Friday, July 30, 2021

Jello Mold Recycle 2 - Lemon Bundt Cake

Kitchen Decor


I promised last week that I would share my lemon cake fake bake 
that I made with a Bundt shaped Jello Mold, and here it is:


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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here



Kitchen Decor
Kitchen Decor

Here is my Jello mold as I found it for $1- plastic and in a creamy, off-white color.

Note the little handled tabs, these will need to be 
taken into consideration when creating a base for the cake.



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Wanting a brighter look of pure white icing, I used spray paint to recover the mold.



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And then began adding lemon detailing with acrylic paint.


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I also added more paint around the edges, allowing it to drip down the sides.



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While that was drying, I created a base for the cake out of craft foam board.  Just cut a circle out that is a bit bigger than your mold (don't forget those handled tabs) and then paint in the color of your choice.



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Kitchen Decor

I used hot glue to attach the foam board to the bottom of the mold and then filled the center with leftover foam scraps from this artificial plant project.



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Kitchen Decor
Kitchen Decor

And then it was on to the best part - decorating!  Using light weight joint compound I filled in the center, added dollops around the top and trimmed the bottom.  A faux lemon with a leaf on top and more paint drizzled around the bottom and it was done 😎



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And there you have it- a lemon companion for the strawberry chocolate!







Friday, July 23, 2021

Jello Mold Recycle - Strawberry Chocolate


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After finding an old Jello mold at a yard sale, I knew I wanted to use it to make a fake bake Bundt cake, but wasn't sure how to go about it.  Plaster would be wayyyy to heavy. Clay would be heavy, hard to dry and expensive.  I could try spray foam, but how would I get it out?  Finally I decided, why not just use the mold itself?  Here is how I did it:


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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here



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Here is my Jello mold as I found it; simple plastic with a lid and only 50 cents!



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After cutting the tab off of the lid and gluing the lid in place, 
I used a multi surface spray paint to give the mold a nice chocolate color.



Kitchen Decor

You may remember from this post that when I made my faux potted plants I used spray foam in my containers, and then trimmed off the excess.  I made sure to save the trimmed off tops of foam to re-use, and here you can see how one fits perfectly into the center of my Jello mold.  Because I wanted to top the cake with whipped cream and strawberries, I glued in the foam to fill up the cavity space and create a flat surface.

I've been using these cut off foam pieces in sooo many ways, I'll share a post in the future!



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With my Jello mold painted and prepped, it was time to decorate.  As always I used light weight joint compound to serve as my icing and applied it by using an icing tip in a plastic bag.

My favorite tip is the Wilton 2D open star.  You can find the same set that I have here , or purchase just the single tip here, both on Amazon.  Amazon is also where I source my faux strawberries.

*I forgot to get a picture of the base!  In this photo the mold with it's lid is sitting on parchment, but there is no base for a ring of icing to rest on.  To solve this problem I cut a circle (a bit larger than the mold itself) out of foam board and spray painted it gold.  I then glued that piece of foam board to the bottom of my Jello mold.



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I applied my faux whipped cream icing (joint compound) first.  The ring of icing at the bottom is resting on top of my foam board round, which is glued to the mold.



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Added in the strawberries while the 'icing' was still wet.



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And then drizzled some brown acrylic paint over the top to look like chocolate sauce.



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Kitchen Decor

Not too bad for a 50 cent mold, huh?!
Notice that because the joint compound shrinks up a bit as it dries, you can now see the edges of my foam board base.



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I ended up finding another pan - this time a metal Bundt pan, and made up a lemon cake as well.  I'll share more about that project next week 😊



Saturday, July 17, 2021

Faux Cupcakes: Candy Series


Decorative Cupcakes

Happy Saturday everyone!
Today's post is more of a photo essay than anything else.  After creating a candy themed series of faux cupcakes I thought it would be fun to share pictures.  Whether you are creating faux cupcakes yourself or making real ones to eat, hopefully these pics can give you some inspiration:



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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here



Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

Decorative Cupcakes

-The miniature candies are "slime charms" and can be found on Amazon.
-The larger charms I made with clay in a chocolate mold, 
then painted in acrylic and detailed with puffy paint.
-The tiny foam 'sprinkles' can be purchased from Dollar Tree.

(You can click here to read how to make the faux cupcakes)




















Friday, July 9, 2021

Make Your Own Fake Popsicles

 Kitchen Decor

You might remember these neapolitan popsicles from my thrifted fabric turned ice cream tray post.  Today I'm sharing how easy it is for you to make your own:


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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here


Kitchen Decor

When working with silicone molds I have used cut up hot glue sticks, clay and now Plaster of Paris.  Clay is by far the easiest to work with and least expensive, but I didn't think that the shape of this particular mold was going to allow me to get a clay form out without ruining it.  Because plaster sets up quickly into a hardened form, I decided to give it a go.  It was easy to mix and pour- just follow the directions on the box- and I made sure to use an old plastic bin for mixing so as not to ruin any kitchenware.

You can find this popsicle mold from the photo here.



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Once the plaster had set up within the molds (I waited 24 hours), I was able to remove the popsicles.  Not wanting to crack or chip the designs, I chose to bend and pull at the silicone mold instead of the popsicles themselves.  Silicone molds are super tough, so don't be afraid to give them a work out 😉

The cylinder and star shaped popsicles came out really well, but the ice cream bar style was a little thicker in the middle.  The weight of the plaster pushed out the sides of the mold a bit, giving a bit of a distorted shape to the finished product.  If you could find a way to support the mold during the drying time (maybe rubber bands?) then they should turn out better.



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I also made some using clay  in this  mold.  I found it easiest to add the clay to the mold first, then carefully push in the popsicle stick.  Try to keep the stick as straight as possible and if the clay is disturbed just smooth it back out.  Stick the mold into the freezer and let the clay harden before trying to remove the popsicles from the mold.  It won't be dry at this point, but you'll be able to get it out of the mold without smushing your shape.  I took mine out by bending the silicone away from the popsicles and pulling the clay from the mold.  If you try to pull by the stick you will end up just pulling out the stick only.  Also, if your designs do get a little mussed, you can gently reshape them as they start to thaw.

You can find this popsicle mold  here.



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I like to let my clay sit out for a few days to completely dry before painting.

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Once all of my popsicles were completely dry I got to begin painting:



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Fruits



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Mints & Sprinkles



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Watermelon & Strawberry Chocolate



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Assorted Chocolates



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Patriotic



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Neapolitan














Saturday, July 3, 2021

Crib Sheets Turned Ice Cream Tray - A Thrifted Upcycle

 

Fabric Decor

I'm really excited about today's post because it serves two purposes-  First off, I'm going to show you how I took the fabric from a crib sheet and combined it with an old frame to create and ice creamed themed tray/ decorative display piece.  Secondly, as I show you examples of how to use this display piece, I'll also be sharing sooooo many fun fake bake crafts that you can make as well.

Check it out:

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Disclosure - This post may contain affiliate links.  If a purchase is made through an affiliate link then (at no additional cost to you) I will receive a commission.  You can read more about affiliate links here


Fabric Decor

I started with this framed art that I found for free, a $1 garage sale crib sheet and a can of spray paint.

You might remember the framed art from this treasure hunting post where one of my neighbors had a whole assortment of household decor items for free by the road 😍



Fabric Decor

Flipping the art over, you can see that it is covered in a paper backing that I easily tore right off.  After that I used pliers to remove the staples and took out the foam board, which was also the art.

(You can see that Hobby Lobby $19.99 price tag, right?!?!)



Fabric Decor

Flipping the art over, I decided to use the plain white side as the front of my piece with the elephant print as the back.  This is so the elephant wouldn't show through my ice cream fabric.  I then trimmed around the art print leaving enough fabric to fold over the foam board.



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After that is was as simple as adding duct tape to secure the fabric in place.



Fabric Decor

Here you can see the finished foam board neatly covered in the ice cream crib sheet fabric.  If you flip it over you can still see the elephant peeking out, but this side is nice and pretty.  You can always add another piece of fabric or a sheet card stock if you want a finished look on the back.



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Here you can see the frame after I repainted it with the mint green spray paint.
If you do your painting first then you can work on your fabric while the paint is drying 😉



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And here the art piece is put back together.  Not too bad, huh?
Once finished it can be used as a tray, photo backdrop or even as part of your decor.

Check out these photos:

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-As a tray-

Fabric Decor

Since my idea from the beginning was to use the frame as a tray, I started there.  In this picture I combined the tray with a few of my faux milkshakes and ice creams.

The pink and green milkshakes can be made by following this faux drink tutorial.
The large ice cream bowls I made by filling Dollar Tree desert bowls with spray foam, painting them and then adding joint compound on top for icing (like in this cupcake post).
For the ice cream scoops I used a real ice cream scoop to portion out some joint compound and let it dry on top of parchment paper.  Once dry I painted them and placed them into some pretty dishes that I found at the thrift store.

*I bought the fake chocolate milkshake from Dezicakes on Ebay*



Fabric Decor

Here I used my tray to display another type of faux ice cream.
After my family had eaten a few single serve ice creams I washed and dried the containers before adding joint compound colored with acrylic paint.  A couple of the joint compound lumps I took out of the cardboard containers once they were dry and anchored them into some glass dishes with a bit more joint compound that I left plain white.  Once all of that was dry I topped them with more of the joint compound and various faux toppings; fruit, cookies, candy bits and sprinkles.



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Ya'll didn't think I was done with ice cream trays did you? 😄

For this series I took craft foam balls and coated them with acrylic paint tinted joint compound.  Once dry I hot glued them into these thrift store bowls.  I was going for more of a sorbet look this time, I think it worked out ok!



Fabric Decor

And not to be done with anything too soon, here is one more ice cream tray example.  
These scoops are made with clay and I'll have a tutorial post soon 😎

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-As a photo backdrop for shop listings-

Fabric Decor

Have an Etsy shop or other form of online sales?  It's always nice to have a pretty background for your shop's items and any bit of upcycled fabric can do the trick.

These dessert bowls were made with the same method as my faux drink tutorial, but instead of adding a pile of spackle/ joint compound to the top, I glued a craft foam ball instead.  With the craft ball in place I spread it with plain white spackle and then drizzled on chocolate colored acrylic paint.  Last but not least, a faux cherry on top!

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-As part of your display decor-

Fabric Decor

Framed fabric can serve as layering pieces for your other decorative frames as well.
Here I paired it with one of my ice cream themed prints and a series of faux ice cream cones that I made out of clay.  

(The scoop and cone molds can be found on Amazon) 

After letting the clay forms dry I painted them with acrylic and in some cases topped with joint compound, faux sprinkles or cherries.

Instant Download Printable Wall Art:  $1 Cones All You Can Eat



Fabric Decor

In this example I used the framed tray with a trio of sundaes and a faux ice cream cake.
The sundaes I made using thrift store found plastic ice cream dishes and the faux drink method.

I bought the Ice Cream Sundae fake cake from Dezicakes on Ebay

You can click here to see more of my personal Dezicakes fake bake purchases,
or here to see the entire Dezicakes Ebay store.



Fabric Decor

Ok this one I snapped because I just had to share!  Can you believe that these giant ice cream cone drink containers are from Dollar Tree?!  Yep, just a dollar each!

You can click here to browse Dollar Tree's online selection.



Fabric Decor

Another series that goes well with framed art and my new ice cream tray is my faux neapolitan collection.

Cupcake tutorial here and milkshake tutorial here.
  The faux chocolates were made with hot glue and paint and I have a tutorial  here.  
The layer cake is simple to do.  Just grab some craft foam rounds in the size of your choice and glue together.  Then pipe on your spackle in whatever colors/ patterns you wish.  
The popsicles are plaster, post coming soon!  
And lastly, let me point out the pink serving tray.  Once a plain clear glass piece that I found while thrifting, I sprayed it with pink paint to give it a whole new look.  You can read this post all about another tray that I redesigned in the same way.

Instant Download Printable Wall Art:  Triple Layer Cones



Fabric Decor

Maybe you aren't in to fake bakes at all, maybe you just want to layer your framed photos and artwork?
Here is an example of how well this project lends itself to that goal as well.

Instant Download Printable Wall Art:



Fabric Decor

And I'm throwing in one more fake bake example because I just want to share these faux ice cream sandwiches!  Using this rectangular mold, this circular mold and clay, I formed two 'cookies' for each sandwich and painted them with dark chocolate acrylic.  Once dry I applied a layer of joint compound to serve as ice cream and let dry.  I love how they turned out!

Instant Download Printable Wall Art:

(The rest of my collection of Sweet Treats instant download 
printable wall art and SVG cut files can be viewed  here)

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And that's how easy it is to upgrade crib sheets into a decorative tray/ display piece.