I'm Anna. I'm a follower of Jesus, mother of three, thrifter, crafter, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. My goal is to live out each of these roles with creativity, and this is where I write about some of that. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you'll take a minute to leave a comment so I know you were here.
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Whatever stress accompanied us as we approached this day, there is nothing I would rather do than watch the wonder of Christmas on the faces of my children. The glitter, lights, and decorations seem to dim as we read the story of our Savior's birth. We imagine the surprise of the shepherds, the determination of the wise men, and the hope of the Christ-child's young parents on this miraculous day.
However you celebrate Christmas, I hope you get to do so with those you love. Merry Christmas.
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Wherever you are, whatever you are doing to get ready for your Christmas fun, I hope you are safe, happy, healthy, and warm.
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With Thanksgiving, Emma's birthday, Ethan's birthday, a HUGE deadline, and Christmas all hitting within the span of 4 weeks time, this place has been a bit of a madhouse.
Since the kids' birthdays are so close together, we usually alternate each year and only give one a friend party. The other gets a small, quiet (yeah, right!) family party at home.
I don't know if I've mentioned that Ethan is a but obsessed with the Angry Birds. He is. And this year he asked specifically for a big cake--not cupcakes. I'm not a baker, but how could I deny such a sweet request?
Thus was born the Angry Bird cake.
Although I didn't take progress shots of the cake, I'll share the steps so that you can make one of your own if you want. This is such an easy process, even I couldn't screw it up!
1. Use two cake mixes and bake 4 8-inch round cakes. Cool and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for between 2 hours to overnight.
2. Unwrap the frozen cakes. If they have big bulges on top, shave them off so that they will stack better. This is so easy when the cake is frozen!
3. Stack up the four layers, frosting in between each one. I used a couple cans of the cheep white frosting, colored with some yellow food coloring. Then, carefully shape the stacked cake into a rounded pyramid.
4. If the cake is still mostly frozen, coat the shaped cake with a very thin layer of frosting. This will lock in the loose crumbs. Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
5. Next comes the fun part. Cover the cake with the rest of the yellow frosting. I will glide over the frozen layer and look wonderful. For the white feathers, I used large marshmallows cut into slices and layered onto the front of the bird.
The eyes are also marshmallows, with chocolate chips for pupils. The angry eyebrows are chocolate chips, too. The only tricky part was the nose. We used a piece of trimmed cake, frosted with orange, and stuck on with a toothpick. I think a baby carrot might have worked, too.
The crest and the tail are also marshmallows. I snipped them into a fan shape, and then dipped them into a little bowl of melted chocolate chips.
Ethan was pleased with his Angry Bird cake.
The rest of the birthday "party" was spent opening presents and playing with family.
He even got a hand-drawn card from his big sister.
I cannot believe my little baby boy is five years old today. He was just an infant when I started this blogging adventure. Can it have been so long already? It just seems to have flown by.
My Ethan is funny, energetic, focused, spirited, gentle, compassionate, protective. He has a way of impressing on the hearts of those who don't even like being around children. At all. I am a better person for having him in my life, and I can't wait to see what lies ahead.
Happy Birthday, Ethan!
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I just have to cut in here and share this company that I just found.
Spud and Chloe makes gorgeous luxury yarns in fun, fresh colors that are perfect for that next special knitting project. They also have a line of adorable knitting patterns. I'm making the Flap Happy Hat for a special someone for Christmas.
So, why am I so excited about discovering this darling company? Well, I've just joined up with them to work on a collaborative project for their spring line. The opportunity came as quite a surprise, and I am so excited to get the chance to work with them. Every phone call, email, and note I've had from their team has been pleasant and friendly.
So, what are we working on? Well, you'll just have to wait and find out. But it will be in their spring catalog that prints at the beginning of 2012. Stay tuned!
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While we still had the stamp out from the art project for school, we decided to get some handmade gifts crossed off the list.
We used the stamp from Emma's drawing, block print ink, and a set of precut cards with matching envelopes that I'd bought a couple years ago for another project.
In just a couple hours we had almost 200 cards made.
These will make great gifts for teachers, pastors, grandparents, and others in our lives who need a little something to say "thank you" for all they do.
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