Merry Moon Sweets & Treats

Pink & Green Swap

2009-05-09T15:05:00.005-04:00

I seem to still been in an "I'm unemployed but I really don't feel like crafting" funk lately so I decided to jump back in the pool and join a swap. This way I could focus on someone else for while, make something cute and fun, and have a project for the week. Just as this thought formed in my little mind I received an email that the Lovely Miss Gypsy Mermaid was hosting a Pink & Green Swap. My favorite colors! Perfect!

I was paired with the most wonderfully fun and talented partner, Lisa. I could just tell from her beautiful blog that she deserved a fabulous swap package. And she certainly didn't disappoint me either. I received a beautiful swap package overflowing with pink and green goodies.

We needed to find a box and fill it with pink and green items. Here is the package I sent to Lisa.

I secured two small band boxes together to create a faux cake. Each "layer" was filled with glitter, trinkets, cards and other goodies.

I added decorative papers, rhinestones and needle felted flowers to decorate the "cake" box. I really love how this turned out.

We both love cupcakes so I made Lisa a custom feltie.

Here is the lovely package Lisa sent me:

Isn't this the cutest banner? It says "Life is Sweet", my motto. I LOVE it!!

This clipboard is to-die-for cute! It's also decorated with vintage cookbook images on the other side. It's so cute that I just can't image putting it aside until I use it, so I've hung it up on my studio wall.

The box she sent me is the beautiful vintage pink jewelry box filled to the brim with pink and green treasures and ephemera.

I absolutely love everything! Thanks Lisa!

I really needed this swap. It was a great way to focus on something other than my stupid job search. If anyone else is interested in doing a swap sent me an email!

My new goal is to create a least one new item per week and post it. Keep your fingers crossed!

Hugs, Heather

Scones, Cookies and the Job Search

2009-03-18T15:09:00.003-04:00

I have to apologize for not keeping up with this blog as I should. I'm in this weird limbo land. I've finished culinary school but have decided that it isn't something I want to do full-time. So as much as I hate to admit it, I'm heading back to the corporate world. I promise I won't give up baking and crafting! They are two things that I really need to keep me sane.

I have fully accepted the idea of going back to the 9-5 grind, but the job search is just brutal. I won't bore you all with how sucky the job market is right now, just watch the news to find out. And I'm not asking for sympathy. I fully accept that I chose this path over the past year. It's weird to try to explain my daily existence. I feel that my full-time job right now is getting a full-time job. That takes time even if others in my life don't see the results at the end of the day. I seem to be getting more leads and follow-up than others I know, but companies are just slow to pull the trigger right now and actually hire for positions they've posted.

Here's my internal struggle: My husband has been so supportive of my crazy decisions lately and I feel I owe it to him to find a job as soon as possible (which I'm working on). But I also feel this is a cool opportunity. When you have a desk job you dream of all of the things that you would do if you didn't have to work full-time. Well, I'm here! What do I do?

Of course, I have my Etsy shop. I do enjoy my faux treats, but they take a LONG time to make each piece. They are really more a labor of love than something I would consider doing to pay the bills. Honestly, they couldn't ever pay the bills. The labor and material cost are just too much to recoup. I just enjoy making them for people who truly appreciate them. If there are any foody/cottage artists out there that want to do a swap, let me know!

There is another side of my life that I've been holding back from the lovely readers of this blog: I'm a romance novel junkie. I love them. I read them. I write them. OK, I'm not published yet, but this is something I've been working on a long time. I took time off while in school, but this down time has really made me realize once again that getting published is one of my top life goals. I started a new blog to document this journey, if you're interested check out Heather's Romance Bistro. I hope to share my writing journey, book news and reviews, and of course recipes and snack ideas. It's a bistro after all!

I've also been baking this week. On today's menu: chocolate chip cookies with dried cherries soaked in Southern Comfort, and Cranberry Orange Scones.

My kitty Leela decided that when I put out the plastic containers for the scones & cookies and laid the cover to my Kitchen Aide mixer inside it all, I was actually building her a nice little bed. She supervised the rest of the baking from her new kitchen table bed.

I hope anyone else out of work right now is able to take advantage of this time, and dedicate at least a little part of the day to doing or trying something you've always dreamed of when you were sitting behind your desk. Maybe a new more fulfilling career might come out of it!

What Kind of Cupcake Am I?

2009-03-13T14:56:00.001-04:00

You Are a Vanilla Cupcake

You are very sweet and mellow. You are easy going and easy to like.

You are drawn to those stronger personalities. You get along with powerful people.

You are like a cupcake because you appeal to almost every type of person.

You are friendly and accepting. You bring out other people's best qualities.

What Flavor Cupcake Are You?

Verdi-Traviata

2009-01-26T19:31:00.001-05:00

You have to see this magical dessert themed claymation short. Enjoy!

The New Year Tidy Up

2009-01-07T21:06:00.005-05:00

I decided to start the year off right and clean up my studio. I'm still somewhat in limbo trying to decide my next move in life. I've actually been getting quite a few orders from my Etsy shop, which has been keeping me busy, but I'm also trying to decide what new products I should be working on. Should I stick to 3-D needle felted items? Should I include flat embroidered felties? Should I bring back my hand painted signs with bakery themes? So many ideas, so little time. So while I'm pondering all of these questions (and many more like how do I make an actual living) I decided to clean out my studio. Here it is in a rare pristine moment.
You can see some naked felt cupcakes ready for their color and sprinkles. On the tall shelf is my treasured pink mixer from my dear friend Julie (CupcakeDD), on the white shelf are my adorable faux cupcakes from Emily at Sugar & Meringue,
and the lemon bunt cake and pink strawberry donuts from The Soapmaker (which smell AMAZING!)
This shot has three of my favorite things in my whole studio: the cake painting by Jenny/Everyday is a Holiday, the top shadow box shelf holds the cardboard cupcake made especially for me by my friend Patianne at Art on the Menu, and my LolliDolls having a tea party by Be Cheery herself, Miss Jenny.

I love my studio, spend nearly all my time at home here, and do all of my work here. Hope you like it :)

2009-01-01T16:52:00.003-05:00

Well, 2008 has been quite a year. I made my first Etsy sale and continued to make and sell felted sweet treats all year. I left my temporary job at the Craft Center, started culinary school in May, finished classes in November, and am nearly finished with my pastry externship. I’ve made lots of amazing and delicious cakes, cupcakes and cookies. I’ve learned to work with gumpaste, fondant and pastillage. I can make a wicked awesome Swiss buttercream (not a fan of Italian buttercream). I’ve reconfirmed my hatred of crème brulee and soufflés. And ultimately realized that my pastry passion lies with cake decorating.

I’ve had an amazing externship at Cake Haven in Danbury, Connecticut. I want to give a HUGE thanks to the owner, Francine Bové, for being such a fantastic teacher and mentor. She is a true artist and has taught me more than I could have ever asked to learn in ten weeks. Thanks Frani! You’re the Best!

As this adventure is coming to an end, and we’re starting a new year, I need to figure out my next move.

For starters, my new LolliShop is OPEN!! I just adore what Sadie Lou Who has done with this new online candy-colored, sugar-coated shopping dreamland. Be sure to check out my store and all the other super sweet vendors. There really are some amazing artisans and crafty gals in LolliLand.

2009 will definitely see an increase in merchandise in both my Etsy and LolliShops, with new designs and fun sweet filled gifts. But while I’ve had fun in pastry school, and learning the fine art of cake decorating, I just don’t think I’m ready to make the full career change to pastry chef. I’m thinking that I’m ready to go back to the oddly balanced life of corporate America by day, and craft queen by night. The job search is on (yeah, great time of year and economy for a job search), we’ll see how it goes.

I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! I wish you all an over abundance of creativity, more love than you know how to reciprocate, and a world of wealth to make all of your dreams come true.

XOXOX Heather

School's Over, Now the Work Begins

2008-11-08T21:05:00.002-05:00

I've finished my last class in pastry school--Chocolate Artistry. This is my final piece--a pastillage box with one dozen truffles. Everything on the box is edible, the snowflakes are also pastillage, and the truffles are all hand rolled and dipped dark chocolate raspberry (Framboise & raspberry puree)

Here I am in my full uniform. DORKY!

So I'm now ready to start my externship and I have a confession to make...I didn't survive the first externship I agreed to. It took me only one weekend to realize the the restaurant life wasn't for me. I was so excited about the idea of being a pastry chef in a four star restaurant, but the reality of working 16 hour days to open a new restaurant was just not happening for this girl (yes, I've worked in restuarants before, but I was MUCH younger). In the middle of dinner service I had an epiphany--I just want to make and decorate cakes! I went into pastry school believing that cakes was the direction I wanted, band guess what, it is. And I realized that I needed to get out of the restaurant and find another externship more suitable to my advancing age and desired skill set.
I'm thrilled to report that I found exactly what I was looking for. I'm going to work at Sweet on You bakery in Stamford, CT. It's so cute and has super yummy baked goods, plus I'll be able to decorate which is really what I want. I'll keep you all posted, cross your fingers.

Cheese Please!

2008-11-02T19:44:00.004-05:00

Lovely cheese platter? Nope, it's Cake!

Everything you see is entirely edible, even the marble is marzipan. The blue cheese wheel and pistachio crusted cheese ball are both yellow cake soaked with Earl Grey syrup and filled & iced with green tea Swiss buttercream.
This was my final project for Advanced Cakes. I LOVE how it turned out!
(Yes, I got 100%. WooHoo!)

I really like the "moldy" sides of the blue cheese. It's really just royal icing tinted with edible food color.

I spent a long time on the blue cheese wheel, but in the end I liked the cheese ball more. I was just so tickled that it really looked like a cheese ball you could scoop into.

Even the crackers and the cheese knife are edible gum paste. This is absolutely my favorite piece to date. I can't wait to make more sculpted cakes!

Life is Sweet!

2008-10-16T19:27:00.009-04:00

I think it comes as no surprise by now that I'm food obsessed. Or that I take my search for the full on sweet life very seriously. OK, not too seriously, I mean that's the whole point of leaving corporate America to find my true passion and enjoy life to the hilt. I have, however, completely committed myself to doing and trying everything I can to make my life happier, sweeter and just more fun. To that end and to the complete dismay of my dear hubby, I've embraced my inner rebellious teenager...

I got a tattoo!
A BIG one!

My new cupcake tattoo!! I LOVE it! It took me a while to find the right tattoo artist to do it because I really wanted it fully shaded and great color. It's about 4"x 4 1/2" on my lower right shin.
I love it, love it, love it!

A huge thanks to Markus at Lucky Soul Tattoo in Ansonia, CT

I also have other new cupcakes from online friends. I did a swap with Emily from Sugar & Meringue. Aren't these the cutest faux cupcakes? They absolutely look deliciously real. I love the ballerina cuppie! They look so awesome in my bakery themed studio.

I sent Emily one of my jumbo cupcakes made just for her:

I've wanted one of these amazing cupcakes for a while. This fantastic cardboard cupcake was made especially for me by my friend Patianne Stevenson from Art on the Menu. I've shared her work with you before, but now I own my very own Patianne cupcake!

Isn't it so cool? And check out that wicked cool matching serving tray. She even sends it with a tag to tell you what type of boxes she got the cardboard from. Now that's a green crafter! The cherry is my favorite part :)

Thank you soooo much Patianne! I hope you like your felt cupcake.

Now for your Thursday sugar rush, here are a few of the latest cakes from school:

Flourless chocolate cake covered with ganache and raspberries. This is now the hubby's new favorite!

Chocolate genoise and peanut butter buttercream covered with ganache. Aren't the vertical stripes cool?

To make the vertical stripes is actually pretty easy. You do need to assemble the cake in a cake circle lined with acetate. Put a layer of cake on the bottom and frost it with buttercream, then you take long stripes of cake 1 1/2 inches wide, frost them and roll them like a swiss roll, keep adding strips until it fills the entire circle (The swiss roll goes onto the cake flat so you can see the rings, similar to the rings of a tree stump). Then top the giant swiss roll with another layer of buttercream, another cake circle, a crumb coat of buttercream and enrobe the whole thing in ganache. When you slice it, you get the vertical stripes. Cool huh? Hope that made sense.

This one is called a Dobos Torte. It looks more exciting than it is. Basically it's a hazelnut layered torte with 7 layers, covered in chocolate buttercream. The triangles on top are caramel covered sponge cake that have been dipped in chocolate.

This entremet is called Eleanor: Framboise soaked cocoa genoise, outer rim of raspberry jam layered sponge cake, fresh raspberries, raspberry Bavarian, topped with raspberry gaze, whipped cream & fresh raspberries

This Fraisier Entremet is composed of: Kirsch flavored genoise, strawberries, mousseline, French buttercream and topped with a marzipan disk.

Mini Fraisiers. The acetate is still around them so you can't see the strawberries very well.

Havana Torte is a hazelnut cake with three separate layers of hazelnut sponge cake, two chocolate layers, and one vanilla, the whole cake is crumb coated in chocolate buttercream and enrobed in chocolate ganache

I hope you've gotten your sugar fix. I'll check back soon!
XO H

So much to do, So little time...

2008-10-12T14:46:00.006-04:00

I can't believe it's been so long since my last post! It seems like every Sunday I swear that I'm going to make sure I schedule blogging time, and the next thing I know it's the next Sunday. I don't know where the time goes. These last two pastry school classes (Intro to Cakes and Advanced European Cakes) have taken a lot more out of school planning and prep time. I've loved every minute of it, but it certainly hasn't allowed for any crafting or blogging time. This is my final practical exam for Intro to Cakes. We had to complete a three-tiered fondant covered wedding cake. The design and decoration was totally up to each student.

I'm THRILLED with how it turned out! I've never worked with fondant in my life & I can't believe how smooth I managed to get my cakes. To do the garlands I made over 300 fondant flowers (I did those at home) and "glued" each one on individually. I just want to make sugar flowers all day. Anyone in Connecticut need a cake decorator? We'll get to the job front in a minute...

Here's a shot of the all of the cakes in my class. At the risk of be too catty, I do think mine stands out a bit :)

The class I'm currently in is Advanced European Cakes--Lots of tortes, layers, almond flavor and mousses. The one exception was doing a "dome" cake, which basically is a simplistic form of a sculpted cake created in a bowl and turned out once firm. We could use the dome to create any themed marzipan covered cake we wanted. I decided to alter the dome form a bit and create a cornucopia.

The cornucopia is all cake (vanilla sponge cake with vanilla buttercream, nothing exciting), the pumpkin to the right and the large apple to the left are mini cakes. Everything is either covered with marzipan or made out of marzipan. I think it's so cool. It took about 6 hours total to complete.

For the final exam for this class I've decided to make a similar type of decorated cake, but it will be a cheese platter theme (think wheel of cheese, crackers, olives, etc). Check back at the end of the month for that one!

Here are some of the other creations so far from this class:

Individual mocha layer cakes

Zebra Cake -- Chocolate genoise cake with peanut butter butter cream, covered in ganache. Don't you love the stripes? It's actually pretty easy, the middle is like a big swiss roll on it's side with a disk of cake on the top and bottom.

Dobos Torte--7 layers of sponge cake with 7 layers of chocolate buttercream. The top is a layer of sponge cake covered with caramel & dipped in chocolate. This one was A LOT of work for so so payout as far as I'm concerned.

Flourless Chocolate Cake --This cake is AMAZING. Made more like a baked custard cheese cake, very rich and chocolatey.

Here's another impressive looking cake, but give me plain cake with frosting any day. This is a Havana Cake -- A bottom layer of chocolate hazelnut cake, middle layer of vanilla hazelnut cake, another chocolate cake layer, crumb coated with chocolate buttercream and enrobed in ganache. Looks cool, tastes like dry crumbly nuts.

In addition to doing all of this I've been obsessing about my externship. I only have 4 more weeks of classes, then we all must complete a 10 week externship in some sort of baking establishment. I started looking weeks ago. It's such a strange thing to be a grown adult with a fairly decent (but not applicable) resume begging to be allowed to take on a minimum wage job. In this economy bakeries just aren't in the position to take on help, even for peanut wages. I think my resume was also scaring people a little. But alas, just when I thought I'd be working at the local grocery store, I landed an unbelievable opportunity.

A new four-star hotel is opening up in New Haven (trust me, it's needed) with a up-scale restaurant that will hopefully also be four-star dining. I really didn't want to work in a restaurant mostly because I don't want late night hours. Did that when I was in my 20's, don't really want to do it now. But they really needed a pastry cook, and since it's a hotel they would also be serving breakfast & lunch. So I decided to check it out and was hired on the spot. As a pastry chef!!!! Yes, I reminded them that I'm still a student, but he really liked my portfolio. I start next week and the hotel & restaurant open at the end of the month. It's called The Study at Yale
and I love the look and philosphy of the hotel. I also really like the Executive Chef. He has a very impressive resume and I'm hoping to learn a lot of from him.

My emotions keep switching between "how did I land this amazing opportunity" and "I really just want to decorate cakes." I'm going to keep working on my cakes and building a portfolio so I can hopefully move to that specialty in the future. In the meantime I do need to make some money and get my foot in the door. I'm excited and freaked out. I'll need to get over my hatred of creme brulee. But at least I have an externship/employment plan so I'm going with it.

The down side of all of this is not knowing how much time I'll have for crafting, my Etsy shop and my new LolliShop. Wish me luck!
xoxox Heather

It's a Pumpkin Festival

2008-09-16T20:38:00.003-04:00

Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year. I was going to write a lofty and poetic ode the Fall, but my brain is all gummed up with buttercream frosting. So rather than filling your souls with beautiful imagery of pumpkins, tumbling whirls of leaves in autumn colors and the crisp air blowing in the promise of fresh apple pie and trick-or-treaters you only get my lazy “Hey Fall, glad you’re here!”

I wanted to share a few of my latest fall creations. They are all listed for sale in my Etsy store.

Thanks for stopping by!

My name is Heather and I'm addicted to Buttercream

2008-09-13T20:15:00.006-04:00

After 14 weeks of pastry school the class I've been waiting for is finally here--Cakes! I'm sure after all of the buttercream frosting I've made in the past two weeks most people would be sick of it, but not me, can't get enough of the stuff. I truly am an addict. Is there a 12-step program for frosting addiction? Actually, I hope not. I'm not ready to give it up.

Black Forest Cake

Carrot Cake

I made these in class on a day when everyone was hungry. We were just making cakes & freezing them, so we didn't have any snacks. These are Chocolate cupcakes frosted with cherry buttercream frosting. The cherries had been marinating in their own juice plus Kirsch liqueur which made them extra decadent and gave the frosting an amazing flavor. I used the extra boozed up syrup to make ice cream the next day. Yum!

Traditional German Chocolate Cake

Mandarin Orange Layer Cake frosted with Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

This was the most amazing cake EVER. Seriously, this cake may be my Holy Grail, the solution to all of life's problems. It's a white layer cake with fresh strawberries. What makes it so addictive is the frosting: Cream cheese frosting with Malibu Rum, coconut extract, crushed pineapple and a pinch of all spice (the specks on the top of the cake is an additional sprinkling of all spice). This cake is to die for!

Pistachio Layer Cake

Triple Chocolate Torte: Three layers of Chocolate velvet cake, dark chocolate ganache filling and covered with chocolate buttercream

Here's a little fun with marzipan. Remember the talking veggies on The Muppet Show? Yeah, that's what I had on my brain.

Wishing you all buttercream shots!

Is it Fall yet?

2008-09-07T18:57:00.007-04:00

Hey there, did you think I dropped off the planet? Sorry for the long hiatus, I hadn't planned on being away from blogland for so long. Time just seemed to slip away from me, or more specifically August slipped away. So I thought I'd just jump right back in give you a quick rundown of my comings and goings, musings and rants for the past month.

I took an impromptu vacation. I realized at the last minute that we had a week-long semester break at the beginning of August, so I quick booked a flight to my home state of Nebraska to visit my family and best friend, Erron (Hi Erron!)

While in Omaha I just HAD to visit my very favorite restaurant in the whole country--The Bohemian Cafe. My family and most everyone I know think I'm nuts, but this truly is my favorite restaurant and favorite meal anywhere...

Who wouldn't love a place like this? It's been here in Omaha since 1924 and it's looked exactly like this at least since I was born (trust me, that's a long time). Doesn't it look like it promises good eats?

The inside has been expanded and update a few times over the years, and it's always spotless, yet the overall decor looks basically the same. Gotta love those paintings!

This is it, my favorite meal. Yes, I'm in culinary school. Yes, I love escargot, I like foie gras, I truly enjoy very high-end cuisine, but I'd pass them all up for this any day.
I know, you're saying, "What the hell is that?"
That is a heaping plate of Hungarian goulash, covering two massive yeast dumplings and a side of sweet and sour cabbage, accompanied by killer rye bread. I also always order the liver dumpling soup.
You're probably questioning all of my previous food reviews and descriptions, and I know it's not everyone's favorite (sorry Judy), but to me it's the ultimate comfort food. And it's been made the same way for nearly seventy-five years. So I guess I'm not the only one who likes it. Thank you Bohemian Cafe, I'll always love you!

On the school front, I came back to a less than exciting class: Baking Technology. Basically it's a whole class of experiments to learn how baking ingredients work, and what doesn't. Things like what happens when you substitute various fats, can you swap out honey for sugar, what do different flours do, etc. I thought this might be fun, but I was wrong. I mostly had to sample and observe a lot of really disgusting products that were intentionally baked wrong. To fill up time, we made a few things worthy of sharing.

Classic Cannoli garnished with crushed pistachios, mini chocolate chips and served with chocolate ganache for dipping.
I developed this one myself--Chocolate Napoleon: 2 Chocolate palmiers with chocolate pastry cream, raspberries, and whipped cream, drizzled with chocolate ganache and sprinkled with pistachios. This was soooo good!

We're finally done with this boring class and on to the one I've been waiting my whole culinary program for--Cakes! I guarantee I'll have tons of fun things to show you from this class. The first week was mostly banging out tons of different kinds of cakes, which we've wrapped up and stored in the freezer. Now we're finally starting the assembling and decorating. I've also been whipping up extra goodies in class as time allows (we're always hungry even though we're baking).
These are chocolate cupcakes topped with maraschino cherry buttercream frosting. The cherries had been soaking in their own juice plus Kirsch liquer, so this frosting was extra decadent and the cherries were killer!

This is a layered sponge cake, soaked in Grand Marnier syrup, Grand Marnier flavored whipped cream and Mandarin oranges in the center and on top. Very delicate flavor.

Well, that about catches us all us. I've also been crafting quite a bit, but I'll save that for it's own post. This week make a point of doing at least one thing you absolutely love!

Get Your Just Desserts!

2008-08-10T15:14:00.006-04:00

I’ve just finished class number four on my culinary journey—Hot and Cold Plating. I have to admit that I wasn’t very excited about this class because I’ve already made up my mind that if I stick with pastry, I want to work in a bakery, hopefully owning my own bakery someday. I don’t ever plan on working in a restaurant again. Been there, done that when I was in my twenties. It was fun then, but I don’t want to work the late hours now. Super early hours would be great, but no late night dessert service for me.

Anyway, this class focused on plating and dessert presentation, sauces, portion sizes, etc. The real irony is that the whole point of this class is to make the dessert you present to the customer look as appealing and beautiful as possible, but I really didn’t get many pretty pictures. Since I’m determined to document this whole experience I’ll show you all the highlights.

One part of this class that I did enjoy is learning to make sorbet and French style Ice Cream (it's a custard base made with eggs). This is the Champagne Sorbet with a glassed strawberry & Tuile cookie. This sorbet was really tasty.

This is my Tequila Lime Sorbet and Coconut Sorbet with a Tuile cookie. I could not stop eating this Tequila Lime sorbet! Because the Tequila is added during churning the alcohol it isn't cooked off, so this baby offers up a nice little buzz.

This is classic Cherries Jubilee. We learned proper table service with all of the flair. I've never been that excited about setting things on fire, but flambeing was pretty fun. This was served over fresh vanilla bean ice cream and a pecan tile cookie.

On Angel Food Cake day we made and plated several types of angel food cake. This is the Chocolate Angel Food Cake served with Raspberry Chantilly Cream and Raspberry Sauce.

This is a Coconut Angel Food Cake with Creme Anglaise and Raspberry Sauces

These little tarts are delicious! This is a Chocolate Banana Tart. There are caramelized bananas on the bottom of the tart.

This is a Chocolate Lava Cake with a surprise chocolate ganache center. The rose garnish is sculpted from modeling chocolate.

This is the same Chocolate Lava Cake but served this time with Coffee Espresso Bean Ice Cream.

This is my new favorite dessert ever! I have found the love of the Sabayon Sauce. Who knew that egg yolks, sugar and wine cooked together could taste so amazing, but it does! Here it is served with a Fresh Fruit Gratin, a Cranberry Orange Scone and whipped cream. I decided it was my grown up version of afternoon tea. The top of the gratin has been torched similar to creme brulee, so it has a slightly crunchy sugar crust on top.

This is a Lemon Curd Tartlett served with Raspberry Sorbet. My raspberry sauce got a little away from me, but think I still made it pretty with little hearts.

We spent one day working with pulled sugar. We collectively worked on this sugar sculpture, but all of the leaves are mine! Unfortunately, the sugar magic went sour when I burned the crap out of my hand. If you've never had a sugar burn, they are the worst. I hope you don't ever find out for yourself. Very Bad!

These are almond Tuile cookies that are typically used as garnished. I like how these looked together. It kind of reminds me of the Hell's Kitchen logo :)

Only it's Heather's Kitchen!

And for my Practical Final... For this class we needed to present one perfect plated dessert containing all of the elements of a plated dessert: the main item, sauce(s), functional garnish, crunch factor.

I created this Dessert Taco with Strawberry Mango Salsa.

The taco is made up of a sugar cookie shell, passion fruit ice cream filling, strawberry mango salsa (with mint, lime and a hint of cilantro), topped with whipped cream, and served with strawberry and mango sauces. Seriously, this was so fresh and delicious! I love how it turned out, the flavors and the design turned out exactly as I planned.

I got 100/100 points! Yah!

We have a week off of school. I'm heading to see my best friend (Hi Erron!) and family in Nebraska, so I'll be away for a week. Have a great week and eat something fabulous!

Let's Swap!

2008-08-09T17:18:00.015-04:00

I have to come forward and admit it, swapping has taken over my life. It's out of control. I need to get a grip! I need help!
In between trying to keep up with pastry school I've been spending nearly all of my spare time working on swaps. Because I've been so slammed for time lately I've been lucky to get swaps out on time, and occasionally remember to take photos, but I haven't had time to post any. So here is my super big spectacular swap post.

Faux Food Swap with my Friend Debbie

Here is part of the package I sent Debbie. I love my mini needle felted pumpkins!

Debbie likes more of the primitive/grubby look so I tried to make this swap more to her style. She also collects gingerbread men, so I made her a felt gingerbread people garland.

Cute little feltie gingerbread people!

Here is the package I received from Debbie! She makes candles. Look at all these fun food candles! Yes, they are all candles or wax tarts. This box smelled AMAZING when it arrived from England. The mini tarts are carrot cake scented, the large and mini cinnamon buns smell like, well, cinnamon buns. And the banana, she calls that scent "monkey farts." I'm so juvenile, it just make me giggle!

And she had this adorable stuffed gingerbread man and spice bag garland made for me. I love it all. Thanks Debbie!

This next swap is a Faux Treats Swap with my friend Yifat.

Here is the package I sent to Yifat in Israel.

Yifat makes adorable sweet treat miniatures. This is the super fun package she sent me. Aren't they so cute? Those are sewing pins with treat toppers in the cute cupcake pin cushion. The ice cream cone is a magnet, and the two bright pink ones on the left are erasers that she made herself! Thanks so much for swapping with me Yifat!

I just received my latest swap this week.
This is the Vintage Bakery Swap with my friend Julie from CupcakeDD

Julie is the super sweet gal who sent me the fabulous Luau package blogged about here. We had so much fun with that swap that we decided to do it again with a Vintage Bakery theme!
Here is part of the package I sent her. I own a sewing machine, but really don't sew. I desperately wanted to make her dish towels with this cute fabric, so I gave it a try. I was so happy with how they turned out! I still can't believe I pulled off the ruffle.

There are more goodies that I sent Julie, but the photos just didn't want to cooperate being uploaded.

Julie went crazy with her package to me...

Yes, that's my new vintage pink mixer! Isn't it fantastic? So cool. She also sent the old decorator Schilling bottle filled with pink glitter.

And this beautiful milk glass bowl filled with pink vintage baking tools. I think I'm going to hang them on the wall in my studio. They'll fit right in. Now, I'm thrilled with all of this vintage love, but then I found another package in the box....My new "Heather" banner made just for me! I've always wanted one. The pictures didn't turn out that great because I immediately hung it on the wall before the thought of photographing it came into my brain. Seriously, it was out of the box for about 10 minutes before it was on the wall above my desk.

I just LOVE it! Sorry for the crummy pics, it's hard to get good lighting up near the ceiling. You can see scalloped pencil marks on the wall which will someday be painted aqua. Maybe if I stop swapping I'll have time to paint them.
Thanks for everything Julie!!

I think my little swapping stint is coming to an end. I need to focus on my Etsy store and new LolliShop opening this fall.

Hey, I thought this was a craft blog!

2008-07-29T19:48:00.011-04:00

It definitely started that way, and I want to keep it a craft blog, but as this pastry school thing has taken over my life it’s also taken over my blog. It does seem like all I post lately are food pics. I’ve tried to spare you all the not-so-pretty and uninspiring pics of food (think apple brown Betty and bread pudding), but I’ve wanted to share the pretty and interesting creations I’ve been making.

But just as I suspect you all want to see some crafty things; I’m also am really trying to fit more art and crafts into my life for my own sanity.

So campers, it’s time for Arts and Crafts! We have a lot to cover today so let’s get started—

First, some exciting news…My friend Julie, Miss CupcakeDD herself, has awarded me the Brillante Weblog award! I’m so honored and surprised. I never think anyone reads my little blog. Thanks Julie for the award and your continued support!!!

Now I have the honor of passing the award on to a blogger that I adore and admire. I immediately knew who absolutely deserves the Brillante Weblog award…

Emily of Sugar & Meringue! Emily’s blog is fun, beautiful, interesting, and full of sweet vintage eye candy. I’m such a loyal reader!

Congratulations Emily!

As the new recipient here are some rules:

- Put the logo on your blog
- Add a link to the person who awarded you
- Nominate at least 1 other blog
- Add links to the blog(s) on yours
- Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

My next exciting announcement is that I'm participating in Artsy Mama's annual Sweet & Sinister 2008 Swap! I've been kind of swap crazy lately, and I've realized that I need to scale back and focus on my products and selling my crafty wares. But this swap is legendary and only the best of the crafty best get into this swap, and I'm sooooo excited that I'm in this year! As some of you know, I used to specialize in Halloween crafts so this will so much fun to put together a wonderfully sweet and sinister Halloween package for my partner.

Unbelievably, my swap partner is Miss Artsy Mama herself, Kari! I’m so honored and thrilled to have such a talented crafter as my partner! Here is a little peek at past sweet and sinister goodies I’ve created.

Now even MORE exciting news...I've been asked to join a new online shop that my friend Sadie Lou Who is putting together. It will be called LolliShops! How cute is that name? Well, the site Sadie is putting together is even cuter! In fact, it will be a "frou frou friendly marketplace." Now that sounds just perfect. We should be up and running by fall. I'll keep you all posted. Here's a sneak peek at LolliShop vendors and wares:

Do you see my cupcake felties right in the middle?

Look at all of these beautiful things! I'm so excited to be in such fabulously talented company!
I'm hoping to really focus all of my spare time on new products for LolliShops and my Etsy store.
Take care everyone and go make make something!

Au Revoir French Pastry, I'll Miss You Dearly

2008-07-28T19:47:00.007-04:00

Well, my all too brief affair with European Pastry has come to an end. Of course just because the class is over doesn't mean my love affair has to end. I have to admit that I went into this pastry school thing with the intent to end up as a cake decorator. Yes, I know that I didn't need to go to full on culinary school to decorate cakes, but I really wanted to learn how to bake properly.
Now I'm really thinking that the Patisserie is the life for me!

I just love making individual works of art that taste as amazing as they look. And the flavors are like nothing I've ever tasted before. I'm sad to admit that I was raised on grocery store baked goods, so I never knew what real puffed pastry tasted like. Well, holy crap! When you use the best ingredients it tastes like nothing out of a grocery store (yes, you can say it with me...DUH!). I'm use to wanting the cake with the most frosting and the sweetest taste. Now I'm in love with subtle, rich flavors rather than just shockingly sweet.

Here are the highlights of the last two weeks of class:
Almond Pear Tart

Apple Custard Tart

Chocolate Mousse Bombe (there is caramel hidden in there too!)

Buttery Flaky Palmiers

Madelines

Mini Mango Raspberries Charlottes. Charlottes have a sponge cake base with Bavarian cream filling. It sounds lovely, but Bavarian cream is a gelatin based cream and this girl just doesn't do gelatin, no way no how. So sadly, as pretty as these look I just wouldn't eat them.

Mini Raspberri and Mango Charlottes

Pear Charlotte

Raspberry Swiss Roll Charlotte

For our final practical exam we had to make:

1) 8" Gâteau St. Honoré (a magical layered pastry consisting of puff pastry, eclair paste, caramel, and vanilla and chocolate diplomat cream)

2) 6 Mini Puff Pastry Items

3) 6 Mini Cake, Mousse or Tart of our choice

It was a three day final and I chose MUCH more complex products than my classmates. There was a lot of sweat, stress and a little swearing (all in my head, I promise), but I totally pulled it off.

Here is the full final presentation for grading. Shockingly, there was a pink theme inspired by the Laduree bakery in France. I know, hard to believe I'd choose pink.

Gâteau St. Honoré

Rose Frambroise Cake Slices: Sponge cake layered with raspberry jam, rose buttercream, topped with fondant

These are my mini St. Honorés inspired by the Ladurée’s Le Saint Honoré Rose-Framboise.

I have to say, these turned out amazing. The flavor was so subtle and fresh. I love how they turned out.

Yes, I did get an A. Yeah!!

One Atomic Summer

2008-07-14T18:42:00.006-04:00

Howdy campers! Well, this summer has pretty much been a bust so far. Sky high gas prices, outrageous food prices, and our vacation back in May is now just a distant memory (Paid for with our stimulus check we just received today. Gee, thanks George!). What’s a girl to do to make life more interesting? Have a luau!

My mail lady brought me a whole lot of summer fun in a box! My super awesome friend Julie, Miss CupcakeDD herself, hosted an Atomic Summer Swap. And I got the fabulous hostess herself as my partner! What a super lucky girl I am! Just look at all the treasures I received. So much vintage luau fun!

My grandmother had these glasses, but she never had such fun colors. I swear, the pink glass makes drinks taste better!

Look at this pile of fun! I love the fish toothpick holder (which goes with the platter below). There is also two sets of fun luau themed toothpicks, swizzle sticks, and colorful leis.

This picture doesn't do these justice: flamingo and palm tree swizzle sticks, parrot and pineapple crepe garlands (super fun!), luau napkins, and an adorable handmade charm tag.

But wait, there's more! Look at this awesome retro platter and cookbook. The cute fish toothpick holder goes in the center of platter for appetizers, but I didn't realize that at the time I took the picture. Yes, I'm a blonde.
See? Summer fun in a box. Thanks Julie! Summer is look up. I'll see you all by the pool with a fruity umbrella drink in my new pink retro glass.
Unfortunately, I snapped really lousy pictures of the package I sent to my partner, so I'll spare you those.

Here's a little peek at some new felties I've been working on. I originally made these for two swaps, but since posting the pics on Flickr I've already had orders for more! I'll be listing some in my Etsy store soon.

I hope you all find some summer fun and a yummy umbrella drink!

I Bow to the Patron Saint of Pastry

2008-07-12T22:46:00.004-04:00

This post is dedicated to St. Honorè, the patron saint of pastry and bakers. I thought going into this culinary school adventure that I only wanted to focus on baking and decorating cakes. I was excited to learn about how to bake other items correctly, but I didn’t think I’d have a long term interest in other pastry. Well, that was before learning how to make classical European pastries. They look so simple and unadorned (read: lack of frosting and yumminess), but when they are made correctly (with real cream and butter) they taste so incredible and look beautiful.

The base of most European pastry is puff pastry (Pâte Feuilletée) and/or elclair paste (Pâte a Choux). We’ve been making many different products using both. The crowning glory has been Gâteau St. Honoré. This complex and magical pastry includes a base of puff pastry, sides made of Pâte a Choux, mini cream puffs filled with Diplomat cream (pastry cream and whipped cream combined), topped with caramel, and attached to the rim with caramel, the center is filled with alternating rows of chocolate and vanilla Diplomat cream. It’s garnished with a caramel dome. Isn’t it just beautiful?
It's also so amazingly delicious!

These are Paris-Brest. They are a tire shaped pastry made with Pâte a Choux and filled with chocolate praline cream and pastry cream, topped with almonds and powdered sugar.
Mini Eclairs and Swans

Baba au Rhum (Baba O'Reilly?)--This is a decadent rum soaked cake filled with whipped cream and fresh berries. Please ignore the lousy presentation.

Friday was cooked fruit day which didn't really excite me all that much. Above is caramelized pineapple with homemade coconut ice cream.

Bananas Foster--Since this dessert originated in New Orleans, I'm not sure how this fits into the classical European curriculum other than it's a cooked fruit dessert. Cooked bananas REALLY don't do a thing for me.

I really was about to write off the entire fruit day, but then I made a Port wine syrup that was to die for! We poached pears in the syrup, and plated it with chocolate ganache and vanilla ice cream (called Pear Belle Helene). It was so unexpectedly delicious. I even took the extra Port wine syrup home :)

So, I am officially a devotee of St. Honorè and the fine pastries he watches over. I'm even considering doing my externship at a French Patisserie rather than just a bakery that specializes in high-end cakes. We'll see, the cake classes are still to come. I may change my mind--I've been known to do that a time or two.

Have a super sweet weekend!

Happy National Sugar Cookie Day!

2008-07-09T20:17:00.001-04:00

national sugar cookie day – badge
Originally uploaded by Flying Time Designs

Now this is a holiday I can get behind! My friend Emily over at Sugar and Meringue is hosting a blog party and cookie exchange. Since I haven't had time to actually make sugar cookies this week (I'm going to try to this weekend), I thought I'd post my favorite sugar cookie recipe.
I LOVE this recipe which came from my best friend Erron's grandmother (Thanks Erron!). It's extremely flavorful and is fabulous for rolled cookies as the dough keeps the shape well and doesn't spread in the oven.
**One note on this recipe--You MUST refrigerate overnight, a few hours won't do it. This dough freaks me out every time I make it. When it goes into the fridge it is very sloppy and doesn't seem like it will ever firm up enough to roll out, but every time I'm pleasantly shocked and it works perfectly. So, just trust me on this and try this recipe. You'll love it!

Oh, also know that this makes a HUGE batch!

World's Best Sugar Cookies
1 Cup Butter (room temperature)
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
4 Cups All Purpose Flour

Cream butter, sugar and oil together. Beat in eggs, add vanilla. Cream to just incorporated--creaming too long (to light and fluffy) makes the cookies spread. In a separate bowl sift together cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and flour. Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture until fully incorporated.
Divide into two or three balls and enclose in waxed or parchment paper. Refrigerate overnight or longer.
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll out chilled dough and cut with cookie cutters. Bake on silpat sheets or lightly greased baking sheets for 10-12 minutes until edges begin to brown.

For those of you who like to decorate cookies you'll love these flavorful, firm cookies that hold the shapes you've so carefully cut out. Enjoy and let me know how you like them!

Happy Birthday America!

2008-07-03T21:19:00.008-04:00

Howdy campers! And a fine Happy Fourth of July to everyone! I'm seriously trying to be patriotic, but I've been in American pastry hell for the past few weeks. Well, maybe not hell, but I haven't really learned much new or exciting while exploring the wonderful world of classic Amercian pastry. Apparently brownies and pies are about all we Americans have brought to the dessert spectrum. Alas, it's over and I got my A so we can put this chapter to bed. Here are a few of the highlights...

And my final exam presentation, which had a Thanksgiving theme: Pumpkin Pie, Cranberry Crumb Tartlettes, and Chocolate Chip Cookies with dried Cherries.

Yes, I HAD to bring in my needle felted pumpkins to jazz things up. I'm such a geek.

And then came Classical European Pastry (hear angels sing and harps play)

All I can say is don't mess with tradition...or puff pastry. Seriously, I always thought I didn't like puff pastry because I thought it didn't have any flavor. Turns out you just need to make it right, and with butter! So this week has been all puff pastry.

I can't tell you how amazing these are! These are three layers of puff pastry, a layer of chocolate diplomat creme, a layer of vanilla diplomat creme, and topped with fondant and chocolate. The sides are covered with puff pastry crumbs. Soooo good!

Pithivier--Almond Creme is sandwiched between two layers of puff pastry and baked. I love the elaborate sunflower design.

Tarte Tatin--This tart is created by carmelizing apples in a saucepan, taking it off the heat, covering the top of the apples with puff pastry dough and putting the whole saucepan in the oven to bake. You take it out and invert it for service. It's made very much like a pineapple upside down cake. OK, the aluminum foil takes away from the presentation, but it was the end of class when I took the pic.

Close up yummy caramelized apples!

This long weekend is all about finishing up a bunch of swap and mega crafting, so I should have lots of felty pics soon! Have a safe & super fun holiday weekend!

Hugs!

Heather

Who doesn't love pie?

2008-06-18T18:52:00.006-04:00

Um, I don't. Well, I don't hate pie, but if presented a dessert buffet I'll choose any other dessert before a slice of pie (except cheesecake, I'm not crazy about cheesecake either, but that's another post). While I don't love pie, I do think that my pies from class this week have turned out rather pretty, so I' thought I'd post a mini pie gallery...

Blueberry Pie

Apple Ginger Pie
The crust was beautifully fluted when it went into the oven, but it kind of melted and came undone when it baked. Oops!

Vanilla Cream Pie with fresh whipped cream on top

I love this shot of the Vanilla Cream Pie.

Key Lime Pie

Please take a slice, have a cup of coffee and I'll check back soon.
-Heather

Vintage Kitchen Swap

2008-06-17T21:12:00.004-04:00

I hope the week is treating everyone well & Mother Nature is cooperating wherever you hang your hat. It was a beautiful day up here in Connecticut. I wish I could bottle our dry mild weather and send it out to the Midwest.

Lately my whole world is baking and vintage kitchen goodies, and I seem to keep signing up for vintage kitchen swaps. I honestly can’t decide which part I’m enjoying more, putting the packages together for my partners or receiving my lovely packages. Today I’m mailing out this package to my partner who likes bright bold colors….

The pink and aqua breakfast sets are a really sturdy plastic. The pink and blue floral fabric is a really cute half apron (which my partner collects, hope she likes it).

I just adore this hand embroidered tea towel. It's so different from most tea towel designs.

I already received my package for this same swap! It isn't even due to be mailed out until Friday, so I'm even early, but my partner was super speedy. I had such a generous partner! All of the recipes and ephemera are from the 40's and 50's and came from her grandmother. They are all in mint condition. I can't believe how many she sent me. I really want to try some of the recipes. Some sound hideous, but most sound positively fabulous. I also just love the unique pink and black trimmed milk glass cup, saucer and creamer. I've never seen a pattern like it. It looks cute as can be in my studio.

She also sent me goodies for my kitchen which is red and white cherry themed.

I love this Jell-O cookbook. The irony is that I hate Jello, can't stand the stuff. But I've always been fascinated with how it looks, and the weird combinations of stuff people put in Jello. Being from Nebraska originally, I saw a frightening number of lime Jello Rings with shredded carrots and raisins in it. God, the thought of it still repulses me, but I do remember how pretty it looked. So this cookbook is oddly mesmerizing to look at for me. Thanks for all of my goodies Kerre!

I'm working on some new felted treats for a private swap, so hopefully I'll post new pictures of my creations soon. Until then, stay dry, stay cool and keep reaching for the stars. Hey, who let Kasey Kasem in here?

Bakery Box Swap

2008-06-11T19:24:00.004-04:00

Look at the fabulously cute box I received in the mail today! I was part of a Swap-Bot swap for a Bakery Box filled with Faux Treats (my favorite kind, of course). And wow, did I get the best partner! The lovely Miss Amanda sent me a whole box with felted sweaters made into cupcakes, cakes and a cookie. They are so super cute. Check out her other crafty wares at her Etsy store, Violet.

Here is the package I sent my partner, Debbie, for the same swap. You might remember some of the felted treats from my previous Afternoon Tea post. This was the swap I made them for, but they were mailed off to the UK, so I wanted to wait until Debbie received them to post the picture of all of her goodies. The Yankee Candle tarts were all yummy food scents too.

I have to admit that I had hoped to post on my blog more frequently. OK, I had crazy dreams that I'd post every day. Well, life and school has gotten in the way of that. So I apologize for the infrequent posts. My first pastry school class has been Intro to Breads and Rolls, and while I've really enjoyed it and learned to make yummy things, I didn't want to bore you all with too many bread pictures.

I have my practical final for this class tomorrow and Friday, during which I need to make: one yeast bread, a batch of muffins, and a batch of croissant or danish (the laminated doughs for these take an entire day to make). I'm planning on making a whole wheat bread with dried cranberries and blueberries, pumpkin muffins and plain and chocolate filled croissant. We also have a written final on Friday. Wish me luck!

Here are my chocolate and strawberry cream cheese filled croissant, danish with chocolate and cinnamon raisin filling, and apple filled danish in the back
Apple cinnamon raisin coffee cake style danish
Blueberry scones, made with fresh blueberries.

Next Monday I start my next class--Classic American. This class is basically the retro housewife cookbook--pies, cookies, apple brown betty, blueberry buckles, and desserts like that. It's only two weeks long. I'll keep you posted!

I hope everyone stays dry, tornado free and cool for the week!

Pinkalicious!

2008-06-04T20:37:00.006-04:00

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked for two custom cupcakes for her girls so they could dress up as Pinkalicious. I was all about making custom cupcakes, but Pink a what? I'd never heard of this Pinkalicious. And as always seems to happen, over the next few days I saw Pinkalicious everywhere. Every blog I read had people sending their little ones off to Pinkalicious parties, so I just had to find out what this craze is all about.

I read that Pinkalicious is a cautionary tale about overindulgence. It's a book about a little girl who loves pink so much that she can't stop eating pink cupcakes by Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann. It was like I was hearing about my life story! So, of course, I HAD to order it.

It really is a cute story and inspired me to create these Pinkalicious cupcakes!

I love this shot, especially because it's a little naughty looking. He, he, he.

Pink Power!

You're Invited to a Tea Party!

2008-06-03T20:07:00.006-04:00

Now that I've settled into my school schedule and I'm a little less stressed, I've decided to have a little tea party and you're all invited! So, pull up a chair, grab your favorite teacup, tea, and settle in for a bit.

I've been working on a few faux food themed swaps, and I loved the felted treats I made so much that I just had to take pictures. This time I did both needle felted treats, and treats that are sewn out of wool felt and embroidered. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy embroidering. I think I'll be doing more embroidered treats and brooches in the future.

I've invited two new friends to our teaparty. Meet Emma and Violet!

Aren't these the sweetest? These are made by the super sweet Jenn at the Lollipop Workshop. They are called Lolli Dolls. Jenn's been busy with the wedding cake season and hasn't had new Lolli Dolls for a while, but she posted new pics on her Flickr page last week and I begged for this sweet tea party set before she even had time to list it on Etsy. That was just days ago and now Emma and Violet are having their tea party in my studio! The photos I took don't do them justice, but Jenn's attention to detail is so impressive. Every mini cupcake and cookies has been individually made, there are even sprinkles on the teeny tiny cookies! I just love their sweet faces and have wanted a Lolli Doll for a while. These girls make me so happy! Thanks Jenn!

I've also been working on brooches for some swaps and have been thinking about offering them in my Etsy store. What do you think?
And since no tea party would be complete without real treats, here are some of the newest photos from pastry school. I haven't wanted to bore you all with too many photos of bread, but here are some of my yummier creations--please help yourself!

Brioche

Caramel Sticky Rolls

Pecan Maple Sweet Rolls

Farmhouse Fruit Cake with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting. I don't like typical fruitcake, but this cake is the bomb! I think it has something to do with the bourbon soaked fruit and bourbon cream cheese frosting.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you've enjoyed yourself. Be sure to take a slice of cake home with you!
Take care!
xoxo Heather

Happy Memorial Day!

2008-05-26T13:36:00.009-04:00

What is freedom? We’re all suppose to take today to observe the freedoms this country affords each and every one of us (I won’t address those freedoms that are systematically being taken away lately), and to thank those brave servicemen and women who have fought for us to have those freedoms. But what is freedom, and how does it affect us on a daily basis? The way I see it, freedom is the ability to live the way you want, to take chances, to explore new things, to love who you want, how you want…to be happy. As long as you’re not hurting anyone else, I think we each have the freedom to experience life to the fullest.

I see too many people throwing away their chance at personal freedom, and ultimately happiness. From birth we’re each told what our lives should be like, where we should go to school, what jobs we should have, what lifestyle is acceptable to our friends and family, where we should live, how we should act and dress, all so we will theoretically fit within the posse we’ve been born into. I see so many people follow these pre-drawn maps, forcing themselves into boxes that were not designed for them. Consequently, there seems to be a whole lot of unhappy,

confused, frustrated, unsatisfied people wandering around each day doing things they are “suppose to do”.

Well, I say to hell with that! I’ve always been a bit off the beaten path, but have basically tried to stay right next to the path, one toe on the line, so as not to upset anyone. But as I’ve started breaking the rules (i.e. quitting my corporate job, making art, starting culinary school), I’ve found that nothing bad has happened! In fact, my whole life has opened up. I’m seeing through new eyes, trying new things, and like magic new prospects have come my way that I’ve never even considered. Sure, some people have said that I’m selfish and crazy for giving up a lucrative corporate job just because I want to enjoy my life

more, but I’m finding that the money is still out there, I just needed to find it.

Most of us in crafty Blogland seem to have the same vision—a life filled with more enjoyment, creativity, independence, friendships, and for many of us, a new business. So today I’d like to take my hat off not only to our veterans, and servicemen & women, but also those walking off the beaten path and trying something different. I salute those folks who dare to go back to school in those who quit jobs they hate to find more personally fulfilling careers. A HUGE thank you to the founders of ETSY who figured that there must be others out there who want to purchase beautifully handmade products. Most of all, I want to give a great big “Hell Yeah!” to all of us crafty bloggers who put our art, crafts and thoughts out there in the world just because it makes us happy!

So go out there today and enjoy the freedom to be you in all of your wonderful, unique, creative, off-beat, unconventional ways!

My new journey started this week with my first week of culinary school. My first class is Intro to Breads and Rolls. All of these delicious pics are my class products. I think they’re just beautiful!

I’m also long overdue to show you the fabulous swap package I received from my partner in the Atomic Housewife swap. Isn’t this apron just to-die-for? I love the vintage Jello mold fabric. Thank you Debbi!

Everyone have a great Memorial Day, eat tons, stay safe, and do something unexpected!

Happy Anniversary!

2008-05-15T16:16:00.013-04:00

Happy Anniversary to my adorable husband! Isn't he just the cutest? Love you Bunny! We've been together seven blissful years. We got married in Rhode Island and try to go back as often as possible, so this year's vacation was back to Newport, RI.

We've spent many vacations visiting Newport, but we finally took the time to tour several of the famous Newport Mansions. Above is The Elms. If you ever get the chance, take the the Elms' "Behind the Scene's Tour". The tickets for this one are extra, but you get to see all of the areas that the other houses don't show you: the coal room, wine cellar, servant's quarters, kitchens, etc. It's really fascinating to see the inner workings of such an enormous historic home.

The other mansions we toured were: The Breakers, Rosecliffe, and Chateau-sur-Mer. You can find out more about the historic Newport Mansions at the Newport Preservation Society.

We always do at least one meal at the Red Parrot Restaurant. It's causal, but the food is always excellent. Here's a picture of my lobster pizza. Yes, it was ALL mine!! Accompanied by an Midori Sour, and I was a happy girl! OK, I didn't eat it all in our setting, but I claimed the entire thing as my own. I dream about this pizza between our visits to Newport.

Here is a rare picture of me on Scarborough State Beach in Narragansett, RI. It was a breezy 60 degrees, but I was walking on the beach barefoot, dammit!

On to my favorite portion of the program...dessert!

Welcome to one of my favorite spots on earth...the Captain Jack's dessert counter in Wakefield, RI. I love this seafood restaurant so much that I had my rehearsal dinner here, and had to get special permission to have a big party from Captain Jack himself (yes, his name really is Jack, but I'm not sure he's really a captain). What I do know is that the good Captain and his crew make amazing clam chowder (with thin broth, the way it should be), to-die-for clam cakes (doughy fritter-like balls with huge chunks of clams--really, they're good), and killer desserts. As you can see, they are picture perfect. And they taste even better.
This is my favorite of all of the magic Captain's creations--Caramel Apple Bash. These are just the individual portions, the full-sized versions are easily 9 inches tall. It's a deep dish apple pie, very rich, with chunks of homemade blondies piled on top, and drizzled with thick caramel. Honestly, words can't describe how orgasmic the experience is. I wish you all a trip to Captain Jack's, really it's more of a pilgrimage.

Here's to new beginnings!

2008-05-10T23:09:00.010-04:00

My apologies that I haven't posted this week. I've been super busy finishing up my job and getting ready for school (note to self: NEVER give more notice at work than is absolutely required). Anyway, my last day at work was today & now I'm on to another chapter to my life. Whew! I'm off to Newport, RI for vacation this week then I start school on May 19th. I've spent over 14 years in corporate administration and now I'm a full-time culinary student. Wow, sometimes life is wonderfully strange. I just realized a long time ago that life is too short to do things you don't enjoy. I truly believe if you don't like your job, quit and try something else. Bad relationship? Get out. Don't like where you life? Move. Life sucking? Go make cupcakes!

Here is the latest batch of felted cupcakes. They were for three separate orders, but they made a nice grouping before I packaged them up and shipped them off.

In the midst of all of the changes in my life I also keep signing up for swaps. They seriously are addictive! This week's swap was The Atomic Housewife Swap hosted by Julie at CupcakeDD . This was seriously fun--equal parts antique shopping and crafting. I started out at the antique store where I found the glass party plates and cups, and the mint condition cookbook. I really hadn't planned to doing any needle felting for this swap, but I lived with the plates on my shelf for a few days until a big "duh" hit me -- the plates needed treats on them!

I really like the tea in the cups and the sugar cubes. They tickle me for some reason. This package will go in the mail on Monday to my swap partner Tracey. Check out her blog Itching 2 B Stitching . Don't you just love that blog name? I hope you like your treats Tracey!

How amazing are the colors of these roving balls? I'm a member of the Felting Forum . If you are a needle or wet felter check out the Felting Forum. It's a great site with wonderfully supportive members. Each month there is a themed felting challenge, which I try to do and post whenever I can. Each quarter vendors donate prizes for the challenges, and I won one of the prizes for the first quarter of this year. The super generous Marlene at Timbre Ridge Farm donated 8 glorious ounces of roving!! I even got to pick my own colors, which I couldn't believe she let me do. Aren't these colors delicious? I see yummy felted cakes in my future. Thank you soooo much Marlene. Please check out her site, she has tons of colors and the quality of the roving is fabulous.

So, I'm off to Newport. I'll check back in a few days. Everyone take care & have a sweet week!

Culinary School, here I come! (Mid-Life Crisis Part Deux)

2008-04-28T18:05:00.003-04:00

Check out my Flickr page to see the details of this pictoral ode to pastry

Yes, my mid-life crisis and quest to find the real Merry Moon continues. We'll call this act: The Tarlette Finds the Sweet Life. While I love the Brookfield Craft Center , my role there as operations director was completely administrative, and I left the corporate world because, while freakishly good at it, I HIGHLY DISLIKE administrative duties and upper management. I want a creative life where I DO creative things, work with my hands, make things and enjoy my days. I'm a hard worker, so don't get me wrong I love a daily challenge. But I'm completely over the thrill of the multi-page spreadsheets and IT manager challenges. I want to create and bring forth beautiful products into the world.

I have three things that I really love in life (besides my dear husband!): eating food, baking, and art. I spent months pondering what types of jobs I could try my hand at incorporating the things I truly enjoy. Oh, and I have found the love of Dr. Martins, so any job I take must allow me to wear my favorite clunky shoes (seriously, how did hundreds of thousands of punk rockers keep it a secret for decades how comfortable these shoes are?). After endless soul searching and career counseling from close friends, I had the A-ha moment of my life. I should go to culinary school and become a pastry chef!

And so I applied, got accepted and have finalized the details and quit my day job! Two more weeks and I'm a full-time student again. I'm starting school on May 19th at the Connecticut Culinary Institute and specializing in Professional Baking and Pastry Arts. I absolutely plan to continue Merry Moon Sweets & Treats. I want to blend both my felt treats and real sweet treats into one food lovin' life. We'll not literally blend them, that would be disgusting and not so sanitary. So, for all five of you who read my little blog, my plan is to keep you posted on my culinary schools adventures, sweet creations, as well as my felted sweet treats.

Wish me luck!

Enchanted Swap

2008-04-25T21:30:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I received the MOST magical package from my Enchanted Swap partner, Kelly, of Sweet Addie Vintage Designs. This Enchanted Princess swap was hosted by the Fairest Princess Sarah from Gypsy Mermaid Life. You can see from the photo above that she has sweetly bestowed the fabulously exciting title of "Cupcake Princess" upon me. I'm so honored!

Look at all of these delicious goodies! I can't believe all of the fabulously fun treasures she sent me. I don't know which I adore more, the sweet felted cupcake wand, or the sparkly Cupcake Princess tiara. They are both so wonderful. The pink bubble gum sucker is from Hammond Candies in Denver, where I'm originally from. And the Cupcake kit includes a cool book on cupcakes, cupcake recipe cards and printed cupcake papers with little pink cupcakes on them. I'm in cupcake heaven!

Kelly also made me this gorgeous necklace!

Eloise was so jealous that she wanted to wear my goodies and play princess too. I can't blame her. I think I'll wear them now.

Thank you for EVERYTHING Kelly!

Fruit Bowl for BowlFest

2008-04-24T22:21:00.007-04:00

I finally finished a new felted piece to show you! This one isn't for sale, but was specifically created as a donation for the Brookfield Craft Center's annual fundraiser, BowlFest. BowlFest is a day-long celebration of food, music and fine hand crafts. This year it will be on June 1st, at the Brookfield Craft Center in Brookfield, CT. Everyone who comes gets a free handcrafted bowl to take home!

Many talented artists donated work for the BowlFest silent auction. The items up for auction will be on display at the Craft Center May 18-June 1, and people will be able to view the auction items online soon.

I was asked to do a felted bowl, but I just couldn't leave my bowl empty so I filled it with felted fruit. For once I remembered to document the progress of this project....

Naked fruit without their clothes! Their insides are entirely wool, no filler. I guess you could say they are full of fiber!

Now the fruit get their skins!

I think the peach and the banana are my favorite. I had to "peel" the banana because no matter what I did to the closed banana it looked way too phallic. And this is family friendly event! I think it's even cuter now.

All of the fruit is life sized. You know, I really like my lemon too.

Here's the whole bowl of fruit ready to fetch a lovely price for charity!

Sugar & Meringue and Everything Nice

2008-04-23T20:17:00.009-04:00

Wow, last week was crazy and stressful but I won't bore you all with any of that, I have too many fun things to show you! I love it when you have a crappy day and you come home to awesome packages in the mail.

A few days ago I received the sweetest little package from Emily at Sugar & Meringue . She had a contest on her blog, the prize was these super fun farm cupcake toppers. And I won!

Aren't they just the cutest? Emily is a busy girl. Not only does she have two fabulous blogs (her other blog is Flying Time ), she also has two Etsy stores: Flying Time Designs and Sugar & Meringue.

Emily's blogs constantly offer up the most delicious looking sweets and treats, vintage kitchen collectibles, and all things lovely and crafty. The photo above are her yummie cupcakes, but I can't wait to whip up my own batch for my new cupcake toppers.

Thanks Emily!!!

Here are a few of her other items available at her Etsy store:

I LOVE these recipe cards!! They are so cooly retro.

I also sent off my package for Gypsy Mermaid's Enchanted Swap. This is a fairy princess themed swap. My super cool swap partner was Sweet Addie, otherwise known as Princess Kelly! I was so nervous about sending off my swap goodies because Kelly has the most lovely Etsy store with positively delicious jewlery. I so hope that my enchanted offerings add princess sparkle to her treasure chest.

The princess box above held the sparkly necklace below. It was created with vintage buttons and tiny silver stars that you can't really see in the photo.

I wish you all an enchanted week!

I Spy a Cake Spy

2008-04-19T22:00:00.003-04:00

Bride of FrankenCuppie?, originally uploaded by cakespy.

This is the newest edition to my Cake Spy gallery. Don't you just love it? I asked Jessie Oleson, the brilliant cakester/illustrator behind Cake Spy, to create this awesome little illustration for me. She's the Bride of FrankenCuppie. I just love the idea of a cupcake baking up her own mate. Love her hair! And see the bottle of love? I'm sure she added an extra spoonful of that for her new mate.

I'd also like to send a HUGE congratulations to Jessie who is officially now a full-time Cake Spy. Good Luck! She's a wonderfully talent artist and super sweet gal. Check out her Etsy store, blog and Flickr page to see more of her work.

Here's my Cake Spy gallery in my studio:

Mad for Mini Treats

2008-04-14T17:00:00.006-04:00

I've been so busy this past week that I haven't had time to make anything new myself. That hasn't stopped me from sneaking a few minutes to find new treasures from other people and make a few super cute purchases. I've been obsessed with miniature food for as long as I can remember. When I lived in Colorado I used to go to the Denver Museum of Miniatures, Dolls and Toys about twice a year, and I'd always go at Christmas when they usually have 10 so completely decorated doll houses in all different styles, sizes and themes. I loved seeing them each year, but my absolute favorite part has always been the mini food! Mini cakes, cookies, mini turkeys, mini ginerbread houses, they all just knocked me out! How do they make them that small? Why in the world would anyone take the time to create such tiny things? I still don't have the answers, I just know that I loved them.

But I've love them from afar. I admire doll houses, but they're just too fussy for me, so I just couldn't justify buying mini fake food for no purpose. But my life has now changed! I have found my beloved mini food being made into fabulous jewelry!! I can wear my coveted miniatures!

You have to take a look at my new friend April's Etsy store Pukashell Creative Designs . She makes fabulously cute jewelry out of miniature sweet treats! The plated treat above is a deliciously adorable ring, below is a layered cake pin, and a sweet treat necklace. Aren't they irresistible ?

April also makes super cute amigurumi knitted play food. Don't you just love these ice cream cones?

And this is the cutest set of bonbon magents!
I have my very own necklace by April on the way --a plate of French pastry on a lovely blue china plate. I can't wait!! Jewelry and miniatures, all rolled into one. A food obessed girl's dream come true!
Check out Pukashell's Flickr page for even more adorable eye candy.

Embrace the Muse

2008-04-10T22:08:00.010-04:00

Wow, this has been an insanely long week & exhausting week, but it’s been exciting too. Last night I gave a presentation at the Craft Center for our new series The Craft Continuum. We envisioned a casual lecture/discussion series highlighting our staff, faculty and members sharing their art journeys. Well, I was the first guinea pig along with one of our glass lampworking instructors, David Licata.

Of course, for me, the most important part of the whole evening was having awesome snacks. Sure, I took time to put together a lovely power point presentation, but I spent more time baking cupcake shaped sugar cookies and lemon cupcakes with lemon buttercream frosting. And they were a HUGE hit!

After the magic of the frosting and sprinkles wore off I did have to give my presentation, which I think went really well. I started off showing my early work from my undergraduate days. I have a BFA from the University of Northern Colorado in Fiber Arts. Yes, you can ask, as everyone does…What the hell is fiber arts? I literally have a degree in basket weaving. OK, it also includes paper making, weaving, surface design, beading, etc. And I also have a BA in Philosophy, so you can see that I left college completely unprepared for any actual career. I decided to spare you the not-so-exciting photos of my early work.

The bulk of my presentation was sharing work of other artists who inspire me. It’s taken me nearly 38 years to realize that a food obsessed girl just needs to embrace it, and realize that tasty treats are my muse. I've come to terms with the fact that while my main themes of my work are candy, cakes, cupcakes and other sweets, what I produce is art and I don't need anyone elses approval to make my work valid. As an artist I don't make political statements, or museum pieces. I make felt cupcakes, so there.

Here's a sample of pics from my presentation of other artists who have elevated seemingly mundane sweet treats to amazing pieces of art:

These first few painting are the work of the amazing Wayne Thiebaud. I just want to reach out lick the frosting off his paintings!

The piece above is called "Milk, Orange & Dark Bars" by Peter Anton. His mixed media pieces are so realistic yet whimsical in their ridiculously large scale. I think it's so cool how they actually look frosty.

Peter also did the chocolates below. This is piece is an extra large 48" x 48"

This is a shot from Peter's studio. Don't you want to go there? It looks like Willy Wonka's workshop!

These yummy looking chocolates are glass! They are "chocolate glass confections" by Hulet & Hulet Glass. They look like they could melt in your mouth.

I adore this teacup by Adrian Kohler. The craftsmanship of his wood sculptures is remarkable. Everything here is wood, including the cookies.

These "Petite Patisserie" are by Kima from Spain. I love how delicate they are. Her work is delicious and can be found in her Etsy store: Kup Kup Land.

One of my other favorite Etsy muses is Sugar Chic Baby
Every time I see her work I have frosting fantasies. Check out her store!

Embrace your muse, whatever it may be. I wish everyone sweet dreams and a lifetime of inspiration!

Dessert of the Day: Lemon Blueberry Cake

2008-04-02T22:51:00.004-04:00

I finished a new felted sweet treat. This one is a lemon blueberry layer cake with buttercream frosting. I get questions about how needle felting works, so I thought I'd add some photos showing the process.

This one is the start of the lemon slice to top the cake. I use undyed wool roving to create the shapes.

Now I have the basic lemon slice shape and have added the lemony yellow roving on top.

You can see the felting needle poking the "blueberry" goodness into the cake. The whole technique really is just "poke, poke, poke" until you get the roving where you want it. You just have to keep your fingers out of the way because the felting needle is wicked sharp.

Here's a close-up of the lemon, blueberry & mint garnish. To attache the various elements it's still just "poke, poke, poke." Each poke makes the wool fibers bind together tighter & tighter until they are nice & firm & stuck together. It's woolly magic!

And here's the whole cake! I apologize for the bad lighting, I was being lazy & taking quick shots. My bad, please forgive!

Voila! A yummy calorie-free piece of cake! This slice actually really big--it's 3" high by 7" long. I like to call it a Heather size piece of pastry.

I'll get my act together and take some good photos (Ok, better photos) tomorrow and list this new sweet treat in my Etsy Store .

Have sweet dreams!

Art on the Menu

2008-03-30T20:22:00.004-04:00

I just had to share some new food inspired art that I just found. Patianne Stevenson has a fabulous new Etsy store: Art on the Menu. Her work is simply delicious!

Can you believe these are all made out of cardboard? Below are two of her fabulous foodie acrylic paintings. I love the colors and shadows, very Hopper-esq--moody yet tasty. She's a super sweet gal too! You can check out more of Patianne’s work on her website http://www.artonthemenu.com/

I was on the Etsy Front Page!

2008-03-26T21:15:00.007-04:00

I can't believe it, but I was featured on the Etsy Front Page today! Out of all of the millions of items listed on Etsy, mine was chosen. It really was very cool. A big thanks to Barbara of Pit Bull Lady Designs for emailing me to let me know, so I could see the Front Page for myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember how to capture a screen shot, and by the time I figured it out the page was changed. Just my luck! I was still thrilled that I got to see it, and the feature drove a lot of hits to my Etsy store, and I scored a sale. So, it was a great day!

This needle felted cake was the featured item. It's actually much larger than it looks in the photo. The cake is solid wool and stands nearly 6 inches tall to the top of the rose, and 6 inches in diameter on the bottom layer. The photo below shows how my larger cakes come gift packaged.

I have a custom order I'm working on and a few new pieces that should be up in my Etsy store soon. I'm also a bit obessed with penny rugs lately. There is a penny rug class coming up in a few weeks at the Brookfield Craft Center taught by Liz Alpert Fay. Her work is just amazing. She is a fiber artist who works with traditional rug hooking & penny rug techniques, but she uses contemporary designs & colors that make her work really fresh and fun. She's a fabulous instructor and if you get the chance, take one of her classes. I really hope I'll be able to work it out so I can take this class. I want to do a pink and aqua penny rug design. Here is some of her work:

Aren't these just fabulous? I've seen many of her pieces and they are even more stunning in person. I want one!

Easter Treats

2008-03-23T11:51:00.002-04:00

Easter Treats
Originally uploaded by Merry_Moon_Designs

I desperately long for the days when you knew without hesitation that there would, without fail, be a fabulously sugary Easter basket waiting for you on Easter morning. I absolutely admit it, Easter was all about the candy for me, and it still is. I wish you all giant baskets filled to the brim with chocolate bunnies, Cadbury cream eggs (why the heck are they so disgustingly good?). jelly beans and Peeps. Mmmm Peeps.

Happy Easter!
xo Heather

My Pre-Midlife Crisis

2008-03-19T22:28:00.006-04:00

I’ve been going through my pre-midlife crisis for about a year now. I emphasize “pre” midlife because I’m only 37, so clearly this can’t be my actual mid-life crisis. Although, god help me, I don’t want to go through this life re-org again. Anyway, about a year ago a ditched a financially successful, high level corporate career for the artistic life. Yep, I just came home one day and told my dear husband that I was quitting my job. No replacement job, no plan, I just hated it and I was out. And the sweet man that he is said the only appropriate thing at the time, “yes, dear.”

I admit it, I was a little crazed. I just knew I didn’t want to stare at a computer screen another day or negotiate another contract. I have a BFA; I’ve been an artist since I was ten years old. This 9-5, pinstriped suit and high heeled gig was clearly NOT the life I was meant to have. I saw people on TV all the time who had found their passion, were living their dream, and enjoying their lives. I wanted to be one of those people!
So, I quit my job last Spring. The problem was, I knew the life I didn’t want, but I didn’t know what I DID want.

I have made significant steps since then. I’ve started a little business, I’ve sold my art on eBay, I’ve opened my Etsy store, started my website, and finally (after a few dry runs) found my artistic niche that really makes me happy. Felted faux food! That explaination is for another post.

And, while I really didn’t want to initially, I did get another job. I'm a Virgo, so I have this odd thing about paying bills. But this job is different. I am now the Operations Director at the Brookfield Craft Center. We’re a non-profit school/gift shop/gallery promoting and educating adults about traditional fine handcrafts. I found the best of both worlds. I’m able to utilize my über organized administrative skills, be around artists and beautiful artwork all day, and even teach classes. I think my “work” life is pretty settled now, so I really need to focus on that art business now.

My New Signature Ring

2008-03-18T20:28:00.005-04:00

Is this the cutest ring or what? I ordered this super delicious Cupcake Signet Ring from the Etsy store Metal Sugar. The owner's name is Melissa, and she's just as nice as can be. Each ring ordered is custom made and takes about 2 weeks, but I received mine even faster. The craftsmanship on this ring is impeccable and beautifully finished. And it was only $75! This is a must have for any cupcake lover.

I've been wearing mine non-stop since I received it and show it off to absolutely everyone. Thanks Melissa!

New Fabric Labels

2008-03-17T22:38:00.005-04:00

I'm so excited about these new fabric labels for my needle felted sweet treats! I think they turned out really fabulous. I wanted stiched tags rather than inked, and it took me quite a while to find a vendor I could afford. I'm really pleased with these. The colors are perfect & I can't wait to sew them on my new pieces.

I should probably back up and explain that my business is called Merry Moon Sweets & Treats and it consists mostly of needle felted faux food. Think jumbo felt cupcakes, layered cakes and chocolates to give as gifts for special occassions.

Needle felting is a dry felting technique using a special barbed needle to felt wool roving. It's just amazing to transform fluffy wool into piece of art in just a few hours.
I should have some new work to post later this week. In the meantime, here are a few of my older pieces:

Have a great week!

Cheers! Heather

Taking the Plunge

2008-03-11T22:33:00.003-04:00

I’m at that all important moment in every blogger’s life. I have a new blog…what the heck do I write about? I have hundreds of ideas, and in my mind they’re all fabulous and interesting. That second blog entry needs to be perfect, representative of me and my vision for my blog. I want it to be witty and compelling and, and……oh, heck, I just need to take the plunge and dive in. When writing a novel they always tell new writers that your book should usually start at chapter 3, right where the action really begins. So here goes--

I make needle felted faux food, mostly cakes, cupcakes and sweets to be exact. To be honest, I’m pretty food obsessed and I’ve just decided to embrace it. I love cakes and candy, sprinkles and frosting. The mere word “buttercream” makes me fall to my knees in ecstasy. Watching “Ace of Cakes” on the Food Network is my porn. OK, that was probably too much information.

Elizabeth B. Smith from Ebs Photography ordered a set of my jumbo felt cupcakes a few weeks ago. Elizabeth specializes in baby & kiddie photos that are just wonderful. She was so super sweet and sent me photos of this cutie patootie with one of my cupcakes. I love how huge they are in her little hands. Thanks Elizabeth!

Welcome!

2008-02-22T21:29:00.004-05:00

Welcome to my new blog! I’m hoping The Creative Chronicles will be my blogland playground for all things art, craft and decadent.

So Happy Birthday to my blog. I hope I can offer you fun eye candy, interesting art and craft ideas, introduce you to fabulous artists, show you fun places to buy handcrafted art, and highlight classes and great teachers to learn new mediums and techniques.

Oh, yeah and I have a huge sweet tooth and love to eat decadent sweet treats. So, I’ll share my fabulous food finds and recipes.