TREASURE CHEST with cake

Another Pirate themed project for you. I wanted to create a treasure chest that sat over the birthday cake. I had to be really creative with this idea because 1) I didn't want to spend too much money, and 2) I didn't want to light anything (or anyone) on fire.

I started with a generic Styrofoam chest just like you see above. I cut about 2-3 inches off the bottom of the chest so there was a huge opening at the bottom. The idea behind this was so the treasure chest could just be lifted straight off the cake instead of trying to lift the cake out of the chest.

Next I covered the entire chest in contact paper that had a wood grain print (see above). This was the most tedious part of the entire project because I had to make small incisions around the intricate corners so that the contact paper kept the treasure chest form. Some of the seams were a little sloppy but these will be covered up by aluminum foil so it wasn't a big concern.



Chest covered in contact paper with bottom cut out



You'll notice in the picture above I also added handles to the chest. These were purely for show and had no utility. The handles were created from wire and aluminum foil. Probably another piece of the project I could have spent more time on.

After covering everything in contact paper I used aluminum foil to look like metal brackets that were holding the chest together. I spray painted the foil with gold spray paint (I think regular silver would look good too), and then cut strips about 1-2 wide. These were then placed along the edge of the chest and secured with glue. As I mentioned before the foil does a nice job of hiding the seams of the contact paper.

Chest with handles and "metal brackets" created by foil

Next I used the thumb tacks to look like rivets along the foil. I'm not sure how many I used but I was pretty generous with my placement of the tacks. You'll notice above that I was pretty successful getting the overall look.

After the tacks came the sticks. I used regular skewers to secure the top of the chest in an open position. I thought about keeping the lid closed but it needed to be open so the candles didn't light the lid on fire. I simply cut the sticks in half, made aligned holes in both the chest and the lid, and then carefully married the two together. Keep in mind that you're working with Styrofoam and it is fragile! This part takes a little more finesse.

Viola! You have a treasure chest! The only thing left to do is to bake your cake and place the chest around it. You'll need to measure the bottom of your chest so you know how big your cake can be but that's the easy part ;)  I took a 9x13 sheet cake, cut in half, and stacked one layer on top of the other. After frosting I put gold coins and candles on the cake to really make it look like the chest was filled with gold. Here is the final product:



Aerial view of the chest filled with cake and gold coins

Paleo

My husband will tell you that I tend to jump on Fadwagons (fad bandwagons) quite regularly. Most would say that is an insult but I'm taking the optomistic high-road and embracing my ability to try new things :P 

Really I'm just trying to find things that work for me and my lifestyle; which is how I came to find Paleo. In all of the information I've read, I've learned that Paleo should not be considered a "diet" in the way that we view Slim-Fast as a diet or HCG as a diet, but rather in the more traditional sense as: "The kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats". Paleo is viewed as a lifestyle change which goes against the modern McDonald's & Coca-Cola mentality that we've all grown up with. I like the idea of something that I can try to sustain long term instead of suffer through for 30, 60 or 90 days at a time.

For those that have been living under a rock - Paleo is also known as the "Cave Man" diet. The basic idea behind Paleo is if you can Kill It or Grow It then you can Eat It. Obviously this leaves a lot of items up for interpretation, and there starts the rationalization: "Well I can grow wheat and turn it into flour, so why can't I eat bread?". Sorry no - think more troglodyte, and less Aztec; Really get back to your roots - literally

Basics of Paleo (as gathered from various online sources)

- No Sugar - no forms of sugar - including pretty much anything that ends in the suffix "-ose"..glucose, fructose, sucrose, etc.

- No Grains - includes breads, pastas, noodles

- No Legumes - includes beans & peanuts

- No Dairy **this seems to be a point of dispute for many authors in the bloggosphere. I intend to read more about this but for now I'm non-dairy

- Things to Eat:

           - Veggies

           - Meat

           - Nuts

           - Good Oils (coconut, avocado, fish)

           - Fruit (select fruits)

- Avoid Caffeine

- Drink Lots of Water

- Avoid Alcohol

Obviously there are a lot more details that go with the above bullet points but these are the ones I've committed to memory. I'm by no means an expert at Paleo; there is still a lot to learn, and it seems like there are a lot of conflicting information about certain Paleo theories, but I'll continue to do my research on the topic, and find things that work for me and my lifestyle. Stay tuned for info on recipes, failures, successes, etc.

Are you trying Paleo? How is it going?

SHIP CUP

Time to share one of my many projects for the Surprise Pirate Party we threw for my aunt's 60th Birthday. My family is a big fan of flip cup so to celebrate the pirate theme I create a SHIP CUP table. Essentially it was a regular 6ft table made to look like a pirate ship that was still functional for the game of flip cup.

Supplies used:

- 1 gold/light tan plastic table cloth

- 2 dark brown plastic table cloth

- 1 white plastic table cloth

- 2 wrapping paper rolls

- 1 roll black duct tape

- 2 half inch dowel rods

- 1 inch diameter dowel rod
- Medium sized packing box - must be tall as the table

- large black permanent marker

Gold table cloth was used on the top. I drew what I thought a pirate ship would like from an aerial view. In hindsight many of my items weren't to scale. I recommend a few measurements or a reference point.

Using half of a cardboard box I created the bow and stern of the boat. This was just to give shape to the side table cloths. The boxes don't have to be pretty in any way.

Front of the boat from an aerial view. I tried to make it pointy but not too extreme.

Underneath I used dowel rods to fortify the structure. This kept the sides from folding in, and it made it more structurally sound for the amount of duct tape I put on it.

On the dark brown table cloths we drew wooden planks. Then these were used to wrap the pirate ship from bow to stern so it looked like the side of the boat. **Note** you'll have to strategically tape the sides of the table cloth to the inside table legs to keep the sides taut. Again, it doesn't need to be pretty.

Using the wrapping paper rolls and white table cloth I created the mast. The 1 inch dowel rod is useful to make the mast more sturdy.

 

Here is the view from the top while we played Ship Cup, and how the front of the boat looked when completed. This was a great addition to our pirate parrrrty!

Square One

Ok I'll be the first to admit that I failed miserably at maintaining my workout program and diet. I was so pumped when I first started. Junk-food and beer didn't even sound good because I felt so healthy and full of energy! Then came the cheats, the excuses, the justifications for just one little (fill in the blank with your favorite vice here). All of which ended in the inevitable down-ward spiral back to square one. *SIGH*

Well I guess if people didn't fail at diets/exercise then there would no longer be a need for a new, "latest-and-greatest-health-craze. How would Richard Simmons, Tony Horton, or Dr. Atkins survive if millions of us didn't yo-yo back & forth between high-school skinny, and busting the buttons on our relaxed fit jeans.

***VENTING DONE***

Like Puff Daddy once said "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"; especially No-Body like my current Body. I'm not going to let this small speed bump keep me from feeling good in my own skin, peppered with a bit of self-confidence.



Let's get back on this crazy train

All aboard!

Parrrrrty

Successful Surprise Pirate Party last night for my Aunt's 60th birthday! We had a pirate pinata, cake in a hand made treasure chest, Ship Cup (pirate version of Flip Cup), and many other fun games!

Pirate Post Signs

Another Pirate Party project completed! We took a regular cardboard box cut them into approx 4 inch by 12 inch sections. Then cut strategically to make them look like aged wood on one end, and a simple arrow on the other. Next we used a permanent marker to apply a "grain" and our favorite pirate words. Towards the end of the project we were cracking up over terms said in our best pirate accent - arrrrrrghh! During the party the plan is to attach these to a post to add a fun flair near the entrance. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Mustache Wednesday VI

Mustache Duck Tape?!?! Soooo excited to use this on a care package to my favorite peeps! I found this at Walmart (not my favorite store but I happened to be in there). Be sure to look for some near you!