DIY Banner Cake Topper

With summer quickly approaching, graduation season is right around the corner. Whether you're having a small family gathering or a larger celebration, this simple bronze cake top banner is a fun and easy way to make any cake special. 

Supplies:

• Plastic alphabet charms (I bought mine at John Bead but they're also available at Walmart and Jo-Ann)
• Two wooden skewers
• Gesso primer
• Metallic paint 
• Cotton twine
• Palette
• Paintbrush
• Scissors

Method:

1. First you'll want to prime the charms with a quick layer of gesso. I did mine in two parts - first hold onto the top hole and paint the letter and then once dry, go back and hold the letter while painting the top. Set them down to dry on wax paper.

2. Once the gesso primer layer is dry, simply repeat this process with your paint of choice. Depending on the colour, you may need to do more than one coat. Let dry completely.

3. Thread the charms onto the cotton twine. Depending on the size of the holes on the charms and the thickness of the twine, you can choose to tie knots between each letter to prevent them from squishing together illegibly. The twine I used was thick enough that this step wasn't necessary. 

4. Tie the twine around the top of the skewers and trim off any excess. Place the skewers into your cake, and there you have it!

Wouldn't it be fun to prepare a whole set of these letters to have on stand-by for all occasions? Why not tie on a second row of twine for longer messages? I don't know about you, but I definitely haven't perfected the art of writing on cakes so this is a good alternative!

DIY Floral Mobile

I'm excited to announce that I'm now a monthly DIY contributor over at Uschi & Kay! My first post is a DIY floral mobile - it's the first post of the spring mini-series I'll be sharing over there. Click here to see the whole post.

DIY Marbled Easter Shapes - Gift Box

Today's post wraps up my Easter series of marbled Model Magic and I have to say that today's project is my favourite, mostly because of the colour scheme. Who doesn't love a good pink? If you're visiting family or friends and want to bring along a sweet surprise, these Easter boxes are more travel-friendly than open baskets.

You can go as simple or fancy as you like with these. I went the simple route, using a kraft paper box from Michael's. Just use a hot glue gun to attach your Model Magic shape onto the lid, and there you have it! I filled mine with Easter grass, candy, and some cute miniature toy bunnies and mushrooms.

DIY Marbled Easter Shapes - Table Setting

Looking to add some interest to your place settings this Easter? Try using these marbled Easter shapes as place cards. Write names on each egg with a felt tip marker. The cookie cutters I used had the stripe built in (I'm pretty sure these cutters are older than me, so I haven't been able to source them) but I think they'd look just as cute without the stripe, with larger names in a bold cursive script. 

DIY Marbled Easter Shapes - Garland

Did you see my last DIY tutorial for making marbled Easter shapes? I love Crayola Model Magic for so many reasons - it's non-toxic, lightweight, affordable, and comes in lots of colours. Earlier on I shared how to use acrylic paint to marble white Model Magic; if you've done this and let it dry overnight then you're ready to make this springy garland. Over the next few days I'll be sharing a couple other ways I like using these Easter shapes. Click through to see more about how to make today's garland.

DIY Marbled Easter Shapes

I've been on a marbling kick for the past little while so I've got a number of projects up my sleeve, but since Easter is quickly approaching let's start with these pastel spring shapes. Using this tutorial as a first step, there are a handful of fun ways to use these little guys. I'll be sharing a a few ideas over the next couple days, so stay tuned! But for now, I'll show you how to get started.