ReUsable DIY Cupcake Toppers!

Beanstalk came up with the design for his birthday cake all by himself. He wanted a small cake with an Avengers "A",  surrounded by cupcakes, one for each Avenger. Cake decorating is not my forté, but I did my best, and came up with a new way to make DIY cupcake toppers in the process!

As I've said, I'm not much of an artist, and especially not with frosting, so I wanted to do cupcake toppers. I've made them before, for Pickle's Dr. Seuss Birthday, but they were paper, so not washable and reusable. If I made Avengers ones, I wanted to be able to use them again in his bentos - so I came up with the idea to make them somewhat like plastic plant labels, using the laminator we bought for Pickle's PECS! 

This photo was taken after the cupcake toppers had been washed and dried. They really are washable and reusable, yay!

How I made my laminated cupcake toppers:

I snagged the Avengers promo poster images from Google (probably breaking some copyright law but since I'm not selling or profiting from them I hope whatever authorities enforce that sort of thing will let it slide). I printed 2 of each image on card stock, cut them up and glued them together back to back, and arranged them between the sheets of laminating plastic.

(I put a sheet of tissue paper down on the table to keep any crumbs or dust from getting on anything - that's what the crumpled red background is.) Sorry, no pic of the laminating process, I needed both hands to keep the small sproutlets from messing with the hot laminator.  Here is the laminated sheet.

Next I cut them out in little stake shapes. 

Easy-peasy! If you have a laminator :)

● ● ● ● ●

Here are my Avengers cupcakes and toppers, ready to assemble!

And, Avengers cupcakes, assembled! Heheh

I had more cupcakes than Avengers and couldn't find pics I liked of all of them solo, but I had everyone represented, even the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. So we had Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Captain America, Hulk & Hawkeye, and 2 of the group. We had Avengers plates, cups, and cupcakes - now all we needed was the cake for the center!

I baked the cake in a loaf pan so I could cut it in half and stack it to make a cube. Here is my somewhat messy but recognizable enough Avengers "A" symbol - I was pretty pleased with how it came out!

Probably not exactly as he imagined, but pretty cool nonetheless.

Beanstalk was pleased :)

This is the only photo I got of him with his cake that didn't have other people's children in it. It's right before he blew out the candle, and that's the only time I took pictures. I always forget to take pictures during parties! Too busy participating... Oh well, I suppose I'd rather he have memories of me actually being part of things than have photos of the party without me in them :)

Happy 11th Birthday Beanstalk!

Saturday Evening Post : I'm Feeling Comical

This Calvin & Hobbes comic is so funny to me, because it's so true!

I love Calvin & Hobbes. I usually totally relate to Calvin :) But sometimes, I relate more to Calvin's mom! Like in this comic:

Thanks for stopping by my blog on the week-end! 

Have a great S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHT!

Waste Not : Bento Scrap Veggie Soup Stock

Occasionally someone asks me what I do with all the wasted food when I cut it into shapes - I don't just throw it away do I? Well, it doesn't make that much waste, the pieces I cut off are pretty small...

... but no, I don't throw it away! There are many ways that I make use of my bento scraps. One of them is making vegetable soup stock! It can take a while to make enough scraps for stock though, so I toss all those little bits of carrot, peppers, cucumber and celery in a vacuum bag in my freezer. I also add celery and carrot tops, potato peelings and onion skins from other meals, and any veggies that are no longer looking their best - my sproutlets won't eat ugly tomatoes :) I even toss in apple scraps when I make things like apple flowers. I really like the vacuum seal bags because I can add to the bag then pump the air out again, and my scraps don't take up much space in the freezer.

This is the recipe I follow for stock.  When I realized bento lunches were going to make veggie scraps, I looked at a few online, and tried this one from Simple Bites' Homemade Vegetable Soup 101

I've only tried Method 2 so far - delicious!

Vegetable Stock: Two Methods

4-6 cups of scraps

bay leaf

black peppercorn

clove of garlic 

Method 1: The Quickie

Add all ingredients to a 5 quart pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce temperature to medium and simmer stock for one hour.

Follow directions for straining and storing below. 

Method 2: The Flavor Booster

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss scraps and garlic lightly with 1 Tablespoon olive oil and place in a shallow roasting pan.

Roast for 20-30 minutes (depending on size and variety of scraps) until caramelized, but not charred in any way.

Transfer roasted vegetables to a large pot and cover with cold water. Add bay leaf and peppercorn and bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce temperature to medium and simmer stock for one hour.

Follow directions for straining and storing below.

Straining and Storing the Stock

Cool stock completely to lukewarm, then strain and discard (or compost) the solids.

Pour stock into clean jars, leaving a good half-inch of headspace. Cool completely in the refrigerator.

Freeze for up to three months or store up to five days in fridge.

Making homemade veggie stock is just one of the ways I've made use of bento scraps. It's not all vegetable scraps after all, there are all those little bits of ham and cheese too ...  one of the things I like to make with those leftovers is quiche, which I shared about in this post, and I hope to share more bento scrap recycling ideas in future posts :)

DIY Cupcake Toppers - Dr. Seuss Birthday!

We had Pickle's birthday party last weekend. I can't share pics from the party since there were other people's children in every shot - but just envision lots of red, turquoise, and yellow balloons hovering above lots of kids painting ceramics. We had his party at Paint Your World, a local ceramic and glass art studio. It was lots of fun!  Oh, I did take an Instagram of the balloons :)

Did I mention it was a surprise party? Yes, Pickle requested a surprise party this year - which was why we had it a week after his birthday, and not at home :) He also requested a Dr. Seuss party. While the birthday package at Paint Your World included cupcakes, they didn't do themes - so I made my own Dr. Seuss themed cupcake toppers! Along with the balloons, and Dr. Seuss paper plates & napkins, it was plenty Seussian.

I'd seen adorable Dr. Seuss cupcake toppers, even printable ones, on Etsy etc, but since I was short on time and funds, I decided to just make them myself, the cheapest way possible. You can't get much cheaper than free! Which was what these ones were, since they used stuff I already had - just paper, food picks (toothpicks would work too) and a printer :)

To make them, I used photos of the party plates (snagged from the stock photos on the party store website) that I printed 16 to a page and cut out. I taped a food pick to the back of a circle printed with one plate design, and glued one of the other plate design over it,  back to back. Easy peasy!

Not perfect, (can you tell I don't own a circle cutter?) but not too shabby!

I ended up using different picks than the ones shown with the supplies, I thought yellow and turquoise would match better - not that it mattered, since the picks didn't show at all once they were stuck in the cupcakes :) 

Thank you Pickle's Grandpa who thought to take a picture of the Cat in the Hat cupcakes before they were handed out!

Saturday Evening Post: Here we go again...

Another lucky reader wins a prize! The first winner of my Today I Ate A Rainbow giveaway didn't contact me to claim their prize... so I've drawn a 2nd chance winner...  But first, a comic.  Sailor Boy clipped this from the paper back in November - he said it made him think of me :) We love Baby Blues, we see ourselves in it almost every week. I meant to share this one, but forgot until now. It's still funny though :

And now, the second chance winner of the Rainbow Kit ...  Lucky #13!

Congratulations Melody Pugh of The Parisian Cupcake! Yours was the 13th entry that included a way for me to contact you. An email has been sent to you with instructions for claiming your prize :)

So, why am I so late with my Saturday Evening Post?

We're visiting my family in Canada for Birdie's 3rd birthday. It just so happens that there's a really big Daiso in my hometown, and tonight my parents watched the kids so hubby and I could go!

So many cute cutters, molds and picks to choose from:

Me. Kid in a candy store :)

I kept it to one shopping bag though :)

I even found some elephant print chopsticks for Birdie! She and Sprout love eating noodles with chopsticks. I got Sprout some with little strawberries on them. I'll have to make another asian lunch for them sometime soon :)

Pickle's Pizza Sandwich!

No, you didn't read that wrong, and I didn't make a mistake, I meant to say Pickle.  My picky Mister Peanut Butter Sandwiches :)

I've mentioned that he's shown an interest in trying new things since his siblings have been using the Today I Ate A Rainbow! chart and trying more vegetables, well, last weekend he came up to me as I was getting lunch ready and asked "What can I try?" A conversation about veggies and how some of them are in things he already knows he likes (like tomatoes, in ketchup, & pizza) led to him asking if I could make him a pizza sandwich. Well, why not?

We didn't have any mozzarella but we had provolone, which is the same colour. Pickle had to sniff it to see if it was okay:

I spread pizza sauce on whole wheat bread, and topped it with a slice of provolone with a heart shape cut out - just for fun, and because Birdie asked for some cheese, so I gave her the heart. Pickle added the slice he sniffed.

 Yes, he is wearing nail polish :)

I heated the pizza sandwich a few seconds so the cheese would get melty, then presented it to my brave little man. He checked it out thoroughly to make sure it was all right to eat. 

 "I like the heart," he told me. "You made a heart because you love me. I love pizza. Will I love pizza sandwich?" he asked. "Try it and see," I told him.

And he took did! I had my camera on the manual setting, which I am not accustomed to using, so these pics are blurry...
He took a bite, chewed a bit, then nodded his head to say he liked it ! Hooray!

 I left him alone to eat his lunch without a camera in his face - and he did :)

This wasn't a one-off either, he has had another pizza sandwich since,  and even tried a pizza quesadilla (which he didn't care for - but he tried it!) Parents of super picky kids or kids with autism will understand my joy at him breaking his routine and braving new foods :) 

♪ ♫ Happy happy joy joy ♪ ♫

Saturday Evening Post: Pickle's Pick + Uforya Giveaway Winner

I was totally going to post about something else this evening, but I forgot I had plans and wouldn't be home to make a post, so, this is actually a Saturday Night Post, and I didn't get around to doing what I was going to post about, BUT it does happen to be lunch-related, so maybe I'll post it tomorrow.
Drop by and see  :)

Anyways... earlier today Pickle asked me: "What about my supper express?" 

Me: "Your supper what?" 

Pickle, exasperatedly: "My supper express! You know! Remember!" 

Me: "Hmmm, I think I might need more of a hint to remember..."

Pickle: "Mamaaaaa - you know, that you made me, with a dessert car! Did you post it on your Better Lunches website?"

Me, remembering: "Oh, that! No, not yet..." 

Pickle: "Come ON, just do it! You can do it, I know you can. You just have to try harder."

It's so funny hearing him repeat the things we say to him. And cute. 

This is what he's talking about:

New Year's Day, he went with his dad and siblings over to our neighbour's for football and black-eyed peas. Except, Pickle would never not ever eat black-eyed peas :) So I packed him an Easy Lunchbox to take with him, with a familiar peanut butter sandwich, yogurt and oatmeal cookie.
I cut the sandwich into a train shape with my Train Bytes, and just for fun, wrote on the lid with a dry erase marker, above each section : "Super Supper Express" "Dessert Car" and "Yogurt Side Car". Pickle insisted I take it's picture - this is him holding it up:

He was so pleased with that supper! "Yesssss! My Super Supper Express!" 

I can't believe I forgot about it. I told him I would post the pictures soon. He wanted to know when. I told him tonight. "Yes! You are going to post my pick!" So, here's a blurry shot of him with his Super Supper Express, that he picked for me to post. If you leave a comment on this post, please say hi to my Pickle, he will be asking me to see it when he wakes up tomorrow :)

Now, who won the Uforýa Giveaway?

Comment #15 was made by KB: "Chocolate covered strawberries body butter,,, yum!" Congratulations KB! An e-mail has been sent to you with instructions for claiming your prize :)

Thank you to everyone who entered, for visiting my blog, and checking out my friend's most excellent products! If you didn't win but would still like some Uforýa bath salts or body butter of your own, visit the West Road Candles & Uforýa website on February 1st, which is the day the new catalog launches! I don't have any details yet but I know there will be a Sale :)

Saturday Evening Post : My Friend Makes Stuff

Really yummy smelling stuff, some of which you might think smells or looks good enough to eat - but it isn't, it's not food :)

Nope, sorry, this post is not about food. It's not a school day, and Sailor Boy made lunch.   And I've been thinking... sometimes I want to post about something that just doesn't fit in with the theme of my blog... but I want to share it anyways. So I decided to save those things for one day a week only, and do an anything goes Saturday Evening Post.  And since I don't have my camera back yet, might as well start this evening! So, if you're only interested in reading about lunches, here's your heads up: you might want to skip my Saturday Evening Posts. But then again, I might post a recipe, or rave about my new favourite food blog...  :)

But not this Saturday. This Saturday I'm making a shameless plug for my friend Cary's home-based businesses, West Road Soy Candles & Uforýa Body Care, because she's awesome and I love her stuff, everything I've tried of hers is fantastic, and more people ought to find that out!

Cary makes everything herself just 2 doors down from lucky me :) Her Uforýa body care products are made from rich unrefined shea butter, avocado, hazelnut, rice bran and jojoba oils, and are paraben free. Her West Road Candles are made from creamy soy wax, which is made from soybeans, a renewable energy source.  She focuses on using renewable energy sources and recycleable products to minimize their effect on the environment. Her glass jars and tins are recyclable or reusable. And all the scented candles and creams smell sooooo good, but don't aggravate my sinuses like some scented items do.

Here's some of my own Uforýa and West Road Candles stuff that I gathered up from around my home and snapped with Pickle's iPod:

The Fall Foliage layered candle is one of my favourites, and the only reason I haven't lit it yet is because it's a seasonal one and my last, so I am savouring just catching a whiff as I pass by it - I'll light it one day when I really need a pick-me-up. Body Butters, in the tubs, which are great this time of year when the air is so dry, and my hands aren't greasy after applying it. And they smell delish! Body Dew, in the pump, is like a thinner body butter - handy for keeping by the sink for after doing the dishes. Dead Sea Bath Salts are in the corked jar and the smaller jar next to it . Best of all, none of it gives me eczema!

The unlabeled items are samples I get to test out, lucky me! I have sensitive skin, and am allergic to many perfumes, so I get to try things out and give her feedback - so far so good on everything I think! Pictured is some lip balm, Ageless Eye Gel (in the pump) and tubs of green tea facial cleanser & exfoliating scrub (still in testing).

Here's a closer look at the Dead Sea Bath Salts.

This one's Sandalwood, mmm, bathing bliss in a jar. Love the cork lid and attached wooden scoop, so cute in the bathroom. (Want one? Keep reading.)
I really like that all the containers and labels are simple and attractive,  I can leave my Uforýa products out on the counter and they look good there!

If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading my rave about my friend's awesome aromatherapy & body care stuff! And if you're still miffed that this post isn't about a bento lunch or even about food (you're entitled, that IS why you follow my blog) I'm going to try to make it up to you with a Giveaway!
You can win your own jar of bath salts! Or, if baths aren't your thing, you can opt for a tub of body butter instead :)

How to Enter:

Visit the Uforýa website, look at the bath salts and/or body butter scent selection, then come back here and leave a comment stating which product & scent you would like if you win. For a bonus 2nd entry, Like Uforýa on Facebook and then post a 2nd comment saying you did :)

The winner will be chosen (by comment number using Random.org) and announced next Saturday evening, January 28th, around 5:ish <-- oops, forgot I won't be home from a friend's until later than that, so --> 8:ish.*

Disclosure: I wrote this post of my own accord and asked my friend to contribute product for a Giveaway.  No compensation or payment was given to me - unless you count that I get free stuff when I test it for her :)
* I need a way to contact you.  If you enter as Anonymous, with no contact information, I can't contact you and you can't get your prize.  So make sure your comment includes a way to contact you :)


The Giveaway is now Closed. Thank you for entering!