ruffle foot

This is what I got for my bday...get ready for some ruffles, people!!
(Not me in the video, by the way..snagged it from YouTube).
>> Might want to turn off the sound on the video or my playlist unless you ENJOY hearing two songs at once :)


Also, my 3 precious kiddos picked out their OWN treasures for me at Dollar Tree... Jealous, arent' you??

Williams Wednesday

A glimpse into our busy, but blessed, lives

Ben on the ballfield (right).

Jake taking a swing at one of Daddy's pitches.

Ally in the St. Jude Trikathon at her preschool. She was "Wheelin' for Maddie" in loving memory of our friend, Madelyn, her friend, Ella's Big Sister.

Mama duck we *think* who was visiting our pool prior to the spring.

Jake and Ally taking time to enjoy the spring weather.

Lovin' a Paint Pen!

I bought these for 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby today for Ally's MDO classmates. (So **surprise** if you're the parent of one of them). I'm going to be the 'crafts coordinator' for our church camp this summer, so I wanted to get some practice with the paint pens I used to love soooo much. Oh, paint pens, where have you been...

BLOG BROWSING

I've begun something I like to call "blog browsing," in which I just go from crafty blog to crafty blog following links one to another. I've prayerfully considered and have agreed to be the Crafts Coordinator for our youth camp with our church this summer and want the "craft experience" to be more than foam sticker shapes and paint pens. So...found THIS idea at modpodgerocks.blogspot.com and we are SOOOO gonna make a ton of these, it isn't even FUNNY! Cute, huh?

Williams Wednesday - SPRING IS HERE!

Found this on my van after I had dropped off the boys at school. Don't you love spring? ha!

Happy Easter!!

Customize your own digital greeting card

Barbie Cake Tutorial

Ok..for those info-hungry Moms out there who are also hungry for a Barbie cake, this is your lucky day! When my little doll asked so eagerly for a "Bah-bie cake" I had to do my best to pull it off. I had heard that you could use the Pampered Chef Batter Bowl could be used to make the skirt of Barbie's dress. Here's the Batter Bowl image:

Other items you'll need: 3 cake mixes, 3 containers frosting, 2 round cake pans, Barbie or Barbie "cake pick" (can be found on cake decorating aisle of craft stores), decor items (M&M's, sprinkles, etc), and canned cake frosting.

Follow directions for cake mixes as directed & fill batter bowl with TWO of the cake mixes; then make 2 round cakes w/the 3rd cake mix. The 3rd cake mix is necessary b/c if you use a Barbie doll as the center rather than the cake pick, she will be too tall for the skirt. Bake 2 round pans as directed, but batter bowl cake will require almost an hour to bake through completely. Use a bamboo stick or straw to check the...the...done-ness.

Sorry, I didn't take pics as I went, but I have one of the assembly. Once you remove the batter bowl cake, cut off the top so it will sit flat on top of the round cake. This is where my engineer hubby helped out >> He cut 2 long straight cuts down the center of the cake, then pushed the cake out the bottom to push Barbie through. This helped keep the stability of the cake, rather than just shoving poor ole' Barbie in there like I was gonna do (the "Joy" way).

Here's a pic of 1st step assembly:

As you can see, the batter bowl cake sits upside-down on top of one round cake. I didn't need the 2nd round cake, but used it as the "candle cake" since I didn't want to chance lighting up Barbie's hair when lighting the candles. I layered some icing between the two to make it stick. Then, shaved a little off the top to give Barbie's skirt it's ladylike shape.

Now, I'm not an owner of one of those fancy cake-decorating kits, so I just see what wonders I can work with a tub of frosting & a butter knife. I tinted white frosting pink and went to work! I also bought one of those cans of frosting and used it to add a little "texture." Add a few M&M's...voila!! I even had to step back & giggle when finished:

...And here's proof that it was worth it all! My little doll got her wish!!