C is for Cupcake!

And in this case, C is for Corinne as well!

I had the opportunity to make some cupcakes for a 3 year old’s birthday party yesterday.  The only design suggestion was PINK.

I really wanted to find a substitute to buttercream icing that could be piped similarly.  I have tried a couple whipped cream icings, both from a box and from scratch and have not found what I am looking for.

For these, I tried a mix of pudding and whipped cream.  Wow, they tasted awesome.  Very light and not too sweet.  I thought I had a large straight piping tip, but the best I could dig out of my decorating box was a star tip.  Don’t worry, I fixed this on my way home from the party.  That’ll be another post.                                                                           

Here’s  how I put the frosting together:

1 box Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding (the small box – serves 4)

1 cup milk

1 - 8 ounce container Cool Whip, thawed

1/2  packet Knox gelatin

flavoring and color of your choice

Add the milk to the pudding mix and whisk.  It will already be thick.  Add about 1 tsp flavoring (of your choice) and any coloring.  If you don’t use any color it will end up off-white.  Fold in the Cool Whip, being sure to incorporate fully.  Sprinkle the half packet of gelatin on top of the mix and fold some more.  Set in refrigerator to chill and set for about 5 minutes.

This is where I went wrong. I only let mine chill about 2 minutes and it continued to set as I was decorating.  The end result was my first cupcakes were sloppy looking.  The gelatin needs time to firm the mixture up to withstand the piping.

After it sets up, fill your piping bag and rock your cupcakes.  I have never taken a class on decorating (or anything for that matter) and you will definately be able to tell in the pics.  I think I may invest in a class this year since I can’t seem to get my stuff to look the way I want.  Part of that is practice, but I know I am missing some critical technique items.  If you are a piping whiz, please comment and tell me what I’m doing wrong!!

hot mess of cupcakes

So, like I said, I wanted to use a straight tip, but didn’t have one big enough so these used the star tip.  The frosting was also still setting up, so these fell a little.  Remember to let that gelatin give the frosting more structure and you’ll get better results.

After I got these done, I really wanted to add something else.

I dug around and found some pink melting wafers.  I printed off sheets of paper with the capital letter “C” on them to use as template (C for the birthday girl!).  After melting the wafers, I put them in a squeeze bottle and made some “C’s” to go on top.

Now, I’ve never done this before either, but they turned out really well.  I will for sure do this again.

melting my heart

You can see the outline of the templates underneath what I drew and then you can see where I made more off to the side once I got more comfortable with the shape.  Once again, muscle memory and practice!!

my C's

My daughter thought these were the letter ”E” and then she said they were ears, but she is 4 and has no idea what good cupcake art looks like!

Here’s the finished product…60 pink cupcakes with pink frosting and the letter C perched on top.  They held up to traveling very well and like I said – tasted awesome!!

I will definately use this “frosting” concoction again.  Not only did it taste great, but it was about half the calories of regular frosting and if you have ever researched it you know the average cupcake has 400-500 calories!!!

Change your batteries

It has been 4 weeks since I started my diet and workout routine.  I weigh in each Wednesday morning and record my measurements periodically.

This Wednesday was week 4.  I weighed in after my shower…..no loss.

I reweighed….no loss.

Third time’s the charm, right? No-go…gain 1lb!

Up to this point, I had lost .4 two weeks in a row, then gained 1 lb.  I was super prepared for some weight loss.

Disappointed?  Yes.

Frustrated?  Yes.

Confused?  Yes.

I seriously had been busting my tail at the gym until I was sore nearly every day.  The days I was not at the gym, I was running outside since I have some races this winter and LOVE running!

So, needless to say, Wednesday was not a good day for me.  Talking to me was like messing with a wet cat.  I wanted to be left alone and was on edge all day.  Pilates class was practically a waste even though our instructor kicked it up in intensity.

After nearly being obsessed with my failure all day, a thought occurred to me.  What if it wasn’t me?  What if my TOOLS were subpar?  I was certain I had been working hard and could see changes.  My measurements showed losses, it was just the weight that was weird.

I stopped at the store on my way home and got a new battery for my scale.

Yeah…FINALLY!

Down 2lbs.  My goal is 1 1/2 per week, so that was freakin awesome.  The weight (literally and figuratively) that had been on my shoulders was lifted!  My head cleared and I was able to think again.  My poor kids and friends had been subjected to the evil me….stupid scale!

The next morning I was down another 3 lbs (I only really count my “morning” weight since my stomach has been empty all night.

WHEW!!!  It’s hard to describe how I feel.  To work so hard and then get the results is so rewarding.  It validates what I have been doing and shows me I am making the right decisions.  But in addition to that, I am irritated that something like a number can so severely alter my perception of myself.  I thank the pressure of society for that – all the pressure to be skinny and obsessions with numbers….what a negative impact on my psyche when the numbers weren’t there.  I can understand now how eating disorders can run rampant.

Putting all that aside – the rest of the week was great!  I went for a run on Thursday as I have a race on Sunday morning to prepare for.  Friday was my first BodyPump class at the gym.  Oh what fresh hell is this class!!  I was sore before I left!!  I am completely hooked and signed up for 2 classes the next week.  I’ll fill you in more on that later.

As for now – the scale is fixed and so is my head.

After 4 weeks:

Pounds lost: 5.8

Inches lost: 6.7

Cakes from the past

This gallery contains 6 photos.

 After my post about the racecar cake, I thought I’d add some pictures of other cakes I’ve made and actually taken pictures of. Kid cakes are my favorite.  They can be whimsical and fun and if you mess something up you just add more frosting.  I’ve also done cakes for my work for our monthly […]

Making every day better

I made a decision a couple weeks ago. I turned 35 in December and did some soul seaching.  If I am not where I want to be in life, what can I do to get there?

I made some choices and come hell or high water, I am going to stick to them or look like a fool trying.

• I will apologize when I hurt someone’s feelings – intentional or not.
• I will take time and exhibit patience with my spouse, my kids, my family, co-workers, and strangers.
• I will take risks.
• I will remember my sense of humor.
• I will value my health and the opportunities it affords me.  I do not have cancer.  I do not have any debilitating illnesses.  There are no excuses
• I will take every day as it presents itself and make choices that will make it better, even if they are at my expense.
• I will be better.

Part of my goals is to lose 40 pounds.  This will put me near my pre-pregnancy weight and will do wonders for my self-esteem, body image, and overall health.  It will also be a good role model for my kids to make good eating decisions every day.

I purchased a Bodybugg from 24hr fitness 2 years ago and successfully lost 40 lbs then.  In the 2 years since, I gained it all back.  Boo.

Round 2 will be different.  I feel I am better equipped to handle this.  My mental place is better.  I am stronger.  I have better support.

I will be successful.

I know this is primarily a sewing/crafting blog, but I’m adding a category for my personal project.  I’ll be updating this blog category frequently with my progress and perhaps some pictures.

I hope I can inspire myself and maybe some others out there to do the same.

If you would like to learn more about how the bodybugg works, visit http://www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg/

If you are honest with your recording, it is fool-proof.

Yay for Pinterest!

About 2 months ago I decided to catch up with technology. 

I joined facebook (finally!!)

I created a blog

and now I have joined Pinterest! 

Please bear with me as I figure out how to add the buttons and get everything updated.

 

Racecar Birthday Cake

A friend of mine asked me to make the birthday cake for her son’s 4th birthday.  They are having the party at a Home Depot and the kids are making wooden racecars!!

Totally original and thrifty idea – Home Depot does not even charge for the party and can accomodate 25 kids!

She wanted a racetrack in the shape of a 4 for the large cake and another, smaller cake in the shape of a racecar for her son’s personal cake.

I started off baking a couple of cakes.  One large rectangle and one smaller round cake.

Just Baked

I have looked online for a recipe for the whippy frosting that grocery stores and places like Costco use and finally figured out they use a commerically make stuff called Rich’s Bettercreme.  It IS available for purchase but you have to buy it by the frozen tubful and it can take some time to ship.  If Denver had any decent cake decoarting supply stores (hint hint) they would most likely carry the stuff.

Since I am not launching into a bakery anytime soon, I decide to look for an alternative.

Turns out there is a reasonable one down the road at Hobby Lobby!  Wilton makes a Whipped Frosting mix that is $5 per box and just takes cold water and a mixer to whip up.

Wilton's frosting

whipping it up!

This stuff is a piece of cake.  Literally!!  You add icewater and mix.  Then mix some more.  When it forms stiff peaks like meringue, you’re done.

I bought some gel color specifically for this frosting.  I thought my Wilton paste coloring may be a little stiff for this delicate stuff, so I found another brand that comes in little squeeze bottles.  MUCH easier to use!

I started of on the racetrack cake by covering the top and sides.  I outlined the shape of the “4″ on the top in yellow and added dotted lines like on the highway.

"4" outline

After that I added some green in the open areas for grass and wrote out “Happy Birthday Thomas”.  I continued filling in the grass until it looked good.  When I run to the store today I’ll grab some little racecars to put on the track for him.

Finished Racetrack

Now on to the more challenging part – the racecar.

I decided on a round cake because it has the curve like the top of a racecar.  Now I have to figure out how to turn a round cake into a 3 dimensional racecar.  Let’s get chopping!

I’ve learned something about myself in the past couple years.  If I have detailed instructions to follow, I turn out a finished product that looks copied and usually not as nice as the original.  If I have a good idea in my head that is based on someone else’s idea and some quiet space to work in, I can usually turn out something that looks mpre professional.  I also perform MUCH better under pressure.  Probably one of the reasons I keep myself so busy all the time – I actually make LESS mistakes than when I am more relaxed.  I’m sure there’s some psychological study out there that tells why I am a freak like this, but frankly I don’t care.  It works for me and now that I know what I need to keep my creative juices flowing, I just feed the beast.

So back to the racecar…let’s just say I hacked up the pretty round cake and came out with sort of a VW bug shaped racecar.  Who said it had to be a NASCAR?  Herbie raced too, right?  I colored the whole thing red and added some pinstriping to add to the whole “fast” thing and viola!  we have a racecar.

Let’s hope Thomas likes it!!

pretty round cake

hmmm...taking shape

finished racecar

February Challenge – Wine & Cheese Show

A friend of mine asked me to display and sell at an apartment complex wine & cheese show in February.  I had not been planning to do much until at least summer, but I just can’t say no!

The challenge will be to get enough product made in time for the show.  The apartment complex is a 55 and over complex with very established residents.  I took a look at the rent rates and they seem very low.  This will impact the items I make to take to the show – nothing too expensive and focus more on adults.

I am excited to come up with an inventory plan that I can execute in the next month.  I’ll keep you posted on what I decide and how my planning progresses!

 

Near-Extinct Species

The end of 2011 snuck up on me faster than I was prepared for.  In 2011 I participated in my first craft shows and really pushed to get more visibility to my Etsy store (piperbrogan designs).  I refuse to sell my work on consignment as most merchants take such a large cut and I have such a small mark-up on my work as it is.  Having people know your name (piperbrogan designs) by word of mouth and getting requests for custom work (piperbrogan designs) is what I am really striving for more instead of the commercialized over-produced, over-marketed stores out there.

I have a couple days off here at home with my family this holiday season and have been truly relishing in spending time with my kids and husband.  Then I walked past my sewing room.  That may actually be mis-stating it.  I could rephrase and say my sewing room reached out and tapped me on the shoulder.  I think it had a message for me.  Something along the line of, “Hey! Remember the color of the carpet in here?  Yeah, me either!”

I stopped and took a look inside just from the doorway.  A really long and critical look.

It’s disgusting.

I mean GROSS.

I understand many creative people have disasters for a workspace as their brains crave the unkempt, free-flowing tragedy of materials left to collect in natural piles, but I can’t stand it.  I like everything to have it’s place.  It may not be in it’s place at all times, but it needs to at least have a place to BE put away.

Before I

Before II

On my floor there is a gigantic pile of felted sweaters from a venture into cashmere and bags.  I ransacked a ARC thrift store of 100% wool and cashmere sweaters in an effort to make some “green” items for a craft show.  It was a short-lived interest as the amount of work that goes into creating such treats was more than my patience was up for.

Under my worktable there are two plastic bins full of fabric that I have not looked at in a year.  I think I actually have fabrics and patterns picked to make outfits for what WAS my first vacation to LasVegas about 4 years ago.  I am sure if I open those bins today I will not only find the patterns outdated but the fabrics are probably out of print!  Let’s not even look at the fact the patterns are more than likely no longer the right sizes for me…..I hated hitting 25 and watching my metabolism slow down almost as much as hitting 35 on my last birthday and realizing I can no longer even PRETEND to be a hip 20-something.

On top of the bins is a pile of quilt batting I got on sale to use as non-fusible interfacing for bags.  Now this I DO recommend.  If you have storage space available or a dedicated sewing room, do NOT pay full price for anything.  Unless I am in a sewing emergency, I spend a lot of time shopping without actually buying anything.  When it goes on sale or I have a coupon, I snatch it up.  Last year I saved at LEAST 40% of retail of EVERYTHING I purchased  since I never bought anything full price and often saved more than 50% on my buys.

My old sewing machine has been cast aside on the floor like an ill-fitting pair of jeans since receiving my new (yay!!) one for my birthday.  It’s amazing how quickly I was to shun the old workhorse when something new and shiny came along.  I’d say I feel bad about it, but that old Pfaff is at least 25 years old and has definately done it’s time.  I think I will look for a sewing maching retirement home for it to spend it’s golden years.

Much as the desert is  merely just another insulating layer around buried civilizations from thousands of years ago, there are probably some dinosaur bones just waiting to be discovered in my archaeological site.  Just the thought of the potential treasures hiding beneath the surface is enough to motivate me to clean up.

As I jump in full force, I realize the extent of this adventure.  This is going to take me a whole lot longer than I anticipated.  It seems I have a couple bad habits to break in 2012.  Thank goodness I am cleaning up after myself and not someone else.  Right now the only person to be upset with is me and I can’t really justify taking that out on someone else…..I start seeing a trend I promised myself years ago I would never participate in.

After just a half hour of poking around, I have unearthed fourteen unfinished projects.  This has rendered me speechless.  I can’t even talk to my husband, who has stopped by to see if I am surviving the apocalypse erupting from the room.  I hate it when someone starts something and leaves it unfinished.  It is one of my greatest pet peeves and I have become a participant in that which drives me to lunacy!  It also seems I have managed to hide the evidence under piles of fabric and in plastic bins.  In drawers and closets and look – there’s one right out in the open!

After hours – no – let’s be honest – DAYS – of organizing, folding, vacuuming, sorting, dusitng, and cleaning, I discover the culture that once existed.  Feeling much more at peace with myself I look back over the fruits of my labor.

I hauled out all the trash and random scraps of nothing that were tucked in every corner.

I staged a takeover of the closet in this room and repurposed it to hold finished products in neatly stacked and clearly labeled bins.

I moved every piece of furniture and vacuumed and dusted and vacuumed again.  Who knew cutting fabric created so much dust!!

I folded all my fabrics and sorted them according to type and purpose.  First I had them stacked by color but I found that while that was more aethestically pleasing it did not help me when I was looking for weighted fabrics for projects.  In the rooms first incarnation I stacked my fabrics by project….I have a sneaking suspicion this is what led to the unfinished pile that is now neatly laid out on my side table.  This table will be renamed my staging table – all projects will live here until complete.  If the table is full then I can’t start a new project until I finish one.  I am optimistic this will allow me the creative multi-tasking my brain wants without letting it get away from me again.

I am pleased with the results.  I am able to donate a lot of supplies to my daughter’s pre-school for their crafting uses and I feel “creatively clean”.  Now I just need to get all the projects on the red table completed before starting a bunch of new stuff!!

After I

After II

www.etsy.com/shop/piperbrogan

Cabochon rings and hairpins

A few weeks ago I ordered some adjustable rings from PickYourPlum (www.pickyourplum.com). They showed up in the mail a couple days later and I finally decided what to do with them.

I also have some resin cabochons I purchased from an overseas supplier for just a couple pennies apiece.  I decided to make some rings and bobby pins to sell in my etsy shop and at craft fairs. Little girls need pretty things too!!

I used the glue pads on both the rings and the bobby pins and applied some Loc-tite glue.  This is just a basic waterproof glue that comes in a tube like superglue, but is easier to work with.

After just a few minutes of work and some time to dry, I have brand new products!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/piperbrogan

Happy Birthday to me!

I have had a sewing maching since I was 14 years old and my parents refurbished my aunt’s and gave it to me.  From there I got another hand-me-down and then another.  Most recently I have been using a 25 year old Pfaff that has seen better days.  It has gotten more and more frustrating as

feature (the lightbulb was corroded into the socket and broke off)

after feature(the bobbin winder stopped working)

after feature(the bobbin holder tension broke)

stopped working.

I am done with this machine!!

This week my husband came home with a large box.  In it was the Brother SE400!!

NOT a hand-me-down.

NOT refurbished.

really really new!!

Brand new and all mine!  It has a LCD touchscreen and all electronic controls.  It not only threads the needle and bobbin for you, but it cuts the thread for you automatically!  The most interesting feature is you don’t have to use the footpedal if you choose not to.  Yeah – get that!  There is a start/stop button and a speed regulator you can use instead if you choose.

So I get this baby out of the box and all set up.  Wow…now what?  Don’t know how to really get it going because it is so much more high-tech than I am used to!

Ah-ha – let’s start with the manual.  I get 33 pages into it and feel I have the hang of what this thing can do.  I’m not interested in learning the embroidery features just yet – let’s worry about getting it to sew first.

I saw these really cute pillows at Pier One the last time I was there and I think that would be a great 1st project.

My pillow is going to be smaller than this one.  The original is 16″ x 16″ and mine will be 10″ x 10″.  I didn’t take any measurements while I was shopping, so I’ll be making this one from memory.  It’ll be more a test project for my machine, so I am less interested in how perfect it turns out.

I started with polyester shantung “silk” I bought some time ago to use as lining for handbags.  It turned out to be more of a pain to work with than I was looking for, so it has been sitting in a storage bin for some time.

I cut out two rectangles for the pillow and 4″ wide strips that are about 40″ long.

rectangles for pillow

Now it’s time for the first stitch.  I am going to use an overlock stitch to prevent fraying and add some visual texture to the ruffles.

Oooh!  Look at that!  This machine feeds so nicely and does such a good job!!  I don’t even have to use the foot pedal, there is a start/stop button and a speed regulator very handy next to the needle.

The green light is the start/stop

After edging all the strips I cut, I switched feet back to the regular zip zag foot and selected the basting stitch.  I run a row of stitches down the center of each strip lengthwise.

Pulling gently on the bobbin thread at the end of each strip, I gather up each strip, working the gathers down evenly.  I took each strip from 40″ to about 26″ and then cut each in half.

gathered strip

Starting 2″ from the edge of one of the rectangles, I pinned a strip across.  I stitched the first ruffle down using reinforcing stitches at the beginning and end of the ruffle.

Move down 1″ and pin on another strip.  Sew this one down.

Repeat until all the strips of ruffles are sewed to what will be the front of the pillow.

After all the ruffles are secured, I placed the back of the pillow face down on the ruffles.  Pin around to secure.

Stitch almost all the way around the pillow and turn right side out.  Stuff with batting.  Whip stitch the opening shut by hand.

By gosh and golly, I’m done.  That was an hour well spent!

Oh I'm stuffed!

Can I please reiterate how much I love this machine?  Thank you honey for the perfect birthday present!