Ole-Talk

Pink Cheetah Strawberry Cupcakes...

 ...and why you should always follow Vernell's cardinal rule of baking!

It has been a while since I posted about my cupcakes, not because I haven't been baking but because I have not tried anything new the last few times I baked.  However, last week I made these pink cheetah strawberry flavored cupcakes as a special request for one of the students who works for Sheldon.

Here's a peek at how these came together.

I cut the circles from homemade marshmallow fondant that I tinted with pink gel food coloring, then left them to dry for a couple days before adding the pattern.

I found the idea for doing the pattern here.  I diluted some of the pink food coloring with a bit of vodka and painted the shapes with a small paint brush.  Let dry overnight.

The next day I added the black with a food safe marker using the cupcake liner as a guide.

Make strawberry cupcakes (with a true and tried recipe that you know actually works..see below for that story) and frost with strawberry butter cream.

Add the cheetah decorated circles and viola...Pink Cheetah Strawberry Cupcakes.

Now for the why you should always follow Vernell's cardinal rule of baking... NEVER try a new recipe the night before cupcakes are supposed to be delivered.  Chances are that you will end up making two batches of cupcakes.  I decided against my better judgement to try a recipe that I had never made before totally ignoring my tingling spider senses.  Needless to say 10 minutes into the baking I realized that they were not rising. WTF!! 

They tasted really good but really, no way could I give these to someone...well maybe my friends at work?!

So while my second batch of cupcakes baked I had a light bulb moment for these.  I decided to sandwich two together with some strawberry jam, add some frosting and there you have it Vernell's strawberry jam sandwich cupcakes.  Lets just say that my friends were not complaining.

Sister Sketch | On The Boardwalk

Hello again with the second month of our Sister Scrap series.  We are using another Becky Fleck sketch, this time from the March 2011 archives on Page Maps.

Source

This month I used the sketch more for the placement of the items and ignored the use of such things like pattern paper for the background.  Here's my layout!

Initially when I selected these photos the song "Under the Boardwalk" came to mind but as it all came together I decided that On the Boardwalk seemed more appropriate but I wanted to show where the original idea for the title came from.

Thanks for joining us for another month of our journey.  You can see Francine's take on this sketch on her blog here.

 

30 Days of List | Take 3

They say three times a charm so here I go again taking part in 30 Days of Lists.  My first attempt I decorated an awesome book but only managed to stick with it for a few days. Then last September I was so smug that I had my book all pre-made and had a system worked out but still only managed to make it as far as day seventeen.  This time I am keeping it simple and just writing my list in a small note book only using some washi tape to add some interest to the pages.  Here's a peek at a couple of my lists.

I am determined to make it through to the end.  Wish me luck!