Cupcakes a la Pioneer Woman!

When I watch the Food Network, I always find something yummy to try.  On Saturday, I watched The Pioneer Woman—she has tons of great recipes, and this one looked fab!  Why do I always pick the ones without pics?  After a trip to the store to get the buttermilk, cream and bittersweet chocolate, I was all ready. 

 

I actually followed the directions and got all the ingredients measured up and got the batter made and in the oven.   Oh, yeah, I need another cupcake pan—I have a 12 and a 6, both over 30 years old, and I think it’s time for a new 12. I rejected the ones that I saw, so I just borrowed my daughters pan.  Look at that really bad pan!!

 

 
Against my better judgment, I sprayed the heck out of the pans, and didn’t use paper liners.  Everything went together as planned until it was time to get the cakes out of the pan.  Out of 24, 6 came out great.  The rest tried to stick or lost part of the cupcake.  Time to take a break with my diet coke and contemplate what to do with ugly broken cupcakes that need fluff squirted in them. 

 

I just went ahead and squirted the fluff as if they were all good.  I was a good girl and didn’t even lick off the icing tip between cupcakes.   MMMmmmmm!

 

Time to spoon the ganache over! 

 

The finished product.  Someday, I will learn how to stage the food, but don’t hold your breath. 

 

If I were to make these again, I would just use a dark chocolate cake mix, and make only half of the fluff.  I have at least half left over, so I called my daughter over to take it home with her and she is going to use it on some cupcakes she is making with the kids tonight.  There will probably be some left still…any takers??

Old Office Chair Re-do

I have wanted to update my sewing chair forever.  I never saw some fabric worthy of the change, until I saw this.  Got it at the Goodwill Store.  More about that here.  Anyway, I went and came out $6 poorer, but I now owned about 2 yards of this dec fabric, various mesh sports clothes to cut up for American girl doll sport clothes, an Ann Taylor Loft coat, and a dump truck.   Anyway, back to the chair.  I have just a cheap office chair with black plastic arms and legs.  After looking at the fabric with no light on, I thought there was red on it.  So I painted the plastic red.  Upon further inspection, it was a dark pink, so back to the store for a new color.  Telling this is way too fast.  With our wacky weather, you can paint one day, then it’s way too cold for the next few days, then finally warm enough to paint again with the pink color.  Then you just cover the old upholstery with the new fabric, tucking in firmly.  The bottom chair, I stapled the fabric around the bottom.  I LOVE my new chair! 

 

Christmas Pillowcase

 

Years ago, back when I had a grandchild, I came across this pillowcase in a magazine.  I needed to make it for him… and my sons.  At least one was still at home, and maybe one in college… who knows?  Now every grandkid has one—I just finished Makinley’s – she’s getting ready to turn 2.  But babies can’t have real pillows before then, right?  I don’t even have the pattern any more, so I had to get Addie’s to go from.  First you trace the gingerbread people and the candy canes on Wonder Under or something like that.  Wonder Under has a paper backing and iron on glue on the other side.  After tracing the figures on the paper side, iron it on the fabric, let it cool and cut everything out.  Place it on the red pillowcase.  I cut the red flannel 1 inch wider than a regular pillowcase—that gives you ½ inch seams.  Iron on the people and candy canes, then sew down.  

 

 I sew the gingerbread people on before I sew the side seams.  The gingerbread people would look better if I had sewn on the bits of ric rac before sewing them on the pillowcase.  Now I have an embroidery machine, I sew their names on instead of using the puff paint. 

 

 Then sew on the white edge with the striped bias edge between.  Now Addie wants hers to be satin.  It makes her hair less frazzy. 

 

  As I unloaded these pics, I came across a few bonus pics. Does this count as a photo bomb?

 

End Table Revamp

We got end tables about 30 years ago.  Yes, you can insert an old lady joke here.  Anyway, one day, I decided to paint them.  I went with a classic black.  By the second day, I knew it wasn’t me.  The dust it showed!  I have a black TV thing, but this was so much worse!  So, onto gray!  I like the gray, but the paint never got real hard.  Even though, it was sanded and primed and painted in air conditioning, here it is two months later, and it still isn’t hard.  I used Lowes’ latex paint.  Never again on furniture.  Then, I thought they were too plain.  So I tried a stencil, but it just wasn’t me.  So, on to a new plan-- sponge painting then stenciling.  For all you young ‘ins out there, to sponge paint, you get a  sea sponge—or ask your mom for one, and then I mixed the gray with a bit of old craft paint I had hanging around—as long as they are both latex paint, you can mix them.  Pour the paint on a paper plate—or if you are lazy, one of your real plates,and dip your sponge in. 

 

 

 Then you need to pat off most of the paint. As you can see, I used the box in the living room to pat my paint off, but a paper towel is reccommended.

  

 Pat, pat, pat the paint on—the goal is not to have streaks. The goal is to make it not solid, but however much paint you want on it. Then I was going to stencil the plain gray paint, but I like it the way it is, so enough already! I’ll wait at least a day and pile all myjunk—lovely stuff back on the tables.   

 

Molly Handbag

I saw this blog a long time ago, and knew I needed this purse!  What’s not to like?  The pattern was free and very easy to follow.   I found fabric that I liked—and made it. 

I made my inside pockets the way I wanted them – for glasses, pens, extra stuff, and my card holder—I just toss cash in the whole thing, so I don’t carry a wallet.  If you need some change, just give the purse a shake!  I always put a key fob to put all those little cards so I can whip those out when needed. 

 I put the ruffle on the front and back, the pattern just had it on the front.  I love it!

Day 5 Friday!!!

Friday is parents day—we show off what we have done for the parents.  We went to Theatre in the Park to see Joseph and the Technicolor DreamCoat.  We got there early to eat and let the volcanos off.  The police even came over to watch us…  P.S.  if the volcanos are not dry by the time you paint them, they start to stink once the paint seals the wet in!!

Then on to making lanterns.  I seem to have misplaced the wire for the handles, but Mandy cut out the kids names and some stars with her Silhouette on contact paper.  Stick those on the jars, then spray with frost and peel off the contact paper and all done!

    Time to taste the goat cheese!

Then on to the show!

Day 4 Thursday

Due to the Grandma’s being at the temple on thurs, the mom’s were scheduled to take the kids to the zoo.  They met up with some more friends, and here are the pics!