Poppies In the Rain

What to do on a rainy day?

How about some pinning? :)



Red Poppy is well on it's way but pinning the sandwich is always such a tedious step - especially when doing more defined applique since you want to make sure that the quilt sandwich is COMPLETELY smoothed out and it stays that way.

When all the pinning is complete - roll it up and hopefully I'll get around to quilting it very soon...

Week 7 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas - Cupcakes

I love cupcakes. Big, small, chocolate, vanilla and everything in between - YUMMM. My favorite cupcake at the moment? Coconut. If you love coconut then this is your cupcake to try...and if you don't like coconut, it make turn you!

The recipe I usually make is the Martha Stewart's Coconut Cupcake with a basic Vanilla/Butter/Confection Sugar/Milk frosting (not the one listed in the recipe).

I decorated this season's coconut cupcake with some Christmas sprinkles and the ol' stand by of toasted coconut.


The recipe is pretty straight forward, though it does take quite a lot of time to put all the elements together. Here's some pictures along the way :)

Lining the cupcake pans - regular size and mini size - kids LOVE the minis. Remember to bake the minis on a lower temp (~320F) for a shorter amount of time (~15 mins).


Gather up your ingredients and have the recipe printed out and readily available. I love printouts so I don't feel bad about getting it dirty - 'cause you could always reprint :).


MUST have a stand mixer for this recipe or your hands are going to be SORE!


Straight out of the oven. Even without frosting, these cupcakes are DELICIOUS! But you must have frosting, do wait until these cool completely.


Frost, decorate and ENJOY :)!

Week 6 of the 12 Weeks of Christmas - Snowflakes

Snowflake - a beautiful symbol of the holiday season.

Each year I like to make snowflakes - out of paper, felt, fabric, cardboard or whatever medium I could find. This year I found some pre-cut snowflakes that I just couldn't resist.



They were a couple of dollars @ Michaels - and super affordable after using their 40% coupon :). And with some work and fun they turn into quite beautiful snowflakes to hang...anywhere.



Here's a quick tutorial:

1. Gather materials: pre-cut snowflakes, glue, water, cup, paintbrush, string, glitter, bells, ribbon
   
   
2. In a cup, pour about 2 tablespoon of water into cup and add about equals parts of water
   
   
3. Put a few snowflakes on a string- spaced out a little
   
   
4. Paint thin layer of glue mixture onto both sides of each snowflake
5. Sprinkle on glitter on snowflakes
   
   
6. Hang up snowflakes to dry completely
7. Decorate with bells and ribbon 
   
   

Hang these from the ceiling, on doorways, windows, Christmas trees or anywhere you like. Happy Decorating :)

Fabric Love #1

For some fun projects for kids coming up, I decided to make a special purchase at Fabricworm.

Fabric love indeed :).

Kokka Japan Air Travel, Kokka Trefle - Little Red Riding Hood and Kokka Trefle-Little Miss

I guess I am still thinking of spring ... Did I mention I hate cold winter??


SEI Playday Autumn Trees (well at least it doesn't look like a cold autumn in this fabric :P), Joel Dewberry Dogwood-Bloom, Joel Dewberry Flower, Suling Wang Lovely Orchard

...and some 'just because I love it' fabrics :)


Barbara Jones Summertime Pin Dots Steel, Monaluna Metro Cafe Cuppa Joe

Thanks again Fabricworm for a lovely shopping experience!