A kind of ugly quilt

I started this quilt top about 2 years ago. I got the pattern out of a magazine and when I finished piecing the top, I was underwhelmed. I was not motivated to quilt it because I didn't really like it. But after having it taking up space in my sewing room for a coule of years, I finally decided to finish it. I'm still not in love, but at least its done. Now I just need to figure out what to do with it.

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Another baby gift

I have another friend who had another boy so I had another excuse to make some cute baby stuff. I just can't get enough of it! I used my cricut to cut out all the shapes and letters for applique. My husband wanted to know why I did a star on the little sweater instead of the monogram like I did on the onesie and burp cloth. I was planning on it originally, but then the thought of Laverne's sweater (from Laverne and Shirley) popped into my head and I just couldn't do it, especially for a boy.

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Dora the Explorer Cake

Everything except Dora and Tico is edible. I made the house out of Rice Krispy Treats and fondant, the bridge is made from gumpaste that I put over a small can and allowed to dry, and the trees are sugar cones with royal icing piped on them. My favorite are the crocodiles in the river.

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Twins' dresses

After I made the two year old her dress, the four year olds instantly asked, "Where's mine?" Unfortunately I didn't have a pattern for their size and so I just had to wing it, using the knowledge I had gained from making the one with the pattern. The girls like them because they got to pick out their own fabric from my stash, but I wish they fit a little better. I might be re-doing the straps to get a better fit.

I know I am totally biased, but I don't think they get any cuter than this!

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Spanish World Cup Soccer/Biking Cake

This cake is for a girl who loves Spanish World Cup soccer (their colors are red and yellow) and enjoys biking.  When my 2 year old saw it, her reaction was, "It's a corn dog!" I love the associations kids make at that age. I was nervous about doing the bikes, but they were actually pretty simple and I love the way they turned out.

Sunflower Cake

It's a good thing this wasn't for anyone in my house because I would eat the whole thing myself. It's chocolate cake with dulce de leche filling and dulce de leche flavored buttercream icing. I have never made dulce de leche before, but it was super easy. You just boil a can of sweetened condensed milk for a couple of hours making sure the keep the can completely covered with water and you end up with the yummiest treat EVER!

I have received several requests for this so I am adding some basic how to's for this cake.

For the dulce de leche: For time's sake, I made it a few days in advance. Take a can of sweetened condensed milk. Put the can, unopened, in a pot and cover it completely with water. Bring the water to a boil then reduce heat so the water is at a simmer. Simmer the can for 2 hours, making sure that you add water every so often so the can is always completely submerged in water. After 2 hours of simmering, use tongs to remove the can and let it cool completely, either on the counter or in the fridge. If you make it in advance, make sure to refrigerate the dulce de leche until you are ready to use it.

For the sunflowers: These need to be made a few days in advance so they have time to dry before putting them on the cake. I colored some gumpaste a golden yellow. rolled it out to about 1/8" thick, then used this cutter (I used the 3" one) to cut the flowers. I then took the flowers, put them on a thin foam mat and used a ball tool to curve and shape the petals. I made the centers made from royal icing, tinted dark brown, that I piped into pointy dots. For the leaves, I just cut a basic leaf out of thinly rolled green gumpaste and shaped them with my hands.

For the cake: Make your favorite chocolate cake recipe and bake in two 8" round pans. Allow the cake to cool completely, then level both rounds.

For the dulce de leche buttercream: Use your favorite buttercream icing recipe and add 1/4 cup of dulce for every 1cup of buttercream. Mix until well blended, making sure there are no lumps.

To assemble: Fill the cake with strait dulce de leche, but first pipe a dam of icing so it doesn't ooze out the sides. Frost the cake with the dulce buttercream. Use some buttercream, tinted the same color green as the leaves, to pipe the stems. Add the sunflowers, using extra icing if needed to get them to stick to the side of the cake, and the leaves. I did mine at slightly varying heights around the cake. To finish, I piped a simple bead border around the bottom of the cake and piped the message on the top with buttercream.

Because the most time consuming part of making the cake is done in advance, it goes together really quickly the day of. I would love to see pictures if you try it!

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Gift Set

I made the zipper pouch and checkbook cover and added a coopdinating notebook and pen for a friend's birthday.

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