Cupcake Craft Challenge #164

Here is a buttons and bows card for the Cupcake Craft Challenge. I used HA's three fern stamp, Basic Grey buttons and American Craft chip board alphabets.

Aiden lost his first tooth

Aiden had a wobbly tooth on Tues (18 Oct) and the very next day it was away. He did get a visit from the tooth fairy.

Aiden's 6th Birthday

Here are some pictures of Aiden's 6th birthday on 12th October and of his party on 15th October. The party was Sonic themed - Sonic table cloth, paper plates and napkins and the birthday boy and his wee brother had Sonic tops on.

We got Aiden a wee 'football' cake on his birthday on Wednesday. Blowing candles on a cake is a symbolism of birthday that Aiden and Luke relate to and we definitely had to have a cake. 

We got Aiden a DSi for his birthday and the above pics are evidence of what a hit that present was and still is. I'm never in any of the pics as I am always behind the camera. 

Dessert table - various cupcakes and lemon drizzle cake...not sure what the two bowls of crisps doing there. 

 

Above are the cupcakes (vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing, lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream icing and carrot cupcakes with orange cream cheese icing) I baked for the party. The blue icing is the vanilla buttercream icing with some colouring to match the sonic theme colour. I got all recipes from the Cupcakes book by Primrose Bakery. I must say that this book is really good as they give some really useful tips which allowed me to bake the above yummy cupcakes.....that's the feedback received from all who tasted them. I so enjoyed piping the icing on and as you can see I used every pattern mold I had. Who says they have to be the same?

Here is the spread for the party. The two chafing trays hold the seafood paella which Kevin cooked and the chicken sambal (based on Angeline's recipe) which I cooked served with rice (not in pic). The adults enjoyed the paella and chicken. For the kids we had various sandwiches with crisps, chicken goujons, chicken popcorn, cocktail sausages and sausage rolls.

This is the Sonic cake that was ordered for the party.

Party game - Chaotic pass the parcel! 

Aiden and  Luke with their cousins.

Aiden and Luke with Tinkerbell! 

The Brennan boys.

Blowing out the candles.

A picture of Priya 'Tinkerbell' Small with her mummy enjoying a cupcake. Yummy!

Baking with little helpers

A couple of weekends ago I had three little helpers to bake cupcakes with me. They were so excited but were very good and listened carefully and followed instructions. The boys were excited to have their cousin, Priya with them for this baking stint.

The children put the colourful sprinkles on themselves.

Here is a close up of the swirls on the cupcakes. They are vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing. This baking session was a trial for Aiden's birthday party the following week.

Daily Menu Planning

Now that we have all started work, uni, school and nursery it is time to start planning for the week's dinners. I came up with this crafty planner to aid in our weekly planing.

It is a 12 x 12 frame and yes I did use my Silhouette to die cut the images. Then used distress ink (Barn Door) on the days of the week. Make sure you DO NOT use a permanent marker. I use a CD marker and a wet kitchen paper towel to clear the glass.

Let me know if you like it and how do you plan your meals for the week?

Predominantly white card challenges

Just a quick post for a couple of challenges. These cards are for the City Crafter Challenge Blog and the Cupcake Craft Challenge.

School starts tomorrow for Aiden, so off to check his school bag, lunch bag etc. Before I go here is an adorable pic of Luke having his afternoon nap and Aiden typing his spelling words on my laptop.

Bye for now.

2011 Calendar - Silhouette action and Stitching galore!

I decided to make a calendar each year to get a chance to use my Silhouette and also have a personal calendar with pics of the boys. I hang it on my kitchen wall as that is where we spend most of our time during the weekdays as we have our dinner there with the boys.

The calendar has loads of stitching, Silhouette cut outs, distress inks, patterned paper and stamping. Enjoy...

I have not listed all of the supplies as the list is too long. However, if you want to know about any particular technique or product used, just send me an email - ribbonsandgems@gmail.com

Love looking at this calendar on my kitchen wall...so do the boys. Aiden can't stop turning to the month of October as that is when he turns 6. It is Jan and he is talking about his birthday in Oct....!

Back after an extended hiatus

Work, kids, weather, Christmas....kept me away from my blog. That's not to say that I was not crafting during all this time - oh yes I was, just did not have the time to put it on my blog. I did not however have the joy of taking part in challenges. I also have not bought anything crafty for myself in a long time. Hmmm I have seen a few of the new Hero Arts stamps that I would love to get my hands on.

Anyhow before I blab on, I have made a super quick card in 20 minutes - from formulation of idea to execution - for the fabulous Lucy Abrams' challenge.

Back soon with more of my recent creations. Now to some pics of my boys playing/posing in the snow. We went for dinner earlier tonight and when we came out of the restaurant, it was snowing. Here are a couple of pics we took at Sheraton Square, Edinburgh.

Had to hold them tight to stand still for this photo

A promise to allow them to stay up an extra 30 mins, got them to pose willingly for this pic