Big Cupcakes

I missed a day...I'm so sorry. I have been sick with a horrible cough & it finally took its toll on me.

Today we experienced our first ice storm. It was kind of neat to see. I'm quite sure my hubby would not share my enthusiasm at all. He went ahead and trudged into work to find only a handful of people actually showed up. We lived in northern Idaho & have seen our share of SNOW. I can honestly tell you that these people here do NOT know how to drive in the icy conditions. I cant believe how quick they shut everything down & call for a state of emergency. I'm not saying that ice is a good thing. It should'nt be taken lightly, but it was driveable, you just have to go S L O W. It all turned out good. The company ordered pizza for everyone that showed up to work & they got to go home after lunch with pay. All the others who called off have to use vacation time or not get paid. So it ended up good for us. :)

As for the cakes I have been playing with. I have learned something new & ways to improve every cake I've done. I'm so glad that I take the pictures so I can critique them & learn better ways to do them the next time. I have to apologize for the quality of the pics. I have horrific lighting in the kitchen & my skills are'nt much better. Most of them are dark. I think I may go get one of those tri-fold display boards & see if that might lend more brightness to it. Anyways, here is what i have.

The first one I did was the birthday one with the lil ballerina on top for my daughter's friend.

The next one I did was for my girlfriend's birthday. She loves horses. Hence the cowgirl cake. lol

The next one was for my daughter's birthday & it came out cool but NOT the look I was going for. I was so disappointed in it. I wanted it to be black & hot pink swirled together. Apparently I need to work on that a bit. They kind of melded together & came out a mess. However, my daughter loved it. Luckily she could'nt see my vision. Hahaha

The last thing I did was regular cupcakes for my daughter's friend again. They were having a baby shower for her at work. Her colors were blue & brown with the Browning Deer head logo. These were also a bit of a mishap too. I made up the cakes & the frosting color was perfect. I packaged them up & set them in garage to keep them cool. In the morning my hubby grabbed them to deliver them & they were this hideous bright robins egg blue. Not her color at all. I still have no idea why they turned. They all loved them but I was a little bummed because they did'nt look exactly right.

The cookies were for the shower too. I did find. that I really need to hone my writing skills with the pastry bag. LOL It is not as simple as it looks on tv. I loved how they came out, especially the ribbon tied on the ends. I will have to practice with the icing consistency & writing for future orders. *Ü*

I also made this box of cookies for Miss Kaylin's appearance. I covered a box with scrapbooking paper. I then stamped the Cherish words all the way around. I put some flowers on lollipop sticks & made a flower cookie bouquet for her mommy.

Last, but not least, is the Christmas cake I did for a friend. I love how this one came together. I somehow screwed up the time for pick up & was in a mad rush to finish while they waited. lol Next time I will use a darker frosting to adhere the candy canes. I thought it was real cute & festive though. They loved it.

I have an order for a zebra & hot pink cake in a couple of weeks. One of our friend's daughters is turning 15. I managed to come up with a template to make a GIANT cup cake liner out of zebra scrapbooking paper. I'm going to dye the frosting hot pink & decorate it with black feathers & hot pink curly ribbons. I have a couple of ideas for the top but not sure which one I will go with. You will have to check back the middle of february to see what I chose. She also wants lil mini cupcakes on the side. This order will be a lot of fun.

Off to sew some more of Landon's quilt. I'm also working on a mini photo album shaped like a purse. Of course, with all the zebra accessories laying all over I made it zebra with a little bling. I am hoping to have the outside done to share this weekend. So have a great weekend & hopefully we dont get totally iced in. ~Toodles

New Ornies

I wanted to share with you the newest ornies I completed. The penguin ornie I adapted from a Threadbare Primitives. I love her patterns & have adapted many to suit my current needs. I am really loving how the penguin turned out.

We have been busy as bees here trying to get ready for our family to come. The count right now is 6 guests. Not exactly sure where we will stack them. LOL I told hubby we may have to string hammocks. We are super excited to have everyone coming to our new home in a new city.

We have lots & lots of activities planned. The most exciting one is taking my mom to Graceland. She has bever been & it has been a lifelong dream to go. I know it will be decked out to the hilt. Can't wait to see her eyes light up. We are also hosting a party at our home where everyone brings a gift & you can steal back & forth. My friend informed me that they call it a Dirty Santa Party here in the south. I had never heard that expression before & still feel it sounds just wrong. lol I will be back to share pics as we move through the holidays.

Have a productive day! ~Toodles

Tis The Season..

Lets get ready to decorate! lol

I cant believe Thanksgiving is over in a blink of an eye...GONE! We had our first "Official" T-Day dinner with invited guests (can you believe it....invited & they came.) Seriously though, we had an amazing day. Everything went off without a hitch. It was kind of scary. Our daughter Tarynn's boyfriend's family (are you lost yet?) came for dinner. It was really nice to sit back & relax & get to know them better.

So now it's December 1st & I'm thinking I have a lot to do. My parents are coming around the 14th or 15th. My great grandma is flying in the 15th as well. Our best friend Dave is planning on flying up & my son Taylor is trying to come home too. If I get this all pulled off it will be a Christmas miracle. I am so excited to have the family all together. I am giddy....plain ol giddy with excitement.

I have'nt seen my son since May & that was only for a few hours. He recently just got back from training in Death Valley. They are getting ready for another deployment to Iraq. Apparently, his squad is trying to get it changed to Afghanistan. I am praying that they dont. It's just so scary for them. He did inform us that he re-enlisted & should swear in again sometime in June. It will probably take place in Iraq since they are scheduled for deployment in April. He was rather excited to tell us that they may be stationing him in Germany once he returns from Iraq. This child has always wanted to go there. He has had a fascination with it since early middle school. He even taught himself to speak German (and is pretty good according to his previous high school teacher). I'm so excited for him.

I was making all my lists & trying to get things done & out of the way for Christmas. I want to have as much time to visit & sightsee as possible. I have been baking like a mad woman. This weekend I tried to make cinnamon rolls. I cheated & used the frozen bread dough. They came out awesome. So easy. They are now officially on the menu for Christmas morning. Hahaha Hubby & Trav loved them. We put up our first set of outside lights on saturday. That was an all day affair. Sunday we decided to attack the tree. My poor hubby is probably ready to run for the hills but the tree is up & the lights are all in place. It looks beautiful! This year is my year..I get the white lights. We dont agree on the lights so we have to alternate each year. I like white & hubs likes colored...so we compromise. LOL Anyone else have these issues?

I'm working on more ornies. I am hooked I tell ya. I love the fact that I can sit with the guys at night while they watch tv & just stitch away. I am definitely going to be ordering more patterns. I have even decided to try & make some of my own designs too. I'll post pics of what I get done.

I know it's been awhile & I have been rambling on & on today. Whats scary is that I'm positive that there is a ton more I want to share. Hahaha

Well run while you can....before I remember something else.......Go create something!

~Toodles

Holiday Creativeness

Well I have four of the six ornies done. I loved making them. It's always fun working on Christmas goodies. I also love the fact that I can sit with the family & stitch while they watch

tv or take it on the go in the car.

Since I made a few extra....if anyone would like to purchase any of these cuties, just message me. I can take a handful of requests so I have time to get them to you to enjoy before the holidays. I plan on using them on the tree, for package toppers & possibly teacher gifts. So give me a holler if you are interested. The pricing will be $5.00 each or 3 for $12.00.

I have to get back to my baking. I am making a pumpkin pie & a pumpkin cheesecake for my daughter. Lots to prep & get done before Thursday.

If for some reason I dont get back on to blog tomorrow, have a Happy Thanksgiving with family & friends. Be safe & remember to take lots of pictures. Blessings to you all!

~Toodles

A Dash & Something Old, New & Re-used

Hello Blogland~

I survived the weekend. My daughter & I were in a contest here locally called the Diamond Dash. It was set up like a mini Amazing Race. You had to write a letter telling why you should be picked. I wrote about my daughter and her unselfishness & her willing to help out others. So we did get accepted & were ready for the challenge. The race had 250 teams competing for a $12.000.00 diamond.

We completed the race but did'nt win. We considered ourselves winners for just completing the task at hand. I'm sure, when it was said & done, we walked about three miles & climbed numerous flights of stairs. We had an amazing time.....no pun intended hahaha. I felt a personal victory in completing the race. 55lbs ago I would not of been able to do that. I have missed out on so many inter-active activities with my children from being overweight & being self conscious & not wantingt to embarass them. It felt good to be able to do this with my daughter & have the memories that we did it. Poor Tarynn was exhausted. She said next year will be easier not being pregnant. LOL She recently walked in the Race For The Cure & wants me to do that next year. I think I can actually put that on my bucket list & hopefully complete that one too. *Ü*

Here's my something old. I got my t.p. rolls cut & glued. They are going together quite quickly. I purchased the spray paint & glitter for them. I'm going with a white paint & a light periwinkle glitter. You really have to try these. So simple & great for kids. I want to make some into hanging ornies & tie some on to packages.

My new is this. One of my dear friends Pat has gotten so many cute patterns from Countryside Crafts. I finally took the time to get over there & order some patterns. This is my first pattern from them to try. I ordered two. We will see how they come out. I have all the wool cut out to make four ornies per design. I think they are just so cute. Go check out what they have to offer. I was amazed how fast they shipped them to me and I'm impatient when it comes to snail mail. lol

Now for my re-used. Hahaha I have found this urge & need to re-purpose things. It's kind of a self challenge if you will. Thats how I came up with the t.p. roll snowflakes. lol I'm working on some Christmas mini albums for gifts. These are so fun & packed full of embellishments that I wanted to think outside of the box. I was digging around in my closet of stash...aka craft crap per hubby & found gift bags. I adore snowmen! I decided why could'nt I cut these up & use them in my albums or my gift tags that I make. So I grabbed some up that I wont be using & started cutting away. What a great idea for those bags that get a lil to worn to use again but would look great in a distressed type album. Well, I dont know about you but I loved it. This is one of the bags that I will be using. I will be sure to show you the album upon completion so you can see how I used them.

Well I have to get back to my baking. I made peanut butter chewies, "stuft" cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies & lastly 1/2 choc. chip 1/2 double choc cookies. Trying to get a jump on the holiday baking. :)

Have a wonderful crafty day.

~Toodles

My Apologies

Hi Everyone~

I have to apologize for being gone for so long. Life kind of took over & ran with me. LOL I never intended to go this long without posting. What a whirlwind it has been here the last few weeks.

For starters I had my Dad & Stepmom Debbie come for a visit. It was so nice to have them here in our new house (well new to us). ;) They haven't been up in 2 years. We had such a great visit. You have to love having your Daddy around. He was so helpful with a lot of my crafting & household things that needed done. I love my Dad because he hates to sit around & is always willing to help out with whatever needs to be done. We had a great visit!

Well, after my Dad & Debbie left my hubbies brother John & family arrived in town for hunting season. We had a nice visit with them as well. We moved up here with them 4 1/2 years ago & have never regretted it. I dont miss the hectic lifestyle of San Diego. It is so peaceful & beautiful here in Northern Idaho. Anyways, they had to move back to San Diego a year ago & they have been homesick ever since. We are hoping that they can get back up here in the next year.




After all that...... the fires started. I would say that almost all of my family & friends in San Diego have been affected by it. My Dad was evacuated as well as several friends. It has been pretty horrific, the damage it has done. You wouldn't think the fires would get that big after having a huge one 4 year ago. It is just heartbreaking to see the damage it has done. I feel so bad for those firefighters.....they have to be exhausted. Keep them all in your prayers please. :)

So, like I said, it has been a crazy few weeks. I am happy to say I am back to crafting like a mad woman. We are currently having the Prim Mart Online Holiday Craft Fair.





My friend Marissa is the BEST! She invited me to share her booth with her. You will have to come see all of our creations. :) Our booth is under Raggedy Cabin & Country Creek Creations.





I am also in another booth with all my friends from PCCF-Primitive & Country Crafting Friends.



We have a lot of fun items there as well. You can get so much holiday shopping done. I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner YIKES! Please try & stop by. I would love to hear what you think of our booths.

I better get back to work. I have some new dollies & ornies that I have been sewing up. I will share a peek at them. Hope all of you are having a wonderful week. Be safe. Talk to you soon. Toodles *Ü*