Red Velvet

Red velvet sounds as dreamy as it does delicious, doesn't it?

I decided to give red velvet cupcakes a try today. Would you believe me if I told you the recipe I decided on was on the back of the red food coloring I bought at Target? I had already found a couple of recipe possibilities but this one just seemed like it was the one.

I have never made them before and I have to say that they turned out just as red and lovely and yummy as I had hoped. It's really a pretty cupcake!

 And even prettier (and tastier!) with cream cheese frosting. The kids each ate one right away...after destroying it with sprinkles, that is. Here is Jette posing with me before the sprinkle attack.

Here is the recipe as found on the back of my Market Pantry red food coloring. I am really happy with it. The cake turned out very moist and flavorful!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350F.  Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in sour cream, milk, food coloring and vanilla. Beat in flour, cocoa and soda on low speed just until blended. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with your favorite cream cheese frosting..

And here is my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe from my no frills Betty Crocker cookbook!

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp milk

4 cups confectioners sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla and milk until blended and fluffy. Add sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth and spreadable. ***I usually use closer to 3 or 3-1/2 cups of sugar because I am not into super sweet frostings!

Enjoy!

I opened this giant bottle of vanilla last week. I had another large bottle that I thought would last forever but have been baking so much lately that it's going fast. I opened the bottle on March 12 and I am going to keep track and see how long it lasts this time! Once this one is gone I will be all out of my fancy, yummy vanilla from Mexico. Maybe when this runs out it'll be time for a vacation?

deliciousness

I baked cupcakes for a little soiree at The Glitter Workshop last night. 

Chocolate with raspberry buttercream and a fresh raspberry. 

Coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut. 

I have really been enjoying baking lately! I feel a little bit like baking is my new crafting to a certain extent these days. At the beginning of the year I made a couple of goals. I want to bake more and write more. The baking I have done in just the past month alone has been such a huge learning experience and step forward for me. I signed up with my sister-in-law to bake at the upcoming Iron Cupcake Madison event coming up in March. The theme is marshmallow and we have a super fun and delish cupcake we can't wait to share with Madison cupcake lovers! 

I spent the morning at the Iron Cupcake Milwaukee event and was definitely inspired by some of the creativity and deliciousness there. It was a delightful event. Apparently attendance was over 2000 and they had to turn people away! Who knew cupcakes could draw such a big crowd!

I was also inspired by the time I spent at the Glitter Workshop this weekend. If you haven't been there yet, make time to go soon! The store is overflowing with beautiful handmade things and now there is even an entire vintage boutique with amazing hand picked items. Love!

Speaking of love, have a killer Valentine's day with the people you love, okay?

Enjoy your week and do something awesome!

xo

andrea

sweater weather

I think October is my favorite month of the year. I love the sweater weather and leaves crunching under my feet. It's been a beautiful weekend and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season! We have decided to wrap it up at the farmers' market for the year and plan to enjoy some family Saturdays this fall before the busy holiday show season starts.

Last weekend my little man turned six. I can't believe my kiddos are 4 and 6 already. We had an outdoor movie party for him complete with box cars, popcorn, and blankets and warm drinks to keep us cozy on a brisk September night. It was a really nice time. I made these "popcorn" cupcakes for the occasion.

Speaking of cupcakes, the first Iron Cupcake Madison event was on Friday night. I was super excited for this event but ended up coming a little too late to taste/vote. Boo! Next time I will know to show up early. It looks like such a fun event and I'm sure it'll only be more awesome next time!

I'm off to start some black bean soup in the slow cooker and make some corn bread muffins with the little ones. Enjoy your week!

Cupcakes & Crafts!

Discover unique handmade items made locally.

Meet the artists.

Treat yourself to something sweet!















Check out our next event at Daisy Cupcakery in Madison on Sunday March 14, 4pm - 8pm.

Here are some of the artists who will be showing their work:
Storyline Design
Glitter Workshop
Prettifications
Whimsy House
The Painted Daisy
Little Dandelion Studio
Space Oddities
The Apple
Helen Mary Beck
Bare Tree Apparel
Haley Studio
Bernie's Girl
Odd Stuff by Xanthe
Daisy Petal Designs

Click here for more info and to RSVP to the event on facebook.

Hope to see you there!

Cupcakes!

Yesterday I featured some gift ideas for men. Today I thought I would show you something we have to offer in our etsy shop that's a little more girly. Cupcakes! Y U M. Here are a few things we think you might like! Great gifts for the baking enthusiast, girly girl or maybe just for yourself!





1. The Cupcake Mirror Includes organza carrying bag. $7

2. Cherry Vanilla Cupcake T-Shirt printed on Organic Alternative Apparel. $21

3. The Cupcake Tote includes 3 removable "cherry" buttons! $15

If you're in the U.S. there is still time to order in time for Christmas. We're upgrading to priority mail on all orders over $15 through 12/21! And if you're in the Madison, Wisconsin area we are happy to meet you right up until 12/24 locally to pick up orders. Happy Holidays!

awesome people, places and things

Back from a family mini-vacation in the twin cities!

I have to say that I love Minneapolis/Saint Paul more every time we visit. There are so many fantastic people, so many awesome shops and restaurants, and lots and lots of great things to keep the kids busy.

We had lots of fantastic meals in Mpls but my favorite requires me to admit that I allowed my kids to eat cupcakes for breakfast. Yes. It's true. We had bananas and coffee before the cupcakes but the cupcakes were the main course. We started our Saturday at Mitrebox, a lovely framing shop with an amazing card selection, for CUPCAKE SATURDAY which features amazing fresh baked cupcakes by the lovely Sheela of miel y leche. The four of us walked through the pouring rain to get our cupcakes and it was absolutely worth it. We tried all three flavors that were offered -- vegan peach with mint, buttercream
limoncello, and chocolate curry with lemongrass coconut buttercream. All three were divine but my favorite was the chocolate curry. The flavor combination was perfect and the frosting was to die for. If you're in the Minneapolis check out miel y leche! Quick!

We also made visits to lots of our favorite shops and went to a few new ones. After many stops we managed to find the perfect cherry pitter, lots of great used books, new bed sheets, and an amazing print by Adam Turman among other goodies.

Our last shopping stop before we started to wind down to leave town was i like you in Minneapolis. It's an lovely handmade boutique that has the feel of a playground (including astroturf and oversized swing!) and is filled with gorgeous handmade pretties. Such an inspiring shop! I'm excited to say that select Space Oddities gocco prints are now available at i like you and you'll be able to find more of our goodies there in the future.

Other highlights of the weekend include rock out session with our friends Kelly and Greg (can you believe that Lars was rocking out until one in the morning? he even sang blitzkrieg bop!), a fun trip to the aquarium in the mall of America, and a great hangout brunch with Sheela.

Well, I'm off to make MORE cupcakes! This time for the birthday girl, Jette, who is turning 3 tomorrow. I have half a package of mint oreos leftover so I am going to try to whip up something acceptable. I'll report back to let you know how that goes.

xo
andrea

dark side

star wars pin set - dark side
Originally uploaded by space oddities

I am feeling my dark and brooding winter blues coming on already and I'm trying like hell to fight it. I had a long talk with my BFF jessi today and sometimes just talking to someone and reallllly venting makes a big big difference. I actually feel better having spilled all of my random frustrations to her. Thank goodness for good friends.

Luckily I've been too busy with etsy orders and preparing for upcoming shows to get myself in too much of a funk. Tonight I packaged a few orders and got my packing supplies organized in preparation for the (hopefully) busy upcoming holiday season. I really need to get printing this week so I have a decent amount of inventory for the shows coming up. I made Chad promise me that he'll help me print and heat set tomorrow. We have a show next weekend already, gaaah!

Oh! My cupcake tote was featured on cuteable today. Yay!

Okay that's all I've got.

a whole lot of cupcakes.

Last night I decided to use up my brown gocco ink to print a few random blank onesies I had in my bin of supplies. I printed the 3 onesies and still had some ink so I decided to print on one of my favorite shirts. And then on the pocket of a sweatshirt...and then I started digging through my laundry to find more things to print cupcakes on. Luckily I ran out of ink, or I'm afraid that pretty much all of my wardrobe would have been adorned with chocolate brown cupcakes. Once I start printing it's hard to stop. I'll often dig through the kids' dresser drawers to find anything blank that I can print for them. Am I the only one who does this? Ha! I start thinking...would my son like a cupcake shirt? Could I use cupcake dish towels? Eventually I either run out of material or out of ink, thank goodness.

It's too early and I am already feeling like it's going to be "one of those days."

Blah.