Mini Cake Pop Ice Cream Cones

Happy 4th Y'all!  Oh wait, the 4th was three weeks ago......so I'm a little behind with my posts.  No problem, you can make these cute treats anytime!  They are only about 3 inches tall, barely a mouthful.....well, maybe 2 mouthfuls.

 My sister-in-law/good friend Milly and I made these for a 4th of July block party in Idaho.  So fun.

 We got the mini cones at Michaels,  We made the cake ball small enough to look like tiny scoops of ice cream.  Keep in mind they will have a few coats of candy melts which will enlarge them.

We decorated the tops with stars and large red Sixlets!  Don't they look like juicy cherries?

Hint: dip rim of cone in melted candy melts and immediately place an uncoated cake ball on top of the cone.  Let harden.  Now you can hold on to the cone to dip the cake ball into more melts!  Any drips look like ice cream melting down the cone!

Diana

Tiered Plates

Cheap plastic plates and leftover hardware from a previous project add up to a fun little "use what you have" craft day!

I picked up these two plastic plates last year at Target on the sale shelf for almost nothing.

 Won't this be cute as a gift or on the Fourth of July tablescape?  Took all of about five minutes to make so instant gratification!

Diana

Finally completed Watermelon Quilt

My daughter's computer is down so I will try and do this post for her.  I won't do it justice but here goes. 

Jenn has been working on this quilt for ages.  Not the piecing. no, that went pretty quick.  The reason this quilt was so long in completing is because she hand quilted it, as in needle in hand, each stitch individually placed, hand quilted.  I bow to her talent. 

 It is meant to be a picnic blanket, large enough for four, but would you put this beauty on the ground?  I think not.....  Maybe in a glass case, to be admired , but never ever on the ground. 

Diana

Fourth Of July on a Stick

I know we are a bit early for the 4th but won't it be a relief to know what you will be making ahead of time?

I saw these at the local farmer's market and knew they would be perfect (and delicious) to pass out at a picnic or BBQ!  Plus, anything served on a stick is super cute.  Use the longest lollipop sticks you can get (mine were a little short) and make sure they are thick enough to not wobble once loaded with the goodies.

Made with strawberries, angel food cake (cut into cubes) and blueberries, the colors are perfect.  White chocolate is drizzled on top to sweeten things up a bit more.  Once the chocolate is dried, they can be packaged in bags making them portable as well.

You could also use tradition shortbread for a heartier, biscuit like cube.  The ones at the market were made with lavender shortbread.......either way they are both delicious!

Diana

Bam!

Chocolately smooth with a kick!  That's how I would describe these chocolate suckers.  And did I mention they have "Pop Rocks" in them too?  Yum!

 One thing with chocolate, you have to use special flavor additives, otherwise the chocolate will clump and no one likes that!  I get all my supplies from Chocoley.  They have great no tempering chocolate that beats Wiltons candy coating hands down. 

I did get a little bloom on the surface but I'm OK with that.  Left them in the fridge too long.......

Diana

Old Glory Pie

I know this is a little late for the 4th but we were on vacation and I couldn't post! This pie was so easy, in fact, my granddaughters helped put it together. We used store bought everything because we were on vacation and making it from scratch just seemed like too much work! Blueberry pie filling became the blue background for the star and cherry filling for the rest. Then we used refrigerated pie crust to make the stripes and the one star! A little milk wash and sugar and some time in the oven and we had a beautiful pie for the 4th that the children loved! Diana

Flag Box

Would you believe this gorgeous vintage chest started out as a C.H.E.A.P. little pine jewelry box from my local craft store costing less than $5.00? (If your answer isn't "I can't believe it" proceeded by a gasp of astonishment.... be nice and keep it to yourself)How did I do it? Well, I painted the box black, including the latch and hinges. Next I modge podged the image on the top and let dry. Then I distressed the whole thing with sand paper, exposing some of the brass on the hardware and wood. Using brown ink, I sponged the exposed areas to add age and finally I sprayed it with matte craft spray. Yippee, It looks so expensive and is perfect for the 4th.

The image is from The Graphics Fairy and is free! Thank you Karen! Seriously, if you aren't checking out her site DAILY you are missing out big time. Diana

Fourth Of July Gifts

This Sunday is the 4th and I needed simple gifts for the teachers and leaders in the children's Primary (Sunday school)! They work so hard each week teaching the little ones so I had to do something. I had seen something like this a few months ago on a blog and so off to the store I went to get my supplies. The flag circle decorates a small bottle of bubbles. The TNT poppers were put in a bag and I printed the label (by the way, if you stable the label on, be careful not to get one of the poppers too close cuz they WILL explode....don't ask). The streamer was also covered by a strip of printed paper. Throw in some chocolate and what could be better! Here is the close up of the poppers. Soo cute.

Every thing was put in a bag with a red shovel and some shredded paper. Tied with a blue ribbon and that's that.

Here is the rear view so you can see the shovel.

For the leaders I took some of the same treats, plus some sparklers, and put them in a red bucket. Wrapping in cellophane gives it a festive look! Then I made some tags with my cricut and A Child's Year cart! Stick in a small flag and a big red bow and how patriotic!

These buckets were from JoAnns.

The tags were cut from Tags, Bags...... and were antiqued with brown ink. I also rough up the edges with the blade of my scissors. Hope the teachers like them! Happy 4th everyone! Diana