Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Fish Cake {Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes} RECIPE





It was my Grandma's birthday last Monday, and I made her a "Fish Cake" made up of Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes and a mini cake (I used the same recipe for both the cupcakes and mini cake). I arranged them to look like a fish because she's a pisces, plus I was inspired by a picture I found on pinterest which was just too cute not to try!

I found the recipe for the cupcakes using an app called "Cupcake", and they're SO tasty!! 
To make the fish cake, head on over to My Cake School's site for photo instructions. Oh, and I used a chocolates for the eye and the kissy mouth ;)

Here's the recipe I used for the cupcakes:

Vanilla Buttercream Cupcakes 
(from "Cupcake" app)
(makes approx. 15)


Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line standard cupcake tin with paper or foil liners.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (it works with a wire whisk attachment also).

3. Add butter, sour cream, egg and egg yolks, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. 

4. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula and mix until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

5. Divide the batter evenly among cups of prepared tin. 

6. Place the cupcake tin on the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

7. Bake until cupcake tops are pale gold and toothpick or skewer inserted into center comes out clean: 17-24 minutes. 

8. Cool cupcakes on wire rack to room temperature before frosting.


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Method
1. Using the wire whisk attachment of your stand mixer, whip the butter on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.

2. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar. 

3. Once all of the powdered sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and add the vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

4. Whip at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

You can store any unused buttercream in the refrigerator in an a airtight container. Before using, let it come to room temperature and then give it a quick whip in the mixer.

There you have it! These cupcakes are quick, easy, light and yummy! They're a hit both with teens, adults and grandparents - definitely worth trying out.


And if you're worried about the decorating part, don't fret, the first time I made these cupcakes they did were not aesthetically pleasing at all. But thanks to a new squeeze bottle, my second time round was much more successful (though the taste was no different). 

My new best friend: squeeze bottle with yellow cap (yay!)


If you don't have a squeeze bottle, you can always spread it with a knife, which will looks way better than cutting a whole in a bag and squeezing it out, as shown below...


Let me know if you try making the cupcakes and fish cake!
Any pictures and stories of disasters and/ or successes are always welcome ;)

And be sure to follow me via instagram for "live" pics @thegentleflower (comment your username and I'll follow back) :)

~Katrine

Friday, February 15, 2013

When the Moon Hits the Sky Like a Big Pasta Pie




I've made lots of food that I've seen on Pinterest lately (follow me: thegentleflower). There are SO many good recipes out there! I thought I'd share one of them with you today.

I made this YUMMY Pasta Pie for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I've already made it once more since the first time. It was THAT good. And pretty easy. It was a definite hit at home as well, so I'll be making this a lot. I'd say it's a mix of Lasagna and Spaghetti Bolognese. Click here for the recipe.

It reminds me of this song (but I sing Pasta Pie instead of Pizza Pie of course ;))



If you're in the mood for some Italian, be sure to try out this recipe and listen to Dean Martin's song while cooking. You'll be smiling for hours ;)

Let me know if you try it! :)

And be sure to enter the giveaway.

Have a great weekend!
Katrine :)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Yummy Snacks / Appetizers








I've found so many recipes for appetizers or snacks that make my mouth water on pinterest. I haven't tried making any of them, but they look sooo good and not too hard! I think they're pretty healthy too. 

Let me know if you try making any of them :)

Enjoy!















YUM-MYYYYY!!!!

I seriously need to go and make these - NOW!

Please share some of your favorite foody pins or stories below ;)

And follow me on pinterest please (let me know if you do, and I'll follow you back)

And be sure to enter the giveaway!!

Have a great day!
~Katrine

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Making Fruit Fun {lots of fancy fruity recipes!}





I've found sooo many yummy recipes on pinterest! A few that have caught my attention have been the ones featuring fruit. The recipes are really clever, and make me crave fruit whenever I look at them! They look fancy, but I think the recipes are simple enough to do :) They would be perfect for a party!!

They say that children are more likely to eat fruit when the fruit is cut up into pieces. Well, I bet they'd eat these fruity dishes as well (maybe even rather than the plain old cut up pieces of fruit?) !

Enjoy these fruitastic pins! ;)



The above photo doesn't include fruit. However, you can switch the caviar with a blackberry or raspberry!






Source: skirt.com via Katrine on Pinterest








For the above recipe, you could maybe switch out the Prosecco with some water or sprite (to make it kid friendly) and switch the rose petals with some strawberries or raspberries - the possibilities are endless!





What are some of your favorite fruity pins?
Have you tried any of these?

Are you on pinterest? Leave your username and I'll follow you :) Follow me here.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

Katrine :)

Linking up here.

Friday, August 3, 2012

Up-cycled Crafts! - Clothing + Home Decor {Lots of Tutorials}







I've found LOTS of DIY tutorials on pinterest lately.. and I love them all! I'm sooo addicted to pinterest!!

I thought I would share some pins with you today that are both DIYs AND up-cycled crafts.

The positive thing about up-cycling is that it's much cheaper because you can use what you already have!! And if anyone else out there hates throwing things away as much as me, you'll know why up-cycling is the perfect thing for us to do ;)

I've found lot of super cool clothing refashions, accessories made using the simplest of materials we have lying around the house and some home decor.

Enjoy!!
































Which one did you like the best?
What are some of your favorite up-cycled crafts/ pins??
Are you on pinterest? Leave your username and I'll follow you :) Follow me here.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

Katrine :)

Linking up here.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Easy, Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies! {Testing a Hershey's Recipe}




As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I baked cookies on Sunday. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: I've never baked cookies from scratch on my own before!! I've always used a packet and just added a couple of ingredients. But this time, I started from scratch, using the recipe from my new Hershey's cook book! And they turned out yummy, even though I made a few measurement boo-boos... but let's not talk about that ;)

And judging by the amount of cookies left... they were a hit ;)

As I mentioned, this is a Hershey's recipe, but since I also found it on their site, I hope it's ok that I borrow it to share it with you. All credit goes to Hershey's, except the picture - that's mine ;) And I've changed a couple of things in the recipe as well.


Chocolate Chip Cookies / Testing Hershey's Classic MINI KISSES Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 cups Hershey's semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened and cut into pieces
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten


Directions

  • Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
  • Add the chocolate chips and vanilla extract.
  • Heat oven to 375º F.
  • Add butter, and stir until crumbly mixture forms. Get your hands in there (and squish the butter!).
  • Add eggs and stir. (Use your hands here as well, otherwise the eggs won't mix properly).
  • The mixture should be wet but firm.
  • Drop by heaping tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet (I like them a bit bigger than Hershey's does). I roll each "cookie" into a ball for neatness before dropping them on the cookie sheet.
  • Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes about 40 cookies (depends on how big you make them, but I made them quite big, and I made approx. 40)

NOTE: If you want a really big cookie, rolling an extra big ball of dough won't make it's area bigger... you'll only get a really fat, half-raw cookie. But it turned out really yummy, though ;)


Linking up over here.

What are your favourite cookie recipes?
Any tips for baking cookies?

Thursday, May 3, 2012

I Only Wore Gold Shoes {Oh, How Pinteresting}





I thought I would share some of my favourite fashion and style finds from Pinterest.. aahhh how I love that site! :D

Enjoy ;)



















Source: etsy.com via Katrine on Pinterest


Source: etsy.com via Katrine on Pinterest









Source: google.com via Katrine on Pinterest



Source: etsy.com via Katrine on Pinterest


I love the pops of colour, the elegance, the fun accessories (including the awesome manicures :D) and the glittter (when I was little, I ONLY wore gold sandals/ shoes. True story. I miss it. I also collected sequences.)


Show me some of your favorite style pics, please :)
Link it up in the comments, will ya?

Oh, and don't forget to follow me on Pinterest, will you? I'm @thegentleflower  - I'll follow you back ;)

And I'm linking up over here:


Monday, April 16, 2012

Three Fabulous Fashion DIYs {Guest post}



Johanna Kautt from Be Thou My Vision has kindly taken the time to do a DIY guest post for us today!! I'm super excited, and I hope you are too! This lovely young lady is not only a great friend, but also a talented crafter!! Check out her blog, and please show her some love in the comments and on her blog ;) 


When my dear friend, Katrine, asked me to guest post for her, I was completely ecstatic! Thank you for asking me! :)


I've got three small and easy DIY projects for you.


Tutorial number one (Woodlands Flower Hair-clip):


Supplies: needle and thread, scissors, fabric scraps, hair clip, applique. 




Start out by cutting three circles (about the size of a tennis ball in 
circumference). Turn the raw edges under. Start gathering 
all the way around. You are making a yo-yo.  





Once you have gone all the way around the circle, pull the 
thread as tight as you can (without breaking the thread). 
Anchor and knot.

This is what your finished yo-yo should look like.


After you have made three (total) yo-yos, sew 
them in a straight line, like that shown above.


Then attach your little applique to the side 
of one of the yo-yos.


You can also attach felt to the bottom, to make it have more 
stability, and to add a whimsical touch.


I cut the moss around the shape of the yo-yos.


Next you attach the yo-yos to the hair-clip. 
Tada, you have your woodlands flower hair-clip! :) 
  
Tutorial number two (Mock Version of a Forever 21 Top)


Make yourself five yo-yos. But this time, make them about 
two times larger than the ones above.-- Do so by making 
the fabric circles about two times bigger than 
the ones you made for the hair-clip.


Arrange the yo-yos in an eye-pleasing way 
around the neck of the t-shirt. You 
will want to pin them on there. 
Then you turn the t-shirt inside out. Sew 
all the way around the perimeter of the 
yo-yos (with matching thread), making 
sure it does not go through the top layer 
of the yo-yos (other wise, your stiches will be 
visable).


This is the finished product. :) 





Tutorial number three (Lace and Felt Brooch)


Grab some lace like that shown above. Cut a small 
section out. That will be your lace applique for the brooch.


This is the "backing" for the brooch that I used. I bought 
a package of 16 at a local craft store, for around $3.


Cut out your piece of felt. Make sure it will 
fit nicely inside the brooch backing.


Using thread that matches the lace, sew the lace 
onto the felt. Then use a hot glue gun 
to glue the felt and lace onto the backing.


Last of all, use your hot glue gun to attach the pin onto 
the back of the brooch. You're done! :)  







About the authoress: Johanna K. is a homeschooled, stay-at-home daughter. She lives in the US (Texas) with her five siblings and her parents. She strives to please God in every area of her life. Proverbs 16:3 is one of her favorite verses, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...