Watermelon Cake

For our Memorial Day celebration, I was in charge of the sweets. And what says summer better than watermelon? I've seen the Betty Crocker watermelon cake, and it was my inspiration, but I did not use their recipe.

You will need:
white cake mix

oil, eggs & water per cake mix instructions

a round pan (I used a Wilton soccer ball pan)

food coloring

chocolate jimmies

frosting (I prefer to make my own but I was going for fast & easy)

Mix the cake according to directions. Then add coloring until you reach your desired shade. Then add chocolate jimmies & stir.


Bake according to your pans directions, let cool & frost. And that's it! You can see my attempts to copy the stripes of a watermelon. I just dyed my frosting a lighter shade of green, frosted it and then dyed the rest a darker green. I used a spatula to add the dark green & drag the stripes. It probably would have looked better if I had used homemade frosting.


And there you have it, Watermelon Cake! You can see that the jimmies resemble the black seeds.


I hope you had a good Memorial Day! How did you celebrate?

Linked to:

Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, This Weeks Cravings at Moms Crazy Cooking, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Show & Share Day at Just a Girl, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations

Shortcake Party Picks Winner!

The lucky winner of their choice of item from Shortcake Party Picks is....

comment #1 (I can't believe it picked 1!), Kitty! Congratulations!!

Molding Candies

If you've never molded candy melts before, what are you waiting on? It's SO easy. And with as many molds as there are, you can find something for any occasion. They are inexpensive, too. I paid less than $2 for all of mine. Here are some flips flops & flowers I made for Layla's Luau birthday party.



I use Wilton brand candy melts. You can find them at Michael's, Joann's and even Walmart. Here's the colors I happened to have on hand. You can get most of these year round. I have red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, light cocoa & black. The black is seasonal, I got it on clearance after Halloween.


Blake's end of season football party was here & I wanted to make something to send with him. Last year I made grey stars by mixing black & white melts, but I went a different route this year.


You can melt the chips in a bowl & use a spoon to put it in the molds, but I prefer to use disposable decorating bags. You get much more control that way.


Wash your chosen molds & make sure they are completely dry. DO NOT put these clear plastic molds in the dishwasher!


Melt your candies according to the directions on the back of the package. These Wilton melts say 1 minute on 40%-50% power, then 30 seconds at a time after that. Clip the end of your bag and squeeze to fill the cavities. After they are full, gently tap your mold on the counter/table to get rid of air bubbles and fill any gaps. Let dry completely (I stick them in the fridge for a few minutes) and gently tap them out. That's it!


For different colored details, do one color at a time & make sure they are dry before adding the next color.






I did stars because Blake plays for the Jr. Cowboys. He took two plates full to the party and came home with none!

**Don't forget to enter the Shortcake Party Picks giveaway!

Linked to: Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Show & Tell at Blue Cricket Design, Link Party #55 at Tea Rose Home, What's Up Wednesday at Sew Woodsy, Inspired By You Wednesday at Eisy Morgan, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Funky Fresh Friday at KoolBeenz, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Foodie Friday at Little Brick Ranch, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Delicately Constructed Friday at delicateCONSTRUCTION, Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog, College Football Saturday Tailgate Party at Mom Endeavors

Our Favorite Road Trip

Somehow I never got around to sharing photos from our vacation to Martinsville, VA in 2010. I meant to, and I did share the goodies we found, but for some reason that's all I shared. I wont bore you now, but I did want to share just a bit. And I was wondering... do you have a favorite road trip? Or is there a landmark you've always wanted to see?


We first went to Virginia in 2008. We accidentally ended up on top of a mountain we hadn't planned on visiting. It was already in the 30­s outside (this was in March) and it was VERY foggy. We coudln't see a thing! Add in winding roads, me freaking out about how high we were & the kids talking about falling off the mountain. I'm sure Mike had a blast trying to drive! Finally we saw a spot to pull over. We sat for a minute and noticed the Lovers Leap sign. And then we noticed icecicles hanging from another! We checked the temperature & it was 30­°. Needless to say we rolled the windows down (to hear to turn around!) and got out of there pretty quick.


When we went back in 2010 it was much warmer & much clearer. So we decided to try again. Still a scary drive (for me... I had my eyes shut most of the way), but I'm glad we did it. Look what we saw while we were up there!



If you'd like a chance to win a trip to your favorite landmark, check out the Twizzlers website. You can enter daily!


I am entering a contest for a Twizzlers Landmark Summer prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

Shortcake Party Picks Giveaway!

Are you ready for another giveaway? This one is fabulous! It's from a shop called Shortcake Party Picks. The garland pictured above might look familiar to you... I used it for Layla's art party. And it was awesome! Really, really happy with the quality. And you can't get much cuter! Everything in her shop is completely adorable.


Like these Yarn Pom Party Picks. So cute right? Love them on the donuts.


These Tulle Pom Party Wands would be perfect for a fairy party. These are also available as picks!


If you're looking for a larger garland, she has those too. I love these Felt Fringe Garlands.


There's even a full size version of the Yarn Pom Cake Garland.


Here it is in use at the party. (it's so hard to get good pictures of the kitchen table!)

I was praying it didn't go up in flames when I lit the candles!

Wendy (yep, she's a Wendy, too!) has graciously offered one of you the chance to win ANY item from her shop! Lucky you! Here's how to enter.

Mandatory:
1. Visit Shortcake Party Picks. Come back here & leave me a comment letting me know which item you love!

Optional (for extra entries):
2. "Like" Shortcake Party Picks on Facebook. Leave her a comment letting her know I sent you. Come back & leave me a comment letting me know you did.

3. Become a follower of my blog, or let me know you already are. Leave an additional comment please.

Giveaway will remain open until 5/25/11. Good luck!!

Punch Paper Table Runner

Sorry about all the party posts back to back! I'm almost done sharing them & hope to have more things to share soon. But in the meantime, here is another.


Have you joined Pinterest yet? It's SO addictive! One day when I was browsing, I saw this picture, and thought I could so something similar for Layla's art party.


And this was simple since I had everything I needed: cardstock scraps, glue & a punch.


I wasn't sure how many I would need, so I just started punching. I somewhat layed them out so I could get an idea of how it would look & how long it might be.



Then I just started gluing. I just did it randomly, whatever looked good.



It was hard to get a picture of the whole thing!


And here it is in use. You can see it above and a little closer below.



It was super simple and a great way to use up some of those scraps I've been hoarding saving.

Oh and I didn't make it past the first round of American Crafter. But maybe it's for the better since I re-started college this past Monday. I was nervous for some reason, but it didn't seem so bad. I'm taking Ethics, and I have it twice a week from 6-9:50. But thankfully he said we will never stay that late! Thanks to those who voted for me.

What have you been up to? Seems like comments have dropped lately.

Linked to:
Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table & Dreaming, Sundae Scoop at I ♥ Naptime, Creative Bloggers Party & Hop at Homemaker On a Dime, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Talent Tuesday at Vintage Wanna Bee, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Hookin Up With HoH at House of Hepworths, Friday Favorites at Inspiring Creations, Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters, Catch-As-Catch-Can at My Repurposed Life, Funky Fresh Friday at KoolBeenz, Ten Buck Tuesday at Young Nester, Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots & Jello