Candy Tower Cakes

My sons have their birthday party with the family at Chuck E Cheese this week and I was looking for an easy way to treat them with all of their favorite candy.

There were some great ideas on candy tower cakes on Pinterest and using Dollar Tree candy I made these two cakes. Needless to say my sons were in love with these gift treats.

I used glue gun, shredded grass and ribbon to pull it all together. I pulled it all together with a tissue paper Pom Pom for the top.

Work Baby Shower

Two of my co-workers are expecting babies and we thought it would be nice to have an office baby shower.

I coordinated the event and we went with a potluck style for the meal. I made the decorations, cake pop favors and diaper cakes for the moms.

We had a great time and the moms were very surprised and happy!

I've found if you are using a cake box mix for the cake pops use strawberry cake mix with white chocolate melts as they taste the best. I used fondant for the pacifiers which were a tedious project.

The Pom Poms were fun and easy and looked amazing in the conference room. I built the diaper cakes using two boxes of 80 diapers, rubber bands and hot glue. For the embellishments I used bows and shredded ribbon.

We played several baby shower games which were gender neutral. It was neat to see the men in the group enjoy themselves. I Googled and searched the web for games. There are several sites with tons of ideas out there.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

The recipe on Pinterest said they were the "perfect chocolate chip cookies" but I was skeptical for sure. I've made dozens of cookies, mostly from frozen Pillsbury/Nestlé, and never had complaints. However growing up my mother always made cookies from the Nestlé Tollhouse recipe found on the chocolate chip bag.

I thought why not give this a try. I reviewed the recipe to make sure no weird ingredients but that everything could be found in my pantry. I also reviewed to make sure there was nothing in terms of the directions that I couldn't understand.

Once I realized everything was pretty "safe" I started compiling everything I would need. I must say this was an easy to follow recipe with tons of pictures and "how to's". I love when folks post instructional step by step pics.

The pin was titled "perfect chocolate chip cookies" and they didn't lie. The very best recipe I've ever tasted and made.

Make sure to follow the directions step by step as you will be pleasantly surprised and rewarded with the yummiest cookies ever.

Not to mention the next day they held up to the "day after" test. Most times when you have left over cookies they are hard and not as delicious which is the excuse we use in the house as to why we must finish them off. However with these I placed in a storage container and the next day same deliciousness.

I will tell you the recipe makes about 24 cookies and I was able to make about 10 and freeze the remaining for a "rainy" day. The pin says they can be frozen for up to 6 months or refrigerated for 2 days.

Those of you who have little ones running around will appreciate the ease of this recipe and the fact that you can freeze the cookie dough for so long.

Spreading Some Love at Work

I saw PDF freebie/printables on Pinterest for "Free Compliments" or "Free Positive Thoughts" and immediately knew I needed to print them off and spread them throughout my workplace. (The website linked to the pin has some awesome freebies as well so make sure to check them out. You will find it on my Pinterest account under "crafts".)

So first thing this morning I did just this. Now let's see who or what happens. :)

By the way, I placed two on my door for my student athletes to grab when they visit this week and one on the refrigerator door for my co-workers.

I'm planning on making one up for uplifting bible verses off of some pins I've seen using bible verses. I just think this is a neat and easy way to spread joy and HIS Word throughout my world.

Teacher Pencil Holder

I wanted a neat way to show my sons' teachers my appreciation for all they do. When I came across the pencil holder made from actual pencils I just had to make them.

I purchased several packages of pencils and some ribbon. I created a cute label off of an image on clip art and printed on card stock.

I used a can of soup the large kind and with my handy glue gun I glued the pencils on to the can. You may want to make a template using rubber bands as you can easily start twisting and get off track. Also pay close attention to how you are placing the pencils as you want to be consistent. If you want the brand to show make sure it's always showing.

Besides burning your finger tips every so often from the hot glue it's a fairly easy, quick and inexpensive gift. Not to mention the teachers just raved about my crafty skills :) !!!

School Supply Cake

My sons came home with a list of mid-year school supplies the school was asking to have replenished. I saw some school supply cakes pinned on Pinterest and immediately knew how I would fill the request.

I purchased a foil pie plate because the base would need to be sturdy enough to hold the supplies. The center of the cake is a box of Kleenex and anti-bacterial wipes. I glue gunned pencils around the top of the anti-bacterial wipes container and the topper is a Pom Pom made of tissue paper I only fluffed one side.

You can use any ribbons and embellishments but thought these matched perfectly. I had purchased the monkey wooden cutout from Michaels at their after Christmas sale for about $0.10 and was just waiting for the perfect craft.

I will tell you when I dropped the cake off I specifically told the teachers they should feel free to take the cake a part as the point was for the supplies. One month later they still have it as a class decorative piece.

Oreo Cupcakes

The recipe for these delicious cupcakes are on Pinterest and are very easy to make. Everyone in my family is on the Oreo-craze.

A friend was sick so when I saw the recipe I immediately knew she would enjoy this treat. Blythe way, she thought for sure I was a baker :)!

Make sure you make extras as I seem to have an abundance of taste testers when I make goodies.

I also added cake wrappers and toppers. Cupcakes without these embellishments seem naked to me now. You can find templates on Pinterest for any holiday or design.