Monday, April 29, 2013

Monster's and People.....The cake pop family


Monster’s and People…..The cake pop family

 

Hello everyone and welcome to another entry of What’s Pinning?!

This week I’ve decided to make cake pops for the kiddies. They wanted me to try and make an annoying orange cake pop. I hate to say it but I failed miserably as you’ll see in the photos so I chucked the idea and went with something totally different. Cake pop people and monsters, it ended up working out a whole lot better and the kiddies LOVED them. I love making cake pops, the decorating ideas are endless. Pairing different cake recipes with different frostings and chocolate flavors puts these little treats at the top of my list.  I’ve also posted some pictures of some past cake pops that I’ve done. I really enjoy sharing with you all and as always ideas, pins, and great conversations are welcome.

 


Cost of materials:

Your favorite cake recipe or store brought mix

Lollipop sticks: $2.49 @Micheals

Cake pan: I used an aluminum pan. It cost me .79cents but feel free to use whatever your comfortable using.

Styrofoam block: $1.29  @Michaels

Icing: I brought the Pillsbury creamy vanilla $2.79

Chocolate candy melts: $2.49 @Michaels I used one

Decorations: (sprinkles, eyes, edible dust etc) Varies For this project I used eyes, and chocolate writing pens. I ended up just cutting them open and emptying them into small microwavable containers.

 

Total Project Price =  $9.06 based on prices shown it could be a little more

 

Project Difficulty:  Easy to Moderate

Time Taken: This is tricky because of various recipe times and decorating but taking a wild guess I’d say that with baking, cooling, refrigeration, chocolate melting and decorating approx. 2-3 hours. But this is a guess.

What I did

I used a store brought cake mix for this one, I am a big fan of homemade but I will use a cake mix when I’m trying out a new decoration, or if I’m pressed for time. It comes out well either way. I followed the directions on the box baking for the recommended time. After it was done (stuck a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean, not wet.)  I let the cake cool completely for about 20 minutes. I cut the cake into four equal pieces, then trimmed off the tops and any hard edges. I like to use a grater to get the cake pieces really crumbled but you could always take two pieces and rub them together. Make sure there aren’t any big pieces. 2 equal pieces makes about 12 cake pops. I then spooned a little less than half of the icing on top of the two pieces of grated cake. Don’t use too much or else it will be too moist and not hold up well. Mix well. I then rolled the crumbs into balls (I used a tablespoon to help me measure) and placed them in the fridge for 35 minutes. Now it was time to melt the chocolate, if you haven’t already checked out my chocolate melting tutorial check it out at the link below. (Don’t forget to put the 1tbs of vegetable oil before melting, it helps it to come out smooth and shiny just great for dipping) I took the cake pops out of the fridge and stuck the lollipop stick that has been dipped into chocolate (it acts as glue) in half way. I then put them back in the fridge for 5 minutes and let them sit for about 5 minutes  after taking them out before coating them in chocolate. This is because if the cake pop is too cold then coated it ma crack. Alternately if it is not old enough it can fall off while coting or even after its been coated. Then time to decorate. The good thing about cake pops is that you can get really creative with them. Enjoy.

 
                            
 
           It's best not to leave the cake balls around crumbs, they got stuck so I had to wipe them off.
 
 

 

Lollipop stick dip in chocolate than stuck halfway into cake ball
 

                                                              Dried and waiting to be decorated

             Notice the shine.....Thanks to the vegetable oil

                                                                               
 

                                                                        The Cake Pop Family



The Monsters..................................................The People
 
 
 
 
 
 

My failed attempt at annoying orange
And yet another one



                                                              My daughters favorite monster
 

                                                     Rainbow cake pops cream cheese flavored

 
 
Watermelon Cake Pops Strawberry flavored
 
                      

                                                 Mini Chocolate Chips inside the watermelons

Toad Cake pops Marshmallow faces and Cake pop head
 
Thank you for stopping by.


 






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Sunday, April 21, 2013


Illumination…..A look back to the firefly jar

 

Hello everyone and welcome to another entry of What’s Pinning?!

Before I start I wanted to point out that on my other project entries I didn’t leave instructions for those projects because I had left links to the step by step ones but from now on I will be adding my own “What I did” to my entries.

For this week’s project I’ve decided to retry the firefly glow in the dark jar. I just wasn’t ready to give up on it just yet. I would like to thank Crafts for kids for this Pin. I was able to find a solvent based glow in the dark paint online but these little jars are pretty costly. It is gritty and feels rough but once you set it out in the sun it glows in the dark immediately. The smell is strong though so I had to work with my windows open. I tried playing around with it on the other jar, but I wasn't too crazy about it. I did love the dot one though. I left them sitting by the window for a few hours and left it on the kiddie’s dressers, they loved it. It glowed very nicely.


Cost of material:

Paintbrushes: Varies (I had some left over from my other projects)

Glass Jars: $2.59 each. I didn’t use the tops so if you find one without one its ok.

Glow in the dark paint: $9.98 a container (the size of a nail polish container) I used three different ones

 

Total Project Price =  $35.12

 
Project Difficulty: Easy

Time Taken: Approx. 2 hours

What I did:

I used three different paint brushes, one for each color. I used one color at a time and started the dots on the bottom first. Dipping the paintbrush into the container I then let little drops of varying sizes fall to the bottom. When I finished one color I would then repeat the process with the next color. When the bottom was finished I turned the jar on its side and started the process that way allowing a few seconds for the paint to dry a little. It got a little confusing with the dots because during the day they look exactly the same. If I had to do it differently I would let the containers sit in the sun for a bit then do the dots. It was nice to see the kiddies face light up with this project, even though the pricing was pretty hefty. I still have a lot left over so I’ll figure out a new project to do with them. I’m thinking of mixing one of the old projects into this one. I hope you all enjoyed.
 
 
 
This is what it looked like right when I removed it from the window in the light
 
 
In the dark






             This is a side by side comparison of what it looked like in a picture in the dark right after
             sitting in the sun and approx. 15-20 minutes later. It was still shining brightly but the camera  
            didn't pick it up. So back to the window it went. That's the good thing it can be used over and 
            over again.








 


 
Not too crazy about this one but I like the Family part

 

 

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Sunday, April 14, 2013


A Rainbow of colors….Crayon art part 2

Hello everyone and welcome to the second part of this What’s Pinning?! entry.

This project was part of the whole crayon art craze. I have to admit I enjoyed these two projects a lot and so did the kiddies. This project was intended for those leftover crayons that have been broken. Instead of discarding them they can be saved, melted, and left to harden. Voila…you have a new rainbow crayon. I didn’t have any old crayons and I kind of deviated from the normal way to do these as I didn’t have supplies on hand. Usually a silicone mold would be used to make these but I couldn’t find them in my area and I really didn’t want to pay anywhere from $8.00 - $15.00 plus shipping for something that I wouldn’t use often. So I used mini plastic Tupperware. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure how it would hold up in the oven but I gave it try and it did quite well. I want to give a BIG thank you to one of mine and my kiddies favorite you tube channels yoyomax12 for her instructional. As always you can find the link for these instructions below. Don’t forget to follow me on Pinterest so we can share ideas.
 
Cost of materials:

Crayons: $4.99 for 200 crayons (I still have A LOT left over)

Mini Tupperware: $.99 @ (Deals)

Aluminum pan: $.79 @(my local supermarket)
 
 
Total Project Price =  $6.77 (of course this is a very rough total price because old crayons will be used or not either way a fun project.)

 

Project Difficulty:  Easy

Time Taken: 45 minutes
 
 
 
 

 
Mini Tupperware

 
 
Broken crayons
 

 
Baked for 20 - 25 minutes


 
Popped out after flexing the sides

 
Finished project
 
 
 
 
 
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A splash of color....Crayon Art

 

 

 Hello everyone and welcome to another entry of What’s Pinning?!

Last week I wasn’t able to make an entry but as promised I have done two crayon projects which I have divided into two posts. First I want to say that this project although fairly easy was a little difficult when it came to pushing the crayon through the hot glue gun. Second, I LOVED this project. The kiddies LOVED it. Although they weren’t able to handle the glue gun they were able to help peel off the paper from the crayons and hold up the canvas when needed. They loved when I pushed through a new color and the other one squirted out all over the place. So a word of caution this gets messy. I remember watching a video on how to clean out the glue gun after the project is done using glue sticks so I tried it. About three glue sticks for the glue gun to run clear again (no crayons) Despite the instructional video stating that the glue gun had been ruined I was able to heat it up again and get a glue stick through. Although I don’t know how long that’ll last. The final result was great. I would like to thank indulgy.com for the hot glue gun crayon art pin although I had repined from Brianne Beckman. For the video on this project please check out the link below.

Edit: I forgot to add that this is only one way to do this project. The other two methods include a blow dryer and a candle.

 

Cost of material: (If you haven’t guessed by now Micheals is my favorite store because of its prices plus it’s close to me.)

  • Canvas: $4.49 (pack of three 8in x 10in)

  • Crayons: $4.99 for 200 crayons @ Micheals craft store

  • Hot Glue Gun: $2.25 @Micheals craft store

  • Black Acrylic Paint: $1.49 (Micheals craft store)

  • Newspaper or something to place around to minimize the mess

  • Paintbrush
 
 

Total Project Price =  $13.22


Project Difficulty: Easy - Medium
 
Time Taken: Approx. 1hour 30 minutes hours including drying time for acrylic paint
 

 

 
Supplies
 


                                                  Canvas painted with black acrylic paint

 
Crayons with paper removed


 
Finished project :)




 
 
I cropped these photos so you could get a better look
ENJOY!
 
 
 
 

                          
 

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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

All That Glitters...Modge Podge Iphone 4/4s Case

Hello everyone,

Welcome to another What's Pinning?! post.

Usually I do a different project every week and post on Sunday for your viewing pleasure but this particular project is an unscheduled one. I needed a new Iphone case but I didn't want to spend $15-$20 on a brand new one. Cheap, maybe but I'm a big believer that if it can be saved,....So I got out the modge podge, the old iphone case, some glitter and some leftover material from a project still in the making and voila.....awesome.


Cost of material:

  • Modge Podge = $8.41 - 16 ounce bottle I brought the gloss kind (found on amazon)

  • Glitter = $1.29 x 2 (brought @ Michaels)

  • Glass tiles = $2.69 each bag (Brought @ Michaels)

  • Mosaic mini tiles = $2.49 each bag (Brought @ Michaels)

  • Old Iphone case = N/A
 
Total Project Price =  $16.17

Most of the materials can be used for other projects. The glass tiles and mosaic mini tiles were actually brought for another project, I just used what was left over which was quite a few so I still have some extras. The Modge Podge will be used for plenty of other projects as well. So if I had to guess the cost of this project, it was approx.. under $5.00 but don’t quote me J

 

Project Difficulty:  Easy

Time Taken: 1 ½

 
    
                                 
                                                               The old Iphone case


 
     
 
Here I mixed some a small amount of glitter with the modge podge

         
 
I then "painted" it all over the Iphone case. After this was done I sprinked the entire
case with the glitter. I then shook off the excess and let it dry for about 15-20 minutes. I then
repeated this step and let dry.
 
 
        
 
      I glued on the mirror and mosaic tiles and let it dry.

                                   Once dried I did one more coat of modge podge with no glitter
                                                         (it acts a sealant) and let it dry completely



 
            
 

 
 
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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Shine bright....Firefly Glitter Jars


Firefly Glitter Jars


Hello everyone and welcome to another entry of What’s Pinning?!

I decided to do this project because it looked so pretty and I thought the kiddies would love to have a night with one of these. The project was fairly easy in that you cut open some glow sticks and empty them into a jar, but be careful because once opened they do contain glass and the fluid is said to be toxic. I kind of strayed from the project a little. All I did was add glitter so it wasn't that much of a change.
 
 
 

 
Cost of material: (Brought at Michaels)

  • 50ct Glow sticks = $4.99

  • Glitter tube = $1.29 x 2 =

  • Glass Jar = $2.29 x 2 =

 

Total Project Price: $12.15


Project Difficulty:  Easy

Time Taken: 35 minutes


 
 
 
 
 
 
Overall because of the toxic warning and the glass I would NOT recommend that children assist other than bending and shaking the glow sticks to activate them. Personally I found that the amount of time they stay lit, all the precautions you have to take including wearing gloves, for a few minutes of awesome glow is not worth the price but of course this is my own opinion. I’m not giving up though I love the idea of the whole firefly, fairy jar. In the coming weeks I will be attempting a different version of this project. Can’t wait.

For complete step by step instructions for this project please visit

 
 
 
Thank you for joining me for another project and I hope to see you next week for Crayon Craze week.


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