'50 SUCKS' Bouquet Gift {Tutorial}

Need an idea for a cute, personalized, playful and do-it-yourself gift? Try one of these sucker bouquets! I found Denise's bouquets that she's made for a few different occasions on Pinterest and have been itching to make one ever since. My aunt recently turned 50 and I knew it would be the perfect time to create one of these beauties!! Meet the '50 SUCKS' bouquet:

Only a few supplies are needed for this project and it's a fairly simple assembly!

All of my supplies were purchased from the $1 store:

Glass vase with flared rim

*Styrofoam (ball shape is preferred)

*Suckers

Hot glue

Embellishments (optional) 

I created a '50 SUCKS' flower tag with scrapbook paper attached to a skewer and used silk florals that I already had on hand

*The size of your styrofoam ball will determine the amount of suckers you will need. I ended up using a little over 50 suckers also using the flowers and smaller suckers to fill in gaps. The widest part of your styrofoam ball should be a little larger than the circumference of the rim of your vase. You're typically safe with about 50 - 70 suckers.

Directions: Fill your vase first--for weight and aesthetic purposes. I chose to use a few lollipops. Cut your styrofoam ball in half and press it down onto the rim of the vase with a little hot glue on the edge to keep it secure. All that's left is to start adding your suckers! I assembled mine in rows, working with the bigger suckers on the bottom moving my way up--and adding the smaller ones last to fill the gaps. If you don't plan to eat the suckers in the near future, you can use hot glue to really secure them--I chose not to do this. I added my sign to the top, used a few orange silk flowers to fill bigger gaps and help with the shape of the arrangement, and used the leaves from the flowers at the bottom of the bouquet to give it a more 'floral' look.

If using a glass/clear vase, note that pieces of styrofoam will fall into the bottom of your jar while creating your bouquet. If you want to avoid seeing this, use either a colored vase or any other type of container/jar that isn't see-through. Since my lollipops had white sticks the small bits of styrofoam were hardly noticed.

Denise has a small video tutorial on how she makes her arrangements; you'll notice that I made mine quite differently and I'm sure there are many variations you can come up with based on your supplies on hand and the size of bouquet you want to achieve!

Here is my aunt with her bouquet--she was over-the-top excited for it and everyone got a kick out of it!

To celebrate my aunt's 50th birthday we got a lot of our family together and had one big party. The celebration was in part a Gator party as well since it was game day and my family are huge fans. What better way to dress up for a sports team than with hair bows? I made enough hair accessories for all the girls to represent the orange & blue!

 

Over time I have found that satin ribbon works best for the base of creating simple bows; both sides are the same color, it is easy to work with and makes the perfect bow shape without a lot of effort! Add a few smaller contrasting ribbon bows, a center embellishment and a clip to the back and you're all set! 

Here are a few of us girls on the big day:

Kim with her hair bow and Gator gear

Tia wore a headband and my aunt pinned one to her tank

My nana even had a clip in her hair :)

  The sucker boquet and ribbons were a huge hit at the party! I can't wait for the next opportunity to make another bouquet as it was a fun, quick and simple project. Who's birthday is next?? :) :)

Peanut Butter Delight - Doggie Cupcakes {Recipe}

July 29, 2007 -- When this little booger entered the world.

November 28, 2007 -- When this little booger entered MY world!

 

Starting off at a little over 5 pounds (at 4 months) and nothing but a Maltese furball, Bailey was the first puppy I ever had. I purchased him on November 28, 2007--yes, on Black Friday. The deal was; Larry gets a new flat screen TV and I get my puppy. I didn't think I would actually end up getting a dog (as we had just took the big leap and moved out on our own) but once I met Bailey I knew I had to have him--and the Black Friday price specials didn't hurt either. ;) After waiting about a week for him to finish getting his shots, our whole world was turned upside down once we finally brought him home. From potty training to kennel training he was one handful of a puppy! But getting Bailey was the best thing that I had ever done--he is so fun and so loving and brings us so much happiness every day! This year on Friday, July 29, 2011 he turned 4 years old. I can't believe my baby has grown up so fast! (I know--we talk like he is our child...but until we have REAL children, he is definitely our baby!)

Bailey's first bath

Bailey is definitely a huge part of our family. :) 

 Thankfully he loves the pool just like his mommy. Well--he likes being on the raft anyway. :)

And you know this pup belongs in the sunshine state since he loves his boat rides!

 He's a little goofy at times...

And likes to beg--a LOT.

  

 And even though he's a little 'not-worth-anything' dog, he gets plenty of love from everyone!

If I had a dollar for every time I heard "I don't like small dogs, but I love Bailey" then I'd be a millionaire.

I am truly grateful that Bailey is such a perfect pup!!

 

 I think it's safe to say that thanks to the tremendous love from his grandma and grandpa (Larry's parents) Bailey has gained a little weight! At 4 months he was a mere 5 pounds but after 4 years he has grown into a whopping {almost} 14 pounds! And even though the vet just said it wouldn't hurt that for his age Bailey lose 2-3 pounds, I couldn't resist making him a yummy treat for his birthday!

 

:Dog Birthday Cake Recipe:

Peanut Butter Delight

(recipe was found at Birthday Dog Cake Recipes)

Ingredients:

1 cup white or whole wheat flour 
1 tsp baking soda 
1/4 cup peanut butter 
1/4 cup vegetable oil 
1 cup shredded carrots (I left this out--like his mommy, Bailey doesn't like all kinds of veggies!)
1 tsp vanilla 
1/3 cup honey 
1 egg

Directions:Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)

Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour into a ring mold sprayed with a nonstick spray for 40 minutes. 

**I chose to make cupcakes in various sizes rather than one cake. Note: Bake the cupcakes at about a quarter of the time to prevent burnt cakes--not that I learned from experience or anything. :) 

Cinnamon Frosting:

Combine the following ingredients and blend thoroughly:

12 ounces nonfat cream cheese (room temperature) 
3 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp vanilla 
1 tsp honey

Bailey loved this recipe and was nice enough to share his treat with his best friend, Harley! (Larry's parents' pit bull) Along with his cupcakes and a few treats from the pet store Bailey also got a few new toys since keeping his stuffed animals in one piece is pretty hard to do with a pit bull in the house!! :)

He could smell that somethig was in the oven!





Bailey loved his new toy frog! I also found a blue star that reminded me of one of his first toys that he LOVED--needless to say he was anxious to get ahold of it!



 

 

Hiding one of his treats under a pillow--crazy pup!



Harley and Bailey waiting patiently for their cupcakes.



Bailey eating his first mini cupcake!



I think it's safe to say he loved it! :)

 

Harley swallowed his whole full-size cupcake in about 5 seconds!



This was sent to me on Bailey's birthday--what perfect timing!

If you want someone who will eat whatever you put in front of him and never say it's not quite as good as his mother's...
Then adopt a dog.

If you want someone always willing to go out at any hour, for as long and wherever you want...
Then adopt a dog.
If you want someone who will never touch the remote, doesn't care about football, and can sit next to you as you watch romantic movies...
Then adopt a dog.

If you want someone who is content to get on your bed just to warm your feet and whom you can push off if he snores...
Then adopt a dog.
If you want someone who never criticizes what you do, doesn't care if you are pretty or ugly, fat or thin, young or old, who acts as if every word you say is especially worthy of listening to, and loves you unconditionally, perpetually...

Then adopt a dog. 

I can't imagine what my life would be like without being able to spoil Bailey or come home to the love of my pup every day!!

 



Pirate Treasure Chest Cake {Baking}

This past weekend we celebrated our close friend's sons 3rd birthday. A Pirate Pool Party had been planned! What an AWESOME theme for a 3 year olds summer birthday?! Along with the MANY decorations and goodies that his mother Autumn purchased for the party, she wanted to make a fun cake to go along with the theme. She recruited my help and after googling a few ideas and talking to some friends, we decided to make a pirate ship cake, a treasure chest cake and cupcakes. Mind you, neither her nor I are pro-bakers, let a lone cake decorators; she thought between my creativity and her willingness to make a fun cake for her son that we could get it accomplished. Her husband Tommy and Larry's mother also played a big role in making the cakes the night before the big day. 

Here is just SOME of the candy that we used for the cake and party!

 

We used this Treasure Chest Cake how-to tutorial for creating the treasure chest cake. The chest is what Autumn was most excited about for her son, TJ. We used a Wilton Pirate Ship cake pan for the ship.

Tommy was the one that did all of the baking while Autumn and I prepped the board that the cake would go on and got all the candy/decorations in order...we also had little man to watch after and entertain. :)

After baking and forcing the cake out of the pan--apparently the non-stick pan is a LIE--and cutting up the pieces according to the tutorial, this is what we came up with.

It looked a little wonky and not-so-much like a treasure chest, but we knew it was just the beginning stages and had faith!

After a little icing and decor, the chest was starting to come together! And TJ guessed exactly what it was--so that's all that mattered. :)

We finished the basic icing and decorating of the two cakes and cupcakes the night before and finished the final touches on Saturday morning before the party. Here are some photos of the final product! 

The treasure chest is on the top left, the pirate ship is on the bottom right and the cupcakes scattered all around. TJ really wanted green sails for the ship, which kind of made the ship look somewhat Christmassy--but he loved it! We added LOTS and LOTS of pirate toys, little ships, cannonballs, swords, fake jewels, coins, ring pops. and candy. ALL of the kids had a blast seeing all the goodies on the cake and picking out their favorites. TJ loved the candy necklaces.

Autumn and I posing for a photo with the cake. All of the adults had bandanas and pirate tattoos. :)

The idea for the cupcakes was that the gummie sharks and fish were swimming around the ship and treasure chest. We also alternated white cupcakes with pirate swords on them.

Apparently TJ turns shy when people to start to sing to him, because this is what he did during his 'Happy Birthday' song! How cute!!

He soon decided to blow out his candles and enjoy his cake!!

TJ LOVED his cake--if you can't tell from the evidence on his mouth. :)

TJ playing with all of the goodies on his cake--he tried to shove anything and everything he could into the little pirate ship. :)

It's safe to say it was a VERY successful birthday for the little man--and first successful cake decorating for all of us! I'm not sure we would go pro with it, but at least we know we can make a cake good enough for a 3 year old's taste! I'm so glad that the party was such a success--can't wait to see what the theme will be for his birthday next year!! <3