Beer cake

Okay, this is a fun one! My boyfriend turned 30 on Valentine's Day and I decided to make a beer cake as a decoration at the party I was throwing for him. The party was going to be at a bar, so I found this to be a very appropriate decoration. This is a very simple craft, so don't be intimidated!

Materials needed: cardboard cutouts measuring 8, 10 and 12 inches in diameter (one for each tier), 30 beers of your choice (I used tall boy canned beer, but this would work with regular cans, too. I think you could probably use bottles, as well, but might need some extra support between tiers), assorted materials to decorate.

I used a large cardboard box from one of my many weekly amazon deliveries to cut out the cardboard bases for the tiers. I am not the best at circle drawing/cutting, so my cutouts are far from perfect.

I decided to wrap the cardboard tier cut outs in tissue paper to add some color to the beer cake. You could also use wrapping paper, construction paper, or even paint to  add color to the cardboard pieces.

I alternated colors for each tier.

For tier one I used 11 cans.

Tier 2 was made up of 12 cans. You could also put the extra 3 cans I used in the middle on the first tier. In order to truly use 30 beers, I found you have to hide a few in there.

The top tier is made up of 7 beers. 6 go around the outside and 1 in the middle. 

I used some yellow fabric to wrap the top tier. It is tied in the back, which also helps keep the top tier together for easy transportation. I hot glued the bow on the front of the top tier. I printed out the "30 beers for 30 years" and used some black and blue card stock to mount it. I hole punched the card stock and ran a yellow ribbon through it to tie it to the second tier. I used some blue card stock to cut out a 3 and a 0. Using craft sticks, I hot glued the number cut outs to the front center beer. You can have a lot of fun decorating this, as there is no wrong way to do it! I just used stuff I already had to decorate mine. 

Happy beer cake making!

P.S. One of these days I'll have a dedicated craft area in our house so all of my photos won't be on my wooden floors!

In Case of Emergency, Break Glass

I found this idea on pinterest, and I thought it was super funny & cute, so I decided to make it for my best friend for Christmas.

Materials needed: shadowbox frame made with glass (I bought this one), clear contact paper, Armour Etch cream, sponge brush, an X-ACTO knife, print out in font of your choice that reads "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS", & lots of M&Ms (I bought one of those large re-sealable bags and used about half).

I used an 8x8 frame which turned out to be a perfect size. Make sure when you print out the template you print it so it fits well on the frame size you choose. I would also recommend using a very simple font. The more swoopy-ness there is, the harder this project will be!

Step 1: Tape the template on one side of the glass so you can read the saying on the opposite side of the glass.

Step 2: Put contact paper on the side of the glass without the template. It is VERY important that in the step you make sure there are little to no air bubbles in the contact paper. If there are a few air bubbles around the outside (not near the lettering) it should be okay, but try to avoid at all costs.

Step 3: Once the contact paper is smoothed down, you can begin carving the letters out of it. Using an XACTO knife, trace the letters and remove the contact paper where the letter should be. On letters like "A" or "R" be careful to keep contact paper where the hole in the letter should be. Letters with cut outs are definitely the hardest!

Step 4: Once all the letters are cut out, set up a station where you will apply the etching cream. Etching cream is highly acidic and can cause serious skin irritation, so take necessary precautions during application. I used plastic gloves, but was careful enough to not need them. 

Step 5: Once your station is set up, use the sponge brush to dab on the etching cream. Do not smooth it, just blot it on. I applied just enough etching cream so that it was opaque. 

Step 6: Review the directions on the etching cream bottle to be sure about the time you should leave the etching cream on. I left mine on for about 15 minutes to be safe. I do not think you need to leave it on for that long, but it doesn't hurt to do so. After washing off the etching cream with warm water, you can peel off all the remaining contact paper. The last thing you need to do is reassemble the frame and fill it with M&Ms!

Voila! It's somewhat difficult to read the etched message in certain lighting, but I think overall this project was a success! The gift recipient loved it.

Happy Shadowbox Etching!