Gettin crafty with... wreaths :)

So, I would say it's obvious that I tend to be a crafty person by nature, blame my parents, and it's as if I can't stop. I would like to share my fun and easy craft projects with you, so here's the first.. my wreaths!! For a few years I have saved all flowers given to me and dried them. Not all people love the look of dried flowers, but I really do love them. In one wreath I used all my dried rose bouquets, and sprigs of eucalyptus. In the other I used the two leis I was given on my graduation, accompanied by sprigs of lavender. From Micheal's I bought plan wire wreaths, assembled the flowers, and used a very pliable wire, which is usually sold along side the wreaths, to keep in place.

Don't you love them! So easy!

Graduation time!!

I had such a busy week!! My sister Jennifer, Martin's sister Caitlin, and my cousin Ashley all graduated from High School! (and I made the cakes!) Luckily Jen's party was not too big, so I just had the two main cakes to worry about.

Caitlin's was a white cake with a strawberry and custard filling, with my chocolate buttercream frosting.
Ashley's was a white cake with a vanilla cream filling and my vanilla buttercream frosting.

Martin, Caitlin, and I

Todd, Jana, Jen, and I :)

Boysenberry Pie

For an 8-9 inch pie

Pie Crust Recipe:
2 c. flour
½ t. salt
¼ c. sugar
2/3 c. shortening
8-9 T. cold water

For detailed directions of my pie crust.

Boysenberry Filling:
4 c. berries
1 c. sugar
2 T. flour
3 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt

If you don’t have to wash the berries, don’t; they tend to hold a lot of water in them, but if you must, dry them well. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Gently mix in the berries. Add the berry mixture to the empty pie crust, and spread evenly to the edges.
Cover pie with top rolled out crust. Roll the edges in to seal in the berries and design the edges however you prefer. The top should have some kind of an opening to allow air to be released, use any design you prefer for that as well, with a knife, just deep enough to cut the crust.
Bake at 375 for about 50 minutes. The edges of pies have a tendency to burn, so you may need to use a pie crust saver, or just foil will work fine. You can cover almost the entire top and edges with foil, just as long as you cut a hole in the center, to allow air to flow. The pie is done once the filling begins to bubble through the cut made in the crust.

Baby shower cupcakes!!

Nina Wittmer had a baby shower and lucky for me, I got to do the cake! I decided to make a mini cake, just for the mommy to be, and cupcakes for all the guests! So fun!!



Chocolate and Vanilla cupcakes with my chocolate and pink vanilla buttercream. I used premade fondant from Michael's to make the flower cutouts. And my new favorite cake stand that I also got at Michael's.

Congratulations Nina!!

welcome baby!!

My latest and greatest!



A shower cake for Stephanie Luster in the ward. I was thrilled to do this cake! Why don't I use pink more often!?

Red Velvet Cake for Tracy!!

Happy Birthday to my friend Tracy!!
I've never made a red velvet before so it was interesting.


Here was the best recipe I could find.

Cake:
3 3/4 cups Flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
Frosting, recipe follows
For the cake:
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line each pan with a round of parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl

Cream the butter, sugar and oil in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beat until incorporated. Beat in the vanilla, vinegar and food coloring.

Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches alternating with the buttermilk, mixing well after each addition. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool on a baking rack for 15 minutes before removing the cake from the pans. Let cool completely before frosting. Slice each cake into 2 layers and frost.


Here's my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe

To have a semi-homemade cake, you can use a yellow cake mix, make the cake as directed, add 1/2 c. cocoa powder, 1 T. vinegar, and red food coloring to your liking.

And you can, of course, buy the cream cheese frosting.