Cupcakes!

This winter I have not been all that crafty. I've spray painted some picture frames & a table, and this week, made my dog a sweater. I might add pictures of those later. What I have to share today are cupcakes!



These are 100 Grand cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream, from one of my favorite food blogs, The Novice Chef Blog. I've made these a few times, and every time they are a huge hit. I think the key with any cupcake is to do the icing with a piping bag. A knife just doesn't make them look pretty. Most have a 100 Grand piece in the middle and some have a Kit Kat. I made these for my neighbor/friend's birthday party.




For the above cupcakes, I used the same cake recipe as the 100 Grand, but made a peanut butter filling & peanut butter buttercream frosting. The ones topped with shaved coconut have a Mounds bar piece in the middle & are covered with dark chocolate ganache. I made them for a 'Fakesgiving' dinner with some friends.

Farmhouse Bench!

I have been stalking the website, Knock-OffWood.com since I first discovered it a couple weeks ago. I love to look at the plans and see everything that I could potentially build. In my quest to build, I mentioned the site to my neighbor, Beth. She also fell in love with it and made a laundry list of projects.

For my first project, I decided to make the Farmhouse Bench. I rescued some wood from a scrap pile, so all I needed were screws & a drill. Yesterday was the first day of construction. We did some garage sale-ing in the morning & found a miter saw for $20! What a bargain! It works like a dream! We then went to Home Depot and bought some other supplies. I spent $20 on screws, wood filler, and 2 boards for a future piece. The bench probably should've been put together faster than the time I clocked on it, but it was certainly a learning experience. I did the legs last night, and the rest of it today. I would say the most difficult part was getting the side aprons attached to the legs. Also, the wood was really difficult to screw in to.... I found out it was oak! I don't think you'd have the same problem with pine. The stain is a Behr solid color. It already has the weathered look due to the boards sitting in a heap for over a year & being part of a deck. But eventually, it all came together & turned out quite nicely. I still need to touch up the stain & sand it, but here it is:




I will probably post another picture of the final bench. Also, Beth almost completed the Tryde Console Table. So far, it looks awesome! I'll post a picture of that when it's finished too!

Past Projects

This hat & neckwarmer were knit in a basket weave type stitch. I really liked how it turned out. I wouldn't mind making a larger knit item with the same stitch.


I knit this hat & scarf last fall for a birthday gift. The flowers were crocheted. It probably would've been better with a higher quality yarn, but it was pretty just the same.


The nightgown was a Christmas present. It was my first time following & cutting a pattern. In the future, I would definitely prewash & dry the fabric before making anything out of it.

Stop procrastinating...

Finish a project! I am starting this blog in my attempt to do that. The plan is to list current & wishlist projects. As they're completed, I will post a pic and a description of my work.