LittleMissMaggie: 7/8/12

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Rainbow Cupcake

Last weekend my oldest daughter came to visit and the girls decided to make rainbow cupcakes. I'm only showing you one finished product because there was a huge learning curve to making these and some turned out much better than others. The girls used regular white cake mix and regular store bought frosting.

They separated the batter into different bowls and added food coloring to get the desired colors. Then they took my glass jars I was saving for my craft projects and started layering the different colored batter. Now look at how full these jars are. A turkey baster was used to suction out about a third of this batter because it was too full. It was suctioned from the middle. So if you want to try this, don't fill the jar quite as full.

So below you can see that the batter rose just like it would in a cake pan. By the way, these are jam jars.

Okay, here you can see what happened with my youngest daughter's batch. She over filled her jars and they ran over. Thank goodness she used a cookie sheet underneath.

The girls did the same procedure with the frosting and then loaded it into a cake decorating cylinder to get the rainbow effect in the frosting. Another thing to point out is use straight sided jars, not the kind that are narrower at the top. They were beautiful when finished and very different. I'd like the orange and chocolate ones for Halloween, wouldn't you?

Happy baking everyone!

I'm partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays   Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays           French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                  At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday   Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays      Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Rolltop With a French Twist

This project was inspired by a Graphics Fairy image I found and I knew right away I wanted to use it on something. When I printed it out, I found it hard to read the small writing in the graphic so I kept the flavor of the image and did some research on the internet to see if I could make out what the actual words were. I found everything I needed and this is what transpired. The before photo of this piece is at the end of the post.

For the wreath and the crown I improvised with a grain sack stencil I already had, but you could use any crown image or wreath image.

Most of the stencils I used were ones I purchased at Michael's and Joann's and were very inexpensive. They are the 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch variety of letters.

For the circles and the ovals I used a box lid and some bowls and traced around them. I filled in with some rubber stamps to embellish the crown a little bit and to dress up the ovals on the sides.

I had my husband replace the dated stained glass with small scale poultry wire I had on hand already.

I kept all the wording the same as my original inspiration image.

Lombart is a real chocolate shop in France.

I loved the small scale details of this cute little desk. It is about 20 inches wide.

Who doesn't love a little chocolate?

Here is the link to this fabulous graphic. Chocolate Label

And here is what I started with. Big difference, don't you think? Thanks for hanging in there. I know this post was picture heavy. Have a great day!

Please don't forget about our Hot Fun in the Summertime link party going on right now. You can link up using the party button on the side of my blog.

I'm partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays   Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays           French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                  At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday   Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays      Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Hot Fun in the Summertime Blog Party #2

Well, first let me say I have the best fellow co-hostesses ever. Last week's Hot Fun in the Summertime Link Party was a huge success! We had 90 entries and I know it was very hard for my co-hostess Bliss to pick the favorites for the week. I'm glad it was not my turn. I know how hard it would have been for me. To see if Bliss featured you from last week's party click here. Thanks to everyone who linked up and thanks for your patience with us for not being clear about the party buttons. I have included the correct link button above to use for your post. If you were featured, please grab the feature button on the left of my screen.

I'm not doing my regular post right now, but I'll just show you this colorful cupcake my daughter made in a jar last week when she was visiting. I have more photos to share at another time.

So please use the correct party button. You can find it at the beginning of this post. Please do not use the individual blogger's button. Link up as many as three posts and it can be anything related to summer (like my happy cupcake above). You must have a permalink back to the party or we cannot feature your post next week. Link to any one of us and it shows up on all five blogs. Thanks so much for making this party Hot Fun in the Summertime.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

My Santuary

I have done a few posts on my garden already about how I have accumulated treasures over the years to really make my garden a sanctuary, and I do mean sanctuary. I love to be outside wandering about and eating breakfast on the patio. It's one of my favorite places to be in the morning except in the winter.

When my daughter decided to have her wedding in our back yard a couple of years ago, I took that opportunity to convert a lot of my rose bushes to an all white palette. Pretty much the only color I have in our yard is the blue agapanthus plants that bloom right around 4th of July. Perfect timing. We live in Southern California and our soil is not the best. It is clay soil with very poor drainage so I am constantly trying to amend the soil to get more earthworms to do the aerating for me.

The above photo was taken last weekend. This look is a little too jungle-like for me, but this is what it turns into during the peak growing season. You can see how lush and green everything is and this is a pretty drought tolerant yard too, especially since I added the succulents where my very thirsty annuals used to need hand watering every day. I do have one little rose bush that died almost overnight and I will have to investigate why that happened. I have never experienced that before. Maybe its root system had a problem.

I mulch every spring with Gardner & Bloom soil amendment. I apply it like a mulch on the top of my soil. It has bat guano and chicken manure and all kinds of good things in it to feed my soil. About 14 bags does my whole front and back upper yard.

I really need to get the hedges on the hill trimmed back. They were evenly trimmed about a month ago and look how much they have grown.

I've had this rose bush for about 20 years. Just a hint of pink against the white. I don't even know what it's called.

Here is the long view of our patio. I usually do my tablescapes right in front of those hanging windows.

I love rustic lanterns hanging on Sheppard's hooks. I have them everywhere.

It may be time to thin out my treasures (or at least relocate them). It's hard to resist when I find them at yard sales. I quickly become attached.

The other thing I do to feed the yard is organic rose food. I'm not particular about the brand. I just scatter handfuls around the roots of my rose bushes in the spring. If I am not getting very many blooms, I will mix fish emulsion, one tablespoon to one gallon of water, and water that into my soil. But the last couple of years I have not needed to do that.

My garden is a place for me to rejuvenate when I am tired or feeling stressed. You might say it's good for the blood pressure too. So if you don't have a garden to regenerate your soul, visit a public garden in your area. I bet you will feel totally refreshed.

Don't forget about this week's Hot Fun in the Summertime link party. It starts tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern time. You can link up on any of our blogs and show up on all five. Have a great week and stay cool!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Repurposed Window Screen

I feel like I'm finally getting back into my usual patterns and we are starting to get projects completed. This project consists of two repurposed items that made the perfect marriage. I love to visit the salvage yards and I find old building materials that are usually slated for the trash. The frame for this beauty is actually an old window screen frame. I ditched the screen because it was torn and was left with a frame and nothing to put in it. I left the hardware and hinges on it because it is what it is. I like Americana primitives and this is perfect. I have actually seen the original of this masterpiece. It is enormous, and I was left awestruck at how magnificent it was.

I found the print at a studio auction. I wish I knew what movie or television show it came from but that info was unavailable. I have purchased a ton of items from The West Wing set, but this was unmarked except for WB which stands for Warner Bros.

When I brought it home from the auction, it had a cheapy metal frame and no glass as they don't use glass when filming because of the glare it gives off. My husband cut the print to fit my screen frame. I had taken it to my glass place and they cut the glass and caulked it into the frame for me.

We are working inside today because it is scorching hot and the kitchen island made a great work surface once we covered it with an old blanket. Because we were repurposing as much as we could, my husband used the cardboard from the back of the print. It still has the Warner Bros. inventory number and the address of the warehouse this came from. Then we unearthed some upholstery tacks and used those to tack the cardboard on the back of the frame. It's now the perfect primitive.

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs       The Graphics Fairy
                                      Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays   Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants
                                     Faded Charm Cottage       Fine Craft Guild
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here
                                     Between Naps on the Porch Tablescape Thursday    Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings
Fridays           French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                  At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday   Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays      Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing

Monday, July 9, 2012

French Blue Perfume Tray

This tray was a further experimentation of my French blue color that I have been playing with. I found an inexpensive wooden tray at a yard sale to experiment with. Last week I did my French blue basket with the same label, but this time I took the cap to the Rustoleum Sail Blue and had it color matched in an eggshell finish. I bought the little sample size. I love this color, and I think it's perfect for this French label from the Graphics Fairy. For the image click here.

After I painted on the base coat, I layered with the following colors and I just kept layering until I reached the desired effect. Delta Light Victorian Teal, Folk Art Teal, Folk Art Jamaican Sea and Delta Autumn Brown. First I applied my sail blue color and then I added a layer of gesso. Then I watered down these other colors and kept layering in spots until I was happy. I wanted it to look old.

When I achieved the results I wanted, I made an 8x10 copy of the image and decoupaged it to the tray, applying the decoupage over the whole tray and not just the label. This blue looks amazing with this graphic. I did the towels a while back. Obviously I am quite smitten with this label and I love roses so this is perfect for me. Before you get crazy searching for these colors I used, they are mostly aquas and teals of various shades. Some of my paints are older so I am truly not sure these colors are still available, but stick with aquas and teals and you will be on the right track.

Don't forget about our second Hot Fun in the Summertime linky party this week. You can grab the button in my side bar. Our first week was a great success and we look forward to you linking up your summer goodies again. The party starts this Thursday night at 8:00 eastern time.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Blue and Yellow Tablescape

Happy Sunday everyone. After taking a week off from work last week and having family visiting from out of town, hopefully I can get back to my regular schedule this week. I almost need to go back to work to be on my regular blogging schedule. In other words, I need a vacation from my vacation.

This week's tablescape theme is blue and yellow. My favorite china is Royal Copenhagen. It's blue and white and I have a mixture of the full lace, half lace and just plain fluted. I have a mixture of this pattern. It is all hand painted and I never get tired of it. My everyday pattern is a copy of this very china. I included my cheery sun face in the background. Sadly, I have decided to sell him. He really doesn't go with my garden scheme.

I had some lemons on hand and they were the perfect color for this tablescape.

We tried some blood orange soda from Trader Joe's that you see in the decanter, but, seriously, I would not recommend it unless you mix it with a punch. The color was great though, don't you think?

Here is an example of the full lace and half lace patterns. The dinner plate has little holes in the border of this plate. You can barely make them out in the photo. The salad plate has a similar border with no holes. That's why they call it "lace."

This color combination is so cheerful and sunny. I just love it. Thanks for visiting today. You are always welcome to stop by.

I'm partying at...

Mondays          Le Chateau des Fleurs        The Graphics Fairy     Metamorphosis Monday
Tuesdays          Knick of Time       Tutus and Tea Parties       Coastal Charm
                                      Boogie Board Cottage    A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesdays   Savvy Southern Style         Ivy and Elephants        Faded Charm Cottage
                                     Fine Craft Guild
Thursdays        Embracing Change     The Shabby Creek Cottage    No Minimalist Here
                                     Fishtail Cottage
                                     Rustic Restorations Homespun Happenings   Between Naps on the Porch
Fridays           French Country Cottage       My Romantic Home        Miss Mustard Seed
                                  At the Picket Fence     Potpourri Friday   Common Ground
                                    The Charm of Home    Decorating Insanity   Rooted in Thyme
Saturdays      Funky Junk Interiors

Sundays           It's Overflowing