I didn't mean to leave you hanging!

I can't believe that I've been away from blogging for over a week!  I have no idea the last time that happened - and especially not unannounced!  For those of you that were worried, or those of you that just plain missed me (aw...!) I apologize!  Rest assured that all is well with me, and the family, and that there is nothing to worry about at all.

As you know, I hadn't planned on taking a blogging break, but life "happened" as it so often does, and time got away from me.  We celebrated a quiet fourth of July weekend at home - Travis had to work on and off all weekend - so we grilled and played board games and enjoyed some downtime together.  The crafting continued though when Heather and I made some Steelers cupcakes for a friend's 40th birthday, and I sewed a patriotic pillowcase dress for Lily, inspired by Anneliese's tutorial over at Aesthetic Nest (see hers HERE)

Lily's dress was pretty big on her (I'm still no good at determining sizes and sewing them!) but it was cute - and I was pleased with it.  She should be able to wear it next year, too!

This past week we headed over to South Haven for a little belated 4th of July celebration and some much-needed beach time.  We watched fireworks over the lake and spent time with family, and some dear friends from out of town.

And then the crafty fun continued when we got back into town and I hosted my 2010-2011 New Catalog Release Party for Stampin' Up!  We had a wonderful time, and everyone is just loving the new catalog!  I'll post the link to it in the sidebar this morning - please check it out!  I'll post about some of the party details later in the week, but here are some snapshots from the event...

And as if all that wasn't enough -- we're heading to the East side of the state this weekend, I have two stamping events this week, I finished one summer class and have already started another TWO (my last ones before my thesis!) and so much more.  Summer got busy - and fast!  But don't worry - I have lots and lots to share with you this week - so come back soon!

xoxo
Joanne

Week in Review: July 4th Edition

Each weekend in my Week in Review post I share with you some of my favorite crafty links I've come across during the week, from all over the blogosphere.  This week I'm featuring July 4th projects - most of which are simple enough for you to throw together if you need some last minute goodies for this weekend!  ENJOY!

4th of July shirts at Make It and Love It

Easy 4th of July Soaps at Soap Queen (via Craft Gossip)

Patriotic Pillowcase Dresses at Aesthetic Nest

Fireworks Pom Pops at Centsational Girl

4th of July Hairclip at Sugar Bee

And don't forget to check out my own July 4th projects over at Babble.com!

4th July Projects for Kids!

Check out my latest article for Babble.com and have some 4th of July fun with the kiddos in your life!

Click here to go to article!

June Cupkins Double Whammy: Part 2

Welcome back to CUPKINS, a collaboration between Meg at Mega•Crafty and I.  Each month, Meg shares a muffin recipe and I share a cupcake recipe with the same theme.  This month, we're giving you a double whammy of Cupkins!  We shared some Father's Day ideas with you at the beginning of the month, and today we've got some July 4th goodies to share with you!

Red, White & Blue Cupcakes!

First off, color and roll out some fondant in both blue and red.  You can get pre-made fondant by Wilton at Michael's, JoAnn's, etc.  Using a star fondant or cookie cutter, cut out stars in both colors in a variety of sizes... (make sure to use lots of powdered sugar when rolling and cutting to prevent sticking)

To remove excess powdered sugar once cut out, lightly spritz fondant with butter flavored cooking spray, and wipe gently.  This will give your fondant and nice, clean, sheen.

Then, using edible glitter (again, from JoAnn's etc - made by Wilton) give your stars a little glitz!  Use a small brush dipped in water to wet the stars, then sprinkle with the glitter and set aside to dry.
  Look at that sparkle!

Meanwhile, mix up a batch of vanilla cupcake batter and separate into three bowls.  Leave one bowl white, then tint the other two red and blue.

Using an ice cream scoop with a lever, layer each color into cupcake liners until about three quarters full.

Back and cool.  Look at those colors!

Pipe a swirl of white frosting and decorate with your sparkly stars.  Garnish with red, white and blue sprinkles or sugars, and ENJOY!

So simple - but sure to get a "Wow!" at any July 4th get-together!  Happy cupcaking, folks!

Now hop on over to Meg's place (click on the Cupkins logo below!) to check out her July 4th muffins!

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope that you and yours have a wonderful and celebratory 4th of July planned! We're heading out to the lake for the weekend - and regular posts will resume Monday.



We kicked off our holiday weekend with what else? A little bit of cupcaking! Heather and I got into the spirit with these red, white and blue marbled 4th of July cupcakes with patriotic sprinkles galore.



Have a safe and happy holiday! See you Monday!

Fourth of July Cupcakes: Prototypes

Heather and I got together for a little baking fun this weekend while the boys worked diligently on putting up a new fence in our backyard.

Inspired by some fancy patriotic sprinkles I had found last week, we decided to prototype some 4th of July cupcakes.

We used a Betty Crocker white cake recipe divided into a cupcake pan. It made for nice, dense, cupcakes - which complemented the sweet frosting (courtesy of Saucy's Sprinkles) really well.


Betty Crocker White Cake Recipe:

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Stir in the milk until batter is smooth.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

We used the same concept as Saucy's Sprinkles' Superkid Cupcakes which we made for Lily's Birthday Party to make red, white, and blue cupcakes!


Then I experimented with icing. Only problem was that the tips and coupler I bought didn't match - so I couldn't use them! I winged it and used the bag only... (can you tell I know NOTHING about this!)



Thank goodness for sprinkles - they totally cover up imperfections!



Looks like Heather and I need to get ourselves to a cake icing class to hone our skills. Not bad for a first effort though, and we still have a month until July 4th!