sprinkles.

My sister turned twenty-one last week and I made her this chocolate cake with lots of sprinkles.

 Stay tuned for a tutorial on making this neon cake topper garland!

we've been traveling...

 

 We spent this past week in Vermont with some of our friends!  We went skiing and spent a lot of time FREEZING. Check back later this week for some photos!

valentines & a bake sale.

This week at school my students had a "WE HEART ART" bake sale to raise money. So for the past few days I have been baking like crazy!

three frames.

Some photos I took last weekend of my brother and his band. For those of you local readers- The Motions are playing at the Pointe March 22nd.

mint brownie.

 I love making homemade brownies, but most of the time I just don't have the time.  This brownie mix from Trader Joe's seriously tops any other brownie mixes.  It tastes just like my homemade brownie recipe and has chocolate chips mixed in. Sometimes I like to treat brownies like cake and will make some frosting to top them with.  This peppermint chocolate chip icing tastes just like mint chocolate ice cream.

 CHOCOLATE CHIP MINT FROSTING:
1 stick of butter softened
3 cups of powdered sugar
1tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of vanilla
2 tsp of peppermint extract
1/4 cup of chocolate chips
1.beat together butter, vanilla, peppermint extract. gradually add powdered sugar, then add salt and choc chips. add more mint extract to taste.

oops!

Every time I find myself in a home improvement store I always browse through the paint section and see if there happens to be a can of oops! paint calling my name.  If you are unfamiliar, oops! paint is paint that was improperly mixed and is extremely discounted! I have found some of my favorite paints this way- and could be a fun way to decide on a paint color for a room.  Last week I stumbled upon this awesome gallon of paint. It was $5. Originally $40. I practiced restraint and left it at the store, walked out to the parking lot and then ran back in to purchase it.  I instantly wanted to paint everything in my path this color, but decided to start with this.  I painted the entire stool orange and then dipped the legs in this leftover pink(another bargain paint find)!

jeremiah.

key lime cupcakes

For the cake:
*1 cup cake flour
*1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
*1 cup sugar
*1/2 tbsp baking powder
*1 stick of butter, softened &cubed
*1 tsp vanilla
*1 cup whole milk
*2 eggs
*zest of 1 lime
*juice of 1 lime
* 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
whisk together all dry ingredients.mix cubed butter into dry mixture until just coated. combine vanilla, milk, and eggs and add to dry mix in three parts. 
bake at 325* for approx. 20 minutes.  recipe makes 16 cupcakes.

key lime filling:
*1 can(14oz) sweetened condensed milk
*zest of 1-2 limes
*juice of 2 limes
 *pipe into the center of baked and cooled cupcakes.

whipped cream frosting:

*1 pint (16oz) of heavy whipping cream

*4 tbsp powdered sugar

Using the whisk attachment on an electric mixer, whisk whipping cream on high and slowly add in powdered sugar. Whisk until thickened.  Pipe onto cupcakes and sprinkle or roll in graham cracker crumbs.

painted cork coasters.

 For this project you will need:
*acrylic paint
*sharpie marker
 *cork coasters around $2 at your local craft store
*masking tape to tape off stripes, etc.
*Krylon Crystal Clear acrylic coating (finishing spray)

This project is super easy and allows for so much variation! Grab your paint, cork, and markers and go for it!

 

visual journals.

 Visual journals are a project that I have been doing with my students for the past few years.  Each student  brings in an old book at the beginning of the year and works on it each week along with their bigger project they are working on.  Each week I show them a new medium, or technique to use in their journals. Its the perfect escape and quickly gives you the excitement of completing a painting or drawing, but you are still working towards a larger work. This year I plan to share more of my journal, so here are my first few pages!