Cute and quick cupcake decorating

Would you like to decorate some cupcakes for a party, yet have no cake decorating skills? Then read on...
Now I wish I had the decorating skills of my talented nieces who make incredible edible things like this out of sugar!

...but lets face it  I don't. (Oh, BTW if you are getting married in the UK and need an amazing cake topper let me know and I'll put you in touch with them). 


So anyway, for this simple and effective little decoration, perfect for afternoon tea parties or little girls birthday parties...all you need is some wafer paper or rice paper and a decorative paper punch. I used my Tonic Studios butterfly punch. If you are going to dedicate a new punch to this task, then do use it a few times first on some regular clean white paper to get rid of any residual fluid that is used for lubrication of the punch mechanism  -  you don't want be eating any of that! 


Punch out your pretty designs in the wafer paper. I gently folded my butterflies and then stuck the fold into my wet icing. 

For the body of the butterfly - which just added a bit of fun (although it looks just as effective without), I cut some strawberry laces into little pieces and then snipped along them to split them into antennae.

If you want to make your creations even fancier you could use some decorative cupcake cases. Now have a fun tea party! 

(The cake was out of focus here, but isn't the columbine lovely!!!)

kitchen - the makeover

Hello there ! I know my posting has been a bit non existent lately. We've had more than a few computer issues, but I think we're getting there now. I thought it was about time I shared another makeover with you. 

This was the messy kitchen not long after we had moved into our house a few years ago. Please note the large blue bathroom style tiles on the wall, the brown tile effect wallpaper and the brown woodwork. It wasn't really my dream kitchen !

The floor is tiled and I strongly dislike it, but I am afraid I don't have the money or the energy to do anything about that, so that is staying!

But, it's amazing what you can do with a bit of paint. 

This is the same kitchen. It took a LOT of work. The large rayburn cooker was replaced and due to that we had to redo the tiles on the top of the counters. ( I know you probably think I'm mad to have ripped out a rayburn, but it ran on oil and we couldn't even afford to turn it up hot enough to cook anything as it seemed like it just ate fuel. So in the interests of being able to afford to eat, it went.)  We couldn't find the right tiles to replace the missing ones, so I ripped off all the tile on top of the units and scrubbed and scraped all the adhesive off, then bought a similar one and laid them in a chequer board pattern with the original ones. It's subtle, but it works. The cooker hood was originally a beaten copper effect thing which we ripped out and I recovered it  with beadboard.

The units and all the ugly brown woodwork were painted in Farrow and Ball paint - (House White was the shade). The shelves behind the glass doors which were damaged and ugly were edged with a decorative strip from Jali. New handles for the units made a huge difference. I love cup handles!  The nasty big blue tiles were ripped off and replaced with beadboard which I painted in an off white. I tiled behind the hob with white tiles. I redid the ceiling which was artex swirls and had a large rectangle cut-out where a striplight was housed behind some ugly plastic. The kitchen taps were replaced with a much more stylish and user friendly mixer. The walls were painted in a soft green- I forget what the shade was though.

...and the floor...well, I still hate it, but we are going to sell the house soon - hopefully - so I shall be laying down a large rug to minimise the effect of the tiled area.

Would I paint kitchen units again? - Absolutely! It can turn drab into fab!

(Now if I can just keep the counter-tops that tidy, I'll be winning!)

Linking to Met Monday at www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

A sneaky peek!

Here's a little peek at the new birdy punch  I have designed for Tonic Studios. 
It should be in the craft shops in the not too distant future. 

I sneaked a little play with mine today (although I am supposed to be tidying the house).
Here's a quick thankyou card I rustled up.
I used the Tonic Studio's shape cutters for the swish, and the Tim Holtz distresser for the edges of the greeting. For the little birdys I used a tomato paste tube. You can learn more about that here. 

Coconut pyramids

 

It's time to make a whole load of coconut pyramids again. The last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic. I've been Spring cleaning the house and getting ready for Passover as well as getting ready to put our house on the market. If you'd like the recipe for coconut pyramids, you can find it here.

We eat coconut pyramids to remind us of the straw and mud bricks that the Israelites made to build Pharoh's treasure cities. 

Exodus 1:14 ...and they made their lives bitter with hard labor in mortar and bricks and at all kinds of labor in the field, all their labors which they rigorously imposed on them. 

However, it's no hardship to eat them...they're yummy. (Although I'll probably not be saying that by day 7!) 

Apple Cake - Yum Yum

Mmmmmmmm! Can you smell this? It's just out the oven - cinnamon apple cake. It's what's for dessert tonight.

Very easy to make and very yummy served warm with a little (or large) scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients...

Approx 5 Granny Smith's apples - (or you could buy your own - joke) Actually any apples will do.

60gm chopped dates

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 chicken eggs - or one duck egg. Just to be different today, I used a goose egg! Yes, really!

150gm of brown sugar

150gm self raising flour

I mixed the flour, egg and cinnamon and sugar together with my electric mixer. Then I stirred in the apples and dates, and chucked the lot in an oiled tin for about 30-40 minutes at around 180 degrees celcius. Tonight, I'll just cut the size of slice we each want and microwave for about 40 seconds per slice on full power, then add  ice cream and eat. Then collapse feeling totally stuffed!

It is best served warm because it is a fat free recipe (apart from the fat in the eggs) and so it is not as moist as some recipes, but it is perfect when warm. All that appley cinnamony goodness! Yummmm!!!!

Here's another cake, as designed by my 4 year old. She says she wants this cake for her birthday in May!  Might be a bit more of a challenge!

Spring has Sprung

I think it's finally safe to say that spring has sprung here in the Highlands- we're always a bit behind everywhere else!  It's thrilling to see the signs of new growth in the earth, and the promise of much beauty to come. 

I have been busy with the decorating and clearing out and spring cleaning. I have much to do, but seeing the blossoms and having the lighter nights is giving me a little more energy. 
I am thankful! 

(Naomi, my older daughter took these pretty photos.)

Silhouette

Here's an easy peasy craft. Silhouettes are all over blog land just now, so I know I'm doing nothing new, but I thought I'd share my method in case you want to give it a try my way.

I've been meaning to do a silhouette of my little girl for a while now, little did I realise that trying to get a decent side-on photo of her could be so tricky! So, this is your first stage. Get a good profile shot against a light coloured wall.

Once you are happy with your image, adjust the contrast with your photo editing software and print out one the right size for your mount. You might need to experiment a bit to get this just right. 

I have to admit, once I had decided on this image and tried to cut it out, I realised it would look better if her mouth was closed so I printed a few more images until I was happy with the result.

I carefully cut around the edges of the picture rounding off the neck area in traditional silhouette fashion.

I then flipped it over and while it was held it in place with a tiny bit of double sided tape I drew around it onto nice quality black paper with a white sharp pencil.

Then I cut out the black paper, adding some wisps of hair with fine cuts made with tiny decoupage scissors from Tonic Studios. They are ideal for this. I also used my knife to cut out a few bits in the pony tail to make it look more authentic.When I was finished,  I flipped over the black paper and it was the right way round again.

Now it was time to decide on papers for mounting my silhouette. I chose some scrap booking papers and a page out of a vintage encyclopedia. I used the oval Shape mates to cut the apertures for the mount. I decided to do a double mount.

I wish I'd had the Shape Mate a long time ago. I once overpaid to get an oval mount cut for a vintage photograph. Now I can do it myself. (Do remember to use acid free card if you are going to mount old photographs.)

I laid it all out until I was happy with the result and then stuck the lot  together with double sided tape.  

I had an old frame that was a bit scruffy. It was once gold but now faded to a dull brown, so I gave it a couple of coats of artists acrylic black paint. 

I'm quite pleased with the result. I might try a few more now.

Someone else thought it wasn't too shabby either. I do wish I'd brushed her hair before I took this photo !!!