Penguin CUP*cake*

We had a surprise birthday party for my cousins 11 yr. old daughter while they were visiting and I needed something that was QUICK and CUTE! This is what I came up with......The total cost of the cake (minus the candles, I already had them on hand) was $9.00. I bought the penguin for $4.00 and the mini cupcakes for $5.00 (the mini cupcakes were 12 for $2.50, I bought two packs ) . I arranged the mini cupcakes around the penguin on a large oval platter. I used 11 mini cupcakes. I placed the extra mini cupcakes on a cupcake stand I had on hand. It held the rest of the mini cupcakes. And believe me! It was plenty of cake! We still have the whole penguin left and there was almost a whole pack of mini cupcakes left. Of course we had the cake with a meal and other deserts but if you just needed a cake as an accent to a party. This is a perfect way to go!!

Christmas photos 2008

Here's a few more photos......The odd shaped photos have been cropped.

We had an outside photo shoot for our family Christmas photos this year. It was freezing!!! Around 30 some degrees! We were more than ready to get back in where it was warm! It was getting dark so some of the pictures didn't turn out as well as they would've if they were taken earlier in the day. Happily, I got all the cards in the mail today!! What a relief to have that accomplished! I have more photos to add but blogger is not cooperating right now. I'll have more later.

OUR FIRST SNOW THIS SEASON

Today was heralded in by soft, white snowflakes. The kids were ecstatic. They were out playing in it before school trying to find enough snow to make snowballs. It has snowed on and off all day. None of it stuck around very long. It was fun while it lasted! Melody adoring her snowball.

Melody showing off her snowball.
Grace trying to stay dry under an umbrella.

It's hard to see the snow in the photo. But it was sticking to their hair and clothes.

3 New Cards

This is a shaker card.
This card is called a spinner card. It is made with two pennies.

A Few New Cards

Just thought I'd share some of the cards I've made recently.......

Stamp/Craft Room

I feel very blessed to have this space to let my creativity flow. This room has evolved over a period of time. Mike has brought and bought different pieces home over the last 2-3 yrs. The cabinet was his grandmothers. The buffet was a church camp reject. He bought the table and chairs at an auction. We painted this spring and I just bought some of the decorations at an awesome yard sale this summer. The stuff was SO cheap! The saltbox house picture was around 3.00 dollars. The lamp was like 5.00 and it has a metal lampshade with piercing designs on it. The border was 3.00 a roll at Lowes. I love clearance!!! I've been wanting to take pictures of this room for awhile now. Today just happened to be the day I followed through! :) One of the best things about this room is it's a balcony (loft) type space. I can still hear almost everything going on around the house! The kids have to go through it to get to their bedrooms and I can see the front door and living room from where I'm sitting!

My 31st Birthday

Please forgive the horrible pictures of me! I was very blessed (not really) to have had the stomach bug that week. All that aside, my birthday (Nov 1st) was fabulous! Cherish made me a cake and Mike took me shopping at the Oulet Mall!! I received several nice gifts!! Mike bought me COACH handbag and wristlet and also gave me a 100.00 dollars to spend. My MIL gave me a Tupperware sprinkle/spice set with turntable. My mom bought me Pampered Chef scoops. Maybe I'll get photos of the gifts posted at some point?! :D To all who contributed to my Birthday joy. THANKS SO MUCH!

Granny and Clan

We had a fun Trick-or-Treat this year. The kids had fun dressing up and walking around our neighborhood. The older people enjoyed handing out candy and seeing the kids dressed up! As you can see Cherish is dressed up as a Granny. This is such a fun and easy costume. We have an older lady next door and she loaned us her cane, purse and shaw. I powdered her hair and the rest of the stuff we had around here. Cherish loves this costume! She looks and acts hilarious! We crack up at her!

This is off the subject but I want to add that Cherish (5th grade) made A HONOR ROLL and ALL her other subjects were S+ this quarter!!! Not only was she excited. We were too! Way to go Girl!!! Melody (2nd grade) had one B (that was around 2 points from being an A) and the rest of the subjects were A's. She is doing so well in school too! Melody's math grade was 97. To me, that's pretty good!! So far, Weston is the top boy in his class. It has suprised me how well he does! I was concerned at first because I know for the most part boys are behind girls when they start school. Thankfully, I worried needlessly. Weston was born blessed with a quick learning ability. He started school knowing a few basic skills and now he can write to 100, count to 100, he recognizes all the upper and lower letters, knows all the letter sounds and recognizes and recites 31 site words. They have only been in school a little over two months. So, he has made leaps and bounds!! God is so good! I am very thankful for the children he has blessed us with! My greatest desire is that they grow up with a desire to serve God!

Treat Bags

The kids are supposed to take a bag of candy to school for a party on Friday. So, instead of sending in a bag of candy. I thought it would be cuter to make treat bags. Today my Mom and I sat down and completed 40 or more of them. The tops are inexpensive plain Joanne Fabric paper. I stamped the tops and then ran them through the Cuttle Bug ( a dry embossing machine) . I made the scallops and circle with a couple Stampin' Up punches. There is very little skill required to complete these. Just a lot of patience! Lots of cutting required! My girls enjoyed helping some too! Now, I only have 20 some more to go! They are going to be made out of paper sacks. It will be interesting to see how they turn out! :D

Here's a few cards I've made recently......I go through spurts where I make them quite often. Then I'll slack off and not make one for weeks. I truly enjoy making them. It is fun and rewarding!