My First Cake: Go Bison!!

I made my first cake using the Sugar Sheets from Wilton.  They cut GREAT and are 100% edible!!  They are a little spendy though, $3.99 for an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet.  Be sure to use a coupon or buy them on sale.  They carry them at Joann's, Michales and Hobby Lobby.  The also have them at Walmart a little cheaper($3.49 I think) but at Wally World they never go on sale and no coupons.  A much better deal with a 40 % off coupon or when the Wilton products go on sale!! 

If you are going to use these, make sure you apply them to "fresh" frosting that is still sticky.  They adhere well that way.  My frosting was set and it was tougher to get them to stick.  I used a little tiny bit of water brushed on the backside with a small paintbrush and that did the trick.  Don't use too much water though or the colors will run; just a drop.

My cake and filling were this Chocolate Mocha filled cake, so yummy!!  I have the pan with the heart shaped inside, which is why their's is square insided and mine is not.  Although, mine is not exactly heart shaped either, but if you look, real hard, you can see it!!

If I had to do it over I would have used a different filling.  I LOVED it, but it has instant coffee in it and I think the kids (and some of the adults too) would have preferred a straight chocolate filling.  Maybe use the same recipe but use chocolate pudding instead of vanilla and leave the instant coffee out. I used the white chocolate buttercream frosting linked in that recipe.  The frosting is sooo easy and too die for!! 

My daughter insisted on Mr. Giggles font, it is one of her favs. 

I am not a baker, but just wanted to make a "pretty cake."  The cake must have done the trick as the NDSU Bison won their first national title!!  Wahoo . . .

Wall Vinyl for the Bathroom

I cut this wall vinyl for a friend's downstairs bathroom.  We play poker together, hence the double reference to the word "flushes."  The font on "Be Royal" is Balmoral D, a free font you can download here. The rest of the text is Georgia and the flourishes are from My Vinyl Designer.
Thanks for looking!!

Resticking Cricut Mats

So I have my "restuck" my Cricut mats many, many times.  But I have never done a good cleaning first.  Seems it re-sticks much better if you clean all the old "sticky stuff" off with Goo Gone first.

Here is how I re-sticky my mats now.

1.Take a bottle of Goo Gone and spread a light coat on you mat.  Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
2.  Take a plastic scraper and scrape all of the sticky stuff off of your mat.

  See the difference in this picture?  The bottom and left of the mat have been scraped after soaking the mat in a little Goo Gone.


3.  Scrape your whole mat and get all the gooey stuff off.

This picture shows just how much "sticky stuff" came off with just one swipe.  Ick!!

Here is the mat totally scraped.

4. I use Aleenes Tack It Over and Over glue and mix 50 %  Aleenes and 50 % water and then brush a thin coat of this on my mat. Let it dry about 20 minutes and do one more thin coat.  Let dry for 24 hours before covering with the protective film.

Before using it I "condition" it quite a bit by sticking my hands all over the mat over and over again. Also I may turn it upside down on my carpet. This helps "get some of the sticky out" after first re-sticking them. Also, if you have extra of your 50/50 mixture, put it in a sealed container and use it next time. It is so hard to mix the small amount that is needed!! Great way to save money and have more to spend on vinyl!!
As always, thanks for looking!!

Other Teacher Gifts

Here are the rest of the teacher gifts we did this year.  Just a little vinyl on a bottle of soap, tie a bow around the top and it is so dang cute!! Thanks for looking!!

Music Teacher Gifts

My daughter wanted to make a holiday gift for her music teacher and her orchestra teacher.  She hopped online and found some quotes she liked.  These are what we put together.  I love this svg file, the best part is it is a free download here: http://blueyecicle.blogspot.com/2010/05/super-sunday-free-svgs-free-prize-free.html
Thanks for looking!!

Holiday Plates

I picked up some plates from the dollar store and dressed them up for the holidays.  I made one of  these for each of my neighbors and filled them with yummy holiday treats.  I love this glass paint.  You can buy it at Michaels, use a coupon!!  

I cut a stencil out of vinyl and painted the plates.  Three coats of paint later and 40 minutes in the oven and viola, pretty plates.  Fill with these and you will be making lots of friends!!

Handmade Monk Cloth Towels

Those of us that create things ourselves truly understand the value of handmade gifts.  Despite our best intentions, we do not always have the time to handmake all of our own. 

Let me share one of my new favorite Etsy shops with you.  Terryle, she makes handmade monkcloth towels and embroiders them beautifully.  She takes custom orders and has many designs to choose from.  They are so reasonably priced for that difficult to buy for person on your gift list.  I just ordered some of my little, misc. things from her and she is shipping dirrectly to my out-of-state recipients. She will do that for you too!!  How perfect is that??

Wipe me ups are another super cool, unique, inexpensive handmade item she makes.  It is a handmade flip-flop style cloth that fits on your foot or hand with a super absorbant bottom to wipe up those drips and spills.

Anyway, if you want to check out her great shop you can find it here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Terryle

Oh yeah, one more thing, in the spirit of full disclosure, I should tell you, Terryle is my mom!!  :)  Tell her Michelle sent you!!