Martha's (Not As) Beautiful Cookies

Here they are, the cookies I thought I'd make for a little dinner party we had for my husband's team:
I thought hers were beautiful! But then, I was surprised and super crazy happy that I liked mine even better!

I made the sugar cookie dough. Refrigerated it over night. Rolled it out the next day. Cut perfect circles. Let my kids cut out awesome bad-guys and hearts with what was leftover.




I made the icing. (I will never buy meringue powder again.) And I sat down to decorate. Maybe I made the icing too thick? I was afraid to add water and ruin the whole thing. It was workable, so I just went with it. But, my cookies didn't look beautiful, they looked like spider webs! Not what I had in mind. For all this effort, I wasn't happy with spider webs. Grrr. Inspired by my children's free-motion decorating, I decided to try something on my own. And I was happy! Why didn't Martha do this in the first place? It's much prettier :)

I used squirty bottles (totally worth the small investment)


drew a line to border the outside of the cookie, then flooded the inside and used a toothpick to cover the space.

Swirl time.

Drag up, then drag down.



Drag side to side.

Viola. Worth the effort.

Birthday Party Check List on Scribd

I've created a free download which is available to you at this link:
birthday party check list which looks like this: Birthday Party to Do List
I've been having lots of fun personalizing ice cream spoons for folks on Etsy, and wanted to make a little freebie to go along with it. Hopefully some other folks will get some use out of it too.

I printed out my pages and cut them down. To finish them I just ran a zig zag stitch up the side and added a few little stamps. I was thinking if you don't have any decorative stamps at home, you could let your little one do a few thumb stamps and make some cute faces in them and it would be even better.



I created a few more free downloads with links on the left toolbar.
Enjoy!

Smash Tape

I love it. I walked into Archivers today and saw it on a table, and snatched it up.
I was wrapping up some little presents for friends, and taped my tissue paper shut with it. If I were a scrapbooker, I think I would use it to tape a picture (very messily) onto a page.
I saw a pretty cool tute recently on making your own decorative tape at Annekata. There are a few out there now, but I think this was the first one. So you can try to make it yourself. But I was thinking, by the time I go out and buy packaging tape and spend the time to make it, I could have bought a roll like the one pictured above for $3. Also, I bought some recently from Martha Stewart's JoAnn line. I am so excited about it!
I've also cut think gauge wire into strips and covered it with the decorative tape on both sides, cut the ends with pinking shears and made some really cute twist ties. Will have to update later with a picture because I don't have one right now, and can't seem to find one online. C'est la vie!
For now, go out and buy some cool tape! There's Martha's line, there is a TON on Etsy like this pretty stuff. If you think of any new projects, let me know!

Kids Messenger Bag

Squeeeel! I am very excited. I was at my favorite kids toy/clothes store in St. Louis yesterday, City Sprouts, and I saw some amazing bags like this one by Bakker which is a French company. They are awesome and beautiful and expensive. I made one!!! It doesn't have the GORGEOUS hardware that the Bakker bags do or the elaborate pockets. But it took me one day to complete with only an idea in my head and tools in my hands, and that feels pretty good. Margot is napping, but I can't wait to put it across her little body and take some pictures when she's up.

Living with Punks: SYS~Bookworm Skirt

Living with Punks: SYS~Bookworm Skirt: "I’m so excited to finally start this series!  My mind has been overflowing with ideas and I know all the bloggers I have lined up are eager ..."

Must. make. this. now.

Who Needs A Quilt Top?

Cause I'm really good at making them. What I'm not so good at is finishing them. On April 9, 2009 I postedthis picture of cut pieces for a zig zag quilt. Over two years ago! I ran out of fabric and it wasn't as big and I wanted it, so it's been forever since I've worked on it. Here it is in its current state, currently measuring about 4 ft square.
I finally ordered new fabric to add on to my quilt and am excited to get rolling. Look at all the pretty colors!A lot of the fabrics in the first quilt are Amy Butler. I ordered a few more from her in a slightly different color palette, and also a bunch from Anna Maria Horner which I am very excited about! I love her prints (and, by the way, I love them even more in person than I do on the screen) and am happy I found these in cotton! She's been doing a lot in voile, and while everyone says not to be intimidated by it, I am anyway.
I ordered these from fabric.com so I got free shipping, and I also found a coupon on retailmenot.com so I feel like I got a pretty good deal!
Now that I have all this new fabric, be sure and check back with my blog in about two years to see the finished quilt! LOL

Party Perfect!

 

It's pretty random, but I've been selling these red and white paper straws for about a year now. I love them. Other people must love them too! They are sooo cute for parties. I saw these little wood ice cream spoons and thought they'd go great with the straws. I know I'd love to have them for a party, and I figured other people would too. Turns out I'm right! The "Elle is 2!" were commissioned by an Etsy buyer for her little girl. Cute! Perfect for Summer.

Matryoshka

 

Doing a little experimenting for a possible Russian Doll themed birthday party in October :)

B cards

Why do I love business cards? I might be a little crazy. But seriously, after college, it made me feel like a big girl to carry them around and trade them with high school friends when we were home for Thanksgiving. And now, why do I love them? They are so tiny and cute! And if I'm giving them to someone, it means I'm meeting someone new, which is something I love to do. And, potentially, am finding a new customer, which is becoming more important as I try to get into the sales game. Also, my kids just started a new school, which means I met lots of new moms and I wanted to be able to quickly give out info.
So, I've ordered a TON of them recently. And am SO sad about not being in love with any of them. I ordered "mom" cards from vistaprint which have my name and say "mom to Nash and Margot" and they're cute. But the two that break my heart are both from Tiny Prints. I love Tiny Prints! Or maybe I don't. These things are just, well, tiny!

After spending way too much money on little cards, I made my own. I knew I could make my own, but honestly, I just thought I wanted something professionally done and I was sure to love. I'm not going to say I like mine better, but I like them! I rounded the corners on mine, I like the bold graphic, I like that it's not hard to read. I like em. That's it. I even thought about rounding the corners on the Tiny Prints cards! But I won't. I'll just feel triumphant in my quest to make a fun little business card. And I won't spent gobs of money at Tiny Prints or Iomoi again. I guess that's why I keep making things - I usually like what I make better!

Cakepops

Why am I so bad at making cakepops? Half of them broke or fell sideways off the stick, or the stick came right through the top. Bakerella is a genius and her book is adorable. I want to make every design in it. But clearly, that is not an option for me since the little balls don't even come out half the time!
I have a friend from long ago who is always posting advice on Facebook about making cakepops and is full of suggestions to her friends on how to improve their cakepops. I have just decided that she must be living a lie. No one can be that good or knowledgeable about making them.
But I want them to be perfect. Even considering they're not, they are still pretty cute when they're all wrapped up and tied with a bow.
But none of this really matters because my 4 year old completely flipped out when his fell of the stick as soon as he picked it up. It didn't fall onto the floor. No one yelled at him or gave him a nasty look. He just wanted it on the stick! But, sailors don't always make good friends, and cakepops don't always stay on the stick. I offered him others, and it didn't matter, he was just devastated. So I am done with cakepops. Though my husband sincerely hopes I might consider making cakepop truffles.

Thanks, Teachers!

 

It's Summer vacation! My kids have only been in school for a month, but they have had a great time and these wonderful teachers! So a thank you gift was in order. I borrowed a great idea from my awesome crafty friend Robin and made these cards with little flags that have "thank you" stamped on them. And then I taped a Starbucks gift card to the back. I'm sure the teachers appreciate the Starbucks more than the card, but they were fun and quick to make!
Robin uses these for a few different holidays - with a lollipop in them for Valentines day, with a flower in them for Mother's Day, and they are always super super cute. Maybe I'll try to come up with some other ideas to share.

So, how it's done. Simple! Go take a picture of your cute kid with their hand in a fist or giving thumbs up. I used a lollipop stick with some decorative paper for my flag, and used a xyron for my adhesive so I'd get a good seal on my flag. Cut a hole with an xacto, slide in your stick, and then tape it in the back so it'll stay. Presto.

Love it! Thanks, Robin!