Last weekend, the kids and I chose a craft from our “To Try” Pinterest board, and tackled it. We bought the supplies from our local hardware store; sponges, spray paint, caulking, and glue. The Project – these darling Fake Cakes which can actually be mailed with 3 postage stamps.
 
Hubby sliced the sponges in half with a long, serrated knife, and also cut the groove in the center of the cake slices. I spray painted them chocolate brown, and waited for them to dry. The sponges took 3 coats of paint to cover any hint of the original sponge color.
 
Once they had dried, I traced the cakes on pink construction paper, cut out the shapes, and glued them to the cake. More drying time was involved, and FINALLY it was time to get the kids involved.
 
Frosting the cakes – Hubby showed me how to use a caulking gun, and I squeezed the caulk onto the cake; first in the groove, then on top and along the edge. The girls swirled the caulking with toothpicks.
 

 
The hardest part of this craft was fighting the urge to eat these fake cakes!
 
The original post recommends caulk drying time to 3 to 5 days. We had a long weekend (Martin Luther King Day was Monday), and by Tuesday the cakes were dry.
The girls decorated the cakes with stickers and markers. Instead of mailing them, we are hand-delivering them or packaging them to mail. I’m afraid the construction paper will fall off during transit if we did try to mail them. Our hardware store helpers suggested we use Elmer’s glue since it would not melt the sponge. If I had it to do over again, I’d use the 3M glue that the original pin listed. The Elmer’s also discolored the paper.
 

 
All in all, I think this was a pin win! If YOU have a pin win or a Pinstrosity, enter Pinstrosity’s 1st Blogiversary here.

Tags: cake, craft, fake, fun, kids, pin, pinstrosity, pinterest, project, win

Happy Fall Break! My daughters are out of school from now until November 26th. What typically happens during a long school break is that my husband and I, who run our business out of our home, juggle the necessary work load and child care responsibilities. By break’s end, our nerves are frazzled.
 
This time, I’m excited to have the help of a nanny! It has been at least 3 years since I’ve had hired help, and honestly didn’t know where to start looking. A quick google search lead me to Care.com specializing in child care, pet sitters, housekeepers and more! There is no cost to sign-up, post your job, and receive responses. There is a fee for premium membership which allows you to contact job candidates. You can pay per month, and cancel at any time. About 2 days after I posted my job, Care.com emailed me a 20% off code, and that is when I upgraded my membership. Within 24 hours of posting my job, I had 2 candidates, and by week’s end I had a total of 6 caretakers apply for the job. Care.com makes it easy to turn down nannies with their “No Thanks” button and form letter, and easy to hire your nanny with their “Add To My Team” button.
 
After meeting with Lisa, we knew she would be the perfect fit for our family. We were able to interview her on Saturday, and she started working for us today.
 
Two hours after her arrival, she and the girls had already played Apples To Apples, Go Fish, a memory/matching game, dominoes, and colored with chalk outside. Now they have had lunch, drawn Thanksgiving pictures, played twister, and are painting.
 
For as little as $5.00 per hour, you can have help too. Whether you’re looking for a babysitter, a nanny, a pet-sitter, a housekeeper, give Care.com a try!
 

Tags: babysitter, care, childcare, fall break, help, nanny, pet sitter, provider, qualified, school break, tutor

What a treat to be featured at Pinstrosity today!
 
Pinstrosity is an addicting website displaying Pins that don’t turn out exactly as planned. The engaging site is the brainchild of Emilee and Marquette. I hope you’ll stop by, say hello, and check out their posts.
 
For those wanting to know, I made the magazine at MagCloud. You can download a template, create 20 or more pages (increase in increments of 4), upload your pdf file to their site, and place your order. They also have the option of creating a downloadable version of your magazine for e-readers. Plus they allow you to generate sales of your magazines.
 
The cost of the project was around $4.00 (not including shipping). A larger version I made for our family vacation to Disneyland cost around $6.00. The magazine is a fun alternative to photo books which tend to run upwards of $20.
 

 
• Have you had a Pin Win or Fail?
• Will you create your own magazine?

Tags: Birthday, fail, gift, magazine, memories, pin, pinstrosity, pinterest, win