Story Time! It's the LCN Grand Opening - Michigan and the ladies have just finished up wrapping their twine.  They are now taking their wreaths over to the glue station to secure it.

Katie:  Grandma, would you like me to glue your twine down so you don't have to get up?
Grandma:   That depends...
Katie:   On what?
Grandma:   Are you going to do a good job?

That's right ladies and gentlemen, my grandmother may be 86 but she's a stickler for crafting perfection, and she's not afraid to call you out on it.   Hence her ability to see the gaps in my cousins twine from across the room.  However the proof is in the pudding.  Grandma wasn't able to finish her wreath at the party, but we sent her home with plenty of supplies to finish it up.  Two days later I get a picture on my phone and I almost fell out of my chair.  At 86 grandma just served all of us  "younger" ladies from the party, our asses on a royal craft platter, see below. 

Grandma's wreath is aboslutely gorgeous and puts us all to shame.  I was so impressed at the party watching her spend most of her time cutting out flower petals.  Each petal exact and perfectly shaped, she of course did this free hand without the help of a pattern.  I can just see her with those straight pins lining them up perfectly.  I expect nothing less from her and can only hope to be exactly like her at 86.  Enjoy!

My favorite girl in the entire world is turning two, my niece Maddie James.  She is spending her second birthday being spoiled by grandma in Michigan.  If you couldn't tell, Kitty (my chosen auntie name) is less than thrilled to be missing out on the fun.  Aunt Jamie made her the cutest cake that I just had to share with you, a Rainbow Swirl Cake.  The recipe and instructions can be found here, from In Katrina's Kitchen.  

What I love most about this cake is how simple it is.  No complex flavors, no crazy baking techniques, just add a little food coloring and you have an instant birthday party hit! Jamie topped her cake with white frosting and multi-color nonpareil sprinkles.   I can't wait to try one of my own, maybe a Halloween color scheme.

Tips from Aunt Jamie: Less is more, use neon food coloring for pink/orange/purple/green, and regular food colors for blue and yellow.  

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I am so excited to say that Ladies Craft Night hosted their first bachelorette party last night.  It was the most wonderful group of ladies and the bride was one of the sweetest people I have ever met.  The night was filled with laughter and it couldn't have been more fun.  It was wonderful to women of all ages enjoying each others company. I give big kudos to Alex & Jackie, the hostess's, for all the work they did and thinking outside the box.

The craft for the night was beaded keychains.  I am always impressed with the finished products and how creative people get.  They were people turning their keychains into bracelets and purse pulls.  The bride extended her keychain to make it doubled in length and added extra beads to give it a "chunky" feel.  I think that this is part of the beauty of crafting with girlfriends, you are inspired by eachother and bond while creating something beautiful with your own two hands.  

Here are some photos from the night, check out the entire album on our facebook page!

I was going to start this blog off by telling you how much I love baker's twine.  Followed by telling you I'm slightly obsessed with it.  Then I realized I say that about everything.  I can't help it I'm a craft whore.  I dream of the day I have a craft room where there is one cabinet dedicated to beautiful rows of colorful baker's twine. 
Hey, a girl can dream.

Here are some craft ideas I found using baker's twine.  Have any ideas, share them with me!

Baker's twine easter eggs by LandeeSeeLandeeDo.

Lollipop card by J. Day Designs.  

This card is absolutely adorable, it will take .5 seconds after my mother sees this card before she is digging through her pantry for bakers twine to make a set of cards.  

Multi-color lollipop card from Bling it on by Darla Weber.

Bakers twine gift wrap by Black White side by side.

Baker's twine gift wrap by The Letter Lady.

Banner made using baker's twine by Holly Dolly.

Wedding escort cards hung from bakers twine by The Knotty Bride.

Baker's twine wrapped jars by Holly Dolly.

Baker's twine wreath by Buckets of Grace.

Baker's twine tassel by Momtastic.

Baker's twine butterfly card by The Twinery.

Baker's twine crocheted flowers by Crescendoh.com

Check out all these colors available at The Twinery.

Halloween Twine by Timeless Twin available at Bella Creationz.

I think paper medallions are absolutely stunning.  When I ran across a picture of a paper medallion wall hanging I was in love.  I set out to make a wall hanging to act as the back drop for my craft table, at the upcoming Ladies Craft Night Grand Opening!  Enjoy!

Supplies:
Scrapbook Paper
Ruler
Pencil
Bone Folder
Glue Gun
Paper Cutter/Scissors
TIME!

Step 1: Start by cutting 2-4 even strips of craft paper.  I have made anywhere from 1inch to 6inch medallions.  The bigger the medallion the more strips you will need, smaller medallions only require 2 strips.  For this one I made a 2 1/2 inch medallion only requiring 2 strips.

Step 2: On the backside of your paper mark every 1/2 inch using a pencil.  These marks will act as a guideline when folding.

Step 3: Start folding each strip, carefully lining up each mark.  After folding use your bone folder to crease each fold, for a crisp & clean look.

Step 4: After folding all of your strips line the end of one strip with hot glue.  Attach this to the end of another strip and press firmly, trying to avoid any gaps in the paper.

Step 5: After all your strips are glued together flip your medallion over.  I like to glue in between each fold to secure the medallion.  Otherwise the medallion will stretch out and loose its shape.

Step 6: Get ready to giggle, instead of holding my medallion in place for a couple minutes until the glue hardens I turn to my trusty can of Diet Coke.  It's actually the perfect size and has enough weight to hold down the medallion without crushing it.

Step 7: Once the glue has hardened, you're done!  Flip it over and enjoy your beautiful work!

Medallion Wall Hanging: To make my wall hanging I used a piece of foam board.  It took me 23 medallions of all different shapes and sizes to cover the whole board.  Needless to say this was a bit time consuming, although well worth it.  After making all my medallions I then used the hot glue gun to glue them to the board. Great idea for parties and weddings!

I ran across this the other day and loved it so much I had to share.
Hope your wednesday is a little wilder after reading this!

My inner fat kid is obsessed with Red Velvet.  Not sure why because it's basically chocolate with a ton of red food coloring.  For some reason putting Red Velvet in front of a recipe makes it four times more delicious.  In honor of Memorial Day weekend I thought I would inspire you with a few of my favorite red velvet recipes.

To: You

Happy Memorial Day!

With Love,
Katie's Inner Fatty

Red Velvet Cheesecake w/ Oreo Crust byThe Recipe Girl.

Red Velvet Wine by Cupcake Vineyards.

Red Velvet Cookies by Whipper Berry.

Red Velvet Pancakes by Recipe Girl.

Red Velvet Caketini by D.C. Girls in Pearls.

Red Velvet Crepes by Tidy Mom.

Red Velvet Waffles by Taste & Tell.

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate by Une-Deux Senses.

Red Velvet Cake Balls by Bakerella.

Red Velvet Fudge by I Am Baker.

Red Velvet Cream Cheese Brownies by Freut Cake.

Red Velvet ice cream via Pinterest.

In honor of Memorial Day...Blue Velvet Cupcakes by Remodel Aholic.

Ruffles, one of my true loves!  Check out some of my ruffle inspiration below.

Ruffle Wedding Cake by Maisie Fantaisie.

Ruffle beach cover up by Free People.

Ruffle Tree Skirt by Miss Mustard Seed.

Ruffle Cake Stand by Potluck Studios.

Ruffle Duvet Cover by Kiki Creates.

Ruffle Bikini by Anthropologie.

Ruffle Pillow by Lemon Tree Creations featured on Kojo Creations.

"Tai" Ruffle Pumps by Badgley Mischka, featured on Running with Heels.

Ruffle Cake photo by Ashley Rose Cake by My Sweet & Saucy.

Ruffle Necklace by My Fair Ladee.

Ruffle Curtain by Urban Outfitters.

Ruffle Apron by Spotlight.