Delightful Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cupcake Bites ~ Recipe & Tutorial

If you have been living under a rock for the past few years then you may not have had the pleasure to taste these wonderful Cupcake Bites or the more popular version, the Cake Pop.

I prefer the look and feel of the Cupcake Bites as opposed to the Cake Pops, but essentially they are the same thing.

If you have not tried to make these for yourself yet, then make it a priority. Many people think it’s hard to make these and that they need one of those fancy shmanshy Cake Pops makers.

Which by all means you can get if you want to speed up the process. BUT the inside turns into a round ball of cooked cake instead of the super moist and delicious cooked cake mixed with frosting which makes these truly of another world!

I end up having to make new batches of these for every holiday and occasion. Visit Bakerella who of course made these so popular. She has many fabulous recipes and a step by step tutorial on how to make these.

My two favorite kinds of Cupcake Bites are the Red Velvet Cream Cheese Bites which are perfect for Valentine’s Day and Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites which I love making for Thanksgiving and any time during the Fall. The following pictures are of the chocolate peanut butter bites.

 

Valentine's Day CupCake Bites
These Cupcake bites are the perfect Valentine’s Day present.
They are also a fun treat to make for Easter ~
Easter Cupcake Bites
Easter Cupcake Bites
4th of July Cupcake Bites

4th of July CupCake Bites

{My personal favorite} Thanksgiving/Fall CupCake Bites

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake Bites

*Re-posted from Feb. 7, 2012.

Fun Gift Idea ~ Personalized Tea Box

February is upon us which means many celebrations in our household. Mine and my husband’s dating anniversary is the 1st of February. Valentine’s day is of course sandwiched in here and we also have many family and friends birthdays throughout the month.

Homemade gifts become very important this time of year. They save money, provide fun for kids (and us crafty ladies), and help us to show our loved ones that we really care.

I recently decorated a tea box  for my husband for our anniversary. He loves taking his favorite tea with him to the office so I made him a cute box for him to hide stash away in his desk.

This is a fun and simple way to show our loved ones for Valentine’s Day or any day that we care about them!

And it’s easy! Simply start with your favorite tea. Our’s is currently Good Earth Sweet and Spicy.

Good Earth Sweet and Spicy

Then take scrapbooking paper and glue it on. For Valentine’s Day I took some cute red and pink paper with “I Love You” for My hubby. And for my friend I just made her her very own Happy Birthday Tea Box.

Happy Birthday Personalized Tea Box

This would also be cute personalized with a name or anniversary date. The possibilities of creativity with these are endless.

Personalized Tea Box
Decorated-Tea-Bag
*Re-posted from Feb. 6, 2012.

Chocolate Marshmallow Egg Easter Baskets {A Tutorial}

Easter is quickly approaching so that means my Easter baskets, marshmallow eggs, and fun treats are ready to be handed out!

I love being able to make a fun Easter treat and attach a beautiful scripture about Christ’s death and the joy of his Resurrection. One fun Easter gift is chocolate dipped marshmallow egg baskets.

Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 13

This is a fun gift to make for kids of all ages and can be quick and easy to throw together. I am making 6 of these for my sparkies (I’m a leader in Awana).
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 1

What you’ll need:

  • Egg Shaped Marshmallows (or regular marshmallows)
  • Lollipop sticks
  • Chocolate Candy Melts
  • Sprinkles
  • Easter Buckets/Basket (I found mine at the dollar store)
  • Floral Foam (or similar)
  • Plastic Wrap or parchment Paper
  • Oreos
  • Edible Grass (Optional)
Chocolate Marshmallow Easter Basket Tutorial

1) Cut the floral foam to fit inside your bucket/basket

Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 3
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 2
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 19
2) Cover the foam with Plastic wrap or parchment paper
I was going to use plastic wrap until I realized I was out ;) so I was resourceful and used parchment paper instead and it worked great.
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 15
3) Crush Oreo’s to make the “Dirt”
When I started crushing the oreos I realized this was messy business and that they were very sticky! So I stuck them in a bag first and then crushed them.
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 7
4) Assemble the pops
Now put your marshmallows on sticks, dip them in melted chocolate and sprinkle away.
5) Insert your pops and add grass
Now insert your dried marshmallow pops through the oreo’s into the foam and add some edible grass if you want.
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 8
Now you are all ready to attach scripture or a personal note and your marshmallow egg baskets are ready for delivery. Enjoy!
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 11
With optional edible grass
Easter Gift Tutorial-Marshmallow Eggs 9

Recover Old Chairs – For Less than $5

When my husband and I got married, we had nothing! We had both lived on campus at our University for one year (I was in a dorm and he was in an apartment) so we had nothing of our own!

We were fortunate to be blessed by so many gifts from friends and family. We got a bed from my mom, a couch set from his parents and a wood table and 4 matching chairs from my dad.

The table and chairs have serves us well the past few years but the chairs seemed a bit outdated. They had these old yellowy mold looking seats and while I was thankful to have great wooden chairs, I was ready for a change in the seats.

Before and After-Recover Old Chairs
So the realization hit me one day that I bet I could recover them. I grabbed a chair, flipped it over and sure enough the seat unscrews. So here’s how to do it:

Recovering Old Chairs

1) Gather Your Supplies

I knew that I wanted these chairs to match my dining room. I wanted a nice deep red design. So I kept my eyes peeled for cheap fabric or a nice tablecloth.

At goodwill one day I came across the perfect deep red tablecloth with a beautiful design in it for $6.99, and it was half off that day! I snagged the tablecloth for $3.50 and was able to re-do all my chairs.

You will also need scissors, a staple gun, and a screw driver.

The Supplies-Recover old chairs
2) Unscrew the seat cushions
This was simple and easy. Just turn the chair over and unscrew!

Unscrew the seat cushions-Recover old chairs
3) Staple on the New Fabric
Now you are going to cut the fabric and take your staple gun and staple to the back. I did a LOT of staples along the back just to make sure it was secure.

4) Screw Back on
Screw the cushions back onto the chair, and you’re done! You have brand new looking chairs!

The end Product-Recover Old Chairs

These look great in my dining room now and they look like I bought them that way!

MY New Dining Room-Recover Old Chairs

Scripture Memory Cards ~A simple way to memorize scripture {Free Printables}

Update: 8/14/12 ~ Thanks to the overwhelming response on my scripture memory cards, I am happy to announce that I am now selling them! See A Heart Prepared {Scripture Memory Cards}

I have always been the kind of person who has a pretty good grasp on what the Bible teaches. I can dig into doctrine and see what God’s word teaches.

The problem is that I can never remember  the verses. Oh, I know that somewhere it says something about this. But that doesn’t cut it. It’s much more powerful and beneficial to memorize God’s word, word for word, and know the references.

So I began my journey to memorize scripture and I needed a nice simple way to help me memorize. Being girly, I also needed some cute and fun accessories to help me out.

So I first made these Proverbs 31 cards to give out at our Bible study. We had decided to memorize Proverbs 31 together and these cards came in so handy. When I am doing the dishes or waiting at the doctor I pull my little cards out (they are perfect for sticking in your purse) and work on memorizing.

 

Scripture Memory Cards ~Free Printables

Simply download the FREE  printables I provided, print them and laminate them.

After laminating them, take a hole punch and punch the corner and then attach them all together with a book ring. (I got mine at Office Max)

 

Proverbs 31

{click picture to download}
Proverbs-31-Memory-Cards Free Printables

Scripture on Anxiety

Bible Memory Scripture

{click picture to download}

Scripture on Godly Womanhood

Scripture Memory

{click picture to download}
Bible Verses on Biblical Womanhood
 

These make great gifts as well! Know a couple who is getting married? Compile a list of helpful marriage scripture or quotes and give them to the couple. Or better yet make 1 Corinthians cards so that in their first year of marriage they can memorize “Love is Patient…” together.

The Proverbs 31 cards make a great gift to woman in a Bible study or at a conference.


Exciting news! I am now selling these Scripture Memory cards so you can get your very own set! These are the perfect way to memorize scripture on your own or at a Bible study. They also make perfect presents!

A Heart Prepared {Scripture Memory Cards}

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