Lights Out Apple Pie
I asked Alvaro what kind of cake he’d like for his birthday, and his answer was “Pie!”. So Apple Pie it is on this snowy Wednesday. After a busy day of sledding and a trip to the vet, I got all my ingredients out this afternoon, opened up the cookbook (I used the recipe “The Best Apple Pie” from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
After an hour I figured if I was able to post anything today, it would have to be the way I used various jars and vases to create hurricane lamps for the candles around the house!
Apple Cake
I think I was nesting today what with the snowy weather and the impending ‘snowmaggedon’ (which seems will not materialize). I hung curtains in the open doorways of our bar and family room to cut down on the drafts, and then baked homemade lasagna and apple cake.
by Annabel Karmel, and granted, it was in the 3-7 year olds section, but look how lovely it is for a kids cake! 
Birdhouse Coat Hooks
I made a set of three birdhouse coat hooks for my son’s room – I made a set for my daughter before she was born and they’ve been so handy that I decided Domi needed some too.
These were made with unfinished wood birdhouses from Michael’s, painted with acrylic paint and with picture-hanging wire added to the back and a hook to the bottom. They’re not totally finished – I meant to hang them in his room tonight but he went to bed before I got them done, and of course I can’t go in there and hammer now.
Here’s a closer look at the hooks:
The houses hang flat on the wall; they’re tilted in the images because of the hooks on the table. I use picture hooks to hang them so that they support the weight of winter coats (and kids pulling on those coats).
I’ve linked up to this great link party – check it out! Funky Junk Interiors
Snow Day
Today was a snow day around these parts, so that means I made a:
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| Snowman! (snowmonster?) |
Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes
Today we made cupcakes in ice cream cones. I saw the idea on Pinterest awhile ago, and then my sister reminded me of it the other day. Today seemed like as good a day as any so here they are. I have to say that I mostly supervised the decorating instead of doing it myself, but it was a fun project for the kids. After being up until 1:30am yesterday working on the sleep sack, I needed an easy one today!
I used a box cake mix (Funfetti flavor) and store-bought frosting that I tinted myself. I think I overfilled the cones a little bit – we ended up with 21 cones but probably could have had 22 without some of the overflow problems. We iced them using an icing bag and I put to use another great pin I saw the other day – wrap the frosting in plastic wrap before putting it into the icing bag. Its hard to explain, but so clever with no mess and super easy cleanup. If you’re interested here’s the video that shows how its done. The original post I pinned showed the cones baking in a modified aluminum pan to hold them upright, but I just put them in the muffin tins and transferred them to the oven carefully. That was fine – the only problem came when Viv pulled the pan down to bring it to show Papi and all of her cupcakes tipped over.
Sleep Sack for My Baby
My little guy still uses a sleep sack at night to sleep in (over his pajamas). He’s so restless he kicks the covers off constantly, so the sack helps to keep him cozy and asleep all night. I bought the sack he’s using now, and its the extra-large size, which he’s about to grow out of. So, it was time to make him a new one. I happened to have some fleece fabric left over from when I made Viv a new sack a few years ago, and an extra-long zipper as well, so that’s what I used. I improvised the pattern using the current bag, adjusting it for size. The zipper took the most time, but I got it in eventually. Now all that’s left is the final fitting tomorrow!
I thought today might not end up with a project, when Dom started throwing up at 5:00pm, but he rallied and didn’t get sick again, so I ended up with enough time to sneak this in. Viv thinks we’re going to make her a blanket tomorrow with the other leftover fleece I found, but we’ll see.
Bird
Today I made another pen/acrylic painting:
It reminds me of a boring-meeting doodle blown up extra large and colorized. We had a painting salon this afternoon here; Dom, Viv and I all made paintings. I like theirs better!
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| Vivi’s interpretation of my garden painting from Monday |
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| Domi’s poster paint masterpiece! |
Website Work, Night 2
Tonight I’m working away on the preschool site again – I think I’ve got the header image done for now:
I’ve moved onto to modifying the website template, which means I’m diving into the code. Hopefully by the time I go to bed tonight Iwon’t have screwed something up irreparably!
Working Away in the Ether
This evening I’ve been working like crazy on a new web project. I’m building a new website for Viv’s preschool, but there’s not too much to show for it yet – nothing to be able to show here at least. The site’s not live yet so there’s no link to post, and most of what I’ve been doing is experimenting with themes, changing color schemes and the like. Its a challenge for me, but so fun. I really enjoy facing each problem as it arises, figuring out what direction to go in, and then solving it.
Garden Picture
Today I made a drawing / painting with sharpie marker and acrylic paint.
I’ve spent a lot of time the past few days on an internal dialogue about whether this project is more about the act of creating something, or the finished product. I know that I want it to be about the creating, but its hard to put aside the notion of wanting the finished product to be perfect, or at least ‘good enough’. I’ve got to keep pushing down the voice inside me that’s critical. I had fun drawing and painting today, and that’s what should be important, not how the work turns out or how others perceive it. Its hard to keep that in perspective though, sometimes. There are lessons to be learned here!
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