February Fever!!! { Part Two! }

So this little project was easy and adorable, and just something that anyone could to! And I just had to share!

{I was just going to hang the hearts you see in the back, but after i found these wooden letters, which happened to be half off at Hobby Lobby!, I decided to pretty them up and add them to the fun!}

 This isn't really a tutorial.. Because its kind of common sense how I did this. but I took some pictures so ill go ahead and share!

First of all, I wanna give a shout out to my mommy's Cricut! Ahhh(: I love love love lovvve this little guy! I finally learned how to use it! I think my mom was getting tired of me constantly asking her to cut something out for me!

  So I sat down and learned how to use it, which I discovered was actually super easy! And ohhh how my life changed because of it!! If you don't have one and you are a serious crafter/ scrapbooker/ love to cut things out and make them look perfect, I would highly recommend it!

{This project would have seriously been impossible without it!}

After cutting the hearts out I hot glued them back to back onto a string. 

The the back to back thing was a later addition, because when I hung them up they were twistin and turnin and all over the place!! And when they did, the backs would show, which happened to be an ugly hot glue mess!!  

 So I doubled them up and  glued the matching heart to the backs of the ones that were already on there.

 

Does that make sense? I feel like I'm being confusing... 

 

 Here are my letters! They turned out super cute! I also got the ribbon at Hobby Lobby, which was also 1/2 off! I think you are starting to see my pattern.. I. Only. Buy. Things. That. Are. Half. Off! Haha that's why I lovvve Hobby Lobby and their wonderful sales!!!

I don't know if you can see it very well, but I hung the letters up with a fabulous silver glittery ribbon! I am seriously in love with the stuff!

 

Total cost: $10

Go ahead and copy me, I know ya want to!

February Fever!!! { Part One! }

Kelsey on Valentines Day last year and every year before that: "Vday is lame and overrated!"

Kelsey after she discovered Pinterest: "Ahhhhhh! I lovvvve Vday! It is so fabulous and wonderful! And I can't wait to decorate the house with adorable things!

So after creating a new beautiful board devoted to Valentines Day, What's Red and Pink and Has Hearts All Over!?, I had my hands full!

I'm going to start with the thing Ive been dreaming to make since the day i saw them!

{If you are a Pinterester I know you have seen and felt the same immediate attraction!}

Tissue Paper Pom-Poms!!

{I know you love them}

All ya need is some tissue paper, about 10 sheets, a bag tie, and some ribbon!

Soooooo. I took 10 20x20 sheets, I cut the sheets smaller for some to make then different sizes. 

{This is one of the smaller ones}

Then you fold is accordion style.

{The smaller the folds the better} 

Use a bag tie to hold the middle together

 {Don't make it tight and scrunchy like, it will make it harder to separate the sheets}

I tied the ribbon in the middle BEFORE I separated the sheets because it made life easier(:

 Now just separate and fluff out each sheet!

 I trimmed mine up a little because it was a little awkward shaped

 {Look how fabulous!!}

Thennn because I couldn't just stop there! I cut out X's and O's and hung them to add to the cuteness!

 And here it is!

Everyone heeds to make these at least once in their life!!

Oh My Cake!

Soooo I  picked up cake making a few months ago, nothing too exciting just something i have always have been interested in and after I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant on, of course non other than pinterest! I finally got me the courage to give cake making a spin!!

My first cake, back in Octoberish, went surprisingly well! I had a blast and was immediately hooked!  

Soooo I have made a few more cakes here and there, for fun or birthdays.. noting too exciting... But went my new sister-in-law asked me to make a cake for there wedding i leaped at the chance! The ceremony was very small, about 30 people were there,  so I was not intimidated.. because hey I'm just a noob!!

I did some research for a good recipe that was.. well.. fail-proof! I have been using cake mixes focusing on the decorating part, but I'm making wedding cakes now!! So I decided to start making them from scratch because I'm big girl now!! So I found a fantastic red velvet cake recipe!! that turned out ahhh-mazing!! And I accompanied it with my usual butter cream icing that is a family favorite!

 (Don't worry! Ill include all the recipes at the end!!)

The cake went so smoothly! Easy recipe to follow and again... turned out great! Everyone love it and were very impressed!

                                          I fell in love with the dark red batter! It is so beautiful!

My butter cream icing always has a yellowish tint, it usually isn't a bid deal cuz it was covered up with fondant anyways.. but with the red cake and all i really wanted a brilliant white! so i found some vanilla that is clear, so it wont tint the icing! it was magical! then i added a few drops of whiting food coloring and got the white i was looking for! it was gorgeous!

 (You can buy the vanilla at Walmart, but don't be mistaken! It is NOT in the baking isle! ...I looked. it is in the cake decorating isle, which is on the other side with the crafts, I just thought that was strange!)

  Tier 2 out of 3! 

The flowers my lovely mom cut out of fondant

                                      
                                            

 Lets just say my family hates when I bake! They sayyyyy that I make a huge mess and hog every bit of counter space!? Ha, I guess they are right!

 I made my 4th trip to the store to get this fabulous black and white ribbon! It really made a huge difference!

 My mom made the 5th trip for this cake to find a cake topper, she came home with these lovely pins, and the black frilly thing on top that really made the cake!! i was so thankful for these pins! they saved so much time and made putting on the pins a breeze and they looked beautiful!!

                      I added some finishing touches! And I was done!! Ahhh! It really is a stunning cake!

                      The cake was such a hit at the party! lots of complements and it tasted delicious!

                                                       Isn't the red and white just beautiful!?

                                               My brother enjoying his second piece of cake!

And i thought id throw in a pic of my beautiful family!! (Left-Right: {Back} Stephen, Skylar, Dallin, Jared, Ethan, Ethan's wife Malissa. {Front} Emily, Dallin's girlfriend Amanda, Jared's NEW wife Sara, me, Mom, and Dad!!) Kylee, who lives in California is missing:/ but now there is 13 of us!!! Wow!

                                            



RECIPES!!!

Red velvet Cake! It really is fail-proof!

• 1/2 Cup butter
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 oz. red food coloring [this is 2 bottles, I only use 1 bottle and then fill the bottle with water and add to make up for the liquid]
• 2 T. cocoa
• 2 1/4 c. plain flour [not cake flour]
• 1 scant t. salt
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 c. buttermilk (I used 4T dried buttermilk and it came out fine – just add it and water as you would regular buttermilk)
• 1 t. baking soda [try to get the lumps out before you add it]
• 1 T. vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Grease and flour two 8″ pans [or use cupcake papers if you make cupcakes, or a sheet pan]
3. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs in your mixer with the paddle attachment.
4. Mix together coloring and cocoa and add to mixture.    This stuff is a mess.  My white mixing bowl is now a pretty pink mixing bowl.
5. Add salt and flour with buttermilk and vanilla (do not mix any longer than necessary or it will toughen the cake).
6. Alternately add soda and vinegar and don’t beat hard, just blend. Bake in two 8″ greased and floured pans. Layers may be split to make 4.
7. Fill two baking pans or muffin tins.  Bake for 15-20 minutes for cupcakes, 30-40 minutes for cakes.  Cool completely before icing.

{She, the lady that I stole the recipe from, included a recipe for frosting. But this is not the one I used! Here is her blog if you want to see it! Two Skinny Jenkins}

Frosting for red velvet cake:

• 3 T. flour
• 1 c. milk
• 1 c. butter
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 c. granulated sugar

1. Cook flour and milk on low heat until thick. Cool completely.
2. Cream sugar and butter and vanilla until fluffy. [You can't really overdo this stage]
3. Add flour/milk mixture.
4. Beat until mixture is like whipped cream.
5. Spread on layer. Sprinkle with coconut or chopped nuts if desired.
6. Keep cake cool (the icing is best cold).

Andddd here is my recipe for butter cream icing!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or the clear vanilla if you want it white!)
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

Makes:

About 3 cups of icing.

Instructions:

1. In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

2. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

3. For thin (spreading) consistency, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk.

4. For stiff consistency, omit butter; substitute an additional 1/2 cup shortening for butter and add 1/2 teaspoon No-Color Butter Flavor. Add up to 4 tablespoons light corn syrup, water or milk to thin for icing cakes.

And as for the marshmallow fondant... here is a link! Marshmallow Fondant

All in all!! A success! I got a text from a friend today asking if I would be interested in making a Las Vegas themed cake for a bridal shower! I'm totally psyched!!

All About the Wreaths! {January Wreath}

Wreaths!! I'm officially obsessed! And its funny because I never thought anything of them because I don't know.. it just seems like an old person thing! When I told my best friend that i was making a wreath she totally laughed at me! Like it was the funniest thing in the world! But I don't blame her! ..I would have totally done the same thing like a month ago, before I found out my love for them!

I don't know what came over me.. Maybe it is because every other post on Pinterest is an adorable wreath?! And if you are not obsessed with Pinterest yet, i suggest you click on the link and explore it for about 10 seconds, that is about how many seconds it will take to get you hooked!

 Here is some thing that will give you a little bit of a perspective:

Here is the pin I found, I didn't make it exactly like the picture shows but I got all my inspiration form it so I thought you'd like to see it, anddd it's super cute!!!

Adorable right!?

All right! Lets get started!

Here is what you will need:

Pool Noodle

Felt 

More Felt or Fabric (about 1/2 yard depends how big you make your wreath)

Duck Tape

Straight Pins

Floral Pearl Pins (Don't have to have these, it would just make the flowers pretty)

Scissors   

{I chose white for the wreath color, and blues and greys for the flowers, because i thought they would be totally appropriate for January colors!}

So The pool noodle is my favorite part! I love finding things that you can use to make other things! And we seriously have like 10! So it was cheap, easy, and convenient! I cut my noodle down to about 46 inches,then duck taped the ends together.

I did it by myself, you might want someone there to help you! It was a little tough!

{I also saw a pin suggesting using foam tubing that is super cheep at Home Depot, not a bad idea either!}

Cut the Fabric you are using to cover the wreath with. Regular fabric is fine, I used felt.

I found it worked better when i cut then at a slant, leaving me with a thick end and a skinnier end.

Pin the skinnier end onto the noodle and then wrap wreath and continue pinning and wrapping the fabric securely onto wreath..

 ..until the entire wreath is covered in fabric.

Out of the felt for the flowers cut circles, lots and lots of circles!! Size doesn't really matter, just whatever you feel like!

 {Just a note, Hobby Lobby sells 8x10 felt sheets for 25 cents!! And in like every color! I used about 6-7}

To make the flower fold in half once...

 ..then fold again, pretty simple!

Then pin it on the wreath!

 Arrange them until it looks somewhat like this:

 So at this point I thought I was done. It sat in my kitchen for about a week because it was December when I made it, and it is obviously a January wreath so I couldn't put it up quite yet. Anyway! It sat in my kitchen, and after looking at it everyday I decided it needed more flowers! So I make a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and got some more felt and I was back to cutting circles again! 

I'm glad I decided to add more! It ended up looking way better!

SEE THE DIFFERENCE!?

Now it hangs happily on my front door in all its glory!

Total cost: $2.50!!

 So I don't know about you, but I'd say my first wreath was definitely a success! I really want to make one for every month! I just think that would be so fantastic! So if you liked this, I'm positive there will be more wreaths to come!