{Tutorial} Easy Cupcake Toppers

Hi there!
It's been a while since I posted...been frantically making decorations for the baby shower for Saturday.

I thought I would share this very easy little tutorial. If you are anything like me, you love to have an excuse to make every last decoration rather than buy it. Not only does it save money but it's fun too!

So Instead of buying pre made icing decorations to go on the cupcakes I'll be baking, I made these little flag toppers.

what you need:
toothpicks
double sided tape
craft knife
ruler
scissors
punch

step one

I used a sheet of 15cmx15cm card stock paper. (like for scrap booking). I then cut the sheet into strips of about half an inch.

step two:

Then cut each strip in half.
Fold each strip so that the sides you want to show are at the front and back.
I do this with all the paper first. Making a pile of strips.

step three:

Now with your craft knife, cut a little V-shape into each strip at the open side.
Do this with all your folded strips.

step four:

now place a piece of double sided tape on the inside of each folded strip.

step five:

Now remove the double sided tape and place your toothpick in the middle of the fold, making sure the top of the toothpick is not sticking up at the top.

step six:

punch out your mini butterfly (or punch of your choice) and attach with a small piece of double sided tape in the center. Fold up the sides of the butterfly.

Your mini cupcake topper is finished!

I will be sure to show you the finished cupcakes next week!
I hope you enjoyed this easy tutorial.
The little toothpick flags can also be used on scrap booking pages and cards.

Music Sheet Favor cones {Tutorial}

Hi there!

First I have to tell some exciting news!! I got a spot on the Ruche blog!! My Paris travel photos
made it on there...
So exciting! You can read how to become part of the Ruche family (with super benefits) here.

As promised here is the tutorial for these super-quick and easy (but pretty) favor cones.

All you need for this tutorial is:
*scissors
*double sided tape
*stapler
*newspaper or music sheets (I used pages from a vintage book)
*doileys
*a clear acrylic stamp and acrylic block
*ink pad

okay let's get started...

step 1:

The sheet of paper you use should be a rectangle shape. So along the length, fold the paper towards you, making sure you get the pointy shape in the corner. Don't press the fold, sort of roll it towards to, you only need to press it down in the corner. Roll it towards you over again about 3 times.

step 2:
Once you have the cone shape, you can know staple the bottom.

Step 3:
Place a piece of double sided tape along the edge to secure the edge to the cone.

Here you can see it all secured.

step 4:
Next take you acrylic stamp and attach it to your block, ink it and stamp your small doily. If you are making large quantities, it's a a good idea to get a little assembly line going. I first do all the sheets, then I stamp all the doilys etc.

step 5:

Next I attach a piece of double sided tape in the middle of the doily at the back.

step 6:

And then finally attach the doily to the cone. I like to attach it along the "seam" of the cone, to help hide it.

All you need to do now is fill it with your favor treats. I like to fill mine with candy-coated peanuts. Make sure to leave about 2cm space at the top so that you can fold the "flap" down and secure it in place. I like to sew my flap with the machine and you can even embellish it further with a bit of ruffled crepe paper or a ribbon.

I made close to 4o of these for a baby shower.

Weekend activities

I trust you had a lovely weekend!

Weather wise, ours was quite strange.
Saturday we had a boiling hot day of over 30 degrees 'C.
Sunday was cooler and it rained.
Chalk and cheese.

One minute summer is here and the next it's not and I am wondering if it's ever going to come and just stay!

Saturday my daughter and I made cupcakes.
I am hosting my first baby shower next Saturday and another one in January!

A lot of planning, list-making, crafting and organizing going on around here!

So I was trying out cupcake recipes and different icing decorations. I still need more work in the icing department, I can't say I am any good at it or have much experience icing anything, never mind cupcakes! But with close to 40 guests I can't afford to have professional ones made, so everything must be home-made as far as possible, from the food right down to the decorations.
I enjoy it though, the invites have gone out (forgot to take photos of them! ) and the decorations have started!

With a million and one ideas running through my head, I am trying to reign them in otherwise I might end up over doing it!

The only thing I am struggling with is baby shower games. I don't want anything that's embarrassing, anything that is gross (like guess the what the baby ate by the poo in the nappy- yes, I read there really is a game like that!)or crude. Just decent, enjoyable games for everyone. I will have ladies ranging from 20 to 80 there, so it has to be things they can all enjoy.

Any ideas?

Be sure to pop in tomorrow for a easy-peesy favor tutorial

Crochet bag and shoes.

Hello there! It's done!
I finished the bag I was working on! Did you guess that's what it was? I know one of you did!

The pattern I got from Lucy at Attic24.
It seemed quite complicated but I think it turned out well. Next time, though, I will use a double knit or a chunky yarn. The bag turned out more "floppy" than I anticipated. But I am still happy with it. It will make a nice beach bag! (and won't collect sand!)

And I had to show you the lovely shoes I got. So summery and "beachy"....nice with dresses and Jeans.

Baked some blueberry muffins yesterday, so yum!!!

And on that note, I bid you a farewell and a happy weekend!!

Baby blanket no1 {crochet}

Hello friends!
It seems I haven't popped into my own blog in ages!
The kids and I went to the reserve again last week, (twice in one week!). I really wanted to show them the beautiful flowers I saw on my own visit. We took a different path this time and so enjoyed our little walk up the mountain.

The air was crisp,with a slight chill but we saw a lot of flowers and butterflies.

Other than that, I finished my first baby boy blanket. It is for a friend who is due in February. Actually I have two friends due (both with boys) in February and I am also giving their baby showers! One next month and one in January, so I have a lot to plan for! I quite like how it turned out, even though, at first, I wasn't 100% convinced about adding the red, but really, without the red, I think it wouldn't "pop" like it does.

The other project is still a "work-in-progress" and is NOT a blanket, and I almost finished it, so I will reveal soon! Let's just say it will come in "handy"....

I am so enjoying my crochet at the moment.

I don't know what happened to Spring, it appeared briefly for about a week the beginning of September and then for a few days the middle of September and possibly a few days in October, otherwise we have had overcast, cloud and rain here and there. Most odd for this time of year! This week is another cool week with rain here and there (like today). So it's good weather to crochet!

The next project is another baby boy blanket, the color scheme of which is quite yummy and I am so excited to begin work on it! (will share the colors soon!)

Enjoying the fruits of my garden too...

What's the weather like in your corner of the world?

New crochet project :granny square baby blanket

I haven't crocheted in ages. A few rows here and there on my stripey blanket (a work in progress, which is about 130cm wide so far) but otherwise nothing really.

A friend of mine is having a baby boy and I wanted to surprise her with a handmade crochet blanket. So I started this project this past Saturday. I am well over half way with constructing the granny squares. So I reckon another week and I should be ready to start putting them altogether. {and she doesn't have a pc, so she won't read my blog! hee hee}













I learned to weave in the threads and cut them off after each square which I reckon will save me a lot of time later on! (that's my little tip!)





Well that's it from me, it's cold here, has been all week, it really it like winter all over again the last two weeks! Back to Jeans, socks and long tops! Strange weather.

So I guess it makes crocheting a bit easier too! Always easy to crochet when it's cold!

Question: Do you think white for the in-between bits and border or do you have another color suggestion?

Hope you have a great weekend.