More Elmo

Like a turkey on Thanksgiving, a birthday cake is a pretty big part of an event, so I was glad that this one for Jake's first birthday turned out.

The technique for Elmo was to tape parchment paper to a printed image and then trace the outlines with black piping gel.  Then, I flipped the parchment paper onto the iced cake and filled in the rest of the details with colored icing and the Wilton decorating tips.  I suppose it would not have been that hard to freehand.

The cake was King Arthur Flour's Golden Vanilla Cake, and the icing was all purchased ready-made.  I love the instructions at King Arthur Flour, so that's one of the first places I look for basic recipes.  The instructions allow a switch between weight and volume, which is also so helpful.

Looks like it was a hit with the birthday boy.

It's Here!

Knowing what a deal hoarder I am, my baby boy gave me for each of Mother's Day and my birthday an adorable "Jake-On", much like a Groupon, good for a portion of a Silhouette Cameo. I have now redeemed my Jake-Ons (of course using a promo code too).

The Cameo is like a printer, but instead of printing, it cuts.  So you can use it to cut shapes out of paper, fabric, vinyl, and iron on transfers, for example.  You can make your own designs for what it will cut.

Here is the first thing I did.  You would think it would not be that hard to remember that sugar is on the left, and flour is on the right.  Still, I felt I needed these vinyl labels in a typewriter font:

I feel so spoiled to have such a great crafting toy--hope I can put it to good use.  Thanks, Jake, I see some T-shirts in your future!

Elmo Cake Pops

If you are turning one, and you have a mom who likes to play with food, chances are greater than zero that some of these are going to your daycare:

They are just so much fun to make. The process is taken precisely from Bakerella's Street Party Cake Pops Tutorial. I was worried about finding the right pieces, but I pulled the Sixlets for the eyes from my local party store. My mom rescued some orange jelly beans from the bulk bins of candy at the grocery store.

I won't lie: it took an entire evening to make a baker's dozen of these. That's more time than the frog cake pops took. I pretty much had to hold each one for a few minutes while it was drying, althought the frogs could be propped upright.

It was a satisfying evening, though, because cake pops are fun and easy.

Even though Jacob doesn't know what a birthday is and can't eat the candies, I still wanted to commemorate the day the way I can--by giving him more hugs and kisses and crafty treats than he can possibly use.  Next up: full cake.

Sesame Street Creations Roundup

Jacob will be turning one very soon, and although he has no idea who Elmo is, I've got Sesame Street on the brain. I'm planning to have a small but very Sesame birthday party for him with family. Even though my efforts will be low-key, I do have a special interest in all the Sesame Street creations out there. Here are some excellent ideas from other bloggers to bring the Big Bird and his friends into a little person's world. Or a big person's.

First, here is this fabulous working Sesame Street lamp from My Simple Obsession:

I also love these Sesame Street nesting dolls at Repeat Crafter Me. Aren't they adorable?

These two talented bloggers are competing in One Crafty Contest at One Artsy Mama. I can't wait to see what they come up with next. And I didn't just feature them because they are both named Sarah.



Finally, there are these scrumptious Cookie Monster cupcakes from my friend and baker extraordinaire, Lan, at Angry Asian Creations. I didn't think you could improve upon a cupcake, but you sure can if you add a cookie.

Feel free to grab a button from the sidebar if you were featured today. Pinners, please remember to click through to the original blog before pinning.

Glad to have these as inspiration as I head into the Sesame Street years. This post was brought to you by the letter S.

Owl Wrap Skirt

Ladies, do you remember having a wrap-around skirt as a child?  One of my first memories is wearing one to preschool.  Trying to figure out how to put it on was just as much fun as twirling in it.

Despite the marvel of design that I thought my skirt was, it turns out that wrap skirts are simple to assemble.  I followed this great Reversible Wrap Around Skirt Tutorial from What Did She Do Today? to make one for a friend's daughter.  I used the pieced version because I wanted the owls to stay vertical.  This skirt would have been even easier if I had selected fabrics that would work in all directions, like the fabrics from the Ladybug Baby Blanket.  But I like the owls.  Guess I'm on an Owl kick.

When I finished, it looked like the ties would not meet with enough room to tie.  I sat there, puzzling over how to get this wrap to function as a skirt, having flashbacks to preschool.  I decided that the formula must not be right, so I added a bunch more length.  I sent a comment to check with the author.  If she wants to play a trick on me, she will tell me that it would work just fine with the shorter ties, and I'll lose sleep figuring that one out.

I consider any project a success that allows me to learn something new.  In this case, I got to make a buttonhole.  I use the word "make" loosely because the machine did all the work.  So glad to live in an age of technology that includes wrap skirts as well as automatic sewing machines.

So, Audrey, I hope you enjoy twirling in this skirt as much as I enjoyed making it.