Archive | April 2014

Cakin’ It!

Apr28

Wow! It has been two weeks since I have posted. This is a crazy, crazy time of the year in the life of a Texas teacher because of state mandated testing. Lately, even on the weekends, I don’t get a break  because it is ‘cake season’….

Ironically, I can go for weeks on end without having a single cake order; but for some reason, during the spring months, everyone seems to be in a celebratory mood! There are new mommas to shower, brides-to-be, weddings to celebrate, birthday parties revolving around themes, graduations, baptisms, and first communions. All of these joyful occasions must have a cake in order to make the festivities complete.

This past weekend, I was able to make a cake for a young boy’s First Communion. I was pleased with the way that it turned out. Hopefully, he was pleased with the way that it tasted because it was triple chocolate with white buttercream icing!

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A couple of weeks ago, my cake partner in crime and I made a rather unusual wedding cake. How did it go? My lips are sealed – I will just let you judge for yourself!

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Yes – those are little green army men all over the cake……like I said, “unusual”!

Have a great week and may your sweet tooth always be satisfied!

sunflower

 

 

Sweet Reflections

Apr14

Today,  I am not reflecting on how special my relationships are with my husband, children, family, and friends. As superficial as this may sound, I am reflecting on sweet treats to eat!  Actually, I am not much of a sweet tooth – I’ll take chips and dips over cakes and candies any day. I do however, love to bake cakes and decorate them. About ten years ago, my dear friend, NiCole, talked me into participating in some cake decorating classes at Hobby Lobby. I was very reluctant to go along, but when she told me that it was ‘bring a friend for free’, I was all in!  The next thing I knew, we were doing cakes for all occasions and we even had our own business cards!

Well, this past weekend was a particularly busy weekend for cake orders so I thought that I might just show off some of my personal favorites from over the years.

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Sunshine cakeMy partner in crime, NiCole, asked me to come over and help her with this adorable cake this weekend!

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How cute is this cake? This was for a bachelorette party.

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Yeah! These girls won the soccer championship for their division – and they celebrated with this huge cake!

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Sometimes it is the simple, yet elegant ones that make me just say, “ahhhh”.

R2D2 Birthday Star Wars

May the Force be With You!

With Love,

sunflower

A Lesson in German

Apr13

Happy, happy Palm Sunday! Here in Texas, spring is in full bloom and Mother Nature is really working overtime as we are expecting some severe weather – yet again.

We have this beautiful piece of dark walnut furniture from Germany that my mother-in-law gave to us. It is actually called a Kuchenschrank, or Schrank (pronounced Shrunk). It  simply means cabinet, but there is nothing simple about it. It is fairly ornate and it takes up my entire dining room wall. I won’t even repeat the words that my husband used when we were moving that thing into the house twelve years ago. We both agreed that we would never move again, just because of the inconvenience of dealing with that one piece of furniture.

It is so dark and overpowering that it really has been in need of some updating. I knew that I didn’t want  to paint it, but I have been putting a lot of thought into sprucing it up with some pops of color. Everything else around me is so springy-looking and splashed with shades of  blues and greens.

light bulb My idea – find a light, spring colored fabric to work with and use it as a canvas for my dishes and keepsakes!

 

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I found this fabric at Walmart and purchased four yards of it.

 

 

 

 

 

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This thing can also be quite a dust collector! I did feel a huge sense of accomplishment after I dusted it all and washed all of the glassware….

 

 

 

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I used quilt basting spray to adhere the fabric to the wood. That is some great stuff! It is not  permanent at all so if I get tired of the fabric or want to go back to the original wood, it is noooo problemo!

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I really like the way that it turned out. My husband usually just rolls his eyes at me when I start a new project, but that man of many words actually said, “Wow”!

 

 

 

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I even had enough fabric left over to make a couple of pillows! Whooo-hoooo!

 

With Love,

sunflower

 

 

American Made

Apr6

I am crazy, maybe even borderline obsessed,  about the Ball American Heritage Collection Canning Jars. Last year when the vintage style blue ones began showing up on the shelves at Walmart, I bought not one dozen…..or two dozen…..but three dozen of them. Actually, whenever I pop into Walmart for another purchase, I still can’t resist walking down the canning aisle to see just how many they have left. When it comes to these babies, that line between needs and wants really gets blurry for me!

 

So, imagine my reaction on  Friday afternoon when I discovered that now they have come out with VINTAGE GREEN! I will have to say that picking up that box of six quart size jars for $11.67 put a big, ole’, goofy smile across my face….even the cashier noticed it, because he called out “Happy Canning” as I walked away from the checkout! Little did he know that I have never really canned in my life; nor, do I ever have any intention to!

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When I opened my new box of goodies, I noticed the story of the Ball Mason Jars printed on the side. I was unaware that the three styles between 1913-1915 were called the “Perfect Mason”, the “Perfection” and the “Improved”. Also, shortly after World War I, the jars were discontinued. So, they really are a piece of American History. Last, but not least, these jars are made in America!

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The beautiful blue jars are the “Perfect Masons” and the gorgeous green jars are “Perfection”. I am anxious to see what tint the “Improved” will be when they are released.  After searching a bit on Google, I have a feeling that they might be amethyst or amber in color. Ironically, I discovered that there are some other nuts out there that are obsessed with these jars – go figure! There are even some YouTube Videos about the Ball Canning Jars.

 

IMG_0769I wonder what the Walmart cashier would think about my vintage green chandelier!?!?!

God Bless America and I still have that goofy smile on my face – Happy Creating!

With Love,                          

sunflower

Life’s Ladders

Apr5

Why do I rush to “get it all done”

When much of the process is most of the fun!

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I DREAM of the weekend, each day of the week.

Those two days for me, when I’m at my peak!

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But what of the multiple days in between…….

When unscheduled challenges take on the lead.

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Upon setting a goal, I know that each time

I must start at once, with the end in my mind.

“End“, for me, is a powerful word,

Yet rushing to get there is totally absurd.

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My journey through life makes me who I am!

The good times and hard times are ALL part of God’s plan.

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Have I grown to learn – or just learned to grow?

This mystery, it seems, is all part of life’s show….

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What a week its been! As a result, I have done a great deal of reflecting this morning. My husband has really found it quite humorous that I have taken to painting and decorating ladders. Not to mention, I have been using them in unconventional ways! Hmmmm, the things that I have to do to keep him laughing!

My analogy for the post today: Ladders consist of steps/rungs (as does life)! Now,  I am going to go and try to ‘enjoy’ the process of cleaning my house!

With Love,

sunflower