Low-fat Key Lime Lemon Cake!

I wanted a sweet treat without a lot of fat and calories.  After rummaging through my kitchen I found a lemon cake mix and key lime pie yogurt.  I decided to combine the two and a yummy super moist cake was born.  Better yet one slice of cake is only 37 calories!

Ingredients:

1 Lemon cake mix

1 cup of Key Lime Pie yogurt

3 egg whites

1 1/3 cups of water

¼ can of vanilla frosting

serving size:  16

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients and mix for three minutes. Pour into a greased and floured bunt pan.  Cook for 40 to 45 minutes until a knife in the cake comes up clean.  Let cake cool for 10 minutes.  

Turn out onto a rack and while cake is still warm frost the cake.  It will melt and as it cools will harden on the cake.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting!

Having a peanut butter chocolate craving?  These cupcakes hit the spot!

 

Peanut Butter Cupcakes:

1 chocolate cake mix

1 c milk

¼ c peanut butter

3 eggs

Bake according to directions on the back of the box.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

8 oz Cream Cheese

½ c Peanut Butter

2/3 c milk

2 c powder sugar

1 snickers bar cut up into pieces

Cream the cream cheese and peanut butter till smooth.  Add the milk and sugar alternately until frosting is thick and spreadable. 

Spread on top of cupcakes and top with snickers pieces.

Yummy!  Usually I just buy a toy and stick it on top of the cake for my kids birthdays. Ta da! A birthday cake with their favorite character.  This year my son wanted an Angry Bird cake.  I just could not shell out the bucks for a small cheap toy to stick on top of the cake.  I decided to try and make the cake myself.  If your a non decorator this is any easy cake to make.  

You'll need:
1 cake mix (make sure you have eggs and oil since most cake mixes call for these)

1 chocolate frosting can

1 vanilla frosting can

2 round pans

1 red cake mate decorating frosting and star tip

2 Oreo cookies

Instructions:

Make the cake as directed and pour into two greased and floured round pans.  Bake for 30 minutes until a knife poked in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes so the cakes won't stick when you turn them over.

Turn cakes over onto a wire rack to cool. 

When the cake is cool place the one cake top side down on your cake plate. Use the chocolate frosting to frost the top of the cake. 

Place your other layer bottom side down on top of the first cake.  (If both flat ends face each other your cake won't slide and will be less lopsided.  

Use the chocolate frosting to frost the sides of the cake.

Take two Oreo's and separate the two pieces so the cream is on one side.  Use frosting an place on the cake.

Use the vanilla frosting and star tip to make a half circle shape at the bottom of the cake.  Fill the circle in using the star tip.  

With food coloring dye the rest of the vanilla frosting orange.  To make the beak use a star tip and make a triangle between the eyes and another triangle upside down from the first.  Fill in the triangles.

Use the red frosting cake mate with a star tip and decorate the top half of the cake with stars.  

With the chocolate frosting use a straight tip and outline the beak and the top feathers of the bird.  Also, dot the middle of the eyes and outline two eyebrows that cover the top part of the Oreo's.  Use a little water on a knife to smooth out the eyebrows.

Use the remaining orange frosting and add stars around the bottom of the cake.  

Have fun adding any detail to your cake!

star decorating tip    

Angry Bird Cake!

Usually I just buy a toy and stick it on top of the cake for my kids birthdays. Ta da! A birthday cake with their favorite character.  This year my son wanted an Angry Bird cake.  I just could not shell out the bucks for a small cheap toy to stick on top of the cake.  I decided to try and make the cake myself.  If your a non decorator this is any easy cake to make.  

You'll need:
1 cake mix (make sure you have eggs and oil since most cake mixes call for these)

1 chocolate frosting can

1 vanilla frosting can

2 round pans

1 red cake mate decorating frosting and star tip

2 Oreo cookies

Instructions:

Make the cake as directed and pour into two greased and floured round pans.  Bake for 30 minutes until a knife poked in the middle comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes so the cakes won't stick when you turn them over.

Turn cakes over onto a wire rack to cool. 

When the cake is cool place the one cake top side down on your cake plate. Use the chocolate frosting to frost the top of the cake. 

Place your other layer bottom side down on top of the first cake.  (If both flat ends face each other your cake won't slide and will be less lopsided.  

Use the chocolate frosting to frost the sides of the cake.

Take two Oreo's and separate the two pieces so the cream is on one side.  Use frosting an place on the cake.

Use the vanilla frosting and star tip to make a half circle shape at the bottom of the cake.  Fill the circle in using the star tip.  

With food coloring dye the rest of the vanilla frosting orange.  To make the beak use a star tip and make a triangle between the eyes and another triangle upside down from the first.  Fill in the triangles.

Use the red frosting cake mate with a star tip and decorate the top half of the cake with stars.  

With the chocolate frosting use a straight tip and outline the beak and the top feathers of the bird.  Also, dot the middle of the eyes and outline two eyebrows that cover the top part of the Oreo's.  Use a little water on a knife to smooth out the eyebrows.

Use the remaining orange frosting and add stars around the bottom of the cake.  

Have fun adding any detail to your cake!

Upscale Old Pants Into a Cute Spring Skirt!

 

It is that time of year again to change over to summer clothes.  My daughter had some cute sweats that fit great this winter, but like most of her pants they ended up with holes in the knees.  I decided to upscale one of her favorite pair of pants into a cute spring skirt. 

First, cut off the pants you are going to upscale right above the inner leg seam.  Next I bought a ½ yard of the kitty fabric (one of her favorite animals) and a ½ yard of the stripe fabric to match. Cut the kitty fabric on the fold line to get the front and back pieces. Next, folded the stripe fabric length wise and cut on the new fold line to get the front and back border.  

With right sides together sew the one border fabric to the front skirt piece and one to the back skirt piece. (The border fabric may be longer than the skirt front or back pieces.  Cut off the extra fabric to make it even)

With right sides together match the side seams of the front and back of the skirt and sew together. 

 Sew a baste stitch on the top of the skirt.  Gather.  With right sides together and once again matching side seams sew the skirt to the cut of pant top.  Lastly, hem the bottom of the skirt.  Now  a special little girl has her own twirlly skirt!

Bunny Easter Egg Holders!

I remember waking up one Easter morning at my grandma’s house to find this cute bunny in my Easter basket.  I have always loved my Easter bunny.  So, when my kids were asked to participate in a charity bazaar around Easter time, I thought it would be fun to recreate this bunny and fill the Easter egg with candy!  I took my kids to the local fabric store and let them pick out Polar fleece in their favorite patterns.   I bought a ¼ of a yard off of each bolt. 

 I then cut the fleece into rectangles 10” x 12”.  You can make your rectangle smaller of bigger if you want a big or little bunny.

 Next, with right side facing down,  I roledl one corner of the fabric to the middle.  

Then, I turned the fabric and repeated with the other corner.  

Next, I brought both ends together and  pinched the sides about two inches from the end of the fabric.  This will made the ears.

Then, I folded back the fabric about a quarter of the way.  This created the face.

Using a rubber band, I put it around the fabric to hold the face and ears in place.

Next it was fun to make the face.  With glue I add google eyes, a small pom pom nose and tied a ribbon around the rubber band. 

 For a boy bunny I tied the bow on the bottom of the bunny.
  

For a girl bunny  I tied the ribbon on top.

Lastly, I added a cute medium size pom pom  on the back for a tail and filled a plastic egg with candy placing it in the back of the bunny.

My kids loved making these bunnies and already want to make some more!  

Fun with books!

My kids love to play the different apps on the ipod, kindle, and phone.  So they are not always just playing games I love to buy or borrow books too.  This way “computer time” is not all about games.  Most libraries have books you can borrow for free.  Also, the Kindle store on Amazon has books you can buy or if you are a prime member can borrow for free.  

Here is one of the books my kindergartener loves to read, because it is full of sight words.  She was so excited that she could read a whole book with just a little help.  Now, she has read it so much, she can read it on her own.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BOYELUG

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUCV7YU#

Quilter's Blog Hop Party!

Carla G has won the fabric!  Thank you to everyone who entered!
  
Welcome to the Quilter’s Blog Hop Party. 

Every spring I take my kids to the fabric store and let them pick out fun fabric to make into summer shorts or skirts.  They love finding bright and loud fabrics and have fun playing in them all summer long!  My giveaway is a little over 7/8^th’s of a yard of tie dye fabric with texting words. 

(My son picked out this fabric last year and let me tell you, I never lost track of him at our many trips to the park!)  

To enter simply follow my blog or if you are already a follower let me know and leave a comment on what projects you have planned for this spring or summer.  The party is opened from March 8^th to March 14^th.

Good Luck!

Cuddly Blanket Teddy Bears!

These cuddly blanket bears make a fun gift!  I made them for my nieces for Christmas. 

I picked out a soft teddy bear.  Then at the fabric store I bought flannel in their favorite colors.  

I bought ¼ of a yard of flannel in their favorite colors.  To make the blanket even up the sides so you have a rectangle.  With right sides together sew around all the edges leaving a 2” opening.  Turn fabric right side out.  Tuck the unfinished ends of the opening in and iron the whole blanket.   Sew ¼ inch from the edge all around the blanket.

Wrap the blanket around the teddy bear and hold in place by tying a cute ribbon around the middle. Lastly, give this cute gift to someone who needs a cuddle!

Easy Granny Square Afghan!

This cuddle afghan is a fun winter project.  You crochet it in squares and then slip stitch the squares together to make the size of afghan you want.  I followed the instructions from one of my favorite blogs  A Farm Wife's Journal.

  

http://farmwifejournal.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html

Follow her instructions to start your Afghan.  I deviated from the pattern by using variegated yarn till the square measured four inches.  Then, I connected to the black yarn and crocheted five rounds till the square measured about ten inches.  I then slip stitched the squares together.

Snowmen Teacher Gift!

It’s that time of year when we search for the perfect gift for our kid’s teachers.  At parent conferences our child's teacher explained that because of budget cuts she would have to skimp on homework this year and would be buying more paper with her own money before the year was out.  

To help out we bought each of our kid’s teachers a packet of computer paper.  I then had each of my children design their own snowman.  

We then mounted them onto the copy paper. You can either stick a Christmas tag on the paper so the teacher knows who the gift is from or have your children design a card. This was a fun way to spend a snowy Saturday afternoon!