Lemon Blueberry Rainbow Cake

So last year, on the last day of school, I made The Rainbow Cake. And then my kids and my husband and I all decided that Rainbow Cake should be a new Last Day of School tradition.

The end of this school year was amazingly busy. School was busy, my craft kit business was busy, we were all busy busy busy.

And then the last day of school came. And went. And no Rainbow Cake magically appeared.

Fail.

But! We're an easy-going tradition kind of family. And since we had planned on a day of camping this weekend, we decided to Rainbow Cake It Up.

Rainbow Cake is made with yellow cake mix. I used it for last year's Last Day of School Cake,

and Peyton's Birthday Cake,



and Ella's Birthday Cake.



You know what? I don't love yellow cake mix. And since I'm the one making all these dang cakes all over the place, I think I can make a decision every once in a while.

I'm a'gonna make a lemon cake! And blueberries were on sale, so... why not? But when I say lemon cake, don't be thinking that I'm making it from scratch - forget it - this kind of cake takes enough time as it is - I'm box-caking it all the way.

Also, and I've mentioned this before, two tubs of frosting is not enough. I'm okay with that. I could use three, but really! Three tubs of frosting? It might make my cake look awesome, but that is a lot of freakin' frosting. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to use two and call my cake "rustic" instead. 

Why, yes, that is a fire pit in the background. Why, no, I don't think this is an acceptable dessert for camping. For the record, I've never brought a cake camping before, but just this once, I think it's okay.

So here's what I did, I followed the regular directions that you can find here, except, of course, I used lemon cake mix and frosting.

I don't use food coloring drops, I use food coloring gel, but imagine adding one drop of blue to one layer, then two drops to the next layer, then three... you get the idea. Except they're not really drops, because it's gel, so... one glop, then two glops, then three... Totally sexy. Glop.

Fire pit in the background!

Did you notice how nicely the original Rainbow Cake and this Lemon Blueberry Cake is sliced? I mean, compared to the crazy-Birthday-Party-oh-my-Lord-feed-the-hungry-masses-of-party-children-before-they-attack-Cakes. 

I'm only totally afraid of my children some of the time.

Anyway, after I had come up with the idea of the lemon blueberry rainbow cake, and before I actually made it, I pinterested (as that should totally be a verb by now) blue rainbow cake to see if anyone had done something similar. If you want to see something REALLY beautiful, go see what I found. Aim for that one, end up with this one...

be happy.

It was delicious! Tradition crisis averted.

And I Was Kung Fu "Pin"spiiiiring!

So I have 3 "Pin"spired projects(-ish) I just completed, wanna see?

1. Hanging Jars

So I pinned these, knowing full well that I would never make them exactly like Good Housekeeping did. Because I currently have no babies in my house, and therefor no baby food jars, and there was no way I would buy baby food just for this project. And I would have to attach wire and I really, really dislike working with wire. 

And then I saw the cutest little hanging jars in the Target Dollar Bins. $2.50 for 3! They're sweet, right? All rocking the Fleur de lis, and colorful, and already equipped with hanging wire. I bought 6. I should have bought many, many more. But when I went back to Target they were sold out and I haven't seen them since. 6 will have to do! I filled them with super colorful springtime flowers from my garden that I grew myself (read: I went to Michael's, bought some cheap fake flowers and added them to some Dollar Tree fake flowers I already had). 

I strung them with ribbon and hung them from white hooks. I did not hang them from the bright green tack you can see on the right hand side down there. Because the jars were too heavy. What!?! Doesn't everyone leave their bright green tacks stuck into the wall randomly around their homes? Well, they should.

I hung them in my dining area. Because you KNOW I like to hang crap there. Like these Stained-Glass Hearts and these Snowflakes and Paper Hearts. I'm a sucker for crafty, inexpensive window treatments. They catch the light and they're so happy and Spring-y. I love them! And they don't die and I don't have to replace the water when it gets old and nasty and has little tiny bugs floating it it like I would have to do if they were real flowers. So there.

2. Makeup Vases

I pinned this cute little makeup brush holder. I used dollar vases from the Dollar Tree and dollar rocks from the Dollar Tree. And now I'm fancy as All Get Out - not like the Dollar Tree.

The vases in the back are a little taller than the front vases. I really like that they are not all the same. The back vase on the left holds face makeup. The back vase on the right holds eyeshadow. The front vase on the left holds mascara and eyeshadow brushes. The front vase on the right holds foundation and blush brushes. I don't feel like I have a lot of make-up supplies. Do you have more? Less? I don't even store my lipstick here because I own exactly 3 shades and I keep them all in my purse. So I guess I'm not all that fancy, but when I look at this, I feel very glamorous.

I put all the vases on a mosaic tray I made long, long ago. Along with some Ikea bamboo, my favorite body spray of all time - Cucumber Melon, and a gold bird from Hobby Lobby.

I'm slowly redoing my master bath in a spa-like theme - white, black, bamboo-light-brown, green, and gold. The rocks and clear vases are perfect. And the tray makes it all seem more deliberate. 

I love this!

3. Enchilada Casserole

I pinned this recipe because I love All Things Mexican Food. I changed only a couple of things. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. I hate doing that, but I do it anyway because it's more healthful. And boring. But the casserole was still yum yum delicious! Oh, and I also used corn tortillas instead of flour because I disagree with flour tortillas in casseroles. That's right. I said it.

Oh, and it definitely isn't in the directions, but having a Storm Trooper spatula definitely adds to the happiness factor while serving the casserole. I know. He's awesome.

Serve away, Storm Trooper. Serve away.

And then I had to smother that thing with all my favorite Mexican Food toppings - cilantro, shredded lettuce, green onions, avocado, tomatoes, sour cream, and Tapatio! I like the extra freshness and texture it all adds. Plus, this way I don't have to serve a salad or vegetable on the side. As if I would ever do that anyway. 

And, just as a side note, you can't just say Tapatio in my house, you have to yell it. Like this: TAP A TIOOO! Do it. You'll like it. It's totally fun. 

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Don't forget the jalapeños!

Seriously delicious.

3 projects down, 5,000 to go. Take that! And that! And that! Yes, I do still have the karate skills from the class I took when I was 5 years old.

Way to go, Pinterest. I love you.

Clipboards!

You knew that I used to be an elementary school teacher, right? I taught 3rd and 5th grades for a few years. Then I had Kid One, and then Kid Two, and then I was outta there. I did love teaching, I did! But you never ever feel like you're doing enough and... Anyway, a story for another day.

Teaching taught me a zillion bazillion things, one of which is that kids love clipboards. It's a fact. We didn't use them every day, but man oh man, when we did - happy students! And we're not even talking about fancy clipboards. Nope. Just plain, old, boring, cut-off-your-finger if you clip it by accident, survival of the fittest kind.

Like this:



So I decided to make some clipboards for the kids in our family for Easter. The kind that are a little less dangerous are also much more expensive, soooo.... It's back to the survival of the fittest kind. Because I'm cheap. So let's hope our kids are of the fittest group.

Anyway - super easy! I painted just the outside edge of each clipboard, front and back, in each child's favorite color. I didn't want much of the standard clipboard color to show and the clipboards are a little bit taller than the 12 x 12 inch paper I had picked out.

Then I Mod Podged on the scrapbook papers that I had cut to size. Peyton and Ella wanted to decorate theirs with marker first, so you might see some extra fancy artwork on a couple of the clipboards in the next few pictures. Peyton decorated the back of his with all of our names written in his version of cursive. Adorable. Ella decorated the front of hers with our names and then wrote I LOVE PENNY all over it.

You may also want to make a template if you want your paper to fit well. But don't take that one single template too seriously. You may need to make several. Because those clips at the top aren't necessarily in the same place on each clipboard. Stupid clips. 

I made one single template, traced all the paper, cut all the paper, began to Mod Podge the paper onto the clipboards, and then! What the What!?! Why is this piece hanging off the clipboard by 1/2 an inch when the others fit perfectly? Cue profanities. I had to recut the piece - see the top left clipboard - so it would fit. It still looks good - maybe even better than the others - but it's the principal of the matter! They should all be the same!

You will need to find a way to keep the clip open while the Mod Podge dries. I cut in half and twisted up some chenille stems that I had lying around. They worked perfectly. (I took all of these pictures when the Mod Podge was still drying, so if the paper looks a little weird toward the top, that's why.)

Ella and Peyton chose their own letter stickers...

But I got to be the boss of the others.

And we have one little cousin who isn't in school yet. Since she has yet to learn how to NOT cut off her fingers by using a clipboard, I layered 5 or 6 pieces of pink adhesive-backed felt on hers to protect her sweet little fingers. Just in case.

You know what else would have been nice? Spraying each one with a clear glossy finish to protect it. You know what didn't get done because I ran out of time? Spraying each one with a clear glossy finish to protect it.

But! I did clip some Easter mazes and word searches and little pencil pouches stuffed with Easter pencils and cute erasers and little toys and candy.



Success! My kids use them in their room, on the table, on the floor, in the car and as a MAJOR BONUS, they still have all their fingers intact and it's already been two days!

Spring Canvas - Easter Style

It was finally time to change up the Spring Canvas. One week before Easter because I'm super on top of things this year. Judge away.

So I stripped off the hearts...

And got out some eggs...

And rainbowed them up...

Who's making all that noise because I'm not paying any attention to her while I take pictures? Oh yeah, this one...

Oh, Penny. Stretch away, Cuteness.

Then I threw the canvas back up above the mantel. Ha! I'm so cavalier about it. Let's pretend like that's reality. Like I didn't string and restring fifty different combinations of eggs across that thing.

What's that? You really love that Easter Egg Banner that's strung across my mantel? You really wish you had one for your very own? Hmmm.... I REALLY wish I could help you out. Oh, wait, I can! ShaBam!

Anyway. Back to not plugging my own stuff. You KNOW I have a hard time buying holiday things that are not on after-the-holiday clearance or that I don't have a coupon for. But! Just look at that little lamby! He came from Pier One. This year. Before Easter. Without a coupon. I did exchange something for him, but still! This is a big deal for me. He's totally top-heavy and falls over at least once a day. Totally worth it. I love him.

Those little eggs in the vase are from The Dollar Tree. I got them today. Because I wanted to take pictures of my canvas and my mantel and I really just needed a bit more color. So I ran down there, spent two bucks on eggs, and ran back (or maybe I drove - it's all a blur). For you! Because that's how much I care! I just cut off the little hanging loops that they came with. And then I piled them into a Dollar Tree vase that I had Gorilla Glued onto a Dollar Tree candlestick holder. Super easy and cheap and I love the color! 

Cute Cute Cute! Good little eggs all lined up. At least something is neat and orderly around here. It's okay. I'll take what I can get.

 Happy Easter!

My Thrift Store Coffee Table and A Surprise!

Here's what happened. We had just moved back to California. We had ditched our old coffee table before the move, because it had been demolished by years of kid abuse.

So I  see this little thrift store, and outside this little thrift store is this little square coffee table that would fit perfectly in my little apartment.  I loved the size and I loved the double decker look and I loved the lines of it. 

I said I loved the lines! Not the scratches! Didn't matter, it would look like that within one week after entering the kid zone anyway. But, wait, what does that little white price tag say?

Are you freakin' kidding me??? I sprinted into the store with my crazy eyes and my cash and demanded that it be mine. 

The owner looked at me like I was nuts. 

Maybe because it was one hundred-ish (or eighty) degrees outside and so that little mad dash into the store had turned me into a sweaty-haired disaster, or maybe because I had looked that way anyway. No, couldn't be that. I'm awesome ALL THE TIME. 

"I really want that square table!" I yelled with all my excitement.

"Really? That thing's been out there for months." 

"Oh really? Then then town must be full of ... Never mind. If I try to look extra cute and flirty, with my sweaty, whacked-out hair and crazy eyes, will you load it into my car for me?" Or maybe I didn't say that out loud, but I did it, and it worked. Maybe because I was super cute. More likely because he wanted to get me the hell out of his store.

And I cannot tell you how filthy that thing was! I scrubbed with all sorts of toxic and non-toxic solutions and still, the layers of dirt impressed even me. And I once lived in an apartment in which cockroaches greeted me on my pillow on a nightly basis. With song. Ah... to be 19 again. The glamour of it all.

Anyway! Are you so proud that I scored that table for $10? Will you lose all that pride for me if I tell you that I didn't do anything with that table for A YEAR? Meh. I wanted to, I swear! I just... didn't.

And one night, I did.

Get your mind out of the gutter!

I sanded and painted. Oh - see the drawer! It perfectly fits all our remotes for the TV and Wii. It's all kinds of wonderful, this table.

And I stained (the same color as the dining table, since it's all basically in the same room) ...

And I still haven't polyurethaned it. And I'm not at all hanging my head in shame about it.

I'll get around to it sooner or later. 

(We have a kindergarten groundhog on a craft stick that has lived in our flowers since Groundhog Day. Ella put him there. I think he's adorable.)

The table's good, right?

BECAUSE I LOVE IT!

Oh, and it is still decorated for Valentine's Day. Because I put A LOT of effort into my Valentine's Day decorating. Before this year I had zero Valentine's Day decorations and now I have: These and these and these and these! I'm thinking I'm going straight from Valentine's Day decor to Easter decor. I never said I wasn't lazy. In fact, I do believe I've admitted it quite often on this blog. Oh, and I got this cute candle idea from pinterest!

You know who makes me feel better about not following through with the poly? 

She's kind of a big deal around here.

HER NAME IS PENNY! AND SHE'S 10 WEEKS OLD!

Oh, and I distressed the table, too. That should count for something. Penny especially likes the way this table leg is distressed. It saves her the trouble of doing it for me. Or maybe it still needs a little more. I'm sure she'll decide later.

She totally deserves her own blog post. Coming soon!

$10 Coffee Table!!!

It's a Happy Day!