Easter Project: Cake Pops!

Here it is, our last easter project: Chick & bunny cake pops!

I was thrilled to use my cake pop machine for the very first time! I used a regular vanilla cake recipe (with butter, not oil) and simply substracted a little bit of milk to make sure the batter was quite thick. See the results… Beauuutiful! The best part was how amazingly round and perfect those little balls of cake were! They were already cute as is… BUT, they would eventually be even cuter with pretty bunny ears and bow ties! ^^

We used candy melts to secure the lollipop sticks in the cakes. Candy melts are easy-to-melt wafers, ideal for dipping cake pops. They come in a variety of colors and taste like very sweet white chocolate!  Make sure not to overheat yours like I did, because it will be unusable. Your chicks will end up looking like zombie heads. And I’m not joking- that thing was creepy.

Lucky me I had some more wafers at hand! Ha!

Using an empty egg carton to hold them straight proved to be a very efficient method! Off to the freezer for 5 min. and they were ready to take a dip!

And because making bunny and chick cake pops wasn’t nearly enough, we decided to make a CRAZY CUTE garden display as well!

With a block of oasis foam, hot glue, coffee sticks, green paper, easter eggs from the dollar store and a little bit of patience, it’s amazing what you can do!

While Catherine worked on the garden, I worked on the bunny ears. All there was left to do was assemble it all… and take a bite! Or two!

Isn’t this a good-looking chick or what? Awww!

Happy Easter everyone!

Easter Egg meets Fortune Cookie

I am so happy to share this DIY with you guys since Catherine and I had so much fun doing it. It was heartbreaking cracking one to take pictures but hey, that’s what they’re  made for! These fortune easter eggs are a fun handmade gift  you can give to absolutely anyone.

It was my first time cleaning out eggs, therefore I used this great step by step tutorial and it was easier than I thought it would be! Didn’t even break one!

I used a pin the poke holes in the eggshell and a toothpick to pierce the yolk. Then I just blew out the contents, cleaned them under running water and put them 20 seconds in the microwave. It dries and hardens the eggshells.

We then proceeded to painting the eggs with acrylic paint. After making a complete mess, we finally figured it was way easier to insert a wooden skewer all the way through the egg. This way, we could paint 360′! Yay!

And Voilà!

The next step is finding some witty easter-themed messages to put inside you eggs. Here’s what we came up with!

The only thing to do next is to roll those really thight and insert them inside the eggs! There you go, your fortune easter eggs are ready to hatch!

You could even use these to plan an easter egg hunt, inserting clues instead of furtune messages!

Happy easter crafts!

Scary DIY haircut works magic!

Three weeks ago, I stumbled upon a tutorial by Diary of a Mad Crafter about cutting your own hair; an easy five-minutes layers cut. UN-BELIEVABLE.

I used to work at a hair salon and have my hair cut all the time (btw I am by no means a hairdresser!). Since I’ve stopped working there, I have decided to grow my hair out. As Catherine made me notice yesterday, it is quite long now, longer than it has been over the past ten years. But as I’VE noticed, it is also very damaged. And very blah. And in desperate need of layers!

This morning, TADA – the sun was shining, I had the day to myself and I needed nothing more to have the guts to try this very scary DIY!

CHOP CHOP

The steps are quite easy to follow. I started by quickly straightening my hair. Although it is not necessary, I felt it would be easier for what was to come.

First, you brush your hair until it is completely untangled. Then, with your head upside down, you tie your hair into a ponytail. The placement of the ponytail will decide the length of the layers. If you want to start slowly, tie it at the top-back of your head. The more forward you put your ponytail, the shorter the layers will be.

I actually started at the back, but did it again with the ponytail right on top of my head because I felt like the layers were too long.

You then bring the end of your ponytail in front of your face, brushing it to straighten every hair.

Then -OMG- you just cut straight across.

Here’s a peak at what it looked like BEFORE:

Bulky, dry – don’t even want to look at it anymore…

And AFTER:

I really love the outcome! The main thing is really how healthy my hair feels now (I needed a cut so bad!) It looks a lot lighter too. I can’t wait to wash my hair as I’m sure this cut will enhance those natural curls!

What do you think? Should I go with shorther layers next time?

Do you have the guts? :P

Peter Pan Studded Necklace DIY

The idea occured to me while shopping with my sister at the mall, looking at all those pretty Peter Pan collars. I had bought a bunch of studs on Ebay a while ago and never settled on any project to put them to use.

Now is the time for an easy/pretty/studs DIY!

Let me take you through the steps!

If you decide to attempt this DIY, please make sure that it is done only under strict cat supervision.

First, I cut out two symetrical shapes out of back felt. Hold them around your neck in front of the mirror and make adjustements to the size or shape.

Then, use a pencil (I used a lip liner) to mark the spots, on the back of your shape, where your want your studs to be.

I didn’t have the right tools to put the studs in, so I just used a pin to poke holes through the felt and enlarged the holes whit a pointy exacto knife. I Put both parts of the studs in place and finished it hammer style. 

Use a paper punch to add holes to each piece of the collar and tie pretty ribbons.

Here is the final look. Tell me how you like it!

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First Attempt with Fabric Paint: Gold Polka Dot Shower Curtain

Oh Pinterest, how you changed my life…

Browsing Pinterest, I stumbled upon a gold polka dot shower curtain and thought to myself: This is exactly what I need to replace my once white now stained with hair dye shower curtain.

 

But I choked a little when I saw the pricetag though: 150$. No way I was going to pay this much for a shower curtain that, let’s say it, WILL get stained by hair dye sometimes soon.

I figured that I could get a similar look with a $5 budget if fabric paint could cover the hair dye spots.

Here are all the supplies I used to turn that old and dirty curtain into a shimering work of art:

I used an old beer bottle cork as a stamp and worked section by section randomly.

TIP: Make sure that you use a plastic liner underneath when you stamp with fabric paint. I used the old shower liner – perfect size. Whoohooo, I am a genius!

This was a long process because I could only do a small section at a time, allowing the paint to dry before moving the curtain and avoid smudging the paint.

When everything was dried, I fixed the paint with an hot iron, as indicated in the instructions. All the dye spots are now covered. Incognito! HA!

For a nice touch, I also spraypainted the curtain hooks with gold paint. 

Here is the final result, in my real tiny bathroom. Love the look. Especially love that it looks like new and totalized whooping a $5 investment.

Oh yeah!

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Have a nice Monday!!

Cheese Cupcake with Graham Crust, Oh My!

In my opinion, the best part of cheesecake is definitely the graham crust. I love all deserts involving graham crackers and firmly believe that graham crust is the most delicious thing IN THE WORLD after lemon curd. I know, I’m weird.

When I saw a cupcake recipe that involved that delicious crust, BAM! I knew this was going to be, for sure, my new favorite cupcake recipe.

Being around buttercream all the time (because I’m a cake artist), regular buttercream cupcakes don’t appeal to me as they once did. Buttercream’s good… but cheesecake is better! hehe!

SO, here’s the recipe:

Cheesecake Style Cupcakes

• 180 g  (1 1/2 cup) graham crackers ( crumbled)
• 75 g (1/3 cup) melted butter
• 250 g (8 oz.) cream cheese
• 3 eggs (whites and yolks separated)
• 60 ml  (1/4 cup) milk
• 100g (1/2 cup) sugar
• 40 g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder

1) Preheat the oven (350 F / 180 C)

2) In a large bowl, mix the graham crumbles and the melted butter

3) Put the mixture in the cupcake liners and press firmly. The crust as to be compact. MY TIP: I used an old nutella glass container. I fit perfectly into the cupcake cavities!

4) With an electric mixer, mix together the cream cheese and the milk. MY TIP: I put the cream cheese 15 sec. in the microwave to soften it up to make sure the mixture is as smooth as can be!

5) Add half of the sugar, the egg yolks, the flour and the baking powder. Mix.

6) In another bowl, mix the egg whites until they are light and fluffy and add the remaining sugar.

7) With a spatula, gently mix the egg whites with the cheese mixture.

8) Fill the cupcakes liners a little over 3/4. The batter won’t rise very much.

9) Cook for 15 minutes until your mini cheesecakes look like those:

Finally, be patient and let cool!! They’re definitely better once they’re cool, as the crust will hold itself together instead of falling completely apart when you take your first bite … true story.

As for the topping, I opted for a drop a yogurt and fresh lemon zest. The mix of the graham crust and the citrus reminds me of a key lime pie! AND, I can almost make myself believe I’m eating healthy stuff.

Another great toping would have been whipped cream and raspberries, or even a homemade raspberry coulis!

…That’s it, I’m having another one!