Painted Sea Lilies

Last week I had the pleasure of painting faces for a ballet recital by Grace Studio.  The same Grace Studio that I recently did the Spring Showers baby shower for.   A couple of my friends have cute little girls that were going to be sea lilies and I was more than happy to pretty up their faces for the event.  I paint faces all the time for my kids and friends kids but this was the first time where I was actually asked to paint faces for an event.  Normally I just show up with my paints at friends birthdays and parties and they happily let me paint away.  Kind of like the phantom painter. 

Olympics cake

Yes today is my Birthday and what better way to spend it than making cake. This Olympic rings cake was a last minute rush order, like two days ago rush order. I'm really happy with how it turned out though.


I did learn one important thing from all of this. When you make black frosting it helps to add a little cocoa to get that dark black color. An invaluable lesson.

Hope you have a great party Aiden and Happy Birthday to both of us.

~Sunny~

Lemon Lush Parfaits

Nothing says summer like lemons.  The smell, the taste and the color of lemons makes me feel happy and summery.  That is why Lemon Lush is one of my favorite summertime desserts.  That is also why I had to make it into a parfait because everything is better served in a tiny little glass container.  

Country Garden Boy Baby Shower

I love Spring. The rainy days, the birds singing, the fresh smells of grass, and flowers. I think there is no better time to have a baby shower than spring.  When I was asked by Jenny of Grace Studio to style a boy themed baby shower in May, I immediately thought of flowers. Since the shower was going to be at a dance studio I wanted the decorations to complement the understated elegance of this lovely open space. 

Mother's Day

   I had a wonderful morning with my kids cooking me breakfast and my husband driving all the way in from work on his break to bring me flowers.  It's truly wonderful to be so appreciated, but is that what being a mother is really about?  

Good things

So yes I have been very quiet lately, but that just means I've been busy creating. I have been collaborating with a friend for a lovely spring inspired baby shower. I can't wait to share pictures very soon, but until then here is a little taste.

My First baking class 101

Recently I had the pleasure of hosting a baking class in my home.  I have had several friends ask how I do some of the baking and decorating I do.  I figured gathering them all together would be a good way to answer everyone's questions all at once and have a good time too.  We did have a good time, but I'm pretty sure I didn't answer everyone's questions or even come close to teaching them everything I wanted to.  I learned very quickly that four hours is not long enough to teach baking and decorating basics to one person let alone 8 people all crammed into my kitchen.  I still feel like it was a success though and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Here are some pictures of our shenanigans.  

Amaretto Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream

This is not one of my long drawn out walk through tutorials about how to bake something.  It is however a recipe that I whipped up (literally) for cupcakes with two of my favorite ingredients, amaretto and espresso.  I won't bore you with the how or why of it, just get down to the nitty gritty and deliciousness of it.  Here's the recipe...

Hello Kitty Ears tutorial

A long long time ago, well it seems like a long time ago, I made these Hello Kitty ears for my sweet Mara's 4th birthday party.  I wanted to post the tutorial then but things happened and time went by and now here I am three months later.  These are very easy to make and require very few materials.  In my book that makes them a wonderful party accessory.  The party was in January and Mara still to this day wears her ears on occasion when we go out.  Sometimes I forget that she is even wearing them and wonder why so many strangers are smiling and staring.  But who wouldn't smile at that adorable face?  Yes her older sister Marina wears them around the house still too.  I just love my girls.

Star Wars Lego Cake (My first cake order)

I never started out trying to make cakes for people,  I started out trying to make cakes for myself so I wouldn't have to pay someone else to do it.  I've always loved baking so making my children's Birthday cakes has always been something I enjoy and look forward to, four times every year.  I still don't think I want to have my own cake making business.  I have too many interests to narrow it down to making cakes, but if someone is kind enough to ask then I'm happy to do it. 

Happy Easter!

We are super busy here with Easter activities. I hope that you're weekend is filled with family, friends and lots of yummy goodies

~Sunny~

Light it up Blue

I am lighting it up blue today for my not so little brother, my two wonderfully sweet boys and every other person out there living with autism.  I love both of my boys dearly and every time I think I have them figured out they surprise me with something new.  I vow to never limit my expectations of them because they have autism, but to encourage them to grow and become the amazing people that they will be. 

Happy Autism Awareness Day!

Easter Egg Time!

Every Easter since my kids were itty bitty I have always dyed Easter Eggs.  I've also carved Pumpkins at Halloween too but that is a different story.  Even before they could hold  a spoon I was letting them sit with me and watch or touch as I happily dyed Easter eggs.  I really think I do it more for me than them.  I constantly have to remind myself that their eggs do not have to look perfect and to keep my hands off.  Then I always leave a couple for myself so I can release my own creativity and be done with it.  This year I did things a little differently.  It all started with the Martha Stewart Egg Dying 101 app.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 themed baby shower

I recently had the pleasure of helping some friends with a Thing one and Thing two baby shower for twins.  I've always loved Dr. Seuss so I jumped at the chance. 

The challenge of this shower was that it had to take place within a week, since the Mother was leaving soon to be in the states due to complications with her pregnancy.  Thankfully I had lots of help from my friend Laura the mastermind behind this whole thing and I'm pretty happy with what we accomplished in such a short time.  

Mint Oreo Truffles "Oh my!"

With St. Patrick's Day coming up I had to give these a try.  I love mint and chocolate anything so the idea of putting them into truffle form was genius.  If you don't like mint then these are not for you, but you might like my original Oreo truffle recipe. However if you do like mint then please indulge a little with me.