Farm Birthday Cake

For my older daughters birthday I decided to do a farm animal "theme," which really was just an excuse for me to make her a farm cake. I love making cakes like this because they are more like doing a fun craft than they are baking.  I must say that I am rather proud of how it turned out, mostly because I improved upon last year's cake a bit and didn't go totally crazy in the prep. Everything is edible again this year-The base is made of two easy funfetti type sheet cakes, layered with butter-cream frosting. The barn and silo are shaped out of rice krispie treats, covered with fondant, and the rest of the cake is covered with green fondant with all fondant animals with candy eyes. For her party I also prepared animal cupcakes- pigs, cows and chickens- made with frosting and candy.

Child Aprons

I grew up wearing these aprons all the time and wanted to make some for my girls. They are a Joy School pattern and are super easy to make. One piece of fabric (I used canvas and terrycloth), bias tape, sew down shoulder straps, and sew elastic to hold in place. I love them because they cover EVERYTHING, children can put them on without any assistance, and they are super durable. They cost about $6 to make. My daughter loved modeling them...

Baby Swing Makeover

Here is our baby swing cover before... yuck!

And after! Better I think, don't you? This was not as easy as I thought it would be (dang ruffles), but I am pretty proud of the finished product and it looks way more attractive than before (I just don't look too closely at my stitching!).

Baby Car Seat Canopy

I knew I wanted to make one of these before baby girl #2 popped out. I was surprised by how simple it was to make! A yard of two types of fabric, sewed together and turned out, straps with velcro, and a bow to top it off. Lovely. I made it brown and blue because those are my car seat colors. Way better than draping a blanket. How nice would it be to be carried around in a snuggly, dark, warm bed all day?