Cake Balls Are Not For Everyone

God didn't give me any gifted ability to sing, dance, or play sports. I do thank him for the talents he did give me-sewing and crafting. My artistic food abilities are hindered a bit, but at least when my children ask me for a certain theme, I know I can usually do my best to "copy" ideas of others, if not think up and create something on my own.

So, when my second child's birthday came biting at my ankles, I put my thinking cap on and summoned the best of my food craftiness. It didn't hurt that I Googled some ideas along the way. Ultimately, I decided the cake would be in the form of a dog bowl (and I would like to note that I did not see a single dog bowl cake in all my searches). Since the latest fad seems to be cake balls, I incorporated that into the design, thinking that I could make them be the "dog food" in the bowl. Sitting on the back burners of thought, I placed the BOW WOW cake pops I found on Bakerella on a recent Google search. IF you have not visited this website, let me just say WOW!!!! Now, when God was handing out talents, this woman received a hefty share of artistic food ability! She had inspired me to at least think about making these cute little puppy pops, and within 5 days of the party, I had decided to make it a go.

On Tuesday, I baked the red velvet cake according to the box directions. My oldest son and I took turns turning the cooled off cake into crumbs. He complained I wasn't letting him help enough, while I worried about whether or not I was actually making cake balls correctly. I added the cream cheese frosting and did the mixing with my hands(clean, of course). Together we sat at the kitchen table, scooping and forming little red balls of cake. I made 12 of them a little larger than the norm just for the cake pops.

To make this long story shortER, after allowing the cake balls to sit in a closed container for a few days, taste testing one or two each day, and picking up the final things needed to make the BOW WOW puppies, this is what I created.

They don't look at all as nice and clean as Bakerella's, but for some party favors that should be eaten in just a few minutes or less, they will do. Let me just say though, it will be a LONG, LONG time before I ever decide to make anything like this again! For now, they sit as pictured---in the freezer until party day!

One Stitch at a Time

I thank God for the sewing talent he gave me. No one taught me to sew, it was something I taught myself, and rather quickly. I remember being a little envious of a few coworkers who would whip up cute little baby quilts when I worked at Farine. We got settled into our new house back in 2002. That following spring, I bought myself a sewing machine. It was not a fancy thing at all, but it did what I needed to do-sew stitches.

My first sewing machine was a cheap little Brother that sold for $89 or so from good ol' Wallyworld. I took it out of the box and got started immediately on making a sweet little baby quilt. Triangles, lots and lots of triangles...that's what I remember! I moved onto making some outfits for my sweet little nieces and dabbled here and there in a few Halloween costumes. The one I made for hubby hangs in the closet. I told him that he was going to wear his costume every year until it fell apart. A grim reaper made with 6 yards of black fabric that slips when you sew is not a happy memory for me. It turned out great, but what a pain!

Back in 2005 I grew a wild, wild hair. That wild hair turned into a sewing passion. It started with cuddly blankets fashioned after one that was given to my first born. This turned into making bibs and burp clothes and later came the embroidery. Sitting at the computer late at night while I nursed the baby or in the middle of the day cuddling, I found and downloaded design after design for a new embroidery machine I didn't even have. That came during the "Day After Thanksgiving Sale". My first embroidery machine-Huskystar EM10-was quite the gem. It used the current fonts on my computer to generate letters and words. What an awesome program it was!

Since then, I used my spare time to sew and embroider for those who are in need of a some baby gifts. My small little business "Swaddled Blessings" is quite the blessing that the Good Lord has granted me. I've learned quite a bit and have come a long way since my first days of sewing. I have a picture of a bib I made in the beginning. I can't believe that I sold that poor thing to my sister to give to a friend. What was she thinking? I still have quite a bit to learn, and I am willing.

So in an attempt to take my skills a step forward, I tried my hands at sewing a little romper for my little one's birthday. Not a big deal? I sewed it without a pattern, sort of. I made my own pattern based on a romper that I bought. I had found the cutest material with a puppy theme at Joanns. There were some mistakes along the way, but all in all...well, you tell me!