WARNING: Be ready to be stressed — especially if you are a baker and know what it is like to bake a ton of cupcakes on a schedule! I get so tense when I watch the show (and my hubby thinks I need to stop watching) but I love the show and the results. Enjoy this short clip of it:

Now if you love cupcakes the way I do and live near Malibu, you have got to check out Crumbs Bakery! It is a donut shop gone cupcakes and they taste wonderfully homemade and delicious! You can see my review on Yelp HERE.

And before I leave you HAVE to go visit Lucy’s Cards to view this amazing card! Do it… Now!

Here’s a little sneak peak of what you will see…

On another note, the hubby and I went on a little date to Malibu yesterday. Stopped in at Howdy’s for a delicious burrito (and yes, you can find my review on Yelp!) and then off to the Art Festival. This festival was amazing; so many artists of all types and we loved strolling through the streets filled with color and beauty. We ran into an artist that we immediately fell in love with. What an inspiration! His name is Andy Ann Ha and below is a photo of my hubs looking at one of his display walls. We were oh so tempted to purchase a piece because we loved his work so much — we will save up for something a little later (though we were also impressed by his prices).

We also stumbled upon a gorgeous display of orchids. Art? maybe not; Beauty? absolutely! Orchids happen to be one of my favorite flowers, they are just so intriguing. They are so similar to humans in that they are sensitive to their surroundings and demand a good atmosphere to thrive (and survive). I wanted to buy a little beauty to bring home with me, but I just know she would pass away very quickly in our little home. Orchids need indirect light and fresh air all of the time. That is the last thing that our apartment would provide. And so I walked away in hopes that they would find themselves some good homes where they could live to their fullest. Don’t worry though, we didn’t leave without some lovely photos (are you kidding me? never!).

Thanks for stopping by! Come back soon for some of my latest card creations!

Not my family! I love my family! We stick together through the good times and the bad. We are there for every single celebration, big or little.

And there they are… the whole gang (missing: Joe, Ixchel, Julianne and dear Grandpa (RIP). I just wanted to share how special my family is to me. We are unique from many families out there. Many families desire to be close to their families the way that we are. As the grandchildren continue to grow up, get married, graduate from college and succeed in their careers, we are slowly seeing each other just a little bit less and it makes you miss the old times when responsibility didn’t come in the way of family. But we are strong and I don’t see us ever stopping the love and time together.

And just for the fun of it, I thought I would include a video the usual fam jam session and a photo of myself with my Grandma and cousin Jasmine. This photo is my favorite photo right now. The smile on my Grandma’s face is priceless and she is beautiful!

Time for a winner — I have used random.org to draw a number for my winner (your number was determined by comment order):

AND THE WINNER IS…..

FRANCES!

Thank you to all that helped me out by taking my poll!

The contest is over, but the poll is still open and I would love nothing more than to hear more of your opinions! Feel free: GO HERE TO TAKE THE POLL

Frances will be receiving this card set that was designed to best serve several of her card giving needs: Birthday, Thank You and Encouragement; There are 2 each of 4 designs & sentiments.

Hi friends!

I would truly appreciate it if you would take the time to take a quick poll for me!

I have been asked to create cards for many people lately, and I LOVE it! However, I want to make sure that I am doing what people want and need when they come to me for this service. Your answers to these few questions could greatly help me and help those that purchase from me in the future! I want to thank those who participate with a little something special, so everyone who leaves a COMMENT ON THIS POST by FRIDAY, 7/9/10, answering all of my questions (other comments are also welcome) will be entered in a drawing to win a 8 card/envelope set specially made by me!

Again, thank you so much for your time, opinions and support! I will announce the winner on Saturday 7/10/10 on Facebook, as well as on this post… so check back soon so that I can get your information and send you the set! Please see the Poll Questions below:

**Feel free to copy & paste the questions below into the comment section and eliminate the selections that do not pertain to you**

Poll Questions

Feel free to forward this Poll to any friends that may be interested in winning a card set! And thank you again!

1. On a scale from 1-5 I mostly purchase cards for:
   (Thank You)   1   2   3   4   5
   (Birthdays)     1   2   3   4   5
   (Holidays)       1   2   3   4   5
   (Celebrations)   1   2   3   4   5
   (Friends/Encouragement) 1   2   3   4   5
2. For a single card, the most I prefer to pay is:
   ($1-2) ($3-4) ($5+)
3. For a set of 8 to 12 cards, the most I prefer to pay is:
   (5-7) ($8-10) ($12-15) ($16+ for more detailed cards)
4. For Invitations or Announcements (30+), the most I prefer to pay is:
   ($20) ($30) ($40+ for more detailed sets)
5. I prefer my cards to be:
   (Simple) (Detailed)
6. My favorite style for cards is:
   (Modern) (Themed) (Elegant) (Vintage/Shabby Chic)

Thank you for your time, and be sure to check back to see if you won on Thursday!

Now on to the FUN STUFF! The fourth of July brings a lot of room for fun creativity. You can make plenty of fun and colorful dishes and desserts or even decorate your backyard to enjoy the special occasion. I didn’t have much time to do anything super creative — actually the only themed items are food! Pretzel Salad (recipe below) and chocolate dipped pretzel sticks with red and blue sprinkles. The photos and links below are just some inspirational posts from some awesome bloggers and sites out there. Hope you find the links below helpful for your 4th celebration this year or next….

• Simply Creative Insanity: Awesome 4th of July Table Design
• Twig & Thistle: DIY 4th of July
• Paper & Cake: Red White and Blue Decor
• Two Hearts Together: Flag Treats
• Taste of Home: Red White and Blue Torte
• Eventagious: Party Ideas

Pretzel Salad

Layer 1: Pretzel Crust
2 C. Crushed Pretzels
3/4 C. Melted Butter
3 Tbs. Sugar

Layer 2: Cream
8 Oz. Cream Cheese
8 Oz. Whipped Cream
1 C. Sugar

Layer 3: Jello
6 Oz. Strawberry Jello
2 C. Water
20 Oz. Sweetened Frozen Strawberries (or other Frozen Berries)

1. Mix the crushed pretzels, melted butter and sugar; Spread into a greased 9×13″ pan. Bake at 400 Degrees for 8 minutes and cool completely.
2. Beat cream cheese until smooth; add sugar and fold in the whipped cream. Spread over the cooled pretzel crust and set aside.
3. Bring the water to a boil and dissolve the jello. Cool slightly (until barely steaming — I usually pour the jello into a bowl to let cool). Stir in the frozen strawberries and let thicken a little. Pour over the cream mixture.
4. Cover the salad and place in the refrigerator to set.
5. ENJOY!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

I adore cupcakes, which is why I am happy see them EVERYWHERE! I have been busy baking a lot of fun cupcakes for birthdays, gatherings, summer and just because! There are just so many fun things that can be done with cupcakes for themed birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers and other occasions that can use a cute boost! Let’s just face it — a cupcake can do a world of wonders to make any party or gathering more memorable.

The above photo is of my most recent cupcake “adventure.” Champagne cupcakes with fresh Raspberry Buttercream Frosting. I have made buttercream before but never with a fruit in the mix. Not only was it easy and exciting, the result was delicious! (even my husband says it is his favorite cupcake frosting I have made to date!) So there you have it, ladies and gentleman, it is a winner! After making this frosting, I did a little research on buttercream (and probably still need to do a bit more) and how to work with it; but first, the recipe:

I followed my original recipe for buttercream that I received at my Wilton cake decorating class a couple years ago and threw some fresh raspberries in the mix.

1/2 c. Butter (softened)
1/2 c. Fresh Raspberries (washed and dried well)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
1 (16 oz.) bag of Powdered Sugar

Mix the first four ingredients until softened:

Gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping the bowl after every few additions, until smooth:

A few things that I didn’t know about buttercream:

• If made with butter (as in this recipe) instead of shortening — it is going to harden when refrigerated, so take it out about 30 minutes before you want to frost your cake or cupcakes (or if you have the cake/cupcakes refrigerated, take out 30 minutes before serving)
• You DO need to refrigerate buttercream and any dessert that uses it due to the fat-sugar ratio
• If you need softer buttercream, use shortening (but note it will not be as tasty, in my opinion)
• If it is going to be warm/ hot when serving it, keep it refrigerated in order for the frosting to keep it’s shape & not melt! Especially if using a lovely tip to frost your cupcakes :)

Wow, there were a lot of things I didn’t know about buttercream, and still don’t know. The next time I make it — hopefully soon — I will put some more time into researching it. Hope that this helps you for the time being! Below is my finished product at it’s finest…

This is my first card in a couple of months…

I have a girlfriend from work that is getting married soon and so I made this card for our whole company to sign and give with her gift card. I decided that I was tired of always having to cram everyone’s impersonal signatures onto one card. Is it just me, or is it super annoying when cards come with tons of images that you end up having to write over just to fit the whole group on one card!? So I slipped a second card base in the center of the first base and adhered the backsides to one another — creating a three flap card. On the inside I decided to do a some light stamping with baby pink ink just to tie it all together…

Stamps used are Papertrey Ink and the card base is 8 x 4.” Hope you like it! Challenges Used:

• A Spoonful of Sugar: Best Wishes (and Good Luck)
• Bee Crafty: Pink n Girly
• The Secret Crafter: Wedding/Anniversary

Isn’t that one of the most basic recipes ever? Well, you can believe it… because I haven’t – UNTIL NOW!

I was wandering around my kitchen and came across 4 bananas that were pretty spotty and brown. My first thought was, “dang it, what a waste!” Oh, quite the contrary my friend! The light bulb finally turned on… BANANA BREAD! I had to look up a recipe online (since it was late and didn’t want to wake my parents to get theirs). There were of course, many to choose from; but most were very similar to one another.

I decided to follow Laura’s recipe – deciding factor? Hmm, well I love how creative she is when creating cards, so why not her recipes?! I threw in some chopped walnuts and coconut (and omitted the pecans). IT WAS DELICIOUS! Next time I will keep the coconut out since it added more texture (and calories) than flavor, but will still sprinkle some over the top before baking because it was pretty and it added a nice little crunch.

This last minute venture was definitely a success and I for sure see many more banana breads in my future! I still love the recipe that my parents have used all of my life, so that will be the next one that I try out – moister, I think; maybe they add more bananas? Hmmm… Until then, enjoy this recipe and a quick photo of my very first banana bread.

Thanks for visiting!

As I said earlier, I have been doing much more baking than I have scrapping this last month… and it has been a delicious journey for everyone involved. Thanks to those of you who helped me decide which recipes to try and for helping taste test (though there were no arms to twist! :)

This one was both delicious and fun! I decided to make them for my nephew, Owen’s, 5th birthday in May. I thought it would be a good addition to the dessert for the kiddos — but saw a few adults enjoying them as well! I highly recommend this recipe to those of you who like oreos, have children or just like sprinkles! I got the original recipe here. Thanks to many of my favorite foodies, I have grown accustomed to step by step photo instructions along with my new recipes and while it is not necessary, it is so fun! So since the original poster didnt do so, I felt the need :) Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake Cookie Sandwiches
(Source: The Crepes of Wrath, as seen on Annie’s Eats)

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1 package chocolate cake mix (or other flavor of your choice)
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp. milk

For decorating:
multi-colored non-pareils, or other sprinkles or candy of your choice

Directions:
1. To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, egg and butter. Beat on low speed until just combined and all dry ingredients have been incorporated.

3. Roll the dough into 1- to 1 1/2-inch balls, place on the prepared baking sheets and press down to slightly flatten.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheets.

5. To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the powdered sugar, and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. If the frosting too thick, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk and beat until incorporated.

6. To assemble, pair the cookies based on size on a work surface. Frost the flat side of one cookie from each pair. Place the other cookie of each pair on top of the frosting, flat side down. Lightly press down so that the frosting reaches the edges of the cookies.

7. To decorate, place sprinkles in a small bowl. Dip the sides of each cookie in the sprinkles, pressing down gently and rotating to cover the sides completely.

And here is the birthday boy enjoying one himself :)