A Duck Cake For My Bunny

Right around Skyler's second birthday, she went CRAZY for ducks!  In fact, Uncle Bug gave her a dress with ducks on it, and she wore that thing with the utmost pride until she could no longer squeeze her shoulders into it!  She has a soft spot in her heart for our feathered friends, so it came as no surprise when I asked her what kind of a cake she wanted for her birthday that she responded, "Duck cake!"

Okay.

Not being a "domesticated mother" as I like to call it, I don't sew, I'm not crazy about kids, and I certainly don't cook.  But, I love my daughter and I'm a bit creative and crafty, so I figured I could come up with something.

I called my mother-in-law and asked her if she had any suggestions.  She emailed me several pictures of duck cakes, and though many were too elaborate for what I felt like I could tackle, a few were promising.  What I settled on was a cake made to look like a bathtub, and rubber ducks for decoration.

This isn't the picture of the original cake I found online, but it's similar.

For the life of me, I can't remember who actually baked the cake itself (it was probably Jason's Mom) but I began decorating by stacking the two round cakes.  I iced around the sides with white icing to act as "glue" to press the pirouettes into.

Donna, my mother-in-law mixed the icing with blue die until it was a lovely water color, then I began slapping it on... literally.  I didn't want the water's surface to appear too perfect, so I used a "whipping" technique I had seen in Better Homes and Gardens.  It turned out beautiful!  The pirouettes kept leaning and the cake didn't quite look believable, so Donna wrapped a red ribbon around the outside of the cake.

Next came the fun part!  Bubbles!  "Da bubbles!  Da bubbles!  My bubbles!"  Done in my best Bubbles voice from Finding Nemo.  Fantastic movie, by the way.

Lastly, I pressed a couple rubber ducks into the icing as cake toppers, and stuck in the candles.  Voila!

I would venture to say that ANY ONE could create this cake.  It took virtually zero skill on my part and it still looked amazing!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

What Can Be Done With Old Postcards?

As I was packing away my Christmas decorations, I found the pile of neat-looking postcards and Christmas cards I always hang on to because the pictures are too pretty to throw away.  I never can find anything to do with them so they simply sit in a box and collect dust.  Then an idea hit me!  I dug up some old frames my mom had given me a while back, gave them a good cleaning, then framed two of the postcards that slightly resembled each other (color wise).  Voila!  Nifty little pictures that can be hung during the Christmas season and I won't feel guilty about packing away when January comes back around!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

First things first

When we built our house, the lot to our left was still empty.  There is a window in the master bathroom that looks out over the then-empty lot.  The plan was: use a towel as a curtain until the neighboring lot was filled with a house (because our houses are close enough together that the neighbor's house would block anyone from seeing into our bathroom window), and then replace the towel with a sheer curtain to let the morning light in.

I was elated when they broke ground next door... I was finally going to get morning rays in my bathroom!  However, as the walls came up, much to my dismay, there was a hole in the wall right outside our bathroom window.  The neighbors had designed their house with a wondow off their master bedroom that looks directly into our bathroom!  Honest mistake and a HUGE design flaw.  It put me in quite a pickle.  I was forced to scrap my idea and come up with a window covering that would give us privacy without completely blocking the light.

My mom was down visiting for the day and we found ourselves at Hobby Lobby (she's just as crafty as I am.  Guess I come by it honest).  We were staring at the paint section where there was an entire array of glass paint for designing your own stained glass look.  Ingenious!  She bought me a book entitled, "The Ultimate Guide to Glass Decorating" by Jan Cumber so I could experiment and see if I liked the results.

Experiment?  Puh!  My mom doesn't know me very well.  I've never been the personality type to try something or attempt to perfect a technique before creating; I've been the "jump in 100% and pray you don't land on your face" kind of person.  One time she asked me why I tended to leap without looking and I told her it was because God always caught me.  Any whooo.  I poured over the book for a week, imagining how it would work, and dreaming up my own window design.  With very little extra money in our account, I needed to get this right on the first try so I didn't waste money on unnecessary supplies.

The design I finally came up with was drafted from the picture on p.105 of "The Ultimate Guide to Glass Decorating".  It was a simple layout with mostly straight lines and forms I could easily free-hand, eliminating the need to first paint the design on a flat piece of glass laid over a pattern and then transfer it to the surface of the window.

I already had my pattern sketched on a small sheet of paper, so I lined the window with masking tape and began marking the tape with the outline of my design.  Next, I used a sheet of carbon paper to draw the pattern directly onto the window.  This step was tedious because one slip of the carbon paper would smear the lines I had already drawn.  Once my basic pattern was drawn onto the window, I used the leading strips I had purchased at Hobby Lobby and began giving the window some definition.  In the book, there are instructions on how to make your own leading strips, but I found the leading strips very easy to use.  They are sticky, so they cling to the glass immediately, and once you place the strips on the window the glue doesn't set up for a few seconds, giving you time to adjust the form before it officially sticks good and tight.  The joints where the leading strips meet are never going to be exactly flush, but that's okay because these places get "soldered" with leading paint designed to hold everything together and make it appear relatively seamless.  It took several days to get the entire design completely set and ready to paint.

The painting process was extremely fun!  Experimenting with different squiggles and lines was amazing because there was no need to be exact about anything.  The flaws and different thicknesses of paint gave the window character!  I picked paint colors to coordinate with our bathroom colors... all earth tones.  The hardest part was waiting for it to dry.  Like I said earlier, I tend to rush into things and I won't stop working until the project is complete, but this forced mew to slow down.  While our little angel was napping, I would escape to our bathroom where I would paint a couple more sections.  The last step was dabbing on etching medium in areas I wanted to appear opaque.  Super easy and gives a pretty neat effect!

The project, from conception to completion, took about two weeks.  It's not perfect, but it's pretty dang good... even with taking into consideration that it was my first attempt!

"The Ultimate Guide to Glass Decorating"- $20

Leading strips- $12 a pack (I ended up having to send my husband out for another pack, which I only used a couple out of, so I will have left-overs for the next project)

Liquid ledding- $12

Window paint- $7 a bottle  (I had four colors but ending up using two bottle of crystal clear, so five bottles total)

Etching medium- $10

Carbon paper-$4

Grand Total- Right at $100 with paint and leading strips left over for the next project!  During this project, I went back to Hobby Lobby and purchased "Creations On Glass" because I liked the window on the cover... but that's an entirely different blog.

Happy painting!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

Sometimes I feel pretty...

I must admit.  Some mornings I wake up and feel like I actually want to spend time making myself look pretty.  Well, I want it to LOOK like I took the time!  Even on mornings like this, I still have to cut corners off the clock, so this is what I do...

It's called the Gibson Tuck

If I'm planning on showering the night before:
The night before...
I shower, towel dry, and then use a couple squirts of Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum on the ends of my hair.  I then run a brush through my hair and go to bed with it wet.

The next morning...
I coat my hair with Suave Heat Protectant, brush through, and then straighten with a flat iron.

If I'm planning on showering the morning of (or I wake up and decide I don't like how my hair looks, which happens more often than not):
I shower, towel dry, and then apply a couple squirts of Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum to the ends of my hair, spray down with Suave Heat Protectant, brush through, and then use a dryer on MEDIUM heat and HIGH speed while using a round brush to pull my hair straight.  I finish with a flat iron.

THEN THE REAL FUN BEGINS!

1. Put your hair in a low ponytail.
2. Pull the ponytail slightly loose and part the top of the ponytail between the holder and your scalp like you're going to do a flipsy ponytail from the early '90s but DON'T PART ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE PONYTAIL.
3.  Open up the part you just made creating a "basket" of hair between the holder and your scalp.
4. Roll up your ponytail and stuff it into the "basket" of hair you just made.
5. Pin the ponytail holder to your head.
6. Comb the parted portion to disguise it and finish with a strong hair spray.  I like Pantene Ice Shine for extra control.

Easy as that!

I use it to dress up casual outfits or to finish off professional looks.  So simple!

Want to watch a video on how to do this style?  Watch it here!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebg9OX9Il-I

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com

Wavy Hair Without Time!

As a mom, a horse trainer, a riding instructor, and a full-time employee, I am always on the hunt for the perfect combination of styling products that will make my hair look fabulous, smell great, make styling super easy and time-efficient, and not break the bank all at the same time!


Then, I discovered a little pin on Pinterest and decided to make it fit my personal schedule.

What the article on Pinterest said: 

1.       If you haven’t just gotten hair wet in the shower or bath, wet your hair under the faucet.

2.   Use a comb and brush out your hair.

3.       Next apply the moisturizing product.

4.       Apply mousse.

5.   Apply a heat protectant if you plan on blow drying it.

6.   After you apply your products, brush through hair with a comb.

7.    Scrunch lightly

8.       Now you can either let curls air dry or use a diffuser on low speed and heat blow dry till only slightly damp. The diffuser prevents your curls or waves from getting blown around and frizzing. Just tilt your head to the side and place a section of hair into the diffuser. Do not scrunch while diffusing just hold it there.

I prefer to shower at night- there's something incredibly soothing about turning up the water temperature and letting your troubles from the day melt away!  And, I simply DON'T HAVE THE TIME to wash, dry, and primp in the morning.

 Sooooooo...

What I actually ended up doing AND IT SAVES SO MUCH TIME!

The night before...
1. After your shower, towel dry your hair.

2. Apply a couple squirts of Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum to the ends of your hair.

3. Brush through and go to bed.
The next day...

4. In the morning, apply a small amount of Suave Professionals Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse to the ends of your dry hair.  (The Whipped Mousse works wonders and doesn't make the hair sticky or crunchy.  Plus, it smells fresh!)

5. Spray Suave Heat Protectant on your hair making sure to lightly mist all the layers, including underneath.

6. Use a hair dryer (set on HIGH heat and LOW speed) with a diffuser to quickly dry the mousse and heat protectant on the ends of your hair.  Don't over-dry!  It takes all of one minute to get this style.

If you want to top with a light hair spray, use something with a flexible hold.  I use Dove Damage Therapy Extra Hold because it allows my hair to move and doesn't weigh it down.

Speaking of weighing down, I believe great hair starts in the shower and sometimes the shampoo/ conditioner combination can make or break the style.  Right now I am swearing by Tresseme Deep Cleansing Shampoo and Nexus Humectress Ultimate Moisture Conditioner (only in the ends though and never close to the scalp).

Now I have time to get a cup of coffee and browse the internet for more cute styling tips before work in the mornings!

Happy styling!

Please visit my website
www.AshleyGesslerSHD.com