Pumpkin Pecan Butter Cake

I finally made by beloved Pecan Pumpkin Butter cake and it turned out so well! The recipe can be found here but you'd better hurry because it is seasonal and Williams Sonoma doesn't carry it after Thanksgiving.  Enjoy!!

I was very proud of myself for getting everything just right!

I decided to bake mine in a glass 8x8 pan for 55 minutes instead of a long pan

How can you resist that face?!

The directions but tweaked for my change in pan idea



Finished product and it was a hit!

Happy Fall Baking!



Needle Felting

Well, I have found yet another fun crafty activity to occupy my time! Needle felting is so much fun, very easy and you get to make cute little animals! The other weekend I got to take a drive down to Claremont for my needle felting class I signed up for while we were at the Fall Street Fair. The shop is called Colors and they sell all types of yarn and fibers for knitting, crocheting and, of course, needle felting.

You can purchase ready to go kits that range from easy to advanced.
This is the one I bought at the Fall Fair

Our first project was this cute little pumpkin. Our instructor showed us the techniques of rolling the roving (felting wool) and how you want to begin poking the wool with the needle to begin tangling the fibers together so they start to become firm and hold the shape you want. There is a lot of poking of both wool and fingers but with some practice you're a pro in no time. The process is very quick and you get a finished product before you know it! She showed us how to attach things, like the stem in this case, and how we can make things really have realistic looks with dimension.

We got to choose one other project that we'd like to start from several books she had out. I chose a little dog that was part of a children's story book . I was able to get the body shape done in class so I was happy as a clam. Before I left I picked up a variety pack of colors of the wool and the felting foam as to not use my couch pillows as a needle poking surface, haha!







Whoopies cousin Snoopy





Snoopy instructions, I just added some little legs

Since I took the class I've made the little lamb (from the kit above) and Mr. Elvis (below) I'm still working on the faces but am having so much fun doing these little creatures! I will definitely be making some for Christmas gifts.



Elvis the Owl





Awesome book and the felting foam



Happy Needle Felting!



Stay tuned...

I have big plans for this little guy...

Have a great weekend!

Creativity!

I'll be the first to admit that I am a craft addict.

I have been doing crafts in one way or another for as long as I can remember. There was a blue Fisher Price table (aka little blue table) in our kitchen for years as my sister and I grew up. It had matching bright blue plastic chairs and a little hidden cubby in the sides of the table. I think that is 1. where my love of crafting started and 2. my need to stash away little treasures in safe places began.

In high school I was blessed to have the opportunity to work for a woman whom I dearly admire and am lucky to call a friend. She owned a little rubber stamp shop in down town Riverside that our family had been going to for a few years before. My dad, of all people, introduced us to this beautiful shop! I worked in the shop through out the remainder of high school and for a few of my college years. I think it was there that I was introduced to so many new crafts and arts. Everything from paper clay and scrapbooking to mixed media collages and art journaling lived in the shop. (I also dabbled in yarn crafts (knitting and crocheting) and the fabrics but had the patience of a gnat so those were put into the craft tote for another day...)

From that point on I realized that this was an outlet I had not only to get my creativity out but also a world of people who bring so much inspiration and joy into my life. Art journaling is where is spent several years exploring who I was, what I liked and what I wanted out of life. Slowly the journaling has gone out of my life which makes me so sad but I feel as if my creativity has run dry in that arena. I hate to force it because I feel as if my work will be fake and I won't be pleased with the outcome. Hopefully soon I will be able to fall back into that wold of my pens, paint and crayons but I'm not sure when that will be...

Thankfully I have found other craft/art outlest that I am currently obsessed with (told you I was an addict! haha!). A friend of mine who I actually met at the stamp store and who went with me on trips to Artfest is a very talented mosaic artist and teacher so I have begun taking classes from her. I'm loving it! This is a totally new medium for me to work with and to be honest a bit scary to begin with. I was afraid I'd slice my finger with the tools or bits of glass would be flung into my eye (still happens on occasion but is a very controlled issue at this point) and I'd hate it The exact opposite has occurred, I LOVE IT! There is something very stress relieving about cutting glass so quickly and then the theraputic act of gently laying each piece of beautiful glass into a spot that fits it just right. I've taught myself to go slow and not settle for something that I'm going to do just to hurry up and be done. So far the results have been wonderful! I've completed a cupcake (other addiction) a round pumpkin and finishing grouting a fall leaf. Next project will be a "sampler piece"  as she calls it that will display all different types of cuts and shapes that make up one big beautiful mosaic. So excited!!

Completed leaf

This weekend I'm taking a needle felting class and I can't wait to begin that chapter in my craft story! 

If I could go any where right now...Part 2

Thursday has arrived once again and it is usually the day that the weekend itch sets in for me. Today, however, I really don't have a far off destination I'm really wanting to go to.

I'm happy right where I am. 

I was not able to get the day off work to observe Vetrans Day but I feel as if I'm honoring the occasion in my own way. I'm happy to be here, in my home country, my home state and pretty darn close to my actual home itself. I think about all the soldiers that are across seas fighting this battle and how much they would give if they too could be back at home. Now, I don't get very vocal about my views on this war or my political opinions (except when I feel as if I simply can't remain quiet when people are going on and on, that just sends me over the edge!) but I do express one thing and that is respect. People are free to make choices on what they believe and we are blessed to live in a country that allows us to do so and the people who protect those rights are who I respect. I am not brave enough to go out and do what they do so the very least I can give is respect and I'm proud to do so.

This morning I watched a video about a dog named Gracie who was beyond thrilled to see her owner return. He had just returned from a tour in Iraq and this was the first time he'd seen Gracie in quite a while. Animals are such good examples of the expression of love and how it is totally ok to just go bonkers when you are happy to see someone you love. So, thank you Gracie for showing this human how to show love and appreciation to someone you like, alot.

Maybe next week I'll have a new destination to aspire to...I have a few spots I've been eyeing.

But until then, happy travels or happy just staying home to you!

Cupcake Camp IE!

I had my first Camp Cupcake experience this past Sunday at the beautiful Mission Inn! It was benefiting the Inland Empire Susan G. Komen affiliate so I was double wanting to be there! I had been hearing about Cupcake Camps for months on my favorite cupcake blog and was thrilled when I walked up to Ralphs a few weeks ago and saw this little beauty on the door:

Needless to say the date immediately went into the calendar and hubby got the text "guess what's coming to the Mission Inn??!!". I'm sure he was less than thrilled but being the good sport he is tagged along for the ride. Thankfully Sunday was beautiful and the nasty, very un- fall like hot weather went away and it was perfect for our adventure down town. When we got there, there was a line half way through the lobby but it was moving pretty quickly. We arrived a few minutes after 1 and they were stopping people from going in due to the huge crowds already formed inside the room. When we walked in this is what we saw:

Tee Shirt and information tables



View from the entrance stairs

As we walked in it was VERY crowded (as you can tell) and hard to move around but we made it to a couple booths. Caseys Cupcakes was there as well as a bunch of other bakeries I hadn't heard of before. We were given 4 tickets when we walked in and one ticket = one cupcake so we tried to make quick use of them. Unfortunately we lost one set in the chaos but I think that turned out to be for the best.

Strawberry Lemonade!

There were glitter on these too!

Wouldn't these be cute for a personalized celebration??

On our way out the door!

All in all it was fun and quick. We were out of there with in about 25 minutes or so. My partner in crime had been stepped on, hit, and elbowed and was not a happy camper at this point so we were ready to head out. It was fun and I think I'd do it again but probably by myself or make a plan to meet at the door at a certain time if I go with another person.

My treasures

Strawberry Lemonade - very tasty!

Vanilla with a very buttery buttercream, very pretty though!

Vanilla but very dry both inside and frosting...

Snickerdoodle - super yummy and loved the wrapper!

Whoopie wishing she could taste!

Good idea to keep frosting inside to help with moisture but didn't work out too well...

One of our tasters, Minda!

Boy DID we survive! : )

Cupcakes!

I have become quite the cupcake addict over the past few months. Don't know why, it just happened. People ask me all the time, "what's with you and the cupcake thing?" I have no answer and sadly can't explain it, but am smitten with these delightful little treats.

Here are a few pictures of some I made for my Dads birthday on Halloween. I played with a few new techniques and they turned out ok. The plain frosted ones with simple sprinkles ended up being my favorites after all of them. Here are some spice cupcakes with lemon frosting for the birthday boy...

Extras that stayed home for my sweetie pie and I



My ingredients. The Color Mist gave the icing the
orange tint and the sprinkles were a gift from hubby

Now, I have been a fan for a very long time and dabbled in it on an off over the past 5 years or so but this spring and early summer it really took off. I took my first decorating class at a local bakery and was so impressed! Thankfully I got the eating addiction out of the way about a month or two into it and can feel satisfied with a bite of the cake to test the flavor and moisture but have to practice a bit more self control with icing (don't we all?!?!).  I've started a beautiful little library of books about baking and decorating cupcakes but this one is my favorite. Several of the creations we made in class came out of this book and it's follow up. They are all pretty easy and not nearly as hard as they look in the book, don't worry!

The green icing spread a bit after spending some time in the fridge...

Will be making these little guys in bulk for Thanksgiving!



Spaghetti anyone??



Or Chinese take out? Guess what the veggies are???

There will definately be more cupcakes to come!!