It has been a busy weekend...

I am at home in New York visiting my family for a few days. I came up earlier than expected because I needed to get some dental work done. Becaue of the unexpected early visit, my family has been gone for the weekend. They all left to go up to the cottage on Friday and won't get back until early this evening. At first I was pretty down about my dog and I having to be at my parents house all alone--especially seeing as half of the house is torn up due to some pretty major renovations.

                      

Thankfully, my friend Jennifer was in town, and it gave us the chance to visit, shop, and stamp! We went to the fabric/craft store on Saturday, out to lunch, and then came home to my parents place to stamp. We both made a couple of cute cards Saturday afternoon, but Jennifer was kind enough to leave her supplies with me (as my mothers supply is inaccessible due to the renovations) so I could play in the rubber and paper and ink some more while I was home alone. I already posted the birthday card I made for my mom, but I also made some more cards, and thought I would post those pictures here.






Last evening some family friends (Jenn's parents) invited me over for dinner and games, so I offered to take dessert. I ended up making a dessert pizza. It was yummy!

Mom's Birthday Card

(front of card)

I used the Stampin' Up! stamp set "Doodle This" to make a birthday card for my mom. I used a Close to my Heart set for the verse. Paper and ink is all Stampin' Up!. My friend Jennifer came over and we stamped and played for a while. She made a cute card too. I hope my mom likes it!

(inside of card)

(back of card)

I am going to keep creating tonight and stamp some more cards. More pictures to come.

--M.

The Cake Has Been Made...and devoured...

This took a whole lotta butta...about 4 lbs...

Let me begin by saying that: I HAVE SO MUCH RESPECT FOR DUFF AND HIS GANG ON "ACE OF CAKES"!!!

Cake making/decorating is not easy. While I had a good time, and learned quite a few things that would make it easier the next time I make a tiered/layered cake, it is a heck of a lot of work!

So...I used the buttercream frosting for the filling and used a different recipe (from Ina Garten) for the exterior frosting. I added butter-rum flavoring in place of half of the vanilla that is called for in the recipe, and chopped some candied pecans and mixed that all together to make the filling. I used food coloring to turn the frosting a pretty lilac color because purple is Kristin's favorite color. I piped the decoration in white and it turned out really well!

I had some frustrating moments. I think that a cake leveler is definitely worth the money. It is so difficult to get everything perfectly even. When you're just making a layered cake, with no tiers, it's not as big of a deal, however with a tiered cake, everything really needs to be level to prevent sloping and sliding.

I had a lot fun, and everyone loved the cake. They seemed impressed, as well as satisfied. The recipes were all great. THANK YOU FOOD NETWORK and Martha Stewart. :-)

Now I need to come up with another baking/cooking project. Any ideas?

:-)