Cricut Cake and Fondant

Hi Everyone!

We survived the Birthday Party!!
6 pre-teen girls, 1 hotel room, 1 bathroom, 1 Husband, and a Mall- Oh My!!
The girls were great and I only lost my temper a few times.  The husband came along to help keep things under control- and he was great!  I thank God for him that he is able to keep me calm and make me laugh when I get stressed out!

The other day I showed some pics of a few things I made for the Birthday party.

I made some goody boxes for all the girls.

Boxes-design by Lori Whitlock
Mustaches and Glasses- design by Jamie Kaoy

These were filled with candy and were opened and consumed within about 10 minutes!

For the cake, I decided to use fondant instead of buttercream frosting- because I wanted to try something different.
I had never decorated with fondant before because I've always been a little scared of it.  I bought a box of the pre-made stuff and it tastes pretty darn nasty.   Really- why go through the effort if you can't even eat it!?!
I was pretty excited when I came across a recipe for Marshmallow Fondant that said it actually tastes good.  So-- I decided to my own fondant- which was surprisingly easy!

Here's the recipe:
I bag of mini marshmallows
4 Tbsp of water
Microwave in 30 second increments (stirring each time) until it is melted
Mix in 1/2 of a 2 pound bag of powdered sugar.
sprinkle the remaining powdered sugar on the countertop and knead into a ball.
While kneading, gradually add/knead in 1/2 cup Crisco.
Knead until it forms a nice, smooth elasticy ball of sugary fondant goodness.

I got the recipe from a video on My Craft Channel.  You can watch it HERE.

After I made the Fondant, I covered it tightly and stored it in the refrigerator for a few days until I was ready to decorate the cake.

I busted out the Cricut Cake that I got for Christmas.  Poor little Bug has been stuck in the box for months!

Isn't it cute- all shiny and new!?!

Using the Cricut Cake to cut fondant is so simple.  Fondant is just like paper (except it tastes better!).

A few tricks to getting good cuts:
*Roll your fondant out to No More that 1/4 inch thick.
*Use fondant that is cold- or refrigerate your rolled out fondant before trying to cut it.  Cold is good- think of cold fondant like heavy cardstock!
*Use a medium layer of Crisco on your mat.  You want enough to make the fondant stick to the mat, but not too much that it will slide around.  This is probably the trickiest part of using the Cricut- but once you figure it out, it's no problem.

*If you have a little powdered sugar or any other imperfection on your cut out, a little tiny bit of water will fix it.

I let my cut outs dry out for about 10 minutes before I put them on the cake since I was putting them on the sides of the cake (I didn't want them to slide off!).  I adhered them to the cake with a light layer of butter cream frosting and a little water.
*If you are covering the whole cake with fondant, the cake must first have a thin layer of frosting.  This will give the fondant something to "stick" to.

The finished cake:

It even tasted good!!

So- now to start planning next years party!  (I think I'll wait a little while!)

Linking up to Sarah Hamer Designs (Pink Cricut) Link Up Tuesday
A Bowl Full of Lemons 


Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday My Sweet Ladies!

Hi Everyone! 

Today is Avery and Mackenzie's Birthday!!

Happy Birthday my Sweet Little Ladies!!

I can't believe you are 11 years old today!

I love making their birthday cards for them just as much as they like to receive them!

Avery's card was made from the Cricut Lite Recess Catridge.

Mackenzie's card was made with the Cricut Imagine Best Friends Cartridge.  (Today is my day to post at the Pink By Design site so you can see more info about this one there!)

I made their Birthday cards extra girly this year because they wanted to have a Mustache Theme for their party!!

Here's a picture of the birthday treats they are taking to school today!

 Mustache Pops!!

And their cake (for later)!

And the goodie boxes for their friends!

I'll post how I made everything later.

Today it's party time!!

Thanks for stopping by!

An Ugly Card Winner!

Hi Everyone!

The other day, I posted a picture of the most crap-tacular card I've ever made and asked you all to comment with a link to an ugly project that you have made.

I had a good time going through the comments and seeing all of your posts.  

Thank you for making me feel like I am not alone.  It is definitaly nice to know that I am not the only one who makes crap and will post it for the whole world to see!  LOL!!

As promised, I am going to send someone some goodies so they can make some pretty stuff.  I might even throw in some "WTH was I thinking when I bought this junk" stuff too-- just because.

:0)

Here's my favorite "ugly" card that I saw- but only a sneek (you need to click on the photo to go to her blog and see the whole card- in all of it's awesomeness!)

Dee from Dee B's- You are a winner!!

Please e-mail me your mailing address and I'll get your goodies sent out!

Thank you all for being good sports and having a little fun with me!

Thanks for stopping by!

3 Girl JAM Design Team Call

Hi Everyone!

Stop by 3 Girl JAM and check out all the details of the Design Team Call.

 

3 Girl JAM is thrilled to announce our first official Design Team call! We are looking to form a small team of enthusiastic and organized crafters who love working with ribbon and other textured embellishments. We are looking for artists who love scrapbooking, card making, and mixed media, who love to share their passion with others! If you are excited to share your work and talk about 3 Girl JAM anywhere you can, then you may be the one for us!

We are looking individuals who can offer the following:

·         A Passion for Crafting!

·         Strong Written Communication Skills

·          Ability to Meet Deadlines

·         An Updated and Active Blog

·         Active Facebook Account

·          Artists with experience in Altered Art, Scrapbooking, Card making, or any other craft medium in which you have used embellishments

Design Team Expectations:

·          2-3 Projects/month posted on the 3 Girl JAM site.

·         Participation in Blog Hops and other promotions as requested (once to twice per month)

·         Participation on the 3 Girl JAM Facebook Page

·         Design Team term will be from April 1, 2012 to July 31, 2012

Compensation:

 

Go check out the rest of the details HERE!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ugly Card and a Giveaway!!

Hi Everyone!!

Happy St. Patty's Day to ya!

Have you ever had a card (or other project) so well thought out in your head- that you just knew- that as soon as you could get it out on paper, it would be absolute perfection? 

 Have you ever had that same fool proof project- that was so carefully planned out- turn out to be total crap?

Yeah, me too.  :0)

 At first glance this isn't so bad.  But-- When you actually look at it, you may realize that the Green "Beer" is really an Ice Cream Sundae (from the Thanks a Latte Cart) with the mug handle and the straw cut off.  I couldn't fool my 10 year old, so I knew I couldn't fool anyone else.  

What was I thinking!!  LOL!

I had no intention of ever posting this ugliness, until a friend mentioned that she recently made something that turned out really ugly and her husband told her that she should post it so people realize that everyone makes ugly things sometimes.  

*clears throat* 

S.H.  I have not seen any ugly projects posted on your blog lately!!

 *wink*

So Everyone--

Here's your chance to share the ugliness that we've all experienced.  I'd love for you to tell about an ugly project.  Maybe it's one you never planned to show the world.  It could be one that only you think is hideous.  Or maybe it's a project that you thought was fabulous until your 10 year old told you it would look better at the bottom of the toilet.

You choose.

I'll pick one person to win some extra goodies that I have in my craft room (then you can make something beautiful!).  Ha!

If you've posted an ugly, put a link to it in the comments below.  (I tried to do the "linky button thing", but it didn't work right so I had to take it down.)

My New Toy!

Hi Everyone!

I did it.....

I bought a Silhouette Cameo.

And I love it.

I've been having so much fun learning all about it.  I've made some mistakes,  wasted some paper, and spent hours way too late into the night working on it, but I don't care.  

I think I'm in love.

:0)

Here's a little gift box that I made.

I cute-i-fied it up with some 3 Girl JAM ribbon and background and sentiment stamps from Pink by Design.

Who else is taking the leap to the Silhouette?  Or have you always had one?

PS- I'm keeping my Cricut too.  It will always be my first love.  :0)

Big Dreams

Hi Everyone!

Friday was my day to post at the Pink By Design site.

This was a special card and a notebook that I made for my Sister to congratulate her on her new business.  I'm so proud of you Angie!
She sells Organa Gold Coffee- and it awesome!  Check out her website HERE!!

I love how these stamps are so versatile.  You can use them for cards, gifts, layouts,  home decor, etc....   The possibilities are endless!  

The right stamp makes all the difference in the world and can easily change your project.  I wanted to make a coordinating card and notebook and wanted them to look like a set- but not be all matchy matchy.  ( I think I pulled it off!)

Thanks for stopping by today!!

A2 sized card

4"x6" notebook

Supplies used:

Sentiments on Notebook from PBD Subway Art

Sentiment on Card from PBD Small Things, Jan 2012 Stamp of the Month

Paper- My Minds Eye

White cardstock for notebook pages

Crinkle Ribbon- 3 Girl JAM

The Cinch- binding

Sparkle Ribbon and Gems from my stash

PBD Post

Hi Everyone!

Today is my lucky day to be posting at the Pink By Design site.

I want to share a card and a notebook that I made for my Sister to congratulate her on her new business.  I'm so proud of you Sissy!

I'll show you just a peek.  You'll have to go to Pink by Design to see the whole thing.

I'm such a tease!

The Hunger Games

Hi Everyone!

I finished reading the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins recently and I will admit- I got a little obsessed with it.

I can not wait for the movie to come out on March 23 (which also happens to be my girls' birthday!).

Both of my girls are fascinated by the books too- and have lots of friends who enjoy them also. 

I decided to make some Mockingjay magnets for the kids (and one for me!)

So if anyone needs to get a hold of me on 3/23- you know where I'll be!

Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Linking up to:

Sarah Hamer Designs (Pink Cricut) Link Up Party because I know Sarah is a Hunger Games fan too!  :0)

Thanks for stopping by!

Cute Thank You

Hi Everyone!

I have missed my blog!  

Life gets so busy sometimes that it's hard to fit everything in!

I've been working, cleaning my house (we showed it to someone who was possibly interested in buying it- we'll have to wait and see!), I have been crafting (just not posting), and today I spent my "day off" making new colors of Crinkle Ribbon for 3 Girl JAM!  (So-- if you're a fan- keep watching for it!)

Today I made a cute little Thank You card.

The die cut is from Cricut Lite Sweet Shop

Sentiment is Pink By Design: Giant Greetings

The sentiment is "fake embossed"- see how I did it HERE.

A few Challenges:

The Paper Variety: Tic Tac Toe- Emboss, Card, Die Cut

Craft Your Passion: Anything Goes

The Kraft Journal: Fun Shape

Thanks for stopping by!