Too much time on my hands??

Looking for something to do with all your random Happy Meal toys?? If you're like me and hate throwing anything away then I have just the thing!!!

.

Make a toy wreath!!!

I decided to do this after I did some major cleaning of the playroom last week. I found tons of random junk toys that never get played with. I was about to throw them out when my little Bailey girl gave me the guilt trip of a lifetime.

Every toy she saw me place into the throw away pile caused a reaction...

"You CAN'T throw that toy out!! I love that toy...I promise I'll play with it!!"

So we compromised. The toy wreath was the solution...she gets to keep her toys and I get them up and out of the way. And I love the way it turned out. What a great way to bring new life to all those cast away toys!!! (so much more fun than tossing them out)

Do I have too much time on my hands? Perhaps.

So this is what I did.

I grabbed the box of "junk"...

Picked up a wreath at the Dollar Store.

And went to work. Just me and the hot glue gun...and Bailey to supervise.

.

Warning: Your child is NOT going to want to let go of ANY toys...it may be best to do this while they are not sitting right next to you!!!

.

I got A LOT of these looks!

"not that toy!!!" **the entire time w/ her hands on her hips**

So, after about 20 minutes of gluing and placing, and several conversations reminding B how she has a million other toys and never plays with any of these....it was finished.

Here is my helper Bailey with her new toy wreath...still not 100% convinced that she isn't going to miss these toys....

And I LOVE the way it turned out!!!!

Doesn't it make such a fun greeting for a playroom!!!!!

Oooh Ooooh Oooh... and since parties are always on my brain, wouldn't it make a cute decoration for a Toy Story Party!!?!?!?

More free printables!!!

Check these printables out! There are so many great uses for these, and again...they're FREE ! :)

Cat In The Hat

We looked! Then we saw him Step in on the mat!
We looked! And we saw him! The Cat in the Hat!

This Cat In The Hat cake is for Aidan's 1st birthday. Aidan has very severe allergies (egg, peanut, cinnamon,...the list goes on). His mama was very happy to find that I could create an allergy free smash cake for him to dive into! (thanks to Cherrybrooke Kitchens)

Happy Cat in the Hat Birthday Aidan!!!!!

The main cake..

.

.

.

.

.

.

And the smash cake....

And to go along with this cake, a few ideas for a Cat In the Hat birthday party!!!!

(click on the picture to enlarge)

Lots of blue and red balloons!!! Tissue paper pom poms are a great decorative accent as well. You can make them yourself, or purchase the kits on Esty.

Red, white and blue candy bark. So easy to make! For instructions on how to make this go here.

You can include the candy bark in your red, white and blue candy buffet!

Go here to get your adorable Cat in the Hat birthday banner!

How cute are these thing one and thing two cake pops!?!?!

And you gotta dress your little one in a Thing 1 shirt, and if you have a girl you gotta have the tutu to complete the ensemble!! If you have twins its perfect.

And don't forget to include the Cat In the Hat himself!!! The party wouldn't be complete without the book somewhere in attendance!!!

.

So there you go!! You've got your cake and a few party ideas so get going.

"Today is your day. You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!"

Homemade Happy Hour

I just LOVE these Homemade Happy Hour printables!!! FREE!!! Found here.

They were originally used as cupcake toppers, but don't they make a cute packaging decoration! :)


















Today I used them to spice up a little box of cake balls for Bailey's teacher she had last year. We LOVE Bailey's teacher this year, but that doesn't mean we have forgotten about all the wonderful things Ms Michelle did for her last year !!


So first B wrote her a little note, complete with an illustration of herself with Ms Michelle...


Seriously, don't you just love 4 year old artwork!?!?! ;)



Attached it to the top of the box...

Yum Yum YUMMY!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Wrapped it all up...

and sent her to school with it. She was so excited to stop by Ms Michelle's class and give her some cake balls to sweeten up her day! :)

I have a few friends that are teachers so I know all about the hard work and dedication they put into our children. So, if you get the chance, show your child's teacher some love!!! It doesn't have to be anything elaborate...just a simple note expressing your appreciation can go a long way.

Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops

Stole this idea right out of the hands of Bakerella. I made them for a cute little treat for a family dinner at my parent's house this weekend.

They're so cute, quite TASTY, and very easy!!!! Take a look on her website for the tutorial.

Football kickoff!!!

With the kickoff of college football season coming up this next weekend (and pro season the week following) I thought I'd put together a few football party ideas. I know a few wives who aren't too excited with having an absentee husband for the next few Saturdays, but at least you can make a fun party out of it! ;)

I love the idea of creating a table cloth out of felt or AstroTurf. Use felt or masking tape to create lines like a football field! So cute!! source
.

And check out these football game day printables...

I love this coaster! lol And the football widow wine glass! Classic.

.
The football deviled eggs are such an easy and clever idea. They used chives to make the lace!

Love these cupcake toppers and wrappers!! Found HERE

And how fun are these football bead necklaces!!

If kids are going to be present this inflatable football goal post would be a hit!






oooh oooh oooh!!! Dollar General has a ton of football themed stuff right now for cheap cheap!!













So there you go...a few party ideas for your next big football soiree!!!




And now, an ode to my football themed creations....

A couple of sports themed cakes...

This has been a very sporty week!!



First a tennis cake...

.

.

And then a Baltimore Raven's cake...

Aren't these little guys so cute!?! My friend who ordered this cake is giving it to her husband for his birthday. He is a HUGE Baltimore Raven's fan so she knew she wanted something Ravens themed. And to go along with the Baltimore theme she ordered crabs to be shipped from Baltimore (his favorite meal). What a great wife huh!? :) So she wanted me to add a couple crabs to the cake to incorporate that aspect of the birthday dinner as well.

Such cute little guys...kinda makes you wanna feel guilty about eating them huh? ;)

No pressure....

This past weekend I made a dinosaur cake for Mr. Jack who was turning 4. This was a special cake because he is one of my best friend's little boys, AKA my future son in law, not to mention the son of Jamie Deen and grandson of Paula Deen...both of which are Food Network's greatest stars!!!

No pressure here right?!!?!?!

Luckily for me they're good friends and very easy going, so it really isn't too hard to make them happy.

Here it is...a dinosaur cake for Jack!

And here is the handsome little man with his dino cake...

Braves Hat

This one is for Jack who is turning 9 tomorrow!! Word on the street is he is a pretty awesome baseball player and my guess is he'll be drafted by the Braves one of these days. ;)

Happy birthday big guy. Don't forget about us little people when you become one of baseball's biggest hall of famers!!

An apple for the teacher

Today is my sweet baby Bailey's first day of Pre K. I wanted to win her a few brownie points for the school year so I sent her off with an "apple" for the teacher. Her teacher is going to need the sugar to get her through the days with this little monster. ;)

















I'm really funny about trying to recycle containers for other purposes. (remember this? and this one too) I guess its my little "going green" contribution. So I saved these little blueberry containers...perfect for a single cupcake!! I washed it, dried it and decorated it....

Nana's Birthday Cake and Cupcakes!!

This little cake and cupcakes is for my sweet Nana's ??th Birthday...I say "??" because she won't let me share her age. **you can't see me, but I'm shaking my head** I don't understand it when people want to hide their age??

This is my 2 cents...life is fragile, precious and wonderful...why would you want to hide the number of years you've been able to celebrate it? And you should especially be bragging when you make it to "??" years old and look FABULOuS like Nana! :) I only hope I'm lucky enough to make it to "??" years old and have everyone adore me as much as we all adore her!!!!!!

So here is her cake...we're having a small family celebration today and I wanted to make her a little something to poke fun at her fear of sharing her age. ;)

Aren't these cupcake toppers so cute! They're mini Reese's peanut butter cups topped with icing, sprinkles and a fondant cherry.

Dora Cake