Ladybug Cupcake Toppers

Who doesn't love ladybugs??? And these were oh so cute and easy as pie! I made two dozen of these cupcake toppers for my friend Robin. Her daughter, Charli, was turning 2. Fun!

Materials needed: red and black fondant, a tiny amount of gum paste

Here are the tools I used: 
a small fondant roller with guide rings, a medium circle cutter, a small circle cutter, a Wilton #10 tip, a small bowl, and a pastry paint brush

Here's how I made them:

Step 1: I used the purple ring on my fondant roller to roll out the black. (I bought black fondant because it is time-consuming and messy to make.) I used a circle cutter the size of a cupcake to make 24 black bodies.

Step 2: I used a smaller circle to make 24 heads.

Step 3: I used a Wilton #10 tip to make a million dots! Ok, 6 x 24 isn't a million. This was the most tedious part. I sprayed a little Pam on my parchment to dip my tip in every few circles. And I used the opposite end of my decorating brush to poke the circles out if they got stuck. Line them up in groups of 6 to make counting much easier!

Step 4: I used the pink rings on my fondant roller to roll out the red. Then I used the same circle cutter I used for the black bodies. Then using a very sharp knife or bench scraper, cut them in half.

Step 5: In a very small bowl of hot water, dissolve a pea-sized amount of gum paste. Then, use a brush to "glue" dots on each red wing. One thing to know about gum glue- there will a sort of sheen on any part of the fondant that has gum glue on it, even when it dries. I covered most of the red surface on top with the glue, so it wouldn't look splotchy. Also, try not to get it too wet or your black may bleed on the red.

Step 6: Let dry. I dried mine overnight. I left all of it uncovered except for the heads. I still wanted them to be pliable the next morning.

Step 7: Attach the heads and bodies by using your gum glue liquid. I like to put glue on both surfaces before sticking the pieces together, but I'm not sure if it matters. Let dry a few minutes.

 Step 8: Attach the wings using gum glue. Let dry until they are secure. Done!

Here they are at the birthday party. Robin did a great job with the decor!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHARLI!

Wedding Shower Gift Plaque

My husband's cousin got married, and I made her one of those name plaques that are all over Etsy for $35-$60. The final cost of project was about $15, with some extra supplies for other plaques or crafts.
This is a super easy and cute project!

You'll need:
1 wooden plaque
any color acrylic paint (I used black)
sticky back vinyl for the Cricut (I used white)
Modge Podge
paint sponges
X-acto knife or rotary cutter
chalk and measuring tape
medium fine sandpaper
2 of those small rings that screw into the top (obviously don't know the technical name, see picture)
pliers
hammer, or heeled shoe :)

1. Paint the plaque. Let dry. Paint another coat. Let dry.
2. Sand the edges of the painted plaque for that distressed look.
3. Cut out the letters you need onto the vinyl. I made the first capital letter a 1/2 inch bigger than the other letters so they would stand out. I used two different fonts to cut out the letters. For the name, I used Lyrical Letters, and for the date I used Plantin' Schoolbook.
4. Don't take the letters off the backing yet.
5. For the line, cut a strip of vinyl using your X-acto or rotary cutter. I made mine longer than the plaque. Place it carefully in the middle of the plaque. Use X-acto to cut the length as desired on each side.
6. Place all of the letter exactly where you want them using the vinyl strip as a guide. Use a measuring tape to make sure each side is the same size. Do the same with the date at the bottom.
7. Once you are perfectly happy with the placement, take your chalk and make a mark on the side of each letter so that you can line it back up.
8. Carefully take the backing off each letter and place it in its spot.
9. If it looks wrong in any way, this is the time to adjust it!
10. When you are happy with it, take the Modge Podge and cover the entire visible surface of the plaque.
11. Let dry.
12. Take your hooks and attach them to the top of the plaque. I had to hammer them in first, then screw them in using my pliers. Make sure they are equidistant from the sides.
13. Attach your coordinating ribbon. I threaded it through each hook and then made a knot at the top.
14. If you want to keep your ribbon from fraying, just take a lighter and carefully singe the ends of the ribbon.

Here is the final product!