oh...CAKE BALLS!!!

I'm sure most of you have been wondering when I would do a post about cake balls since it's the title of this blog. Well...HERE IT IS!

I made cake balls a while back for my co-workers. This was a very new endeavor for me, I had never made a cake ball let alone eaten one. They just looked so tasty...I just had to try.
If you have ever made cake balls (without and actual cake ball maker) then you know it is NOT an easy task. They looked like...disaster balls. Luckily they still tasted fantastic.
Not willing to give up on this delicious ball of cake and chocolate coating I made another batch at the request of my very pregnant boss, who wanted cake balls before she left for maternity leave. So here they are...CAKE BALLS! (still looking a little rough, but tastier than ever). Here is the recipe that I used.

{icing and cake mixture}

{melting chocolate for the coating}

{that's right...NEON sprinkles}

{ta-dah! cake balls}

{everything is better with neon sprinkles}

{another hit at work!}

{YUM!}

A DIY WEDDING...BRIDESMAID NECKLACES

I have always been one of those girls that likes to have something that not everyone else may have, especially when it comes to dresses and accessories, which is why I have never been keen on the whole idea of matching bridesmaids. I'm pretty sure most women will agree with me on this. Don't get me wrong it adds a nice consistency to the look of the wedding, but sometimes it is a little hard to stomach. So, when it was time to help my sister decide what the bridesmaids would wear, I was a little scared. Sorry Em, but I was. 

Luckily, my sister and I have very similar style so we happily agreed (along with the other bridesmaids) on some really great dresses from J.Crew, in a soft graphite gray. Those of you that know me, know that I am extremely pale. I was a little nervous about getting completely washed out in a gray dress (as was my mother), so I thought it would be great to add in color with accessories. On my hunt for the perfect colorful statement piece, I stumbled across these AMAZING handmade necklaces by Elva Fields. 

{Elva Fields necklaces}

They are really incredible and were perfect for the bridesmaid dresses. It would add color and give us that little bit of difference that I wanted. Sadly these necklaces were a little out of our budget for bridesmaid gifts. So, being the super craft team that we are, we made our own versions with the help of my sister's talented friend Michelle. (Michelle, luckily, is an expert jewelry maker.) Here is the how to...

Materials:

vintage broaches/pins/earring

beads and/or stones (we had about two strands per necklace)

jewelry wire

pliers

wire cutters

clamps (so the beads don't slide off)

necklace clasp (we used S clasps so that the necklaces are easy to take off)

glue to seal the back of the earring and pin clasps in necessary

some felt or fabric to work on

Once we made the decision to make the necklaces, Emily and I went to the Brooklyn Flea to hunt down some treasures to use in the necklaces.

{various vintage earrings and pins that we found at the flea market}

Emily and Michelle then went bead shopping and picked out different beads/stones for each bridesmaid. We then all assembled at Michelle's apt in Brooklyn and made the necklaces. Here are some shots of the necklace making process...

{LOVE the rhinestone centers on mine!}

It was a lot of work, but the necklaces came out perfectly. I loved that we all had very different necklaces, perfect for each of us. Here are the finished pieces!

{Michelles' necklace}

{Lauren's necklace}

{Chelsae's necklace}

{Lyndsey's necklace}

{My necklace}

The pictures are not the greatest sadly, but I can't wait to see the ones that the photographer took! Thanks Em for our beautiful bridesmaid gifts, they really were perfect to give us our own look at the wedding! (And sorry I gave you a hard time about my stone colors...I LOVE THEM!)

A DIY WEDDING...BIRD NEST TEACUPS

My sister's wedding was a month ago, so I decided it was time to start posting all of the crafts that we made for her (mostly) DIY wedding. 

Anyone that knows our family pretty much knows that when there is an event where there are invitations and decorations involved, we are all hands on. Emily (my sister) and I had DIY bat mitzvah's before DIY was even a "thing." It's really a shock that no one has approached us to do some kind of reality TV show. I mean we can build and craft just about anything, we can organize and clean like no one's business, and my mom and I could really open a bakery one of these days (with the help of my aunts of course).

Anyways, enough about how crazy creative my family is...as soon as the news of the wedding settled and the venue and date was picked, the crafting began! With the help of some friends and Emily's "craft" kitty, Gracie, we were able to make some pretty amazing decorations. 

The first of the DIY wedding craft posts is for the bird nest teacups that we made for the cocktail table centerpieces.

Here is the how to...

Materials:

vintage tea cups and saucers (most came from various thrift stores)

moss (we used various kinds to get color variations)

twigs

fake butterflies

fake birds/eggs (various sizes)

other artificial flowers, twigs, and such

glue gun

scissors

popsicle stick...aka "the 6th finger"

The first thing you want to do is hot glue the teacup to the saucer so that it won't come off. Don't worry if some of the hot glue shows, you can cover that up with moss later on.

Next step is to take a chunk of moss and glue it inside of the teacup. This is where the "6th finger" comes in handy...because the hot glue is well, hot, use the popsicle stick to push the moss into the glue. Trust me, this will save you from A LOT of blisters.

 Next, glue in the various twigs and branches into the moss to create a little scene, and then add the birds and butterflies.

The last step is to add in extra bits of moss to add color, more texture, and to help fill up some space.

TA-DAH! SO CUTE! This little guy now lives in my apartment, but they were a huge hit at the wedding. (And the perfect size for cocktail table decor.)

With the bird teacups still fresh in my head...I decided to make a similar little scene as the cake topper.

{best little cake topper if I say so myself}

Stay tuned for more DIY wedding posts...!

Made with Love...Quilts

I have always loved the ida of making gifts for people as opposed to buying something...especially when it comes to baby gifts!

Working for a textile company offers numerous perks, one of them being fabric swatches! Immediately after my boss told us that she was pregnant I thought it would be so amazing to make a quilt out of swatches. 

{swatches with Fred Shand patterns}

I have made a lot of baby quilts in the past, but I don't think I have ever wanted to keep one for myself as much as this one, especially with the flame red fleece back and embroidery details!

{all stitched together with embroidery details}

{love the metallic dots!}

{final quilt, all folded up and ready for the baby shower!}

Can't wait to make more quilts with the rest of the swatches...maybe I'll even make one for myself!