Tastefully Crafted

Sweet Shop Party and Nail Art

2011-06-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Sweet Shop Party from The Simple Craft Diaries.

More ideas and inspiration from Passion for Parties.

Cupcake nail art DIY from Cupcake's Clothes

Cupcake Papercrafts

2011-06-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

Wall hanging from Doodle Buddies

Adorable card tutorial from Two Paper Divas

Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Mini Pepper pinatas from Disney Family Fun:

Not really a craft, but too adorable not to post - sombrero cookies, also from Disney Family Fun:

And a little off topic, notepad covers made from soda cans with Two Paper Divas:

Sweet Earrings

2011-04-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Peeps earrings from this is katie

Candy wrapper earrings from Creative Itch

Delicious Pillows

2011-04-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

These aren't crafts, but they could very easily become crafts. So right now, it's more for the idea than the actual product.

Ice cream sandwich pillow from Urban Outfitters

Mustard packet spill (and ketchup) from Etsy.

Easter Crafts

2011-03-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Crepe paper carrots (with a surprise inside) from Martha Stewart

Felt Easter Eggs from Hippos and Dinosaurs

Template for a cute Peeps shirt from Petit Design Co

A few sweet treats

2011-03-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Coffee plaque from Christine & Co

"Sweet tooth" pouches from Punkin Patterns

I don't even have an iPhone, nor do I have a felt case for my Droid, but I'm considering using one just so i can have this Wonka Bar phone case from Crafting With Cat Hair. So cute, and one of my all-time favorite movies!

Strawberries and Socks

2011-03-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Strawberry hair clip tutorial from Sew Homegrown:

Sock cupcakes from Seven Thirty Three:

Plush Sweets

2011-02-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

A few plush cakes and pies today. First are these cute tarts from Sew Can Do:

Next is a sliced felt birthday cake from There is Beauty All Around:

And last, an adorable cupcake pillow from The Red Deer:

A few sweet things...

2011-01-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the Valentine's Day theme, here are some cute conversation heart soaps from Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom:

Next is some absolutely adorable cupcake wall art from Krafty Kat:

And finally, a challenge to the play kitchen I posted a little while ago: Taylor Made also used a night stand, and I have to say, the result is amazing!

Candy Crafts!

2011-01-21T11:27:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and those little conversation hearts are everywhere in the stores, but I haven't seen as many crafts with them as I thought. Still, here's a good one: conversation heart wreath from Crafts & Such:

And here's a great cotton candy (fairy floss or candy floss to the Brits) garland from Craft Snob, the perfect sweet and feminine decoration:

Lastly, take a look at these incredible flowers from Creative Jewish Mom - they're made from Fruit Roll-Ups!

Candy Heart Pillows

2011-01-16T08:49:00.000-08:00

Love Valentine's Day conversation hearts? Here's a great tutorial on how to make pillows shaped just like them from Sweetie Pie Bakery!

Play kitchen and more felt food

2011-01-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

Got an old nightstand? Turn it into a play kitchen with one of the best upcycles I've ever seen! Visit Pie Birds, Buttons, and Muddy Puddles for the tute!

Also, One Pretty Thing has yet another round up of felt food - it's got some great stuff, but some of it looks pretty familiar.

Candyland Birthday Party!

2011-01-06T07:59:00.001-08:00

I just stumbled across this insanely cool Candyland-themed birthday party! They turned their whole yard into a giant game board with each of the different "areas" from the game! Go check it out!

Da-who Dor-aze!

2010-12-30T07:38:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, I decided to start a new tradition - recreating a famous scene from a Christmas movie in gingerbread. I'll be doing this every year, hopefully. I decided to start with the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! It took me two whole days, and while it's certainly not professional, I'm proud of it. For my first time I think it's pretty good.

I started off by printing off the characters on photo paper, as per the instructions on University of Cookie.

I used those as a pattern for cutting out the dough (warning: it takes forever!)

It required a lot of baking (I made extras of everything, just in case, which was pretty useful in the end). The project took over the whole kitchen for both days. Sitting on the stove are pans of triangles - I made those to use as bases to get the Whos and buildings to stand up. It worked perfectly!

I used royal icing for the outlines, and then tried to do flood icing inside. It didn't really work - the tips clogged about every 2 centimeters, and I had to keep stopping to try to fix it. It took at least twice as long as it should have. I was using a fairly large tip, too - maybe the icing was just a little too thick?

The Whos getting their clothes. In the end, I only used about 4 or 5 colors for the clothes, just so I wouldn't have to keep coloring new batches of icing.

One of the Whos standing! And Mom said it would never work. The triangle on the back is attached with regular icing.

The finished village! The trees around the back are ice cream cones with green frosting, and the star on the Christmas tree is cut from tin foil (Dad did it). Yes, I know it's not exactly show-stopping, but for my first time, I think it's pretty good.

Close-up. I ran out of icing before I could finish Cindy Lou Who (hence the ornament not being filled in). My problem was tinting too much icing for each color in the beginning - it meant I ran out just before the end.

Another shot of the village with all the singing Whos. I love their hair. All in all, I think it's a success!

Cupcake Crafts

2010-12-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post today: All Things Cupcake did a post on cupcake crafts including a cute game for kids and little cupcake washcloths. Go check it out!

Peppermint Candle Holders

2010-12-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Want your house to smell like Christmas? What better way than with peppermint candles! They look pretty and smell great! First we have an easy one from Crafting for the Uncrafty:

And now, for the slightly more advanced crafter, here's an elegant one from The Mother Huddle:

It might be hard to get the hooks to line up so it will sit evenly, but the finished product is worth it!

And still more cupcakes!

2010-12-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's an old trend in the food world, but in the crafting arena, cupcakes are still a hot topic. So here are a few of my favorite cupcake crafts.

First off, here's a tutorial from Turtle Taylor for making your own cupcake bath bombs. I used to love these when I was little.

And another one that could have gone with yesterday's post, here are some absolutely fantastic plush desserts

from Meet the Dubiens:

And now for the more seasonal items - cupcake Christmas ornaments! Our first is a full tutorial from Bake It Pretty:

And finally, my favorite cupcake ornaments so far (and I've seen a lot), these adorable ones from Kiwi and Kiki's Etsy shop:

Make sure to check out their full menu of ornaments. Delicious!

Kid Craft: Cupcakes!

2010-12-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Classes are over! Hooray! Ah, it feels good to not have homework for a few weeks.

I know I haven't posted a kid craft in forever, so to make up for it, here are two. First up, for the baby-toddler range:

Here's an easy-to-make cupcake matching game from Naptime Crafters. View the complete tutorial here.

Next, for the older kids:

Tiny cupcakes made from pipe cleaners and pom poms, from She Wears Flowers!

Hope you're all making progress on your Christmas lists (and crafts, and sweets). Have a good weekend!

Fruit Art

2010-12-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Great craft from Crafts By Amanda that's making the rounds. View the tutorial to see the original that inspired these - honestly, I think Amanda's are much better!

Happy December!

2010-12-01T19:48:00.000-08:00

It's finally December - hooray! I finished my novel and we've only got a week and a half left of the semester, so life is good.

December: 5 Things in the Food and/or Crafting World I Love Right Now (in no particular order):

1. Bento! I've been obsessed for a while, but I haven't had time to make any. I'm hoping to start over the break. You can find a whole bunch of great bento sites in the box on the left, and they've all got some really creative stuff, but right now my favorite is Bentolicious.

2. Papercraft cards! I'm not sure exactly how to go about making them, but this is definitely the way we're making Christmas cards this year. My current favorite site: Ready, Set, Craft!

3. Extreme gingerbread houses! Neiman Marcus' Fantasy Catalog has a life-sized (for kids) edible gingerbread house by Dylan's Candy Bar. Naturally, Slashfood had to make on to keep up (but NM still wins). I'll be watching this trend with great interest.

4. "Gourmet" Jewelry. Jared's is now carrying the Le Vian Chocolatier jewelry collection (see the Chocolatier info here), featuring chocolate diamonds and pearls, strawberry gold, and raspberry rhodolite. I've never been a jewelry person, but I'd wear this line!

5. Creating your own cookie cutters and/or making cutout cookies without the cutter! For a video on the latter, head over to University of Cookie, which is a fantastic resource. That post doesn't have pictures, but here's a great one from the same site:

Adorable, right? This is going to be especially useful as I get ready for the Christmas party. I have plans...impossibly grand plans. Is there any other kind?

Here's to a great December!

A few ideas for fall...

2010-11-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

Three weeks left of this semester. Three weeks and I'll be able to craft again. And, you know, sleep. And then I'll be back to updating this site more regularly. It can't happen fast enough. But anyway...

First of all, I had to share this. No, it's not a craft, but it IS adorable. I'm definitely making one of these. It's...

these amazing turkey apple tarts from MirandaMade! So simple! So pretty!

Next is an old idea from Martha Stewart - it's been around for a few years, but it's still good.

Squash bowling pins!

And finally, from No Biggie, we have

apples made out of book pages!

I'm not exactly sure what you'd do with this, but it would make a really cute ornament.

Have a good week!

Gingerbread Advent Calendar

2010-11-14T07:55:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I haven't been updating more - this month is just killing me. Part of it is my own fault - it's National Novel Writing Month, so in addition to school, work, and the blog, I'm also writing a mystery. All of this leaves no time for sleep, leaving no time for crafting. Ah well - come December, I'll have time to craft again.

Today's project is from Pam Harris over at Gingerbread Snowflakes, who is easily one of the nicest people I've met through blogging. I love her blog - it always full of great ideas. And today's idea is...

...this adorable gingerbread advent calendar! I've seen a lot of great advents, but this definitely looks the tastiest! Follow along with the tutorial here!

Gingerbread House Ornament

2010-11-09T19:56:00.000-08:00

It's still early in November but I've got Christmas on the brain...and the end of the semester! So here's a gingerbread ornament from Sew, Mama, Sew!

So easy, so cute!

Apple Garland

2010-11-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Today was absolutely freezing, literally - and that's a big deal in Georgia. Just over a week ago, it was in the 80s. So in honor of the fall weather (and pretty colors) that decided not to happen this year, here's a pretty apple garland from Roots and Wings Co. I miss you, fall!