Pillow Case Apliques

Personalize an ordinary pillow case with fabric appliqué.  All you need is a supply of fabric scraps,  Wonder Under or some other two sided iron on interfacing type stuff and a zig zag stitch.  Pattern can be made from your own kindergarten style designs or clip art, coloring pages or other graphic. 

 My goal this year is to make one for each of the 15 oldest grandchildren.   So far I have crafted 5, only 10 more to go!

 When I print up a graphic from the computer I print two.  One I cut up into pieces to make the shapes I need for each different layer or piece of fabric.  The other one serves as a reference for how to assemble my fabric pieces.

 I think it is easier to layer smaller pieces over larger ones.  For example, the center of the flowers is layered over the petal piece.  The petal details on the pink flowers are stitched but the flower is a single piece like the yellow one.  Those are not individual petal pieces.  The butterfly wings have a smaller layer over the larger one in contrasting fabrics.  The antennae are simply zigzag stitching.

 These orcas are made up of a single layer of black with smaller white pieces layered over them.

Even Easier Ice Cream Cake

A variation of Becca's Summer Cake: I used a carton of strawberry ice cream, slightly softened and cut into 2 inch slices.  Slices were placed on top of previously frozen white cake layer, and corners trimmed to fit the round layer like a puzzle.  Use a spatula to smooth into place to fit the layer.  Top with second frozen layer.  Freezing the cake first makes it more stable and easier to handle.  Freeze the filled cake.

                      Thoroughly mix one small package of strawberry Jello with 12 oz. Cool Whip.

Frost the frozen cake with the now pink Cool Whip.

Freeze until ready to serve.

Decorations for this cake were added just before serving.

Summer Sherbet Cake

For our last two family birthdays, I've had requests for ice cream cake.  For my daughter's 11th birthday, I thought I'd do something a little brighter and lighter.  It was a hit!  Here's my easy way to create a tangy and refreshing twist on a classic ice cream cake.

SHERBET CAKE

White Cake Mix

Thawed Rainbow Sherbet (it takes about 30-40 minutes sitting at room temp. to get it soft and spreadable, but not liquid)

FROSTING

1 1/4 cup Whipping Cream

1 small package of Strawberry Jello

1/3 cup powdered sugar (more or less to taste)

Chilled mixing bowl

Sour Gummy Worms

DIRECTIONS

Cake: Bake the cake mix according to the directions in two 9" round pans.  Any brand will do and you can doctor it up if you like with an extra egg, sour cream, pudding, etc.

Assembly: Once the cakes are cooled, place one layer on a plate and spread thawed sherbet thickly* on top, leaving about 1 inch between the edge of the cake and the edge of the ice cream.  Top with the second cake layer (bottom side up, so you have a nice flat surface to frost) and press down gently.  If any sherbet squishes out the sides, smooth the edges with a knife or metal spatula.  Set in freezer while you make the frosting.

*I like about 1.5" to 2" thick, but you could do more or less depending on your cake to ice cream ratio preferences.

Frosting: In a chilled mixing bowl, whip cream in an electric mixer at high speed until very soft peaks form.  Gradually whip in the Jello and sugar until firm peaks form.  Smooth over frozen cake and top with sour gummy worms.  Refreeze.  Thaw the cake for at least 30 minutes before you serve it.

Enjoy!