Valenversary Present (Mostly a picture post)

Look what I got for my Valenversary?

Are you jealous? I am so excited I am halfway jealous of myself!

And in a fit of pure glee, I used my crikey to make it mine!

My big Bay is named Dreamer, and his registered name is Heza Dreamachine, so I named my new favorite and long awaited kitchen appliance after him.

I used the "Old West" cartridge and cut the letters out at 2 inches. I cut the horse out at 3 inches.

OMG, I love it so much! Thank goodness for Cricut, and sticky craft vinyl.

And thank goodness for my DB who very clearly loves me and wants me to be happy.

And to cook for him.

Happy Valenversary...or How to make a cake using your Cricut Expression

So my DB and I have the pain pleasure of celebrating our anniversary on Valentines day. So, we lovingly call this holiday our "Valenversary." Every year I try to make sickeningly sweet treats and sappy gifts.

Hey! It is my Valenversary after all!

On another note (it's related, I promise!), I have been wanting a Cricut Cake since I knew they existed. I have the expression and I use it fairly regularly so I don't want to ruin it to make cake things. But Last week I hatched an idea...

I could use my regular old Cricut to cut images out and then I could use those images to trace out fondant. I was so excited. I went and bought Fondant, cake mix and an Xacto knife. I knew just the cake to bake for this.

I have one of those Checkerboard cake kits and I have NEVER been able to make it work. I can't ever get the cake mixes to pour in evenly and they come out sloppy and sad. Everyone seems to love the "marbled cake," but it makes me sad inside because I know the true failure.

Then BAM! Another idea hit me...and it was a great one! I could use ziplock baggies to pipe the batter in. I am the smartest gal alive! Ahem.

So here we go with the fun pictures taken by my horrid camera phone in my kitchen that happens to have bad lighting. Can lights are artsy, but they are not good for seeing things...seriously!

And we start this project off with a mistake right away. I used a package of Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake and a package of Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake that I dyed pink. Yes, I used Wilton gel dye...I love that stuff!

This is only a mistake because I have learned that half of my problem with the cake I am making is that I use 2 different mixes. Next time I am using 2 of the same mix, colored differently. I WILL make this work!





Now, I set my gallon sized Ziplock baggies up in a large container and poured batter in. Also, in a rare moment of clarity, I greased all 3 cake pans AND floured them. I tend to get excited about cake so I rush and forget that part. Ugly cake tastes good, but it is still ugly cake. I also set up some paper towels to put my bags of batter on when I wasn't using them...so totally prepared and proud.!

I got everything set up and snipped the end off of the bags and began to pipe.







And here is what they looked like when I was done:

Awesome right???? I thought so at least.

So I baked the cakes until a butter knife came out clean and brought them put to cool. So far they were looking OK, though I began to worry about the mixes that had mostly red velvet. Notice how the red velvet seems to have taken over?

Well, I used my handy dandy cake leveling device to level each sheet and then I used some frosting to glue them together. This is all after I let the cakes cool completely of course.

See, now that the tops are cut off the red velvet layers look like only red velvet. Not fun. But turning out cute. What did I do with the scraps? Stay tuned, no cake is thrown away in my house!

I let the cake chill over night and I brought it out to put the crumb layer on. This I was most certainly NOT happy with. How do people get such a clean crumb layer? Mine was just so...so crumby.

I am personally blaming this crumb catastrophe on the frosting. Maybe if I actually took the time to make butter cream it would be cleaner. Or maybe it was the cake mix. I will most certainly be trying this again!

Moving on though, the cake got covered and put back into the fridge. Then I raced upstairs and cut some images from card stock. I used Heritage, Old West, Mickey and Friends and Jasmine. Of course, I left my phone downstairs so those didn't make it in the gallery. But I will do my best to give specs when I can.

When I had everything gathered, I rolled out my base layer of fondant and covered the cake. I should have put a little more research into this because it ended up pretty wrinkled and icky...but maybe not a bad first try.

You can see the shapes in the background! YAY.

I had some fondant left over, so I decided to dye it red with my Wilton gel. Didn't work. It was a very lovely bright pink though, so I cut the basic shapes out of that.

I rolled the fondant out, and laid down the shape I wanted then traced around it with the Xacto knife. After I had cut my shapes, I still had fondant left, so I added purple food coloring to it for the lettering. The lettering was hard to get right. I used Jasmine and cut out the "I Love You" phrase at 3 inches. The cuts were clean, but the lettering is wispy so it was difficult to not tear it. The horses were also a little more challenging. Next time I will roll fondant and chill it so that it doesn't pull so much. Other than that, not bad. What do you think?

It started to look very "I love Lucy" but then the "You" plopped lop-sidedly onto the cake and the purple stained the white so I had to leave it where it was. Again, the lettering was "Jasmine" cut at 3 inches. The heart was from "Mickey and Friends" and I cut that out at 5 inches.

Here is one of the horses (cut at 3 inches from "Old West"). See the fondant wrinkle? ARGH!

And here is a truck that I cut at 3 inches from "Heritage." Isn't this cool? It is actually my favorite of the shapes I cut.




All in all I used 2 truck cut outs and 2 horse cut outs to go around the cake. I chose these shapes so that the cake represented both of our interests. Well, the main interests at any rate.

I did not take a picture of the inside of the cake. It didn't work! The red velvet seems to be less dense than the vanilla and most of it sort of rose to the top while baking. So, again I am going to use 2 boxes of the same cake next time and see if that works any better. If not, then this darned checkerboard kit is got to goodwill! No reason for it to take up precious pantry space if I can't get the bugger to work.

Overall I still want a cricut cake, but I feel good knowing that I can manage with my sweet little regular Cricut.

Presents for co-workers (another tutorial...Woot!)

I am so excited about this method! I found the original idea here. I have to say on a side note that I am totally addicted to Tip Junkie. There are lots of great ideas over there!

Anyhow, I work with horsey people (lucky me) so I found some horse head cookie cutters in which to make the fudge. Here is the recipe:

1 1/2 Cups Semisweet chocolate chips
1 Cup Peanut Butter Chips
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 tbs butter or margarine
1 tsp Vanilla extract

The original recipe says to mix the chips and milk and butter and microwave for 2 minutes stirring every 30 seconds.

YOu can do that if you want, but I think that the microwave was meant to be a time saver...so if I have to babysit it I don't want to play; I may as well cook over the stove. Which is what I did.

I set up my pyrex bowl on a shallow pot with water in it. Insta-double boiler.



I mixed the chips, milk and softened butter together and turned it on. You do have to stir it to make sure it heats evenly, but it smells so yummy, and the results are worth the time spent in front of the stove.



While the chips were melting I prepared the cookie cutters. I placed each one on a square of foil and wrapped. I had to get creative in the tight corners, but I figured out a system. Then I sprayed each one with cooking spray. I would take regular breaks throughout this process to stir my chips.




With all six cookie cutters prepared and my chips really starting to melt, I concentrated on stirring at this point. When the mixture was almost all the way melted and combined I mixed in the vanilla. Then let it get pretty melty. Once it was at a loose fudge consistency, I scooped it into each cookie cutter. I used a big table spoon (like really, a table spoon used at the table...)and I got about 3 scoops into each cookie cutter. I smoothed the mixture out as much as possible, then I covered the whole cookie sheet and put it out to chill. I have a handy dandy front room/porch thing that works as a cold room during the winter. Great for when I am doing Holiday baking.

While the cutters were cooling, I put a tub of leftover royal icing that I had from assembling my gingerbread house into the still hot but not boiling water in the pan. Then I cleaned up a little. Made some dip for the office party. Played with the dogs. Washed my hands.

After about a half hour, the royal icing was soft enough to use so I packed it into an icing bag with a medium small tip. I am sorry that I can't be more specific but I got a set of decorating tips and there is a tiny one, a medium small one and a bigger one...I used the one that was most medium. I put manes anf forelocks on all of the horses. Peter thought that they should have smiles but I didn't want to get too cheesey so I just added mouths. I think they turned out really cute!



And a close up. What a pretty chocolate palomino...har har.



I covered them and put them back out into the cold room to chill overnight. Then I headed upstairs and set up Crikey (that is the name of my Cricut machine for those of you just tuning in). I loaded my Winter Woodland Cartridge and selected the card feature, then the horse. I set it at 1 1/2 inches and cut. I used contrasting paper and shift+card+horse to get the background.



This morning I peeled the tinfoil off of each cutter, and wiped away the excess cooking spray. Then I put them into individual baggies and tied the gift tags to them.



So cute! I love the way they turned out, and I think that this would work with any cookie cutter. I tested one of them and the fudge would slide out easily, even though the cookie cutters I used were somewhat complicated. I think I am going to do a lot more of these. I got the cutters off of ebay in a big lot (9 total)so I might get more of different varieties to send friends and family. These are small so they would be cheap to ship and still let everyone know that you are thinking of them.

A word of warning, each fudge piece is about 700 calories. Not to put a damper on your excitement, but I thought that I should be up front about the drawbacks. I don't think that I could even eat a whole one though...the fudge is very rich as I found out from licking the spoon after I had finished filling the cutters.

I did it! (my first tutorial...sort of)

I finally cut fabric with my cricut using the freezer paper method. The last time I tried it was an epic fail. Fabric didn't want to stick to paper, then the blade just messed it up (as in frayed the fabric). So I canned the idea. There aren't really any tutorials out there for this method anyway...maybe it can't be done.

Au Contraire mon fraire!

Last night, for some reason, I just decided to do it. I took some zoo fabric that I have had for years because I don't know what to do with it (pretty standard cheap quilting cotton) and I ironed it to freezer paper. Basically you match the shiney side of the paper to the wrong side of the fabric and iron with a very hot, dry iron. I ironed the crap out of it and made sure that the fabric was indeed stuck down. It didn't stick very well around the edges, and the freezer paper peels off easily so I just made sure that a good portion of it was reasonably fused.

For this cut, my storybook cartridge was already loaded. The most simple design on that cartridge is the flower shadow (shift+shadow+I)so I decided to use that one. I loaded the mat and moved the blade to the point where the fabric and paper were really fused. Here is the technical stuff:

Blade pressure: 5

Size: 3 inches (personal choice...but I think too small or too detailed would fail)

Speed: Min (this is really important!

Multi-cut: I didn't actually use multi cut for this project, but I am going to try next time. there was one spot I had to finish cutting by hand.

Once it was cut out, I just peeled the paper off of the fabric and it is a clean, plain piece of fabric.

And here it is:



Sort of a modest little flower. but she has a special place right now as my first fabric piece cut from cricut.

Are you waiting for the irony? I can't remember why it was so important for me to learn to cut fabric this way. I have seen the multitudes of heat and bond success and every project I can think of (quilts, applique, etc) would be appropriate for that method. I do remember having a strong desire to learn to cut fabric with cricut sans anything permanent on the back...

Whatever. I can do it, and it is done. As soon as I remember why this was important, I will know that I can.

This has also bred a desire for adventure. I have so many ideas: felt story board, fleece. but I didin't know where to start. Last night I fused a small piece of fleece in between two pieces of freezer paper. I couldn't find my deep cut blade but as soon as I do I will try it. Hopefully it will work and I can share it with you here!

Well, I get a big fat "F" in Blogging. I haven't updated for quite a while. Since I wrote last, Pippy got severely hurt, then got better, has been weaned, I enrolled in an MBA program and we have gotten into Dairy goats. Yes, I have just crossed the line.

I am officially: "Just Plain Crazy."

But, don't you want to hear about the goats? I am overly obsessed with self sufficiency, and the more research I did, the more I liked the idea of having dairy goats. They could cut milk and cheese (and possibly even butter if I can muster the patience of Job) right out of our grocery bill. Of course, they add some back on top of the grain and feed bill, but I will analyze that later, and then continue to not care.

After finally deciding to go ahead with the goats, I put out feelers and an ad on craigslist stating my purpose. Almost immediately I was contacted by sherry. She had 2 Saanen/Oberhasli doelings and offered them to me cheap. Perfect. Babies we could raise the way we like. So, about a week later, Trixie and Honey joined our Family.

About 2 weeks later, Sherry contacted me again to say that she has one more doeling that she would part with. A little Saanen/Lamancha. I have a huge soft spot for Lamancha goats, so Amy Farah Fowler (or just Amy in most cases) came to live with us also.

Along with Amy, we decided to take one of Sherry's bucklings. A small mini alpine/cashmere ball of adorable. We are going to use him to breed the does this winter and then castrate him. I think he will make a much better pet than a herd sire, and I can't wait to learn to spin his glorious fiber.

As if I didn't have enough on my plate.

I do have to say that these goats have added just the right amount of joy to my life. Amy is a little trickster, and we call her the "Parcor" goat. She will do a wheelie off of a bale, hit the wall and spin around before landing. Honey is a quiet little thing that follows me around and doesn't ask for much. Trixie likes attention. She wants to be loved and pet and scratched all the time.

We named the buck Willie, and he is so cute I can hardly stand it. He follows me around like a dog and seems to take part in every conversation. Cute. Cute. Cute. I got supplies to make drop spindles (I will post a tutorial when I actually get around to doing it) and I bought a few different kinds of fiber to learn to spin. Having one small cashmere goat won't give me enough for a sweater, but it will probably contribute to some pretty sweet mittens! Maybe a hat...I don't really know what to expect.

Which brings me to a bit of a gripe: Even on this marvelous World Wide Web, it is nearly impossible to find information on managing a small number of Cashmere goats. I plan to document what I learn by trial and error here so that maybe someday, someone can learn from me. Cashmere type goats are said to be hardier than Angora goats, they have finer fiber and I hear they give a decent amount of milk. Why don't more people have one or two? Maybe I can help to change all that.

As far as the rest of my life goes, I am behind in school, I haven't spent much time with my lovely Cricut, and my horses get ridden on the weekends (sometimes) because at 4:00 pm, when I get off work, it is pitch dark outside. Lovely.

Anyway, I promise (as an advance resolution for 2012) to update more often, provide pictures and maybe even some tutorials. Finally, a resolution that does not require me to give up chocolate; I am liking this more and more as I think about it.

Weekends are the pits (sub category: I was at least mildly productive this weekend....NOT)

Seriously, I thought that "growing up" and finally graduating College would give me these awesome treats that everyone calls weekends. But I can tell you that I put the "Weak" in weekend!

By the time we get to friday, Peter and I are so worn out that we go home, and sleep. Then we sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 on saturday, and sort of drag ass around all day being semi-productive. Then we turn in early and sleep until 8:00 or 9:00 again Sunday.

By Sunday, we have completely given up any hope that we are going to enjoy anything but naps on our time off. We have breakfast for lunch, putter around for a bit (typically leaving a bigger mess behind than our limited productivity would warrant) and then fall asleep. Usually we sleep to Junkyard Wars on TV, but yesterday it was the River Monsters maraton, so my dreams were punctuated by bizzarre fish encounters and trips.

Here is a list of how productive we were this weekend. I need to do this so I don't feel like such a loser (sadly Peter wins the productivity award...yay).

SATURDAY

1) Picked up boxes so that we can pack and be ready to move (and coincidentally made some new friends...woot)

2) cleaned the kitchen, sanitized jars for jam, made mirengue cookies

3) (Pete) cleaned up outside, and went to the dump

4) made dinner

SUNDAY

1) baked chocolate chip cookies...made a general mess in the kitchen

2) Used my Cricut and the Winter Woodlands Cartridge to re-vamp my easter tree

3) (Pete) Did taxes

4) Picked up straw for Sissy, and dropped it off at mom and dad's

5) Got some hay for our horses (though instead of unloading it, we parked it in the garage)

6) (Pete) helped mom catch the goat and brush his coat and clip his hooves

Well, I suppose that I don't feel any better about our productivity. Though Pete still wins. I was pretty much a lazy ass all weekend, and I would feel like crap about it, but I don't have the energy!

Garden, Day 1 (pictures to follow)

Usually, as I am finding is not uncommon, I decide one day that I am going to be responsible with my home and money and everything. I will look like the people in BHG sitting on my pristine furniture and smiling to myself because I know I am financially secure and everything is done. I make spreadsheets (just ask anyone who knows me, I use spreadsheets obsessively like they will solve all of my problems) and I budget money. This usually leads to depression and self-loathing because I can actually see how bad I am at managing my own finances.

But I press on and feel the need to self punish in small ways such as "you have to carry the groceries in one piece at a time because you are a terrible person" and "you are going to run an extra 30 minutes in the snow because you deserve pain and punishment."

Sick? Me?

Anyways these responsibility kicks usually involve me wanting to be more self sufficient, and the spring time compulsion is to grow a garden. After all, one of my favorite things to do is eat, and I LOVE canning and preserving food in the fall. It makes the Nester inside of me oh so happy to see gleaming jars of home canned goods lining my shelves. So I plant some seeds, and I water them--but not too much--and they start to grow. And I get so happy. I did it! I grew plants. And then the plants revolt. They grow taller and taller, but they never lose their cotyledons...or grow any new foliage.

So, I transplant them to pots and then they promptly die. And I feel depressed and spend the next few weeks getting the laundry out of the dryer one sock at a time, and scrubbing floors with my fingernails. But this year is different. It WILL be different... It has to be!

So, I am going to do it; I started my garden last night. All of my motivation to keep running and eating healthy and keep my house cleaned has made me want to take on one more challenge. I hope this isn't the challenge that breaks this camel's back, but we will have to wait and see. I bought a small "greenhouse" last night at wal~mart and two new seed packets to add to my collection. I also bought 4 Roma Tomato plants and 4 Early Girl Tomato plants (I am sharing with my mom) and a Lavendar plant. The little seed starting flat (ahem, "greenhouse") I got has six rows with six of those little dirt pucks that ploof when soaked in water.

When we got home last night, I soaked the flat in Water, and went about my chores while the magic happened. When the creatures were all fed, eggs collected and my three other "miracle" plants were watered the pucks were ready. I planted two rows of Ruby Red Sweet Corn (so pretty, I really hope these work) one row of pickling cucumbers (I will split these with mom) 4 Green beans, 4 rainbow bell peppers, 4 zucchini and 6 Strawberry popcorn plants. I put these in the large bay window in the rumpus room, and I am going to make these plants grow. I have spent all winter reading tutorials, books and articles on gardening, sowing seeds and the like.

Plus, randomly, I have an amaryllis and a Palm that I bought a year ago that somehow love me and the abuse I tend to give them. Both need badly to be replanted in bigger pots (if you have been paying attention you understand why I am holding back on that)and they get watered sporadically at best. And still they grow, taller and bushier, and flowery...er every day. This may be giving me false hopes, but it is all I have to go on at the moment.

I wrote on the outside of the flat which rows are what, and I intend on using my favorite bug (that is my Cricut) to make little labels for each plant...maybe if they feel special they will want to grow and give me foods.