Pumpkin Spice Cake Pops

We're going to go on a journey- this journey is called "adventures in cake popping". My mom and I have been experimenting with these little magical treats for the past two weeks. I gotta say, Bakerella makes it look so easy but I have learned that it takes a lot of practice. It's usually smooth sailing until we get to the chocolate dipping part- at which point many angry faces are made. I thought about making pumpkin cake pops and when I googled them I didn't find any. I think that EVERYONE needs to try these- they were om-nom-nomy (yeah it's a strange word, it's said as it is written).

You will need:

One box of Spice Cake mix

One can of Pumpkin

One container of cream cheese frosting

Around 2 packages of white chocolate candy melts

A package of candy / lollipop sticks

You start out by mixing the cake mix with the can of pumpkin. Mix those two ingredients and then bake in a 13x9 inch pan as per the directions on the box. To be clear- only those two ingredients get baked, don't put in the eggs the oil or the water- I don't know why but people are really skeptical about that part ( I promise you it will work!). When the cake is done, let it cool COMPLETELY. Then crumble the cake into fine pieces into a bowl so it looks like this: 

Then mix in 3/4 of the container of frosting (if you put in the whole thing then it comes out too moist). 

When it's all nice and mixed and doughy, take little clumps of the cakey-dough and roll them into little balls. Put the balls onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and put them in either the refrigerator for several hours OR the freezer for about 15 minutes. (Yeah, I know you'll opt for the second option just like I did) 

As they're getting nice and chilly, melt your chocolate. Now, Bakerella says that you should do this in a large bowl in the microwave but every time I do that I either burn the chocolate or they don't dip right. I can't even accurately describe to you how difficult it is to dip these things, it really shouldn't be. Whenever I watch a video on cake pops, they simply dip and the chocolate just pours off.......not so for me. Whenever I dip them they get stuck in the chocolate like a vat of quicksand where they fall apart or the chocolate is kinda clumped on causing me to make this face----------> (-_-) 

I have found a way to a happier face. I started using my little dipper mini crock pot.You have to stir the chocolate a lot more but it stays hot and it's a lot smoother. I've also been adding about a tablespoon of Crisco (which I hate to do but hey, we already know that cake pops are not a "healthy choice" to begin with)

When your chocolate is melted and you take your cake balls out of the freezer, it's time to put them on sticks and dip them. You just dip the stick in the chocolate and then put it just over halfway through the ball. 

Then you dip it in the chocolate..................this is the part where everyone is SILENT so that you can focus and not go into "rage mode". 

This one is actually pretty cute. To decorate them it's probably a good idea to dip them all the way. My aunt Franny surprised me with this cool, state-of-the-art, spectacular cake pop holder (aka a cardboard circle with holes in it.). 

They only take a few minutes to harden and then people will come and steal them =)

I've been told they taste like a cross between pumpkin bread / pumpkin pie / gingerbread / magical- life-giving-deliciousness. At any rate, I'm going to go out and buy up all of the cans of pumpkin before the Autumn rush. 

Paint Sample Orbs

One of the first paint chip crafts that I ever saw were these amazing orbs. They're partly responsible for me getting bit by the paint chip bug. {They are pretty UH-mazing} It's also worth mentioning that you can make them in whatever colors you want, making them seasonal.

Instead of my usually "how to" guide I figured it would just be easier post the link that gives you a video on how to do them. http://www.curbly.com/diy-maven/posts/9274-how-to-make-paint-chip-orbs

I did mine in Autumn colors and put them in a hurricane vase. They are pretty easy once you get a feel for how to glue them without breaking them. I think I might need to make a few more to fill the vase =) 

Fall Vinyl Vases

I love Seasonal Decor =) I was pretty bummed last year when we didn't get our apartment in time to decorate for Fall (I made up for it with an obscene amount of Christmas stuff). Now that I've discovered the endless wormhole of craft blogs out, I've really started to appreciate the scope of Seasonal Decor. I figure I've got until Thanksgiving to get my Fall-crafting- on! I saw some vinyl decorated vases at Homegoods the other day for about 10 bucks a pop. Ummmmmmm I can do that for wayyyy cheaper, because I love love LOVE my vinyl. So I took two of my Dollar Store vases that I had left over from my wedding and I took out my....yeah you guessed it.....my Cricut!

 I cut some branches out of vinyl, because branches can be Fall or Winter so the vase will get more spotlight time.

I put a little tea-light at the bottom and I LOVE it, so does Chris =)

 I went back to my Cricut and cut some spiders and webs for an adorable Halloween vase! I have a lot of vases left over from the tables at my wedding- which means I just might have vases to match every season ;)
Ah-mazing!

I {Heart} Paint Samples

I'm on a mission to find out just how many things I can do with paint samples. Ya know- Paint Samples, you go to pretty much anywhere with paint and you find the rows and rows of paper samples to match against your wall? Well this month I have fully come to appreciate the joys of paint samples. I found this website (http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/roundup/even-more-paint-chip-projects-roundup-157364) that inspired me and showed me a bazillion (ok maybe not a bazillion, but alot) ways to craft with paint samples.

So first step- I took a little visit to the Home Depot. I'm slightly ashamed of just how many paint samples I smuggled / liberated from the paint section. There were just so many wonderful colors and I really needed them all to come home with me.....like...immediately! They also have a Disney paint-line so I pretty much became obsessed. Anyway, after my paint-sample-finding mission, I started to think about what I could make and the possibilities were pretty overwhelming. Then I found this blog where she made a spring wreath  (http://alililly.blogspot.com/2011/05/spring-flower-wreath-from-paint-chip.html). I wanted a wreath....I wanted a fall wreath. So I rolled up my sleeves, got out my Cricut and started working....

First I cut a wreath shape out a cardboard box that I had.

 Then I started punching out leaf shapes and letters with my Cricut and my paint samples. I arranged these petal paint samples first, to make my wreath seem fuller. (these are sooo cool, Behr makes the paint samples in petal shapes so you don't have to cut them or anything)

 Then it was just a matter of arranging all of the paint sample leaves and the "Autumn" sign at the top. I really wanted people to be able to tell that my wreath had been made out of paint samples so I cut my leaves out of the samples with the lines. For my Christmas wreath, I think I'm going to try the plain samples with no lines =)
So cute, and I'm sure it will look pretty awesome hanging up!

I'm not even anywhere NEAR to being done with paint samples. Home Depot is probably going to start hiding them from me....just sayin'.