Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

Looking for a fun cupcake idea to do for the 4th of July?  Take a look at these yummy corn on the cob cupcakes.  Visit my cake blog to find out what you need to make these for your next BBQ or picnic.

4th of July Pinata {tutorial}

Last week we made a pinata for our ward camp out.  It was so much fun that JBody and I decided we needed to make one for this weekend.  Every 4th of July we have a big family get together.  Everyone pitches in money for fireworks, which makes for an awesome show.  This year, two of JBody's brothers that haven't come in the past due to distance will we coming. One of which JBody hasn't seen in about 15 years.  We are excited for the weekend.  The kids are really excited.  They love spending time with their cousins.  To make the weekend even more fun we made a 4th of July American Flag pinata.  It will be loaded with candy, pencils, necklaces, bouncy balls, glo sticks and more.
Want to know how to make one too?

What you will need:

newspaper, balloon, flour, water

crepe paper

glue

string 

Let's get crafting:

Begin by making your paper mache.  I don't have a picture tutorial for this part.  However, it is super easy.

1. Make your glue: 1 part flour to 5 parts water (ex. 1cup flour/ 5cups water).

2. Bring to a boil over med heat and boil for 3 mins.  To make this smooth, stir constantly with a wire whisk.  You want it smooth.  

3.  Let the mixture cool.  Trust me, it will be very hot and hard to work with.  

4.  Using strips of newspaper, cover a blown balloon.  I found that I like to have at least 4 layers.  To keep track of this I do alternate layers of vertical and horizontal laying.  

5.  Let dry.  The more layers you have the longer it takes to dry.  We put ours in front of a fan for a couple days. 

6.  Begin decorating.  Here is where my picture tutorial begins.  

1. Start with your dried newspaper balloon.  By day 2 I have popped the balloon to help the inside dry faster.

2.  Drill holes at the top of the pinata to place your string, ribbon, wire, ect.  See the large hole on top?  I cut it about day 2 as well to help the inside get more air circulation. 

3.  Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut your crepe paper like so.

4. After cutting your crepe paper you will have a pile of strips like so.

5.  Cut slits about 2/3 - 3/4 inches into the crepe paper.  

6.  I like to use a brush to brush the glue onto my pinata.

7.  Going around in circles, glue your cut crepe paper onto pinata. Start from the bottom up.  For a while you will have the pinata upside with your strips facing up.  

8.  There will come a point when you will be able to flip your pinata right side up and have your crepe paper pointing down.  I like to place the pinata in a bowl to keep it from wobbling all over the place.  

9.  Find the holes that you drilled and insert a pencil or something to remove the crepe paper around them. 

10.  Using a piece of tape around your ribbon, insert ribbon through one hole and the other directly on the other side of it.

11.  You will have 4 pieces of ribbon looking like this.  Cut them so they are equal lengths.

12.  I wanted to reinforce the ribbon instead of tying it.  I used my sewing machine to stitch the ribbon together. I went forward and reverse few times to make it extra strong.

13.  Take one of your remaining strands and sew it to the two you stitched in the opposite direction.  

14.  Stitch your last piece of ribbon going the opposite direction as the last stitch.  I hope this part all makes sense.  

15.  You can use pieces of paper to embellish if you would like.  For our pinata I cut stars out and glued them on to make it look more like the flag.
There you have it.  A pinata ready to be beaten apart.  

Pizza Bites and 4th of July Treats

The other day on pinterest, I came across these yummy looking pizza bites and knew that the kids would love to try them out.  They were a huge hit.  I actually used the whole batch of Perfect Pizza Crust and it made a little over a enough for our family of 5.  I love pinterest.  I have actually completed a few projects by finding them on pinterest.  I have a bunch more to do, but I have to use my time wisely. 

PIZZA BITES
Printable Recipe

1/2 batch Perfect Pizza Crust dough
mozzarella cheese, about 20 cubed pieces
sliced pepperoni

For topping:
olive oil
Italian seasoning
grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan. Divide the pizza dough into roughly 20 equal sized pieces. Take one of the dough pieces and press in a cube of cheese and two slices of pepperoni. Pull the edges of the dough down around the filling and seal. Place in the pan, seam side down. Repeat with remaining dough. Each piece of dough should be touching each other in the pan. (It may seem crowded, but will be fine.)

Lightly brush the tops of the dough with olive oil. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature, with dipping sauce if desired.
Source:  Thank you to Pennies on a Platter for posting this for me to see.

Remember those fun, easy treats we made for Valentine's day?  You know the ones.  The cute pink and white M&M, hershey kiss, pretzel treats.  Well I made them again.  This time using white candy melts, and red and blue M&Ms.  I love how patriotic they are.  Let  me remind you how they are made.  

What you need:

Hershey Hugs and/or Kisses
Mini Pretzels
M&M (for any occasion)

Lets Get Baking:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

Place pretzels on cookie sheet and on each pretzel place a kiss or hug.

Melt chocolate for 2-3 mins

Take out of oven and quickly and carefully add an m&m or two.

Place in freezer for 5-10 mins to let settle.

So cute right?  They are addicting too.  I highly doubt they are going to make it to the 4th.  There is no way they can last 3 days in our house. 

Summer Blocks

Remember my Spring Blocks, I was inspired to make from Thoughts In Vinyl? Well she also has kits to make Summertime Blocks.  Yesterday I pulled my beloved cricut out to create my own set of Summertime Blocks.  If you don't have a cricut you can still make these blocks by visiting Thoughts in Vinyl and ordering her kits.  They are a great price and I love that you can keep them up for months at a time.  All you have to do is rotate the blocks.

Stay tuned...probably around September...when I will post my take on her Fall Blocks.

"Inbetween the Laundry" Accomplishments

Yesterday I told you that I was planning on getting lots done inbetween my laundry loads.  Let me just tell you that the 6 loads of laundry that were washed, dried, folded and put away were an accomplishment in and of itself.  However, I also was able to get some other things done as well. 

The first thing I was able to mark of my list was Razy's Room.  Awhile ago she got into her storage closet and pulled out a bag of clothes that she had already outgrown and a bag of clothes that she has yet to grow into.  She had them all over her floor.  She also had her dirty clothes mingled in with the others.  She and I were able to put the old clothes away, wash the new clothes and put them away and get the dirty laundry washed and put away.  Not only that, but I was able to go through her closet and pull out more clothes that she has outgrown.  

We Turned This....

Into This...

The first thing I was able to mark of my list was Razy's Room. Awhile ago she got into her storage closet and pulled out a bag of clothes that she had already outgrown and a bag of clothes that she has yet to grow into. She had them all over her floor. She also had her dirty clothes mingled in with the others. She and I were able to put the old clothes away, wash the new clothes and put them away and get the dirty laundry washed and put away. Not only that, but I was able to go through her closet and pull out more clothes that she has outgrown.

I don't have pictures to show of it, but I was able get the base part of our 4th of July pinata made. 

8 layers!!!  It is going to be a doozy to break. 

The playroom...the oh so dreaded playroom.  I sent the kids in there to clean while I worked on the pinata.  After being in there for about 45 mins by themselves and getting barely anything accomplished, I worked alongside them.  Sadly after about 45 mins working in there with them we only made a small dent and will be back in there today.  I told them it has to be cleaned by Friday so we can go watch Cars2.  Hopefully that is incentive for them to get it done.

Remember my Spring Blocks I made awhile back?  I finally got my Summer Blocks finished! Here is a sneak peak...

So those are the BIG things I got done.  I didn't count all the extras that we moms do during the day, everyday...

feed the kids,

clean up after the kids,

wash the kids,

play with the kids

and so on and so forth.

I really need to stop playing catch up and stay ontop of my laundry. 

Shanna has it figured out...

There are 5 of us in my family so I do the days laundry every night before I go to bed so I don't have laundry catch up days. After the kids are in bed, I throw the days clothes in the washer. Then I either watch one of my tivo'd shows, do some homework, read a book, etc. Then I throw it in the dryer and take my nightly bath and get ready for bed. By the time I am done, so is the load and I fold it and go to bed. Then once a week I only have a load of whites and a load of towels to do. I developed this system after realizing that all I do on my day off is laundry. No fun! :)

and thanks to Lynn who wrote...

So Shanna has an awesome system! My take on it? Well...instead of being even further productive while my washer takes care of the clothes cleaning, I usually end up on facebook or random blogs. Oh look, here I am! :) Can't wait to hear what you accomplished!

I am so glad that I am not the only one who gets sucked into the world of blogs and facebook, when I really should be more productive while the laundry is running.

Inbetween the Laundry

Today I am going to play laundry catch up a little.  JBody and I have plans to make two laundry dressers, but before we do so I want to catch up a little on the laundry.  Days spent doing laundry are no fun so I have decided to see how many things we can do and get done inbetween each load.  Stay tuned and I will share what the kids and I were able to accomplish today "Inbetween the Laundry". 

I would love to see what you get done inbetween your laundry.  Share with me a comment or link of what you accomplished "Inbetween the Laundry" and I will make sure to share it alongside what I accomplished. 

Happy Laundry Day...and then some.