dessert – mamasbrush

Easy Wafer Cookie Pencils for Back to Homeschool

These adorable Easy Wafer Cookie Pencils for Back to Homeschool were super easy to make and so fun for the kids on our first day of school!

With the the approach of the 4th of July and all the other summery goodness, comes the start up of a new homeschool year for us. But who has time to spend blogging in real time? What? People DO blog in June? I don’t know how you all do it. I actually did post 3 times in June and I’m pretty sure other more important things didn’t happen because of it. June is just crazy for our family!

That’s right, we start school July 1st around here. (Pop over here to find out why.)

I saw the idea originally on Pinterest here, but you can find her amazing tutorial directly, by clicking this link.

As per usual, I didn’t click over to read the directions until after I’d done my own thing. That means I used different means to a similar end. 🙂

Instead of melting candies, I mixed up some powdered sugar and milk to make a simple frosting. I started with the white and dipped all the pencil tips. I then added the chocolate chip (mini chips would work better as Keri suggests, but I worked with what I had.) I put the sheet pan in fridge to set up after this.

A while later (30 minutes to an hour?) I added some powdered sugar and milk to the left over white frosting and then a bit of red food coloring. I had to go back and forth a bit on the amounts until I got the consistency I wanted, and even then it could have been thicker if I had been more patient.

I dipped the “eraser” side of the wafer into the pink and set them to dry on the lined cookie sheet.

Then back into the fridge they went.

In the end I could have trimmed the run off of the pink frosting like I did for the white, but I figured the kids wouldn’t mind the extra frosting. 🙂 They turned out so cute and the kids love this little tradition we do for the first day of school (two years in a row establishes tradition around here. Good thing it’s easy.)

To be honest, I had a dozen other ideas I wanted to do for the first day of school, but it’s a busy time and this is the only one I actually carved out time for. You can find all my fun back to homeschool ideas on my Back to Homeschool Board. I hope you will find some to make your first day of school special… whether you homeschool or not! 🙂

Gathering here.

Ice Cream Parlor Birthday Party with Food and Artwork to Match

This one’s late, sorry.

Last summer, one of my middle kids really wanted ice cream with his birthday cake. It was a big deal. He had been talking about it for months.

Ice cream with the cake. Got it.

As the months of reminders continued, I decided that an Ice Cream Parlor theme would be perfect for his 8th birthday. Then I had to ask him how important the cake was. 🙂 The theme was a surprise, but when I assured him that his dessert would match the theme, he decided that the cake was optional. The ice cream was not. No problem.

Somehow there is no pic of the finished result, but we started the day with Scrambled Eggs and muffins in Bacon Cones (though mine didn’t work great, they were still fun) and 4 ingredient chocolate banana “ice cream“.

I decorated with balloons with and without cones around the walls. (Pinspiration here.)

Ice Cream Parlor Chalkboard for Ice Cream Birthday Theme

And, of course, I decorated my chalkboard (I changed his name in photoshop.)

Tacos in a Cone for Ice Cream Birthday Party Theme

For dinner we had taco cones and ate them out of hand just like an ice cream cone.

Ice Cream Cone Cookie Dessert for Ice Cream Birthday Party Theme

For dessert I made a huge round cookie with a pizza pan and cut it into wedges. I put two scoops (size dependent on the age of the person eating) of ice cream, Reddi-whip, and a cherry on top. It was a hit. And oh-so-good!

I try to paint a little something for the kids on their birthdays in place of a card. They love it. It doesn’t always work out, but this time, I painted a simple ice cream cone and signed it “mommy”. He put it in the clear cover of his school binder so he can see it all the time.

Find more ideas for your own Ice Cream Parlor Party on my Ice Cream Party Board on Pinterest. I’m continuing to add more ideas all the time, so click follow while you are there. And, while you are at it, feel free to follow all my boards for other creative inspiration! (Shameless plug.) 🙂

Gathering here.

Watercolor Pecan Pie – A Birthday Gift for Dad

Chocolate Pecan Pie Illustration

My dad loves Pecan Pie with chocolate chips in it. I painted this as a 5×7 for his birthday in October 2016.

Original illustration and hand lettering done in watercolor and ink.