ZERO Calorie Cupcakes

I recently made three dozen "ZERO" calorie cupcakes to pass out to some friends and acquaintances recently. Don't they look yummy! Would you believe they have ZERO calories? Its true!!!! "How can that be," you ask? uh.... because they are not edible ;-) LOL I crack myself up.... 
I used an insulating foam to create the cupcakes. This 16 ounce spray can of insulating foam I picked up at Home Depot was under five dollars. It made a LOT of cupcakes.

I only filled the cupcake liners half way... you can see in this photo below how much the Styrofoam rises with the 24 hours that I let them set up.

I ended up having to cut off the tops down to become "cupcake" size. If your going to try making some, I would recommend filling them only 1/4 high in the cupcake liners. It will look like a squiggly mess when you first spray it in the liners, but when it rises, it will be a perfectly smooth.

I also had to cut off the bottom of each cupcake as the Styrofoam created a round bottom to each cupcake making them wobble when set down. For the frosting I used "Patch-n-Paint" lightweight spackle. I used pink paint in this cup below. The first photo shows the cupcakes that I mixed straight red paint into the white spackle thinking it would turn pink... it didn't, it looks more like a salmon. Whatever~

I noticed too that some of the frosting had started to crack. I think this might have happened due to the spackle being old and having sat in the garage for over a year. If I were to make more of these, I would invest in new spackle. But for what I used them for--- it was perfect. Perfectly funny that is *wink*
Here are a couple of tips if your wanting to try making some.

• Again, only fill each cupcake liner 1/4 the way up.
• Don't touch the foam with your hands--- that's some sticky stuff!
• Once you start spraying the insulating foam you have to either use it all up or toss it as it won't let you use it over several days.
• Use a piece of double sided sticky tape to hold your cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. The foam will make it expand right out of the cupcake pan leaving you with a "hot mess." 
• If your needing to wash off any tools, do it outside with a hose and not down your pipes. 
• Make sure you tell your "dumb" friends that they cannot eat them. *wink* 

big hugs,

Crocheted Frozen Elsa Hat

I whipped up a crocheted Frozen Elsa hat for my grand daughter Chloe... Here is the finished hat on the newly made head form I had made especially to showcase this hat~

 The turquoise yarn I used for the crown has a little silver shimmery strand running through it. I used some large snowflake sequins I pulled off a winter sprig that I got at the dollar store.

I found the pattern for the Elsa hat on Sarah's blog if your wanting to make one yourself. My grand daughter is pretty-happy with it! Now we just have to wait for colder weather so she can wear it to school.

 I have a LOT of crochet projects in the works, two hats, three scarves and one poncho--- it is fall isn't it? The temperature is dropping, but it is still in the 80's. Gotta love California *wink*
big hugs,

Keepsake Tins

I was commissioned recently with a request to make some small keepsake containers to hold a person's cremated remains. A portion of the remains are going to be placed inside each of the containers and given to a number of people so that the remains can be scattered in different places.
 I was asked to make them look vintage and distressed and to use the "Skull n' Bones" embossing folder by Cuttlebug. Sounds easy enough.
They didn't have to be distressed all the same.... it was fun to play around with different color choices. I also added some embossing powders to them to give them a super old look. I think my favorite is the copper tins with the green verdigris. It isn't as bright in person.

I sprayed each one when they were finished with a matte sealant to keep the paint intact.

 I made a total of twenty-four small keepsake tins...
I also added another embossed piece on the inside of each lid. I used some of my coveted vintage velvet on the bottom of each tin... I also distressed the inside too~

I hope the person who commissioned me to make them loves them.

big hugs,

One Thing Leads To Another

Isn't that the truth? I was crocheting a hat for my grandaughter recently and as I was doing so, I thought to myself... "self, you should make a cute hat stand to show this hat off when your finished with it." So, the crocheting was set aside and I was off starting a new project. I took an old Styrofoam head and totally made it over into something that I now l.o.v.e.

 I used metal tape that I ran through my Big Kick embossing machine to cover the head form. I used a very ornate embossing folder on the tape to give the form a nice vintage look. Along the edges of the cut pieces of the metal tape, I used pins to keep the tape in place. I think it gives the piece a look of having rivets.

 After finishing and loving the results with the Styrofoam head... that made me grab the Styrofoam torso I have and cover that with the same treatment. Here you can see the beginning stages of that project... one thing leads to another... and another.

I also had my two grandkids playing with some metal tape too.... I had them both create a photo frame. Here is my five year old grandaughter very proudly holding her finished frame.

Now, I am needing to get back to my original project of crocheting my grandaughter's hat!
big hugs,