Wednesday, January 16, 2013

GF King Cake

Just a quick note about my first attempt at a GF King Cake. My family has always enjoyed the yummy King Cake that we can get at our local grocery store. This year, we can't have them. Not wanting to deprive my family, I made some. They aren't hard to make. I used a GF french bread recipe and a king cake recipe and combined them. The result is pretty good, not exactly the same, but pretty good. I based the king cake part on this, http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/03/easy-king-cake-knots.html.

Thanks for stopping by,
Cassie

Monday, January 14, 2013

Handmade Gifts!

I usually make a few gifts each year. This year I made a few out of wood! It's not something I thought I would ever be into, but I am :) 

First up are these casserole trays from Shanty 2 Chic.
 
These were pretty easy to make and turned out nicely! I stained them with a quick wipe of a black stain I've had for years and I choose handles to match the recipients. I did of course make one for myself :) It's now on my dining room table as the centerpiece!
    
I have the world's most adorable nephew and he's just about old enough to use this adorable seat! My SIL snapped these pics for me since I forgot to! I used the free plans from Killer B Designs.
  
This chair was also pretty easy to put together. I had the most trouble with the handle holes. I used my jigsaw, but the ends of the ovals are just too tiny to get a nice cut. I had to use a dremel tool to sand the uneven cuts. It all worked out and my SIL loves the chair. Hopefully, my nephew will too! I painted the designs by hand instead of using a paint pen. I think that's the only change I made to the design. 

My next gift was a birthday gift for one of my youngest son's friends. Joshua turned 8 on New Year's Eve. I had this Lego tray pinned on Pinterest and I knew this was the perfect opportunity to build it. What little boy doesn't like Legos?
 
I found this plan on Pinterest from somewhatsimple. I got to use my new birthday present, the Kreg Jig! I ordered the Lego board from Amazon and the Lego set. I had the wood, paint and handles already. I did have to buy the Gorilla glue as I was out. It turns out it was the prefect gift as Josh likes to bring his Legos in the car!
All of these projects are easy and fun to make and I want to thank all the bloggers for sharing their designs!!

Thanks for visiting!!
Cassie

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Andrew's 8th Birthday Party & GF Rainbow Cake!

Our youngest turned 8 years old in December. We threw him a rainbow themed party. It was a blast!

Of course, we had to have the rainbow cake that's all over Pinterest. Ours had to be gluten free, so I used Hodgson Mill Yellow Gluten Free Cake Mix, http://www.hodgsonmillstore.com/en/Gluten-Free/Gluten-Free-Yellow-Cake-Mix/71518-02130-001_Group.aspx. I am glad that I did. The cake was yummy and moist! 
 I won't bore you with all the details, you can find them on Pinterest. Some things I did do differently since the cake was gluten free. I followed the cake mix directions exactly. Then I separated the mix into 6 bowls and added the gel food coloring.
 GF cake mix is thick so when I did the first layer I thought everything was over. My cake was just standing there in a pile. It was not filling the pan. After a little shaking and coaxing it looked ok.

 The cooked cakes. After they cooled, I used an electric knife to even the tops.

After frosting with a whipped cream frosting, I printed an 8 from my computer, cut it out and placed it on the cake. I then sprinkled like mad all around my 8 stencil.

 This is a pic of my piece with vanilla ice cream, yum!

 
 I made some other rainbow treats for the party like these rainbow kabobs and a rainbow layered jello with whipped cream on top.

Thanks for stopping by!
Cassie

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