Twin Diaper Cakes

Hello readers! Cj emailed me pictures of the cakes she did for her hubby's cousin who is expecting Twins! She did 2 cakes one for each baby!. Each cake contains the following:

4 wash clothes
2 onesies
2 receiving blankets
1 safety item (one has a thermometer and the other outlet plugs I think she said)
1 Johnsons to go kit
1 bib
1 stuffed bunny
92 Luvs diapers size 3
3 trillions flowers! LOL

I was so excited about these pictures I could not wait to share! She did say that when she gets up and running for orders (which I am sure she will take whenever) these baskets would run around $75 each but can easily be made to any size budget simply by making them smaller or using store brand diapers or by leaving some flowers off.



Front view



Side view



Back View



Other Side View



Front View!

I don't know what you think but I think these look AMAZING!

Chef Hats-the sequel

Pittsburgh has a cooking school or maybe two for that matter. So seeing chefs is not unusual. What I do find unusual is the popularity of the chef hats I started making. I just did 4 more that all matched Easter ones for an order. They are for the same person who got the St. Patrick ones and the other Easter one. They love them and have so much fun with them where she works.





I can't wait to see if there are more hats and what they will look like!

Craft Show Day!

Craft Show Day!

Craft Show days always start out really early for me. Most of them have an 8Am set up time. The big Easter show has a 7:30 set up time. I was able to pack the car the night before so that was a good thing. I got to sleep in! Hubby woke me at 6 AM. Got ready and out the door by 6:30 took him to work and stopped for a quick breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I highly recommend the breakfast skillets! They are filling and delicious. Hubby said the easiest way to get to where I was going from Cracker Barrel was through Carnegie. OK I am not the familiar with Carnegie but since he said it was easy and I couldn't mess it up OK we will try it. I even just did it earlier in the week with one wrong turn but fixed it really quick and only had to go around the block. Not to bad! Well after making a different wrong turn and driving around for 10 minutes I got back to where I needed to be and got to the place at 7:45 no big deal need to be set up by 9:30. Well this is the only show I have a bunch of extra stuff for because of the candy. SO it takes me the longest to set-up and tear down. I actually got set up with 5 minutes to spare! WOOHOO!! And let the games begin. Since I had a request for pictures of my display I got some of those as well as my Chinese auction donation.



Smelly Jellies! On Sale right now even!


Solid Easter Candy shapes and samples



Candy display up close and personal



Candy Display



Smelly Jellies, puppy scarves, dog treats and cat toys



Pins, Pillows, flower arrangements and jewlery



Plant pokes, Jewelry and candy


Candy



Chineese Auction Donation......Candy!



This is an upclose look at the bags I used for my candy.

Needless to say I was exhausted by the time the show was over. Ran home unloaded and went and got the hubby from work. Threw a frozen pizza in the oven for dinner. While the pizza was baking I set on the counch and didn't move. Hubby came dowstairs and asked why I hadn't turned the tv on. I was to tired to find the remote. He laughed at me. It was beside me. After we ate I sat and watched the end of a movie and woke up int the middle of a bad movie but didn't want to move to find the remote. I am headed back to work in a few minutes. I feel like I spent my entire vacation working! Becasue I did!

Candy Candy Everywhere!

Candy everywhere! That is what I am still thinking. Well my Big Easter Craft show is over and I am still exhausted. I promised some people some pictures so here is some more of the candy!



Hand formed and hand dipped peanut butter eggs



White chocolate Marshmallows



Oreos and nutter butters..Looks like the Dark Chocolate ones to me



Stain Glass Windows



Solid Milk Chocolate Bunny



Stain Glass Windows



Mallow Cups-(Thank You Cj for figuring these ones out)

This is by no means everything I made or everything I can make! In fact it is still not to late to order candy for Easter. I filled and Easter order today and wouldn't mind one or 2 more to help with the extra show candy. Ordering now and taking what is in stock gives you special pricing while supplies last! I hope you enjoyed the candy pictures. in the next few days I will post pictures of my show display since I had a request for that. I also have pictures of the Easter Chef Hats I made today. Well I am off to post a new recipe for the week and then probably bed since I am still tired and my vacation is over!

Easter Candy making time!

I know I have been quiet lately but I promise I have good reason. It is Easter candy making time! That means lots of hours in the kitchen getting ready for Saturday's show. Since several people have said I needed to post pictures of the candy I am. Keep in mind this is by no means everything that I do and the camera seems to have had some problems focusing on the chocolate. So let's take a look!




Milk Chocolate Coconut Carmel


Dark Chocolate Coconut Carmel




Milk Chocolate Marshmallows (on a stick! LOL)



White Chocolate Coconut Bird's Nests



Milk Chocolate Coconut Bird's Nests

I have many other things I have made such as carmel eggs, Peanut butter, coconut, nutter butters, and Oreos that have been hand dipped. I even made some stained glass windows and as I write this I have mallow cups setting up. I will admit it is late and I am tired. However I have about a dozen or so mallow cups to do and I am done! so it is worth my staying up to finish this tonight. I promise to get more pictures up tomorrow. I will probalby split them into 2 more posts that way it is easier to read. After this show I have an Easter order and a graduation party to do. And yes for those inquiring minds it is not to late ot order candy for Easter!

Diaper cakes

Hello everyone! I have been busy getting craft show stuff ready and all that good stuff. However I do have a fun new project for everyone to help me with. My best friend asked me to help with ideas for a project. She has been making diaper and towel cakes for showers and weddings she has been going to . They are awesome in my opinion and they get a great feedback. She would like to figure out how to get some orders for them and start making them for other people. I suggested Etsy, maybe craigslist, community bulletin boards etc. So she sent me a few pictures to post. So what I am looking for is feed back. what do you like, what do you not like. These are commletely customizable and can be done in any price range to fit any budget. They are ideal for weddings, graduations, bridal showers, house warming gifts etc. There are a bunch on Etsy but she does nice work and will work within a budget. So here we go. I have no idea what she is going to call this venture but for now let's call it Cakes by Cathi-jo.





Dallas Cowboys Diaper Cake



She is looking for towel cake pictures as we speak so hopefullly I can add those soon. The Dallas Cowboys cake was huge and heavy! Five tiers! She made that one for my cousin. She is curretnly working on Diaper cakes for her husband cousin who is expecting twins! I will get pictures of those in the next couple of weeks and post as well. So remember gang I need feedback. She would like to start doing this for other people becasue she loves doing them.

Marching into Spring

The past couple of day shave been so warm here! I love it! It is like summer! much better than the 7 degrees we had in the last week and a half. It is crazy how warm it has gotten. It has been so nice that I h ave not been in the mood to do much in the way of crafts. I do have a show on Saturday so I really have no choice. So I decided to try something different. Flower arranging! I had a couple little watering cans with bunnies that are actually butterfly's on them. I know it sounds weird but they are really cute I promise. I found some daffodils stashed up stairs so I figured I could come up with something for the show out of them. This is what I managed to come up with.








As much as I was not into crafting this did help my mood. It was 74 degrees yesterday and 63 today. That is plain old nuts. Kind of like me! I hope you enjoy the warm weather while it lasts. If it is still cold where you are I promise warm weather is on the way!

Adventures in Nursing Part 2-AKA Scrub Hat

I have no idea how I get myself into these adventures but I do. I mean I am not a nurse, I do not play one one TV so why am I having nursing adventures? Actually I do know how this one happened. People have started to ask if I can make specific items they are looking for. Pretty much my answer is always if I can find a pattern or make a pattern then yes I can make it. Well someone asked if I could make an OR cap for her. She works at Children's Hospital and basically they can have any pattern they want. When she asked if I could make one I had no idea what she was talking about so she drew me a picture. OK yeah that helped but I was able to come up with a workable pattern and the ties are adjustable so that will make life easier for her. Now I since the hubby is delivering it I ope it is what she wanted if not no big deal because I know it looks a lot like what they call a Chemo cap so I am sure I will be able to use it at a show. Anyway this is what I came up with.

It actually looked pretty cool to me but what do I know! All I know is they are OR caps or hats, scrub hats or chemo caps depending on where you look for them but they are all about the same thing. So this adventure was actually not to bad to do. It took a bit of time but that is only because it was the first one. I was able to make it this morning before Hubby left for work. WOOHOOO that was exciting for me.

Now keep in mind while I was doing this I had a thought that had nothing to do with the task at hand. I tend to do that. My mind wanders A LOT! My boss had given me a package of sugar cookie mix that someone gave her. It was sitting on the table so I had to move it to make the hat. So I moved it to the kitchen so I could make it. But I didn't want to make cut outs and little balls were so boring so I had an idea. Once they are cool and I taste them if it worked I will make it a bonus recipe on the recipe of the week next week so stay tuned.

So now that I have gotten totally off track. I am pretty happy with the way this hat turned out and I can't wait to see if we have an adventures in nursing part 3!

Do you know what these Items have in common?

Let's play a little game shall we. I know we all like games!
What do the following pictures have in common? I promise you there really is a connection......





Dishwasher- Picture Courtesy of Steve McCabe Thank You Steve!


A life raft


Windshield wipers



Rolling Pin
Ironing Board
Chocolate chip cookie




Have you figured it out yet? Let me give you a little hint. This is my salute to International Women's day. Every year we celebrate this day on March 8. Can you believe the first International Women's Day was celebrated in the united states on February 28 1909! Crazy! You can read all about the history of this day here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women%27s_Day I spent part of my day at work today and will be spending part of it again tomorrow researching some thngs for an event we are having next week. What I came up with amoung other things are all of the above items were invented by women! Here is a cool link to some great things women have invented http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0906931.html. Women have invented so much more than I have ever even realized! It was really fun to research this.

Since this is a craft and cooking blog primarely let's make this about the chocolate chip cookie. The chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1930 By Ruth Wakefiield. She was making her chocolate cookies for the guests at her Toll house Inn. Alas she was out of baker's chocolate so she made a little substitution. She threw in some broken peices of Nestle's semi -sweet chocolate assuming it would melt into the coookies like the bakers chocolate did. Well guess what. She was wrong and I for one am glad she was! This was how the Toll House Crunch cookies were invented. Becasue of the popularity of her cookies the sale of Nestle's semi-sweet bars greatly increase. An agreement was made between Nestle and Ruth. She was given a lifetime supply of the chocolate in exchange for permission to print her recipe on the package. The Toll House Cookie Recipe that we still use today! So that is your lesson in how the chcolate chip cookie was born!

Face it love them or hate them we all know them. So tell me how you make your chocolate chip cookies. Do you make them in individual cookies or in bars? Do you like the soft or crispy? What kind of chocolate do you like in them? Do you use Ruth's recipe or have another favorite? I actually have 3 recieps that I switch between depending on what I want them for and what ingredient's I have on hand and who I am making them for. And yes One is Ruth's famouse Toll House Cookie Recipe!

Adventures in Nursing-AKA Stethoscope Covers

Well my friend Mo asked if I could make Stethoscope covers. Usually if I can find a pattern or make a pattern I can make it. If I have clue what you are talking about. Since I am not a nurse and don't play one on TV I was pretty clueless so I asked the next logical question. "what you talkin' 'bout Mo?" So being the ever helpful person that she is she offered to send me one of hers. Now Mo lives in Florida. I live in the frozen north. A very long trek for a lonely Stethoscope cover. So Stethy (as I have nicknamed it, we have become very close you know) arrived on Thursday. Today we spent some quality time together. Stethy now will be going back to sunny Florida with friends. Fall Stehty came to visit. Stethy came forth and multiplied. See what happens when you leave a Stethoscope Cover alone on a long trip! You just can't trust them. We went from Fall Stethy to Fall, Shamrock and Easter Stethy! Things went pretty smoothly until I started to sew. Wouldn't you know I sewed the seam inside out TWICE! Obviously this was going to be a good day in sewing land. I already need a drink! After that little problem got fixed all was fine until the dreaded elastic incident of 2009. The opening is not very big at the one end and needs elastic. Well there is really no easy way to do it and I tried every way I know and then some. I even pulled out the knitting needles and crochet hooks. Well the only thing that worked was Mr. safety pin came to play and we had an old fashioned threading party. So finally after an hour of nothing but elastic. we were done. And they are not to bad.










Now if when they arrive back in sunny Florida there are more than 3...............I do not want to know about it!

Want a "Stethy" of your very own. Check out my etsy store to purchase one or order one!

www.Hollyscraftsandcandy.etsy.com

Baby Bootie Cake

In December we had a baby shower at work for one of our doctors. Somehow I ended up making the cake. Since it was for work and had to be transported on the subway to work I had to get creative. I mean come on no cake in it's right mind is going to voluntarily jump on the subway and ride around! It is hard enough for people to ride around on the subway. If you have never ridden a subway imagine a very bumpy, jittery, crowded car ride except often times you are standing up the whole time. A very unfriendly atmosphere for a cake. After much thought I decided it would be cute to make miniature baby booties. Everyone could have there own cake and it would make transportation easy. I ultimately decided to take all the stuff to work and make it at work.

Making the cakes at work was a treat with little to no workspace available but I made due. They were really easy and came out so cute. All it took was some miniature cupcakes, frosting, food coloring, coconut and about 5000 hours of spare time in my day to put them together. In the end they were a hit and I did manage to get a few pictures although they may be hard to see.




I did the cakes in pink and blue. Chocolate was one color and Vanilla was the other to make life easier. There was even coconut on some for the coconut lovers in the group



Up close and personal view of the booties.




The bags in the background were the favors. We got small Cucumber melon scented body wash and placed them in the miniature gift bags and tied a small plastic pacifier to it with ribbon. They came out really nicely and people loved the favors. They were very inexpensive. So if you need a few shower ideas feel free to borrow them! Enjoy!