Graduation Marshmallow Pops

I am still alive! We've had the flu going around since May 16! I got it, then five days later both kids got it, then SIX days after that the hubs got it! Yuck! It was also my seventh wedding anniversary on May 22. Oh and preschool graduation for my son. Gosh, it has been busy around here.
I just wanted to pop in and show you the cute Marshmallow pops I made for my sons preschool graduation.

The tutorial on how to make them is over on the Seven Year Cottage. Spotted via Edible Crafts. They came together much easier than I thought. I used jujubee gum drops(think mini-Dots) and sour watermelon belts for the tassel. I pretty much went to a grocery store with a bulk section and picked out the candies that would work the best. The original tutorial used M&Ms and Airhead Sour Belts.


I didn't get to see the kids reactions, I think they ate them at snack time. However a parent was dropping off his child at the same time and he started filming them with a little camcorder and narrating what everything was. I think he must have thought they were pretty cool!

Last year for preschool I gave his teachers mostly "things" for presents. This year I focused more on food. Dealing with 24 preschoolers for a whole year calls for some chocolate in my opinion! I went with these cute chocolate chalkboards. Once again I saw the idea on Edible Crafts. The great tutorial is found at Hungry Happenings
One thing I noticed is that my words were not coming out very dark until I brushed on the powdered sugar. So if you attempt these, don't worry powdered sugar will help a lot. Also I found it worked best if the chalk was room temperature but the chocolate was chilled. Here in AZ room temperature is a bit on the warm side so at first I was just digging divots into the chocolate with the chalk. One last tip, don't get too wordy. As you can see below, more words equals more opportunity for trouble!
I found the window boxes at my local cake supply store. They didn't look super fancy, but I liked that i could just write on the box and not worry about a separate card.
We are officially done with school for the year! Next year we'll start kindergarten and preschool for the youngest. Wow!

Swag bag winners!

Sorry about the delay in announcing the swag bag winners. I got the flu on Monday, and it is no fun! I still feel borderline blah, but I am trying to bounce back!

Here are the winners of the Singer Swag Bag giveaway...
#11 Just This ...Alice
#30 Rickimoo
#18 aStarToSteerHerBy
Congrats everyone I will email you for your addresses right now!

One side note about emails. I specifically said in the giveaway that if I couldn't email you, you weren't going to win. Sadly one of the first winners fell into this category and I had to pick someone else. If you aren't sure if your email address is associated with your google account, or you don't know how to do it, here is tutorial over on Bella Before and After. I really hate seeing noreply-comment@blogger.com as your email address. I can't email you back about your comments or notify you when you win a giveaway. So please check and see about your email address!

Magnetic Pin Catch and Swag bag GIVEAWAY

Here's post number 2 about the Singer Sewing House Party. I'm doing a giveaway for a few swag bags, so make sure you make it all the way to the end!
First, I want to tell you about these magnet pin catches that I created. When I sew, I always make a mess of the pins. I have to cut/pin in one room and sew somewhere else. Inevitably I leave the pin box in the wrong room. I came up with this idea to make a little magnetic pin catch so my pins wouldn't go rolling all over the place as I am taking them out.

I thought it was a great idea but I had a LOT of trouble making it happen. Here's a lesson I learned the hard way: Magnetic paint does not make something a magnet, it just makes a magnet stick to it. Therefore, straight pins do not stick to magnetic paint. :(
I finally worked it out and cut my sewing machine shapes out of magnetic paper.

I mod-podged some pretty paper onto the magnet side of the paper(black side) and I was good to go. Magnet paper is not very strong, but the pins definitely stick.
They are a small part of the goody bag, but quite possibly my favorite detail. Probably because I spent so much time getting it to all work out.

Now on to the swag bags!
Singer went all out and sent some pretty sweet stuff for each of the party guests.
Each person received:

• 3 spools Singer Fusion Thread
• 2 sheets of Joann 40% off Coupons
• Martha Stewart Crafts catalog and 50% off coupon
• 15% off the Singer Confidence 7467S
  
• Simplicity Pattern 2381 - Apron Style Bag
  
• Simplicity Learn to Sew Pattern 2286

I decided I wanted to add a few things to the bags to make them extra special. I added:

• Sewing Machine shaped magnetic pin catch
• Measuring Tape
• A bobbin keeper - aka Toe separator
  
• The choice of a sewing machine necklace or earrings I found a really great deal on these charms on Ebay. The came all the way from China so I technically ordered them a few days BEFORE I found out I was selected as a host. It was a big coincidence that they had the Singer brand name on them.
• I bought the gift bags from the Dollar Store and then added the sewing machine, dress form, and scissor cut-outs.

Congrats on making it this far! Now for the good news. I am giving away THREE swag bags! They will include everything I have listed above except for the bobbin keeper/toe separator. I will accommodate your preference for the necklace or earrings as best as I can. I already have all the jewelry made up though.

Details for the Giveaway:
What: THREE people will win one Swag bag each
When: The giveaway will end Monday May 16, 2011 at 9pm Arizona Time
Where: Continental US only for this giveaway
How:

1. Follow my blog with Google Friend Connect over on the sidebar. Leave me a comment saying you are a follower.
2. 'Like' Cute As a Fox on Facebook. Leave me a comment including your Facebook name so I can verify.
3. Post this giveaway with a link on your blog, Facebook, or Twitter. Leave me a comment with where you posted it.
   

That's all there is to it! I will notify the winner via email, so make sure I can contact you. No email address means no winning! The Joann coupons expire May 29, so I will be getting this out in the mail ASAP.
Good luck!!

Singer House Party: Stenciled Oreo Pops

The Singer House Party was a smashing success. I got some great feedback from the ladies that attended. My favorite part was that I enjoyed myself and wasn't crazy stressed. I am finally getting the hang of enjoying my own parties and not being stressed to the max!
I want to start out by showing you one of the treats that I made.
May I present... Stenciled Oreo Pops

Photo courtesy of: The Sew-er, The Caker, The Copycat Maker

I love the unique and professional look they have without being very complex to make.
Supplies:
Oreos
Lollipop Sticks
Vanilla Almond Bark
Stencils
Wilton Color Mist

Step 1. Dip Your Oreos in almond bark. I had never done these before and put in an SOS to my girl Julie. She held my hand(long distance) and walked me thought it. Thankfully she also has a tutorial she wrote up last year. You can find it HERE

Step 2: Prepare your stencils. I made mine with transparency paper. I'm not sure if any of the personal cutting machines out there can cut through that. Anyone know? You might be able to just use cardstock and then be prepared to replace them if it gets soggy. Freezer paper is another option, but I'm not sure if that would be stiff enough. You don't want your stencil to be larger than about 1.25". The Oreos are about 1.5" in diameter.

Step 3. After the chocolate is completely set, place your stencil on the Oreo and lightly spray over the stencil with Wilton Color Mist spray. The Color Spray warns you about over-spray but I wasn't careful enough on some of the lollipops and had a few issues.
Later I made dipped Oreos not on a stick and made sure to have only one oreo on the tray at a time. No overspray then!

I sure do love that Wilton Color Mist! Cake decorating is not my forte, but stencils I can handle!

I also thought I would show off this cute sewing box I made using candy molds and chocolate. I went to the cake supply store hoping for some sewing related candy molds and hit the jack-pot! One mold came with the box and all the sewing accessories. I put it on this cupcake stand that I had and had it on the food table for some edible decoration. So cute!

Photo courtesy of: The Sew-er, The Caker, The Copycat Maker

Can't wait to show you more of the party soon! Thanks to Vanessa for sharing some pictures with me. I was able to relax knowing that between Vanessa and Jax my picture needs were going to be taken care of.

FRESCHETTA® Simply Inspired Pizza Giveaway

This post brought to you by FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Back in my newlywed days, we ate a lot of frozen pizza. My sweet husband was a much pickier eater back then, we both worked, and I was still getting my sea legs in the kitchen. Sadly, it was the super cheap, edible but not particularly palatable frozen pizza. When I was given the opportunity to try out FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza I was all over it!

I chose the Chicken Bianco variety. Not only did it appeal the most to me, I saw it was only available for a limited time and I wanted to try it before it was gone. You had me at chicken with an Alfredo sauce!

It was an excellent choice! I was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. The freshness is what impressed me the most. I honestly would not have known it was a frozen pizza if I hadn't taken it out of the freezer myself. The red peppers had a nice crunch, and the chicken tasted freshly grilled.

Here is what my pizza looked like straight out of the oven.:

I've never cared much for the idea of a thin crust pizza, but this was really good. It had good flavor and a nice crunch. Much better than the soggy cardboard crust that I had been fearing. I will also refer you back to the picture where you can see and identify chucks of chicken. It is not minced to oblivion!

The pizza was dressed to impress too. The FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ Packing locks in the flavors, while using 30% less packaging material. You peel back the top layer of plastic and there is your pizza ready to go.

If you are interested in learning about all 8 varieties, you can visit FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ online. Follow them on twitter @FreschettaSI or you can check out their Facebook page. I'd really recommend checking them out on Facebook, as they have weekly giveaways through the rest of 2011 and you can download a $2 off coupon for FRESCHETTA® Simply Inspired pizza.

Now for the giveaway! One lucky reader will receive a coupon to get a free FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza of their choice AND a Freschetta bamboo cutting board.

How to enter:

1. Leave me a comment with your favorite kind of pizza
2. 'Like' the FRESCHETTA® Simply Inspired facebook page.
3. Follow Cute As a Fox with Google Friend Connect over on the sidebar.

Leave me one comment for each item you complete for a total of 3 possible entries. I will email the winner so please make sure I have a way to contact you. The giveaway will end May 11 at 9PM Arizona time.

Good luck!