movember diy: acrylic paint t-shirt makeover

So long Movember... as a salute to you, I made a shirt. It's really easy.
And it goes a little something like this.....

what you need:  acrylic paint,  a paintbrush,  a white shirt (I thrifted mine for just a couple bucks at the local goodwill!),  a cutting board,  a cute quote about movember

what you do:  take your white shirt, stick a cutting board in-between the front of the shirt and the back (so that the paint doesn't leak to the backside) and simply paint away! I free-handed everything since I was feeling too lazy to make a stencil. I started with an outline of a mustache and just started to roughly fill it in. Then I filled in my quote with different fonts and just had fun with it!

Let your paint dry, run it through the wash (and don't worry, acrylic paint is very very permanent!), and then mix + match it with your wardrobe!

So long Movember!

p.s. ♥  clara

moustache cake for movember

Hello friends and Happy Movember!

Since November is drawing to a close, hopefully you've seen some magnificent moustaches (although I won't lie, I've definitely seen my fair share of sketchy ones).  Jordyn and I made a cake to celebrate, and were pretty stoked about finally using our giant moustache mold!

Why yes, that is a moustache comb in the photo above.  Doesn't everyone have one?

Mocha Cake

from: the Food Network

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup of strongly brewed coffee or espresso
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup hot water

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
2) Add in eggs, vanilla, coffee and oil, and mix until batter is smooth.
3) Slowly add in hot water, until well mixed.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
*If you're using a mold like ours, be sure to keep checking on it.  We noticed the ends of the moustache cooked quite a bit faster than the middle.  So make sure to be checking if the fattest part of the cake is done!

We chose a chocolate butter cream to top our moustache, but you could definitely do a regular butter cream and make it any colour you desire!

Jordyn used a butter knife to spread the icing, and then made small grooves in it for a bit of texture.  We think that shaved chocolate would also be a neat idea!

Happy Movember!

p.s. ♥ kelsey & jordyn

Favorite Movember projects from 2012

It's November first, which means....Movember time!  Soon you'll notice that some of the men in your life are looking a little sketchy, or, in some cases, more manly.

We thought we'd share a few of our Movember/moustache projects from last year!

Clara made these incredible movember sharpie mugs last year.  I am seriously so jealous of her handwriting.  Man, that girl has skills!

Jordyn and I made sugar cookies....twice.

Once with butter cream icing, and once with royal icing.

We made these super easy cupcake toppers.

And finally, we showed you how to throw a moustache party (which was actually Jordyn's 20th birthday party!).

We're already brainstorming more Movember-inspired ideas for the next month, so stay tuned!

p.s. ♥ kelsey

diy: moustache cupcake toppers

This DIY is so easy, yet it looks so cute!

These moustache cupcake toppers can be seen on my Moustache Themed Birthday Party post.

You will most likely have all the supplies on hand: black construction paper, scissors, a writing device, tape, and toothpicks.

Draw your desired moustache shape onto the construction paper. 

Cut out your magnificent moustache designs! 

Rip a small piece of tape for each moustache, and use it to adhere the toothpick to the back.

Make sure you can't see tape or part of the toothpick poking up above the top of the moustache!

Now these majestic moustaches are ready to be placed upon your cupcakes.

Again, click HERE to see more amazing moustache themed DIYs and food!

Hope your Movember has been as wonderful as mine!  I am thoroughly enjoying seeing so many moustaches around.  I believe every month should start with Mo!!

p.s. ♥ jordyn

tasty tuesday: moustache cookies for movember - part 1

So, last week I was struck with this thought: "Why in the world do ALL of the guys in Vancouver suddenly have super sketchy moustaches?"  And then I remembered....

MOVEMBER!

How could I forget?  I suppose I just wasn't prepared for the sheer number of moustaches that would be grown....some better than others.

So, to celebrate, we're bringing you 2 different ways to make moustache cookies!  Here I'll be showing how to decorate with royal icing, and part 2 will be with buttercream.

I found THESE through pinterest, and was in love.  And the lovely sugarbelle even shows you how to use a template to make piping shapes easier, so I decided to give it a go!

First you'll need cookies!  I used our favorite sugar cookie recipe, and used a simple circle as the base.  If you are using a template, make sure that your moustaches will fit on the size of circle you choose!  I used a cup since I didn't have quite the right size of cookie cutter....and it worked great!

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter

3/4 cup Sugar

2 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

1 TBsp Milk

2 cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

Directions:

1)  Cream butter - add sugar, vanilla, egg and milk; beat hard.

2)  Add flour and baking powder to cream mixture and beat again. 

3)  Roll onto a floured counter and cut into shapes.

4)  Bake at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes.

Royal Icing
Ingredients:
1 egg white
Icing Sugar (approximately 1 cup and a few teaspoons)

Directions:

1)  Mix in icing sugar with your egg white until the desired consistency has been reached.

2)  Just add a (very small!) amount of water to adjust the thickness.

3)  Keep covered until you're using it or else it will start to harden!

For royal icing, it's easiest to first outline your cookies with a slightly thicker icing (when a spoon is drawn through the icing, it should take about 10 seconds for it to become smooth again).  Once your outline has set, thin out your icing using a tiny bit of water, until it only takes about 5 seconds for the icing to settle.

It also works well to use a ziplock bag and an office clip when piping!

Once your icing has completely set (this will likely take several hours), you can use an edible writer to trace a template onto your cookies, or just freehand it!  I chose to use a mix of black decorating gel, and brown royal icing for my moustaches.  The downside to gel is that it never sets, so if you need to transport your cookie, royal icing might be a better choice!

If you'd rather use butter cream icing, or if you have actual moustache cookie cutters....stay tuned for part 2!

Happy Movember!  

p.s. ♥ kelsey

p.p.s. If you don't know what the heck Movember is....click HERE for more info.

diy : movember sharpie mugs

In honour of Movember, I'm bringing to you a wonderfully easy, delightful, and hairy DIY in the form of moustache-y sharpie mugs! I've loved seeing these sharpie mugs all over the internet and some of my favs include this cute couple set from A Beautiful Mess, this lovely Pride & Prejudiced themed one. 

For my moustaches, I simply made an outline first and then filled it in with doodle-like scratches. 

On the other side of the mug, I "named" the kind of moustache the cup was representing... I got my inspiration from the photo below =]

Once you're done doodling, put your mugs in the oven and bake away!

Here's my end products: 

I just love how these turned out and can't wait to have a movember tea party with these mugs! 

Disclaimer: Hand-washing these mugs turned out fine, but I would definitely not recommend putting these through the dishwasher. 

Cheers,

p.s. ♥ clara