Butterfinger Cake

So this cake was experimental. Not the brightest idea when planning on serving it to 2o people, but with Butterfinger candy bars and chocolate cake, it was a risk I was willing to take, lol. I used 2 round cakes, each divided and filled with chocolate fudge icing and a crushed Butterfinger. I stacked them, then frosted the entire cake with homemade chocolate buttercream icing, covered with another crushed Butterfinger, then added a shell border in the buttercream icing. It turned out REALLY good! I was worried about an hour after applying the crushed pieces because they started to get really sticky. The moisture from the frosting (and the fat) combined with the candy pieces and the texture started to change, but it blended with the frosting flavors and gave the entire cake a rich butter flavor. So it all worked out!

Just don't look too closely at the lettering. It is hard to add lettering on a very textured surface!

 

Frozen Grape Pops

What started out as a fun summer snack ended up also being a great creative activity! I showed the kids how to stack the grapes on the sticks and then set them loose. Within minutes there were grape people with sticks coming out all over the place, Pokemon grapes, alien and robot grapes, grapes arresting other grapes. It was crazy! They are now headed to the deep freeze and will make a great snack later on! I got the idea for grape pops from Make and Takes.

Salt Dough

Aaron and I talked about reptiles today. He made this salt dough turtle by himself today. I thought it was so cute! We like salt dough because you can bake it and it lasts without getting crumbly like play dough would if you tried to keep it.

Salt Dough

2 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

3/4 c. hot water

Mix together and form into a ball of dough. Shape as desired, then place on a microwave safe plate (not styrofoam or paper). Microwave on high for 60 seconds at a time until firm and dough begins to dry. For this turtle, we cooked it 60 seconds at a time for 6 minutes. For smaller, thinner projects like ornaments-- it takes 3 minutes or so. If you have thick areas like arms and legs, poke a hole through the thickest section with a toothpick so that it doesn't bubble.

When cooled, paint with acrylic paint and decorate as desired! Aaron found some eyes in the office and glued them on himself!

Muffin Tin Lunches

No recipe here, just a fun way to serve lunch. I saw this online awhile ago and have since used it with my kids many times. Lunches are pretty plain over here, but put it all in a muffin tin, and the kids think it's something special!

All Things Girlie!

More clothes for my little Fashionista :) I made her this little clip to go with her dress. All I did to create this was cut out 3 of the flowers from the fabric, in different sizes, layered them and stick a brad between them. Then I hot glued it to a ribbon covered clip!
Below is one of my favorite patterns for making jumpers. I've made Kaylee 3 using this same pattern. So easy and I love the little pleats in the front. I've saved a lot of money by making her dresses for church and have had SO MUCH FUN doing it! I've made each one a little big for growing room and they are lasting a long time.

Brown, turquoise, olive green...3 of my favorite colors, I thought this print was adorable.

ETA: I had a comment asking what pattern this is. It is SIMPLICITY #3808. I've used it 4 times so far and LOVE it! Very simple and easy, and no sleeves! I don't like sewing sleeves ;)

Fabric Headbands!

I saw these on my favorite craft blog and had to try them!

All it takes is a scrap of fabric, 2 " of elastic, a little patience to turn the fabric right side out, and 60 seconds of sewing. Very easy! If anyone has an easy way to turn a fabric tube right side out, let me know! It took me about 10 minutes with a pencil as an aid. That's why I hate making anything skinny like arms and legs for dolls, straps for purses, etc. It isn't hard, just takes patience. For a super easy tutorial, click HERE! "Make It & Love It" is my favorite craft blog that I follow! She has the CUTEST ideas and tutorials!

Edited to Add: Here is the trick for turning them right-side-out FASTER than what I was trying, lol.

From Shanna: Whenever I turn skinny things like that inside out I get a safety pin, pin in to one side then use the fat part of the safety pin to help me guide it through. That is a lot harder to say than do, but hopefully that makes sense and will help in future projects!

An Outfit for Baby!

More little goodies for Kaylee. I haven't made Kaylee clothes in a little while, so I decided to make her a couple of dresses. I cut them out the other night, and finished the first one yesterday. I didn't end up having enough fabric to make matching panties/diaper cover, but had enough to make her a pair of shoes. She's worn her shoes so much and they've gone through the washer so many times that some are starting to look faded, so I will make her some more of those as well.
I love this fabric! I origionally bought it to make myself a skirt or a purse....just something! But I don't really need those and Kaylee needed a dress :) I like how it bunches under the arms with the elastic casing and the zipper back. It'll look cute with a little white shirt underneath. I can't wait for her to wear it this Sunday!

Rotisserie Style Chicken

This chicken is amazing. As usual, I found a recipe from someone else and changed it for our tastes. I thought it was just as good as any rotisserie chicken you buy in the deli, and you can change up the flavor in so many ways!

The recipe called for 2 chickens and gave the measurements for a spice rub. I used the entire spice rub mixture for 1 chicken. You can't go wrong with over seasoning roast chicken! I like a lot of garlic, so I went heavy on the garlic powder. To the mixture, I added some of McCormick's Sweet-n-Spicy blend, and rubbed the entire bird inside and out, then put it inside a large ziploc and let it refrigerator for 5 hours. Then before baking, I added an entire head of garlic inside the cavity.

I cooked the chicken upside down so that the juices dripped down into the breasts.

I used a 4 lb. bird and cooked it at 250 degrees for 3 hours, then kicked it up to 350 to finish it at a final internal temperature of 175 degrees. Then I broiled it for a few minutes to crisp up the skin. The meat is delicious and flavorful all the way through. I served it with homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, snap peas, and grilled corn on the cob

For complete instructions, click below!

Roast Sticky Chicken_Rotisserie Style (recipe)

My obsessions are slowly rubbing off on the kids. Aaron saw me taking a picture and went and grabbed his pretend camera to take some too.