A browine Cake

Making cakes is probably one of my favorite things to do. A little while ago my mom (who helps with the making of the cakes) and I were asked if we could make a cake out of brownies for a wedding. We were told that they didn't really like cake nor did they like icing. My mom and I told them that we could, but were a little unsure of what the finished product would like like. This is what we came up with and I think it turned out great.

Check out my cake monkey facebook page for more cakes that I have made. I think this link will take you there https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002806223045. My facebook name is cake-monkey byashley-taylor. If you live in central Ohio and would like me to do your wedding cake send me a private message. I also do cakes for other occasions as well.

Magazine coasters

I have quit a few magazines just laying around the house. I always hate to just throw my magazines out for the weekly recycling just because they seem to cost so much to buy.  I have been reading articles about upcycling. Upcycling is taking something that is useless and recycling into something that can be used.  I have also read on several articles on-line about magazine coasters, and I thought to myself why not. So I decided to give it a try with a basic basket weaving technique that I knew. I will post later how to make these step by step once I make some more. I wasn't sure how they would turn out so I didn't take pictures a long the way as I made it. I am also selling a 4 set of these coasters for $5.00 plus shipping and handling. If you would like to order some just leave me a comment with your email address or email me. It may take me a little bit to make them I already have a few request for these.

I think on the next set of these that I make I am going to add clear packing tape over the paper so that it wont get ruined from water.

Record Bowls

First off I would like to say that I am sorry that it has taken me 10 days to post something else on my blog. I have been very busy. I really hope you enjoy what I have made today record bowls. I got this idea from someone a while back and have been wanting to try it but I couldn't really part with any of the records I already had. So I bought a polka record at the thrift store on half off day which made it 45 cents. I got one that came in a sleeve so that I could use the sleeve for another project. =-). The first thing I did was turn my oven to 350. I decided to use a square bowl because I thought that it would make a fun shape, but you can use a round bowl, a rectangle one, or an oval one. Just make sure the record is bigger then the bowl or it wont work out well. Depending on what you are wanting it for would really depend on the shape.

The first thing I did was set my oven to 350 and picked the record I wanted to use.

I then chose what shape I wanted my record bowl to be. I went with a square bowl because I had a square candle that I thought this would make the perfect holder for. I then put the bowl and the record in the oven. I recommend standing right there because it will literally take seconds for the bowl to heat up and start to bend. I also recommend putting it on a cookie sheet so that it will be easy to pull out of the oven.

This is how my bowl turned out. I am pretty happy with it because it turned out the shape I wanted it. I do think with a round bowl you might be able to get a few more waves in it, but remember no two bowls will look alike it just depends how the oven heats that record up and how quickly you get to it to bend it.

So I put my candle and my rocks in it and whala I have a new way to display my candles. You can also use these bowls to store things in them, my husband brought up that the square ones could also be used as an ashtray, you would just need to put a little piece of duck-tape on the bottom.  If you would like some record bowls and don't have time to make them or don't want to risk making them I will make them and sell them for $5.00 plus shipping and handling a bowl. Just send me an email or comment on this post.

Handmade Butterflies and a handmade card

So I learned today how to make paper origami butterflies. They are so easy to make and can be used on a number of things. I chose to put them on a card and I made an envelope for the card and chose to stick one on the outside of the envelope. I think these butterflies will also be good to put in a scrapbook, or on the outside of packages.

  I used yarn to tie the butterfly shut and the top serves as the butterfly antennas. You could also use ribbon or a piece of fabric. I just had an abundance of yarn. I went though my scrap book paper to find the colors that would match with my card stock. I recommend if you make the butterflies to use scrap book paper as opposed to card stock because it is easier to fold.

This is the envelop that I have made for my card.

The pink is the card. The picture doesn't do the envelop justice. The envelop is a pastel green color that matches the pink really well. If you end up making one of these I recommend that you hot glue the butterfly on to the card stock. If you would like me to make you a card that looks like this it will cost $4.00 plus shipping. Just leave me a comment with the color's you would like.

Above is the template I used to make the butterfly. I then folded it up like a paper fan, and tied it in the middle with yarn. I hope you enjoyed this post.

Valentine's gift Idea

I really enjoy making something each year for my husband for valentines day. This year I was having a hard time coming up with something that I haven't already done for him. Then I decided to make this

(sorry that the photo quality is so bad, the lighting in my house today wasn't the greatest) I took a deck of Playing cards and one of the jokers (I threw the rest of jokers and card game cards in the trash). On the joker card I wrote out 52 reasons why I love you, then on each card I wrote one reason why I love my husband. I was going to type out all the reason and then glue them on but I know my husband likes it when I take the time to write things out so that is what I did.  So for about 3.00 I have made a valentines gift that my husband will love forever. If you do this project I recommend writing out all the reasons first so that way you don't end up repeating yourself on the cards. Once I completed the cards I realized that the cards no longer fit back in their original box because I used card stock. So I made this box to put them in. If you don't know how to make a box I will post a template later on this month once I get the chance to scan it in. Also you could use any type of box that you like.

  

These boxes are super easy to make and I will post a template later this month when I have time to upload the template.

Handmade Cards

So I learned today how to make cards and I think they turned out really great

This one is one I am willing to sell for 4.00, If you would like to buy a card and want different colors just let me know =)


This card below is the card I made for Cory's grandma's birthday in March, I think she will love it.

I also made the envelops to go with it. I found that this is very stress reducing. So I am sure I will be making a ton of these cards for everyone in my family at some point =)

Scarfs

So my husband has baby cousins that are 6. I wanted to make them something that I knew they would be able to cherish, so I decided on making them scarfs. I probably should have made them the same colors, but oh well. For their birthdays in March I am crocheting them purses that will be the same colors (post to follow once the purses are complete)

This scarf was for his cousin Loren. I really like these two colors together, and these are the two colors that I am making for the purses for their birthday.

This is the scarf I made for his cousin Kara. I think both scarfs turned out really well, I just wish I would have made both of them really bright instead of just one.

Mark and Emily's wedding cake

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One of my favorite things to make is cakes!! I have my own cake business that I am just starting out of my house called cake monkey! This is a wedding cake that I did for my cousin Mark back in August when he got married to Emily. This is one of my favorite cakes that I have made so far this year. 

Getting Started

So I decided that for this I was going to try and blog. I really enjoy making things and being extremely thrifty. I will be sharing through out the year some of the things I make, along with some of the thrifty ideas I have. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I am going to enjoy making it! =). It may take me some time to figure out how everything works to be able to fully get started.