Strawberry shortcake is the quintessential dessert of summer. A dessert that counts as a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack food. It’s never better than with sun-ripened, in season berries, real whipped cream (with a little vanilla, maybe?) and shortcakes made from scratch. I have numerous memories of watching my mom make shortcakes on the kitchen counter when I was little. It was comforting to watch as well as a salivating prelude of the deliciousness to come.

The shortcakes are a finicky sort. Just like biscuits, if they are manhandled or over-mixed they will act the petulant pastry and be tough and hard. Make each of the 5-10 kneads count and try not to do more than that. The butter amount can be adjusted to your tastes but don’t you think it weird that butter is only one letter shy of the word better? So it can be presumed that butter (and more of it) is better. You’re welcome for that inside secret.

There is some skill to the strawberries too. If berries cut to the same approximate size excites you, which it does me, by all means do it. If you don’t care, no one else will. The secret is cutting them before hand so after sprinkling them with sugar, the sliced berries will release juice. That is the part I always try to snag before it’s gone – truly, authentic strawberry juice.

And put all together, the sweetness of the berries, the buttery, flaky goodness of the shortcakes, all drenched in the dream that is real whipped cream is nothing short of perfection.

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Whew! In preparation for a trip to NYC for the Alt Summit next week, I feel like I crammed two weeks of work into one. It’s a good accomplished feeling but I’m tired. I have a number of exciting things in the works, you’ll just have to stick around for them! Now, while I consider a plan to complete the packing for my trip (plus the packing for my children), here are a few links I liked this week.

Links to check:

• To Parents of Small Children. This made me laugh and feel better.

• ‘A Beautiful Body’ book project. Found via Design Mom.

• Success for the Stay-at-home parent. Thanks Mom!

• A photography who is working to reframe beauty.

• I really want to do this to my jeans.

Things for which I am thankful:

• Time at the beach. Finally!

• Plans, plans and more plans. So much is in the works.

• NYC is coming soon.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you back here on Monday!

Take care.

The Allium is long gone but I adore the color and shape.

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There are times when projects don’t begin from scratch. Some begin with a found object that needs a touch up, re-purposing or a make-over. This Before & After series will highlight such projects.

Rarely do I go into stores that have lots of breakable items with my children in tow. It’s just not fun for me. However, sometimes it’s the only alternative. And sometimes it’s better than I expected. On one particular trip, I was looking for small dishes. I usually begin in the clearance section and that is where Love Bug spotted these little cups. I think they are espresso cups. She adores little things thus began the petitioning.

I loved their shape and itty-bitty-ness as well but since they weren’t what I was looking for, I don’t drink espresso and they happened to have a pattern I did not care for (see below), I wasn’t very inclined. But I bought them anyway. I thought, in the least, Bug would enjoy pretending with them. And bonus, when they were rung up at the register, they were $.88 a piece. Not too shabby.

Then I started thinking….with a little work, I could probably make them less unattractive. And so I did. We started off with just four but then on a separate trip with only Sweet J, he was manning the cart, saw and recognized the cups and scooped up the last three. I didn’t fight him. I like how he thinks.

This is what the cups looked like before.

I made them over using:

-Martha Stewart’s line of paints
-paint brush and stipple

If you aren’t aware, Martha’s line of paints can be cured to a permanent finish on many a surface, including these mugs. Before painting them, I thoroughly washed and dried the mugs to remove any and all gunk and grease from the surface. Then I used both a satin white (Wedding Cake) and a satin gray (Arrowhead) to cover the outer surface with a even coat. The white needed a two layers because of the bold colored print.

After the base coat dried, I used a stipple and paint brush to create the designs. (Additionally, I added a dot/line or two of silver to the design.)

Then I followed the directions for curing the paint which is as follows:

Allow the paint to completely dry, at least an hour. Then place the item or items in a cool oven. I place my pieces on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Turn the oven to 350F and bake the wares for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn off the oven and allow the item or items to cool in the oven. This is the method because glass must be heated gradually.

When they are completely cooled, remove them from the oven and do not use for 72 hours. The paint will also cure after 21 days, without using the oven. Both methods produce top-shelf dishwasher safe cured pieces.

I think them much improved, yes? Maybe I’ll take up drinking espresso now.

I take that back. I won’t. But I wouldn’t say no to hot chocolate.

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In the middle of May, I spent two days away from home teaching handmade bookmaking at a creative conference for young students. I went by myself while my children traveled and stayed with my mom. So, for two nights, I slept like a dead person. Like a deader-than-dead dead person. And during the day, when the conference ended, I was alone. It’s amazing what a treat solitude is at this time in my life. I think moms everywhere would agree.

The second evening of my trip, I craved greens for dinner and picked up a berry salad from the nearby Target. I ate it while under the covers of my hotel bed watching TV. I’m fairly sure that even if the salad had been lousy, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful, in-bed dinner, but lucky for me, the salad was delicious and I recreated it to have in my real life.

Strawberries are in season now though local blueberries are not quite (sorry Liz!). Paired with baby lettuces, goat cheese, salted walnuts and a berry vinaigrette, this salad is the perfect mix of sweet and salty and freshness all over. And can be enjoyed in solitude or in the craziest of households. :)

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I had some fun with flowers over on Design Mom. With this project, the ho-hum vase is gone, replaced with a darling, little dish and flower frog. Never heard of a flower frog. I’ll explain that too.

Even grocery store flowers look extraordinary, right?

I had A LOT of fun with this project. So much fun I couldn’t stop taking pictures!

Head on over to Design Mom. You will be amazed at the simplicity of the project. And probably squeal over its cuteness!

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Over the weekend, we celebrated Love Bug’s fifth birthday with our first ever friends party and it was a success. We planned a fairy theme, complete with glittery purple wings, crowns and star wands. We managed to order the longest stretch of sun we’ve had in the last ten days for the morning of the party. Since our yard wasn’t big enough, we took advantage of the park just down the street from our house. Bug and I scoped it out the day before and picked the perfect spot beneath a handful of tall trees. I actually had to scale said trees (in a skirt and flip flops, no less) to tie up the line in which to hang the decorations from. Bug and Sweet J thought I was the coolest ever for climbing the tree!

To begin, we sent simple invites to Love Bug’s friends (five for her fifth birthday). A basic card with the information wrapped in a butterfly lace piece of paper. The lacy piece was made by way of my Cricut. Bug picked the butterflies, it was perfect.

On the day, our first activity was for our guests to decorate a crown to wear. The crown was oak tag I had spray painted silver and they used foam and jewel stickers to decorate. When they were complete, I hot glued them to inexpensive headbands. I purposely left out shots of our guests as a way of privacy.

While the girls finished their crowns, I tied on each party goer the oak tag wings I made beforehand. A simple shape, I sprayed them purple and then topped it with glitter (because glitter makes everything better!!). Using a long length of ribbon, I wrapped and tied them on. I did a lousy job of getting a shot of the little girls wearing them so forgive the personless shot below.

Once, long ago, I was an angel for Halloween and my mom made me a pair of gold wings. Love Bug wears those wings for most of the our time visiting my mom so I knew they would be a perfect addition to the party.

I used extra silver oak tag to make a star fairy wand for everyone too.

With them, we planned a fairy wand scavenger hunt. I drew very simple pictures of spots around the park’s pond so the girls could follow the clues around. In the end, everyone had a wand and they were back at the table for cake. For the birthday staple, I took a 9×13 chocolate cake and cut it into small squares and layered it with white frosting. The warmth of the day sure relaxed the buttery frosting resulting in the Leaning Tower of Pisa look.

For decoration, I strung together balloons and wrapped them on the rope I tied between two trees. From that, I also hung an ombre paper sculpture I made. It was something I saw in my head and came to be after finding a purple pack of cardstock in the paper aisle at Michael’s. First, I rolled a cone shape with each piece of paper, securing it with hot glue. Then I began layering the cones around a wooden dowel, each new color moving up the dowel. I finished it off by wrapping the top with twine. I LOVED the way it turned out.

As I said, it was a lovely party and I was so happy with the way it turned out. Not only that but Love Bug loved it and that makes my momma heart soar.

I realize some may think all this too much for a child’s birthday party. I don’t do it to be over-the-top or excessive or be better than some unknown standards out there. I do it because I want to and like to do this kind of thing (you’ve seen my blog, right?). Also, I’d much rather spend time creating than spend money on events like this. And finally, I do it all with my daughter in mind. If I can bring a smile to her face with oak tag wings, crown and wand, I’ll do it. Any day.

After the party was finished, I took a well deserved nap. :) Friends parties aren’t something we plan to do every year but when we do, I hope they are much like this one.

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We hosted our very first friends birthday party this weekend. Love Bug had a wonderful time (as did the rest of us!) and I took a very long and well deserved nap afterwards. The details are up tomorrow!

Above is Bug’s birthday cake from her actual birth day, with just the four of us. It’s a chocolate cake with this frosting I use for every cake because I love it so. I used a round tip to make all the bubbles around the side. We used colored chocolate sprinkles by Wilton on the top. It was a little tedious but the end result is awesome. Bug loved it. And so did the rest of us because it was tasty!

Links to check:

I love nerdy, geeky stuff like these maps that illustrate how words are spoken geographically around the country.

One of the best Father’s Day gift possibilities I’ve found for the manly food lover in your life.

MJ and I have been loving this Discovery Channel series.

Watched this movie last night and really enjoyed it.

Things for which I am thankful:

My babies.

The unabashed joyful way that children see the world.

See you back here on Monday.

Take care.

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This lilac sugar recipe was all over Pinterest last week. Not only are the photos gorgeous but the idea of pairing aromatic lilacs with sugar to use in other items was so intriguing! It’s the easiest thing, layering clean and dry lilac flowers with granulated sugar. And just like that, the sugar takes on the intoxicating aroma of lilacs. Amazing! I’ve been enjoying blooms and their scent in my house for the last week but never thought of using them in a edible form. But I had to try something and I decided to try the sugar in scones.

After a little scouring, I decided raspberries would pair well with the lilac sugar. I adjusted the cinnamon chip recipe I posted last year to include the lilac sugar both in and on top of the scones. To keep the raspberries whole (and not completely massacred by the food processor, turning the dough itself pink), I added them by hand. After incorporating the liquid ingredients, I scraped out the dough onto a floured surface and pressed it into a long rectangle. I gently pressed in as many raspberries as I wanted (well, first, I made an indent with my finger and then pushed the berry in). Then I folded the dough over on itself and shaped it into a rectangle again. More raspberries were added to the top before I cut it down the middle and cut each half into triangles.

There is a hint of floral overtone of lilacs in the scones. (I’ve always wanted to use ‘floral overtones’ to describe something. :)) It’s not overwhelming and maybe if you didn’t know about the sugar, you might miss it. The lilac sugar on top gives it a little more oomph and the pairing with raspberries is divine. I adore lilacs and loved using it in food stuff. I’m still thinking what I can do next.

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Today is the day! My Love Bug turns the big 5. MJ and I decorated with balloons and streamers in her favorite colors, pink and purple and there is cake and gift opening for later in the day. And if the sun would grace us with its presence, that would be nice. Of course, Love Bug is beaming enough herself. :)

Speaking of gifts, I was inspired to make wrapping paper for the occasion after realizing I had none….. so I guess it was more out of necessity. Haha! I had a few remnants of paper I liked but nothing big enough to wrap her gifts. The paper used funky type to spell out ‘happy birthday’ and I figured out I could do something similar with cookie cutters.

Here’s how it’s done.

Supplies:

-rolls of plain kraft paper
-cookie cutters
-paint

Unroll the paper, dip the cutters in the paint and start stamping. I varied the width of the letters by flipping over the letters that work in reverse (H, T, Y, I etc). Spell out the birthday person’s name or age (however, people over a certain age might not appreciate it as much as the littles) or use initials.

And letters don’t have to be used just letters. Than can be used to for their shape to make patterns.

I think this would be perfect for Christmas or wedding wrap too. Think of the messages and color combination possibilities!

After the paper is dried, wrap up the gifts and beg that the practice of gentle, paper-saving unwrapping be used on your creation. :)

Happy birthday to my first born babe. It has been an exciting five years. Love you more than I ever thought possible.

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School is almost out for the summer! But first, an easy gift box for teachers, bus drivers, coaches and all the people who make the school year grand. The printables (there are three to choose from!) and full tutorial is over on Design Mom and it really is as simple as print, cut and adhere together. Fill with sweets and treats or little gifts. Happy end to another school year!

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