Twiggie Makes by Candace Grahl

While I still think fall will trump any of the seasons (for me), spring still holds a soft spot in my heart. New season, new beginnings and everything is alive again. While I love the season itself, I usually opt out of Easter-type crafts since they tend to be a little too much on the cutesy side. However when I stumbled across this idea from Duncan Hines I scribbled down all the ingredients onto my shopping list and resolved that no matter how cutesy I just had to do them. So cute!! And so much fun, I might add. The best part? No-bake cookies - those are cut and decorated graham crackers you see. When I tweeted I was doing this, I got a few people asking how can you cut a graham cracker without breaking the whole thing? I thought the same thing but I am here to tell you that it can be done! Just be gentle and don’t use low-fat grahams (they’re harder to cut than the regular version). So if you’re interested in tackling some of these super-cute treats, I’ve outlined all the steps I took below. Please let me know if you give them a try!!

Easter Eggs Cupcakes

Cutting the graham crackers: It really is as easy as it looks. You can use a template or freestyle it. If you do use a template, you can take the tip of your serrated knife and drag it across the surface of the cracker, creating a traceable outline.

Then with gentle pressure begin cutting (or chipping away, really) the cracker.

It took me about 30 minutes to cut an entire box of graham crackers, all while my children ate breakfast. Easy!

Decorating the grahams: The original recipe says to use canned frosting that has been tinted, however that stuff takes forever to dry. And not to mention you make a mess tinting everything. So I picked up some bags of molding candy…

…microwaved them per the instructions on the bag…

…spooned a little onto the cracker…

…and then smoothed it over the surface.

While the candy was still wet I gave Conner some jumbo sprinkles and let him have at it.

Such a handsome assistant I have. Note to self: need to work on his “cheese” face…

And if you’re feeling really adventurous you can nuke some more candy, pour into a small sandwich bag, snip the tip and pipe more designs on the top.

After about a half-hour of decorating and another half-hour of sitting, my eggs were dry. It was so incredibly easy and clean up was a cinch! I will definitely be keeping this idea for the future. Then it was time to ice my cuppies (which I had baked the night before). This is when I say I love making things from scratch. I feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and satisfaction baking this way, however. HOWEVER. Sandra Lee is also one of my favorites and if there are short cuts to be had, take them! Especially when you’re putting more effort into one area (cutting grahams into egg-shapes to decorate) and slacking off in another (enter boxed cake mix and canned frosting). Okay, so back to the icing. I tinted it green - which I didn’t have the right shade of green but didn’t have time to run back out so had to make-do with what I had - snipped the end of a freezer bag and slipped a #12 Wilton tip into the end. Then filled the bag with icing and began piping dots…

…and more dots…

…and more dots…

…until you are all set and there is your grass.

Now just place your egg in the center of the iced cuppie and voila! Super cute, easy and fun Easter dessert.

If all of that is too daunting, you can top your cuppies with robin egg candy or buy premade egg-shaped cookies.

Aside from the shade of green that I had to use, I love how they turned out! And they really were so easy and so much fun to do. Can I say that one more time? FUN!!

Have a great weekend and a wonderful Easter!

I’ve been looking around for some Easter crafts that both my four year old and my not-quite two year old could do together. Conner, my older son, does great with crafts, stays focused until the job is done. Max, my baby….eh…doesn’t. Even when I found this easy craft of tracing an egg shape onto construction paper and “decorating” the egg with colored marshmallows dipped in elmers glue, he did about two, then thought the bowl of glue was waaaayyyy more fun than I had made it out to be. So he proceeded to submerge the same two marshmallows over and over (for 15 minutes) in the glue. Conner, on the other hand, did a beautiful job decorating his egg.

He follows instruction so well. Normally. Nine times out of ten. On a good day. Anyways, I over anticipated just how many bags of marshmallows I would need for this craft and had two packages sitting in our pantry. We’re not a family that loves our marshmallows but I also hate throwing perfectly good food away so I thought I would whip up some rice krispie treats for the holiday weekend (altho no where near as cool or as fun as Amanda’s krispie treat challenge).

And I had gotten the super-fun fruity and colorful marshmallows so how pretty would they be? Perfect for Easter right? I’ve never really enjoyed making rice krispie treats because mine always got so dry and hard. And you know I love my rice krispie treats (Kellogg’s did me a solid by making them for me). So I scoured the interwebz to figure out why mine come out so dry and I think I have it figured out. Actually, I know I have it figured out now since they are so soft and so chewy. Well, according to my fingers and the fact that Max devoured his and he’s not normally a fan of chewy stuff. Oh, and it’s only three ingredients so another reason that I will love this recipe forever and ever. Amen.

Rice Krispie Treats

(1) stick of butter
(1) 16oz bag mini marshmallows
(11.5) cups rice krispies cereal (a 12oz box is enough with maybe a cup leftover)

Okay, first you’re going to melt your butter in a large sauce pan SLOWLY. By slowly I mean kick your burner back on low (2 or 3) and let it melt without it turning brown at all. Apparently this is what makes your treats hard and dry. Who knew? I surely did not.

When your butter is melted take your marshmallows…(so pretty)

…and dump them in, stirring to coat them in butter. Keep burner on low and continue to slowly melt them, stirring occasionally. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

Remember when I got so excited that my treats would be springy and pretty since the marshmallows were? Yeah, I didn’t factor in the melting process would turn from the above to the below. Oh well. Oh, and while your marshmallows are melting, line a 9×13-inch baking dish in wax paper (read: easy cleanup) and coat paper with cooking spray.

Once your marshmallows are about 80-85% melted (I like a few chunks of marshmallows in my treats), pour half of your rice krispies into the saucepan and combine. Then add the other half and combine the mixture until all the rice krispies are coated.

Pour entire mixture into your baking dish lined with wax paper and spread it around evenly and then pressing it down firmly into your dish, either with your spoon or with your hands (I wait until it’s cooled and set-up a little bit before I roll up my sleeves and pack it down with my hands).

Once cooled (about 30-45 minutes), cut into squares, set on plates and remind your children why you are the best. mom. ever.

Max, my official taste-tester. What’d'ya think?

Thumbs up!!

Enjoy!

One of the things I am immensely thankful for in my life is the abundance of women that are in it. And not just women, but wives, mothers, close-as-sisters type relationships. This has only been something recent for me in the last five years of my life, but man is it nice! A little part of my heart always aches when I hear of women who are lacking in their female relationships.

On another note, a few months ago I felt the Lord calling me to live more simply. I did another house-purge, got rid of anything I didn’t need, didn’t want, didn’t want to hang on to, and began to look at other aspects of my life that needed simplifying. One place that I realized I was being so stingy with was my studio. I mean, you guys, I have a bonkers amount of crafts. And that’s just my studio, not counting what is in our attic. I can justify it with the thoughts of this is who I am, creating is such a big part of “me” that it make sense that my craft space reflect that, right? But when I stepped back and really took a hard look at everything I had I decided that the time had come. I was going to put my studio on a diet.

One of her trouble-spots? Paper crafts. The paper, oh the paper. The smooth, the patterned, the shimmery, the coordinating bundles of papery goodness. But not just the paper but everything that can be lumped in with the paper-crafting category: stamps, inks, embossing powders, ribbons, brads, fabric flowers, etc. etc. So I sent out an email to a few of my girlfriends who had expressed an interest in paper-crafting and told them to come over & let’s make some cards!

I totally nerded-out too. I precut lots of paper so all they had to do was assemble. Each person got their own little package of perfectly cut, scored and measured cardstock and embellishments. I will be honest that while I can share just about anything with these women (and I mean anything), the thought of leading them in the ways of the card-making made me nervous! Mainly because I wanted them to love it as much as I do. And at the end of the night when they asked to do it again, I think that spoke for it self: it was a success!

All the pretty ladies, working away.

More nerding-out with the party favors.

We had so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again. I’m already planning next months project-list and will start prepping as soon as it’s all finalized. I love my kids and I love being a stay-at-home-wife and mom but man alive is it good to have a hobby and one you can share with your girls!

*If you’re local and interested in joining me for a workshop, please email me at candacegrahl@gmail.com or leave a comment here

So my baby boy turned four last week. FOUR! How does that even happen? One minute he is this red-faced screechy little baby & the next he is my fun, smart, articulate, hilarious little man. For a few months before his birthday he kept telling me over & over that he wanted a pirate party. Just for jokes I would ask him randomly, “So Conner, you want a clown party?” or “You’ve been asking for an animal party, right?” and each time he takes a deep breath & says, “No, mom, a piiiirrrrraaaattttte party. Pirate.” Isn’t he adorable? I found a stamp set I wanted to use, gathered some paper & started planning. I definitely got into it - I mean, in the invitation I really used the term “come have a swash-buckling good time!” *insert eye roll* but it was a lot of fun, especially the cake!!

Isn’t it awesome? Beth at Taste Selects, a local bakery took my design & ran with it. Love how it turned out! I did the red cuppies to accompany it & our good friend Ryan Portnoy came to snap the pics.

cupcakes…..yummmmmmmm

This is the pennant I made, which was super easy - cut out triangles, hole punched the edges, slide cotton yarn through, hang, voila - pennant. Conner loved this thing. When hubby & I were hanging it his eyes lit up & he kept asking, “Is that for me? Is that for my party?” The concept of alllllllll of this being for him was blowing his mind.

I am such a fan of cookie favors. I highly highly recommend doing them for your next party. No annoying toys that fall out of that awkwardly small little bag, no more leaked thing of bubbles all over your car, no. Instead, you spend a fraction of the cost (even if you buy already made sugar cookies & let your kid decorate them) & your guaranteed that everyone will love & use your favors.

These are the thank you’s that I did & while they were time-consuming they were still fun. Any excuse to nerd out with paper crafts & I am there! Piecing the squares together took the most time, but after that they came together easily.

Overall the party was a blast. I got to see my little guy set loose with eleven of his most-loved peers & while it parted my hair quite a few times, they all had a great time.

Happy 4th birthday my sweet Conner!!!

Hello my peoples! This post will be short since I am tired and in nine short hours I will be facing a twelve mile run (ugggggggggg. I mean, er, yay! go running!). There is much on the horizon and while I am so excited about it, I am finding myself feeling so overwhelmed. And after cleaning my entire house from top to bottom (first form of therapy), I tinkered around with some new dies and let out some more of my pent up energy.

I’ve wanted this cupcake die for awhile now and it’s every bit as cute as I thought it would be. And red, pink and brown is such a sweet combination. Almost as sweet as pink and teal, but that’ll be the next attempt.

Okay, that is all I’ve got today. Have a fabulous weekend!

I hear you guys loud and clear, “no more cast-offs as giveaways!” and message received! To be perfectly honest I am surprised I even got seven commenters, I was thinking it would maybe be one or two. But either way, to the seven of you thank you for your desire for my clothes. And to the rest of you, no harm no foul right? And the winner is my Canadian blogger-friend Heather - congrats Heather! Email me your addy today before 4pm EST and I’ll get your prize in the mail this afternoon, otherwise it may be a few days.

Craftiness has not been abounding too much around here but I am seeing it peek it’s head out to say hello a little more often. Not quite sure what that’s about but I am embracing whatever I can.

I made this card for a new friend, Lisa, who is one of the most talented artists I have met in a while and apparently had a blog but doesn’t keep up with it anymore (which is a shame because she should be sharing her gifting with everyone *wink, nudge*). Anyways she hosted a scrapping class, which was AWESOME and I can’t wait to share the finished product when it is completed, and I wanted to send her a thank you for her hard work prepping all the material. I am really digging vintage-inspired paper crafts, especially vintage-parisian. I may have to do this card a few times over since I love love love it!

I also whipped up some thank you cards for Amanda that were part of her baby shower gift (which I will share shower pictures later - so much pink!) and then a few extra for me because I was quite smitten with them.

I mean, birds, red and aqua, hello! LOVE IT!

Speaking of, don’t you love when you’re going about your daily life and you turn around (or look down in my case) to see something that makes your eyes adjust a little more quickly and then it clicks what you’re seeing and a smile begins to spread across your face?

Something about the red strawberries in the teal colander and I found myself staring at it for a few moments, letting the depths and richness of the colors settle into my brain and I had to take a picture. It just makes me so happy! I’m pretty sure I will visit this photograph in the winter when the trees are dull and bare and color is not the only thing in hibernation. It was another moment where I found myself completely in awe over color and what a gift it really is.

So I’ve been bit by the cleaning and organizing bug again. It struck shortly after Max’s birthday party when I had a serious balancing act going on in our pantry. I did a major cleaning and organizing overhaul in January and have done a fabulous job at keeping it up (if I say so myself) but you know how it is - drawers and closets grow untidy slowly and then all of a sudden it’s out of control.

So two bags of trash went out, followed with three more bags of clothes I no longer want, and then I found this little gem:

I stitched this back when I was learning how to embroider and I made it as a gift for someone that I don’t remember now. I wanted to keep it but realized 1) I have a bazillion white tank tops (am I the only one? Isn’t it impossible to have just one? Or seven?) and 2) I know I will never wear it. That’s why I kept it, thinking I would and yet almost three years later and nothing. So I’m going to give it away here.

It’s an Old Navy brand tank top, never been worn, hand-stitched, and a size medium. Don’t limit yourself if you’re not a medium, I’m sure you can think of someone to give it to. I want Miss Kitty to go to a loving home, but even if not I want it out of mine. So leave a comment telling me how many tank tops you own (because before my clothing purge back in January I easily had fifty, no. joke.) so I know I am not the only one who thinks you need a tank top for literally every occasion.

So…I’ve been MIA the last few…err…months. What’s that? You hadn’t noticed? That’s okay, I don’t think I realized either just how long it had been. This blogging thing can get tricky, especially when you decide not blog about the things in your life you want to talk about all the time: your children. They occupy 90% of my awake time and that’s not unreasonable. I just didn’t feel like splitting that time with them for anything else. And then when I would want to blog it just felt empty. And boring. Incredibly boring, actually. But just like every creative individual who has gone before me, when creativity finally strikes you can not stop it and then voila! Something to blog about.

Two weeks ago my hubby gave me the best “because I love you so much” gift by letting me go to the beach by myself for a few days. My parents had rented a house and wanted all of us to come but mothers of small children know vacation is not always a vacation - sometimes it’s just being away from home without the comforts of home. So I declined their offer. But hubby said I needed some time away and since he works for himself, no need to ask a pesky boss for the time off to watch the boys. I was very anxious about leaving them - very. I had not left them for more than a day, and they are not only my job, they are my life. However once I was in the car on my way, listening to *my* choice of music, it didn’t seem so bad. And when I woke up the first morning to sunshine streaming through my window and got to get up not to the sound of a baby that was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, not fix a bottle and not be forced to care for anyone but myself I was incredibly happy to be there.

I went for a run, spent time on the beach in solitude, drove around the island that I had spent so many summers there before, do whatever. I. wanted. It felt amazing! And while the vacation was truly a vacation, the best part is I got to step back from my life and see everything about it in a new perspective. I was able to fall in love with my life again. And not just my life, but where I am in it right now. It’s so hard to not get down about the things I can’t do, places I can’t go, or dreams I can’t chase because I am tethered to my children right now. But being away from them, tasting freedom just enough energized me in every facet of my life and sent me home with a new respect for it and also a new attitude. Those three days alone were the best thing I have done for myself since becoming a mom over three years ago.

So here I am and slowly reacquainting myself with my craft space. I felt I couldn’t just barge in there, rummaging through stuff. I had to proceed slowly…after all she has been severely neglected! And while I love to crochet and have quite a few projects that are started and remain sitting in baskets around the house, my new craft genre du’jour is paper crafting. It’s easy, it’s quick, it makes a huge mess but sometimes that is very satisfying - seeing the sweat of your brow, even if it means tons of little paper scraps are strewn all over your floors.

I’ve had some of my paper for years, always wanting to play with it but never actually giving it too much time. But lately I’ve been inspired by some of my card-making friends and have been dabbling in it more and more and find it’s another great craft that doesn’t require too much time, energy, or money.

Aren’t the colors of these cards so fabulous? They were inspired by one of my favorite bloggers and etsy shop owner, Paper*Cakes. I love the vintage hue’s of the blue and pinks. So gorgeous! These cards are probably my absolute favorite and I will have a hard time parting with them. I thought about selling some of them in my shop so they may make an appearance soon, along with some other cards that get completed. This one is my favorite, hands-down.

I will hopefully be working on a new site design because this one I am no longer feeling. Need something more *me* and not so streamlined. This one seems to lack the fun-factor. No flair. Maybe that will help keep the bloggy-mojo coming.

*Sigh* It feels good to be back.

You guys sure know how to give a warm welcome! I will say I had this pang of “what if no one cares I’m blogging again?” as I clicked the publish button, but then I knew whoever did visit and leave those wonderful comments, that would be enough. And your enthusiasm! Seriously guys, you’re so awesome. I’m happy to have each one of you back and reading. Tim fixed my RSS feed, so if that’s how you keep up with blog-reading now you can get the updates here that way.

Just some eye candy to share for today. One of my favorite stationery companies, Cavallini & Co., came out with this set of alphabet flash cardsand as soon as I saw them I had to get them.

The illustrations are so awesome and the color combo’s are fantastic

Red and Aqua! The letter U is now my favorite

I rationalized the purchase since Conner’s birthday was coming up and he loves any kind of game where cards are involved (I can’t wait until he’s old enough to play Uno since no one else will play with me).

As I mentioned before I am a new Stampin Up! demonstrator and am having so much fun already. I love paper, I really do. I mean, I rub it - hello!! I’m doing more and more with paper crafts and stamping and it’s a lot more fun than I think people give it credit for. Cards can be kind of intimidated - so many layers you can do and so many techniques to learn - but I started small and I’m finding myself getting more and more bold with my ideas.

I’ve had this stamp set for awhile and had never used it. So I made this card for my moms birthday with my fave color combo dujour - coral and blue. It’s totally springy and something about the color coral I’m really digging right now. It’s feminine without being girly. I love pink (or pank as we southerners say) but sometimes I’m not feeling pink-y and that’s where coral can step in and be exactly what I need.

This other card I was just messing around with since I just got the stamps in the mail on Monday. I love it so much - it’s so modern and I can’t wait to try out more stuff with it (on t-shirts and onesies especially).

Little man has been sick and I have lots to catch up on now that he’s feeling better so that’s all for today. Over and Out.

Heh-looooooooo my peoples! How the heck are you?? I just want to say that I have missed you all SO MUCH! It was nice taking a much-needed break and coming back to a beautiful new site (thanks to these guys) and I am so happy you’re here! If I could see you in person I would force a very strong and awkward bear hug on you.

Let’s play some quick catch-up first but I don’t want to dwell on that too much because I am loving living in the present! Okay *deep breath* Went to So You Think You Can Dance tour, met them backstage, got to hug Joshua (!!!), had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, realized I was struggling with Post-Partum Depression (again), Max started crawling, cleaned, de-cluttered and organized the entire house (it took a whole week but man did it feel gooooooood) Conner turned three years old (*sniff*), depression lifted (God is so good!), lost twenty pounds (fifteen more to go), signed on as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator (no worries I will not accost you, I’m purely a hobby demo), updated my etsy shop, STARTED BLOGGING AGAIN and here we are! I really do wish to hear from each you, esp. those who followed me from Laughing Daisies.

Much to blog about, but I need to say something first and this is more for my benefit than anyone else’s. A line in the sand of my mentality, if you will. I love blogging. I love connecting with people, inspiring and being inspired by others, but the pressure to blog just for the sake of doing so will not be found here. I hung that up and left it over at Laughing Daisies and do not want it here. Here there is freedom to come and go as I please. So if I disappear for a bit it’s only because I’m living my life and enjoying every moment and will be back to tell you all about it as soon as I can.

Now my first order of business it to empty out my newly stocked etsy shop and I’m hoping you guys can help me with that. These hats are probably one of my favorite things I’ve made so far. It makes my ovaries cry so hard and ache for a girl because how adorable!! I am also doing commission orders as well, so if you’re looking for something a little more personalized, email me, let me know you’re interested and we’ll work out all the details.

This is my friend Jen’s little girl, Anna. She’s so cute and was a great model!

And these guys are new too. After making them for the hats, I made a few and made them into brooches and I *heart* them so much. I am torn between the berry and the soft teal.

And the clutches. The old, trusty clutches. Just when I think I am too bored with them to make more, I finish one and I’m totally in love with them again. These, however, might be the final ones for a long time, so if you just lurve them so much, snatch one up because I seriously think I am done with them for awhile.

And that’s all I got for today. It has been awhile so I’m going to pace myself but can I just say again how good it feels to be back at this? Love it! How are we feeling about the site? The picture of my stellar hair on the sidebar is goofy so I don’t know how long that will stay there, but for now it will suffice since it’s the most recent one of me. Links are also on their way, they just didn’t make the time-cut for the launch. But seriously, enough about me, how have YOU been?