Red and Turquoise Baby Shower

Last Saturday my mom and I (and sister) got to plan my aunts baby shower (she's having a girl!).  So we plunged in Amy Atlas style, after reading her beautiful new book with a red and turquoise dessert table.  Our inspiration for the table was an adorable baby quilt that my mom made as a gift for my aunt.  Sadly, I didn't get pictures of it before we gave it to her.

1. Sprite with Frozen (red colored) fruit concentrate
2. Hydrangeas in clear plastic food containers
3. Paper Mache boxes from hobby lobby (in a set of 5) with ribbon and lemon cupcakes with vanilla  buttercream and flags
4. Bahn Mi Sandwiches (more on these later)
5. Cake stand full of peppermint and vanilla taffy
6. Cake stand full of meringues
7. Strawberries
8. Chocolate dipped pretzel rods on a bed of swedish fish
9. Half chocolate dipped rice crispy treats
10. Chocolate Bars wrapped in scrapbook paper
11. Water with lemon slices
12. Watermelon Slices 
13. Royal Icing chevron cookies
14. Salad

 We used a long white tablecloth, and covered the top with blue wrapping paper (it actually hangs over the back of the table).  We originally bought a bunch of candy to serve as a bed for the treats, but it didn't look great, and it made the treats slide around a bunch.  The pretty serving trays are from cb2.  They have great prices on their trays, the medium ones were only 4 bucks and the small ones were only 2 (I highly recommend browsing their stuff).  If only they had cheap cake stands...

We made paper balls from the ceiling with a tutorial from Martha.

 I learned something important: use sun proof food when having a party in full sun.  Things got a little melty.

-Maddie

Visiting the Farm

We recently visited my grandpa's farm up in Idaho for a wedding.  I didn't even really know who the wedding was for.  I have soooooo many relatives.  So I went to the wedding of some cousin I've never met and ate food (because thats what weddings are for right?). But take a load of this:

The picture was kinda last minute, so its not great.  But my grandpa has this giant kettle (I think its originally for boiling laundry...maybe) that he built a three-headed blowtorch thingy underneath.  So he cooks up giant boxes (bags) of popcorn, huge servings of french fries, and lots of corn on the cob.  And each kind of popcorn he makes has a different flavor, be it kettle corn, cherry, strawberry, cinnamon, or regular.   

 (these photos were taken at night, outside, so that is why they are so dark)

We also drove four-wheelers.  Because its a guy thing.  And we were in four-wheeler country.  And there was a total of 6 guys. 2 or 3 of which are crazy drivers.  Like I'm-going-to-drive-up-that-steep-hill-really-fast-and-try-not-to-get-stuck-or-crash-and-die kind of crazy.  But it was fun (like a really bumpy roller coaster).  I rode one too (I'm not in this picture), by myself, and it was very scary business.

 We also got to name 8 or so little kitties!  This is Holly (Hollyhock).

We also saw this.  If you can't figure it out, that is a ride.  An actual fair type ride that looks like it was built 200 years ago and is about to fall apart.  People actually sit on that!

I love this sign. Its an antique sign with antique painted on it!  How much more antique can you get?

They also had some cool play equipment at the wedding.

 

 Next week I'll be back with a bunch of sweets!  

-Maddie

Fudge Flop

I think fudge doesn't like me.  I made it once, heated it to fast, and it burned.  I made it again a couple days ago; same result.  I think it still tasted okay, cause I didn't burn it too bad, but my mom thought otherwise.  At least the photo's turned out cute.

Isn't that like the cutest photo ever? (I'm so proud of it)  It could be better, but its still pretty cute.  Anyway, I didn't have time to post last week because I went on our church's girls camp.  And afterwards my voice was super hoarse from screaming/yelling/singing-like-crazy/staying up until 3 am for 4 days.  But it was super fun! However...I have no pictures (yet). Now on to the fudge.  I used this recipe from allrecipes.com:

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Grease an 8x8 inch square baking pan. Set aside.
2. Combine sugar, cocoa and milk in a medium saucepan. Stir to blend, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer. Do not stir again.
3. Place candy thermometer in pan and cook until temperature reaches 238 degrees F(114 degrees C). If you are not using a thermometer, then cook until a drop of this mixture in a cup of cold water forms a soft ball. Feel the ball with your fingers to make sure it is the right consistency. It should flatten when pressed between your fingers.
4. Remove from heat. Add butter or margarine and vanilla extract. Beat with a wooden spoon until the fudge loses its sheen. Do not under beat.
5. Pour into prepared pan and let cool. Cut into about 60 squares. 

Go really slow, don't turn the heat up higher to get to the right temperature.  Please. Have patience. Because I'm not patient at all.  And it didn't work out so great.  I couldn't figure out how to cut the squares without my fudge cracking, so I ended up using this dough scraper.  It worked a lot better than a knife.

Easy $1 Bracelet

So, the other day I found out that they had a dollar beading section at Walmart, right under the rest of the beads. After browsing through a bunch of colorful chain, I found some yellow beads that, while being made of plastic, were actually pretty cute.  I  bought them thinking, they're cute, I like them, and I'll do something with them eventually. So I decided to make a bracelet.

Materials:
-pliers (needle-nose)
-Walmart beads
-medium jump rings
-lobster clasp (or other clasp)

First open a jump ring and hook 2 beads together. Then close the ring.

Keep linking the beads together till it fits your wrist (I used all the beads except one) and attach the lobster clasp.

That's it!  Now I have a fun, little pop of color.  And now a little something to brighten your day:

-Maddie