish I had a penis."
4. "Mommy didn't shower today!"
3. "When I grow up I'm going to either be an engineer or a rabbit."
2. "It's my daddy's birthday. I'm guessing he's like...either 34 or 70."
1."If you want, you can come to my house and use my time machine. Bring your kids."
This is just a sampling of the gems I hear at schools. I'll try to keep better track and post another list soon.
11. "I saved ice from a puddle in my backpack, but I think someone stole it."
10. "You are the prettiest substitute teacher I've ever had!"
9. "I don't want to look in the mirror because I am afraid of the skeletons in there."
8. "It's cold and my hands want to go inside."
7. "How do you spell 'colossal squid'"?
6. "It smells like there is a horse parked nearby."
5. "I wish I had a penis."
4. "Mommy didn't shower today!"
3. "When I grow up I'm going to either be an engineer or a rabbit."
2. "It's my daddy's birthday. I'm guessing he's like...either 34 or 70."
1."If you want, you can come to my house and use my time machine. Bring your kids."
This is just a sampling of the gems I hear at schools. I'll try to keep better track and post another list soon.
Easy DIY Decor: Chemistry Lightswitch Covers
You might think I would be tired of customizing light-switch and electrical outlet panels by now, after the many others I've done, but they were so easy! I couldn't resist adding some to the kitchen.
I decided on a chemistry/science theme for the kitchen décor, so of course the periodic table had to make an appearance.
I decided on a chemistry/science theme for the kitchen décor, so of course the periodic table had to make an appearance.
I also made a couple with diagrammed molecules. They took a little longer because I had to cut out each molecule instead of just slapping on the whole piece of paper, but even these just took a few minutes plus drying time.
I'm running out of electrical panels to decorate!
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Bellingham Garden Spot: Greenery for the Holidays
If you are close enough to Bellingham to pay The Garden Spot a visit this holiday season, it's well worth the trip! This weekend I attended their holiday celebration this weekend and had a chance to view some of their wonderful foliage, ready to be taken home and enjoyed.
Evenf you didn't make it to this outstanding nursery for their holiday event, you haven't missed your chance to peruse winter plants such as these bright primroses,
and hellebore and heather of many varieties.
Don't forget to check out the irresistible lawn accoutrements:
Don't have yard space for new greenery? No problem. The Garden Spot even has tiny tropical plants for your apartment windowsill.
Whether you're searching for just the right gift or planning to brighten your yard this winter, The Garden Spot can help.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
African Animal Baby Shower Cake
I have many friends in the zookeeping world, so maybe it's not too odd that a couple weeks ago someone said to me, "Hey, could you make an aardvark baby cake? Maybe one where the mom is holding a baby but the baby head is an aardvark?"
Yes. I could.
I had a lot of angst preparing for this cake because I was trying a lot of new things. I'd never made a stacked cake, covered a cake in fondant (except to make it look like a tablecloth, as in the tea set cake), made figures out of fondant or painted on a cake. Sooo...there were a lot of ways this cake could have gone wrong!
Fortunately, the cake turned out like this:
My largest challenge was actually covering the cake in fondant. I didn't have a rolling pin, which made rolling it out quite a chore. I used a drinking glass. The fondant got all bunchy along the sides of the cake, but I don't know if it was because I didn't roll the fondant into a big enough piece or didn't roll it flat enough...In any case, painting the cake covered HUGE errors.
Here's an embarrassing photo of the covered cake as I'm starting to paint.
It's also clear that the stacked cake is not exactly level; this, too, seemed to be somewhat remedied by adding the figure and paint.
I used food coloring gel and water to paint the whole cake and then used some icing for the clouds.
It is supposed to be a progression of day into night going from the bottom to the top, but I'm not sure if that idea comes across.
I worked on the fondant figures ahead of time so they would be dry in time for the baby shower and they were pretty fun to make. I used animals from the mom-to-be's nursery mural, which has an Africa theme. The animals on the mural are: an aardvark, a hornbill, a hedgehog, a serval and straw-colored fruit bats. The aardvark is on top of the cake with the figure of the mom.
She looks like this without the aardvark. I made them separately and stuck them together at the last minute.
The fondant white-bellied hedgehog and hornbill looked like this:
The straw-colored fruit bat is there too; I also made her from fondant, but instead of sitting her next to the cake or suspending her, I just made her very small and adhered her to the side so she can "hang" from the tree.
The serval was tricky because I had no fondant of a color that would work and had to paint white fondant and use an edible marker for the details.
And the final product, displayed here at the baby shower, ended up looking pretty good!
I enjoyed the painting part--it was like watercoloring! But it would help to know how to do water color... And I'm definitely going to have to do some research on improving my fondant covering skills. Youtube, here I come!
Yes. I could.
I had a lot of angst preparing for this cake because I was trying a lot of new things. I'd never made a stacked cake, covered a cake in fondant (except to make it look like a tablecloth, as in the tea set cake), made figures out of fondant or painted on a cake. Sooo...there were a lot of ways this cake could have gone wrong!
Fortunately, the cake turned out like this:
My largest challenge was actually covering the cake in fondant. I didn't have a rolling pin, which made rolling it out quite a chore. I used a drinking glass. The fondant got all bunchy along the sides of the cake, but I don't know if it was because I didn't roll the fondant into a big enough piece or didn't roll it flat enough...In any case, painting the cake covered HUGE errors.
Here's an embarrassing photo of the covered cake as I'm starting to paint.
It's also clear that the stacked cake is not exactly level; this, too, seemed to be somewhat remedied by adding the figure and paint.
I used food coloring gel and water to paint the whole cake and then used some icing for the clouds.
It is supposed to be a progression of day into night going from the bottom to the top, but I'm not sure if that idea comes across.
I worked on the fondant figures ahead of time so they would be dry in time for the baby shower and they were pretty fun to make. I used animals from the mom-to-be's nursery mural, which has an Africa theme. The animals on the mural are: an aardvark, a hornbill, a hedgehog, a serval and straw-colored fruit bats. The aardvark is on top of the cake with the figure of the mom.
She looks like this without the aardvark. I made them separately and stuck them together at the last minute.
The fondant white-bellied hedgehog and hornbill looked like this:
The straw-colored fruit bat is there too; I also made her from fondant, but instead of sitting her next to the cake or suspending her, I just made her very small and adhered her to the side so she can "hang" from the tree.
The serval was tricky because I had no fondant of a color that would work and had to paint white fondant and use an edible marker for the details.
And the final product, displayed here at the baby shower, ended up looking pretty good!
I enjoyed the painting part--it was like watercoloring! But it would help to know how to do water color... And I'm definitely going to have to do some research on improving my fondant covering skills. Youtube, here I come!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Movie Popcorn Bucket Cake
If you're as interested in cake as I am (I know you are), you've probably seen many variations of the movie-cake, where a talented decorator creates a realistic popcorn bucket out of edible materials--none of which are actually popcorn.
I decided to try my hand at this for my aunt's birthday/Oscar night party this year. In the past, I'd decorated some very elaborate cakes for my dear Aunt Sittrea, including a book cake and a tea set cake. I was excited to try my hand at making this cake, and even though it looks simpler than the other two I'd made, it had it's own set of challenges.
The finished product looked like this:
First I needed to make the popcorn, which in the end, was my favorite part of this cake!
I started with a bag of mini-marshmallows and, after some experimentation, discovered that cutting them into clover shapes gave them the most realistic look. If you are hoping to try this, be sure to clean the knife frequently so it doesn't get gummed up; this tears the marshmallows rather than slicing them. I added a dab of watered down food gel along each one and let them sit out for a day to get stale so they weren't so squishy. I made about two cups of them, which took a while, but was worth the effort!
Next I had to bake and stack the cake for the bucket. I used four six-inch rounds.
I measured the cake and estimated how tall and wide to make the strips of red and white fondant around the bucket and put them on over the "dirty icing" layer. I also added a plaque of sorts to be the front label of the bucket.
This label was my biggest problem and my biggest disappointment. I should probably have traced or used a stencil or something to compensate for my sloppy handwriting. My first attempt looked pretty bad and I ended up removing the plaque and making a second one.
Here's the first one:
The second was better, but not stellar. Lastly I adhered the popcorn to the top of the stacked cake with icing and painted it with yellow food gel as butter.
I think the Oscar party-goers appreciated the cake and I keep learning every time I try something new!
I decided to try my hand at this for my aunt's birthday/Oscar night party this year. In the past, I'd decorated some very elaborate cakes for my dear Aunt Sittrea, including a book cake and a tea set cake. I was excited to try my hand at making this cake, and even though it looks simpler than the other two I'd made, it had it's own set of challenges.
The finished product looked like this:
First I needed to make the popcorn, which in the end, was my favorite part of this cake!
I started with a bag of mini-marshmallows and, after some experimentation, discovered that cutting them into clover shapes gave them the most realistic look. If you are hoping to try this, be sure to clean the knife frequently so it doesn't get gummed up; this tears the marshmallows rather than slicing them. I added a dab of watered down food gel along each one and let them sit out for a day to get stale so they weren't so squishy. I made about two cups of them, which took a while, but was worth the effort!
Next I had to bake and stack the cake for the bucket. I used four six-inch rounds.
I measured the cake and estimated how tall and wide to make the strips of red and white fondant around the bucket and put them on over the "dirty icing" layer. I also added a plaque of sorts to be the front label of the bucket.
This label was my biggest problem and my biggest disappointment. I should probably have traced or used a stencil or something to compensate for my sloppy handwriting. My first attempt looked pretty bad and I ended up removing the plaque and making a second one.
Here's the first one:
The second was better, but not stellar. Lastly I adhered the popcorn to the top of the stacked cake with icing and painted it with yellow food gel as butter.
I think the Oscar party-goers appreciated the cake and I keep learning every time I try something new!
Aardvark, Bird and Gifraffe Wall Art
If you don't work at a zoo, (and even if you do) you probably have never heard a pregnant woman say, "I'm planning on decorating the nursery with an aardvark theme." But if you're me, this was hardly unexpected. My brilliant and kind friend Sara is due to give birth to a baby in April and I wanted to make her some aardvark art to adorn the nursery walls, since aardvark art is not easy to come by.
This was an incredibly easy project that turned out so well I made some more for myself. I simply bought two pieces of scrapbook paper with complimentary colors, modified an aardvark drawing I found to make a template, and cut out the form of the aardvark from the solid colored-paper.
The framed result:
I liked the aardvark, but for my bedroom I wanted some custom bird art, so I found a drawing I liked and made a stencil of two birds on a branch. Add frames found on clearance at the craft store and...
I have two pieces of art with exactly the colors and patterns I had in mind to brighten the walls!
Before I made the aardvark, I had tried the same technique for a wall-hanging to go with my giraffe-print electrical panels. I liked how it came out and will put it up, but I think using a darker solid color would have made the giraffe print pop more.
This was an incredibly easy project that turned out so well I made some more for myself. I simply bought two pieces of scrapbook paper with complimentary colors, modified an aardvark drawing I found to make a template, and cut out the form of the aardvark from the solid colored-paper.
The framed result:
I liked the aardvark, but for my bedroom I wanted some custom bird art, so I found a drawing I liked and made a stencil of two birds on a branch. Add frames found on clearance at the craft store and...
I have two pieces of art with exactly the colors and patterns I had in mind to brighten the walls!
Before I made the aardvark, I had tried the same technique for a wall-hanging to go with my giraffe-print electrical panels. I liked how it came out and will put it up, but I think using a darker solid color would have made the giraffe print pop more.
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