I wanted to do something fun and different for his cake. He loves ice cream (and will do just about anything to get some – including listen to his mother!) so I knew it would be a win for him!

The cake is an 8″ round chocolate cake. I baked that as usual and let it cool. I then used an 8″ round springform pan for the top layer. I took out a tub of vanilla ice cream and a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream and let them sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to get nice and soft. Once it was soft, I dropped scoop-fulls of ice cream into the spring form pan so half was vanilla and half mint chocolate chip. That went into the freezer.

After about an hour, I took the springform pan of icre cream out of the freezer and went around the edges with a spatula before opening the pan. Voila! I had a round layer of ice cream! I immediately popped that on top of the chocolate cake and put the cake back in the freezer.

Here is a slice:

After it was good and solid again, I iced the cake in Cool Whip. I know I could make whipped cream icing but I was worried about it separating.

Lastly, I iced the cake after it was perfectly frozen. I used buttercream icing and fondant to decorate the top.

Some things I learned making an ice cream cake:

1. Let it sit out for a few minutes before trying to cut it. It was really solid!

2. Put it back in the freezer after you serve it. The left overs melted all over my counter!

3. Have fun! And it was worth the try!!!

I made this Gratitude wrap based on Amanda Soule’s instructions as a thank you gift for my dear friend Stephanie who helped organize a lot of our wedding for us. She is an excellent event coordinator and does this for the benefit of local nonprofits; we were so lucky to have her expertise to make our wedding day perfect. I was lucky to have my mom’s help in the final binding – she seems to finish the handstitching at lightening speeds!

The inside fabric is from this etsy shop and called Love in Paris – which I bought knowing I was going to make something for Stephanie (she lived in and met her husband in Paris). The outside and accents are all from my mom’s stash, and I think came from JoAnn’s. I hope Stephanie is able to use it – possibly in her future event planning? Thanks again, Steph, for all your help that day and always! xoxo

The original recipe is from Bush’s Black Beans. Here is our version:

Black bean and pepper salsa

Dice:

- 3 peppers (it looks pretty to have 1 green, 1 yellow, 1 red but is often a lot more money for the red and yellow – we just use the equivalent of 3 peppers)
- 1/2 to 1 red onion (we usually use the whole onion)
- 1 clove garlic

Mix the above and the below together in a bowl:

- 1 can corn, drained (we use the sweet, shoepeg kind from Jane’s recommendation and she is from Iowa, so she knows about corn)
- 1 can black beans, drained
- chopped fresh cilantro (the original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon but I usually triple that amount)
- 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice (can also be substituted with lemon juice)
- salt and pepper to taste

Serve with chips (also makes a great quesadilla). There are chips called “scoops” that are just perfect for this salsa.

Enjoy!

We went very nontraditional and skipped the paper invitations and did a website with information (and electronic RSVP) and sent emails to our small group of family and friends. I wanted to start with the video we made, which was an awesome feat, as well as the perfect marriage of things we both love – embroidery and stop motion animation. It still makes me smile to see it and hear the sweet tune (Matt played it on his ukulele).

Save the Date from Tracy and Matt on Vimeo.

We were lucky to have many generous artists and crafters in the family that contribute to the big day. I’ll be back soon with some stories of these amazing people and the things they made.

For the August issue of Sandbox Press, we’ve created a fun end of summer activity. Splatter paint stationery is fun to make and easy to use for sending thank you notes, making note cards for a gift, or writing home from summer camp! Kids can even make fun posters to display in their rooms.

Supplies:

Spray bottle, acrylic or Tempera Paints in a variety of colors, water, cardstock or other thick paper, small objects, such as seashells, leaves, and other trinkets, and envelopes for mailing (optional)

Steps:

1. Cover your workspace with newspaper.
2. Pour a few teaspoons of paint into the spray bottle. Add about an inch of water.  Add more water for a more transparent color.
3. Arrange your seashells or other objects onto the paper (if using).
4. Spray your colored water onto the paper.
5. Repeat with other colors.
6. Let your paper dry overnight.
7. For stationery or note cards, cut the paper to fit your envelopes.

Try to choose a variety of paint colors and shades of paper.  Thicker paper, such as cardstock, works best but you can also use printer paper.  Stones, seashells, or your child’s hand will create different silhouettes on your paper. Making coordinating envelopes tied with a piece of ribbon makes a nice gift set.