Literary Hair Pins!

Something new! Pretty little bobby pins made with itty bitty bits of text from classic and not so classic literature. Great one-of-a-kind gifts for bookish types. I started listing just a few pairs in my etsy shop and there will be many more coming soon!

I'm looking for suggestions on classic books that would make fun bobby pins. Something that you would recognize from just a tiny scrap of text or one word. If you have any suggestions, please do share!

xo

andrea

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?

Iron Cupcake Madison: Marshmallow!

My sister-in-law and I baked for Sunday's Iron Cupcake challenge at the High Noon Saloon. The theme was marshmallow and we chose the mallo cup (one of my favorite treats!) as inspiration.

I was happy with our yummy creation. It's a chocolate cupcake with homemade marshmallow creme filling and topped with toasted coconut chocolate ganache. Total chocolate overload!

My camera was on the fritz so the above shot is by Jenny Sligh, one of the other bakers at the event who also happens to be a talented photographer. Thanks Jenny!

I have really been enjoying baking lately and just might take on the next iron cupcake challenge as well. The theme is so unique: children's books! Chad is actually considering being a part of this challenge as well. Although he is not interested in baking like I am, he is interested in the creative possibilities of this theme. We are currently thinking about using Coraline or The Wolves in the Walls, both favorites by Neil Gaiman, as inspiration. Luckily the next Challenge isn't until June so we have some time to think about it and lots of time to practice!

bracelet making & cupcake baking

I made these bracelets the at The Glitter Workshop's crafts & cupcakes night. The French text one is for me and the fairy bracelet is a gift for my 4 year old. I like how they turned out and had such a nice time making them. Glitter is planning to have more drop in craft & cupcake nights so you will have a chance to make your own if you're interested.  

I also provided the goodies at the event. Vegan cookies & cream cupcakes and Strawberry Pop Rocks cupcakes. I was happy with both but especially liked how the vegan cupcakes turned out. 

I am taking it easy this weekend. I had an unexpected physical wake-up call last night that resulted in me spending a very, very quiet day at home doing nothing today. After one day of nothing I am already tired of doing nothing. But I am going to keep it up for the weekend and get some real, much needed rest so I can get back to the grind on Monday. 

Have a fantastic weekend!

xo

andrea

Strawberry Pop Rocks Cupcakes

It's been a lazy Sunday filled with cupcake baking, catching up on housework and games and movies with the kiddos.

I have been wanting to try a Pop Rocks cupcake and finally made it happen today. The cupcake is made with strawberry soda pop and the frosting is a buttercream with more strawberry soda for flavor and color. I topped it with a sprinkling of Pop Rocks candy. I didn't take the time to fancy frost these but I think they still look pretty yummy (and turned out tasting pretty delish as well!) I love the literal pop of flavor. It's so fun!

Collaborative art wall project: a call to artists!

The recently opened Glitter Workshop, a lovely crafty shop on the west side of Madison, has a great big room that has a whole lot of wall space to fill. The room is set apart from the retail space and is used for craft and art workshops and classes, trunk shows where artists show and sell their work monthly, and craft parties.

After talking to owner Naomi about creative ideas to fill this space, we have decided that it would be so much fun to showcase YOUR creative work! Are you ready for the challenge? The idea is a collaborative art wall which will feature mediums of all kinds - from drawing, painting and photography to quilting, collage, and screen-printing and everything inbetween. Get creative: the sky's the limit! Anyone is welcome to contribute one or two submissions which will be hung on the wall with love and enjoyed by people in the Madison community during Glitter Workshop's monthly trunk shows, workshops, classes and other events.

If you're interested in contributing, please send your work in an approximately 4" x 6" format (please try to stick to something close to this size, it will make it much easier for us to hang your work and make it jive with everything else) and please keep your work family friendly as there will be children visiting this space.

We hope you will participate! If you know anyone who might like to contribute, please pass this info on to them! We're excited to see what everyone creates and can't wait to see how it all comes together! I plan to post updates here as submissions come in so we can keep track of the progress and see the wall fill up!

Submissions can be mailed to or dropped off at: 6138 Mineral Point Rd., Madison, WI, 53705

For more information about the Glitter Workshop, visit online HERE. 

For questions about the project, feel free to comment here or contact me via e-mail at space.odditiesmail@gmail.com 

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