baking awesome cupcakes from a box

you guys might have realized from the lack of gorgeous photos and recipe posts that i'm not huge into cooking. i've never really been into it - i'm not a foodie, and i'd much rather spend the time it takes to cook something fancy to sew something fancy instead! this has changed a bit, as i've gotten older, i find a lot of pleasure in feeding the people i care about, and i'm branching out, bit by bit.


however, i do still tend to be a bit of a one-hit-wonder! i find something that i'm good at making, and i make it for every event. for years now, my thing has been cupcakes. long before they got so cool, i was making cupcakes. people raved about them, so i brought them everywhere. i always knew that they'd turn out, they were perfect for potlucks because they're individual servings, and you can make them fun with coloured icing and sprinkles and candy toppings.



the part that i always thought was funny was that they were just cake mix cupcakes! i was picky about what i used - good quality mixes, either vanilla or lemon, and a specific no-name brand of vanilla icing that is a bit less sugary sweet than most (western family, if you're local), but still. they're cupcakes from a mix! anyone can make them!


except that apparently not everyone can. i've had some really really bad cake mix cupcakes.... and i've realized a few things about why other people's cupcakes don't turn out. they're little things, but maybe they'll help you?



the first thing is, don't mix the hell out of the batter. mix it just enough to combine the ingredients. this came out of laziness on my part - i never felt like mixing for as long as the box called for! but overmixing can make a big difference in the toughness of your batter. i'm sure there's a scientific explanation in regards to how much air is incorporated into it when you over mix, but i don't know. i just know that lazy mixing has served me well!

and the other important thing is to ice them right away. if you don't have time before bedtime to let them cool and ice them, put the tray in the fridge for a little while. it'll cool them, and firm them up a little bit, so the edges won't break off into your icing. the icing keeps the cupcakes from drying out overnight, so they'll be super moist the next day. (also, the icing spreads better if it's a yeensy bit warm, so i carefully remove all the foil from the little cup and nuke it for a few seconds. it's easier to mix in the food colouring consistently too))

if you really really don't have time, cover the cupcakes with a tea towel overnight. but really, icing them the night before you need them is always better, because it gives the icing a chance to harden up a bit as well.


and that's pretty much it! easy-peasy cupcakes.



i realize that this isn't the most visually appealing post, so how about some pictures of past cupcake inspired craftiness?


made in february 2009


made in december 2009


made in december 2008


told ya i liked cupcakes!

updates, links, and gratuitous kitty photos....

whew, where has this month gone?!


i haven't managed to do any Iron Craft challenges recently, and i need to get cracking on my package for the International Kitchen Goodies Swap. i have several art pieces that i need to work on, and i've been intrigued by a dresden plate quilt along and this bottled rainbows ticker tape quilt along - i don't have time/energy to start them right now, but i want to so badly!

i've kind of been hibernating, recovering from a nasty cold, and trying to minimize fibro flares. playing around with a bit of machine embroidery, working on two aprons for the "Putting On The Ritz" apron challenge at the Sewing and Craft Show that i posted about awhile ago, making some scarves. i finished up a few baby quilts, we had a quilt guild meeting, where we announced the super exciting kona challenge!!!, and we had a guild sew-in day, where i started on a new baby quilt with linens - so many babies recently!

sofie's been helping me with the baby quilt -








and i made cupcakes for a friend's birthday - less exciting vegan ones that were okay - not bad, but not exactly GOOD either, and yummy fancy non-vegan ones that reminded me of my little pony, with the pink icing and pastely stars.






but mostly i've been working on my two aprons, both of which required actual handsewing (i know, i embroider and cross stitch, etc, but i still hate handsewing!). tomorrow i'll go drop them off, and then friday and saturday i'll enjoy the show itself - complete with a meeting some of the Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild members!

random weekend update...

whew! this weekend honestly felt like the busiest weekend of the summer. there were 6 different things i need to be at/wanted to be at today - i made it to 2, and that was a lot for me. i picked up my pieces from the art show, then went to a fat panic meet up, and was drained of energy by the time we left the coffee shop. it's way hotter here than it normally is, and humid with it, and we're so not used to it. the humid part is what sucks - i painted furniture last week and it took days to dry because of it. (i need to do another coat, and i'm dreading it!)


i made cupcakes, but they didn't like the heat either....

they were for the 3rd event/meetup that i was going to go to, and they didn't survive sitting in the car during the 2nd event of the day. since i didn't end up having the energy to go to the 3rd thing anyway, it wasn't a huge loss. but they're definitely sad little cupcakes!

instead of going to the 3rd event, i gave a friend a ride, and had a little chat that was super awesome and just what i needed, and then i came home and crashed soooo hard, i don't think i even moved the whole time i was sleeping!


i'm just feeling very very drained and fragile these days. achier than usual, and kinda dizzy, and easily agitated.


but there are happy things going on too!


like the beautiful glads i picked up the other day

some amazing connections that i made this weekend that made me really happy

my cat has finally gotten over her fear of the large fan i bought (it's hot, and i need it, but i felt so guilty that she wouldn't leave the bedroom when it was on!)

i made yummy peanut butter marshmallow squares that kinda melted, but were saved by the refrigerator!

i've still plugging away at writing for a perzine, i might actually manage to get it finished before the PDX zine symposium... we'll see!


and i FINALLY finished two baby quilts that i've been working on, and i'm so so enamoured with how the machine quilting looks and feels with the fabrics and batting that i can't stop admiring them!







and i still haven't posted about the last exciting thing that i mentioned earlier, or about the second piece that i had in the art show!

machine embroidered xmas decorations and a yarny wreath

first, free standing lace icicles.

i made about six million of these, it felt like! there was another design that i was doing as well, so 4 in total, but after the first few batches, i stuck with the two on the left because they were my favourite. i put one in each of the xmas cards i sent.


all of the icicles i stitched were white, but i decided to toss these ones into the dyepot while i was dying bottle brush trees, and they turned out great! i wanted to make pink icicles for a friend, but i didn't really want to have to switch out threads and wind a pink bobbin and all.

for the same friend, i wanted to make a cupcake ornament. emblibrary.com had a set of xmas themed cupcakes, and i knew one of them would be perfect. i switched out the colours a bit, and stitched it onto bright pink felt.


i also made a few baby's first christmas ornaments for friends that had babies in 2009, though i totally didn't have the energy for the ridiculous sets i made last year!


if you're looking closely, you'll see that i removed the word "baby" from this year's set. i stitched out a few test ones, and really disliked how the words looked, the font was too small, and the letters weren't very clear. i decided to use a larger font, which meant that i didn't have as much space. as a bonus though, that means the ornaments can be used for things like a first christmas together, or first christmas in a new house, all depending on what picture you put in them!


i also changed the stitch density a bit, especially for the satin stitched ornament "hanger", and i think it looks a lot better. and i slipped the ends of the ribbon hanger in when i sewed the back on, so i didn't have to worry about the grommet and ribbon like on last years,

stitching them out, i started thinking about in the hoop projects, and i think i'm going to try redesigning them again next year.


and then more freestanding lace!
i made this set of snowflakes for someone who's helped me out a lot in the past few years. we have totally different styles, but i knew she'd like these.




while my machine was stitching away independently, i made this wreath for the awesome batgirl (aka lori).

i knew she really liked wreaths with yarn, because i've seen her admire them in the past!

i wanted to make a wreath that was less "christmas" and more just "winter". i had a bunch of yarn scraps in shades of blue, so i pulled out all of the ones that were kind of icy in tone. i started wrapping yarn around styrofoam balls, so that they'd look like yarn balls but use less yarn to make (and be lighter), and then wrapped some natural coloured white/cream wool around a styrofoam wreath.

it needed some flash, so i found a silver pear pick at micheals that was kind of a pewter tone, less cheap silver. i wanted to pull that into the wreath itself a bit more, so i added some silver thread that has sequins wound into it every foot or so, and then i spraypainted the entire thing with a "metallic finish" spray, just adding a bit of a glint from certain angles.

this is it with a flash, still in my spraypainting box.


and the more accurate colours, hanging on my door.



i like it. i wound a bunch of styrofoam balls, and bought a pick, all in shades of blue and teal for a wreath for myself, but unsurprisingly, i didn't get it finished. maybe next year, now that it's half done!

valentiney goodness!!

have you noticed that i like the word "goodness"? i love it! it drives my mom nuts when i invent my own words (she's a writer/copywriter/editor, so she's big into words!), but i've always done it. i like adding "ness" onto the end of words especially.

anyway, you're wondering as i babble, what is this valentiney goodness of which you are speaking???

swap stuff!

i LOOOVE valentines day! it's right up there with christmas for me in terms of crafting, and almost as close as halloween. i hate all the overpriced grossness of it, you know, roses that cost 3 times as much as they will on feb 21st, chocolates, impersonal purchased consumerism, all that, but i love the basic concept of showing love! i love the pink and red frilliness, and vintage valentines, and hearts are always good, whether they're broken, winged, anatomical, sacred, or just plain old hearts.

so i signed up for a couple of valentine swaps on craftster.org, and organized one as well! i joined the classroom card exchange, and my cards have been received, so i'll post those soon. i organized the love/hate atc swap, and those cards are currently winging their way towards my partners (that's another thing i love about valentines day - the imagery and idea of love letters!)

and i also joined the valentine's day tea towel swap! i'd never done one of the tea towel swaps, but i've been really getting into embroidery more and more, so i was super excited about it!

finding the flour sack towel itself was a challenge! though they're apparently really common in the US, they were much harder to find in canada. in the end i think i tried 8 or 9 different stores! ikea, no, walmart, no, superstore, no, dollar stores, no, etc, etc! i found a set at zellers, which is what i ended up using, but i wasn't really happy with them. they were cut off grain, so after i preshrunk them they were all wonky, i had to trim them all and rehem them, and then the quality of the cotton wasn't as good as i would have liked. i mostly embroider on kona, so i've been spoiled by quality fibers and tight weaves! i did eventually find a (cheaper) set at canadian tire, though not until after i'd already started the towel. the new set seems much better, we'll see!

my towel turned out fabulously even with the tribulations, and i loved the end result!

my partner loves cupcakes and cute stuff, but not so much the precious memories type of cute so much as kawaii cute, which i definitely agree with! she also had several matryoshka things on her wists, which are a favourite image/subject of mine, so she was really fun to craft for!

the tea towel! i had a lot of fun trying new stitches for two of the cupcakes, i wanted them each to have a different stitch for the frosting and the heart, to add to the loveable quirkiness of the design!

the cupcakes are based on a stamp made by Studio G and the writing is a font downloaded from dafont.com called DJ Candy Hearts.


the base is backstitch (j&p 4300), the frosting is scroll stitch (anchor 89), and the heart is overcast stitch and french knots (dmc 815).


the base is backstitch (dmc 915), the frosting is pekinese stitch/chinese stitch/blind stitch/forbidden stitch (dmc 553), and the heart is fishbone stitch (dmc 498).


the base is backstitch (anchor 112), the frosting is stem stitch (dmc 3607), and the heart is chain stitch (dmc 815).



the hearts are back stitch, and the writing is stem stitch and french knots.

the matryoshka pouch! i LOOVE this!

pale pink upholstery weight vinyl with a glitter vinyl appliqued matryoshka and hearts. her face is stamped in stazOn in using hand carved stamps.

it has a pink vintage deadstock zipper and a handle with a snap so that it can be hung from the strap of a larger bag (easy access to essentials!), or hung from a towel rack if used as a toiletries bag.







i also entered the pouch in the craftzine valentine's day project contest, because honestly, how can you resist the glittery cuteness? ;)


the heart pendant

this was just for fun, i tossed it in at the last minute. i've been playing around with UTEE lately, and i'm seriously loving it! after the UTEE was slightly cooled, i stamped it with the cupcake stamp and pigment ink, then heated it a bit more that the image would melt into it. i made a few other pieces at the same time, i'll post them soon, with more info.

and all the extra goodies i sent as well!

valentine kinder surprise eggs, variously chocolate hearts, including a lindt (mmmm), a cupcake vday card, and an envelope made out of cupcake scrapbook paper sewn together, filled with cinnamon hearts, valentine's smarties (y'all don't have them in the US), and valentine jelly bellys.

it's been a while since i've sent a swap package that's multiple kinds of crafts, so it was fun. i wish i could've wrapped it up all sweetly, but i had to take it through the border to mail it USPS (so much cheaper!), so it couldn't be wrapped up.

party!!! and an awesome handmade book.

on sunday i went to a party! it was a "point 5" party for my best friend's baby, and for the other 6 month old babies that he's "friends" with. there were lots of babies and kids there! because she was in school pretty much right up until he was born, there wasn't time to have a baby shower. sunday's party was kind of to make up for
that fact. i'm sad that i didn't get to do all the super cool shower stuff that i had planned, but i just wasn't up to it right now. stupid fibro!



first, the guest of honour! he's getting SO BIG!!! aww!



he liked the streamers when we were taking them down!

wearing his favourite hat!!


we had it at the amenities room in my friend's building, which was really nice. it's a big room with a kitchen and a bathroom in it, so the actual "party" area was L-shaped, which was perfect for a kinda quieter area for babies sleeping, changing diapers, etc, and it opened out into the giant courtyard that had two playground structures in it, so it was great for the outside activities and the kids. we were going to do it outside in the park across the street, but it was raining off and on and was wet and cold, and then it turned out they were filming a movie there today anyway, so it was actually good that we'd decided to move it inside!

we had a TON of food, so many people brought food. i made cupcakes, vanilla and chocolate, and bought humus and a veggie platter at costco that morning. d made rice crispie cake and bought a bunch of chips and cut up fruit and stuff. and we made punch, in a plastic halloween candy bowl with spiders along the sides!




(i'm SO peeved that my icing melted overnight! these are the best looking cupcakes, i left the ones where the icing slid off entirely to eat towards the end! i like my little flags i made though. and i LOVE the colours of the icing, that turned out well.)

i don't actually know how many people came.... i was going going going ALL DAY, and i never stopped to count! i'd say there was at least 20 people at any given time, though some people came late and some left early. there were about 4 babies, and 4 or 5 little kids, and then a whole bunch of 20somethings. and the dad's parent's came, which was awesome.

the mom wanted it to be more of a "family" party, so we planned fun kid activities. she made play dough with my mom's recipe, we had a colouring table, i made bean bags and d made a bean bag "toss" out of a cardboard box, i made up bubble solution and bubble wands, a pinata and an awesome performer. i brought my face paints too, but never had a chance to pull them out.

the play dough was a huge hit, though mostly with the grown ups!


the colouring was the same, again, mostly grown ups! i was so glad i'd grabbed a colouring book at the dollar store when i ran in to get name tags that morning, because people loved it.

the bubbles were a failure, because it was too windy - the wind broke them before we could blow them! it was damn cold outside too! but maybe another time.

the toddlers LOVED the bean bag toss, it was being used all afternoon, so that was awesome. i made the bean bags the night before out of cheap fabric and filled them with plastic beads, because i had a bunch and didn't want to buy some other kind of filling.


we didn't do a whole lot with decorating, but that was okay. since it was a point 5 party, we didn't do the gothy shower like we planned, just a few gothy touches. we just did streamers, the banner and coloured tablecloths.


i bought all the letters to make the banner. i got all the way home from the party supply place, and my I wasn't in the bag! so i made another one out of black cardstock... it wasn't shiny like the others, but it wasn't too noticeable.


it was a really really good day. exhausting though!! that was the first time i'd been into the city in months!

the only "shower" thing we really did was my "lessons to learn" book, and it turned out really nice. people really liked the idea, and lots of them filled out pages. i was running too late that morning to take pics of it, and it was still drying the night before, so i took one action shot, and then the rest of the pics were taken yesterday when d and torrin came to visit me.

action shot!!


front

the cover. the base is matboard, i made it in two separate pieces, with a strip of fabric joining them, so that it would bend back nicely, then covered it with the cool paper. the picture is one his mom took, the writing is stamps from martha stewart last halloween, and the heart is is a rhona farrel stamp, i believe.

the back.

fairly plain, just black cardstock covering a base the same as the front. the book is held together with book screws, so that pages can be removed and replaced.


the pages were a mix of red and white cardstock


inside the front cover.

some of the pages. i blurred out most of the writing, the only ones i didn't were my moms and mine, because i have permission to post them! i printed up a template in word using dashed lines and a fairly large font size to allow for two pages per sheet of paper. after i'd printed them out, i cut them in half, hole punched them all, and then stamped them all with black staZon ink.





i was SOOOOO happy with it! it turned out awesome, and the mom and dad really loved it.