Stars & Sparklers

My 4th of July was spent by the lake before heading off to watch the fireworks. Sadly, due to the current drought, there wasn't so much as a sparkler at the celebration. We enjoyed glow sticks instead. I might have also indulged in a bit of pizza & ice cream.

God bless America. And junk food.

Peppermint Swirl Cupcakes

It's not Christmas without candy canes, and it's not a holiday unless I bake some cupcakes. I've been so busy baking just about everything but cupcakes, so I decided to whip up something quick. Here's a recipe for peppermint swirl cupcakes that's so easy even those who are baking impaired will wow guests with their creation. 

It starts with a box of Jell-O instant candy cane pudding & a white cake mix. Yes. Candy cane pudding really exists. I found it near my grocery's holiday baking section.

Pour the packet of pudding mix into a bowl with the cake mix & prepare the batter per instructions on your cake mix box. Divide the cake batter into two bowls. Using food coloring, dye one bowl of batter red. 

Here's where the wow factor comes in. Fill each liner 2/3 full with a small scoop of red batter & another small scoop of white batter. Swirl the batter together in each liner with a toothpick. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes on the middle rack. 

See that nice peppermint swirl? Finish it off with your favorite buttercream frosting or canned frosting. Don't worry. I won't tell. Garnish with a little crushed up candy cane and you're done. The recipe makes approximately 18 cupcakes. 

After letting the cupcakes cool, I set the table with cupcakes, a variety of sprinkles & cupcake toppers, and frosting. Then I let my nephews go to town decorating.

The lovely cupcake toppers are from Bake It Pretty, my favorite online baking supply store. Happy baking!

a little Christmas

With Christmas just a little over a week away, I've been decking the halls. Or the walls anyway.

I loved this wreath made by Rachel Denbow so much so that I made my own. With a little help from this tutorial, a wreath, some hot glue, and a few pieces of felt later, I was set. I might have also used this as a golden opportunity to purchase a new pair of Gingher scissors which I totally geeked out over. Yup, that's the life of a crafter. Give me a shiny new pair of scissors and I'm in heaven.

In Rebekah's tutorial, she used a template for tracing the scallop shape. I opted to cut the felt into equal pieces and freehand the scallop edge. It's not perfect, but I love it. I also added a cute little bird ornament to the inside. Isn't he sweet?

I hung the wreath up with a bit of yarn above a shelf. The shelf is decked out with another ornament, one of my vintage cameras, and a nativity scene. I used to collect nativity scenes but in all of my moving, I lost the box containing them.

This nativity is also Rachel Denbow inspired. I used a stable found in the dollar section at Target & paired it with wooden people found at the craft store. I love the simplicity.

I have a lot of holiday baking in my future, but I'm also hoping to use those new scissors of mine to make a few Christmas stockings. It's such a busy time of year, but I love it!

Battle of the holidays

It seems like once Halloween is over, the battle of holidays begins. On one side, we have people who can't wait to pull out their Christmas & winter decorations. On the opposing side are others reminding us not to forget Thanksgiving.

I'm a little of both. I love Christmas and all that comes with it including the lights. But truth is, I live in Indiana and you can never quite tell how the weather is going to go.

Exactly one year ago today was the first snow of the season last year. I've put up many holiday lights in the snow, freezing fingers and all. It's not fun- especially when you're working with others and people become cranky. No thanks. The lights now go up while we still have a mild autumn day.

I'm stubborn about the rest of the decorations though. Nothing else goes out until the day after Thanksgiving. And if you're wondering about the lights- they remain unplugged until after the turkey and pumpkin pie have their day.

{photo from last year in German Village, Columbus, Ohio.}

So, where do you fall in this heated debate? One sided, a little of both, or neither?

Be my Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day! My plans for the day include eating some chocolate and drawing some pretty hearts. I wanted to share a little song with you on this lovely holiday.

nye

Friday night. New friends. Old friends. Rain. Boys with pink umbrellas. Fireworks. Making our own rules for poker. Water in champagne glasses. Ball drops. Countdowns. Indecision. Makeup parties in the bathroom. Debating. Campaigning. Lost voices. Pizza. Bubbly. Making plans. Yay! Orchestras. Youtube videos. Back to the Future. Ball drops. Countdowns. Bad bands. Wishing. Wondering. Goodbyes. Hellos.

And that's what New Year's Eve was made of.

Also? It was the best New Year's Eve yet. 2011 is going to be an amazing year.

dreaming of a white christmas

At work yesterday, we decked the halls until they could no longer be decked. Giant bows, shiny snowflakes, and twinkling lights were everywhere. Sitting on a top of a bookshelf, customers will find my big, white Christmas tree. It's quite lovely but we didn't have room on the floor so on top of the bookshelf it went.

There's just something about a white Christmas tree that I love. It's the perfect tree to display your colorful ornaments on. It's the color of freshly fallen snow. Also, it feels less like you're trying imitate nature when  you decorate with an artificial white tree. I mean, the green, artificial tree just knows he can never look like the real thing so why not try a new color, right?

I fell in love with white Christmas trees once I saw this tree from Rachel Denbow.

It makes me want to put up the rest of my Christmas decorations. Have you started putting up your holiday decorations yet?

in the workshop

Tonight, I'm settling in at home to work on a few holiday projects. To set the mood for my little workshop, I have a couple of Christmas movies...

Some lovely Christmas tunes, and even a little bit of snow.

We had our very first snow of the season. I'm not sure if I'm ready for such a magical season yet. Until later though, I'll be working away like an elf!