Kit Kat Cake

I love this cake!  I saw it on this site and new that it would be so easy to make! 

All you  need is:
1 two layer frosted cake
28 mini Kit Kats (give or take- mine used 28)
1 medium bag (12.60 oz) of M&M's

To assemble the cake:
Open Kit Kat bars.  If you can't find the mini sized ones, you could use full size and just break them into sections of 2.  Gently press each Kit Kat into the frosting, along the outside of the cake.  Fill the center with the M&M's.

I forgot to slice the top off of my cake so that it would be shorter than the top edge of the Kit Kat's.  I think that would have looked better, but this still is sort of cute, right?  It's just a mound of M&M's instead of a dish of M&M's.

Wrap the entire cake with a cute bow and you're set!

Mario Bros. Cupcakes/ Homemade Fondant

My friend Candy made cute cupcake for her son Kyle's birthday- they were decorated like the Mario Bros. mushrooms. I knew my son would love them just as much since Mario Bros. is basically his first language. While I was searching for some character pictures to print, I stumbled upon some cupcakes that were decorated with fondant. They were from a bakery and the Mario Bros. fondant character cupcakes were available for purchase. Yeah.... I don't think so.

I found a great recipe for marshmallow fondant. It seriously couldn't be easier (although it'd be nice if it were a little less messier!). I used this receipe to make my own Mario Bros. cupcakes with fondant!



The site I found the original recipe at is here, but here is also the recipe:

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows (use a good quality brand)

2 to 5 tablespoons water

2 pounds icing sugar (please use C&H Cane Powdered Sugar for the best results)

1/2 cup Crisco shortening (you will be digging into it so place in a very easily accessed bowl)

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in a microwave or double boiler: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total (mine literally took one minute) Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix.

Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY (palms, backs, and in between fingers), then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle.

Start kneading like you would bread dough.

Keep kneading, this stuff is sticky at this stage! Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). It usually takes me about 8 minutes to get a firm smooth elastic ball so that it will stretch without tearing when you apply it to the cake.

It is best if you can let it sit, double wrapped, overnight (but you can use it right away if there are no tiny bits of dry powdered sugar). If you do see them, you will need to knead and maybe add a few more drops of water. (I used it immediately)

Prepare the fondant icing for storing by coating it with a good layer of Crisco shortening, wrap in a plastic-type wrap product and then put it in a re-sealable or Ziploc bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible.

MM Fondant icing will hold very well in the refrigerator for weeks.

Now it’s time to start. Your cake should be baked, and completely cooled. If you have a shaped cake, you can trim it now and then place the cake on a prepared cake board. In other words, you are assembling the cake puzzle on the board. You can also place the cake on the board first and then trim (you must be extra careful not to damage the covered board). I personally find that shaping first is the easiest and then transferring the cake.

Give the top and sides of the cake a nice thick 1/4-inch coating of buttercream icing . The buttercream icing helps the fondant icing to “stick” to the cake and this cushion of undercoating icing helps to give you the beautiful smooth nearly perfect finish that you are looking for.

When you are ready to use the rested fondant icing, the first thing you need to do is decide what size you will need to roll your icing to.

Next, you need to sprinkle a bit of cornstarch on your counter to help prevent sticking (rub it in). Give the fondant icing a little kneading to incorporate the Crisco coating. It will be pretty stiff when you try to knead it again, but it can be microwaved for 10 to 20 seconds, if necessary. Start off with 10 seconds (please be careful as items that have high sugar contents can get hot in the microwave very quickly).

The fondant icing will soften right up and be perfect for rolling out and playing with. You want the temperature to be close to your body temperature.

Now is the best time to add your food coloring. I prefer to store my fondant icing in it’s natural color of white. Some colors can change the consistency of the icing. If you do need to store colored fondant icing, wrap each color very well in plastic wrap or Saran Wrap. Colors like red and burgundy are notorious for “bleeding” into other colors and ruining them. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Bag everything in Ziploc bags. Remember that food coloring can also stain your hands and nails. I have food-grade plastic gloves that I keep around. Add your food coloring, a little at a time, and knead it in. You can always go darker but it is difficult to go lighter. Red has a tendency to get darker as it sits and “ages”.

Pre-shape your icing into approximately the shape of your cake. For a round cake, make a disk shape. For a rectangular make a log shape.

OK, here is a point of controversy about the next step. Some instructors tell you to only sprinkle cornstarch on your counter before you put the fondant icing down, sprinkle with more corn starch, and then roll fondant icing out to desired shape. Some teachers advise that you grease the counter, put the fondant icing down, and lightly grease the top of the fondant icing as need to prevent sticking. (It worked way better for me to grease the counter-- I layed the fondant so the cornstarch made it too dry but the shortening helped adhere the layers)

I prefer the cornstarch myself, but during very dry atmospheric conditions, I have been known to use the shortening method. The grease will help to hold in the moisture and keeps the fondant icing pliable. If necessary, add drops of water and knead it in thoroughly before proceeding. You will need to try out both ways in the future and decide what you like the most.

A third alternative is a large-sized Roulpat Mat (31 x 23 inches). It really does work well and it can also help you with moving a large piece of rolled out fondant. I’ve never done it, but I was told that you just gently bend the mat edges downward with the icing still on it. Place the edge of mat and the icing next to the edge of the butter-creamed cake and flip the fondant icing over the cake. What was the top of the fondant icing that you rolled out, is now touching the buttercream and what was the bottom side is now the topside that you see.

Most folks do not have a nonstick rolling pin, but if you do, now is the time to use it. If not, lightly rub cornstarch on the surface of the rolling pin and roll out to the desired size.

I like to roll my icing at least 1/8-inch thick. It’s thick enough for ease of handling and strength integrity. I wouldn’t go any thinner than 1/8-inch for the cake covering. When I’m making decorations with the fondant icing, I will sometimes roll it thinner. The MM Fondant icing is very forgiving and rarely tears but everything has it limits.

The technique that I use is to gently roll the icing on the nonstick rolling pin like a piece of fabric. DO NOT FOLD! An edge will be hanging down.

Quickly place the fondant icing at one bottom edge of the cake and unroll the rolling pin, holding it about 2 inches over the cake. Your fondant icing will then “fall” into place. You should also have a bit of overhang over the edges.

You might need a little cornstarch at this stage, but only use it very sparingly if you have a dark colored icing. I very lightly sprinkle the cornstarch over the surface and use a buffing motion with my hand to move it around and to level the surface. This motion seals the fondant icing to the buttercream, works out the bumps in the icing below the surface, and removes flaws from the joined areas in the cakes surface below. Please use a VERY gentle pressure to rub the surface of the icing. I often have a little pile of the cornstarch on the counter and dip my hands in it as needed. Here is an important tip: Watch out for your fingernails as long nails can mark up your surface quickly and it is very difficult to smooth them back out.

If you notice a bubble in the surface, take a thin sharp needle and poke a tiny hole, at an angle, in the bubble. If you poke straight down, you can almost always see the hole even after the most careful smoothing. The angled hole lets the air out of the bubble, and with a tiny bit of rubbing you can reseal the hole.

I keep a clean, soft pastry brush close by, to move the cornstarch around. Do this lightly or you can leave brush marks on the surface that are almost impossible to remove. A number of companies make fondant smoothers for around $10. I have one, but I’ve used it only once and I’ve used my hands ever since. For me, it is easier and quicker. If you don’t handle the smoother correctly, you can damage the fondant’s finish.

Gently, with the side of your hand, push the fondant into the sides of the cake against the cake board.

To trim the excess fondant icing, you can use a sharp knife. I find that the easiest and neatest way is to use a Pizza Cutter. Hold it at a 45 degree angle from the cake board and the side of the cake. Go slow and follow the shape of the cake. If you hold the cutter at the correct angle, you will have an almost perfect bottom edge. Gently, with your finger tips, push any little leftovers in against the cake for the neatest appearance. If the edge isn’t as nice as you want, you can always add a fondant rope or pearls. Buttercream shells, stars, or flowers look wonderful also.
If your cake needs a bit of shaping, do it now. I used the outside edge of my hand to make the indents to define certain areas of the cake.

Summer Beachy Cupcakes

Look how cute these cupcakes are! Perfect for summer treats!

I made them by making basic cupcakes (any recipe will do, or even a (gasp!) box mix!). I then whipped up some basic butter cream frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter (softened)
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp milk


Use blue food coloring to tint your frosting. I didn't stir mine thoroughly so that there would be some white caps in my "water".

Frost the cupcakes and then sprinkle half of the cupcake with crushed graham crackers to make a sandy beach. You can also use brown sugar, but you will have to eat them right away because the sugar will dissolve into your frosting water.

Decorate your beach with drink umbrellas, sour balls (for beach balls), Teddy Graham Bears and Life Saver candies as floaties.

Use your imagination!

Candy Land Cake

I saw the instructions for this cake at the Taste of Home website. This cake was made for my friend's daughter.  Look at how cute it turned out! It can be made smaller by using 1 cake mix and a 9x13 pan.

Ingredients:

-2 packages (18-1/4 ounces each) cake mix of your choice
-Vanilla and chocolate frosting
-Green mist food color spray, optional
-Assorted decorations: Starburst candies, red Fruit Roll-Up, red coarse sugar, Dots, regular and miniature peanut butter cups, chocolate jimmies, large and small gumdrops, Dum Dum Pops, miniature candy canes, clear and blue rock candy, cake and waffle ice cream cones, multicolored sprinkles, green colored sugar, miniature marshmallows, round peppermints and conversation hearts



Directions:

Line two 13-in. x 9-in. baking pans with waxed paper and grease the paper. Prepare cake batter; pour into prepared pans. Bake according to package directions. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely; remove waxed paper.

Level tops of cakes; place side by side on a covered board. Frost top and sides of cake with vanilla frosting; mist with food color spray if desired.

With Candy Land game board as your guide, form a path using Starburst candies. With vanilla frosting, pipe "Happy Birthday" on candies. With chocolate frosting, make an arrow; pipe "Start" on the arrow with vanilla frosting.

For the Mountain/Gumdrop pass, use a red Fruit Roll-Up, red coarse sugar and Dots.

For forests, add peanut butter cups topped with piped chocolate frosting, chocolate jimmies, gumdrops, Dum Dum Pops, candy canes and rock candy.

For castle, pipe vanilla frosting into ice cream cones. Garnish with Dots and sprinkles.

Between the pathways, add green colored sugar, sprinkles, miniature marshmallows, peppermints and conversation hearts. Pipe additional frosting to fill in spaces; top with sprinkles.

Pipe vanilla frosting around base of cake; place peppermints around top edge of cake.

Yield: 30-40 servings. Editor's Note: This cake is best eaten the day it's prepared. Do not refrigerate.

Easy, Inexpensive Floral Centerpiece

Today my grandma turns 90. Wow... 90 years old. Imagine the things that she has seen; lived through; forgotten. Turning the fabulous age of 90 deserves a celebration, don't you think? My aunt organized a fantastic party for her and she asked me to make the centerpieces for the tables.

I had a few guidelines to follow-- the centerpieces needed to be small, inexpensive and they needed to coincide with the colors of the party invitation, which were a sage green and lavender.



I came up with very simple centerpieces that were extremely inexpensive. I found some cylinder vases at a dollar store and filled them with some dried split peas (99¢ per bag). I then inserted a single stemmed daisy-like lavender flower into the peas (I found an entire bunch that contained at least 30-35 flowers for only $4.99, from the floral department at Target). Each centerpiece cost about $2.70 to make.



The flower didn't require any floral foam or anything else to hold it up since the peas held it in place. If you need your flowers to last longer, you could insert each stem into one of those water reservoirs and then insert the entire thing into the peas.

I did use a smaller cylinder for half of the centerpieces, however. The dollar store only had 6 and I needed 12... and even after going to three other stores without any luck in finding any, I had to settle for some shorter cylinders. I was worried about how they would look, but I must say, I think I ended up liking them better than the tall ones!



May we all "Believe, Dream and Imagine" a prosperous and enriched life for ourselves as Grandma Addie has had over her 90 years (and then some!).

Poppy Seed Cake

Now here is an interesting recipe. My good friend Angela was on a quest to make her husband's favorite cake for his birthday. It's one of those family recipes that not many other people have heard of-- so of course my interest was peeked when she mentioned it. She has only attempted to make this cake on one other occasion; years ago when she was 20 years old and newly married (remember that honeymoon period where you'll do anything to please your spouse?). Unfortunately, the cake did not turn out for her and her husband wouldn't even eat it (I guess he never entered that honeymoon period).

We decided to bake the cake together during one of our traditional "Friday Teas". I was surprised by the results. I'm not a fan of poppy seeds at all, but once I got beyond the texture issue of the seeds in a cake, it was pretty good. The "filling" layer was wonderful and I actually even liked the frosting, even though I usually do anything I can to avoid baking with vegetable shortening.

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup Poppy seeds (we only used 1/4 cup and it was plenty!)
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
5 egg whites

Cake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan

1. Mix poppy seeds and buttermilk in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Cream sugar and shortening together. Add poppy seed mixture.

3. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and salt; mix well.

4. Fold in the egg whites (this part confused me because the recipe does not say to beat the egg whites, so I'm not sure why they need to be folded in. We even called the original recipe owner and she said they do not need to be beaten. I may make this again and beat the egg whites before hand and see what happens).

5. Bake cake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick cake tester is clean.

Filling and Topping:

This filling could be used between layers if you use cake rounds, but since we used a 9x13, it was between the cake and frosting. It was quite a combination to be mixed with the frosting so if you make a layered cake, I would suggest doubling the filling so that you still can have some under the frosting as well.

5 egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp cornstarch

1. In a saucepan, combine all ingredients and mix until well blended.

2. Boil, on medium-low, until it thickens to be like brownie batter.

3. Set aside and cool completely.


Frosting:

1 cup milk
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. With a whisk, combine milk and flour in a saucepan.

2. Heat over a low flame until thick, like a paste.

3. Set aside and cool completely.

4. Cream together sugar, shortening, butter and vanilla.

5. Add to cooled flour mixture and whip until spreadable consistency.


Assembling the cake:

1. Be sure both the filling and the frosting are completely cooled before assembling the cake.

2. Spread the cooled filling over the top of the cake. (if you made a layered cake, hopefully you made enough to spread between the layers and on top of the cake.)

3. Let the filling layer set up a bit before frosting. I put it in the refrigerator for about an hour before frosting.

4. Top with the frosting.

5. Chill the cake before serving and store in refrigerator.

Homemade Citrus Hand Scrub

What a perfect handmade gift for any woman. I made up a few of these jars to give to the children's teachers for Teacher Appreciation week. Very simple to make and now my kitchen smells fresh! I'd love to try this with orange or lime zest.

Olive oil moisturizes, lemon freshens and is especially good for removing onion and garlic odors from the skin, the sugar/salt combo exfoliates dry skin and renews the appearance of your hands. Salt can be drying, so you wouldn't want to make the scrub entirely of salt, but add a bit for some coarser pieces. If you'd rather, simply replace the amount designated for the salt with additional sugar.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c sugar
1/3 c kosher salt
zest of 1 extra large lemon
1 c olive oil
1/4 tsp pure lemon extract

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. If you would like a slightly stronger fragrance, add a tad more extract. Spoon into a pretty jar, tighten the lid. Wipe any spills or drips from the outside of the jar. Alternatively, you can use orange or lime zest for a different fresh citrus smell. For an extra touch, tie a pretty bow around the jar if you plan to gift this scrub. This makes enough for a 1 pint canning jar.

I adhered a label to the jar that read:

~Homemade Citrus Hand Scrub~
Rub mixture into your
hands and let stand
1-2 minutes. Rinse with
cool water and
pat dry.

Gift Bags Made From Envelopes

I may never buy a little gift bag again- what a perfect idea for when you are in a pinch and don't have time to run to the store (and don't have any small gift bags in your recycled stash!). These are so easy to make and you can use white envelopes, colored envelopes, even USED envelopes (just reseal with glue). Any sized envelope will do; the bigger the envelope, the bigger the gift bag. You can decorate the envelope with stamps or markers or just leave it plain and use a pretty bow for the pizazz. These would make great May Day baskets! Just stick some flowers or treats inside and secretly hang on the door handle of a friend.

What you need:

An envelope
Scissors (decorative or plain)
Double sided tape
Ribbon and a paper punch(optional)

What you do:

1. Seal the envelope.



2. Cut off one end of the envelope. I also used a paper punch to punch some decorative holes into the top of one.




3. Fold one side in toward the center (maybe about an inch or slightly less). Do the same with the other side, then fold the bottom up by the same amount, making creases in the paper.



4. Put the bag over one hand. Use your other hand to shape a flat bottom for your bag, pushing the bottom center crease downward, causing the side folds to buckle out. Crease the corners of the bottom into triangles.




5. Use a bit of double-sided tape to stick the corner triangle flaps to the bottom of the bag.

6. Reverse the folds along the sides of the bag to give it shape.

7. If you like, punch holes and thread ribbon through for a handle. If you choose not to add a handle, it will still look cute just standing open! Or you can fold it down and staple it closed.

Rainbow Cake

My son is usually very particular when it comes to his birthday cake. He takes his time and debates all of the different flavors, sizes and themes that he can go with. He is very serious when it comes to cake. But this year, he wanted me to surprise him. So when I saw the recipe for this RAINBOW CAKE, I knew exactly what I would make for his 6th birthday! It was a bit pokey to make, but the results were worth it. He loved the bright colors-- which are the result of food coloring paste (no little triangle shaped capped food coloring for this recipe-- you'll never get the desired results).

The recipe that I saw was ironically close to my recipe for Watergate Cake, by the fact that it was made with 7-up and instant pudding. However, the recipe did not call for eggs and it called for diet 7-Up and fat-free instant pudding, ( which was only used in the frosting rather than in both the cake and the frosting); a pathetic attempt to make a fat-free cake. If you're going to eat cake-- you deserve to enjoy it and put all the goods into it. No skimping here. I adapted my own recipe for this Rainbow Cake.

Ingredients:

White Cake Mix
1 cup 7-Up
1 cup water
1 package vanilla instant pudding
2 eggs

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients for 1 minute (usually a cake needs to be mixed for about 2 minutes, but you will be mixing again when you add the coloring).

2. I measured the entire batter so that I knew what I needed to measure in order to have 6 equal portions. Conveniently, the batter equaled 6 cups! How easy!



I simply used a 1-cup measuring scoop to divide the batter into 6 separate bowls. I then tinted each bowl with a different color.



3. Grease 2 round cake pans.

4. Now, I used my first three colors in the first pan and then switched to do the last three colors in the second pan. I did it like this, because you want to use about 2/3 of the total amount of batter in each bowl for the bottom colors. (Make sense? Basically, if I did all 6 colors in one pan before moving onto the 2nd pan, I would end up having a hard time making sure I had equal amounts of batter in each pan.)

5. So use about 2/3 of your first color (red) and plop it dead center into the pan. Don't worry about swirling it around or anything-- it magically will work out.

6. Add about 2/3 of the batter of your second color (orange) smack dab on top of the first color.

7. Do this also with your third color (yellow).



8. This is where you want to now go to your second pan and work the colors backwards. Using about 2/3 of the batter for the LAST color of your rainbow (purple), plop it into the empty 2nd pan.

9. Do this with the next color (blue) and again with the green.



10. You should be left with about 1/3 of the batter for each color.

11. Go ahead and finish up your rainbows--- put the remaining green, blue and purple in your first pan and put the remaining yellow, orange and red in your last pan.



12. If you insist, give the pans a little swirl to make sure that your batter is even. Don't do this too hard- you don't want to mix your colors and as tempted as you may be, do NOT drag a knife through it to marble the cake.

13. Put your two pans into a preheated 350° oven and bake until cake test is complete (about 25 minutes... but watch them-- you have mixed up your ingredients a tad from the given directions on the box).

14. Cool the cake on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.



15. Frost with either frosting of your choice, or with whipped cream (I mixed another package of instant vanilla into mine before frosting). Also tuck some waxed paper under the edges of the cake while you frost so that your plate remains clean. When you're done frosting, simply slide the waxed paper out.




Keep refrigerated.

Watergate Cake

Every year, when my husband was a child, his mom would make him Watergate Cake for his birthday. When I came into the picture almost 12 years ago, I took over the job of making him this moist, delicious treat each January 27th.

A few years back, I submitted this recipe to a local contest sponsored by Jell-O; submissions were required to use Jell-O pudding as an ingredient. I won first place! The prize was 2 free tickets to see a live Bill Cosby comedy show (because Bill Cosby and Jell-O pudding go hand-in-hand)!

Here is the winning recipe:

Ingredients:



1 white cake mix
1 small box of instant pistachio pudding
1 cup of water
1 cup of 7-Up
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and beat together for 2 minutes.
Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350° until cake tester comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.

*(I like it better in 2 round pans but baking time is different... I just bake for 30 minutes and then watch it and add minutes as needed. Also, if you make it a layered cake, I would double the frosting recipe)

Frosting:



1 pkg of Dream Whip (dry)
1 cup milk
1 small box of instant pistachio pudding

Beat until thick and holds a small peak (about 5 minutes)

***It never gets really fluffy thick and holds a meringue type peak. It just gets to be thick enough to "peak" a little peak that just holds it's shape more than doing the swooshy flippy peaky thing. It should be a spreadable frosting consistency***

Keep refrigerated.

Homemade Game Board

I made this game board for my parents for Christmas last year. I got the idea from Family Fun Magazine. The object of the game is to be the first to return home with a box full of treasures collected during a trip through old neighborhoods. But the race to win is only half the fun; the real entertainment is in the reminiscing as players relive family history

What you need:

An old game board (save the box)
Con-Tact paper, clear and white (or one with a subtle pattern)
Solid-colored wrapping paper (I
Glue stick
2- by 4-inch removable mailing labels
A trivia card
Electrical tape

GAME BOARD

1. Cover the top of the board with the white/subtle Con-Tact paper.
2. Create thirty 2- by 2-inch game spaces using a computer and removable mailing labels, cutting the 2- by 4-inch labels in half after printing them. See the complete list of game spaces below.
3. Affix the spaces evenly on the board, as shown.
4. To mark where the trivia cards are stacked during play, glue one of the cards to the board near the Home space, "Memory Lane" side up.
5. Seal the game board with clear Con-Tact paper.
7. Wrap the edges of the board with electrical tape.



GAME SPACES



The magic of Memory Lane resides in the appeal of the places you choose for the "Share a Memory spaces": a favorite family cottage by the ocean, an old movie theater in town, the neighborhood school -- any location that your kids love and that evokes memories. Our board has 18 "Share a Memory" spaces, including some showing former family homes. The remaining 12 slots are instructional and specialty spaces, specifically:

Pick a card (make 4)
Swipe! Take a treasure (from an opponent; make 3)
Pick a treasure (from the pile; make 2)
Go to your room! (and skip a turn; make 1)
Start (make 1)
Home (make 1)

GAME BOX



Our game box was made by covering the old game box with the same contact paper and electrical tape used on the game board. I also just printed out the name of the game and adhered that to it as well.

TRIVIA CARDS

Use a computer and printer to create 20 or so 3- by 5-inch cards with trivia questions on one side and "Memory Lane" on the other. We included some questions about current players, such as "Where (city or hospital) was the player to your left born?"; others that focused on interesting family history; and a few that required identifying baby pictures.

TREASURES



We used wooden cutouts (available in the wood section of craft stores) for our treasures. Each represents an important element of life: health (an apple), wealth (a car), happiness (a smiley face), knowledge (a bus), and relaxation (a ship). You'll need a set of treasures for each player. Our game has 4 sets.

TREASURE BOXES

Made from empty candy tins, our treasure boxes are just the right size for holding the treasures. To decorate the tins, I painted the tops solid red and you can add some color to the sides with electrical tape (slicing the tape along the openings after it was applied), then hot-glued a charm on each.

ODDS AND ENDS

To complete the game, you'll need charms matching the ones glued to the treasure boxes to serve as game pieces (one for each player). You'll also need a die.

HOW TO PLAY THE GAME

Each player chooses a game token and its matching empty treasure box. Roll the die to establish the order of play, then proceed around the board based on the roll of the die.

When you land on a space, follow the instructions. For instance, if you land on a "Share a Memory" space featuring your local library, you must tell a brief story about yourself at the library or share a related fact, such as the title of a favorite book. Some spaces reward you with a treasure; others require that you answer a question correctly to earn one.

Once you've collected all 5 treasures, you can turn up the path to Home. If someone takes a treasure from you before you arrive, however, you must go back around the board until your collection is again complete. The first player to roll the exact number to land on Home wins.

Here are the instructions you can copy and print:

Memory Lane

Object of the game:
Be the first player to collect all five treasures and make it Home.

Set up:
Each player chooses a game piece and a matching empty Treasure Chest. Place the game pieces at Start. Shuffle and place the Family Trivia cards face down on the game board. Set the Treasures off to the side of the board. Roll the die to determine the order of play: High roll goes first; play proceeds clockwise around the board.

How to play:

Each player rolls the die on his turn and moves around the board. More than one player can occupy the same space. When you land on a space, follow the instructions.

Share a Memory space: tell a brief story about yourself at the specific location or share a related fact (for instance, if it’s a library, the title of a favorite book.)
Family Trivia space: take the top card from the pile and have another player read the question aloud. If the trivia card requires identifying a picture, the player showing the card must cover up the answer
Treasure space: choose a missing treasure for your collection
Go To Your Room: miss your next turn
Swipe: take a treasure from another player

Once you’ve collected all 5 treasures, you can turn up the path to Home. If someone takes a treasure from you before you arrive, however, you must go back around the board until your collection is again complete.

The first player to roll the exact number to land on Home wins.

Christmas Teacher Gift Idea

My friend Suzi shared this cute idea with me. It's so simple to make and who wouldn't love a new whisk and some chocolate? Just fill a whisk with Hershey's Kisses and attach a note that says, "We whisk you a Merry Kissmas!"

I am pairing the Christmas whisk (say that 10 times fast) with a cute little Christmas cutting board and will use a cookie cutter as the bow on the outside of the gift!

My mom mentioned that you could also fill the whisk with popcorn kernels (in a bag?) and have the note say "Whisking you Happy Hullidays!" What are we going to do with all of these creative geniuses?

Homemade Gift Bags

With Christmas just around the corner (50 days and counting!), it's a perfect time to start making some of your own gift bags. These can be made for any celebration, not just Christmas. The possibilities are endless and your creations will be unique and one-of-a kind.

What you need:



A solid colored gift bag (I just used white but colored would work, too)
Any fabric of your choice
Puffy paints or glitter glue
Spray adhesive or a glue like Mod Podge or Tacky Glue
Scissors
Foam paint brush (if using glue other than spray adhesive)


What you do:

1. Using the scissors, cut out a piece of fabric. The shape and size of the fabric is up to you. I chose to cut a basic rectangle that is just a little bit smaller than the shape of the gift bag.



2. Apply the glue to the backside of the fabric shape.



3. Adhere onto your gift bag. It's okay if there are little frayed strings hanging off the edges. Just snip them away once the glue dries.



4. Repeat this process on the backside of the bag.

5. Once the glue has dried and your fabric is adhered securely onto the bag, decorate with the puffy paints/glitter glue.

I just highlight aspects of the fabric:


6. To complete the look, use the glitter glue/puffy paint to outline the shape of the fabric on the bag. This will hide any flawed edges and will really make it look finished off.



7. Decorate the opposite side of the bag once the first side has dried.

Pin the What On the What?

I made a spin-off of the traditional game of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" for my daughters 10th birthday party. The girls played "Pin the Earring on the Emily" instead! I blew up a photo of her to be poster sized and we used an earring with some tape. It was a blast and the girls got a kick out of seeing the different places Emily was pierced. (Check out the one that pierced her eyebrow!)

What you need:

A poster size photo of your child (I made ours at Walmart... under $10 and it only takes 1 hour)
An earring or a makeshift earring
Tape
Post-It notes
Pen
Blindfold

Directions:
Hang the poster on a wall or other flat surface.



Blindfold the player and hand them the earring with a piece of tape adhered to it.

Spin the player 5 times.



The player should then stick the earring to the poster, in a spot that they think is close to the ear.



(here's the eyebrow piercing, hehe)

I then ripped off a teeny tiny piece of the sticky part a Post-It note and marked where each player hit on the poster target.



Whoever is closest to the ear, gets a prize!