Apple Dump Cake Fail

OK, let's be honest. We've all had one of those awful moments known as a "Pinterest Fail" and this, my friends, was one of mine.

It was supposed to be simple. And good. 

I thought it was right up my alley this night. Ivy loves anything with apples and I just wanted something sweet, so Apple Dump Cake it was.

The recipe and directions are about as easy as it gets. 

-1 yellow cake mix

-1 stick of butter

-4 apples, sliced

I don't like crunchy apples, so I decided to soften them in a pan with a little cinnamon-sugar sprinkled on top.

I sprayed a pan with Pam and poured the apples in the bottom.

Then, as directed, poured the DRY cake mix on top. 

This is where I started to feel like it wasn't going to end well.

 

Next I melted a stick of butter and poured that on top of the dry cake mix.

The directions say to bake for 25-30 mins at 350. 

As you can see, I left mine in longer. It didn't look done to me and smelled like pure butter....very unappetizing. I didn't even taste it. So sad. 

Does anyone know what I did wrong? I even went back and looked up different Apple Dump Cake recipes and they're all pretty much the same. 

Footprint Reindeer Towels

Christmas time is my favorite time of year, especially with little ones! There are SO many crafts to do with them! I kept seeing these footprint reindeer on Pinterest and decided to give it a try! So, I wrangled up the nearest toddler and got to work!

I started with a couple towels and some brown acrylic paint. I later went to the store for   some felt, too.

The idea is pretty simple. I painted his foot, and then pressed it onto a piece of paper so the extra paint would come off there (and not on my towels). 

I hung them up and left them to dry over night, although it didn't take that long.

I was a little confused about what to use for the antlers, nose and mouth. I had thought about using paint, but bc he was going to give these as gifts, I wanted it to be extra cute! So I opted for felt. SO glad I did!! 

I just cut the felt to look like antlers, and cut circles for the eyes and nose.

I used plain ol' needle and thread to sew them on! I really like the contrasting colors on the antlers, but you can make yours match if you want!

These are the pieces of paper I used to put his foot on first. They were cute, so we decorated these too!

I just used glitter glue. 

DIY Sharpie Mug

I know you've all seen them....the Sharpie Mug pins on Pinterest. There are so many variations and some of them are beautiful!

 

I wanted to try it out so I started doing a little research. I found out that you shouldn't use just any old Sharpie. It has to be an oil based paint marker. So, off to Hobby Lobby I went. They have tons of them, any color you could ever want!  I decided to just grab 2....you never know how these things will turn out and I didn't want to have an entire package of markers left if it was a Pinterest fail!

After buying markers, I needed a mug.  I kept reading that most people get theirs at the dollar store. So, that's where I went. I was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few options! With my marker color choices in mind, I went with a fat, white mug. I also picked up a pack of scrap booking stickers!

 

 

Everything you will need:
~ mug
~ oil based Sharpie paint markers
~ stickers

 

 

1. As soon as I got home, I washed my mug and dried it completely.

 

2. I put my stickers on and began to color with the markers. (Hint: the markers are a little tricky! Make sure you open it, push down the tip, recap and then shake well!)

 

3. Once I had it just right, I let it dry for about 10 minutes and peeled off the stickers. It didn't look the way I had hoped so I colored some more until I loved it!

 

4. I put it in the COLD oven and then turned it on. 350 degrees for 30 mins. Please don't put it into a preheated oven. It's very important that the mug heats up AND cools off with the oven!

Once it was completely cool, I took it out. I've washed it by hand and in the dishwasher. No change yet!

 

I tested it in the dishwasher and the microwave and nothing has destroyed it yet! Yay!

 

 

I LOVE it! I've made another trip for more markers and mugs! The possibilities are endless! I can't wait until the holidays so I can give these to family and friends!