Bah! I need to remember that this self imposed “cook every cupcake in the Martha Stewart Cupcake book” is a marathon, not a sprint. But let me tell you, the reality that I’m knocking on the door of the teens and there 175 in this book is a little daunting.

Not because the cupcakes themselves are hard, but man, the amount of dishes that are created from one batch blows my mind. Very often you can hear me groan in the kitchen, “Must be nice Martha to have someone do all these dishes.”

This recipe called for Swiss Meringue Buttercream. A few weeks ago I finally got the hang of this multi-step frosting recipe, but I may have to go back to a basic buttercream. To me the frosting seems too delicate for the hot Arizona heat. At one point today it was 86.4 degrees in my kitchen and the frosting was very soft.

But I’m groaning too much.

These little guys were a lot of fun to make. The method was really easy too. I made a simple white cake, topped with uncolored Swiss Butter Cream and decorated with mini-marshmallows (wanna make your own marshmallows? read here). I drew the face using a toothpick and gel food coloring.

Be prepared to get close!

Your canvas isn’t that big.

Now speaking of sheep, I should get started on my Christmas knitting projects.

Martha Stewart Cupcake Challenge 10/175

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My intention when I booked marked it was to make it as instructed. But, I had a moment where I thought I could, gasp, deviate from the rules and make something inspired by Cathy’s design, but not exactly. I had this beautiful inviatation to Annie and Eric’s wedding and I thought it would make a perfect construction material.

I don’t know that I need to write out all the instructions here, because if you follow the instructions from Cathy, it’s pretty easy to adapt it. What I didn’t do was mod podge the paper, I instead sprayed it with stuff that made it shiney and I didn’t need to paint the paper since what I had was so pretty.

I then grabbed every other invitation I had and made it into a broach also. I also think this method of making paper flowers would make georgeous package toppers as well. I’m thinking about fastening them to the front of chinese take out gift boxes or plain brown paper gift bags.

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I’ve said before that I know I’m not an artist, but I really wish I was. So, the way I satiate my desire to be creative with the fact that I’m not is that I craft. I do a lot of paint by the numbers projects and I’m happy as a clam doing so. Now every now and again, I go outside of the lines, you know, put my own spin on it, but typically, I chug right along following the directions.

Last Christmas I worked on handmade gifts that included knitted scarfs, hats, and jars of instant hot chocolate mix. I loved seeing my loved ones in items I MADE! And who knows one of these days, everyone will get a pair of knitted socks (don’t hold your breath).

For Mother’s Day this year, at the eleventh hour, I found inspiration for a Spa in a Box. I found tutorials on the Craft blog to make Lemon Sugar Scrub, scented drawer fresheners and I procured a batch of homemade lavender soap from a friend.

I loved the Lemon Sugar Scrub! It was so easy to put together and I already have plans to make more.

Lemon Sugar Scrub by Katie Goodman

Ingredients:

Sugar
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Lemon zest or other citrus zest
Lemon extract (optional)

One recipe makes 2 cups, enough for a 1-pint jar, or 2 half-pint jars.
Materials:

Microplane zester
Medium-sized bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Mixing spoon
Container or jar for the finished product
Ribbon for decor

This project is great for reusing old jars that have been cleaned out (such as jam or sauce jars) or canning jars that you might have around.

Step 1: Combine 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup kosher salt, and 1 cup of olive oil in a medium-sized bowl. Stir until the oil is evenly distributed throughout the sugar and salt mixture.

Step 2: Using a microplane zester, grate the zest of 1 large lemon. Add zest to the bowl and stir to combine. If you would like a stronger scent, add 1/4 tsp lemon extract.

Step 3: Spoon the scrub mixture into a clean jar. Make sure to wipe up any spills on the outside of the jar. Tighten the lid on and decorate according to your tastes.

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What I love about small towns, is that it was familiar to have the doorbell ring once a night with someone dropping a homemade batch of something and looking forward to your favorite treat to be delivered. My mom LOVES this Cheerio nut mix Mrs. Gold makes. So much so, that its placed in a cookie jar away from all the other treats, just so it doesn’t get consumed too fast.

I love my mom’s Pralines

My doorbell doesn’t ring so much in Phoenix, but I suppose that’s okay. I still make treats for friends. This year, it’s Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix. Enjoy!

Alton Brown’s Hot Cocoa Mix
Ingredients

2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl (I used my food processor) and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

Other Homemade Gift Ideas

Assemble a “Green Kit”
Homemade Shower Cap
Homemade Gift Tags

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A few months ago, my officemate mentioned horchata cupcakes. I remembered thinking that was an amazing idea. Off and on over the past few months I’ve experimented with making homemade horchata, only to realize, I don’t really like the stuff. I don’t get it, watery rice milk with almond and cinnamon.Yuck. But, the idea of putting almond and cinnamon in a cupcake, now that’s an idea I could get behind.

A few weeks ago, I was ready to start baking and get an early El Dia de los Muertos post up, when I had a great idea. Wouldn’t it be fun to put sugar skulls on top of the cupcakes? Little did I know that the next 6 hours of my day would be spent hunting down the plastic sugar skull molds I’d need to get started. Where did I not find sugar skulls?

• Michael’s
• Target
• Wal-Mart
• Joann’s
• Lee Lee Market
• Dollar Store
• Big Lots
• Bashas
• Albertsons
• Frys
• Hobby Lobby

Where did I find them? Well, there were plenty of places online where I could find them, but wasn’t helping my Saturday morning impulse to whip up a few Mexican inspired decorations. Finally, I found the molds at Suenos Latin Imports at 7th Street and Bethany Home. Thank Heaven!

The best howtos for sugar skulls I was able to find online were:

• Mexican Sugar Skulls
• Crafty Chica
• Suenos Latin Imports offerd me free Sugar Skull support hot line too!

When making the sugar mixture most descriptions will use the description, “sugar should feel like wet sand.” I remember mixing the sugar, closing my eyes and trying to remember what wet sand felt like. It was nice sensory vacation, even if it was just for a minute.

These little guys needed to cure for 8 hours and then they’re ready for hair and make up!

And I think they dressed up quite nicely with their royal frosting decorations. This one is Carolina.

It didn’t take me long to realize that decorating all these guys was going to take quite a bit of time. But I think it was worth it. As I was working on each one, I’d give them a name, make up their history and put them aside for the next one.

I should really write a novella, trust me, there was some drama in this group!

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It’s birthday week for my family. Starting September 20 and running through October 16, we have a ton of birthdays. Most notably, the girls in my family all celebrate birthdays within a 3 week window. I love having a fall birthday, because people start to buzz this time of year getting ready for Holidays, parties and cooler weather. And the fact that we have birthdays right at the beginning of all this is awesome.

This year is the first year I’m not going home for ‘birthday weekend.’ I opted for a trip a few weeks later to catch a Homecoming Football game in Texas. It’s my little sister’s senior year in high school and Homecoming games are a big deal.

I got to tell you, I’m feeling a little blue about not ponying up the extra air fare and just going home 2x in one month. And it doesn’t help that a good friend is in Texas this weekend and Twittering about good weather, good food and Blue Bell ice cream.

But, just because I’m a little blue this weekend, doesn’t mean I’m not motivated! I’m determined to hand make more Christmas gifts this year. So far, I’ve knitted one (uno, 1, primo) sock and I have the second one to go and I’m working on a few scarfs. I’ve got big plans for this yarn! I’m working this yarn in  K rows 1&2 and YO row 3 pattern. It’s starting to look so good.

I’ve got plans to catch the Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting events over at SMOCA for a little inspiration. Perhaps dinner at The Orange Table. Thanks Wayne for the 411.

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Check out Erin at OutofCharacter.blogspot.com or her store at SockZombie.com.

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I’ve this little cupcake inspired blog going for over 18 months and people always ask me if I would consider opening a store or becoming a baker. While the idea is romantic at times, I don’t think that’s the route for me (for now).

But I have wondered how I can turn this blog fueled obsession into a business and one day, a fellow Yelper said two magic words, Cupcake Cabana! Holy Cow! That’s it! I didn’t know what I would do with it, but I did know that was the name!

Now what to do with it? For Christmas, my dad (he’s very crafty) made me a logo as a surprise. That sparked the idea…why not hand crafted, homemade cupcake accessories? For the past few weeks, we (me and dad) have been busy little bees designing cupcake swag.

We’ve got a lot in the hopper, but I can’t wait till everything is PERFECT. I’m ready to jump right in and I want you to join me.

This if from what I’m calling the Roswell Series. These are designs inspired by the bright Wal-mart sized lights recently spotted over Texas. What do you think?

If you comment on this blog post, I will put your name into a drawing to receive a set of Cupcake Notes- Roswell Series featuring the UFO, Mars and Area 51 notecards. I’ll draw names at the end of the week…around February 2, 2008.

Want to see more?

Visit my standalone eStore at CupcakeCabana.net

Visit my Etsy store at CupcakeCabana.Etsy.com

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For me Frida’s work has always been so personal. I have art books with her collections showcased in them and I don’t put any of her replicas on my walls. For me, it seems too public for art work that feels so intimate.

But, there are so many things influenced by Frida and this workshop was a perfect way to have some fun with her image and learn new stamping techniques. Denise of HandsonPaper.com ran an informative workshop and we had a lot of fun with her.

I can’t wait to send these cards out to some girlfriends.  I can’t believe I made 5 different cards for only a DOLLA (holla).

I believe there will be a few more workshops running throughout the Spring. Let me know if you’re in the Phoenix area and would like to attend. I promise to dress appropriatly. Kinda…

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With the weather cooling off a bit in Arizona (that means that it’s below 100, but still above 90), this morning I woke up with a mission! I was going to dust off my beach cruiser, ride towards downtown Chandler, grab breakfast and make a card.

I love bike lanes. Woot!

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