Yummy Cupcakes!

I was on the blog Cupcakes Take The Cake and the recipe for Banana Cupcakes (don't they look yummy) with Amaretto Buttercream Frosting caught my eye! I really want to try them but have to wait until next weekend....no sweets during the week!

Banana Cupcakes with Amaretto Buttercream Icing
Cooking Light recipe (October 2006 issue).
Cupcakes:
Cooking spray
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter,softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1/3 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:
1/3 cup butter, softened 2 1/2 tablespoons amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons chopped almonds, toasted

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cupcakes, place 12 muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Set aside.
Place granulated sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 4 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Combine banana, yogurt, and 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla, stirring well. Beating at low speed, add flour mixture and banana mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups (cups will be full). Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center of 1 cupcake comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place 1/3 cup butter, liqueur, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and 1/8 teaspoon salt, beating just until smooth. Spread frosting evenly over cupcakes; sprinkle evenly with almonds.
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 cupcake)
7 Points per cupcake

Wind Chill Day!!!!

OMG! I get a day off from school tomorrow because of the extreme cold weather and freezing windchill! That means a day of crafting! Whewwwwww-whoooooo!!!!

I made these little Vintage Children Pins tonight........I've got a little glare going on, on a few of them!

Pretty Things That Speak of Spring

Holy Frozen Underwear Batman! It is so cold here in Western Pennsylvania......7 degrees to be exact with a windchill of -17 degrees! Very, very, very cold! Like a said yesterday in my blog..."just a good time to stay in and craft"! However, I did venture out yesterday for a brief time and bought a few pretty little things.......pastel colored jordan almonds, a paper mache' Easter Bunny and a plate with a beautiful peony and humming bird on it for my mom. Now, what do all of these things have in common?.....hmmmmmm......are you thinking?.....yes! that's right they all have to do with warmer weather! It must have been subliminal thinking on my part.....spring is in the depths of my mind like daffodil bulbs in the depths of the earth just waiting to spring to the surface! I was at Lowe's yesterday in the 3 degree weather and I found myself transfixed in front of the spring/summer bulbs....dalias...cannas....elephant ears.....glads....I was entranced as the cold wind blew across my butt everytime the door opened and closed snapped my back to reality within a few minutes!


Here are the pretty spring things.............

Wind Chill-Out!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!......a windchill of 20 degrees below zero tonight and tomorrow. This is unreal! As I was walking to the corner drugstore late this afternoon it was very quiet except for the wind rumbling through the trees like a slow freight train picking up speed. The wind bit at my cheeks and almost took my breath away! So I'm predicting that tomorrow I will get a lot of crafting done, because I'm hibernating for another day. Got stuff to make chilli and cornbread and have plenty of glue and paper......what more can you ask for?!?!?
Here are a few of the newest Vintage Children Pins........

These pins have inspired me to make cupcakes decorated with cinnamon hearts......well, maybe not, I'd have to go out to the store and get the cinnamon hearts!

What's in Your Purse?

I'm trying out new shapes and embellishments with my pins. This is the "purse" pin. What do you think?

The Week Day Diet

Today has been one of those cold gray days with intermittent snow squalls, good if you are a bear hibernating, bad if you are a person who really is not thrilled with the cold! So like a bear I tried to hibernate but needed to venture out to get groceries for the week. When I went into the store it was NOT snowing but 30 minutes later when I came out of the store it was a BLIZZARD! I couldn't believe it!!!

Anywho....I have this friend who considers jello a "sweet". Oh, come on, I don't think so, even if there is a jello museum!!!! I'm thinking about meringue cookies but I can't make them until next weekend. You see I'm sort of on this "Week Day Diet" where I watch what I eat during the week and then have a sweet or two on the weekend. I'll let you know how it's working in about 6 weeks. I guess I could just eat sweets during the week and get high waisted pants and hike them up under my armpits so my fat roll is concealed!

Free Fonts!

Are you tired of using the same old fonts for your craft/scrapbooking? The solution is found at http://www.dafont.com/ where you can download hundreds of really cool fonts for free.......yes I said "FREE"!!!! Check out one called "mom's typewriter" which is like a vintage typewriter font.

If you have trouble downloading the fonts and want to know how to, just click on "help" at the top of the dafont website.

On another note.......I'm really more of a dog fan than a cat fan. That being said, an artist named Lynsey Walters makes cat and dog pins out of felted wool. They are simple and cute!

Snow Day

My husband had a snowday today and got to stay home from school! This pin is just right for the occasion. Who doesn't enjoy a snowday?

Tickled Pink!

Have you ever seen a pink snowman? Perhaps she's been drinking Cosmopolitans!

Snowy Inspiration!

I get a few flakes of snowy inspiration from children's books.....

The illustrations in these books were done in different mediums, from collage to watercolor to woodblock cuts. Plus, all of the stories are great too!

Brrrrrr.......I'm Thinking Snowmen

With all of this talk about a possible 5 inches of snow, I'm cold and also thinking about snowmen. Here is a collection of snowmen pins made of foam core board and layers of paper.

A Passion For.........

My husband made me laugh tonight! As I was sewing up a few more pairs of elf clogs he looked over at me and out of the blue said, "ahhhhhh...her passion is making house-shoes for the wee-folk" (say this in a Barry White deep voice). It just struck me as funny and everytime I think of him saying that I get this stupid smile on my face........house-shoes for the wee-folk....funny!

Valentine Elf Clogs

I have been very busy today and in between my household chores I have been baking and crafting up a storm! I got this pattern off the Allsorts website (Jenny is quite a gifted artist). Allsorts is just another wonderful website to check into on a regular basis. I call these the "Valentine Elf Clogs". Hey, who says elves are only for Christmas!?!? They are filled with crinkled paper and Hershey Kisses.

For the Joy of Biscotti

I have had a craving for chocolate biscotti. The JoyofBaking website has many recipes for biscotti but the chocolate hazelnut is one of my favorites (I leave out the hazelnuts and substitute white chocolate chips). It's a cold and grey day and I think chocolate biscotti will cheer me up......so now I'm off to the kitchen to whip up a batch of of these rich, chocolatey, sweet little gems! And the best part......they are basically fat free.

I'm back and here are the biscotti...........I made them Valentine Biscotti. They are delicious! They have a hint of expresso that is yummy with the bittersweet chocolate. I didn't have bitter sweet chocolate so I used half of a big Hershey's chocolate bar finely chopped in the food processor.

Easy Glass Marble Magnets Tutorial

After reading about how to make glass marble magnets, I thought this sounds pretty easy, I can do this! Guess what? It is easy....very easy! I've seen these at trendy little shops where they want as much as $12 for 6 of them. Below is a link to a picture tutorial I created on how to make them and several pics of the finished product.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeygirl_studio/sets/72157594472276952/

Marshmallows + Not Martha

Tonight as I was surfing through the Blog World I came across a few notable and interesting blogs and websites. One is: http://www.browniepointsblog.com/ This gal is obsessed with making the perfect marshmallow in a variety of flavors. I think she's going to write a marshmallow cookbook, which I think is a very cool idea. I'd buy it! One cannot have too many marshmallows in a variety of flavors.

Not Marth is such a unique website. Althought the title is "Not Martha", this crafter is just as talented as the real Martha. She has a much better sense of humor than the real Martha also! Humor.....very important!

Vintage Children Pins

Check out the new vintage children pins I made today @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeygirl_studio/sets/72157594479903405/
Lighter colors and pastels, I'm feeling springy.....a little early, but wishful thinking!

Soldering Sunday!

Still practicing the old soldering. Burned the tip of my index finger only once. Apparently one cannot flick a hot bead of solder away without inflicting bodily harm and a few choice words! My soldering is a little rough but practice makes perfect. You can't see it very well but I colored the goat purple. I thought this photo was a scream when I found it. I'm going to go put a band-aid on my finger now! Happy Sunday!

Soldering Saturday

I just love the jewelry that Sally Jean Alexander creates......so much so that I went out and bought her book, "Pretty Little Things". It is fantastic! Her book lays out in easy steps, with great pictures, how to foil and solder. Here is a picture of a pendant I made this afternoon. I used a vintage picture of a little girl and added a crown that says "I try hard" in it, below her is a blue banner that states, "invite imagination". I'm getting the hang of soldering, I just wish they made a smaller soldering iron, it's kind of awkward to maneuver. I'm making a pendant for my friend Malibu tomorrow, she'll really be surprised when I give it to her at dinner on Tuesday! Check out Sally Jean's website @ www.sallyjean.com

A New Batch of Pins!

Happy Thursday! I'm still in the Valentine's Day mode. This little dude is quite the snappy dresser, eh?

This sweet little one is all about luv!

The banner that she is holding was a pain to do, especially tying the tiny knots in each circle, I dropped them about 20 time....all thumbs!

Buddies! I know you've had a buddy like this at one time in your life......somebody that can make you laugh until your sides hurt and milk squirts out your nose!

Black and white with a touch of red or pink.....a good combo!

Well, that's all for now! I've discovered that the pins need about 4 coats of Aleene's Paper Glaze to make them shiny, plus it protects the paper nicely.