Food

Party Like A Pineapple Party

21 · May 30, 2017 · 5 Comments

Whimsical and tasty, this Pineapple Party is the perfect summer hit for all ages. Come learn how I created this EASY and scrumptious party…

Party Like a Pineapple post brought to you by • Cricut

My sweet Em just turned 13 and of course we needed to have a fabulous, colorful party to celebrate this fun milestone. Em and I chatted about some party theme ideas and finally settled a PINEAPPLE PARTY, because… Who doesn’t love to Party like a Pineapple?! Well, to be quite honest, I’m not really sure how pineapples party BUT, the idea sounded colorful and fun. We set to work coming up with a few ideas for the party.

Now, my idea of a good party is one that doesn’t overwhelm me. I don’t want 20 different dishes and elements to put together. I also don’t want it to cost an arm and a leg either. Together Em and I decided on 6 design elements, 3 simple treats and 2 playful party favors. All of this in my mind was eye catching, scrumptious and easy to pull together. Here are the basic elements…

Design Element 1 | Party Like a Pineapple Watercolor Sign

This beautiful sign was a fun collaboration with my other daughter Jane and myself. Jane is super talented when it comes to art and I had her create this large water color pineapple for me and then I overlaid it with black vinyl cut on my Cricut Explore Air 2 to create the backdrop of the party. Don’t worry though… If you don’t have the watercolor gene, I have you covered there and will teach you how coming up in my next post so stay tuned!

Design Element 2 | You are the Pineapple of my Eye Doughnut Tray

This tray turned out so cute! Em has always preferred doughnuts over cake so, I thought it would be fun to create a tray with a secret message. As the guests take their doughnuts the secret message is revealed. How fun is that?! Again, I created this with my favorite Premium Outdoor Vinyl from Cricut and I’ll be sharing my design with you guys so you can use it for your own projects.

Design Element 3 | The cutest Pineapple Doughnuts EVER

Um, hello? Are these not CUTE?! This is by far the EASIEST birthday cake I have ever “made.” I cut out the pineapple leave topper with my Cricut and then taped the leaves onto a toothpick, stuck it in the doughnut and voilá… A Pineapple Doughnut! I’ll be sharing my cut files for this simple project as well shortly.

Design Element 4 | Pineapple Jars For Our Drinks

Another simple, yet eye catching design element that everyone will LOVE! I created my leaf pattern in Adobe Illustrator and then turned it into a cut file via the NEW Cricut Design Space software. Again, don’t worry! I’m sharing my files and will teach you how and what to use to recreate this fun drink idea.

Design Element 5 | Pineapple Party Birthday Banner

You know… One of my favorite things about creating with my Cricut Explore Air 2 is, I’m not tied to someone else’s color scheme. I can use whatever colors I would like! Em and I went to Michaels and picked out some of her favorite colors in their craft paper section and when to town creating this fun pineapple birthday banner. Yep, you got it. I’ll be sharing this design that I created with you for your little pineapple’s birthday.

Design Element 6 | Party like a Pineapple Invitations

Every good party starts with fabulous invitations! That’s my motto anyway. I printed this simple invitations right at home on cardstock and then added some foil love with the Cricut Adhesive Foil. Oh foil, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. I love adding foil elements to all kinds of stuff and the Cricut Adhesive Foil is top notch. I’ll share all of my files for this invitation as well.

Tasty Treat 1 | Pineapple Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

This fruity pineapple salsa is the bee’s knees. It’s full of fresh flavor and a few secret ingredient that I’m sure will tickle your taste buds. Soon, I’ll be sharing this recipe so you can mix it up for your next party!

Tasty Treat 2 | “Pineapple” Doughnut Cake

Like I said before, the EASIEST birthday cake EVER!! I ran to my favorite local doughnut shop and grab a couple dozen, topped them with my paper toppers and we were good to go. Done! Love those quick little time savers when it comes to party planning.

Tasty Treat 3 | Dole Whips

Now, any Pineapple Party worth it’s weight will for sure have Dole Whips at some point in the evening. It’s a must my friends. I have the perfect Dole Whip recipe that only has three ingredients and you’ll LOVE it.

Party Favors | Pineapple Beach Balls & Pineapple Bubbles

I’m sorry, I don’t care what your age is, everyone loves beach balls and bubbles. The fact that you can get the two from Oriental Trading is just icing on the pineapple cake. I’ll be sharing all of the details here as well.

Doesn’t it all look fun? Well, with that… I need to get to work. I have several posts to work on to help you guys have a fun Pineapple Party too. Keep and eye out, follow along on Facebook and Instagram to see when the posts go live.

Don’t forget to PARTY LIKE A PINEAPPLE!

Quick Red White and Blue Home Decor

10 · May 10, 2017 · Leave a Comment

With the Summer months rolling in, it’s time to give a little nod to our favorite ole’ Red White and Blue! Michaels has a whole new line of FUN Americana decor that you’re going to love! Here’s what I found to dress-up my living room for the Summer holidays.

Quick Red White and Blue Home Decor • This post brought to you by Michaels

It’s been a couple of months or so, but… We finally bought a house and have moved in and are finally feeling a little settled. BOY, that’s a process that I don’t want to do again for quite some time. Three moves in roughly 5 years is enough for this family. It’s finally time to start making a house our home.

When I started packing-up our rental, the first thing I packed-up were the decor pieces that I wanted to use right away in the new house. I made sure to set those boxes aside and label them appropriately so that they wouldn’t get lost in the sea of boxes. That’s when, as soon as all of the basic needs were met in the new house, I could easily dress-up our space and make it feel like home. Now that we’ve been here for a couple of months, it’s time to start thinking a little more about seasonal decor. With Summer right around the corner the first thing that comes to mind is my favorite red white and blue home decor!

How to Quickly Incorporate Red White and Blue Home Decor

My father served in the Army during Vietnam, my Grandfather served on the beaches of Normandy in World War II, my Father-in-Law served in the Navy during the Korean War. To say that we are a proudly patriotic family would be putting it mildly. We love the stars and stripes and every summer, I love to dress up our home with some red white and blue decor. Thank goodness this month’s Michaels Makers summer challenge had a little bit of a patriotic spin to it.

Have you been to Michaels lately? Have you scene this great new Americana line that they just introduced. It’s so fun!

It’s perfect to quickly and easily dress your home up for the patriotic holidays this summer with minimal time and effort. What I love is that it seems to have something for everyone. If you are more into a vintage farmhouse style they have you covered. Are you more into classic cars and hanging out at the lake, you’re covered there too, It’s great.

I layered a few items on my mantel that really spoke to me. I love the large distressed wood flag and I thought it would layer well with this aaaamazing clock that they have at Michaels right now too. It seriously looks just like a clock that I almost paid quadruple for at Magnolia Market a few weeks ago!

The wooden red white and blue stars were also a must have. They add a nice little touch patriotic touch. I actually may go back to Michaels and grab some more.

Do you have a more classic style like I do? This beautiful 1776 pillow fit right into my room and added to the classic vibe.

I layered it with a red and white pillow that I already owned and it looks perfect.

The last, not so little bits, are the cute wooden fireworks that stoically preside over the hearth of our fireplace. Aren’t they cute with the rope coming out the top to make them look like fireworks.

What I love most about all of these pieces is that they incorporate so easily into the decor that I already had in the space. It doesn’t look awkward or out of place. It’s seamlessly blended right into the room.

Looking for more patriotic DIY inspiration? Visit Michaels.com for more creative ideas that will help you transform your home this summer. You should also visit Michaels’ blog, The Glue String, to see the rest of the Michaels Makers’ red, white and blue project ideas.

How to Apply Vinyl Tutorial + New Kitchen Sign Design

5 · May 9, 2017 · 2 Comments

Have you always wanted to create beautiful vinyl signs but, can’t quite get the hang of applying vinyl? Look no further, I’m sharing my pro tips for how to apply vinyl to create beautiful vinyl signs.

how to transfer vinyl tutorial • brought to you by Cricut

Recently, we moved to our new forever home and I have been madly creating all kinds of fun things to make the space my own. I LOVE creating word art whether it be for vinyl signs, painted signs, or for printables, for some reason that kind of decor always speaks to me. (No pun intended!) I love typography and everything that comes with creating with words and letters. I love watching trends come and go and adding my version to the fray.

Right now, with the popularity of the show Fixer-Upper, word art is hot. I have all kinds of farmhouse/industrial signs all over my house. I found a fun, blank chalkboard stand at Michaels in their decor section and thought it would be fun to create a new “The Kitchen is Now Open” Sign for my counters. After a little bit of playing around, this is the design that I settled on…

Download Kitchen Sign for Free

It has a little bit of farmhouse flair that so many of us are in love with right now. Now, this sign could be a little intimidating with all of the little letters but, don’t let it be intimidating. YOU CAN DO THIS! All you need is a little patience. So many people try and rush through a project and they get easily frustrated and then their project fails. That is so SAD! Step back, grab a Diet Coke (or, whatever it is that makes you happy), and ENJOY the process of creating.

For today, I’m focusing on just the vinyl transfer part of sign making. I’m working on a few more tutorials on how to create your sign in the NEW Cricut Design Space that was launched in BETA mode a week ago. It’s fabulous! I’ve been having a ball getting to know the new, faster & more user-friendly Design Space. I’m sure you’re going to love it too! It’s so easy to create your own designs within the Design Space or you can create in other programs like Photoshop or Illustrator and import your PNG files directly into Design Space and create that way as well. I’ll be working on more tutorials for both of those options soon.

I’m also working on a video tutorial on how to weed your vinyl. That’s the process of removing the negative part of your design in the vinyl. It’s really not hard, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will make it a little easier. Today, I’m just going to focus on how to apply vinyl. Here’s a quick video to show you how to apply vinyl to any type of smooth surface.

Video Tutorial for How to Apply Vinyl

How to Apply Vinyl by WhipperBerry from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

See, isn’t that simple! Honestly, the trickiest part is making sure that the design is centered onto your surface. As long as you stick with these simple tips, you can become a vinyl sign PRO!

Pro Tips for Applying Vinyl

Take your time – like I said before, don’t rush. If some of the vinyl lifts while you are transferring it to either the transfer tape or your sign… Don’t stress out. Lay that section back down and press on the vinyl with your finger and then try again. You’ll get it, just don’t rush.
Make sure your surface is clean – Now think about this, if you try and place a sticker on a surface covered in dust, dirt, sand, or general grime, what will happen? The sticker won’t stick. Same thing with adhesive vinyl. Whatever you are adhering it to needs to be clean. Nothing is more frustrating than laying down some vinyl and then finding a little piece of dirt stuck under the vinyl image making an unsightly bump. Take the time to make sure everything is clean.
Trim excess vinyl backing – Again, vinyl is just one big sticker. Stickers are placed on backing to keep the adhesive side sticky. The same applies to vinyl. Once you have cut your design on your Cricut machine, you’ll weed your vinyl and then you’ll want to cut away the excess vinyl backing. This will help when laying down your design and making sure it is placed the way you would like it.
Create a hinge – Several years ago, when the Cricut cutting machines made cutting your own vinyl possible, a good friend of mine, who owned a large-scale sign-making company, taught me her tricks for applying vinyl. Each of these tricks, I still use them every time. One of them is to use the transfer tape to create a “hinge” at the top of your design. Check out the video and you’ll see what I mean.
Pull transfer tape low, slow, and diagonally – My sign-making friend also taught me this years ago. When removing the transfer tape, pull low, slow and diagonally. What I mean by low is, that you are essentially folding the non-sticky side over on itself as you are pulling as close to your surface as possible. When do that along with pulling diagonally, you’ll be less likely to pull the vinyl back up as you remove the transfer tape.

A Quick Note on Materials

Here we have it… Not all vinyl and transfer tapes are created equal!! I have tried many brands of both vinyl and transfer tape. I’ve used what the professionals use and basic crafters vinyl. I LOVE the Cricut Transfer Tape!! It’s clear and so easy to use. I’ve also been very happy with the Cricut Vinyl. I have exclusively used the Premium Outdoor Vinyl for most of my projects and have been thrilled with the results. I made some travel mugs with the Premium Vinyl and have run them through the dishwasher many, many times and have yet to have any issues with the vinyl coming off. I LOVE that!

Stay tuned for more Cricut tutorials and projects coming to WhipperBerry! By the way… If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment here. I would be happy to help!

Disclaimer // I am a Cricut Ambassador and receive product and payment to help with my projects. As always, I will NEVER promote a product that I don’t truly believe in!

Tortilla Desserts Two Ways • Berry Hand Pies + Baked Tortilla Sundae Bowl

13 · May 5, 2017 · 6 Comments

Find yourself looking for some easy dessert options? Did you know that you can find uncooked tortillas at Costco from TortillaLand®? You CAN, and you can create all kinds of fabulous tortilla desserts with them! Come learn all about the Baked Tortilla Sundae Bowl & Easy Berry Hand Pies…

Post brought to you by • TortillaLand®

The Secret to Finding the BEST Tortillas

Have you ever hit one of your favorite stores, let’s say Costco (because it’s one of mine) and found a product that at the time seemed a little understated and yet, turned into a magical find? That’s what happened to me several years ago when I was walking through the refrigerated section of Costco and discovered a small little section in-between the bacon and orange juice. What I found truly intrigued me, TortillaLand® Fresh Uncooked Tortillas… What?

Why would anyone have the need for uncooked tortillas? In our fast paced world, doesn’t that mean a few extra precious steps. “Honey, would you like a quesadilla? Hold on for a minute, I need to cook the tortilla first.” In my mind, I had a hard time figuring out what the benefit would be to buying uncooked tortillas. However, my adventurous self won the day. I wanted to learn WHY someone would go through the trouble of cooking their own tortillas when from what I knew, the already cooked ones were just fine.

That’s the key phrase though… JUST FINE. When I prepared my first TortillaLand® tortilla and tasted it, all of a sudden, just fine was no longer good enough. There is magic to cooking your own tortillas. It truly only takes an extra 60 seconds to cook and they taste warm, light, full of the flavor that tortillas are supposed to have. Somehow, unlocking those flavors right before you plan on eating them is the best way to have a tortilla! Whether you are using it for a humble quesadilla or creating some tasty desserts with them, the old saying is true… Fresh is best!

Another thing I absolutely love about TortillaLand® tortillas, they only have 5 simple ingredients. I don’t know if you’ve ever checked out the ingredients on your other tortillas but, they are full of all kinds of crazy stuff like soy for example. Now, I know that the origins of tortillas didn’t not include soy or preservatives. I have been recently diagnosed with several food allergies and soy is on my list of foods I can no longer have, along with yeast. When I found out about the yeast thing I thought, that’s alright, I will just eat tortillas instead. Sadly, when I went to my local markets and started reading the ingredients of all of the prepared tortillas, they ALL contained soy. I was shocked. I was now faced with no longer being able to enjoy bread AND tortillas. It was a tad bit heart breaking.

Years before, when we lived in Vegas, much closer to a Costco, we used the TortillaLand® tortillas all of the time, our family loved them. Right now our nearest Costco is about an hour away so we don’t get to shop there often. (They’re building one close to our house this year and we are thrilled!) Anyway, we drove up to Costco to check things out last weekend. I was curious to see what I would find on the Tortilla Land ingredient list. Sure enough, my beloved TortillaLand® tortillas did not contain soy or any crazy fillers, just FIVE simple ingredients; wheat flour, water, canola oil, salt and sugar. Honestly, that is as close to the original tortilla recipe as you can get. I was over the moon excited!! I gabbed a package (they contain 50 lovely fresh, uncooked tortillas that you can freeze by the way) and ran home to see what I could make with these tasty gems.

Tortilla Recipe Ideas

Now, wrap your mind around this… With fresh uncooked tortillas the sky’s the limit. You are the master of this tortillas destiny. You can cook it according to the package directions and make all kinds of stuff; breakfast burritos, quesadillas for a quick snack, burritos or soft tacos for dinner.

You can make a peanut butter and jelly roll-up for the kiddos after school or make some beautiful pinwheels as an appetizer for your next party. With the nature of the fresh uncooked tortilla, you can now make your own flautas & chimichangas as well. Really, you can cook all kinds of stuff.

Tortilla Dessert Two Ways

Having being limited as to what I could eat due to my new eating challenges, I decided the first item that I would make must be DESSERT! After playing around with a few ideas, I’ve come up with dessert two ways.

I created some beautiful tortillas bowls in the oven that don’t use a drop of oil, just the natural heat from the oven. Then I deep fried some fruity hand pies that turned out like scrumptious filled sopapillas, YUM!!

Tasty Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Bowl Sundae

The trick for the tortilla bowl is to drape them over an oven safe bowl our jar. I used some canning jars because I know that they are heat tempered and wouldn’t have an issue in the oven. I made sure they were clean, then draped the tortilla over the bottom of the jar. The trick to the bowl holding it’s shape is to not butter or grease the bottom of the jar. You actually want it to “stick” to the bottom of the jar. If it doesn’t it will fill with air in the oven and then fall off of the jar. If it sticks a little bit on the base it will make a perfect bowl for you. Don’t worry, they will come off the jar with just a little help after they have cooled.

When ready to serve, brush them with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar if you like. Then fill them with your favorite ice cream and fruit for a fabulous summer treat! Here’s a quick video to show you how I make them…

Scrumptious Tortilla Berry Hand Pies

Now, for our second option… This is dessert is equally as scrumptious and super easy as well. It’s kind of a mix between a sopapilla and a hand pie.

They couldn’t be easier to make, watch this video recipe so see how to make your own tortilla pies. The full recipes will follow the video.

Tortilla Land Berry Hand Pies from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

Want to win a Costco Cash Card so that you can go load-up on some scrumptious TortillaLand® Tortillas? Click this link for your chance to win TortillaLand $25 Costco Cash Card Giveaway

Tortilla Dessert Recipes

1 vote

Tortilla Berry Hand Pies

Prep 10 mins

Cook 10 mins

Total 20 mins

Yield 5 people

Nothing better than the sweet taste of summer berries wrapped in a uncooked tortilla a cooked to perfection!

Ingredients

3 cups vegetable oil
TortillaLand® Uncooked Flour Tortillas
1 lb. of berries • Strawberries, raspberries & blackberries
2 tablespoons AP flour
2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
small bowl of water

Instructions

Prepare your berries by washing, removing leaves and stems. Cut into bite sized pieces if needed.
Place berries into a medium sized bowl and mix with flour and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar. Set aside.
Pour oil into a sauce pan, and place over medium high heat until it reaches 350˚
Cut tortillas in half.
In one of the tortillas halves place a large spoonful of the berry mixture.
Dip your clean finger into the bowl of water and lightly we the outside edge of the tortilla.
Fold tortilla in half and then crimp with a folk.
Place 1-2 of the hand pies into the 350˚ oil and fry on both sides until nice and brown.
Remove from the oil and let sit on a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
Sprinkle the hand pies with cinnamon sugar
Let cool and serve.

Courses Dessert

Disclaimer // This post is written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own. This shop has been compensated by Acorn Influence, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Gnome Garden

4 · May 1, 2017 · 3 Comments

A Gnome Garden is the perfect project for the entire family! With a little imagination, a good container, plants, some sticks from your yard and a little DecoArt Patio Paint, you can transform a simple garden into a gnome wonderland. Come learn how…

This Gnome Garden post brought to you by DecoArt

I have always been fascinated by gardening. Gardening is in my gene pool. I have a sister with a degree in horticulture & landscape design (gardening) and a mother who adores gardening. I SHOULD be an amazing gardener, right?

Well… I’m getting there. To be completely honest, that darn gardening gene is taking awhile to really kick into gear. Every spring I bring home a new set of, what my husband likes to refer to as, “this years sacrifices!” What?

I’ve tried and tried for a few years to maintain some plants in my home and finally, I feel like I can mange some simple plant care. However, I am no expert. What I love to do is, create with my family and a gnome garden is PERFECT for that.

Gnome and Fairy Gardens are becoming all the rage these days. If you walk into Michaels right now, they have a whole section dedicated to these fun gardens with all kinds of gnomes and their accessories. I decided it would be fun to create a gnome garden together with the family using some budget friendly items like sticks from the backyard as our gnomes & a raw wood bird house that I found at Michaels as their cute home. Here’s what you’ll need to make one with your family…

Gnome Garden Supply List

Garden container
rocks
soil
7-8 small plants
4-5 sticks roughly 6 inches tall
DecoArt Patio Paint
- Suggested Colors
- Tuscan Red
- Marigold Yellow
- Tango Blue
- Mistletoe Green
- Cloud White
- Wrought Iron Black
Small round tip paint brush
Small flat tip paint brush
pencil
a sharp whittling knife
jar of water
paper towels
small decorative rocks
colored decorative sand
garden accessories

Why Patio Paint is Perfect for Gardens

Not all paint is created equal. Some paint is more durable than others and that’s alright, every type of paint has it’s purpose. What you are looking for with this project is a highly durable paint that is non-toxic, water based and adheres nicely to things that will likely be outdoors or will endure repeated watering like this project. The DecoArt Patio Paint is PERFECT for this! Here are the specifics…

No sealer required for a durable, long-lasting finish
Weather-proof
Satin finish
Scuff-resistant
Superior coverage
Will not crack or peel
Water-based and non-toxic
Easy to clean
Made in the USA

How to Create a Gnome Garden

Here’s a quick video to show you how easy it is to create a special gnome garden of your own…

Gnome Garden from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.

Isn’t that easy and fun for the family? Here’s the step by step…

Place rocks at the bottom of your container. This helps with drainage for your plants. Plants love water, but they typically don’t like to sit in it all of the time. You’ll need to make sure they have proper drainage.
Pour in your potting soil. Fill your container about 3/4 full.
Plant your plants in the container with the lower plants in front and the taller toward the back. Keep in mind, you are trying to set a scene. If you are wondering what plants to use and how to maintain them, here’s a good article from the Empress of Dirt.
Paint your birdhouse. Keep it simple or go crazy… This is your design. I wanted to keep our simple. We painted the door on the back of the bird house and added dots to the roof with a nice red peek-a-boo trim around the scalloped edge of the roof. I used the tip of the brush handle to create the dots on the roof.
ADULT TASK • Whittle the end of your branches into a tip like a pencil. The top portion of the tip will be your gnomes hat. Keep in mind this task either needs to be done by an adult OR supervised by an adult.
On one side of your stick, whittle a “U” shaped section for the face of your gnome.
Using the DecoArt Patio Paint and your small flat brush, paint on your gnomes hat and let dry.
Take the white paint and paint on your gnome’s beard. Basically in a “U” shape following the line of the face that you whittle in before. Set aside and let dry. Refer to video for more details on how to paint your gnome.
Using a sharped pencil, dip your pencil tip into the black paint and gently place one gnome eye. Reapply the paint to your pencil tip and create another eye. Dipping into the paint twice will help to create eyes that a similar in shape and size. Set aside and let dry.
Once dry, name your cute little little gnomes! Ours are Max (red), Sven (yellow), Einar (green) & Ole (blue). Then place them into your gnome garden.
Using the small rocks and colored sand, create a walkway in front of the house.