Day 16: Cake Pop Display

I had to make up for such a lame DIY yesterday with a super cute project perfect for gifting and bake sales.  A friend wanted to order some cake pops for her daughter's birthday, and I decided to give it a go.  Usually I make cake truffles and don't bother with the sticks, but I figured that surely I could manage to put some sweet little cake pops on a stick right?

Well lo and behold it was one of those days where everything that COULD go wrong, DID go wrong.  I received the 175 Best Cakepop Recipes book as a gift a few months ago, and I have a particular recipe in there that I really like to use for a variety of flavors with some slight alterations.  Well, my book was nowhere to be found.  Of course.  So instead of using my recipe that would make 48 I used a recipe from the book that comes with the cakepop maker that makes 24.  Don't get me wrong I used to always use that recipe, but at this point it was stressing me out.

I originally was going to make 2 different flavors and have lots of leftovers.  NOW I HAVE NO LEFTOVERS.  Oh, the humanity.

So, I added fresh strawberries into the mix.  Now, I have heard a million times on Cupcake Wars that fresh fruit alters baking a tad.  And let me tell you it did.  They needed longer time in the machine, they did not end up raising as much, and at this point I was in full out panic mode!  You can't sell someone HALF POPS. 

Luckily, I have developed the ability to roll with the punches.  I quickly decided to cut the top part off the pop so as to effectly make it half what a pop should be, and to put two "halves" on each stick, with filling in the middle. 

So I go to clean the mixer blade and I cannot get the darn thing off the freaking mixer. We have two different kitchenaids, one older than the other, and sometimes the older blade and the newer mixer just don't play nicely.  So I mixed the icing by hand, which I cannot stand doing.  Archaic measures.  Pfft.

But I got it done, made the cake pop samiches and froze them for a bit.  It made it much easier to dip them in chocolate and they dried much faster. And by the time I got them all on the stand, it made it all worthwhile.  They were so cute.  So in addition to telling you how I rolled with the punches, here is the adorable stand and how to make it.

Materials:
-Florist Foam, the dry blocks are fine, especially if your container is square/rectangle
-Some container, I used the lid of a cake box
-Small Treat bags with twisty ties
-Scrapbook paper in a coordinating color
-Tape

To make this cutie, I cut the florist foam ever so slightly smaller than the lid.  I of course never seem to have real tape (how does one have an entire craft mecca and NO TAPE?!), so I used mounting dots to attach my paper to the blocks.

For the record, this is about a 6x6 box lid, and I found a 6 pack of foam for $3.99, and used a 40% off coupon.  I had to use two blocks and cut a few pieces off of them.

After I put the cake pops in the treat bags and tied them, I used a pen to puncture the paper/foam and then pushed the cake pop stick in further to secure it in.  I would advise doing one hole at a time so that you can make sure that the cake pops have enough room.

You can also use the box itself as a lid if you need it for transportation purposes.

This is definitely a project that can be any season, any color, and is very simple to put together.  This is perfect for a bake sale display as well.

Until next time! Pin It Now!

Day 15: Dyed Pistachios

Ok I said I'd do something cool...I was wrong. My day got crazy and I have been wanting to see how I could color pistachios for jewelry. Sadly, I can't upload pictures straight from my phone, so I will have to save the shots for another time.

If you google image pistachio jewelry there are a lot of different types. You can also turn pistachios into cute decorated tea light candle holders, or flower looking objects, and similar.

So maybe before you do this you are like me and you want to dye them. Of course the first option is spray paint. That's a given. But I have a few other things you might consider:

Sharpies, first of all, make it to where you have more control over what color goes where. It also gives you the option of potentially adding designs, although I did not attempt this.

By far the easiest way besides spray using something you might already have is ink. I used Tim Holtz ink and just dropped it on to the shells. It spread out and coated them, some I used multiple colors and others I did not. Again, I will have to upload pictures another time. I then sprayed some Tattered Angels spray over it to add a little sheen, and really I could have done without this.

The pistachios will dry pretty quickly, and you can cost them in resin or spray poly for longer durability and to prevent fading.

I did a lot of thinking today. And this is completely random, but economists really bother me. I think half of the issue with our economy is everyone being so doom and gloom. If you hear everyone saying that the economy is going to crash around you it makes you not want to spend at all. Which makes things even worse.

Just like gas, someone says we will have issues or shortages or war and suddenly prices skyrocket even if those don't happen. If people would stop all of this fearmongering, I really think the economy would bounce back much more quickly.

The Bible says don't worry about tomorrow because today has enough issues of its own. If you are constantly prepping for doom how will you ever enjoy the happiness around you now?

An how will you ever be excited enough to save and dye pistachios??

PS, they are hard to put a hole in if you use hammer and nail like I do. I used a small finishing nail and you have to hammer really gently. You probably wouldn't of you coated them in resin first, but I literally just thought of that. So I will need to try that next time I have resin mixed.

Talk about upcycling! Save those nuts :)!


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Day 14: Peace Fork

So I like to make things now out of silverware.  My great grandmother's silverware...luckily I think she would have enjoyed silverware necklaces.  And she did not buy things that match so it's alright.

You will need:
-A hacksaw, mine is a mini
-Silverware, look for real silver although it possible to bend the stainless, and I am betting that with extensive work it can be cut as well.
-Sand paper or a metal file

I cut the fork off as shown and bent two tines down.  I tried to make sure they touched the fork so that I could put it on a necklace later.

I also had to bend the other two tines slightly out so that they looked more peace-y.

You will want to run the base where you cut over a file or sand it down, it is a little rough afterward.

That is pretty much all there is to this part.

I threw it on this necklace because it was really the only thing I had not taken apart for the beads yet, and to show you a point. 

You will want to put this on a necklae and you will likely have to back the bent tines up a little so that it hangs better.  You will then have to squeeze them again so that they touch the base again.

You can also bend the tines forward a bit so that they hang in front of the necklace.

Or you can attach a jump ring to the "pinky", if you will, or maybe a few jumps, and put it on a necklace that way so it hangs at an angle.  I would then add a peace bottle cap or something that has the word or sign on it to make it like a charm necklace.

 AS you can see, it works out a lot better after some tweaking.

I really think that I would prefer the jump ring idea though.  It might look cute at a jaunty angle.

Hopefully my tomorrow craft will be more interesting, it was a highly stressful day.  I got up to my apartment, had a mini meltdown, and so on.

But I read a thing on pinterest recently that said something to the effect of big life changes are scary, but regret is more scary.

And then Phillip Phillips song "Home" says "Don't pay no mind to the demons they fill you with fear".

So I am thinking about those at the minute, because if there is one thing I do well, it's college.  And I need to remember that.

It's kind of fitting for this to be the blog for today, because I do need peace. 

I need to be more Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.  Eight Days a Week.  Although, it would be nice to have a little help from my friends.

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Day 13: Cap Flag

I don't count it as the next day until I go to sleep.  SO this is definitely still day 13's craft :).

Materials:
-At least 50 bottle caps of varying kinds
-Wildfire Cord
-Closures
-E6000 (optional)
-Pliers

I like to use needlenose pliers, for the record.  I like to put the cap like this and put pressure on it until it bends, but not so much that it bends and touches itself just yet.

Sometimes this results in the cap flying across the room.  Ye be warned.

So you want to put the preliminary bend on all of your caps.

After you do this, measure out your cord so that it is the length you want your necklace to be, plus a little extra for tying it to the closures.

I doubled my cord over, doubled it again, and cut where needed to make 4 strings of relatively equal length.

Here is a shot of what I mean by not all the way closed.  You want to be able to put the cord through the cap and then bend it the rest of the way closed.

You can make 4 separate strings, or you can make it start with one- there are a ton of possibilities!

After I get the cord in I bend the cap the rest of the way around the cap and then squeeze the ends of the bent cap.  Think something like dumplings or pot stickers.

The 47 caps I used on the 4 strands with the toggle clasp made a necklace that is probably around a 15inch length or so.  It is not a choker by any means but would hang a little below your collarbones.

As you go you can twist the strands (and they will twist naturally) for a really cool look.

Here is my final product.  I used Bud, Bud Lite, and PBR caps for this nod to the American Flag.  I find it appropriate to do your caps Americana style.

As you can see it twisted itself up in the process and I really liked how it came out.

I have said it before, I don't drink.  But thankfully I do know people who will save me their caps when they do!

There are a lot of great caps out there, and something like this can be a fun and completely free project!

Until next time! (aka later today since this post was so late...) Pin It Now!

Day 12: Tweaking A Pallet Table

This is not necessarily a created from scratch craft for this day, but I do think I have some helpful tips to offer up for anyone working with furniture they need to change the look of or pallet tables they want to make look better.  I had an over-varnished antique table that had bubbled up and a pallet table that was a little too much on the yellow side in color.

Materials You May Need Depending On What You are Dealing With:
-Krylon OFF to remove varnish, paint, or whatever else you need to strip off
-A sander, if you have an aversion to minor splinters or need to sand between coats of polyurethane
-Polyurethane, although I would like to take this moment to plus Minwax Polyshades
-Minwax stain
-A scraper to remove varnish
-Brushes or whatever you want to apply stain with
-Wood Putty (for my particular project)

I had a friend of a friend build me this table.  I was super excited for it but really preferred a different stain color.  I also decided to fill in the spaces with wood putty.

So I taped some cardboard under the table to hold the wood putty in place (and hopefully will remember to take it off).  I think it dried to fast and it cracked and let me tell you it was absolutely perfect for what I wanted to do. 

Before this, I used Krylon OFF on an old table to remove years upon years of varnish.  It was an antique end table, and it desperately needed some TLC and some liquid nails.  Seriously, add liquid nails to your stash.  All you do is spray on Krylon OFF (preferably outside) and scrape the goo off it creates when it bubbles up the varnish.  And have something to wipe it off on, I used scrap wood, so it doesn't get all over your driveway.

A few days after this I got my pallet table as shown above. I could not have asked for a better size, shape, and weight.  But I really wanted a darker color.  Owning all the stains that I do this was a sinch.  So I put down my shower curtain liner again, and broke out my DARK WALNUT and ENGLISH CHESTNUT Minwax.  Seriously, go buy these.  Easily my two favorite colors and they are phenomenal when they are paired together.  I prefer to mix stains, as I recently discovered, because you can create a lot more visual interest than you can with just one.

ALSO, you need to go invest in some Minwax Polyshades in ANTIQUE WALNUT GLOSS because depending on your project it can save you from needing to use polyurethane and it really deepens whatever Minwax stain you have used.  It is way lighter than the can shows though, so plan accordingly.

Now, I stain with foam brushes and if you are like me there will be some splatter. 

If you stain in shorts, your knee may end up looking like this.

If it does, you can text your best friend and tell her that you are highly allergic to the futon she just gave you and your skin is breaking out.

And you can send her the picture.

And get a big laugh when she thinks that you have a flesh eating virus :).

...Not that I would do that of course...

HAH!

Here are my relatively finished products.  The pallet table still needs a couple coats of polyshades, which will begin tomorrow.  But for all intents and purposes this is darn close to what the finished product will look like.

In real life they look so close to each other in color that it is mindboggling.  I think if I had added a touch here and there of my red mahogany they would have looked even similar, because the antique table has a wide variation of color.

I think with the right stains you can make a scrap wood table blend in with anything in your house.  It doesn't have to look like scraps if you don't want it to.

Also, the next time you are raiding a flea market and you see a piece of furniture with a beautiful shape, but a horrid stain or varnish or paint, think about whether it can undergo a little rehab and come out on the other side as something you love.

I did spend $50 on the table, and maybe someday I will learn the art of power tools and learn to make my own.  I really like the way the putty stained on this table as well, it really is not noticeable and it is very visually intriguing. 

So far in this craft challenge, I wonder what the world would be like if more people could learn to appreciate things that they had lying around the house instead of constantly buying new.  I personally have already started seeing things in such a different way for all of the potential they hold.

Bring it on, Day 13! Pin It Now!

Day 11:Enve-leftovers

So I really didn't even think about crafting anything until...5 minutes ago.  Which should tell you right now I am providing you a craft that only takes 5 minutes.

Plus a tad of drying time.

Materials:
-Wall Paper Leftovers (hence the title)
-Scissors
-Glue (normal glue, no E6000 needed here unless you are just an overachiever)

First, you want to cut out a heart.  I really don't find it necessary that it be very precise.  I used really technical methods such as...

Folding the wallpaper rectangle in half...cutting a heart out of it, eyeballing it all the way.

You just dont want it to have been tall curves.  You need it more petite.  Think Mickey Mouse, not Mickey Mule.

Anyway fold the sides in like so. Again, I am not very precise.  I like to not put hard creases in until I make all of my hypothetical folds to make sure it works.  You may have a different method you prefer.

Like precision, for instance.

Glue those sides down, or use the self stickability of the wall paper if you can (mine didn't pan out for such methods).

Next, fold the mouse ears up like so, and glue down appropriately.

Speaking of, would it not be neat to make an envelope that kinda resembled Mickey?


By the way, if this one looks small...it is.  I really like tiny little envelopes and think they would be super cute to put little notes in for people.

However, this is perfectly adaptable to larger envelopes.

If you were to cut a perfect square, you could put it down where it looked diamond shaped and fold in sides, etc.

So then you basically just crease the top down and there you go, five minute envelope (if you use fast drying glue or some mini glue dots).

My vote is ALWAYS for mini glue dots.  I like instant gratification.

Not that a lot of people wallpaper things anymore it seems, but you can find some seriously cheap rolls of it at flea markets.

And this could easily be done with any excess paper, as long as you can get a heart out of it.

Now I just need to find a teeny tiny note to leave someone :). Pin It Now!

Day 10: Wire Ring

Today I had a complete and utter creative block on what to do for a craft.  I tried a few things I had been thinking about and I completely just found nothing that panned out.  I stared at my bead box and stared and stared...

And stared some more...

I wrapped wire around beads, I messed with washers, I folded paper (terribly).  Finally, I remembered once seeing a ring made from wire.  So I tried to focus my creative juices long enough to get something done.

What you need:
-Silver Wire (or whatever color) you need one fairly strong but still manageable enough that you can bend it easy.  I had a multipack of little spools of wire, and I sadly don't remember exactly what gauge they were
-A big bead, mine was blue.

Ignore the rose bead in the back.  I have tried so much to make these beads work in something and I hate them.  Ok, I think they are super cute, I just can't seem to make them do what I want!

Anyway, back to the ring.  I wrapped the wire (fairly loosely) around my finger about 3 or 4 times and then just twisted the remaining ends down to hold them together. 

I was going to just use these ends to hook the ring in and that quickly just turned out to not even be feasible with the length of what I had left.

But that's ok, adaptation is everything.

I had this interesting looking bead that was somewhat oblong and the best shade of blue a person could ask for.  Not that I reall wear a lot of blue, but when you can't even get your brain to cooperate long enough to craft something, a bead like this looks like the gates of heaven.

Why I have no craftability: I have discovered that my move to college is coming a lot faster than I realized.  I thought I had an extra week than what I do, so now I am more in a rush-rush mode trying to get all the final details done.  I don't think we will have tons of help moving and it could be a legitimate nightmare, but I am sure we will get it all done.  It has been really difficult to make decisions somewhat sight unseen and get this whole thing together in a cohesive state. 

Shoulda had a wider friends network, shoulda planned ahead and had a boyfriend for moving time, shoulda had a dad that would come help me move...eh, you can't win em all.  We managed to get an entire house moved this year, I am sure my apartment will be much simpler.

And I found an awesome armchair for $55 bucks at a flea market.

Anyway. The ring turned out a lot cuter than I thought it would.  By now I am sure you have seen the bird's nest necklace pendants, and I think those with copper wire could be a really cute ring as well.  If you were really crafty, you could probably make some that looked similar to animal heads with beads for eyes and whatnot. 

And best of all, this was free!  Pin It Now!