Rylee.

Family Session from last weekend now on the blog !

our recent trip to NC.

new bern.nc

fields of wildflowers.

cupcake shop and sno cones on the same block. my dilemma.

outerbanks.nc.

 

I have a new definition of a wild goose chase.

a corbett family reunion.

12 seconds that changed the world.

birds of a feather flock together.

Growing up my sister had a strange fascination with those little mushroom birds..you know, the ones that you can find in the floral section of a craft store for wreaths, etc? Anyway she loved those things, not sure what she really did with them, but they were her favorite.  We spotted some the other day and she ran over to them SO excited- she quickly remembered her fascination with them years ago... AND we decided to make a necklace with them!

We used real twigs and then painted them white. 

Wrapped wire around both ends of twig leaving room to loop the chain through.

Hot glued the little bird onto the twig.

And used leather cording as the chain.

 

my week in photos.

petit fours.

Here's an easy recipe for petit fours- a fun change from the regular cupcake.  Petit fours are tiny pastries, and if you didn't know... petit four actually means "small oven".  Many petit fours are layered, and filled. I prefer petit fours that a little easier, and like a cupcake but with different frosting. 

YOU WILL NEED:
* your favorite cake recipe or box mix
* cupcake liners
*powdered sugar
*meringue powder (egg whites)
*warm water

1. Fill cupcake pans with batter only about 1/3 full WITHOUT the liners.  Bake at 350*. Watch closely.. these little guys will be done quickly!
2. Carefully remove from pan to cool, you might need to slide a knife around the edge of each one to get them out.
3. Now place the fully baked cakes in the liners, and prep your royal icing. What is Royal Icing? Its not just fancy icing, it is icing that acts more like a glaze and will sort of drip over and  harden on top of your petit four.
4. To create royal icing:
* In a bowl, whisk together 5 tablespoons of meringue powder, and about 3/4 cup of water.
*Add in all of the powdered sugar, with electric mixer- on the paddle attachment.
* Last step- tint with food coloring if you choose.
NOTE: The petit fours that I created are strawberry cake and strawberry royal frosting.. you can use real strawberries for the color and taste for the frosting or strawberry JELLO mix. I used the jello option this time.
5. Use the royal frosting immediately- it will begin to stiffen.  Drop a spoonful on the top of each cake and watch it drip. It will pool any extra icing in the bottom of the liner!
6. For a decorative touch, you could pipe on some butter cream details on top!
ENJOY! These will melt in your mouth!

a perfect start.

A perfect start to my summer. As soon as my art room was packed up for the year, we left on a little adventure. 

We grabbed some friends, packed our car to the MAX...

 drove to a favorite hiking spot...

 hiked to the falls...

then we drove a little further north... and set up camp.

We watched the sunset..

 and made s'mores over the fire.

photo.

My latest photo session with Reynolds is on the BLOG