Creating with Polymer Clay

I've been all about making cute little rabbits this Easter (like these bunny jars, chocolate rabbit cupcake toppers), so I decided to try making some polymer clay rabbits and other animals with my kids.  My kids are always begging to use my clay, because it's fun and easy and pretty darn satisfying when you pull your creation out of the oven and have a little sculpture that you created and made yourself!

I was thrilled when Sculpey recently sent me a big box full of clay and tools to work with.  Sculpey clay is soooo soft and easy to manipulate.  My daughter, who uses my clay quite often, mentioned how much she loves this clay because of its' softness.  We also loved the variety of colors that we could create with.

My daughter just turned twelve, and is very creative and a wonderful artist (if I do say so myself).  She has a way with clay, and made some adorable Easter animals that I fell in love with, as well as some other things I'll show you too!  You can make practically anything out of clay!  The sky really is the limit.

My daughter created this cute little rabbit and its' tiny carrots, and I was just amazed.  The Sculpey tools were perfect for creating the small lines going across the carrot and in their leafy green tops.  

And then. because there were rabbits, we had to make chicks.  And pigs.  And mud piles.  And tiny little carrots growing up out of the ground.  Once you start, you just can't stop!

One of my favorites, though, has absolutely nothing to do with Easter, but everything to do with what my daughter ate for dinner last night… the tiniest, cutest little hamburger you've ever seen!  My daughter plans on making a whole series of food for her little sister to use with her dolls.  A doll has to eat too, right? ;)  All of the things that we made could have easily been turned into small charms or key chains too!

And speaking of dolls, she even made her own small clay versions of some of her favorite characters…

Who can resist tiny minions, Ariel on her shimmering rock, Sully and Mike Wazowski, and even Snow White's enchanted apple right after she took that dreadful bite?

If you've never created with clay with your kids (or let's be honest, even by yourself), you really need to get some and play!  I was shocked with what my kids could make, and the details they came up with that my bigger fingers just couldn't match.  We love Sculpey clay because it is so soft and easy to manipulate.  Once the clay figures are made, just follow the directions on the back of the clay to bake them and make them hard so that they will last!  

Have a great weekend!

xo, Laura

Chocolate Easter Bunny Cupcakes

I was recently going through my boxes of craft and baking supplies, attempting to organize all of them, when I found my sucker-making box, filled with hard sucker molds and plastic chocolate molds.  I started digging through the box and found a set of rabbit molds that were just perfect for Easter!

So of course I had to pull out the molds and make something tasty with them. ;) The coolest part about these molds is the fact that my grandma, who lives in another state, gave them to me when I was around 12 or 13 years old.  She gave me all of her sucker-making supplies because I was fascinated with the whole process of turning sugar and water (plus some color and flavoring) into delicious suckers.  

For three years in jr. high my best friend and I made batches and batches of hard flavored suckers, and sold them to friends to earn money for the school Disneyland trip.  That is until the vice principal shut us down.  Then we had to go underground, and our suckers were even more popular!  

So I found some cute chocolate rabbit molds in my stash that I knew would make perfect little cupcake toppers.  If you've never made chocolate suckers or shapes, it is so ridiculously easy that I almost feel silly telling you to do it.  I use the Wilton candy melts, because they are widely available, inexpensive,  and easy to use.  Just follow the directions on the back of the bag to melt as much chocolate as you think you'll need in the microwave.  Follow the directions exactly, because if you burn the chocolate, it will not flow properly and be wasted.  Also, be sure that you don't ever let any water, even a drop, touch the chocolate.  It will seize up and get chunky and be worthless.  Trust me.  Keep water, even spoons that might be a little bit damp from washing, away from your chocolate.

To use those plastic chocolate molds, just give the inside a quick coat of cooking spray so that the chocolate is easy to remove.  Pour the melted chocolate into the molds, then lightly tap of wiggle the plastic mold around to release the air bubbles.  As the chocolate cools it will harden.  Because I get impatient I like to speed up the process by placing the chocolate on a flat surface in the fridge or freezer for about 10-15 minutes.  

Once the chocolate is completely cool, wiggle the mold around a little bit to release the chocolate, and pop out your cute rabbits (or whatever else it is that you're making)!  See, wasn't that easy?

The mold that I used has chocolate bunnies and chocolate suckers, so I made both.  I placed the chocolate bunnies right on top of frosted cupcakes to get them ready for Easter.  I love the way they turned out!!  My kids all called dibs on the suckers, so I shared.  

What are some of your favorite treats to make for Easter?

xo, Laura

We R Memory Keepers Punch Boards GIVEAWAY!!

It's the second week of spring break for my kids, Easter is this week, the SNAP conference is next week and I'll be off having fun with tons of other crafty bloggers, and I'm in a great mood, so let's do a giveaway!  I am so excited to be giving away two awesome prizes this week!

You might remember when I told you all about the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board, and showed you how to use it?  Well, they also make a fun gift box version of the Punch Board as well, that lets you make cute little gift boxes of all different sizes and shapes, with just one easy to use tool.

Today I'm thrilled to be giving away a pair of We R Memory Keepers Punch Boards- the Envelope and the Gift Box Punch Board!!  You will have so much fun creating awesome envelopes and easy gift boxes with these.  They are so easy to use, and it's so fun to customize your envelopes and boxes any way that you like!  You can see how easy they are to use in the videos from below...

To enter, just follow the directions in the box below!  The giveaway will go from Tue., April 15th at 12 am- Tue., April 22nd at 12 am.  Be sure to enter below, and good luck!!  Winner will be announced next week!  (You must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to enter).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo, Laura

Easy Felt Hair Bows for Girls

Hi there!  I hope you had a nice relaxing weekend.  It was my son's birthday, so we celebrated all weekend and had some good family time, since birthdays around here are a week long affair ;)  If you follow me on Instagram you probably saw some of the pictures (if you don't follow me, I post crafty projects, as well as family pictures, and would love to have you follow @makelifelovely for the fun!).

Today I'm sharing a VERY easy way to make these cute hair bows on the Sizzix blog as a member of the Sizzix Design Team.  They literally take about 5 minutes tops per bow to make, and can be made in any colors that you'd like!  I'd love for you to come check out the tutorial here!

You might also like these easy no-sew flower hair clips that I shared with you before!

xo, Laura

Paradise Found in Puerto Rico

This post brought to you by Puerto Rico, The All-Star Island. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you ever wish you could just pack up a suitcase, leave behind all of the stresses of everyday life, and relax, play, and explore with your family on a luxurious 5-star vacation?  A place where you can relax on the beach, hike through the rainforest, visit a historic city, horse back ride, and explore caverns?

You can do all of these things when you Live your own 5-star vacation story in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is a 5-star vacation destination that is filled with world-class attractions.  There is something for everyone in Puerto Rico!

Here are my top Puerto Rico picks... If you just want to relax, you can relax on the 270 miles of coastline that are featured in the Top 10 beaches from the Travel Channel.  Explorers can enjoy the magnificent Camuy caverns that run through the 3rd largest subterranean river in the world, or climb to the clouds in the only rainforest under US National Park service.  Adventurers can glow like an angel in the water in the bioluminescent bays.  History lovers can enjoy the old world charm of San Juan.  Foodies can enjoy the tasty food of Puerto Rico.  There really is something for everyone!

I love this beautiful video that has transformed a real 5-star review from Trip Advisor by a traveler into a beautiful short film.  Take a look!

Did you know that you don't need a passport or any foreign money to visit Puerto Rico?  So you really can just get on a plane and go!  You can Like SeePuertoRico.com on Facebook and Follow @PRTourismCo on Twitter to learn more about this beautiful country.

Puerto Rico is filled with world-class attractions that will turn any trip into your own 5-star vacation story.  Be sure to check out seepuertorico.com, and leave a comment telling me what you would love to check out in Puerto Rico!



xo, Laura