Laughty Crafty

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

2011-05-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

We picked some strrawberries in Ga on the way back home from Fl so I thought I would try making some chocolate covered strrawberries...they we delicious!!!

Isabella's Cupcake Creation

2011-04-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

St Patrick's Day Bday

2011-03-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

For Craig's Birthday I made yet another Green (Red) Velvet Cake. This year I used a recipe from Bakerella. It guess it turned out pretty good since this was all that was left of an 8" three layer cake.

Homemade Valentine's

2011-02-16T07:37:00.001-08:00

We spent the day before Valentine's making Isabella's classmates and teacher homemade Valentines. This year we did a butterfly valentine (from Skip To My Lou) and the teachers got a conversation heart jar (from Free Pretty Things).

Puff Paint

2011-01-11T15:38:00.001-08:00

We've done this one before, but it's been awhile so I thought we'd do it again. I got the "recipe" for the puff paint from Skip To My Lou/One Crafty Mumma.

Our different color paints

The finished product

Yummy Cupcakes

2011-01-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

I made these cupcakes this past weekend for what was supposed to be our Baby Shower/Big Sister Party. They were delicious. Here is the recipe from Joy of Baking.

Halloween Garland

2010-10-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2010-10-24T07:35:00.000-07:00

Another great recipe off of Allrecipes.com for Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

Baked Doughnuts

2010-10-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

These doughnuts are dee-licious!! I found them on Allrecipes.com (click here for recipe)

Banana Pudding

2010-10-11T15:45:00.001-07:00

A special treat made just for my husband. Who knew it was as easy as vanilla pudding, mini vanilla wafers and some bananas that would have otherwise gone bad...well, I guess everyone that's ever made it. Craig seems to have enjoyed it, so it must have been pretty yummy.

Halloween Jar Luminaries

2010-10-11T15:32:00.001-07:00

I found this wonderful idea at Crafts by Amanda. So right away I set out for goodwill and found a couple of canning jars ($0.50/each)...then to the craft store for a couple more colors of acrylic paint and glaze. This project is so super easy a really cute way to decorate the house for halloween. I bought a couple of small jars for Isabella to do by herself and she did a wonderful job (pictures of those to come later.

Jars after one coat of acrylic paint.

All the different faces; before glazing.

Glazed and illuminated with a tea candle.

Halloween Lamp Sillouettes

2010-10-05T09:47:00.000-07:00

I found this idea on Dandee. It was such an easy way to decorate for Halloween. I free handed a bat on some black cardstock, cut it out, and taped them to the inside of the lampshade. I really like the bats but cats, witches, pumpkins, etc....would be spooky too.

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Dress

2010-09-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've always said I was going to make Isabella a special dress for her birthday (one that matched the theme she picked). This year I actually did it!! :-) She really enjoyed having a special dress on her day and I think it turned out pretty good for my first dress attempt.

Mother's Day Gifts

2010-05-16T15:48:00.000-07:00

Button Bracelet

(Second Sister)

Whoooo will be my Valentine?

2010-02-16T07:10:00.000-08:00

This year for Valentine's Day Isabella made Valentine Owls and Rice Krispie treats for all her school friends. For the owls, I cut out all the shapes out of colored construction paper (a heart for the face :-) ) Isabella then glued all the shapes of to make the owl face. We put saying on the back like "Owl be your friend forever" and "Whooo will be my Valentine". Then it was time for the treat making. Isabella and Daddy worked on the rice krispie treats. When it was done we used a heart shaped cookie cutter, cut them all out, and dipped them in melted white chocolate. Then Isabella decorated them with hearts. I must say....they were REALLY cute. Well worth all the work (we had to make 14!)

Isabella (and Daddy) melting the marshmellows

Isabella decorating the rice krispie treats.

The finished rice krispie treats.

The finished products.

Paper Heart Garland

2010-02-10T07:09:00.001-08:00

I wanted to do some more decorating for Valentine's Day and found this really cute idea for paper heart garland. I just cute strips out of colored construction paper, folded each strip in half then curled it around a pencil. To hang them I used invisible thread and a needle. I went through the bottom of the heart with the needle and pulled it all the way through and taped the two sides together.

Hugs and Kisses Jars

2010-02-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

This year for Valentine's gifts Isabella made Hug and Kiss jars. I got the idea for Trey and Lucy.

LOVE Sewing

2010-02-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

Glitter Hearts

2010-02-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Isabella had a great time doing these and they were super easy and look really nice. I got the idea at Skip to My Lou.

Volcano Cake

2010-01-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

Volcano "Cake"

So, Isabella's preschool had been studying dinosaurs this past month and I was the parent volunteer/snack person on the last day...which they were also doing "Dino Day". SO...I thought I'd make a volcano cake. However it's not technically a cake, it's pumpkin bread. I baked one in a rectangular pan and one in a stainless steel mixing bowl (the volcano). Instead of frosting I used just plain cream cheese and mixed in some food coloring. Then to finish it off I borrowed some dinosaurs and trees from Isabella :-)

It was all very dee-licious.

Volcano

2010-01-27T08:34:00.000-08:00

Isabella watching her volcano explode

This month at my daughter's school they have been studying dinosaurs. So, I thought it would be fun to make a volcano. The volcano its self is made out of homemade playdoh (flour, salt, water). Inside we used one of our old Nalgene bottles that we had laying around. We let our volcano dry for about 2 days and then it was explosion time! For the explosion I filled the Nalgene bottle almost full with warm water. Then I added some red dye and 2 Tbs baking soda. And last but not least...I started to slowly pour in some vinager. We found that we got a better "explosion" when the bottle had the vinegar in it already and I was adding the baking sode (just some fyi)

Paper Weaving/Book Cover

2010-01-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

Isabella paper weaving

Today we did some paper weaving. Isabella chose the colors and the pattern and when she was done decided that it would make a nice book cover. So...she then dictated to me two stories and we made a book.

The final product

Baked Potato Soup

2010-01-14T15:47:00.000-08:00

This baked potato soup recipe off of Allrecipes.com was DEE-licious.

Grocery Tote Presents

2009-12-30T07:59:00.000-08:00

So for Christmas presents this year we decided to make everyone grocery tote bags. I must say that they all came out wonderful (and actually we still have one that we need to finish-oops). We all had our parts in making the bags. I sewed all the bags (with the help of a pattern). Since we were trying to make something that wouldn't cost a whole lot a used a 100% cotton unbleashed mulin fabric which worked out perfectly and I just doubled it so that it wasn't see-through. After that Craig made neat stencils out of freezer paper (everyone got a different design); then Bella painted them :-) Here are some pictures of the process.

Painting the bag

The finished product after removing freezer paper stenciling

The logo ;-)

Magazine "Vase"

2009-12-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

Magazine "vase"

I got the idea to do this at "A Little Hut". She had done a magazine bowl. I basically did the same things she did but continued it up and on the inside to make more of a "vase" shape. I also put a glass container inside so that I could water the plant without the water spilling out.

Christmas Wreath

2009-12-13T13:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Crafts

2009-11-29T15:14:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving banner

Hand Turkeys

Pop-up Turkey Cards

Edible Arrangements

2009-07-05T19:20:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while now. This was my own version of an "Edible Arrangement" that I made for my husband for our 4th anniversary (traditional: fruit/flowers). I got to have some, and it tasted dee-licious.

Calzones :-P

2009-04-08T15:47:00.001-07:00

Isabella is such a great help in the kitchen. Her and I tried this recipe for calzones for tonight's dinner. We changed the filling a bit. I would definitely recommend it as a great recipe.

Puff Paint "Volcano"

2009-04-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we tried a puff paint recipe that I found at One Crafty Mumma. I used a little to much water in the blue; plus Isabella really likes to use A LOT of paint. But still, I think it turned out great. And to us it looks like she drew a volcano (I did the sun and rainbow).

Easter Carrots

2009-04-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

These are the best carrots ever!!

Isabella made them for her Mamaw, Grandpa Steve, and Maw.

Felt Flowers

2009-04-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be an Isabella craft, BUT it ended up being a mama craft. Everything was sorta just a little to small for small fingers to do (I guess, or she just didn't want to do it). Next time I'll make the flowers bigger and we will definitely have to go to Goodwill and raid their button box for bigger buttons.

Flower Power

2009-04-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

Isabella made these at story time today. I thought she did a really great job. She was super patient when it came to seperating the tissue paper. She made two and they really look different from each other (which I wasn't expecting I guess).

Yarn Basket

2009-04-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

All you need is some yarn, glue, balloon, and a bowl...then in about 2 days you get a beautiful little basket :-)
Isabella did a great job. Although, she did keep asking if it was dry yet. So, next time I will make sure I tell in an advance about the 2 days thing.

Pillowcase Dress

2009-03-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

I saw this idea on a couple of different craft sites. Well, Isabella and I decided to check out our local discount fabric store the other day. Turns out they have bins upon bins of the demos that stores use...curtains, bedding...etc. We were looking thru them and Isabella found a pillowcase (/fabric) that she really liked. Immediately my thoughts went to this project, and she was really excited that she would get a new dress out of her 'shiny' fabric. It was super easy and extremely cheap .(pillowcase=$1.50 and that's all you need) BTW, she loves her new dress. Now it just needs to warm up so she can wear it.

Coffee Filter Butterflies

2009-03-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

I did this project at Isabella's preschool for their art enrichment. All the kids seemed to really enjoy making their butterflies. Below is a picture of Isabella's and mine (hers is the one on top). They all came out really cute. I found the idea at Sycamore Stirrings.

Ink Blot T-Shirt

2009-03-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

This year Isabella made her daddy an ink blot t-shirt (idea from This Vintage Chica) for his birthday. She had a lot of fun making it.

Green Velvet Whoopie Pies

2009-03-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

Isabella preferes to call them cookies. We made these for Craig's birthday rather then the green velvet cake I usually make. They are delicious too! :-)

St. Patrick's Day Faries

2009-03-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Some great St. Patrick's Day paper toys from The ToyMaker

KIndermusik Photo Book

2009-03-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is Isabella's first "publishing" ;-)
Our "assignment" this week for Kindermusik was to make a photo book. So we took some of Isabella's pictures and some of mama's and made a photo book. I made the book out of different color construction paper and white yarn. Isabella glued the pictures in and told me what she wanted each page to say and where she wanted it. I wrote the words and then she traced them. Here are a few sample paged from here book. I think it turned out really great.

Pre St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Hanging felt shamrocks.

And green candied popcorn.

Both ideas complements of Skip To My Lou

Bath Paints

2009-03-04T18:30:00.000-08:00

What could be more fun...then bath paints!

Paper Animals

2009-03-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

Today we made some paper animals. There are great (free) Cut & Fold patterns at http://www.thetoymaker.com/

Toe sock leggings

2009-03-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

So, I've had a pair of toe socks (you know the socks that have all the individual toes) that had a hole in one of the toes...basically, I couldn't wear them anymore. Today I decided to cut off all the 'toes' and make leggings out of them for Isabella.

Valentine's Krispies

2009-02-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

I made pink rice krispie treats for Isabella's preschool "love luncheon". They tasted yummy and looked great too :-)

You Color My World

2009-02-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that we made valentine's for Isabella's friends. I decided on making heart shaped crayons. We took all of Isabella's old and/or broken crayons, took off the paper, and broke them into small pieces. I found some great silicone heart shaped molds at Target. Those worked out awesome because I could just 'pop' them out. Then I helped Isabella hot glue them to her valentine cards. They looked hreat when they were all done.

Stepping Stone Fun

2009-02-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

We decided that this year we would make something fun for our family for Christmas. We went to Goodwill for some colorful plates, broke all those wonderful colorful plates, mixed some concrete, filled our planters with concrete and decorated. Then end result....some colorful (heavy) garden stepping stones.

Beginning Of Laughty Crafty

2009-01-31T18:08:00.000-08:00

So, I felt that we needed somewhere other then Isabella's blog to log our craft projects. Also a place where I can sorta keep track of them all. I thought it would be fun for Isabella to name the site....thus the name Laughty Crafty :-) I tought it was great!