handmade birthday banner, ice cream cone cupcakes and book two for the hobo children

and then there was the banner, the four layer cake, and the ice cream cone cupcakes

followed by book 2 of the Boxcar Children

 and among many many things....

a new bike

I was super stoked to find a king size wool blanket for TWO dollars.  Having always wanted to make a banner, I swooped it up.  And using Amanda's book as a guide, I made my own.  

The cake I was considerably less stoked on although the actual creation of the thing was fun.  I used the White Cake recipe from the Joy of Cooking. I followed the directions prefectly and it still wasn't good.  I think the layers should have been filled with pudding or whipped cream and that may have hidden the blah factor.  

The ice cream cupcakes look adorable but when I tried one at 8 pm the night before I spat it out because I thought it was undercooked.  The kids didn't seem to mind, but if you're thinking of making these try it out first.  Our first batch fell over and was awful, the second one looks alright but I think being cooked so close together in a casserole dish made them gooey.

All that said, the party was complete with a rent a fairy, an updated play structure, old friends, and some new ones too.  We are still recovering.

Oh yeah and I almost quit the quilt 3 times in one morning. My own mother told me to throw it out.  I have not given up and believe it may all be fixed with some good binding...I can't wait to show you, but maybe I should.