Ruffled Rainbow Streamers

The thing that Bailey was the most excited about regarding her birthday party wasn't the presents.  It wasn't the cake either.  It was the decorations.  She must have asked me every single day for 2 months straight if there would be balloons and streamers at the party.  The balloons didn't exactly work out (a 45 minute wait for 6 balloons at the party store...um, no thanks), but the streamers were so awesome that she didn't care about the lack of balloons.  She was thrilled with the ruffly rainbows!

When I saw this tutorial on MADE way back in May, I knew that I wanted to try making these ruffled streamers for our birthday party.

These ruffled streamers were so easy to make!  I decided to layer three colors (red, yellow, and blue).  All you do it set the tension on your sewing machine to the highest setting (9 on my machine) and sew in a straight line.  It was a little tricky in the beginning to manage three strips at once, but I got into the groove pretty quickly and managed to create a long enough ruffled streamer to decorate my entire kitchen in about 15 minutes.  Piece of cake!

(these lasted about 2 minutes before he ripped them off)

My crepe paper was really thin, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the red, yellow, and blue streamers created a rainbow effect when layered together.  Bonus!

(the ruffled streamers in action, over in the top left corner)

The rainbow streamers were so nifty that I really wanted to keep them after the party was over, but my husband mistakenly threw them away in a fit of helpfulness.  But hey, for $3 I can make some new ones for the next party...and I didn't have to clean up the kitchen after the party, so I'm not complaining!  :)

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Muno! He's Tall and Friendly

There was a time not too long ago, when I had no idea who Muno, Brobee, Toodee, Foofa, Plex, and DJ Lance were.  Yo Gabba Gabba was just a crazy kids' show that Joel McHale made fun of on The Soup.  Even after my daughter was born, I was still clueless.  But then one day while strolling through the toy aisle at Target, it happened...

And so it began!  By the time she was three, Bailey had completely fallen head over heels for Yo Gabba Gabba.  As silly and weird as this show seems to adults, it really does teach a number of valuable lessons...always buckle up in the car, try new foods, don't say mean things to friends, and most importantly, don't bite your friends.

For Bailey's third birthday, I made her a set of Yo Gabba Gabba felt puppets...

This year's Yo Gabba Gabba birthday theme was an easy choice.  I wanted to continue the tradition of giving at least one handmade gift, but I had no idea what to make.  Then a few months ago, while on a routine (and by that I mean I feel compelled to go at least once a week) trip to Hancock Fabrics, I found a huge piece of red dot minky fabric hidden at the bottom of a big pile of remnants.  As soon as I saw it, a lightbulb went off....Muno!  He's the tall red cyclops with bumpy skin.  His shape seemed easy enough for even me to pull off.

Fast forward to 10:00pm the night before the birthday party.  My pattern making skills leave quite a bit to be desired and I was running short on time, so my Muno doll eventually transformed into a Muno pillow.  I used some scraps of black and white fleece for the eye and mouth.  In about 30 minutes, I had a soft and cuddly handmade gift.  He's the perfect companion for Bailey's Brobee pillow (purchased at Target in the kids bedding section).  Not exactly what I had in mind originally, but Jake and Bailey both love it, so I consider this a crafting success.  :)

 

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I've had so many people ask me for details about making the Rainbow Cake.  So today I'll explain a little bit more about how I made the magic happen.  Although it looks complicated, it was actually really easy!

Did I think to take pictures of the cake making process?  Of course not.  I was way too frazzled by this point in the party prep to remember to take pictures.  I'll simply explain the steps for building this awesome cake and show you the finished product, but this tutorial at Smart-Bottom Enterprises has excellent step-by-step photos of the entire process.

I started out by preparing two boxes of French Vanilla cake mix.  I used Betty Crocker, but any brand will work.  You could also use White cake mix, or any other flavor that has a whitish batter.  I should note that I added a package of Vanilla instant pudding mix and a half cup of sour cream to the cake batter, along with a tsp of vanilla extract.  I have found that this produces a nice moist cake.  Be careful not to over mix the batter since you will be mixing it even more when you add in the dye.

The next step is to evenly divide the batter into six small bowls.  It doesn't have to be exact, just eyeball it.  Now it's time to add in the dye to create the rainbow.  I used generic Target brand food coloring drops, but I have heard that Wilton gel coloring works well too.  Add dye to each of the bowls to create red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple batter.

My original plan was to mix the colors together in only three large 9 inch layers for a tie-dye effect.  The Rainbow Cupcakes I made a few weeks ago looked and tasted great, but when I found a set of six disposable 8 inch cake pans at the grocery store, I decided to change things up a bit and make a separate layer for each color rather than mixing the colors together.  I baked the layers two at a time at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  After baking, I let the layers of cake cool in the pans overnight.

The next day I leveled each layer a bit, then stacked and frosted them using a quadruple batch of Vanilla Buttercream frosting.  I topped the cake with round Wilton sprinkles and a set of wacky, squiggly candles I found in the party aisle at Target.  The Yo Gabba Gabba characters I used to decorate the sides of the cake are actually bath toys I bought from Amazon.  I glued them to the sides of the cake using a small dab of frosting.  Voila!  A crazy cake perfect for a Yo Gabba Gabba party!

Not only did the cake look great, it also tasted great!  Everyone loved it.  It was definitely the hit of the party!

If you decide to make a Rainbow Cake of your own, I would love to hear about it and see photos...happy baking!  :)

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A Yo Gabba Gabba Double Birthday Extravaganza!

This past Saturday we had a birthday party for the kiddos, also known as The Yo Gabba Gabba Double Birthday Extravaganza!  I'll share more of the details in future posts, but for now I'd like to share some of my favorite photos from the party.  Enjoy!

There was a rainbow cake...

There were presents...

There was music and singing...

There was a very messy baby getting a bath in the kitchen sink...

And when the day was over, there were two very happy and exhausted kiddos...

And one very tired pug dog...

Time Flies When You're Having Fun...

It's hard to believe that as of this past Saturday this baby girl....

 
is now 4 years old.  She's beautiful, smart, quirky, and extremely funny...she takes after her mommy!  She loves to sing and dance, pretend to be a chef in her play kitchen, play dress-up, read books, put together puzzles, and do crafts.  She's my little Mini-Me.  She keeps me in stitches all day long (when I'm not pulling my hair out.)  I love this kid!

Happy 4th birthday Bailey Rose!

It's even harder to believe that this little guy...

 

will be 1 year old tomorrow!  Zoom!  That was the last year flying by at the speed of light.  This little dude is the most laid back, happy baby I've ever met.  He likes to hang upside down, dance to the theme song from Hawaii Five-0, and lately has discovered that he can put his big toe in his mouth.  He took his first steps last week...yea!  He love, love, LOVES his big sister. He's stubborn like his daddy, and even though I'm fairly sure he'll start quoting Shakespeare before he ever says "mama," I love this little rascal too.

Happy 1st birthday Jake!

The old saying really is true...time flies when you're having fun!  :)