In Review...

Did you have a lovely Easter?  We had a nice, albiet busy weekend.  We visited with my inlaws and ate waaaay too much delicious food.

I don't know about you - but I'm utterly bewildered at how it came to be April 6 already.  It's one of those times of the year where everything seems to be going in fast forward - it's a bit of a hectic dash to the finish line and I'm having a hard time keeping up!

The weather here in Michigan is sunny one day, cold the next, thunder-storming the day after that... we have holidays and birthdays and parties to plan and concerts to go to and trips to embark on in the next couple of months... coupled with a house in need of a good spring clean, yard-work waiting to be done, and a pile of laundry that's frankly too embarrassing to talk about.

I'm just craving for some creative time and am hoping to squeeze in a little stamping today.  You see, I'm working on cranking out my FINAL paper and presentation of the semester which I'll present tomorrow evening, and then I will enjoy a FIVE WEEK break from school.  Aaahh... so close yet so far away!

I assure you that after Wednesday my days will be filled with equal parts napping and crafting, with a little housework thrown in for good measure.  I can't wait!

While we wait for me to catch up, I thought we'd do a little Ready, Set, Craft! recap of the month of March.  Enjoy!

(left to right, top to bottom)

1.  Secret Card Project  2.  Flower Clips @ Maiden Jane  3.  Last Minute St. Pat's Day Treats  4.  Easter Cards 5.  Tart & Tangy Cards  6.  March Cupkins:  Double Chocolate Irish Creme Cupcakes
7.  Guest Post:  A Knitters Bag of Tricks  8.  Bulletin Board Center @ Dollar Store Crafts   9.  Guest Post:  Oversized Beach Bag  10.  Guest Post:  Creepy Crawly Fun  11.  Guest Post:  Recycled Notebooks  12.  Craft Studio Reveal  13.  St. Patrick's Day Card  14.  Flower Card
15.  Postcard Project  16.  Easter Crafts for Kids

Last Minute St. Pat's Day Treats

Today has been one of those days.  Know the ones I'm talking about?  The ones where you have a laundry list of to do's and high hopes of being incredibly productive but the world rallies against you and every little thing that could possibly go wrong does?  Yeah... I hate those days!  But... I finally made it here to my blog (better late than never?) and I swear that I'm going to turn my day around and finish on top!

I had plans to actually celebrate St. Pat's this year - get a few friends together and head to the bar for a customary green beer (okay... I wouldn't have actually had a beer, since I'm not a fan, but I would wildly support the others who did have one... and get some green girly drink instead!) and some silliness.

Then I realized that St. Pat's is on a Wednesday this year.  And on Wednesday nights I have class - an hour and a half commute away from my home.  Shoot!

So hubs I and I decided rather last minute (last night!) that we would have an impromptu St. Pat's celebration this evening.  A celebration of food, that is!  Hubs got up early to put the corned beef in the slow cooker and I'll be adding the cabbage a little later this afternoon.  In the meantime... I whipped up a couple of additions to our feast...

This soda bread was my very first bread-baking experience.  And I tell you what - it was soooo easy!  I got the recipe here but added a little extra buttermilk (about a tablespoon) to the batter because it was a little too dry looking.  I haven't tasted it yet... but it smelled delicious while baking!

For these little shamrock sugar cookies I cheated twice over.  I used store bought dough (gasp!) and made the cookies per the package directions, then grabbed a Wilton ready to use decorating gel in green instead of making my own frosting (double gasp!), and free-handed the shamrock designs.

Steps to pipe an (almost) perfect shamrock?  Start with a heart shape...

Then flank it with two other hearts...

Fill in and add a stem!

These cookies would be quick and easy to do with kids, and the tubes of gel make it not too messy.  I made both the bread and the cookies in about an hour... and they were the easiest things I've done all day!  I hope that you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, and be sure to pop in for our weekly guest post... I am so excited!

March Cupkins - St. Patrick's Day!

It's the first Monday of the month!  Welcome to the March edition of 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's theme is St. Patrick's Day!

 

Double Chocolate Irish Creme Cupcakes

For this recipe, I started with Martha's one-bowl chocolate cupcake recipe and gave it my own twist to combine two of my favorite things... chocolate and irish creme!

Cupcake Ingredients:  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 3 tbsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp vanilla, 3/4 cup warm water

Frosting Ingredients:  2 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 1 stick butter, 16 oz powdered sugar, 3/4 cup irish creme, 1/2 cup cocoa powder

How To:  Make One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes per Martha's recipe... because she's sweet (you could use any chocolate cupcake recipe... but I like this one because it's extra dark and moist)

Be warned that the batter when ready to pour into liners is very wet... a lot sloppier than most cupcake batters.  Don't be scared... trust Martha!

Once cupcakes are cooled, it's time for frosting fun!

Combine the chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until melted - add the cocoa and stir until smooth. 

Transfer the chocolate mix into your mixer - and whisk in powedered sugar (gradually) and irish creme.  Add a little more of one or the other if you want your frosting a little more or less moist.  I like a pretty sturdy frosting - easier to pipe!

Pipe some of that deliciousness on to your cupcakes, and garnish with some green sprinkles.  Festive!

Now, hop on over to Meg's by clicking on the Cupkins logo below, and check out her Guinness Spiced Muffins!

And for more delicious Cupkins recipes... click on the Cupkins logo in the sidebar to your right! ---------------------->