Fun Chrismas tree cupcakes!

OMG, I visited Bakerella to see she had the cutest cupcake idea! I'll just stop right there and give the specs: (this is taken straight from the site)

To decorate, you’ll need:

Cupcakes
Sugar Cones
White Candy Melts
White Sugar crystals
Frosting
Pink Sugar crystals
Candy Canes
Fondant
Icing colors (I used Wilton Dusty Rose & )
Snowflake Sprinkles
Confetti Sprinkles

• Cut off ends of the sugar cones, so the tree section is around 3 inches long. Use a serrated knife to carefully saw through without shattering the cone.
• Dip cone sections in melted white candy coating. If you use a tall plastic cup, it will be easier to coat the entire cone.
• Remove and let excess coating fall off.
• Sprinkle white sugar crystals or sanding sugar over entire surface of the cone. Sprinkle over a large bowl and you can reuse the sprinkles.
• Set on wax paper to dry completely. When dry, you can redip the bottoms to make sure the cone is completely coated.
• Use 6 inch long candy canes and break the handles off so you are left with a straight piece that’s around 5 inches.
• Cover cupcakes with tinted pink frosting.
• Fill a small dish with the pink sugar crystals or sanding sugar and press cupcake tops into the dish until the entire surface is covered with sugar cyrstals.
• Dip one end of the candy cane in some of the melted candy coating and insert the other end straight into the cupcake.
• Place a Christmas Tree on top of the candy cane and let the candy coating dry and work like a glue.
• If you want decorations, it would be a good idea to add them before you attach the tree. Just dot a small amount of coating on the surface and attach a colored sprinkle.
• For presents, tint white fondant and shape the fondant into small squares by hand. Then use some of the white fondant, roll it out and use a knife to cut thin strips for ribbon. Attach the white fondant ribbon to the presents with a small dab of water. Then attach the snowflake sprinkles the same way.
• Remember, use dense cupcakes instead of light and fluffy ones so the trees will not want to tip.
• Or skip the candy canes, use the entire sugar cone and make big trees. Then you won’t have to worry.

Either way… enjoy!

P.S. The baking cups are from confectioneryhouse.com in case you’re wondering,

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Ich bin ein Berwyner....Maybe one day I'll mean it!

With the housing market in the dumps, we now have the opportunity to possibly purchase a modest home! Everywhere we look 'round the Chicagoland area, many towns still think they're awesome and can ask for your 1st born in order to reside in a home in their town...except Berwyn...A lovely town surrounded by historic Riverside designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and the over-taxed, but quaint, Oak Park. The other 2 towns arent really worth mentioning. Anyways, Berwyn may one day be our home and in that home I would love to proudly display this awesome print above by unlesssomeonelikeyou to comemmorate the fallen sculpture; The Spindle...whose demise came at the hands of a new Walgreens. Bah! Those are all over - there was only ONE Spindle... Here it was standing in Cermak Plaza

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How To: Glittery Owl Hair Clip Holder

My daughter has a bunch of hair clips that always end up lost since there is no good place for her to store them. I had the idea of making her a cute clip holder out of my glitter vinyl and thought I'd git'r done since X-mas is fast approaching and time is running out. SO ...If you have any girls to make gifts for this Christmas, here is a fun one! This takes about 20 minutes AND no sewing is required!

FIRST, you will need your tools:

• The owl template, all cut out (its best to print it on card stock!)
  
• Scissors (good sharp ones)
  
• Hot glue gun (low heat is what I use)
  
• Glitter Vinyl
  
• Spool of ribbon
  

Now, turn the vinyl to the backside and trace all the pieces on the color you're using for each body part. Cut each one out.

Once you have all your pieces cut out, arrange them however you like. I added a few more things that are not in the template - the scalloped 'feathers' on the belly and 2 more medium sized circles to add on the eyes. Of course you can add whatever other embellishments you like.

Carefully take your hot glue gun - make sure its plugged in ;) and glue the face on first, then 'feathers' if you make them, then wings last. Take about 2 feet of ribbon, cut it in half, flip the owl over (once glue dries) and glue the ribbon to the back and take another 4" of ribbon, make a loop and hot glue it to the back of the top so you have a way to hang it up. Done!

Now to wrap it up or hang and put it to some use!

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Family Trees: The Many Options!

Creating family trees can be a daunting task, especially for me, who has 16 people on my immediate side alone - that's just parents, siblings and kids..then adding my husbands side is easy since its just 5. But hope exists! Its how creative you can get with it. Here are some great ideas I found around the interwebs that look WAY better than those cheesy ones they had you make in school.
I particularly love this Balloon Family tree - well, I guess its not really a tree, but you get the idea. Its fun for a kids room..or any really. but I'm sure mine would want it in their room. I love that its in a shodow box, which makes it easy to add new additions to the family... we have those a lot!

This literal tree is a bit more sophisticated and grown up. Its great if you have a big family or include more than just immediate members. Its a bit of trickery too since at first glance you probably would not notice what it is exactly until you got up close and personal.

Here is another fun one; simple, geometric, colorful. Great for small-ish families or just condensing yours.
Here is a clever tree that has pics of family members - visualizations are always great. This would be a fun one that you and your little one(s) can do together.

Well, I hope to delve into some Family Tree fun now that I have some inspiration!

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You ARE Lucky; Free Holiday Gift Tags

I simply love the designs and blog of Orange You Lucky! ..and lucky we are since she is kind enough to provide some super cute Holiday gift tags...Just go to her Blog and see how to download them all. I think it would be cool to print them on sticker paper and stick them on your gifts...or print them on heavy card stock, punch a hole and use some cute candy striped twine and attach them to your presents that way. Thank You!

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Announcing: The Giveaway winner is....

After much toil in moderating 200+ comments, and generating a random number and counting the number of comments to get to said random number (if there is a better way to do this please let me know!) I have found the winner!
Congratulations, Erin Compton - you have won!

I would like to thank each and everyone of you who participated..I read thru all the comments and I'm flattered by your sweet compliments, following of the blog here and being a fan of my facebook page. I will try not to disappoint!

Tune in for the next giveaway, it will be from:

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Giveaway Day! Enter NOW!

UPDATE: All comments received by midnight 12/6/09 central standard time (Chicago) will be published. Others received after that...I wish you better luck next time. :)

I am participating in this year's Giveaway Day hosted by Sew, Mama,Sew. Enter to win this wintry sweet box pouch made with Alexander Henry "Granville" Blues fabric. It measures 7" x 2.5" x 3". How do you enter? Well that's simple. All you have to do pick one of the following options:

1. Become a fan of CrankHeartPony on facebook.
   
2. Become a follower of my blog - click the 'follow' button on the right sidebar.
3. Post my shop button to your blog - its on the right sidebar (see details for help) Comment with your blog link.
   
4. Tell me what your favorite item is from my shop

Which ever you do, you must post a comment on this post so I know which one you did...otherwise I won't know if you're participating in the giveaway or just a random new fan/follower. Plus, I will randomly pick the winner from the comments. So post away! Some more details -

• This is open to the world, so I will ship anywhere and everywhere!
  
• This offer is open until midnight (Chicago time) on December 6th.
  
• The winner will be announced on December 7th and the item will be shipped no later than December 12th.
• To add the button to your blog (for Blogger users): Right click on the button; click "save image as" and save on your computer; open your blogger layout; select "add a gadget"; add "picture"; Upload picture with the link being http://crankheartpony.com. Done!
  

Thanks and good luck to all!

I'm in the holiday spirit and thought I would offer a freebie for anyone who buys from the shop...FREE 3x3 6pc glitter vinyl sampler for every order til we hit 400 sales. Mention 'glitter' in notes to seller and let me know what colors from the list you would like. Some ideas for this stuff is making fun holiday garland, retro style ornaments, appliques, decorations,etc. It is easily cut or sewn and has the fabric backing on it. This is fun stuff, so get some while it lasts!

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DIY Dishes

I saw this cute tutorial on making boring dishes not so boring. Give it a try!

What You Need

• Your own design or some free clip art from the interweb for a pattern
  
• Signmaking vinyl from a signmaking store (one that creates logos for delivery cars)
• Crafts knife
• Cutting mat
• Pen
• Graphite paper

How to Make It

1. Place signmaking vinyl face up on a hard surface, then put graphite paper face down on it. Set your pattern on top of the graphite paper, trace, and cut out using the crafts knife.
2. Remove the white backing from the signmaking paper, dip the cut vinyl in a bowl of water, and "float" the vinyl shape into place.
3. Rub a soft cloth over the vinyl to secure it to the surface.
4. The moisture under the vinyl will evaporate and leave the design stuck tight.

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Free Printable Advent Calendar from MIBO

Hey, need a sweet DIY advent calendar right now? For free? Just email Mibo at info@mibo.co.uk and they'll send one your way. They have a link to download it, but it isnt working very well so they suggest emailing them. The calendar takes about 5-15 mins to make - all you need is a ruler, a craft knife and a gluestick...oh and obviously a printer. Full instructions are included. How nice of them!

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Hooray holidays! Making stuff is fun!

Ok, I have been a busy bee as of late. Today alone I have sewn 7 of these box pouches. Its been lots of fun. I just love working in the 3rd dimension.
My other crafting exploration was making these feather headbands and hair pins. I can say Ive never been covered in more down in my life...except in comforter form whilst sleeping. But its addicting making all this stuff...the Fall and Winter months put me in high gear craft mode...its cathartic and way better than the unproductive summer time.




I just saw this posted at Plum Pudding and thought it was such a sweet idea. Its so adorable, I really want to do this with my kids...but how do I get them to be still while I simply trace their hands? That may prove difficult...maybe I can do that while they are asleep.

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C{heart}P Around the Interweb

Huzzah! My Strawberry Shortcake and Custard Coffee Mug made it into a gift guide! Just thought I'd share that.

Now, onto some SNS's (social networking sites) that I frequent... Post yours if you feel so inclined on the comments page :)

Twitter is one of those places I like to promote my items with ambiguous, yet slightly amusing blurbs. I wonder if my approach is effective. I wonder what would happen if I swapped my one liners for actual descriptions, albeit short ones... I think I chose the first route because just giving it away was too boring. Maybe people are more inclined to click on a line that says : "S is for "Suck it, Trebek!" I'll take "SWORDS" for $400 http://bit.ly/1lS20x" Instead of: "Here is a mug with the letter S on it." I may never know.

Facebook Fan pages - another fun place to pal around on. I'm not a big updater of the status, I mainly just post links with an occasional sale here and there. I did't want to be 'that' person whose page you fanned and all you get is updates ever 5 seconds on things too random to be posted on said page..like how many twinkies they can shove in thier mouth without gagging.

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For Men, by Men

My husband and his friend have joined forces in the blogosphere to create Manly Vintage..a collection of vintage finds, thrift store ratings, manly interviews, videos, etc. Check them out...if you're man enough ;)

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More Download + Print

OK, another free printable document - this time its a very lovely 2010 calendar courtesy of Gleaux. Thought I'd share! Enjoy!

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Notable Printables

Over at Love.Obsess.Inspire they have these really nifty labels and note cards to print out for some good ol' correspondence! Give thanks to Oh Smile for providing them! Now you can send a really swell letter or card to a friend! I love free PDFs and printables!

Check out the blog and the lovely shop! Enjoy!

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Amazing...just amazing!

I've been admiring the work and blog of Jayme McGowan and her amazing shop of paper creations.
You may have seen her work, but if you have not, you are in for a treat! Here is a picture of what I'd rather be doing...

I would love to be able to make such whimsical paper creations, but sometimes its better to admire the work of others. I have too much on my plate as it is.

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Interesting Treasury...

I just visited the Etsy front page to see a very unique theme; Artichokes. That's different.

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The making of many things: Pillows

Ok, so I've been lacking in posting blogs, but I have a good excuse! I've been busy posting in my etsy shop, making jewelry, sewing, and crafting up a bunch of other stuff. One thing I've sewn a lot of as of late are pillows. I got some awesome Echino fabric to make the first one that looks like a patchwork pillow and the back is made with Joel Dewberry's faux bois woodgrain fabric - the second is made with Errin McMorris Park Slope and Dewberry's Deer Vally fabrics - the third is from a pattern i saw in Stitch magazine where I used a ton of different scraps of various fabrics - and the last one I made with two gray napkins that I screenprinted a berry branch design onto. So I have been a busy bee. Thought i'd just share a few of what's been taking up my time :)

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New Book for the New Baby

OK, we have recently found out we will have our 3 child... and baby is due on April fools day. But mama don't raise no fools! Anyways Im so excited to make stuff for the babe so I got the Simple Sewing for Baby book complete with patterns- like real paper patterns, not one of those 'enlarge a tiny drawing on your computer' patterns. Here is a sample project:I cant wait to try these out! I also love that Fall is around the corner...I tend to be more crafty when the weather is cooler so hopefully I'll get a lot done!

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Sewing & Craft books I want...now!

Ok, I was killing time with the kids over at Borders today and love to peruse thru the sewing/craft section...I could spend hours looking at these books. Some that caught my attention are the following:
Zakka Sewing- How cute is a squirrel shaped tea cozy!? This book is filled with cute and unique projects from pot holders, pillows and pouches.

Sewing Green - This has a bunch of cool "green" projects I want to try...just look at that way cool scarf! Who wouldn't want to make that?

Another good repurposing book is Handmade Home - they got kids stuff and other cute ideas for the home - I love stuff like that.
Chic and simple Sewing - I've been in dire need to use my dressform Morgan got me for Christmas last year, mainly cuz he keeps pressuring me to use it..but I thought this would be a perfect book to help kick-start some dressform usage.
One I saw and instantly loved was CROBOTS - now there's something I don't see everyday! Tho I do crochet, I cant read a pattern to save my life...I mean I can - but I could never master the Amigurumi.Another amigurumi book I thought would be perfect for Halloween time was Creepy Cute Crochet - adorable and its pretty cheap over at Amazon. Again, I wish I could create these...I just need a really patient teacher to teach me all this.

Well, thats it for now. If anyone has these books and has any feedback, it would be appreciated!

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