Tonya Staab

Easy Monster Eye Cupcakes

2019-10-07T12:18:56-07:00

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Oriental Trading Company.

I like to keep things real around here, so just so you know these are store-bought cupcakes, I totally scraped all of the frosting off the top and ate it for dinner and then re-frosted the cupcakes in fun colors because I was home alone and couldn't be bothered baking. There I said it. Also, frosting is delicious for dinner.

These are quick and easy to make, especially if you buy store-bought cupcakes, but you will need to whip up your own icing colors, which again, I used a store-bought icing and food dye.

What you need:

Cupcakes
Icing
Food dye - green, blue, teal, and orange
Cupcake liners - pink
Large circle piping tip
Piping bags
Frosted Eyeball Lollipops

NOTE: The handpainted frosted eyeball lollipops are currently on sale for $4.48 per dozen.

Separate your frosting into three bowls. Add a little food dye at a time to each until you get the desired color. You might be wondering why I have four food dye colors, but only have three cupcake colors. I found that if I added just a little teal to the green it made a color that was more similar to the eyeball on that cupcake, and again if I used more teal, but added just a little blue then that one looked like a lighter shade of the blue eyeball.

Use a large circle piping tip to add the frosting in a circular fashion to the top of each cupcake. Pop the lollipop into the center, and then into the pink cupcake liner. Pop them into the refrigerator until ready to serve, this will keep the frosting firm.

Enjoy your cupcakes (and your lollipops too).

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How To Make A Mousetrap Car

2019-10-03T22:48:36-07:00

I thought helping the twins' with math would be my downfall, but you guys, 8th-grade science! Last week the kids came home with a project for their science classes. They had to make a mousetrap car that would move over 4 meters.

They drew plans, they modified those plans, and then last weekend I set about helping them construct their car (they decided to work on this project together, and because they are in separate classes at school they were allowed to do this). I wanted them to do the work but wanted to help them where possible, so we all sat down together and watched YouTube video after YouTube video, we found tutorials on Instructibles, and we started building car number 1. Fail. We trashed it. We started on car number 2. It was about 8 pm Sunday night when we finished it and they had to turn in their prototype the next day for evaluation and to see what they could do to improve it. The car simply spun in circles or flipped over, it wouldn't move in a straight line. So again, Monday after they brought it home from school we trashed it.

Now, before sharing these instructions, I'm not a science teacher, I don't pretend to play one on-line, I'm just a parent who was trying to help my kids with their project and this is simply what worked for us. If you have any suggestions for readers on how to make the car even better I would love for you to leave those in the comments, feel free to leave links to your own mousetrap car projects that worked too.

So we left it for a day to get over our frustration before tackling it again Tuesday night. We decided to start completely from scratch. Flynn's teacher had suggested using larger wheels; we'd initially tried using juice and milk bottle caps because they wanted the projects to use as many recycled items as possible. But, I headed to the store and splurged on blank CD's and we started again.

Their new car with a new design and new materials traveled about 4 meters on the first try, and then 6 meters on the second try (before crashing into the front door). So, I'm here to try my best to help others by offering what did and didn't work for us.

Let's start with what didn't work for us:

A car that was light enough to flip, you need more weight on it (more wood, washers, whatever works).
A shorter car - that again goes to the above, a longer car with a longer lever will run further.
Bottlecap wheels - I'm not sure what the reason was, but we tried it twice and even with electrical tape on them, it just wouldn't go as it should

So let's break down some things that we changed when we did our new design and we finally got a car that would run in a straight line and over 6 meters.

WHAT YOU NEED:

Mousetrap
Wood rectangle (plywood is just fine)
Popsicle sticks
Wood dowel rods 1/4" wide (either one long one you can cut or a couple of pre-cut ones)
Hot glue
Washers (make sure the hole fits over the wood dowel rod as snug as possible)
Cord or rope
Eye screw
MORE HOT GLUE - I can't stress this enough
Straws - I've posted a link at the bottom to what we used that fit perfectly over the wood dowel rod giving it enough space to rotate inside
Electrical tape
CD's or DVD's

I've provided a video below so you can see how it will work, but here are images of the top and bottom of the car so that you can see how to assemble it.

This project needed to be doable for the kids, so we tried to keep it as basic as possible. One of those issues we faced was getting the axle (the wood dowel on the back wheels) to rotate. The second car we had tried we saw a tutorial for a small juice box straw that had a wood skewer running through it. It just didn't feel strong enough though and when the teacher suggested bigger wheels I knew we had to go bigger everything. Which also meant finding a larger straw that would fit a dowel rod through it, most standard straws are simply too small. And then in the middle of our dining table I spotted it. I keep a rotating tray in the center of our dining table with things such as napkins, honey straws, salt and pepper, and straws of beaded flavoring for milk (which I'd bought as a special treat one day and there was still two leftover). Drink up kids, we're using those straws.

Now, here's the link for the products we used (these are Amazon affiliate links, it doesn't cost you any more to buy through them though).

And here's that video I put together so that you can see it running. I had to cut the video short because it was going to run into me, but it ran over 6 meters.

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Ginger Peach Turmeric Iced Sweet Tea

2019-09-30T09:57:55-07:00

I was never much of a sweet tea drinker before meeting Mike. I'd honestly never really thought to try it. I was addicted to ginger ale for the longest time (two to three glasses a day), but then switched to ICE water (which I still drink daily now), but when Mike and I were doing the culinary trail throughout the Kentucky State Parks, at one of our stops we enjoyed a delicious peach iced tea with bourbon. WOW! It was so amazing that on our way home that day we stopped off at the liquor store and picked up bottles of peach iced tea, peach bourbon, and lemon juice and it's become one of our favorite drinks to enjoy at home ever since.

So then I started buying bottles of peach tea for home. Jayden has always loved the mango iced tea, so we switch it up between the two now.

But, it's quite easy to make your own peach iced tea at home too. You might remember the afternoon tea blog post I shared recently, well I decided to whip up some iced tea using that Bigelow Ginger Peach Turmeric Herbal Tea and it was DELICIOUS!

This is so simple to make, but you can adjust the recipe below to suit you. Some people like their sweet tea a little sweeter, others, not so much. I think I'm somewhere in the middle so don't add as much sugar as some sweet tea recipes call for.

Ingredients:

12 Bigelow Ginger Peach Turmeric Herbal Tea bags
4 cups + 12 cups of water
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
Ice
Peaches
Bourbon and lemon juice (optional)

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat and dunk the 12 tea bags in so they are submerged, and then allow them to steep for 5 minutes.

Remove the tea bags and discard them.

Add the sugar to the tea and stir until completely dissolved.

Pour the base into a large pitcher (you might need to separate it over two pitchers though like I had to).

Top the tea with 12 cups of water and refrigerate until ready to serve. Note: Don't forget to divide the water if you separated your tea base between two pitchers.

Serve over ice and with fresh sliced peaches.

Don't forget to add a shot of bourbon and a squeeze of lemon too if you want to kick it up a notch.

Note: If you would like to print this recipe, please click on the 'printer' button located with the social sharing buttons.

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Make and Takes: Multi-Strand Beaded Bracelets

2019-09-29T12:19:30-07:00

Those who know me well, know of my obsession with bracelets. I don't wear much jewelry, but I almost always wear a little arm candy. Normally it's just a few different pieces stacked up to match my outfit that I mix and match.

I'm over at Make and Takes showing you how to make your own multi-strand beaded bracelets at home. Don't forget to grab coupons for your local craft store to stock up on supplies first because these are the perfect project you could sell on Etsy and at local farmer's markets too.

There are SO many possibilities with these. Go crazy with beads of different colors and sizes paired with cord, suede, and more.

If you are looking for a more kid-friendly version too, don't forget to check out our friendship bracelets over at Harper Kids.

A Dead and Breakfast Inn Halloween Mantel

2019-09-13T06:49:56-07:00

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Oriental Trading Company.

It's not too early to start putting up Halloween decorations, is it? If it's wrong, then I don't want to be right.

We haven't decorated outside, but you better believe I've got our mantel done already. This year we've gone with a Dead and Breakfast Inn theme, complete with donuts. Of course!

Tea, donuts, and a fire-breathing dragon 'skeleton' to start a fire to keep you cozy are the perfect additions to this fun Halloween theme.

I shop at Oriental Trading a lot for holidays, parties, and seasonal decor, and for TODAY ONLY, yes, Friday the 13th, they are offering up to 50% off skeletons and free shipping using the CODE: SQUAD19.

Just click through the image below to start your order, and I'll share below some of the fabulous items that I ordered.

Now, here is what I ordered from Oriental Trading to put together this Dead and Breakfast Inn Halloween Mantel - click on the image above and copy and paste the items below into the search bar, then you can add them to your shopping cart.

Jumbo Stuffed Spider with Light-Up Eyes Halloween Decoration
Dragon Skeleton Halloween Decoration
Vintage Throw Pillows Halloween Decorations
Natural Creepy Cloth Halloween Decoration
Gothic Dead & Breakfast Sign Halloween Decoration
Feathered Black Vulture Halloween Decoration
Eyeball Orbs Halloween Decorations
Black Metal Lanterns
Scary Spiders Halloween Decorations
Individual Rat Halloween Decoration

Everything else I already had, but I do know that you can order similar items from Oriental Trading too:

Life-Size Posable Skeleton Halloween Decoration
Pretty Possessed Print Halloween D?cor
Small Skull Resin Cranium Halloween Decoration (just grab a can of black glitter spray paint)

My favorite additions to our Dead and Breakfast Inn theme is the addition of an antique teapot that belonged to my grandmother on one of her trays, paired with teacups and donut 'spider eggs'.

What is your Halloween theme going to be this year? Do you keep the same theme each year or change it?

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How To Host A Simple Afternoon Tea Party at Home

2019-09-09T09:17:19-07:00

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TeaProudly #CollectiveBias

Growing up in Australia some of our family traditions were adopted from Britain, and this includes afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is more of a low-key at-home version of high tea which you may know from fancy hotels and restaurants - which is very different from the actual definition of high tea, but it's what most people know of being served in a higher-end environment - often for girls days out, Mother's Day, bridal showers and baby showers. It often consists of tiny finger sandwiches, bite-sized desserts, pastries, and of course, tea. We basically grew up having five small meals a day, breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and then dinner.

My mum would place out an assortment of biscuits or cake, fresh fruit, tea, and sometimes pastries, and although we don't sit around the table to have it like I did growing up, my kids still love coming in from school every afternoon and asking what's for afternoon tea.

Here are some of the things you can incorporate into your own afternoon tea (or high tea) at home.

Tea (of course), make sure to include an assortment of teas and for those who like cream and sugar, pop those onto the table too
Finger sandwiches with assorted fillings such as smoked salmon, egg salad, or cucumber with cream cheese
Scones with jam and freshly whipped cream, or flavored scones with a little butter
Biscuits (or cookies)
Chocolate éclairs
Mini pavlovas
Muffins
Tea loaf
Fruit or jam tarts
Fresh fruit
Fresh bread or English muffins with assorted jams, lemon curd, or marmalade

As you can see, I included a couple of the new Bigelow Tea herbal teas in our afternoon tea table. They have four new flavors available including:

Lavender Chamomile Herbal Tea with Probiotics
Ginger Peach Turmeric Herbal Tea
Matcha Green Tea with Turmeric
Green Tea with Ginger plus Probiotics

If you are interested in trying out the NEW Bigelow Tea offerings I'm sharing here, (Lavender Chamomile Herbal Tea with Probiotics or Ginger Peach Turmeric Herbal Tea), please hover over the photo below to click through to Walmart.com for purchasing.

What are some of your favorite bite-sized foods you would include for afternoon tea? Let's get more ideas flowing in the comments. I'd love to try some more here with the kids.

Tea proudly is Bigelow sharing everything they are proud of that gives consumers the reassurance they are making the right choice and are in the know. Share how you Tea Proudly with the new Bigelow Tea flavors by sharing your 'tea moments' on social media using the hashtag #TryNewBigelowTea. You can find the NEW Bigelow Tea varieties at Walmart.

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