In the mood for some sugar cookies?

First lets get out some cookie dough. I guess we'll need a rolling pin too.

Then let's roll out the dough, nice and smooth...

What sort of shape should we do? How about a flower and a butterfly. Sweet and springy.

Now to cut out our shapes...

There we go. Mmmm...looks tasty already. (is they getting cheesy?)

Finish cutting out all your shapes, we want enough to share.

They look a little bare, though, right? They're missing something, what could it be?

Ahh. . . Yes, frosting, that's better. And sprinkles.

Get them all frosted. Don't worry, it's easy and mess free. And sugar free.

There you go - Sugar Cookies!

Last Minute Easter Gifts

I sometimes get discouraged or insecure about my crafting ability when I look through all the amazing craft blogs out there. There are some really, really, really talented people out there. I've come to realize that I need to not compare myself to anyone and accept that I have a FULL schedule and being an awesome crafter sadly falls towards the bottom of my list. I love making things and with my schedule I know I have to keep it simple. Which I hope makes my crafts appealing to those with awesome crafting abilities and those without ;)

With that being said, here are a few simple projects. For this craft I used a clay flower pot, like I did with my Halloween Candy Corn cups.
A few tips for painting clay pots - you will need 4 coats of acrylic paint to get a nice even coating. I'd recommend that you use a foam brush. First paint horizontally - working quickly with plenty of paint on your brush since the paint will dry fairly fast, let dry, then paint vertically, let dry, then repeat, for a total of 4 coats. This is the easiest way to get a nice even coat.

I used the end of a hot glue gun stick, dipped in white paint to get the polka dots. You can use what ever you have on hand, like the end of a pencil eraser.
The grass I used is a paper grass which is soooo much easier to work with than the plastic stuff. You can mold and smoosh it and it will stay put and look a lot nicer. The cardstock flower is glued onto a craft stick I painted green. The little chick came in a pack of 6 for under $2. All supplies for this project can be found very inexpensively at any craft store.

This next idea requires a little less work, though it's still cute. I've mentioned before with my Valentine's Day gifts that Micheals has this great section that always has cute seasonal items (which is where I got those Valentine's cups). It is usually by the Wilton and baking aisle and has an assortment of seasonal baking/gift giving items. I found these bunny dishes (which I didn't get a picture of BEFORE filling and wrapping them. oops).
They're pink with a little bunny face on the bottom. I put these together to give to my little niece and Grandma Lottie. I'm sending these in the mail so I wrapped them in a clear gift bag and tied them with ribbon so they would stay nice while shipping. If you were just going to drop them off at a friends then you could lose the bag. Simple.

I hope everyone has a very happy Easter!

Tell me what you think...

Plain vanilla cupcakes (aka Plain Janes)

Add vanilla frosting...

Then top with frosting flowers.

This is a set of 4 cupcakes, with 4 vanilla frosting circles and 4 different frosting flowers. My boys like to play with this, but they like everything I make (they're always so supportive). I think my target market would be little girls. You can top the cupcakes yourself with the frosting and then choose the flower top you'd like.

I have been on a quest lately to create some sweets that are a little more interactive, just for something new to add to the shop. If you peruse the play food on Etsy, there is a lot of play food, much of it sweets like mine like cookies, donuts, cake, etc. I haven't seen anything like this with cupcakes though.
Would your tot have fun with this? I have a few more ideas up my sleeve, but I'd like to know if anyone else out there has any ideas or things they'd like to see. Let me know, thanks!

My Peeps

As promised, I have a free pattern for you all today. I made this pattern for my shop last year and had posted a few sets when I got a notice from Etsy. The peeps at Peeps were putting the kabash on my marshmallow bunnies. Apparently they looked a little too much like the real thing or something and the Peeps peeps were not having it.
I was pretty sad since I was quite proud of them (I drew the pattern freehand) and I had a lot of interest in them. Sad for me, but good for you, however. I'm offering my pattern to anyone who would like to have it. Only thing, it has to be for your personal use only (no selling them! Unless you want the Peeps peeps to come after you).
They are cute and fun and a great alternative to buying your kids a lot of candy around Easter time. I know I am so guilty of this, pretty much for every holiday. My boys are still eating Valentine's Day candy. Maybe I should help them out.

Included with the pattern will be instructions on how to make them, as well as materials needed. You will need to know how to do the blanket stitch and tie a french knot. It is an easy craft and a cheap one as well. You should be able to make a set of three bunnies with one sheet of felt (.35) and one skein of embroidery floss (.37).
Go ahead, make your kiddos (or just yourself) something hand made. Aren't they cute (especially for being under a dollar to make)? Plus they will last year after year and can be a Easter/Spring decoration once your kids are too old to play with them. Who's up for it? Let me know in the comments section if you'd like a pattern and I will mail it out to you. Have a great weekend!

The winner is...

Lisa! I actually didn't use Random.org like I said I was. With just three entries I figured I could handle writing the numbers 1-3 on pieces of paper and picking one out. Lisa, you are the lucky one today. I'll mail it out to you tomorrow. Thanks so much for entering guys!

Feeling Lucky? - Giveaway Closed

Do you decorate for St. Patrick's Day? Truth be told, St. Patrick's Day isn't one of my favorite holidays - to celebrate or to decorate for. I only have a few decorations, so with the success of my Valentine's Day banner, I decided to make one for St. Paddy's Day. And, you guessed it, I made one to giveaway.
It says 'HAPPY GO LUCKY' with shamrocks separating the words. If you're starting to fear that this type of banner will be the only thing I giveaway, don't. I happen to have a FREE pattern to giveaway in my next post. That's right. Not just to one lucky person, but to all who desire it.
To be entered to win this St. Patty's Day banner, just drop me a comment on this post. The giveaway will stay open until midnight this Thursday, after which on Friday I'll pick a winner using Random.org. Also on Friday, I'll be posting the free pattern, so make sure to check back!