DIY Birthday Cupake Toppers

It was my oldest child's 6th b-day and we are only allowed to bring store bought cupcakes to school. Since we weren't having a party for him, I really wanted to do something relatively fun for his kindergarten class. I checked out our local store's bakeries and all they had were these neon colored frosted cupcakes, so I bought these cute eye candies thinking I could decorate them as monsters. When I asked my sweet hubs to pick up cupcakes, he brought these home, (he went to a different place). They look kind-of meh for a kid, and all of my colorful ideas/supplies were not working. So I found ton's of super cute free online printable cupcake toppers, like LEGO Star Wars, Angry Birds, robots and such... but alas, our printer wasn't working! So, I raided my scrapbook paper stash (haven't updated it in years by the way) and found a square of camouflage. Pretty much the only thing that would work, since the baby blocks, pastel flower paper or shabby chic damask prints clearly was not going to work for a 6 year old little guy!

 (They tasted better than expected too!)

 
I cut bamboo sticks in half, making sure to get rid of any sharp ends, stamped out some circles and tied on some twine, and viola, decorated cupcakes. A lot easier than expected. I only had one size circle punch, so I stamped all of them with it, then handcut the camo ones a wee smaller to there would be brown space showing around the edges. Of course, I used hot glue for everything. So, you can make your own simple cupcake toppers, in a hurry even, much easier than I thought and you really don't need that many supplies.

My happy 6 year old birthday boy! Unfortunately, my camera is on it's last legs and doesn't take very good 'action shots', one reason why there is a serious lack of original photos right now!

Christmas Gifting Ingenuity

christmas cake bunting by kiki laru

I've been thinking of Christmas, which leads me to budgets but also to character of creating something a person may actually enjoy. I believe that homemade and vintage elements for home decorating, packaging and gifting can be done simply and inexpensively with a bit of ingenuity.

vintage Christmas card from carolyn killingsworth

 Vintage Eskimo child and artic animals card, would be adorable matted in a lovely frame with some wintery white german glass glitter accents.

 paper mache giraffe (tutorial) by dreamy whites

these homemade figurines are easy enough for children, but classic enough to be inspired by antrhopologie.

 prada compilation photograph  by lush bella

Purchase a collage board photograph, or create your own. Use momentos of your loved one's cherished items and special things, to create a lovely piece of art.

toy wreath (tutorial) by infarrantly creative

A visit to Goodwill, garage sales, ebay, your kid's or neighbors toybox, consignment shops and you will be so lucky to find a plethora broken toys beyond repair. Instead of throwing them out, wire and hot glue them to a wreath form for a quirky addition to your child's room or playroom. Or, make a hanging mobile from them, here!

raw and romantic message board by faded prairie

I truly adore this. A rusted, vintage oven grill, used as a memory board, Tie on some lovely mementos, add a few tea stained clothing clips and you have a beautiful find for that junkin' treasure girl.

High Fashion Fun

 roll up hopscotch mat

 It's starting to get a little cold outside! With little boys, I need some indoor activities that can be used to stretch the imagination, but it's a big plus if they are pretty to look at. I found this neat new shop called Cool Spaces for Kids and everything is so sweet.

table cloth playhouse

door way puppet theatre

lovely indoor teepee play tent by moozle home.

I remember we had a pacman indoor tent when we were little and it was so fun, but we still made our own with chairs, and blankets. Right now, our tents consist of couch cushions and sheets, but a teepee, that would be lovely. Christmas is coming around the corner...

Family Time:Toddler Crayon Tarts Tutorial

I have seen these around and have always loved making artwork from crayon pencil shavings, so when my son started breaking his crayons in half (and eating them), I knew I had to do something! I wanted to make chunks for them, but wasn't exactly sure how. Then I came across the Martha Stewart Good Thing for Kids Get Crafty little book.

I followed the directions and made these! Here is a little tutorial:

1. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

2. Score the paper of the crayons to easily peel them off (my idea, not Martha's hehee). Be careful on this part!

3. Chop crayons in "pea size" pieces.

4. Place chunks in muffin tins. I only have circle muffin tins, but they would be very cute in star, heart or any other shaped tins you may have!

5. I put only 2 crayons per tin, but you can mix it up and have fun!

6. Bake for 15-20 mins, or until wax is melted. Take out of oven. I chose to take a toothpick and swirl it around the wax for a "marbled" effect. (again, my idea!)

7. Cool until hardened. A cloudy film will develop on top. Put cupcake tin in freezer for a short while and the crayons will easily pop right out. You can easily flake off the filmy residue on the sides with your fingernail. (White flakes in picture below are from doing this).

These would be cute party favors, maybe stack 2 together and tie a bow around it. Or make them in egg shaped cups and put them in the Easter basket! My son loved stacking them like blocks just as much as he liked coloring!

If you aren't up to making these, I have them for sale in my Etsy store!