Cake on the brain

Its been all things cake around here lately, yesterday I splurged and made a chocolate cake with strawberry filling and banana ganache frosting and when the husband came home from work he surprised me with a slice of vegan cheesecake! So. much. cake! So its only natural I keep the theme going with this totally adorable Princess and the Pea cake from Amy Atlas. It might be one of the sweetest little things ever, perfect for any girly girl. You can follow the tutorial available and make your own little bed...of course mine would never come out quite this perfect. If only fondant was vegan it would make cake decorating so much easier.

image via amy atlas

Personal pinatas

I've been working on a little something special for an almost 10 year old and I must say, I was surprised at how well it came out. I've never attempted a small pinata before so making 2 that looked like numbers was a bit intimidating but turned out to be really simple. Its the perfect personal pinata for tabletop smashing. Take a peek below to see how I constructed the numbers.

Since I wanted it to be slightly sturdy but easily breakable, I used 2 pieces of 12x12 cardstock for the number templates. Cut two of each design for front and back. 

I had just gone to Costco a few days before I started and had an empty rice milk box hanging around so I got to cutting for my sides...its always best to reuse items whenever possible. To assemble, I cut the cardboard to size for all the edges and used washi tape to hold everything while I pieced it together. Be sure to leave an opening to fill the pinata.

Once everything was in place, I used strips of duct tape to give it a little sturdiness but left one or two spots that can easily be ripped open...nothing worse then a package of goodies you can't get into.

Once you have the shapes ready to go, fill with all kinds of tiny bits of fun and tape it up.

For the fringe I actually painted white streamers {again, use what you got!} this teal color, the birthday girls fav, and cut into strips. Once you have tons of strips, cut out all the fringe.

Apply the paper to the cardboard with a little tape and you have yourself a handmade pinata made with love. Happy crafting. 

images by our designed life

DIY terrarium

I've always had a love for terrariums and these easy DIY hanging ones from Ruffled would be perfect in any small space or office. You can find the tutorial here, I can't wait to try out one of these- I've even got most of the materials already! I just love how creative folks are out there, they make the sky the limit when it comes to finding inspiration. I'm finally getting the hang of growing plants indoors {its very different from gardening people!} and actually have a few air plants already growing. Have you made anything you found online? There are so many great crafts out there, in fact, I just came across Craftgawker and can't stop clicking through page after page of crafty goodness.

photo via ruffled 

DIY fabric bracelets

Moving is finally almost over!  We are still waiting to get our internet hook up, thankfully someone near me has wireless otherwise I would have gone crazy, just a day and a half in and I was already over 30 emails.  In the mean time I've been slowly unpacking and trying to figure out where everything is going to go.

One spot I need to get back up and running asap is my crafting space because these seemingly simple jersey knit bracelets from V and Co. are the perfect little accessory for summer.  I have teeny tiny wrists, so a DIY is perfect!  Do you have any projects lined up?  I've started an entire bookmark just for things I just have to try and its starting to get out of control.  But these babies, there are moving to the top.  You can see the entire DIY tutorial over at V and Co.

photo via v and co.

Colorful ideas

I just love collecting fun ideas for parties and special events, and this colorful mobile tutorial from Project wedding is one to add to the growing stack of inspiration and projects hopefully for future use.  Made from vellum, there are step by step instructions on how to create your own colorful centerpiece.  I could even see these as a great focal point in a room on a regular basis, plus they are so simple to make, you can switch out colors as often as your little heart desires.

photos via project wedding