Diaper Cake - In 20 Minutes

This takes and extra set of hands but in can be made in about 20 minutes. I read up on the making of diaper cake through pinterest and google and thought that the easiest way to make a diaper cake was the rolling method. This is where you line up all the diapers and roll them up around your center base in one consecutive roll. I am all about time and money saving ideas so this looked perfect, not so much. The diapers just didn't want to hold each other in place and I did not have time to mess around with it ( I am a true procrastinator at heart). Rolling each diaper is MUCH easier and saves time in the long run.
Supplies:

• Ribbon: 20 yards or so to tie the diaper rolls (to much is better than too little), Spool O Ribbon from Michaels
• 3 Yards of decorative ribbon (I had 3 of the thick red and 3 of the sheer)
• Toys (Buy these first and then the ribbon the match)
• Stuffed Animal and flowers to decorate
• Baby Shampoo
• Cake Round (The base for a cake found at Michaels)
• 50 Diapers (3 Layer Cake: 25 for the base, 15 for middle, 10 for the top)

Cut ribbon in strips long enough to tie around rolled diapers. Then hopefully have a friend help you roll up and tie all 50 diapers.

Place Shampoo in middle of cake round 14" or so. Circle first layer of diapers around bottle (25), don't be too worried about the placement or order. Have someone else hold  the diapers  while you tie wide ribbon around. Add next two layers; fifteen and ten diapers respectively. Add the decorative sheer and cut the ends of the ribbon into dove tails. Tuck toys in between sheer and wide ribbon and tie stuffed animal around the top with extra ribbon. Ready, set, diaper cake.

Battleshots!

 Everyone (age 21 and up), man your battle stations! Its time for Battleshots!!!!

This is one of the best crafts we have made in awhile. I got the idea from pinterest but I think we took it to a whole other level. The game is very simple, regular battleship but instead of putting pegs into little plastic boats, you have to take a shot. Its like all the nostalgia with an adult twist. For the record we do not play with whole shots, that would not be fun as you could only play one game. We usually do a quarter of a shot and I fill the rest of it up with my chaser.

We used full sheets of foam-core from Michael's to make our boards, with extra pieces for the sides then duct taped together. Then we drew grids on the bottom part, with spaces big enough for our shot glasses. Then we made a grid on a piece of paper and copied it for the top part and taped it on. This is used to mark the misses and hits that you have guess during the game. On our next craft day we are going to make ships out of craft-foam that have slots to put the shot glasses.

My First Blog!!! Meatloaf Cupcakes

Well I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now so I have giant mix of randomness to share.


First and maybe foremost (drum-roll, please)... MEATLOAF CUPCAKES!!!
 
 I had been craving meatloaf for a couple days but I could not find the time (or the want) to make it then have wait for an hour while it bakes. What to do?  Change the vessel that it cooks in to make it smaller so it will cook faster and what better than a cupcake pan? Mashed potato "frosting" and cheese "sprinkles" makes this dish fun and tasty.
For my meatloaf recipe I take a note from my Dad who will put just about anything in his meatloaf.  If there is that last little corner left in the cereal box he crushes that up and puts it in or crushed up crackers, such as my personal favorite Cheez-Its.

                                                                   For my "cake" I use

• About 1 lb ground beef
• Half a can of tomato soup
• 1 egg
• Salt and pepper
• Anything dry and crush-able in the pantry that has that tiny bit in it that no one will eat
• Breadcrumbs and cheez-its until its like a moist cookie dough 

I put everything in a large freezer bag so I don't have to touch the meat but I can still mix it really well. Then I cut the corner off the bag (make a large hole) and squeeze it right into the cupcake pan. With the back of a spoon smoosh them into the pan and add a little tomato soup on top and bake for 25 minutes at 350. Meanwhile, peel, cut and boil 4 russet potatoes (remember the smaller the chucks the faster they will cook). 20 minutes or so should do the trick, then drain and add a splash of milk, a little butter and salt then whip. Throw the whipped potatoes in a bag, cut the corner and pipe them on top of the meat "cakes". Add shredded cheese and bake another 5 minutes. Let cool and enjoy! I serve them on top of ketchup.