Berry Delicious Cupcakes

So, to make these I used this cake recipe, with the cream cheese frosting and cooking time from this recipe. Martha Stewart recipes rock, but I wanted a really moist cake, that I never seem to get with cupcake recipes. These are so delicious, I cannot even put it into words.

Ma Mère

 A little while back I took some photos of my mom, and I thought they would be nice to share. She sure is one stylin lady!

Crafty Craving

 I've decided to revisit candle making in a much more detailed way. Here are the steps it takes to create a smooth, soy, bubble free candle that burns evenly. Each time I do this I get better, but it is so simple anyone with these few ingredients and a double boiler can do it at home as well! 

 For the Candles:

Containers that are heat resistant, Crayons for color, soy wax, any scent of essential oil, sticks for poking, zinc core wicks, and wick tabs.

Tools:

A double boiler, candy thermometer, hot glue gun, and glue sticks.

 Last time I made candles I poured it all in one step, and when it burned it was full of air pockets, that create a less smooth looking candle. This time I did a few more things in between pours to assure a smooth, bubble free candle.

 Use hot glue to stick your wick tabs to the bottom of the containers. In a double boiler heat your wax with a crayon of your choice, and 15- 20 drops of essential oil, until it reaches 160 degrees.

 Pour 3/4 of the way full, unless you plan on doing multiple layers of colors.

 As it cools, the candles will become cloudy, before they are completely solid poke holes in the tops of them about a half inch down. Then fill the holes with more of your wax mixture, and fill the containers to the top.

 Cut your wicks!

 Voila!

Etching Madness

 ↓Photos from iphone↓

Here is a copper intaglio print I'm working on. The process involves dipping a sheet of copper in acid multiple times to get tone (in the simplest terms), then of course printing it on paper with a press. I have fallen in love with printmaking as of this last year, and will sell prints of this soon!

Cat Cookies

I was feeling limited by my sad lack of cookie cutters, but decided to get creative. I used a circle cookie cutter, then cut out a piece of each cookie to create the cat shape. Still getting used to royal icing but I use this recipe  to decorate these simple sugar cookies. Leo and Einstein got portraits, but not Pendleton, simply because I can't make black frosting! Yum Yum and Meow! 

(almost feel bad eating the cute little kitties)