Morning Glory Broach

Hello hello!
I'm making this short and sweet because I'm starving and it's getting really late here....
So would you believe me if I told you I have never made a pin/broach before? Today was my first attempt at making something much larger than a pin topper! Kind of silly for me to be this excited...but anyway I really like how she turned out : )

I love WIP in progress pics because I think messy studios mean actual creativity is being exercised!

I tried painting this flower about 10 different ways and then finally decided I needed dark purple around the edges. Here in the desert with all the wind this is what my morning glories look like after a good beating! The wind was really whipping that day!

I have this adorable tweed coat I got at Target last Fall and never wore it! Why? Because it was never cold enough : (  I'm looking forward to wearing it this Fall instead : )

Easy Lemon Bundt Cake

Here's another super duper easy recipe for lemon bundt cake. I made up this recipe and have never had any complaints : )

For those who like to cheat a little when baking this is a great fast cake to make! This is what you'll need:

Hands On Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time 45 mins - 1 hr.
Servings 12-14

Description: The Bomb!

Ingredients for Cake:
1 package yellow Cake Mix (Duncan Hines is always my favorite)
1 (3 3/4 oz) package Jello-O Vanilla Pudding
4 eggs
1/2 c. cold water
1/2 c. canola oil or any other cooking oil
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice and the zest of all the lemons you use (usually about 2-3 lemons total)

Glaze:
1 stick of butter
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
1/4- 1/2 c fresh squeezed lemon juice (some people like very tart - some like less tart - it doesn't really matter in this recipe if you use less or more - it's totally up to you!

Preheat oven: 325 degrees
Grease a bundt pan with your favorite spray - I love Baker's Joy
Mix all cake ingredients together - if you don't want to bust out your Kitchen Aid mixer you can whisk by hand about 2 minutes - a good arm workout!

Pour batter into pan and pop in the hot oven.
Bake 45 mins. to 1 hr. depending on your oven. I find at 45 mins. my cake tester comes out perfect but since you are baking at a lower temperature yours could take a wee bit longer.

After your cake is done, cool on a wire rack in the pan for about an hour. Invert into a nice deep pie dish - hopefully you have a little space around the edge (not much but just a little).

While your cake is baking is a good time to cook up your glaze.
Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in the sugar AND then the water last (be careful it doesn't splatter on you. Pouring water into hot fat can hurt : ( Just go slow........Bring to a boil and keep it boiling for 5 minutes. It will be nice and bubbly. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and LET COOL for about 10-15 minutes. Then add your fresh lemon juice. Make sure to not add the lemon juice right after you take it off the stove because you'll burn off all the yummy lemon oil. I like to take my cake tester and poke a lot of holes into the bundt (go all the way to the bottom). The more holes the better! Baste your cake with the the lemon glaze. I like to pour a little pool into the center of the bundt and then keep basting all over the sides and top until it's absorbed. There have been many times when I baste over a couple of hours instead of all at once. That way the glaze has time to really soak in : )

This cake tastes delicious by itself or with fresh cut strawberries mixed with a little sugar : ) And of course fresh whipped cream is always wonderful too!

morning glory vine from my garden looks stunning against the yellow don't you think?


 

Pinks Squirrels & Chocolate Rabbits

So everyone I know who lives here in Tucson is talking about our weird weather! It rained and it was freezing yesterday but get this........it's suppose to be a whopping 98 degrees on Wednesday! So I just had to tell you that because it brings me to what I want to show all of you:

 Make sure to click on the pic above so you can see the details a much better : )Since it was stormy out yesterday I was able to work freely on some new designs and this is what I came up with! I love the pink fabric with the white squirrel silhouette....the fabric also has birdies and deer too so I'm looking forward to designing some other woodland critter sets very soon. I only have one more white eggcup left exactly as shown in the picture. : ( Isn't that how it always goes? You find something you love and then they decide to discontinue it!!! Well anyway, I love the style of eggcup as it is very old fashioned with the pretty ridges. I decided to jazz up the bottom too with a trio of millinery flowers in pink, yellow and white and then hand painted the stamens red to tie it all together ~ and last but not least I hand dyed the chenille trim a pale yellow to match!
Oh I guess I should mention that the little bug is indeed in fact a butterfly. I hand painted her little face and gave her somewhat googly eyes for fun! Her body is white and has pink polka dots and she has 4 wings which you are unable to see from the picture. Her antenna are unbreakable as are the stamen in the flower too so there's no need to worry about that, which back in the olden days when I first started working with clay was always upset when I broke a critters antenna : (

My next set I was able to finish has been dubbed Cafe du Pinks & Needles! The fabric is imported from Japan and sports so many different scenes of Blythe doing what she does best....shopping, baking, dancing etc! I don't know about you but as soon as I purchase fabric, my first impulse is to NOT cut into it...I always get a little sad when I cut a circle or a square out of a cute fat quarter! It just isn't right! But then after I take a picture and study it for a while I break down and hack away! I am really hoping to be able to create lots of different pin topper sets from the inspiration of this particular fabric ~ it's probably one of my most favorite kawaii fabric I've ever seen! So keep checking in to see what I come up with next.

P.S. The chocolate rabbit comes to life at night time I want you all to know ~ he's the one in charge of all the baking and strawberry dipping : )

A Week of Rain in the Desert!

I know this has nothing to do about pin toppers but if you'd like to see what I've been up to this past week please follow this link to another one of my blogs:
California Girl at Heart!
Have a lovely weekend!

Inspiration for Pin Toppers Debuting on May 25th - Refreshing!

Refreshing by Gigi Minor on Polyvore.com

I just finished making the pins for this next debut! I hope everyone likes them!