Banana Split Cupcakes

Don't these look YUMMY?!!  My son, Sam, and I made these as part of a fundraising effort in May for his National Youth Leadership Training fees.

It was just an idea we came up with and put together without Pinterest or Google and, boy, was that a good idea this time.  The reason being that afterwards I DID look up 'banana split cupcakes' and found lots of recipes using yellow cake mix and mashed bananas as the cake portion and chocolate for the filling.  That's all good but, we - blissfully naive - went in a different direction and they were delicious!!

Banana Split Cupcake , à la The Coles - chocolate cake, banana pudding filling, cream cheese icing sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar, chopped peanuts, and topped with a marachino cherry.

Make sure the cake is moist and the icing is thick (not like the canned store bought stuff, if you can avoid it.)

One thing we did use Pinterest for was a means to deliver the cupcakes to his customers.  We used a shirt gift box as shown at THIS PIN.

[caption id="attachment_1399" align="aligncenter" width="336"] Sam getting ready to deliver a dozen red velvet cupcakes to earn his way to NYLT.[/caption]

 

Gettin' Busy

Sometimes the stars align and I get all kinds of domestic all at once.  My July thus far:

I got to know a few new friends as we made some hair clips for our girls right before Independence Day.  I found the blue fabric with stars at Walmart for $.99 and thought that would be perfect for the city BBQ and fireworks.

The blue section was made folding a long strip in half length-wise and gathering  (watch a video showing how HERE).

The red section is made with felt using 4 circles, each folded in half and overlapped like box flaps (see step by step how to fold and stitch them HERE, especially Step 3).

Elizabeth loved it, even though I made it a bit large.

 

Pretty basic Hello Kitty Cake for a cute little girl born on the Fourth of July.

Turns out I don't pipe well.  At all.  Nor have I yet to purchase those ABC cutters for fondant.  So I tried something new with melted pink chocolate.  I placed wax paper over a print out of the message and piped the chocolate onto the wax paper.  It worked perfectly and they peel right off.  You could do any font and get the sizing right every time, every letter!

 

Then there was this last minute order for a work party, Independence Day themed, of course.  I really need to get those ABC cutters!  These letters were done using cut sugar paper and then free hand with icing gel.  The cake was blue and white swirl/zebra and red velvet and white swirl/zebra.

The cake was a huge hit and resulted in another order for - guess what?!!  A Hello Kitty cake for next week!

 

Remember way back in January when I turned all the hangers around?  Well, it's time to reap what has not been used for six months and either find a new use for it, toss it, or donate it.  I have lots of my husband's shirts stacked and ready to be put to better use.

Saturday I whipped up this darling dress and matching clip from one of Chris' old dress shirts.  It was absolutely FREE and meets the school's dress code.  Yay!

It was easier than I thought and I didn't even use a pattern.  I was inspired by THIS PIN but ended up making a bodice with skirt style rather than an A-line.

July is half way over and I'm feeling pretty darn industrious!  Hopefully it keeps up - school starts soon!!

 

Spring Sale

SORRY, THIS SALE IS NOW CLOSED!

If you are still interested in a custom piece, please click HERE for details on how to contact me.  Thanks!

Original Post:

Do you know what is nearly here?  Father's Day!  Know what else?  High school and college graduations!  And guess what - lots of weddings, too!  Are you ready with all the gifts you'll be giving this spring and summer?

I have ten openings for graphite portraits and wood burned plaques in the next month.  Below are examples of what I am offering.  Subjects for portraits can be people or pets!

[caption id="attachment_995" align="aligncenter" width="140"] Wood burned surname 7x15.5 plaque, $30[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1331" align="aligncenter" width="126"] Single subject 8x10 graphite portrait, $40[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1335" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Two subject graphite portrait, $55[/caption]

You will receive an email with instructions to either send a photo (you must own the copyright) and/or information depending on the product(s) you've purchased.  I will work with you to insure your satisfaction and will email you at least once on the progress of your piece, allowing for up to one revision.

Your item will be shipped within two weeks of when payment is received. Portraits will be shipped flat, unframed.  There is a $5 shipping charge.

US only, please.

If you have any questions you can contact me anytime!

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's this year's version of the photo Valentine!  Click HERE to see last year's lollipop cards.

[caption id="attachment_1322" align="aligncenter" width="560"] from Matthew and Elizabeth![/caption]

Elizabeth was so excited to have a special hair-do as well.  Thanks, Pinterest!

[caption id="attachment_1321" align="aligncenter" width="417"] Little girl hair love <3[/caption]

Words of Wisemen

Happy Three Kings Day!  The children found their gifts under the tree this morning, each with a scripture and note.



For GOLD they received Rolos and tokens for our new video game timer.  Their note reminded them that gold is a gift meant for royalty and that they are children of a King.  They were instructed to use their time wisely as it is it more precious than gold.

For FRANKINCENSE each of their notes reminded them that Christ came as a prophet, priest, and savior and that they should look to Him.  Elizabeth received a butterfly finger puppet with a reminder that we all require change.  Matthew, a snake finger puppet, with a reference to Moses' brazen serpent representing Christ.  The older two boys were given book lights with cards naming Christ as the Light of the World.

For MYRRH they each were given a personalized t-shirt with designs created with bleach.  The note read, "Even more effectively than bleach removes dye, Christ's atonement can remove our sins."

 

Do You Celebrate...

...Kings Day?  We do!

It's not traditionally celebrated by Latter-day Saints, at least not in the United States, but our family observes it anyway.  We consider it a part of Christmas.

This is a hold over from my side of the family and our time stationed in West Germany.  Though it has its roots as a religious holiday (I believe Catholics call it The Epiphany) it has also become a secular tradition in many European countries and the Caribbean.  I suppose that's why it stayed with us when we returned to The States, even though we weren't a very religious family growing up.  Now that I am an adult and can appreciate the reverent side of it as well, I think it's even cooler than I did as a kid!

If you've ever heard of the 12 Days of Christmas, this is it!  Retailers would have you believe that it is the 12 days prior to Christmas.  Not so.  The First Day of Christmas IS Christmas.  Count forward 12 days and you land on January 6th, a.k.a. Three Kings Day!

[caption id="attachment_1277" align="aligncenter" width="527"] The gift of gold...[/caption]

I'm still working on the children's gifts that will end our holiday season.  But those tokens and Rolos will be the "gold".  The tokens go to this:

[caption id="attachment_1278" align="aligncenter" width="416"] The Time Machine: TV/Video Game Time Management Timer[/caption]

Santa was supposed to leave it at Christmas but I think it must've fallen out of his sack.  Good thing the magi are coming!

I'm excited for the other things they are bringing for the kids, too.  But that's all the sneak peak you get until Sunday!

CLICK HERE to see what we did last year and to get your own ideas of what the magi can bring your children.

Happy 2013

[caption id="attachment_1250" align="aligncenter" width="429"] Brandon after the New Year's Eve dance[/caption]

I'm so excited for this year!  Just some of the things 2013 has in store for me:

• my 4th marathon (on my 35th birthday!)


• possibly my 5th marathon


• if so, a possible world record


• more art!


• more projects!

I have so many ideas and things to share with you this year, I hope you are ready!

Memorial Day

Chris and the boys spent the morning posting flags with the Boy Scouts.  Have a happy, safe Memorial Day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Matthew and Elizabeth's class Valentine's cards this year (idea via Pinterest, of course).  The older boys are in middle school and just took some candy for their friends.  And now they all are getting ready to eat red, heart-shaped pancakes for dinner while I get ready to stand in line at a local eatery for a few hours for a hot date.

Happy Luuuuuuuv Day!

Happy Three Kings' Day!

The kids' Three Kings' Day gifts under the tree.

We always keep our tree up until Three King's Day (January 6th).  Some years I've missed getting the kids gifts from the magi but was able to pull something together VERY last minute this year.  Each bag contains:

GOLD - pieces of gold foil wrapped butterscotch candies (like Werther's) with a card that reads, "GOLD is for royalty.  You are the son/daughter of a King!"

FRANKINCENSE - a cool mechanical pencil for the boys and a pretty hair bow for Elizabeth with a card that reads, "FRANKINCENSE for His role as PRIEST.  Use this pencil for your scriptures and at church/Here is a pretty bow for you to look your best on the Sabbath."

MYRRH - A fun size 3 Musketeers bar with a card that reads, "3 Musketeers KINGS* brought MYRRH symbolizing Christ's eventual death for us."

*Yes, I know we don't know for sure how many magi came; that the number three was derived from the gifts listed in scripture.  But you try to come up with items that would be a fun way to teach this story in 20 minutes from a Wal-Mart in a tiny town!

HAPPY THREE KING'S DAY!

I hope 2012 will find you seeking after that which the magi sought, for if you do, you will find Him.

Celebrating Chris

My husband, Chris, is a pretty creative guy.  He writes music, plays the piano, and invents games.  When he was in college way back in the '90's he recorded many of his songs onto cassette tapes {remember those?}with a Walkman placed on top of a piano.  High-tech, no?  The purpose was just to get them recorded before they were forgotten because he never actually writes down his scores - he keeps them all in his head.  So the quality of the recording wasn't very important at the time.

Chris on Father's Day 2011

The tapes are now a favorite of my oldest son and I imagine the mp3 files we've made from them will likely be a cherished by all of as a family heirloom.  So in honor of all those songs and their composer I made him a cassette cake for his birthday last month.

Cake covered with buttercream frosting and marshmallow fondant.  The cogs are snipped pieces of marshmallow and the writing was done with cake pens.

Chris treats the games he creates in much the same way he does his music.  He'll spend hours playing with the kids to tweak rules but then rarely takes the extra step to share them with others.  He's made everything from yard games to card games.  Lately he's been playing a game he created on old cards that he re-purposed.  He and the boys seemed to have worked most of the bugs out last month so I decided THAT would be his Father's Day gift.

Brandon and Sam explained all the rules to me so I would know what the game needed.  They had been calling it "Throwdown" since you throw down cards but we changed the name to "Attack and Stack".  It was easier for me to work with graphically, is a better representation of the game, and doesn't conjure up images of WWF or Miley Cyrus.

After designing the cards and logo I published the cards for the game through Heritage Makers with my friend, Kathryn.  I special ordered dice from {where else?} Vegas and found the perfect little box to put it all in, 'Rules' sheet included!

We sat down for Sunday dinner on Father's Day and had him open his cards and gifts.  We LOVE games in our family so it's not uncommon to receive a game as a gift.  He thanked us and put it aside.  The kids giggled uncontrollably as I suggested he read the rules for the game, right then and there.  The "huh?" look on his face was priceless.  I wish I had videoed his reaction when he finally realized that it was his game!

Chris loved the new name and graphics.  He couldn't stop looking at everything and asking questions about how we pulled it off.  We played twice that day and again the next day.  I even got a text on Tuesday AGAIN thanking me and stating:

Happy Mother's Day

Four generations: Elizabeth, the only daughter of Kristal, the only daughter of Edith, the only daughter of Beryl.

Happy Mother's Day, from our family to yours!

Knee-high to a . . .

. . . gift wrap keeper.  Gotcha, didn't I?  You thought I was going to say grasshopper, huh?  Well, not so, my friends.

Have you got a stack of unruly wrapping paper somewhere in your home?

Forget about those fancy gift wrap storage containers.  I've tried them.  I like the idea of keeping dust off the paper, but inevitably my rolls would always be too long too fit in them.  Not to mention my paper would still unroll and tear.

I finally resigned myself to the fact that my specialty storage container wasn't working for me and sold it in our last garage sale.  I think it will finally be put to a good use; a woman bought it to use as a horse feed bucket!

So now what?  For $.33/pair I bought a few knee-highs from Wal-Mart and cut the bands off the tops.

Of course, if you want to be even more frugal use your old ones that have runs in them.  I would've recycled mine except I don't wear nylons.

Slide them over your gift wrap.  If needed, wrap the band around the roll twice to keep it secure.

Now your wrapping paper will stay nice and neat no matter where you put it!

Cliffhanger:  remember to save the rest of the knee-highs for another project coming soon!  Hint:  it is already pictured in this post . . .

I'm Serious As A ♥ Attack When I Say

I Love You!

♥ My Valentine from Matthew this year ♥

Time Warp

Once again I find my my tendency to procrastinate has gotten the better of me.  I had a few BIG things happen in recent months that I just have kept putting off posting.  I mean, who has the time to go through all those photos that come with BIG events anyways, especially when some of those are unplanned and unwanted?

However, with the New Year I pulled out my old journal.  The one that hasn't been cracked open for far too long.  I realized that I needed to take the time to write down the events of the past few months as soon as I could before I lose the chance forever, both privately and here.

So, time to warp back to:

St. George Marathon

October 3, 2009

I ran my second marathon last October after many long months of training.

I stayed with Chris' aunt, Cathy, who lives in St. George.  She has run over 30 marathons (I forget the exact number)!!  She is a blast.  I had so much fun riding to the start line with her and waiting for the race to begin (even if it was super cold!)  We were only able to run about a mile or two together before she stopped to unlayer some clothes.  I was in a good rhythm, though, and in a marathon, if you've got a good pace going, you KEEP MOVING.

I had a rough time through miles 9-13, but eventually got back with it.  This put me way behind the pace I had been shooting for (4:45:00).  I was able to slowly close the gap but by mile 20 I realized the only way to even get close to my goal was to run the remaining 6 miles at 10 minutes/mile.  That is pretty fast for me and to try to run faster for the last miles of a marathon is not easy.

The crowds were great which really helped.  The best was seeing a sea of blue shirts that read, "My mom has nine kids AND ran a marathon.  What does your mom do?"  My training partner, Lisa, was that mom, of course, and it was fun to see her family waiting to cheer her on.  This is a picture of us together just after she finished.  I am so proud of you, Lisa!!

My chip time (actual, official time it took me from start to finish) was 4:47:53, about 21 minutes faster than my 2002 time!

When Chris and I ran in 2002 Brandon was 4 and Sam was 3.  Brandon is almost as tall as I am now!

On the way to St. George I picked up my mom from the Grand Canyon.  She kept the kids at a hotel and brought them to the finish line.  Watching four kids in a crowd that size is stressful.  Thanks for your help, Mom!!

Fall Break 2009

(a.k.a. Mom's Marathon Recovery)

October 3-10, 2009

After the marathon my mother took the kids to lunch so I could shower.  We then piled into the van and headed back to the Grand Canyon.  The kids had the whole next week of school off so we stayed and explored.  Actually, they did more exploring than I did.  I laid in misery recovering from my run and heat exhaustion.  Good thing I had Mumma and Daddy to take care of me.

Speaking of my daddy, if you visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon you're likely to see him.  Mechanically speaking, he and his co-workers in the maintenance department keep the place running.  You probably won't see my mother.  She works in "the dungeon," a.k.a. the warehouse.  And unfortunately, you won't see many pictures of her in this post, despite how involved she was.  She was either out of shot chasing kids or behind the camera.  Proof that motherhood never ends, I guess.

Grammie and Grampa had to work Monday so the kids asked if I would take them on a hike.  "Ummmm...surrrrrrre," says I thinking of how I can't even walk down stairs.  Hiking down a canyon path sounds like "fun!"  We went out Bright Angel Point.  If you know me well, you know I'm slightly afraid of heights and a very anxious person.  But I was brave enough to take four children out there by myself, stiff-legged and all.  Look at their faces.  It was so worth it.

This was actually the most comfortable I've ever felt out on that trail.  They were so well behaved.  Brandon marched them in a line, alternating big kids and little kids, and would turn around every few yards and ask how I was doing.  "No running!  March, march, march...You OK, Mom?"  The tourists seemed to get a kick out of our little brood, too.

I wonder how many more of these nice mother-son pictures I'll get before Brandon sticks to the scowling face...I love this gnarly tree Sam is sitting in.  I took a few shots of just the the tree for my art files.  Matthew was a bit surprised by the Canyon view on the other side of the rock we're sitting on.  And Elizabeth was just thrilled to be out with all the big kids.

Everybody wanted a turn with the camera and a turn in front of it with me. I can't remember which child took which shot but each of these were taken by a different kid. Even Elizabeth took one of these.

Here's my best 3D picture from this trip.  If you haven't seen one of these before, here's how to view it: (1) slightly cross your eyes while looking at the two pictures until a third one appears in the middle. (2) Slowly focus on the middle picture until you see the 3D effects.

A few days later Grammie and Grampa woke up Brandon and Sam early.

They took them on a mule ride down into the Canyon to the Havasupai Tunnel.

Brandon rode T.J.

Sam rode Gus.

They had a great time.

And it looks like Grammie and Grampa had no problem keeping them in line.

The rest of us went to the corral to meet them when they returned.  "Hmmm...where are they?"

"Let's go for another hike while we wait."

"Still not back?  Let me rest here in the sun for a moment.  You two play with the camera...."

Funny kids.  That whole day Elizabeth kept warning everyone to "watch out for mool poop."

"Yeah, that seems right."

Grampa took all the boys camping one night to fulfill some Scout requirements.  Unfortunately for them, it snowed and rain.

Fortunately for us that meant we got a whole day and night for just the girls.

Brandon's Birthday

October 22, 2009

Brandon turned 11 in October.

He asked for a Squirtle Jack-O-Lantern cake (his way of combining Pokemon with Halloween and his birthday.)  It looked horrible but tasted yummy.  Since it looked so bad we thought it would be funny to give him some of the eyeballs we made as one of the party activities.

One of his gifts was Harry Potter Clue.  It is such a fun game!

We played the toilet paper mummy race game.

Which the boys quickly morphed into this game/mess!

In November he was recognized in his Pack Meeting for earning the Arrow of Light, the highest award given in Cub Scouting.  Now that he is eleven he is in Boy Scouts.

The Holidays

Thanksgiving and Christmas 2009

Can you tell Chris was excited about our first holiday season in our new home?  My parents were able to join us for Thanksgiving again this year.  After we stuffed ourselves silly we watched the kids decorate the Christmas tree.

After seeing how sad that old, tiny tree looked in our empty front room with vaulted ceilings, Chris took the boys out to surprise me with a giant pre-lit tree.  He wanted so much for this Christmas to be special.

However, December ended up being the toughest month of one of our most difficult years.  Monday, the 7th, I received a call from the hospital that he had been admitted to the emergency room for chest pains.  They kept him overnight and ran every test imaginable.

He had driven himself there so I had to get a ride.  My home teacher and his wife drove me to the hospital and arranged for a member of the bishporic to meet us there.  These good men gave Chris a priesthood blessing, brought me dinner, and drove dinner over to the children.  The next day my visiting teacher watched Elizabeth so I could pick Chris up and bring him home.  That night she brought over a delicious dinner.

The doctors said they did not believe that he had had a heart attack, but that he did have high cholesterol.   About 11:30 the following Sunday night he asked me to drive him back.  He was having really bad chest pains again.  After running a few tests they cleared him of any heart problems or lung issues.

It ended up that this Christmas really was special.  Chris was feeling better by then and we finally feel "at home" with our new area and ward.  The wonderful thing about being on the receiving end of service is you get a chance to see how much you are loved.  Loved by those that serve you as well as by our Heavenly Father.  I couldn't have asked for a better gift.

*  *  *

Boy, time warping is exhausting, huh?

Kudos to you if you read through all that!  Hopefully I can keep up with myself this year!