Finished Costumes 2013

Here are the finished costumes!

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Corpse Bride

Zombie Brain Surgeon

Pop Art/ Comic Book Girl

Upcycled T-Shirt Brain

I made a brain today!

It's to go with my son's Halloween costume.

I just used an old pink t-shirt and some red thread...and voila!  

(It's stuffed with plastic grocery bags.)

Costume Idea #3, 2013: A Pop Art Comic Book Girl

Here's costume idea #3!  My oldest daughter is going to be a pop art inspired comic book girl.  This costume is going to be pretty much all about the face/body paint.  We will be spraying here hair yellow and dressing her up in bright and bold colors too. 

Our inspiration:

Is everyone ready for Halloween next week?

I can't wait to share a picture of the finished costumes!

Costume Idea #2, 2013: A Zombie Brain Surgeon

Okay, here is costume idea #2.  My son has decided to dress up as a zombie brain surgeon.  This is also a very easy costume idea.  You only need a doctor's costume and face paint.  We looked for scrubs at the thrift store, but finally decided to buy a complete doctors costume (with the lab coat, stethoscope, hat, and face mask).  I did see a zombie doctor's costume with a mask, but my son hates wearing masks because they are uncomfortable.  We will just paint his face and add some fake blood here and there.  We have been looking for and will probably make a brain for him to carry around too.  You can pretty much zombify any costume with the right makeup!

Here are some inspiration pics:

Next up: A Pop Art Comic Book Girl!

Costume Idea #1, 2013: A Corpse Bride

All three of my kids wanted to be something scary this year, and that's okay.  Sometimes scary can be fun!  At first my oldest wanted to be a scary clown (all clowns are scary, aren't they?), but later changed her mind after we saw a really cool and different costume idea online.  I'll share the idea later...it's really cool!

One of our favorite parts of Halloween is coming up with ideas for and making the costumes.  We don't usually make the costumes from scratch, but rather they are semi-homemade.  This is still fun, because you can create a costume that not every single other person/kid will have.  It's fun to be unique and creative!  I thought I'd share the costume ideas we came up with this year.  Maybe they with inspire you too!

The first idea I'll share is what my youngest daughter has decided to be, a corpse bride.

This is a pretty easy costume idea!  Really, all you need is a wedding dress and some face paint!  We are not going to make her look exactly like THE corpse bride from the movie, more just a dead bride, but the corpse bride from the movie will serve as great inspiration.  We also lucked out and found a bride costume at the Goodwill that fit her perfectly!

Here are some inspiration pics...can't wait to share the finished costume!

Next up: A Zombie Brain Surgeon!

Custom Family Ornaments

Another order completed!

Don't you think the dog turned out cute?

Also, what a fun way to remember your child's sports team!

Strawberry Earrings Beading Pattern

Hi everyone!

I had planned on writing another kindle book, and I still might, but I have decided to share some of the patterns I was going to include here on my blog instead.   

Here is a pattern for seed beaded/brick stitch strawberry earrings.

This pattern was completed using a combination of ladder stitch, single and two drop brick stitch (as with many of my other patterns).  A foundation row is created using a ladder stitch with two beads in each row.  The rest of the beadwork is completed using either a single or two bead brick stitch.  It's another really good beginner's project because there are no complicated increases or decreases.  I used round, size 11/o seed beads for the earrings pictured above, but feel free to experiment with the pattern using various sizes and shapes of beads.  Various colors can be used too.  They would look awesome in a sparkly red.

You can get the PDF download for this pattern HERE.

Hope everyone enjoys the new pattern!

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Another Beautiful Home

Here is my most recently completed custom home ornament:

What a beautiful home, so much character!  

Halloween Tutorial Roundup

It's October already!

So...I thought I'd post a roundup of all of my Halloween themed crafts!

(P.S.  the photo above is not one of my crafts (the kit is from Target), but reminds me of the polymer clay decorated pumpkin tutorial I did last year!)

Beading Patterns:

witch hat earrings

Polymer Clay Tutorials:

polymer clay decorated pumpkin

spiderweb and skull

Costumes:

Dia de los Muertos, Sugar Skull, Dead Bride Costume

Lalaloopsy Costume Tutorial

Happy Crafting!

Now You Will Always Be Home For Christmas

Here are my most recent custom home ornament creations!

I just love the quote one of my customers put on the back of her ornaments..."Now you will always be home for Christmas".  It's very fitting, because these ornaments are a great way to commemorate and remember the wonderful homes that we live in or have lived in.

Recently Finished Custom Home Ornaments

Here are my most recently finished custom house/home ornaments:

A little more info about my custom home ornaments:

They are completed using a photo of the home as a reference.  The ornaments are made using various layers of polymer clay.  I also use a bit of paint to add some of the smaller details and finishing touches. The size varies but I always start them based on the size of a playing card, so they can be a little bigger or smaller than a playing card.  It usually takes me about 2 weeks to complete the ornaments and get them in the mail, but this also depends on the amount of orders I have.  Oh, and I can also add custom messages and details to the back (like the address).

If you have any questions about my custom house ornaments feel free to contact me!

Chocolate Cake with Coconut Frosting

Hello!

It's been a while again!

...but I had to stop in and post the cake I made my Mom for her birthday today.

It's the first cake I've been able to make her for a while, but now that we are living in California again...I was able to take back my position as chief-family-cake-maker:)

For this cake, I used my new favorite chocolate cake recipe.  It's the one on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa.  It turns out perfectly every time...no fail!

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake 

(recipe from hersheys.com)

Ingredients

2 cups sugar 
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2  eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. 

VARIATIONS:

ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

I usually use the recipe for the "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate frosting too, but for this cake, I used my favorite buttercream frosting recipe and added about 3/4 cup of shredded coconut to it.

Buttercream Frosting 

(recipe from chsugar.com)

Ingredients

1 1 lb. box (approx. 3 3/4 cups) powdered sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3 to 4 tablespoons milk 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

In large bowl with electric mixer at low speed, combine sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frositng is spreading consistency.

Peanut Butter Crunch: Substitute peanut butter for butter; sprinkle either candy peanut butter pieces or chopped peanuts over frosting.
Chocolate: Add 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, adding milk 1 tsp. at a time until desired consistency. Top with chocolate curls, if desired.
Orange: Substitute fresh orange juice for milk, add 1 tsp. orange extract and 1 tsp. grated orange zest. Top with thin strips of orange peel.
Lemon: Substitute fresh lemon juice for milk, add 1 tsp. lemon extract and 1 tsp. grated lemon zest. Top with thin strips of lemon peel.

To put it all together, I layered the cake with about half the frosting in between and half on the top. I also added about a half cup of the shredded coconut to the top of the cake....and do you recognize those chocolate lumps?!?!  They are snack-size Almond Joy bars!  Since the cake reminded me of a Mounds or Almond Joy candy bar, I thought they would make the perfect decoration!

Can't wait to taste this!

Tweets in Love: Red & Dark Purple

Here is a lovebird cake topper I recently finished:

I love the color combo!  

The red and purple give the topper a real sense of royalty!  

It's funny because as many cake toppers as I make, I rarely create two with the same color scheme.  

Every single one is unique in its own way!

Would you like your own, unique, custom cake topper?

Check out my Etsy shop!

Avocado Earrings Beading Pattern

Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but...

I have a new beading pattern for you!

This one was inspired by the area where I grew up.  My grandparents lived in a house surrounded by avocado trees, and I have grown up loving them.  In my opinion, there's no better snack than some chips and guacamole!

Anyway...

Here is a pattern for seed beaded/brick stitch avocado earrings.

This pattern was completed using a combination of ladder stitch, single and two drop brick stitch.  A foundation row is created using a ladder stitch with two beads in each row.  The rest of the beadwork is completed using either a single or two bead brick stitch.  It's a really good beginner's project because there are no complicated increases or decreases.  I used round, size 11/o seed beads for the earrings pictured above, but feel free to experiment with the pattern using various sizes and shapes of beads.

You can get the PDF download for this pattern HERE.

Hope everyone enjoys the new pattern!

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Gumball Machine Valentines on The Crafty Crow!!!

Hi everyone!

I was very excited to see my Gumball Machine Valentines featured on The Crafty Crow yesterday!

I've been surprised by the response I've gotten from my Gumball Machine Valentines this year!  I've had thousands of people download the printable!  I'm sure thanks to Pinterest!

Here are the PDFs:

Gumball Machine Valentines

Gumball Machine Valentines (Blank)

Enjoy!

Custom House Ornament

A recently completed custom house ornament:

What a great gift to commemorate a friend's new home!

Mickey and Minnie Go Classy!

Here is a wedding cake topper I recently finished:

I'm calling it: Mickie and Minnie Go Classy!

My Etsy Shop Is Open Again!

My Etsy shop is back open!

I'm now accepting new orders!

I'm accepting new orders for my custom house ornaments too!