Donut Cupcake

If you know me (or if you look through the recipes on this blog) you know that I have a sweet tooth. Actually I have a FEW! I am the person that when everyone is saying something is too 'rich' or too 'sweet' I like and pretend like I think so too. And when I was pregnant and had to drink the nasty sugary orange gook...yeah, it didn't bother me.

But even I have my limits:

Something about a donut on top of a cupcake makes even my sweet teeth hurt. Especially when it is a mini Krispy Kreme donut. Of course, the fact that it is a coffee flavored cupcake actually makes me think it wouldn't be too bad!

So if you want to give it a shot, you can visit Life with Cake for the recipe.

Marshmallow Art

Cutest idea from The Decorated Cookie:


She used Gourmet Writers (edible pens that use food coloring) to decorate marshmallows. I know the little artists in my house would think this was way too fun.

And if you are a little more talented than I am, you can even recreate Monet's Water Lilies:

Meaghan is much more talented than I could ever hope to be!

Howdy

I have a friend that is planning a cowboy themed party for her little boy. And when I saw these ideas on Hostess With the Mostest, I knew I had to post them for her. They are from a baby shower from Beth Helmstetter Events.

It has everything you need for a ho down. Hay:

Mason jars:

Bandannas:

And pie:

Oh, and more hay!

I love it all! But I think they are missing some boots!

Pie Lollipops

Pie Lollipops from Luxirare:

I think I will just call them pie on a stick! Check out the great photo tutorial on their blog.

Giving Your Candles a Lift

This Young House had a great little tip on their blog for giving a candle a little lift:

And then hide the glass with your favorite stuff:

Even if you aren't putting a candle in the jar/vase/hurricane, if you are trying to fill the jar up with something decorative, use the cup (or wadded paper...or anything else) to take up some of the room. That way you need less stuff to make it look full!

Alphabet Blocks

These alphabet blocks turned photo display magnets are probably one of my favorite blog finds ever! Megan from Plum Pudding used old wooden alphabet blocks to make these very cute magnets:


And then she made some that weren't magnets:

With as little as a handsaw you can make some of them! And I love them all. I need to find myself a set of blocks! You can check out the tutorial on how to make all of these cute goodies here on Megan's blog.

Confetti Monogram

I love this new twist on the monogram that I found on The Crafty Crow:

Whoever posted this idea on Nesting must have someone in their life like my Lou La. Because Lou La loves nothing more than cutting colorful paper into little pieces. Well, she might love gluing the colorful pieces back onto paper just as much, but it is a close second. And this project was MADE for her!

And the best part is when it is done, we can frame it:

And then hopefully she will forgive me for the all of the art that gets thrown away and she won't be scarred forever.

DIY Paper Trays

Monica at The Homespun Heart has a tutorial on her blog to turn regular patterned paper and some contact paper into cute fast food style paper trays:

It would be fun for a party, but is even a cute way to just serve lunch. And a good way to get rid of the abundance of patterned paper I have in my house. The only problem I foresee is Lou La trying to KEEP the paper tray. FOREVER! It will end up between her bed and the wall, where I recently discovered she hid all of her school work from last year so that I wouldn't throw any of it away. And since these won't fit in her art portfolio there is going to be a problem!

No Commitment Painting

There really is no cheaper way to add punch to a room than paint. Like this foyer from The Urban Nest:

You really need to go to her blog and see the images larger...blogger hates me at the moment.

Anyway, back to the paint! But you may not want to make the commitment to actually painting it on the wall (or you may rent and not be allowed to make that commitment) so the next best thing is to paint the design on some MDF and hang it on your al a HGTV:

And that is actually pieces of a trifold door, but MDF is a cheap and easy alternative. They didn't even have to hang these on the wall. They just sat them up against the wall and used the bed to hold them into place.

Make Your Own Tart Buffet

It has been done with ice cream sundaes, so why not tarts:

Rachel Ray had this cute idea on her blog to have a dessert bar of tart shells, fillings, and toppings. A cute spin on the ice cream social. Just don't tell my husband it is a RR idea. A couple of years ago (at the peak of her new stardom) he had NO idea who she was...so I showed him her picture on the cover of some magazine. He then started seeing her EVERYWHERE! Magazine covers, Triscuit boxes, TV commercials. He now feels about her the same way that people feel about a song you have stuck in your head.

But that isn't going to keep me from using the tart idea!

Polka Dot Shake Part 2

Remember this polka dot shake:

Sweet Paul just posted the recipe on his blog.

Strawberry shake with marshmallows
Serves 2

What you need:

1 1/2 cup milk
2 large scoops vanilla ice cream
1 cup pitted strawberries
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 marshmallows, cut in half

What you do:
Place milk, ice cream, vanilla and strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth.
Press the cut part of the marshmallows onto the inside of the glasses.
Pour the shake and serve.

Of course you can use any shake recipe, but I thought the cutting the marshmallows in half and sticking them to the glass was worth passing along. I would have tried to poor the shake and layer the marshmallows in as I went. I am weird like that though!

I think there is just enough time before school starts to make these for Lou La!

Crayon Party Favors

If you have a little one in your house that loves crayons you know that it doesn't take long to accumulate enough 'old' crayons (read as no longer having a point) to bury someone alive! I have seen the idea of melting them down into the silicon molds to make new shaped crayons. And it is a fun idea (I have made round ones before) but it doesn't really get them out of my house. But this idea from Brittany at One Charming Blog does the trick. She made a set of alphabet crayons for each guest as a party favor:

And included one of these very cute notebooks from Etsy:


Replace the Monopoly cards with flashcards and I am thinking you have a perfect party favor for a back to school party!

Inexpensive party favor, recycling, and it gets it out of your house. That might be the trifecta!

You can also check out a ton of other cute party ideas on Brittany's blog.

Pretty in any language

I recently have stumbled across a few blogs that I love. Had to start a new category in my Google Reader for them. I try to keep the 690 (that is the current count) blogs I read in categories...makes them manageable! Ha!

Anyway, back to the new category. All of these blogs have two things in common. They have GORGEOUS pictures on them like this:


And I can't read a word on them! Why? They are all in different languages! The pictures are still beautiful though, so I pretend like it doesn't drive me crazy that I can't read them. And sometimes I have my husband come and read them too me. So romantic.

But tonight my husband is asleep. SO I have no idea what the caption of this pictures says on Cha das Panelas. I don't even know what the title of the blog means. I hope it isn't anything offensive!

(Just to make sure I had to look it up...it is Pots of Tea in Portuguese!)

SO back to the image! I am guessing that it is just a regular round cake with a styrofoam cone covered in frosting and macarons. Of course, I could be wrong since I don't speak Portuguese. But it is beautiful. And I think it would be really cute for a shower!

Chocolate and Orange

You may know that I have an obsession with all recipes that promote the marriage of chocolate and peanut butter. My husband feels the same way about chocolate and orange.

Every year when Ben and Jerry's has a contest to resurrect one of their flavors, we try our hardest to get enough votes for them to bring Pulp Addiction back from the dead. But alas, we haven't had any luck. So I am always looking for ways to feed his addiction.

One of the best ways I have found is cake. In any box cake, you can substitute the water for orange juice. So if I make a white or yellow cake, I can make it orange flavored by replacing the water with orange juice, and then frost it with chocolate frosting. Or you can do the same thing with the chocolate cake...but then you have to decide if you are going to frost it with orange frosting or chocolate frosting. Decisions, decisions.

So when I saw a recipe for Chocolate Orange Fudge on A Little Loveliness, I immediately knew it was a recipe I was going to have to try. And it looks pretty easy!

What you need:
2 1/2 cups (15 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free Eagle Brand
Zest from one orange

What you do:

Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, and spray the bottom and sides with Pam. Melt chocolate chips with Eagle Brand in a saucepan, then stir in orange zest and remove from heat. Pour the mixture into the foil-lined pan, and chill for 2 hours or until firm. Pull the foil from the pan and slice the fudge into diamond shapes by cutting straight lines across the block of fudge one way, then cutting diagonal lines across the other way. Garnish with orange zest, if desired. Store tightly covered in the refrigerator.

Pretty in Lace

Lindsay from Living with Lindsay made this gorgeous serving tray from an old cupboard door:

And it is almost too pretty to use as a serving tray! The idea itself is pretty smart, but what I love love LOVE is the design that is painted on the door and how she did it. After all the prepping and painting, she laid lace over the cupboard and lightly spray painted over it. She used lace as the template and it turned out beautifully!

I am trying to figure out all of the things I can make lacy...or is it lacey!

You need to check out Lindsay's blog. It is full of beautiful things to look at, as well as really helpful hints...like how to take the Pain out of Painting and a really easy Design Transfer Technique.

Pop Top Can Treats

Emily ant Not So Idle Hands has a really cute idea for a treat holder. She takes these:

She uses a smooth edge can opener to open the bottom of the can and empty its contents. Then she cleans it out, fills it with goodies, glues the bottom back on to the can, and makes it cute:

Go check out the tutorial and all the great pictures of these goodies on Emily's blog. Hers have a Christmas (in July) theme, but these would be fun for any holiday or party!

Parasol Art

Not into hanging your parasols from the ceiling:

What about hanging it on the wall like Young House Love:

Funnest Wedding Video

I can't believe I hadn't seen this until this morning! I mean they were even on the Today Show! I am so behind! But just in case you are too, you need to see this! Too cute!

Fabric Walls

Stretch thin wire between support posts on your porch and drape curtains or fabric from the wires:

image from Better Homes and Gardens

Fabric Walls. Voila! A great way to make an outdoor party more elegant or hide walls inside...like if you happen to be having a wedding reception someplace that isn't as romantic as you would like it to be!

Plain Shirt to Cute Shirt

If you are handy with a sewing machine, you might like this tutorial from Moon>Sun. She turned this shirt:

Into this much cuter shirt:

I may have to give it a shot with one of the boys old shirts...see if I can make it into something Lou La will wear!

Photo Booth

This Photo 'Booth' idea is one of the cutest I have ever seen:

Kristen from Bliss Video's Photo Wall is WAY too cute!

I found it on One Cool Pick.

And I really Really REALLY want my BFF Michelle to make one of her very own so that I can have pictures taken in it!!

How fun is this!

Michelle, make one and I will HAVE to drive up to Idaho! HAVE TO!!

BHG Saturday

I cleaned out some of the pictures from my computer and found a bunch of pictures that I loved from Better Homes and Gardens. For the life of me I cannot remember if I posted them, so just to be sure I am posting them!

First is this old frame used to...well frame a chandelier:

Clock faces hung from a chain. Not sure what to call it, so just gonna call it like I see it. But it is pretty:

An old railing used as a mail divider:

And this one I just thought was pretty. Always love white pitchers:

Closet Door Molding

Centsational Girl, Kate, posted a picture of her newly repainted closet doors:


My closet doors do not have that great molding on them. They are pretty plain. Actually the bedroom doors are too! But I think I am going to use Sarah's (aka Thrifty Decor Chick)tips to add some molding.

Does your house have snazzy closets? Am I the only one whose closets are bor-ing?

Filing Cabinet Planter

I saw this idea on Design Sponge for a backyard planter:

And here is what they used to make it:

And old filing cabinet. When I get done cleaning out all my old paperwork I might have a spare one of these lying around! You can check out the whole process at Bald Man Mod Pad.

What do you think? better as a filing cabinet or a planter? What else can you think of to use as a planter?

Unframed Mirrors

I have fallen in love with the idea of framing the mirror in my bathroom...but after finding this Dave Coote's picture on Down and Out Chic I want to take down my big mirror that I have been dreaming of framing and build build shelves to hold...well unframed mirrors:

Candle Stick Centerpiece

I love this candle stick centerpiece from Sheena at Totally Tabletops:

She took a collection of different candle sticks and spray painted them the same color. Check out her tips on what candlesticks work the best here.

Polaroid Place cards

image from BHG

Clever idea for a place card. You can use photos of clouds, flowers, or even the guest (which would save you having to write the names!)

Table Trim

I love this idea from BHG to spunk up plain white tablecloths:

They used fusible webbing to iron on ribbon and embroidered trim to napkins and a tablecloth. Easy and really inexpensive, especially if you already have the white tablecloth!

Sweet Treat Party Favors

This idea that I just found on P is for Party is such a cute idea for a party favor, but also for a holiday gift for neighbors:

She found the idea on One Cool Pick (My new favorite blog!!). She used tube mailers (decorated them of course) to hold all of the dry ingredients to make homemade brownies:

They look a lot like the containers that Sprinkles Cupcakes sells their mixes in! Fun and cute!

Polka Dot Party

Keeping in theme of parties from people I know, my sister-in-law Annie threw a polka-dot-party for my niece's first birthday:

Isn't she cute! My other sister-in made the pillow case dress and the bow! My favorite part of the party (minus the birthday girl of course) were all the fun round foods. Candy Buttons, Dots, Oreos (you need to try the Strawberry Oreos...enough said!), Cheeze balls, round tortilla chips, pizzas, melon balls. I am sure I am forgetting something!

And then there was the cake that her neighbor made...perfectly cute: And the games:

Of course there was Twister and a bunch of games that included popping balloons or keeping balloons in the air. Watching the kids (most of which didn't know their left from their right) play Twister was pretty funny! I only watched for a while. I was in the other room eating Strawberry Oreos.