Deliciousness - on a stick

I absolutely love cakepops but have never had the chance to try and make them.  They always looked so complicated and after hearing other people's horror stories about making them I avoided them as long as I could...until tonight.  I recently purchased a cake pop book which has so many ideas I couldn't wait to try one of them.

(book courtesy of Amazon.com)

I started by making a box cake (the cookbook recommended a box cake) and after letting cool I cut it in fours and started crumbling the cake.  The easiest way is to rub the pieces together and then breaking up the rest by hand. 

I then mixed 3/4 of a can of frosting with the cake crumbs to get a moist mixture.  It is easiest when using the back of a spoon to make sure the frosting and crumbs are completely mixed. 

Looks like mush but tastes incredible!

The book instructs you to then make 48 balls and refrigerate for several hours but I refrigerated the mixture first then made the balls.  I would like to say this was due to my knowledge of cakeball making but it was just by chance I read the directions wrong.  I found that the refrigerated mixture did not stick to your hands as much as the non-refrigerated mixture. 

I put the cakeballs back in the refrigerator while I got all the dipping supplies out.  I also melted the peanut butter coating and got ready to dip, dip, dip!  Although I worked on these all evening I have not completed the finished product but will give you a preview of the plain cakepops that were my trial run and will ultimately make someone at work very happy tomorrow.

(these are the ones that didn't end up in my husband stomach)

These are very simple and were my practice pops - I hope to share with you the finished product later this week. I have high hopes that it won't just be a cake pop but will look similar to one of the creatures featured in the book above.  Cake pups and bridal shower favors to follow!

All wrapped up...

I absolutely love wrapping presents, almost as much as I love buying the presents.  I put a lot of time into the wrapping and get so much joy out of the finished project.  My husband does not understand the madness behind this but he can't really complain since I always offer to wrap the presents he is giving away.  Whenever I am out and about shopping I keep my eye open for paper, ribbon, or other decorations for the gifts.  Today when I was out getting a few last minute things for an upcoming bridal shower I found the perfect wrapping accessories.  While browsing the aisles at Michael's I found Christmas floral picks that were 60% off!  My right brain kicked in and I started collecting as many as I thought I could justify buying.

(some of the floral picks I purchased)

These aren't floral picks I would use in an arrangement BUT on top of gifts they work perfectly.  I had recently wrapped my future sister-in-law's bridal shower gift and knew these would be perfect to add a little pizzazz to the gift.  I had also picked up some green mesh ribbon on sale at A.C. Moore which was for Halloween but knew I could use it for the gift as well.

(floral picks, mesh ribbon, and snowflake wrapping paper)

The snowflake wrapping paper was something I stumbled upon at Target yesterday, yes I do go shopping a lot but when you live in a big city it is hard to avoid those tempting stores.  The snowflake wrapping paper will be used for Christmas but the picks and mesh ribbon I couldn't wait to use.  I stacked my gifts, cut the ribbon, and created the gift topper (my own term). 

Taa daa....the gift is all set!!

Now I just need to transport the gift to the shower...may be the hardest part.

I always find a deal on wrapping paper, ribbon, and toppers - never pay full price!  Some of my favorite places to look for wrapping paper are HomeGoods and Target.  Target has a dollar section which often times has rolls of wrapping paper especially around holidays just need to look a bit.  The snowflake wrapping paper I found was a dollar a roll and now with the floral picks it will be perfect for the holidays.  Places such as AC Moore and Michael's also have a bin for ribbon that is a dollar.  Most spools are around 3 yards long which depending on the present size on average wrap 2 presents.   Just beware when buying the ribbon make sure it has wire in it or else your bow will be very flopping(no one wants a floppy bow).

Like I mentioned in my welcome post my creative ability has been giving to me by my mom. Every Christmas we know who the presents under the tree are for based on the wrapping and no need for tags. It also makes it easier for me to pass out the presents since I know which particular wrapping is for my dad or brother. 

(Christmas 2010 - all the presents have gorgeous bows!)

I hope someone out there benefitted from my joy in wrapping presents.  Next up cake pops and bridal shower favors.  Until next time...stay creative!

Welcome!

This is my first post ever!  I recently got married and no longer feel the need to read wedding blogs and figured I would give blogging a go to fill the void.  I am very crafy and love using my right brain unfortunately I don't get to do this on a daily basis.  I admired people such as Martha Stewart (aside from the insider trading part) and my mom.  Much of my creative ways were taught to me by my mom or passed on to me by her genetically - regardless I couldn't be more thrilled to have a love for arts and crafts.  I like to bake, decorate our front door for each season, and plan parties...I hope to share each of these adventures with you and hope I can instill the creativity in each follower.