Rook No. 17: recipes, crafts & creative nesting

The Sweetest Summer Cake ~ Beach Bucket Cake Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn "Rook No. 17") — Tue, 29 May 2012 10:49:56 PDT

This is a cake that anyone can make

no matter what your level of baking

or cake decorating skill!

It's fun, whimsical, and very versatile!

It takes little time and little money,

but makes a big impression!

Perhaps you've noticed that things around here have been pretty quiet lately. That's because it's the last week of school for my girls, and the year-end activities have my head spinning -- 5th grade play, teacher gifts, class parties, and the school carnival just to name a few. Every year the school carnival has a cake walk, and since I'm a cake artist, my girls have come to expect me to donate something fabulous to the event. So what's a busy mama to do? We got home from the school play at 8:30 last night and I still had homework to do. Thank goodness I have a few tricks up my sleeve for occasions just like this!

All wrapped up for the "Cake Walk"

The Beach Bucket cake is the perfect cake for any occasion where you want a delicious dessert with "WOW" factor, but not a lot of time. You can use any type of cake, filling and frosting. You can use mini pails to make individual cakes for birthday parties too. Here's how it's done...

Beach Bucket Cake

A plastic pail/bucket and shovel

I purchased mine from Michael's Crafts for $1 each

Any type of cake

You can use homemade or store-bought cake. You can layer cupcakes or chunks of cake like a trifle, or use layer cakes as I did. For layer cakes, measure the inside of the bucket to determine the size of cakes you need. To fill the bucket close to the top, you'll need four layers. I used only three.

Any type of frosting

You can also use a filling like mousse, preserves, or custard between the layers. Fresh berries and whipped cream make a wonderful compliment to white or angel-food cake.

Edible "sand"

Graham Crackers (5 full crackers)

2 Tablespoons Raw Sugar

1 teaspoon Black Sugar

You can purchase the raw sugar in most grocery stores.

The black sugar is made by Wilton and can be found in the cake decorating section of most craft/hobby stores.

Decorations

Chocolate Seashells

(You can make your own with a Wilton mold and candy melts, or they can often be found pre-made at Cost Plus or Trader Joe's).

Step 1: Wash bucket and shovel with warm soapy water. Rinse and dry.

Step 2: Place one layer of cake in the bottom of the bucket. Top with filling or frosting. Continue to alternate cake and frosting/filling until you're satisfied with the height of the cake. The top layer should be of frosting.

Step 3: Make the edible "sand". First, reduce the graham crackers to an ultra-fine meal in a high-powered blender or food processor. Place in a bowl and stir in the raw sugar and black sugar.

Step 4: Dump the "sand" on top of the frosted cake and spread out to give the illusion of a bucket full of sand.

Step 5: Insert the shovel, then decorate the sand with edible seashells.

I made little flags out of scrapbook paper and paper straws, and stamped the type of cake on the back. My Beach Bucket Cakes were carrot cake made from the Joy the Baker recipe (omitting the walnuts and raisins), and were frosted with my homemade vanilla bean cream cheese icing.

Life's a Beach!

Enjoy!

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This post has been shared with:

Vintage Images & Etchings ~ A Little Birdie Told Me...No. 73

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn "Rook No. 17") — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:10:15 PDT

It means so much to have you take the time

to perch here and feather the nest with

your creativity each week!

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Welcome to
"A Little Birdie Told Me..." Tuesday No. 73!

If you're here to share a craft, recipe or project post,

you'll find the linky and the specifics on how to

join the party after the features below.

--------------------------------------

You're a swell bunch of birds!

This week's features are a collection of vintage images and "etchings" that were shared last week.

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Vintage Puzzle PDFs
from My Shae Noel

A collection of 10 Vintage
Children's Puzzles

8x10 Vintage "Summer" Print

from Printabelle

Personalized Etched Pyrex

from Sweet Anne Designs

A wonderful hostess, housewarming, shower or wedding gift!

---------------------------------

If you've been featured

(here or on Facebook)
feel free to grab a "featured on" button
from the sidebar.

---------------------------------

Now it's time to link-up and share your creativity!

PLEASE DO

1) FOLLOW Rook No. 17 with GFC or Linky Followers

2) LINK-UP -- Link-up the URL of a specific post -- all forms of creativity are welcome.

3) POST THE BUTTON OR A LINK-- Grab the code for the button (below) and paste it into your sidebar or the body of your post.

4) VISIT ONE other link

5) COMMENT (optional) -- As this party grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to visit each and every link without neglecting my family for an entire day (or two). So, here's my promise to you -- Leave a comment and I will guarantee a visit and a thoughtful, genuine comment back.

PLEASE DON'T

Link up items you have for sale, Etsy shops, or links to your own linky party. If you have something for sale, please refer to the "Advertise" section.

HOW TO:

1) click your cursor in the code box,

2) right-mouse click and "Select All",

3) right-mouse click and select Copy.

4) Paste the code into your sidebar or post.

REMEMBER TO
Visit ONE other link and leave them a comment.

The links are featured from newest to oldest,

so everyone gets a chance to go "first".

Ombre Swimsuit DIY ~ Easy Summertime Tie-Dye with Tulip

noreply@blogger.com (Jenn "Rook No. 17") — Mon, 21 May 2012 07:56:31 PDT

Summer Fun with Tulip Tie Dye!

Summertime -- it's almost here and I can practically taste those cooling-down-by-lemonade afternoons, soft serve cones dripping all the way down my arm, the faint flavor of sunscreen-kissed foods and the salty sea air!

Will you be spending some time poolside or on sandy banks or shores this summer? Why not make a creative splash into summer with an afternoon of easy tie-dye, customizing your own bathing suits and beach towels?

A glance into current catalogs, magazines, and stores reveals that apparel with a chic color gradient (ombre) is one of the hottest trends in summer fashion! With a Tulip Tie Dye kit from Walmart, Walmart Canada, Michaels, JoAnn, A.C. Moore, Hobby Lobby, Hancock Fabrics, or Meijer (Tie dye kit contents and colors may vary by store) you can create your own designer looks at home!

Saks Fifth Avenue, $134

Tulip dyed suit, less than $20

With the Tulip Tie Dye Kit, you're not limited to a single technique. In fact, the kit comes with instructions for 14 different ways to dye with style (that sounds a bit funny, doesn't it?).

Here's how my girls and I made the ombre swimsuits and beach towels using Tulip Tie Dye:

Materials

Tulip ® One-Step Fashion Dye Kit (there are 16 kits to choose from)

(I used the Lime, Orange and Blue from the 5-color kit)

A Tulip Surface Cover

(to protect your work area)

Plastic gloves & Rubber Bands

(come in the kit)

A pitcher of water

An empty bucket

(for wringing excess dye)

A rag or paper towels

(just in case there are any spills)

Spray bottles

(optional: only if you're looking for a very light effect on thin fabric)

OMBRE BATHING SUIT DIY

Start out with a a plain white bathing suit or swim trunks. I purchased mine from Dharma Trading online. I was thrilled with the trunks, which were only $9. The racer back bathing suit, however, is made of cotton and is more like a leotard. It is transparent when wet.

Step 1: Wash and dry swim suit using no fabric softener or dryer sheets.

Step 2: Prepare your work area (I prefer to work outside) by spreading the Tulip Surface Cover. Put on the plastic gloves.

Step 3: Choose a color scheme. The shorts and suit pictured above use one dominant color and one accent color. Start by filling dye bottle of the dominant color 1/3 with water. This ultra-condensed dye will form the baseline of your gradient.

Step 4: Use the nozzle of the dye bottle to apply a row of color along the bottom of the suit. Use a gloved hand to rub the dye into the fabric. You may need to flip the garment and add more dye on the other side.

Step 5: Using the pitcher of clean water, fill the dominant dye bottle to the top with water. Saturate another row of color. You'll use about half of the bottle.

Step 6: Continue refilling, dyeing a row, then refilling again to create progressively lighter bands of color.

Step 7: As you near the top 1/3 of the garment, pause to fill the accent color bottle with water. Amount of water will depend on the desired intensity of color. Apply a band of accent color to the garment.

Step 8: Continue to apply progressively lighter bands of color to the suit until you've reached the top.

Step 9: You can stop here, or for a more subtle blending of the accent color, gently squeeze the garment, over the empty bucket, from the top and working gently toward the bottom. This will allow the colors to blend downward into one another.

Step 10: Use a rag or paper towels to clean the plastic work area. Lay the finished piece back on the plastic. Wrap the plastic over the garment and allow to sit for 6-8 hours (or longer depending on desired intensity of color).

Step 11: Wash garment, alone, in hot water with a small amount of laundry soap. Air or fluff dry.

Enjoy!

TIE DYE BEACH TOWEL DIY

Step 1: Start out with a a plain white towel, washed and dried without fabric softener or dryer sheets. Roll the towel, then tightly wrap the rubber bands from the kit around to form several sections.

Step 2: Prepare your work area by spreading the Tulip Surface Cover. Put on the plastic gloves.

Step 3: Choose a color scheme. I chose the same dominant and accent colors as I used for the bathing suits. Start by filling dye bottle of the accent color to the top with water.

Step 4: Use the nozzle of the dye bottle to saturate each of the rubber banded areas with the accent color.

Step 5: Next, fill the bottle of the dominant color 1/3 full of water. Use only half of the dye in the bottle to saturate the bottom edge of the towel.

Step 6: Using the pitcher of clean water, fill the dominant dye bottle to the top with water. Saturate another row of color. You'll use about half of the bottle.Continue refilling, dyeing a row, then refilling again to create progressively lighter bands of color.

Step 7: You can stop here, or for a more subtle blending of the accent color, gently squeeze the towel, over the empty bucket, from the top and working gently toward the bottom. This will allow the colors to blend downward into one another.

Step 8: Use a rag or paper towels to clean the plastic work area. Lay the finished piece back on the plastic. Wrap the plastic over the towel and allow to sit for 6-8 hours (or longer depending on desired intensity of color).

Step 9: Wash towel, alone, in hot water with a small amount of laundry soap. Air or fluff dry.

Enjoy!

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For more inspiration and ideas for a crafty summer, check out ILoveToCreate.com or keep up with the latest creative happenings on these social media channels:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ilovetocreate (@ilovetocreate)
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ilovetocreate andhttp://www.facebook.com/ILoveTulipFashionArt
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ilovetocreate

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with iLoveToCreate.com and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own

*Rook No. 17: recipes, crafts & creative nesting*

The Sweetest Summer Cake ~ Beach Bucket Cake Tutorial

Vintage Images & Etchings ~ A Little Birdie Told Me...No. 73

Ombre Swimsuit DIY ~ Easy Summertime Tie-Dye with Tulip

Rook No. 17: recipes, crafts & creative nesting