Thanks to everyone who has linked and tweeted about my Trooper Pops!

And if you like them, I’d be much obliged if you’d go vote for my pops to win the Stuff on a Stick contest on instructables!

Twitter It!

Need a little more Star Wars in your life?  Inspired by this summer’s Clone Cupcakes and the Stuff on a Stick contest on Instructables, I was inspired the other day to create this tasty little Clone Army…

The pops are basically Rolo candies, covered in marshmallow fondant, with fondant details.  No baking required!

Though I do admit that they are a bit time consuming…

But were definitely appreciated by the young Star Wars fans…

Wanna Make them yourself?

I’ve written up the whole thing as an instructable, with tons of photos and instructions for both the clone troopers and the storm trooper versions…  Click the image below,…

One my sweetie’s favorite libations (other than a fancy craft beer!) on a summer evening is Citron & Tonic. So last time we were at the store, eyeing the big $30 bottle of Absolut Citron, we decided to see if we could make something similar (or even better) ourselves, for less money! I’d read previously that you could filter cheap vodka and get it closer to premium vodka using a water filter pitcher–and we already knew how to infuse spirits with citrus (remember Making Limoncello?) –, so we figured why not try?

We bought a less expensive vodka* and went home…

Car Launcher… In Action

Just had a odd experience where someone left a comment on one of my Instructables accusing me of stealing the idea for my Hot Wheels Car Launcher.  At first I was like ‘dude, I’m sure other people have thought of similar things in the vast internets’, then I googled and found what he was talking about.   The car launcher in the video was exactly like mine.   But the video was by Make Magazine, who had published my How To on the Car Launcher last December (the Kids Issue).  So the guy was basically accusing me of ripping…

Thanks for all the feedback on my ‘teaching kids to read’ question the other day… lots of good input – very appreciated! If anyone else wants to weigh in, be sure to stop by

I’m missing my little one, who has been visiting myriad grandparents and other adventures.  Will see his cute little face on Saturday!

(Here he is from a few weeks ago when
we went to the Botanical Gardens >>)

And also… If you’re a fan of Dabbled friend The Domestic Scientist, stop by and help her out… Apparently there are some great tools on the iPad for her autistic son.

For those…

I spotted these Bender (from Futurama) cupcakes over at Duhlicious and had to share them here with you guys.  What a cute idea…

mădălina says:

For these toppers I used Wilton Edible Writers on hard fondant disks. The cool thing about edible writers is that you can use them to doodle, and they are safe to eat. Personally, I’m not a big fan of fondant, but they make for a perfect canvas. Instead of using fondant to fully cover your cupcakes, you can make disks to top your cupcakes.

She has a video tutorial on making them, including how to draw Bender!

Go check it out.

I…

When I posted the Perry the Platypus (of Phineas and Ferb fame) cake from The Boy’s birthday party, reader Janelle asked for the How-To, so she could do her own for her daughter’s birthday party. Her ingenious idea was to use twinkies to make mini Perry cakes… and they came out wonderfully! She shared them on the Dabbled Facebook page, but I thought they were too awesome not to share here as well!

Janelle says:
“Finally!!!! Thanks to the “Dabbled” instructions on the Perry the Platypus cake I gathered the courage to do my first fondant cake. Due to a broken ankle…

So what’s this?  Tofu.  And it’s really good, I promise.  I just posted the how to at Foodwhirl, and I’ll be adding some yummy Pad Thai tomorrow.

Plus next week comes Summer Shrimp Sushi, and Asparagus Shrimp Noodle Salad… All with overlapping ingredients, so you can plan several days worth of meals without over spending!

Also upcoming, blackberry tarts…or dewberry tarts, really. I just have to get around to writing it up!

So hop over to Foodwhirl to check it out. And if you think you have some inspired foodie goodness to share, just let me know! We love to feature guest posts!…

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday today (for those in the States of course, others can just have a lovely day!).  If you’re still trying to get into the spirit, or throwing a little party today, here are some links to get ya going!

Here’s one of my favorite party projects, from July 4th a few years ago… Shrinky Stemware Charms made from recyclable #6 plastic (like from to-go containers)!

“For the 4th of July, my husband and best friend were running the Peachtree Road Race, so I decided to have brunch at my house and invite over friends for mimosas and…

The other day I  had an inspiration… We have a mint plant that is growing like crazy, and I adore a little sprig of mint in my Iced Tea in the Summer time.  So a recipe creation was in order… What about gelato, inspired by the flavors of good ol Southern iced tea?  The experiment was quite a success – although next time I think I’ll add a bit of lemon zest to the mix to really capture a perfect iced tea.  Go get the recipe over at Foodwhirl: Southern Mint Iced Tea Gelato.

More Summer food inspirations from Foodwhirl.com: