Muffin Tin Printmaking

We haven’t had a craft on mtm for a while so here ya go art lovers!!

 

How about some muffin tin printmaking? Super easy, super fun and you’ll treasure it forever <3

*Photo courtesy of Jen at paint cut paste*

All you need is a muffin tin or two ( I have special ones just for arts & crafts… not used for cooking)

Your favorite paint colors (Acrylics work well)

Paper (size doesn’t matter, lol)

And your favorite little artist!

I found this fun project on paint cut paste. She also does more printmaking with other things you can find in your kitchen like pie pans and plates. Check it out!

To begin you may want to paint proof your area and smock the artists Throw down a paint cloth or some news papers or just take it outside!

After that, grab your muffin tin and paints. Put a dollop of paint on the back side of each cup. You can arrange the colors to make a pattern or just add random colors, it’s art so get creative!

 

Next just use your fingers (or Q-tips) to draw designs in the paint. It can be simple things like hearts, suns, moons, flowers, leaves, waves, spirals, etc. let your artist decide

 

And finally press onto a sheet of paper.

 

And that is all there is to it! Let them dry and display them for your company They are quite charming and your little artist will be so proud!!

Just another way to enjoy those muffin tins in a cool and unusual way Have fun!!

Toddler Pudding Finger Paint

This one is pretty neat folks! When I first saw it I was like, “What is that?” Aha pudding, ooooh, that looks like FUN!!! So of course I had to share… Another way to learn through play

The photos & directions come to us from Homespun With Love.

Here’s what you will need:

Vanilla instant pudding

Food coloring

Muffin tin

Finger paint paper (the smooth glossy type)

An old sheet or something to cover the floor

Optional: Paint brushes and craft sticks, or other interesting items

Directions:

1. Mix up your pudding according to the package directions. Depending on the age of your children, you can have them help by measuring and pouring and stirring the pudding in the bowl.

2. Fill your muffin tin cavities 1/2 full with pudding.

3. Add food coloring and mix well. We found that some of the colors did not stay true due to the fact the pudding is a little yellow. It just made the colors more interesting.

Note: You can either use the pudding once it is mixed with the food coloring, or cover and store in refrigerator until ready to use.

This is an AWESOME sensory experience! Not to mention it introduces color mixing, fine & gross motor skills, jump starts the imagination and much much more.

Added bonuses are the quality time you will be spending together and it’s okay if they eat it, lol!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this and will pay a visit to Homespun With Love, she has tons of great craft & decorating ideas as well as budget friendly recipes and more!

Keep on spreadin the muffin tin love!! <3

Cupcake Candle Holders

Today I’ve got something pretty neat for ya! This one comes all the way from Holland… on a blog called Songbird… Where creativity and nesting come together. I love this blog, a lot of beautiful stuff here folks check it out Including Cupcake Candle Holders!

Beautiful right?!!! Not to mention VERY creative

Here is how Marianne makes the muffin tin magic happen!

Your list of ingredients:

Moulding plaster

Water

Empty yogurt or margarine tub (any disposable bowl you are willing to mix plaster in that is flexible)

Muffin tin & paper liners

Aluminum foil candle holder thingies(see link & explanation below)

Something small to use as weights

Spray paint & primer (if you wish to paint them)

See photo below…

This is what you do…

Mix water with plaster. Estimate the quantity you need based on how many cupcakes you want to make. Gently mix it together, you don’t want to create air bubbles. Mix until your “batter” is slightly runny so it will even out when you shake it a bit, but it’s not too liquid any more (think thick yogurt) or it won’t firm up properly. Just keep adding water or plaster until you get it right.

Fill your cupcake papers. A silicone muffin tin will make removing the cupcakes really easy later (just remember to put it on a tray first because it is hard to move otherwise) but a regular tin works too.

Remember to fill up those papers because this batter won’t rise. If you fill above the papers you will get a solid band on top (like I have with this batch).

Shuffle the tin a bit until the top of the cupcake evens out. Any imperfections you can remove now will save you sanding time later.

Immediately push a candle holder thingie into the batter. Aim for the middle and don’t distort it’s shape. Put something small and heavy in it to keep it down ( I used bolts but heavy marbles would work too). Let fully dry.

Remove paper, sand off any imperfections, spray paint with primer and then spray with the paint color of your choice.

I embellished with real cupcake sprinkles. I used Glossy Accents glue to attach the pearls.

So that’s how you do it. I am very inspired to give it a try, aren’t you?!!!

Here is a link for “aluminum candle holder thingies” lol. I thought they were just foil mini muffin tin liners but apparently there is such a thing?!

Here’s another style but I am not so sure these would work… candle holders. After all of my research I think I am just going to find some foil mini cupcake liners and try that, lol!

A few tips… I would decorate with beads or something not edible (instead of actual cupcake decorations) that are more likely to hold up over time and not attract critters, four legged, six legged or even the human 2 legged kind which would be the case at my house!

And here’s a tip from Marianne… “Let the tub and spoon to dry, DON’T rinse them in the sink because the plaster might clog up your drains! If you leave it to dry fully you can later just dent the tub (that’s why I recommended something plastic & bendable) and the dried plaster will come loose and you can just put it in the trash and use the tub for your next project.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial as much as I have… here are some more shots of these beautiful cupcakes

The pearl one…

What a beautiful grouping these make! They really spice up your old candle stick holders, so if you’re looking for something different, there ya go! You’ve updated them, changed the look and it didn’t cost as much as new ones would!!

 

I just love how simple & elegant they look! Not bad for something that came out of a muffin tin right?!!!

Are you inspired yet?

Muffin Tin Meals

I know by now many of you may have seen or heard of muffin tin meals. If you have not let me introduce you! This is an EXCELLENT way to get kids to eat and try new things, plus it’s just FUN Check out this collage from Muffin Tin Mom. Go to this site to get the “how to” on muffin tin meals. You will love it! This is very similar to the Japanese bento box meal… except in what else but a muffin tin of course

There are literally millions of different ways to put together meals in this fashion! So give it a whirl if you have kiddos, they will most definitely enjoy the presentation.

The reason I bring this up (besides the fact that they are fun and cool) is that while cruising around on Pinterest I saw this pin…

and I thought what a GREAT gift idea! Then I realized I didn’t know anyone who is into making muffin tin meals so who could I gift one too? Well, maybe if I share this with you (I know some of my friends and family follow this blog, wink, wink) then someone will pick up a love for this and by Christmas time I can whip a Muffin Tin Meal Kit with your name on it, lol! OR …on the other hand if I give you more details… you could make one for me for Christmas ha ha ha!! Either way it’s a cool idea and very thoughtful gift… check it out!

This comes from Second Story Window… a little background… Heidi and Emily are sisters and this is what Heidi got Emily for Christmas, a DIY Muffin Tin Meal Kit!

Take a look at what Heidi included in the kit.

The majority of the supplies are in this box which has 3 interlocking levels. The bottom level has an organizer that I may or may not keep. I haven’t decided yet!

This drawer contains “everyday” supplies:
- silicone muffin liners
- small cookie cutters on a metal ring
- tiny cups for dips, etc.
- egg molds (I’m so excited about these!)
- fondant circle cutters
- food safe markers

She included one special event drawer too, focused on Halloween.
- Plastic cauldrons (so cute!)
- a BUNCH of really mini Halloween cookie cutters
- Pumpkin food picks

There are a few more included items (shown in the first photo) that didn’t fit into the box.
- the six opening muffin tin (of course!)
- Wonder Sandwich Sealer and Decruster
- alphabet  and number cookie cutters (I love these!)
- A folder with meal ideas and technique directions.

She also made me a muffin tin meal planner and we’re sharing the planning page with you today! You can download the page here and print out as many as you want for your own planning book, or just print them as you need them.

Here are a couple of meals I’ve thrown together recently for our color themed “Mommy School” (more on that later.) Having the tools on hand made it really easy to whip these up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After seeing that you can’t tell me you don’t want to run out and get all of that stuff right now just so you can have your own muffin tin meal kit right?!!! I know I do, but I have a tremendous amount of self control… ok who am I kidding I will be heading over to Michael’s tomorrow, lol! So just to recap, if I’m on your Christmas list I’d like one of these please! And don’t worry I give as good as I get, so if you have now fallen in love with muffin tin meals and are on MY Christmas list you might just get your wish For the rest of you out there, you now have the tools to share your Christmas gift wish! Share this information with your friends & family and you might be surprised!!

Happy Wednesday everyone and keep spreading the muffin tin love <3

 

Muffin Tin Art

So we all know that you can do lots of things with your muffin tins besides make muffins and cupcakes now right? Lol Well here is another very cool way to use a muffin tin… some call them repurposed, altered or recycled but what ever you call it it is DEFINITELY ART!!

There are so many different ways to do this that your options are literally endless. Each one is personal and specific to you and your style or if you are making one as a gift (which is also a really good idea) the style of the person you are gifting it to.

This post will have LOT”s of pictures so consider yourself warned But there are just so many great ways to make art out of a muffin tin I just HAD to show off my favs! First you need to decide on which type of look you are going for. It can be very modern, very rustic or anywhere in between! After you decide that, round up the type of materials you need for your project, you can buy a new muffin tin and keep it looking shiny and new or you can  add paint or other treatments to get the look you desire. If you want a vintage muffin tin you may have to hunt for just the right one before you can begin, take a look at this beauty I found on Pinterest…

I’m still looking for one like it There are plenty of antique shops downtown that I haven’t hit yet, I’m just itchin for some nice weather to make a day of it! A lot of the ones I have for you today include photos. I just LOVE the idea of putting the photos inside the cups and adding embellishments to the tin itself. It makes a very special, very personal gift or display This one I found on a blog called Repurposed, I love the way each cup is filled with a family member and the word BLESSED was added, very sweet! This blog has lots other great re-purposing ideas as well, a good find

This next muffin tin is super cool, done up in a 50′s styling and very heart warming, she made it with her grandmother’s photos inside <3. What’s so great about this one is that she gives a step by step tutorial on how she did it. So if you are interested in making one of these this is a good place to go for an idea on how to get started on your own Her site is called Made By Marzipan, click the clink to read her tutorial as I won’t have room to post it all for you today, but here are a couple of pictures of it and I must say it’s adorable!!!

               

Here is another wall hanging and this one features two kindred spirits on their wedding day! Like I said above the options are limitless you can make these for any occasion/special memory or to honor someone special it’s up to you You can find this one on a blog called Bursts of Creativity. Very Pretty, I like the look of the old rusted muffin tin, very vintage

                                      

This next one is TOTALLY VINTAGE! It’s a Halloween styled tin called Coven Kitchen Witches, how cute is that?! Another Pinterest find, you can link up with the maker of this tin by visiting paintedpony99′s  Etsy site. This item is sold but you can get some great ideas for making one of your own as they tell you what materials were used or if you like their stuff you could purchase something if your not up for making one yourself

These last few do not include pictures but are every bit as entertaining and beautiful. This one also came from Pinterest but unfortunately I can not trace it back to a source. The only think I could find was an expired link but for credit purposes I will include it, it just doesn’t go any where… mel-designs.typepad.com. This bird nest theme is very cute and so country chic. You could come up with any number of themes , what would you do?

This next wall art is definitely a more modern piece and came from a blog called Honest to Nod, (you have to scroll to the bottom of the page and under Nod Networks you will see “Blog” and then search it in the search box) but unfortunately the tutorial is no longer posted or has been removed… but it is pretty neat none the less and if you look VERY closely you can see how they affixed the muffin tins together. You could use zip ties possibly and they must have used something to make them so super shiny (silver spray paint perhaps?)… I bet if you’re really interested in making one you can figure something out

Now here are a couple that you just had to see! Unless you are an artist, these are not DIY, lol! But they were too beautiful not to show you so check out these hand painted muffin tins… I found both on Etsy, the first one here with the sheep is from myheartsdesire1871 and the second one with the salt box houses comes from FlemingFarmDesigns. The detail is amazing! How charming are these?!!!

Before I show you my last piece of art for the day I wanted to show you this gorgeous display. If you can do nothing else with your muffin tin or you just happen to come across one that is too beautiful to alter, here is the perfect way to use it. This display is a work of art all by it’s self! I found it on Songbirdblog.com and couldn’t help myself! So simple yet so beautiful

Ok now for the last one and this is kind of unusual but it definitely qualifies as ART It’s a jewelry display or you could use it as a neat way to store your frequently worn jewelry. It would be an interesting display piece on your dresser for sure!  Check it out on Sweet & Simple Jewelry Design‘s blog. There is a SUPER easy how to there, the trick is finding the right materials

So there you have it folks your very first Muffin Tin Art Show! And you didn’t even have to leave the comfort of your favorite computer spot! (Mine is on the couch with my laptop, lol!) I hope this has inspired you to get creative with your muffin tins or at the very least appreciate muffin tin art! There is a lot more out there, I just couldn’t possibly post it all but you get the idea! Who knew there was such a niche for muffin tin art?! I love it

Craft Supply Caddy

Here’s a genius idea… you saw the Condiment Caddy right? (If not, read back a few posts, lol!) Well meet the Craft Supply Caddy…… Tada!!

Pretty smart huh? Well it gets even better! The folks at Disney’s Family Fun Magazine call this a Magnetic Tote for a reason…

Notice the bottom of the cup… it a magnet!! They keep the cups from tipping over! Like I said GENIUS Here’s how to do it…

Materials:

• 1 jumbo-size muffin pan
• Self-adhesive magnetic sheeting (sold at craft stores)
• 6 (16-ounce) plastic cups

Instructions:

1. Simply cut out circles of self-adhesive magnetic sheeting and stick them to the bottoms of the plastic cups. This will make them tip-resistant once you set them in the pan.

That’s it, one step! This will take you less than 30 minutes from start to finish… unless you have little helpers, like I do at my house, then it may take a little longer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now at this point in my blog series you may be asking does she really do all this stuff ? How many muffin tins does this woman have? Well the answer is YES and I am ALWAYS on the hunt for muffin tins, lol! I pick them up whenever and wherever I can. I even have loving friends who pick them up for me when they see them at their local thrift stores because mine had none! (Thank you Melissa <3) My husband is even getting in on the action… he bought me 2 new ones when he went to PA  on business this week! I can’t wait to put them to good use!! So don’t let the fact that you only have one or two keep you from getting creative with your muffin tins! Go out and explore your local thrift stores, yard sales, dollar stores, antique shops even regular retail stores have them pretty cheap. I bet there are all kinds of little nooks in your own communities to explore, with muffin tins just waiting for you to find them and put them to good use. I’ve got lots more great stuff to post, so go out and hunt up some muffin tins and get busy!!

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

We’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors lately with our sidewalk chalk and thought with the weekend coming up you might enjoy this fun activity! Making sidewalk chalk paint… you guessed it… in a muffin tin! Well actually you mix it up in another container and then pour it into the muffin tin but that’s where it it ends up It is probably on a lot of different blogs out there but it’s a very easy recipe. Simply mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of cornstarch and pour it into muffin tins. You can then add what ever food coloring you like. A few drops will do ya, but add as much as you like, lol, I know you will any way!

Some tips I’ve picked up…

1. If you mix your chalk in a container with a pour spout it will make it easier to pour into your muffin tin! Personal experience folks
2. Wilton food coloring gel makes the brightest most vibrant colors (but regular food coloring works fine) I just happened to have some on hand so I used it, very pretty!
3. Add a bit more water, closer to a 2:1 ratio for longer brushstrokes & to keep from needing to reload the paintbrush as often. (This is from Mom’s Crafty Space)

I don’t have any pics from mine since I made it before I started my blog, but I found some on Pinterest (of course, where else!)

This photo came from Mom’s Crafty Space a fun blog

This photo came from Domestic Charm‘s how to for Liquid Sidewalk Chalk, she also uses the Wilton colors, see how pretty!

I hope you all have a great weekend, get out there and enjoy this weather and your muffin tins!!!!

Advent Calendars

Okay… so this one is REALLY cool!! I spotted it while looking for an interesting photo of a muffin tin to put up today… what a find! I also learned that Advent Calendars aren’t just for counting down to Christmas! After seeing a MUFFIN TIN  Advent Calendar for Valentines Day I looked up  the definition of advent: the arrival of something important or awaited… okay that makes sense, I guess I had only ever thought of Advent in the liturgical sense.  So if you didn’t already know that, today you have learned something new Now back to business, so as am following this maze of link after link from site to site I finally settle on one that gives some good DIY instructions for you all to follow if you’d like to give it a try (debbie does creations, see her link below). Its funny how one thing leads to another, while reading Debbie’s blog she mentions Pinterest so then I go there and search “Muffin Tin Advent Calendars” and get a few more pics for you guys! So I posted them all below as well. And here’s another thought, you could put a sweet treat inside the cups as a little added bonus for when the kiddos open the “doors”! You could make these for your own families or give them as gifts. I’m quite impressed with this one!! I already have a really nice (wooden) Christmas Advent Calendar  but with my new found knowledge I am thinking I may make one for Easter or Halloween or both!!

     

Here are all the links have fun with this one!!

Tic Tac Togs is where I found the Valentines Day Advent (though no longer available)

The 1st Christmas Advent Muffin Tin comes to us from fellow blogger the queen says:  I believe she sells them on etsy.

The 2nd Christmas Advent Muffin Tin is from debbie does creations and this is the gal with the DIY instructions!

The double Halloween Advent is by JADA ROO CAN DOand this is her blog. I found hers on Pinterest

The last Halloween Advent Calendar is  by SomethingFromCassie and this is her website. Also found on Pinterest, love that site!