Scalloped Spring Buckets

The weather may not agree, but in my mind it is time for Spring! Bring a little cheer to your desk or home with these easy painted buckets. Use alternating colors for the scalloped design. This craft is also kid-friendly!
For this project you will need: Papier mâché bucket
Bright colored acrylic paint (like pink, yellow, or blue) and white acrylic paint
Round foam brush
Rectangle foam brush
Paper plate

Mix your paint color with a few drops of white paint to make a lighter color for the base of the bucket. A paper plate makes a good mixing palette. Paint the outside of the bucket and the handle with this lighter paint color. After the initial coat of paint dries, touch up any necessary spots. Allow the bucket to dry again. Then use your darker paint color to create the scalloped edge. To do this, use a round foam brush and blot polka dots next to each other around the top of the bucket. Fill in any gaps with the paint and also paint the inside of the bucket this color.

Allow the bucket to dry and then add some fun candy or colorful flowers inside. I made some cute flowers out of pipe cleaners to go inside the buckets. I was thinking of lavender and daffodils!

I hope that you enjoy this easy Spring craft. It also works for Easter!

Luckcakes (Lucky Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day!)

I am so happy that the first signs of Spring are finally showing! We had some 60-70 degree Fahrenheit weather temperatures recently, the daffodils outside are sprouting, and I keep seeing green for St. Patrick's Day! These lucky charm cupcakes or Luckcakes are easy to bake and make fun treats for the holiday.

You only need a few supplies for this recipe:  Boxed white cake mix Colorburst Batter Bits (green) Vanilla frosting Cupcake liners Shamrock marshmallows (from Lucky Charms Cereal)

Prepare the cake batter using the box instructions. Mix in the green colorburst batter bits. I found these in the grocery store, but you could probably find them at baking stores or specialty craft stores as well.

Line your cupcake trays with the paper cupcake liners. Fill the cups a little over halfway. Bake as directed on the box, and allow to cool. Add the vanilla frosting and shamrock marshmallows last.

These cute cupcakes are a visual delight! The Lucky Charms marshmallows are a whimsical topping, and the green batter bits make for a special surprise inside.

With these cupcakes, you'll get kissed and not pinched! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Video: Handmade Ring Dish

My latest project for WDRB in the Morning was this handmade ring dish made from air dry clay. It is easy to customize using rubber stamps and paint. Use the dish for jewelry, coins, odds and ends. If you would like to see them, here are the full instructions for this project.
I am a regular guest on WDRB in the Morning, sharing craft projects and ideas every other Wednesday. My next appearance will be on Wednesday, March 19. To see more craft projects, check out my YouTube channel or follow me on Facebook.

Handmade Clay Ring Dish

Want a fun project to chase away the winter blues? Try this handmade ring dish, made from clay. It's easy to create and brightens any dresser or counter top. 

All you need for this project is some air-dry clay and a rubber stamp or tool to press a pattern into the clay. 

Open the package of air-dry clay and roll it out into a thin layer with a rolling pin or round cylinder. 

Using a small bowl, cut a round shape out of the clay.

Once you have a round shape, use your rubber stamp or tool to make impressions in the clay. I used an initial letter stamp and a wooden dowel rod to create polka dots in the clay.

Once you have finished decorating the clay circle, place it into a bowl to mold the ring dish shape. 

When the clay dries (24-48 hours) it will hold its dish shape. You can then paint the dish. I used a metallic gold paint. This is optional, but it is recommended that you do seal the clay dish even if you do not choose to paint it. I used matte mod podge glue to seal the project. It dries quickly and strengthens the dish.

This handmade ring dish can hold jewelry, coins, hair pins, or any of those odds and ends on your dresser or vanity. You could make the dish any size or color to fit with your decor.

This project is easy to personalize and makes a great handmade gift. Something to remember when Mother's Day rolls around!

Video: Mini Mardi Gras King Cakes

I enjoyed making my mini King Cake recipe on WDRB in the Morning last week, and even got a little help from Sterling Riggs during the television segment!  Mardi Gras is one week away, on Tuesday, March 4, so you have plenty of time to get into the Holiday spirit by making these simple sweet treats at home.

I appear in regular craft segments for WDRB in the Morning, usually every other Wednesday. Locals can see me again on Wednesday,  March 5 or visit my Facebook page for the link. To see more videos, check out my YouTube channel. Thanks for watching!

Mini King Cakes for Mardi Gras!

It's quite possible that I am developing an unhealthy obsession for making miniature desserts. First it was the Mini Pies for Derby, then it was the Mini Pumpkin Pies for Thanksgiving. Now, it's Mini King Cakes (Prince Cakes?) for Mardi Gras!

King Cakes are a traditional food in New Orleans, Louisiana during the weeks leading up to Mardi Gras. The tradition goes that a plastic baby or other charm is hidden inside once the cake is cooked, and then the cake is decorated with icing and purple, green, and gold sugar (colors representing justice, faith, and power). The person who gets the piece with the baby inside must bake the King Cake for the next gathering, and so it goes until Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday.

In Louisville, we have a kinship with Louisiana, given that we are both named for French Monarchs (Louisiana for Louis XIV and Louisville, Kentucky for Louis XVI) and the Fleur de lis is a major symbol for both the cities of New Orleans and Louisville. Louisville also has the highest number of shotgun-style homes next to New Orleans.

So to celebrate Mardi Gras, I thought it would be fun to make these easy mini King Cakes, using cinnamon rolls as a shortcut to the traditional sweet bread dough.

You only need 3 simple supplies for these tasty cakes: a can of cinnamon rolls (with icing), colored sugar in gold or yellow, green, and purple, and a plastic baby!

After opening your can of cinnamon rolls (8 rolls will make 4 mini King cakes), preheat your oven as directed. My package called for 400 degrees Fahrenheit.



Take one cinnamon roll and split it at the side to create a crescent shape. Do this with one more cinnamon roll. Next, twist the ends of these two crescent shapes together and then twist into a circle.

Press the other two ends of dough together to complete the circle. This makes one mini King Cake. Bake your King Cakes as directed on the cinnamon roll packaging. In my case, I baked four mini King Cakes for 13 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

The finished mini King Cakes are so pretty!

Pick one of the mini King Cakes to hide the plastic baby or charm inside once they have been cooked. Cooking the plastic charm inside the oven is not recommended! Now you are ready to decorate. The great thing about using cinnamon rolls for these mini King Cakes is that you already have the icing too!

To make the icing go on smoothly, just heat it in a glass bowl in the microwave for about 10 seconds, and drizzle on the cake with a spoon. You must sprinkle the sugar on the icing before it dries, so I recommend icing and sugaring each mini cake one at a time.

Remember to sprinkle each cake with gold, green, and purple sugar: the traditional colors of Mardi Gras! There's really no wrong way to decorate or make these mini King Cakes. The more homemade they look, the better, in my opinion!

Don't they just look yummy?! Trust me, they are! These are the perfect treat for Fat Tuesday, right before the traditional fasting season of Lent. I hope that you enjoy making these mini King Cakes. They are so easy to make using the cinnamon roll dough and icing as shortcuts. This year Mardi Gras is on Tuesday, March 4, so you have plenty of time to make these cakes and get into the holiday spirit.

Bon appetit and as they say during Mardi Gras, "Laissez les bons temps rouler" or Let the good times roll!

30th Birthday Gift idea

I'm always looking for clever birthday gift ideas, especially for the men in my life. For whatever reason, I often find gift giving for the boys to be much harder. So because my brother was turning 30 this year, and I didn't know what to get him for his birthday, I decided to fill a gift box with other things that were celebrating their own 30th birthdays. All of the items in the gift box were introduced the same year he was born!

Things introduced in 1984:

1.Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

2. Transformers

3. Ghostbusters

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

5. Muppet Babies

6. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

7. Extra Bubblegum

8. Advil ibuprofen tablets

9. Alex Trebek as host of Jeopardy!

10. The Video Music Awards on MTV

11. The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss

12. Tetris

13. Ferrari Testarossa

14. The Apple Macintosh Computer

15. The Supreme Court rules that personally recording shows on VHS is not copyright infringement in Sony Corp of America vs. Universal Studios, Inc. (also known as the "Betamax" case)

It was fun finding trinkets and making a printout to represent all of the "30th" things I found online. This could easily be tweaked to any milestone year. It's easy to find things in an internet search and it's fun putting everything together for the birthday present!

My brother looks pleased in this picture, so I hope that means that he had a very Happy 30th Birthday!

What sort of gifts do you like to give as birthday presents? I'd love to hear your ideas--just leave a comment below.