Thursday, March 29, 2012

Cake Pops...Or something like that


Okay so I understand that cake pops are a somewhat new phenomenon...I guess I'm behind the times.  Anyway...I decided to try and make them.  So NOT EASY!  If you don't have the pan and don't have a lot of time they take forever (at least in my book)!

First I used boxed cake mix and frosting because I already had it in the house (otherwise I swear I would have done it from scratch!).  I made the cake, cooled & crumbled.  Many people will add frosting at this step but not me I added milk (i needed to save the frosting for the coating).  Then I let the whole mixture cool over night.  Today during breakfast and Bubble Guppies I rolled the cake into tiny balls - all about 1oz.  Then I melted some frosting and stuck the lollipop sticks in the frosting then into the balls.  I then stuck the balls in the freezer for about an hour.  Once the lollipop sticks were good and stuck in the balls (jeez so much talk about balls) I melted more chocolate and dipped away and put back in the freezer (i also added green sprinkles) to allow the chocolate to harden again.  However, once I stuck the balls in the fridge - the chocolate seemed to melt.  Well my daughter and husband both like the pops.  I thought they were fine but not amazing.  I hear Starbucks sells them (for like $2.00 a pop) - I'm going to have to try them to see what a real cake pop tastes like.  Any suggestions on how to do it better are more than welcome!  I saw so many different ways to make them that I can fudged the whole thing!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

DIY Completed!

Okay - so I'm the type of person that usually thinks of something fabulous to make or renovate but when it comes time to do it I never complete the project/get frustrated and give up/or never start the darn thing.  So I'm proud to show off 2 crafts (although small) that I completed.  The first were green frames for my bathroom and the second is an Easter egg wreath.

Frames
I bought the $1.00 wood frames from Michael's some green paint from the Martha Stewart Collection (oh so fancy) and that was it.   I mixed the green paint with some white paint that I already had on hand so that I could try to replicate the color already in my bathroom.  And fabulous!  My first DIY project completed!  I used some of my own photography to fill the frames.




And there you go - in my bathroom (sorry not my best photo).  

Easter Egg Wreath

This wreath was a bit more challenging than I expected.  I got the idea from another blogger called Tater Tots & Jello .  She used clear plastic Easter eggs and washi tape.  I had not a clue was washi tape was so I had to google it (I'm telling you - a whole crafting world out there!). 
Anyway...I couldn't find the clear Easter eggs and I couldn't find the washi tape so I figured I would buy the color plastic Easter eggs and paint them (so they wouldn't look so cheap).  I was so proud of myself I found the eggs at the goodwill store for $1.00 (a bargain for the other stores nearby).  I washed the Easter eggs before I did anything with them. 

 Alas...when I painted them they looked horrible!
My plan was to buy a Styrofoam wreath but the store didn't have any so I bought a wicker type of wreath.  I also bought some pink ribbon to wrap the wreath with.

However, I didn't buy enough pink ribbon (my math skills are not the best) so I had to go out AGAIN and buy more ribbon (of course a different color).  I also did not have a hot glue gun I had some other type of glue (very good) that takes forever and a day to dry (hence the glass of water holding the egg in place).

Although many bumps in my road to completing this Easter wreath - I'm proud to say it's is DONE!



And I'm quite satisfied with it.


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Friday, March 23, 2012

Project gone awry!

What happens when a project you have been thinking about for days goes awry?  You have what you think is all you need and nothing NOTHING is coming together!!!
Well that is happening to me.
I have been thinking about this bloody Easter egg wreath I have been wanting to make for a few days.  So my family trekked to the other side of town to visit the craft store.  I bought the wreath, bought the ribbon a few other things and get home.  I'm all excited to paint the eggs a multitdue of colors and fashion the ribbon around the bloody wreath.
Get home - didn't buy enough ribbon so only half the bloody wreath is covered.
The paint won't go on the eggs nicely so I'm just going to use the stupid plastic colorful eggs.
I'm trying to get the darn eggs to stick on the bloody wreath and it's a water park!  They are slippin and sliddin everywhere!!!!
The darn project looked so easy online!  But I'm going to stay on course and try to make this thing work!  Maybe a few beers will help...
:)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wednesday News

It's been a big day in football and in the crafting world.  Today the New York Jets acquired Tim Tebow and several of the Saints coaches were suspended.  As for the crafting world well...I have discovered a whole world of craft ideas!

Tim Tebow Vs. Mark Sanchez: Who's the Hotter Jets Quarterback? | Mark Sanchez, Tim Tebow
Who could resist a picture like this - regardless of your opinion on Tebow!
Today the Jets gave up a lot for a quarterback who everyone and by everyone I mean everyone says isn't a quarterback.  Last season yes he had some good plays but was it all him and his religious intervention or did some of the other players on the Broncos have something to do with it (say the defense)?  What will Tebow bring to the Jets besides some more Monday morning quarterbacking and possibly a few Tebow poses?  New York is way too cynical for a nice religious boy like him.  The media will eat him alive!  And what they hay were the Jets thinking today?  After the season ended there was a lot of dissent amongst the Jets players themselves - especially criticizing their own quarterback Mark Sanchez.  So what in the world do they hope to accomplish by landing an already dividing quarterback who everyone says isn't a quarterback?  This move won't make Mark Sanchez think that the franchise believes in him?  My opinion - they are pulling a Money Ball.  In the movie Money Ball Jonah Hill's character convinces Brad Pitt's character to sign washed up players however they are put in new positions on the field.  Perhaps this is what the Jets plan to do with Tebow - like how the McCain campaign kept Sarah Palin a secret (too bad she's still not a secret).


As for the Saints well they royally screwed up!  Roger Goodell says the found convincing evidence that the Saints were heavily involved in the bounty system.   The Saints head coach was suspended for the season WITHOUT PAY!  And the defensive coordinator was suspended indefinitely!  Roger Goodell is sending a message to the NFL - don't screw around!
 
As for crafting - well I have a whole host of new ideas!  When I was younger on spring or summer vacation while some of my friends were away at sleep away camp or traveling in Europe I was at home watching home improvement shows or the shows that were on before HGTV was HGTV.  I was obsessed and simply tickled to see how they could improve the look of such simple things as a pillow or add decorative accents to just about any room.  Somehow I lost that creative side - or I pushed it away (don't know why!).  But I'm excited!  The things I'm seeing people do are amazing and inspiring me to get up and do it!  Get a glue gun darn it!  Last week I bought those wooden $1.00 frames from Michael's.  So tonight I'm working on those and printing pictures for them.  Hopefully tomorrow I will get around to posting them.

Anybody have suggestions for an inexpensive Sewing Machine???

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Awake

It's 2:49 in the morning on the East Coast.  And I'm up...writing...
Why?
Well my husband is snoring like a grenade and my oldest daughter has woken up.  She wants to join us in bed (not tonight daddy's snoring won't let anybody go to sleep).  So I've read books, changed a diaper, given milk.  We shall see if she stays in bed now...I'm watching the glow of the monitor (cross your fingers!).
Luckily the little is still asleep.  Although how she is sleeping through her daddy's snoring is explicable to me!
I'm also scouring the internet looking for a job for my husband. 
You see he was laid off after we had our baby and after he landed a great job working for the city.  So unfortunately this financial crisis hit our home as well.  And after much thought and "soul searching" we decided he should use the unemployment time wisely so he went to cooking school.  And now we look for an evening job in the food service world (unemployment will be over in a few short months).  Why an evening job because daycare or even a nanny in the great city of New York is incredibly expensive!  Did you know that some nursery schools for just a few hours a day will charge $20,000??  Yes so daycare or a nanny is sorry out of our price range at the moment.
And unfortunately my maternity leave is up soon and I have to go back to work.  Thinking of going back to work and leaving my girls puts me into a tailspin of anxiety - it closes up my throat and twists the knots in my belly even more.  So I try not to think about it - but it does keep me up at night (like tonight).  Uh oh...the beast is out of bed again.  We call her the beast lovingly - also because the terrible two's hit before your kid turns 2 and they SUCK!
I'm back - more milk and another story.
So I sit here awake...typing into the computer screen writing (although I don't have many followers) and watching a baby monitor.
Hmmm...silence coming from the bedroom - perhaps he changed positions and the snoring has stopped and maybe I can rest!
It's now 3:04 AM.
Good night or good morning

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

So St. Patrick's Day always bring out the excitement in my family.  I grew up going to the New York City Parade and afterwards my grandma would have an amazing party with all of our friends and family.  My husband being the fabulous cook he is made cornbeef hash potstickers (amazzzing).  And I dabbled in green velvet cupcakes.

I also made guinness cupcakes but wasn't able to didn't get around to serving them yesterday.  The green velvet cupcakes just use green food coloring instead of red.  I also used hot coco mix instead of the more pricy coco mix. 
Quite delicious!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Pancake Cupcakes

So my husband's birthday was yesterday and I decided to make Pancake Cupcakes stuffed with Bacon topped with Fresh Whipped Cream!

Ingredients
pancake mix
milk
egg(s)
bacon
heavy cream
confectioners sugar
vanilla extract
maple syrup.

Directions
Prepare the bacon the way you normally would - making sure the pieces are crispy.  Cool on wire rack and crumble the pieces.

Make the pancake mix the way you would normally prepare them.  However, I added maple syrup to the batter to try and get that flavor baked into the cupcake.

Prepare the cupcake pan with liners.
Fill the cupcakes only half the way up.  Then put pieces of the cooked bacon in the middle of the batter.

 
Put more batter on top of the bacon (please ignore the mess).
Let the cupcakes cook till they are cooked through on 350F.




Whipped Cream
Cool the mixing bowl
1 cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of confectioners sugar

Mix until soft peaks form (don't over mix).

When the pancakes come out of the oven top with butter.  However let the cupcakes cool before you add the whipped cream otherwise the cream will melt (like it did for me!).



Of course you can stuff the pancakes with whatever ingredients you wish.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Outside the lines

So creativity...
I think some of us are born with it and some of us work on it.  I'm one of the ones that's working on it.  It's hard to color outside the lines when all my life I've been coloring inside the lines.  It's hard to have an incredible idea in my head and then to be okay when it doesn't turn out the way I expected.
Hence...Work in Progress...
I have 2 kids and I'm working on letting go (for myself).