tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43997097165893013272024-03-12T17:05:38.890-07:00bittersweetcraftscool, calm, and creativeChristinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-14662204196079350362020-04-27T15:24:00.001-07:002020-04-27T15:25:33.525-07:00Succulent Plush<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Making a giant plushie seemed like a fun idea during this shelter in place time. I have this large piece of green-ish fabric leftover from the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BrlRqmYgQJW/">Charizard onesie</a> I made. (I overestimated how much I thought I'd need...by a lot) I had been wondering what to do with it and thought of a bunch of green things like Bulbasaur, Oddish, Chicorita, Metapod.....(I guess I only think in Pokemon) but they were either the wrong shade of green or required a lot more colors. Also, I wasn't completely in love with the idea of any of them. The idea of a plant felt more homey and they're generally one shade of green so I didn't feel an extreme need to be accurate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VIo2msJ5BXk/Xqc1I7xJENI/AAAAAAAACps/Yl_jWp4cDUUGtzTmlCbFDG5BrnDm6_FZQCEwYBhgL/s1600/00-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VIo2msJ5BXk/Xqc1I7xJENI/AAAAAAAACps/Yl_jWp4cDUUGtzTmlCbFDG5BrnDm6_FZQCEwYBhgL/s200/00-2.jpg" width="141" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F7ATfIvRLag/Xqc1H3Y5LTI/AAAAAAAACpo/0-vKRIb733MIfXi8pfm_RXR7OJ1O-GtiACEwYBhgL/s1600/01-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F7ATfIvRLag/Xqc1H3Y5LTI/AAAAAAAACpo/0-vKRIb733MIfXi8pfm_RXR7OJ1O-GtiACEwYBhgL/s200/01-2.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started with a square sheet of paper that was around 20x20 inches.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Packing paper works great for drawing out patterns.</span></div>
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<i style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">(semi-pro tip: take them for free from Ikea when you check out)</i></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fold the paper into quarters and draw out a shape of a leaf.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(<i>I attempted a 5 petaled piece, but it gave me a headache trying to get them all even x_x</i>)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3S-ehRN7eLc/Xqc1IlJGNFI/AAAAAAAACpo/Op64T2HVBzAFijQgOdmUOsNcbjcNJQ05ACEwYBhgL/s1600/02-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3S-ehRN7eLc/Xqc1IlJGNFI/AAAAAAAACpo/Op64T2HVBzAFijQgOdmUOsNcbjcNJQ05ACEwYBhgL/s200/02-2.jpg" width="142" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KJTLPRtE_8/Xqc1OnpMUEI/AAAAAAAACp8/KiBShLb9Ny0ZEepBo4TmB15jK8AVqzO_QCEwYBhgL/s1600/03-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8KJTLPRtE_8/Xqc1OnpMUEI/AAAAAAAACp8/KiBShLb9Ny0ZEepBo4TmB15jK8AVqzO_QCEwYBhgL/s200/03-2.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I created 3 sizes of leaves. Use the same pattern and cut each tier about 1-2 inches smaller.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sew each piece together all the way around with a sewing machine.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cut a slit, as big as you need it to be, in the middle on one layer of the fabric (do not cut through both layers!) to pull the piece through to the right side.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zAy9wmVd4VM/Xqc1QXzYYtI/AAAAAAAACp8/Uf5UYZDaW-MFpcE8n7fkYwJ8RCjWVBxWQCEwYBhgL/s1600/04-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zAy9wmVd4VM/Xqc1QXzYYtI/AAAAAAAACp8/Uf5UYZDaW-MFpcE8n7fkYwJ8RCjWVBxWQCEwYBhgL/s200/04-2.jpg" width="142" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3JewXAdEY8/Xqc1Rrb3x7I/AAAAAAAACqA/yLU4fT4s-FUld8daJSBRQtYjRq6IONoigCEwYBhgL/s1600/04a-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y3JewXAdEY8/Xqc1Rrb3x7I/AAAAAAAACqA/yLU4fT4s-FUld8daJSBRQtYjRq6IONoigCEwYBhgL/s200/04a-2.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stuff with stuffing through the slit, leave the centers of each piece empty (this creates less bulk when the pieces are stacked together), hand stitch the slit closed.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stack the pieces to your liking and sew through the middle while pulling tightly so the center dips in and the leaves pouf up.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>(semi-pro tip: I folded my thread over 3 times before threading through a large eyed needle. I</i></span><i style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">t holds up better when you pull tightly through the pieces of the succulent</i><i style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">)</i></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xTn5yzp2mEM/Xqc1W1Z7voI/AAAAAAAACqA/iQVa_1J-IOMV2mDjfhPEo_ah8mdPH61rwCEwYBhgL/s1600/04b-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xTn5yzp2mEM/Xqc1W1Z7voI/AAAAAAAACqA/iQVa_1J-IOMV2mDjfhPEo_ah8mdPH61rwCEwYBhgL/s200/04b-2.jpg" width="142" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pxaldc6QLVg/Xqc1a0FqttI/AAAAAAAACqI/KBs_K8-wL3Qo9BzWmdvCjHn5aH0j4WOoACEwYBhgL/s1600/06-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pxaldc6QLVg/Xqc1a0FqttI/AAAAAAAACqI/KBs_K8-wL3Qo9BzWmdvCjHn5aH0j4WOoACEwYBhgL/s200/06-2.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For the center piece, I made a small 3 leaf piece.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a cute little plant on its own :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9vD60dfGOs4/Xqc1abGWk7I/AAAAAAAACqI/NbYCNmAQNlwNjOk5nBrp238SxBy_J9tyACEwYBhgL/s1600/07-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9vD60dfGOs4/Xqc1abGWk7I/AAAAAAAACqI/NbYCNmAQNlwNjOk5nBrp238SxBy_J9tyACEwYBhgL/s200/07-2.jpg" width="142" /></a><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0tVqcxVU0M/Xqc1dmm04mI/AAAAAAAACqQ/2EM8sbwWkCsQ2LD0CKBMVQOJKNtbgduEACEwYBhgL/s1600/08-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v0tVqcxVU0M/Xqc1dmm04mI/AAAAAAAACqQ/2EM8sbwWkCsQ2LD0CKBMVQOJKNtbgduEACEwYBhgL/s200/08-2.jpg" width="142" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sew the final middle piece through the entire succulent.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PE5BwmihoOA/Xqc1vJXZz3I/AAAAAAAACqk/95tsWlyhTwwNmt4YSkmpijUXJb1I_jB5wCEwYBhgL/s1600/09a-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PE5BwmihoOA/Xqc1vJXZz3I/AAAAAAAACqk/95tsWlyhTwwNmt4YSkmpijUXJb1I_jB5wCEwYBhgL/s320/09a-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have a button on the very bottom that I sewed through. I thought it would help keep things taut and prevent the thread from ripping through the fleece.<i> (It was the most challenging thing ever trying to find the buttonholes without stabbing myself...)</i> I would recommend using a button with larger holes.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VSDAxX-BeIk/XqdadNlLRoI/AAAAAAAACt0/jYpr9Sk6szQs5mCH7Vo3P6ciwlXBBG1aACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/10c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="227" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VSDAxX-BeIk/XqdadNlLRoI/AAAAAAAACt0/jYpr9Sk6szQs5mCH7Vo3P6ciwlXBBG1aACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/10c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I shaped the succulent by overlapping some of the pieces and hand stitched them to keep them in place.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hO-RVwAlc_4/Xqc1s7zXkLI/AAAAAAAACqg/GilDdTBKTSstU2stI_HesSklaWGD3TBHACEwYBhgL/s1600/10a-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hO-RVwAlc_4/Xqc1s7zXkLI/AAAAAAAACqg/GilDdTBKTSstU2stI_HesSklaWGD3TBHACEwYBhgL/s320/10a-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After doing some Googling, the closest succulent that this one resembles is an "Echeveria Chinensis"........ kinda?</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-iRJK2E7Jw/Xqc_2LUrPpI/AAAAAAAACqw/3QUYSrqcgEItfK_E3sRzFQFhpHSqoJWhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/8472d36c08b2a06b_1490-w240-h240-b0-p0--.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v-iRJK2E7Jw/Xqc_2LUrPpI/AAAAAAAACqw/3QUYSrqcgEItfK_E3sRzFQFhpHSqoJWhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/8472d36c08b2a06b_1490-w240-h240-b0-p0--.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #073763;">It's a great cushion to sit on and I can easily reshape it so it looks pretty again :)</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bBtbR7a6_k0/Xqc1nslEA1I/AAAAAAAACqc/62SrAsPeElUsDUdGTastLnoLDtanZWncQCEwYBhgL/s1600/11-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bBtbR7a6_k0/Xqc1nslEA1I/AAAAAAAACqc/62SrAsPeElUsDUdGTastLnoLDtanZWncQCEwYBhgL/s320/11-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-84746731660073412762019-03-02T17:35:00.001-08:002019-03-02T17:35:27.880-08:00Drawing Joy<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #0b5394;">The last time I really drew and posted something was when I drew Sadness. It's funny how the next one is Joy. My dear friend, Tracy is leaving to embark on a new adventure in Singapore and asked if she could commission me to draw her Joy from Inside Out. I was happy to do it, but only if it can be my gift to her :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Tracy wanted the drawing to be a surprise so I browsed through different Joy images online until I came across one I liked. I chose this image, because of Joy's expression. She looks happy and hopeful and that was how I was feeling about her new journey. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k-LXqYta8Mc/XG3J_1zWj5I/AAAAAAAACjw/In6BqJ83Oy4h7oexzB9Dn-Hb1kWxyZRiQCLcBGAs/s1600/a518b2094dfc30effe12e1c6da1a68f0--movie-wallpapers-inside-out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="563" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k-LXqYta8Mc/XG3J_1zWj5I/AAAAAAAACjw/In6BqJ83Oy4h7oexzB9Dn-Hb1kWxyZRiQCLcBGAs/s320/a518b2094dfc30effe12e1c6da1a68f0--movie-wallpapers-inside-out.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Some shots of my process!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-64yS-K_O0lQ/XG3J-r_RUNI/AAAAAAAACjY/aCgqUCBEgZINieuSsae6rIr5_lAodhk8QCEwYBhgL/s1600/20190217_142346.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="980" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-64yS-K_O0lQ/XG3J-r_RUNI/AAAAAAAACjY/aCgqUCBEgZINieuSsae6rIr5_lAodhk8QCEwYBhgL/s200/20190217_142346.jpg" width="151" /></a><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VgkPyyTj9Po/XG3J-2lIEcI/AAAAAAAACjg/dm_FaeJbAm8WHKqVh5fLkq72XxYQ4lyagCEwYBhgL/s1600/20190217_160530.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1135" data-original-width="980" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VgkPyyTj9Po/XG3J-2lIEcI/AAAAAAAACjg/dm_FaeJbAm8WHKqVh5fLkq72XxYQ4lyagCEwYBhgL/s200/20190217_160530.jpg" width="172" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eqlDM23i8gw/XG3J_YsrrrI/AAAAAAAACjk/8Z8LuCkQnUEo5SnmcJXIXqy-sSSrUCRuwCEwYBhgL/s1600/20190217_174236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="889" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eqlDM23i8gw/XG3J_YsrrrI/AAAAAAAACjk/8Z8LuCkQnUEo5SnmcJXIXqy-sSSrUCRuwCEwYBhgL/s200/20190217_174236.jpg" width="186" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rC_ge40MjHY/XG3J_lnvggI/AAAAAAAACjo/HfPtD0Fa62A8ks--ib5HYAZqiHctcL1HgCEwYBhgL/s1600/20190217_225453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="980" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rC_ge40MjHY/XG3J_lnvggI/AAAAAAAACjo/HfPtD0Fa62A8ks--ib5HYAZqiHctcL1HgCEwYBhgL/s200/20190217_225453.jpg" width="151" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">I had the most relaxing time working on this :)</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">It brought me Joy ;)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="https://www.deviantart.com/iliketodoodle/art/Joy-787957872"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="835" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-76fkLhy86Gg/XHsl2aPLJhI/AAAAAAAACko/sdgrNJ_gBHUecxoXFsKg8mNpj4cUJKfmACLcBGAs/s320/P2240677%2B4.jpg" width="257" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">I need to do this more often.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-joIxWFX2aQg/XHsl2Q0lx6I/AAAAAAAACks/B856Pl2OPpYeEMv_oRrX9cGtaAECYVwCgCLcBGAs/s1600/P2240681%2B5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1037" data-original-width="1285" height="258" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-joIxWFX2aQg/XHsl2Q0lx6I/AAAAAAAACks/B856Pl2OPpYeEMv_oRrX9cGtaAECYVwCgCLcBGAs/s320/P2240681%2B5.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-43OFaLF86zU/XHsl2L2xDaI/AAAAAAAACkk/SCSeZ1YSEcIcdrDGTKiA85FthNDq3ANOwCLcBGAs/s1600/tracy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><img border="0" data-original-height="586" data-original-width="874" height="214" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-43OFaLF86zU/XHsl2L2xDaI/AAAAAAAACkk/SCSeZ1YSEcIcdrDGTKiA85FthNDq3ANOwCLcBGAs/s320/tracy.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">Excited, hopeful and joyful for this next step in your journey!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;">All the best to you, Tracy <3</span></div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-18246788034653289782017-03-25T14:48:00.000-07:002017-03-25T15:01:25.096-07:00Drawing Sadness<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In times when I feel the need for some distraction and relaxation, I usually pick up some kind of craft to do to keep my mind busy. I haven't drawn anything for myself in awhile so with some sadness, I chose to draw Sadness from the movie Inside Out. Her blueness is very calming :)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is the reference photo. It's a little more sad than I had wanted, but I loved that there was a lot of hair to work with.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Rpal24qU_M/WNbfZ9h2YVI/AAAAAAAACG8/SkZ8do3Av7QRmAPljyDR9FMW0_Nv3LOVACLcB/s1600/9fbe5801ac551930558c6e4023c6178d-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Rpal24qU_M/WNbfZ9h2YVI/AAAAAAAACG8/SkZ8do3Av7QRmAPljyDR9FMW0_Nv3LOVACLcB/s320/9fbe5801ac551930558c6e4023c6178d-1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are some pictures of the process.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I forgot to take a picture of my initial sketch.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ID-Wia5GNkQ/WNbe9wqNCqI/AAAAAAAACGk/w98vFPetxv4Q6O1Ig6ndxqF6vXa5LaYlgCLcB/s1600/00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ID-Wia5GNkQ/WNbe9wqNCqI/AAAAAAAACGk/w98vFPetxv4Q6O1Ig6ndxqF6vXa5LaYlgCLcB/s320/00.jpg" width="278" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sweater was the more challenging part of the drawing.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--h6y3jRFcvA/WNbe-GMsM6I/AAAAAAAACGo/twp_xpL_7uEJqH03KJJlufSxfGDofS-YgCLcB/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--h6y3jRFcvA/WNbe-GMsM6I/AAAAAAAACGo/twp_xpL_7uEJqH03KJJlufSxfGDofS-YgCLcB/s320/01.jpg" width="235" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I like her little knob-like feet.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jebm_KZb9Ss/WNbe-PNa1fI/AAAAAAAACGs/kwift6DdX4Mc7kmH6vMxL4tRKnX1Mt_-QCLcB/s1600/02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jebm_KZb9Ss/WNbe-PNa1fI/AAAAAAAACGs/kwift6DdX4Mc7kmH6vMxL4tRKnX1Mt_-QCLcB/s320/02.jpg" width="232" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was probably done a couple weeks ago, but I wasn't completely satisfied with it. </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can keep picking at it, but it's time to just move on!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://iliketodoodle.deviantart.com/art/Sadness-671037394"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qp8NasqCWts/WNbfCPfXNXI/AAAAAAAACG4/4wZh4GCt-nILkBgpbRjGP5RjQlFXwWx1QCLcB/s320/05.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hello, Sadness.</b></span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-38133739554957044112016-10-31T22:20:00.000-07:002016-10-31T22:46:06.018-07:00Liz and Kev Wed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For Liz and Kevin's wedding card I wanted to be a little creative and make my own card. I was inspired by the art of Chinese paper cutting, but I knew I wouldn't have time to cut a design for an entire card, so I designed something that would have some part cut out while the rest of the card would have some sort of intricate drawing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Chinese character for double happiness is a symbol of marriage so I chose to make that the cut out portion of the card. I knew phoenixes were common symbols for marriage in the Chinese culture, so I googled images of phoenixes, and designed a scene with paper lanterns. I thought I was set with just a phoenix, but then I read more into the traditions and found that a phoenix was always paired with a dragon as feng shui symbols to represent harmony in marriage. </span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-17qyMS_uxGU/WBgbqHYnJmI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/LgIbTXeyuGk0xa7yHz7szjj3as6ynUCyACLcB/s1600/00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-17qyMS_uxGU/WBgbqHYnJmI/AAAAAAAAB_Y/LgIbTXeyuGk0xa7yHz7szjj3as6ynUCyACLcB/s640/00.jpg" width="360" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't know why I always make small sketches in my sketchbook. I have the entire page!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After sketching, I drew it out on a sheet of paper as an actual sized card and used a pen to trace it firmly onto my red cardstock paper.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ahCHjxxNqc/WBgbqXt638I/AAAAAAAAB_g/DeMRHKzqPqsTCySExeD_YT2Kl0QucRunACLcB/s1600/01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ahCHjxxNqc/WBgbqXt638I/AAAAAAAAB_g/DeMRHKzqPqsTCySExeD_YT2Kl0QucRunACLcB/s640/01.jpg" width="360" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I watched a lot of Ally McBeal to keep me company.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRZRunHTN1U/WBgbqNMjEqI/AAAAAAAAB_c/j3dCpahEvOYlrzDT-oScbKNYkkELT0eyACLcB/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jRZRunHTN1U/WBgbqNMjEqI/AAAAAAAAB_c/j3dCpahEvOYlrzDT-oScbKNYkkELT0eyACLcB/s400/02.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used my craft knives to carefully cut out the character for double happiness.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t9RrYJH98AM/WBgbzQGO7UI/AAAAAAAAB_k/0rWbnT6AVN89npxmH1WaLrywDXSPKKSQwCLcB/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t9RrYJH98AM/WBgbzQGO7UI/AAAAAAAAB_k/0rWbnT6AVN89npxmH1WaLrywDXSPKKSQwCLcB/s400/03.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By following the drawing I traced onto the paper earlier, I used a gold paint marker to draw out my design.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iE1YioSGLJM/WBgb1O0LtdI/AAAAAAAAB_o/aLI3Q-Mt1wM6fOJqsQT12ZOyMel9BX06QCLcB/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iE1YioSGLJM/WBgb1O0LtdI/AAAAAAAAB_o/aLI3Q-Mt1wM6fOJqsQT12ZOyMel9BX06QCLcB/s400/04.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not super intricate, but it looks pretty cool.</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5JUOm2IFFQ/WBgb1dtweTI/AAAAAAAAB_s/bfMjkmL0cgUC9B5v9IVApNzZHEXRVfohACLcB/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5JUOm2IFFQ/WBgb1dtweTI/AAAAAAAAB_s/bfMjkmL0cgUC9B5v9IVApNzZHEXRVfohACLcB/s400/05.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I didn't have gold paper to use as the backing of the cut out of "double happiness," but I noticed the money envelope I was going to use for their gift was gold. It needed to be placed inside the card anyway so I used some washi tape and taped it behind "double happiness." </span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because my card was huge, I had to make my own envelope. I ended up designing it wrong, and it didn't cover the card entirely. I didn't have time to remake it, so I left it. Oops.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm naming them Fawkes and Fang after Dumbledore's phoenix and Roku's dragon.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy wedding, Liz and Kevin <3</span></div>
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<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-28463597482422130992015-03-02T08:32:00.002-08:002015-03-03T10:34:15.671-08:00Doge<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been meaning to draw Jackie something ever since she (along with Sunny and JJ) got me a massive set of colored pencils (200+!). I did start a picture of Penny awhile ago, but I didn't like where it was going so I stopped. Now for her 26th birthday, I decided to make another attempt to draw her furbabies for her :)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Searching through Jackie's instagram (@pennyandkeebz), I found two pictures I liked:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M4qRD9dDjnM/VPSNsHLPs4I/AAAAAAAAB1c/Rl4y4lIVYnM/s1600/2015-03-02-08-16-58_deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M4qRD9dDjnM/VPSNsHLPs4I/AAAAAAAAB1c/Rl4y4lIVYnM/s1600/2015-03-02-08-16-58_deco.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQwukYXyTAM/VPSNsO7Y5_I/AAAAAAAAB1g/fwprjoYGMCQ/s1600/2015-03-02-08-16-31_deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQwukYXyTAM/VPSNsO7Y5_I/AAAAAAAAB1g/fwprjoYGMCQ/s1600/2015-03-02-08-16-31_deco.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the one of them sitting and looking up was too cute to pass up. Look at how attentive they are!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started with a rough sketch to get an idea of the proportions. Looks promising....</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SOpSQvrusXA/VPSNfaHDOKI/AAAAAAAAB00/eWZECjcTMoY/s1600/20150208_150833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SOpSQvrusXA/VPSNfaHDOKI/AAAAAAAAB00/eWZECjcTMoY/s1600/20150208_150833.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I went in and outlined some of the details.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started with Kiba first, mostly because I'm right-handed and didn't want to smudge Penny when she was all colored in. Also, Kiba has more color and details and looked more fun to draw first.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VOkubstINcw/VPSNdanvzMI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/w4enhEIhtPo/s1600/2015-03-02-08-08-16_deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VOkubstINcw/VPSNdanvzMI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/w4enhEIhtPo/s1600/2015-03-02-08-08-16_deco.jpg" height="292" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kiba done :) Penny was a little more difficult, because her coat is a lot lighter and was less defined.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sDgK3jhHlw4/VPSNdXDJhjI/AAAAAAAAB0U/pWM-cu7S_nI/s1600/2015-03-02-08-06-09_deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sDgK3jhHlw4/VPSNdXDJhjI/AAAAAAAAB0U/pWM-cu7S_nI/s1600/2015-03-02-08-06-09_deco.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I was working on it, I thought of also making a shiba doge meme birthday card, to go with the drawing, but then I just decided to combine the two ideas.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rd3qkNgI2CQ/VPSNhvCRrUI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/n0wN7M7fwyk/s1600/20150215_160033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rd3qkNgI2CQ/VPSNhvCRrUI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/n0wN7M7fwyk/s1600/20150215_160033.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was aiming to have this done by her birthday (2/3), but it turned out to be a little too ambitious for that since I started late in January. So I said, I'll just mail it for Valentine's day! But life happened.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I finished the drawing the weekend we celebrated Lunar new year, so I was able to give Jackie her gift in person.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Jackie! Ruv you <3</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-8416843473618471482015-02-16T21:04:00.001-08:002015-02-16T21:04:52.129-08:00Single Life is Sweet<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Valentine's day, as a treat for myself, I really wanted to make a chocolate lava cake. However, all the recipes I searched for made more than one serving. Could I really eat that many lava cakes? Actually, it's more like, "<i>should </i>I?" Because I definitely <i>can. </i>And you know what? I'm not <i>really </i>watching my weight, so I will<i>.</i> The recipe I ended up choosing was from <a href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/lava-chocolate-cakes">Taste of Home</a>, and it yielded 4 servings. I cut the recipe in half to make 2 servings which I guess meant 1 serving for Christine ;)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was my first time making a lava cake, so I didn't know what to expect with the process.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was so excited to use the skills I learned from playing Cooking Mama in separating the egg yolk from the egg white. Cooking Mama would be proud.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I LOVE my heart ramekins.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a little tumor looking bit in one cake, because I poked it while it was baking.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I turned it out onto a plate</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MjVR77dIs6g/VOLJOR3bLvI/AAAAAAAABy4/jQ-Nm208b6I/s1600/2015-02-16-18-37-15_deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MjVR77dIs6g/VOLJOR3bLvI/AAAAAAAABy4/jQ-Nm208b6I/s1600/2015-02-16-18-37-15_deco.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And dusted with powdered sugar and the leftover chocolate from what I used in the cake.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QZd4qMFt74k/VOLJO22gAqI/AAAAAAAABy8/PvMNUxLQ0Po/s1600/2015-02-14-22-21-09_deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QZd4qMFt74k/VOLJO22gAqI/AAAAAAAABy8/PvMNUxLQ0Po/s1600/2015-02-14-22-21-09_deco.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And oh my goodness, it was good. I am so glad I made two.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Happy Valentine's day!</b></span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-76705189106595714652015-01-11T18:02:00.001-08:002015-01-11T18:02:27.284-08:00October & November birthdays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy new year! It's been awhile! Here are some of cakes and things I've made in the past few months.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10/1/14</b>: For Jaime's birthday I knew I wanted to make something penguin related. I liked some of penguin stickers he used on Line, so I picked one that I felt was appropriate for the occasion. Look how happy he is!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I made chocolate cupcakes and hand decorated one with frosting. I originally wanted to make it an Iron Penguin, but I didn't have time to make the little arc light, so I left it out.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Jaime!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10/27/14</b>: For my mom's birthday I made shortbread cookies from a packaged mix, because she kept telling me to make them for the past year (whoops). (The doc bear cookie is not for my mom. I was just having some fun.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I decided to incorporate the cookies with a cake. I made a yellow cake from a mix, and decorated it with homemade mascarpone cream frosting. I made the frosting a little pink since my mom likes pink, and piped little rosettes on top.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CEZXZBbujNI/VLMfd7ifmFI/AAAAAAAABvc/yo-qdxkCB04/s1600/mom2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CEZXZBbujNI/VLMfd7ifmFI/AAAAAAAABvc/yo-qdxkCB04/s1600/mom2.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I piped a birthday message with melted chocolate onto a shortbread cookie, and placed it on top of the cake.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-01QoLaO_ar8/VLMfeVqWyYI/AAAAAAAABvk/u2mZDV6KezY/s1600/mom3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-01QoLaO_ar8/VLMfeVqWyYI/AAAAAAAABvk/u2mZDV6KezY/s1600/mom3.jpg" height="320" width="278" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also picked up some pretty flowers for her birthday.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, mom!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>11/9/14</b>: For Kevin's early surprise birthday party I went down the Joe Ledbetter route again. I had fun making last year's <a href="http://coolcalmandcreative.blogspot.com/2013/11/zombie-bunny-cupcakes.html">JLed inspired cupcakes</a>, so I asked Audrey what I should make for Kevin this year. My favorite of her suggestions was Fire-Catzilla.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dUoQPgbLTQ8/VLMqUkZPgiI/AAAAAAAABxw/UedPX2QOxfQ/s1600/firecatzilla_store_1__96162.1411596327.1280.1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dUoQPgbLTQ8/VLMqUkZPgiI/AAAAAAAABxw/UedPX2QOxfQ/s1600/firecatzilla_store_1__96162.1411596327.1280.1280.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uTXf7NKlt-0/VLMk8KIGeRI/AAAAAAAABwA/KJr8RExPPBE/s1600/k0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uTXf7NKlt-0/VLMk8KIGeRI/AAAAAAAABwA/KJr8RExPPBE/s1600/k0.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also suggested to make either funfetti or snickerdoodle cupcakes. I chose to make funfetti since I had a bunch of random colorful sprinkles.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z0Mysh5nPGA/VLMk8zrmy8I/AAAAAAAABwE/MdBwUxXVCs8/s1600/k1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z0Mysh5nPGA/VLMk8zrmy8I/AAAAAAAABwE/MdBwUxXVCs8/s1600/k1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The green ones bled a little when I mixed the batter so it tinted the batter green, but it didn't matter too much since Fire-Catzilla is also green.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7i6mjCBSUc8/VLMk-PHY_EI/AAAAAAAABwY/ys6y9P7B4X8/s1600/k2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7i6mjCBSUc8/VLMk-PHY_EI/AAAAAAAABwY/ys6y9P7B4X8/s1600/k2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That bright green frosting took awhile to achieve.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--cGFZGn875c/VLMk_g2AliI/AAAAAAAABwg/jJXWTiIQsc0/s1600/k3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--cGFZGn875c/VLMk_g2AliI/AAAAAAAABwg/jJXWTiIQsc0/s1600/k3.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Few hours later.....</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oRggMv9133s/VLMlAhrxE4I/AAAAAAAABw0/2_doXYEgpTs/s1600/k6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oRggMv9133s/VLMlAhrxE4I/AAAAAAAABw0/2_doXYEgpTs/s1600/k6.JPG" height="320" width="272" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make his hair, I broke up some spaghetti and colored it with a food safe marker.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7IVAMxZoIMU/VLMlBCCu-eI/AAAAAAAABww/nWaLej2Iwus/s1600/k7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7IVAMxZoIMU/VLMlBCCu-eI/AAAAAAAABww/nWaLej2Iwus/s1600/k7.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make his ears and speech piece, I colored some fondant with gel food coloring and cut them to shape with a knife.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I also outlined the pieces using my black food safe marker. I added the teeth by using frosting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I changed the Japanese message to a birthday message for Kevin.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Kevin!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I have Instagram now, I tend to post more over on my account: @bittersweetchristine. I posted this guy on my account and managed to grab the attention of Mr. Joe Ledbetter himself!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yUs_qUyBEVI/VLMnkD95ITI/AAAAAAAABxc/8hbaxx2ozp4/s1600/Screenshot_2014-11-11-16-27-08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yUs_qUyBEVI/VLMnkD95ITI/AAAAAAAABxc/8hbaxx2ozp4/s1600/Screenshot_2014-11-11-16-27-08.png" height="320" width="180" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--5yYQbmjfG4/VLMnk1Fng_I/AAAAAAAABxg/743a9YuAPOE/s1600/Screenshot_2014-11-11-16-33-58.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--5yYQbmjfG4/VLMnk1Fng_I/AAAAAAAABxg/743a9YuAPOE/s1600/Screenshot_2014-11-11-16-33-58.png" height="320" width="180" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He ended up reposting my picture on his own account too! What a cool guy :) I was just so happy he made a shoutout to Kevin since Kevin loves his work!</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-51223758622467634372014-09-27T17:23:00.001-07:002014-09-27T17:23:35.199-07:00TMasoNT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I kept thinking Mason was turning two because I remembered I had made cupcakes for him last year. But then I remembered, that was for his <a href="http://coolcalmandcreative.blogspot.com/2013/08/masons-bay-area-sports-cupcakes.html">baby shower</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year, the theme for his birthday was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The plan was to decorate the regular sized cupcakes as the faces and shells of the turtles and to decorate the mini cupcakes as the sewer covers. I wanted to color the turtles in when I was sketching them, but I've been in stages of moving and I've some how misplaced my colored pencils...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A couple days before the party, I made the sewers using a large water bottle cap and white fondant.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used a clean "M" stamp to stamp Ms in the middle of the sewers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using the back end of a beater, I imprinted holes all around the sewers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They reminded me of Honeycomb cereal at this point.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hVGtfTNtLDw/VAz_61qW0qI/AAAAAAAABs4/Om8Q2yw4UqA/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hVGtfTNtLDw/VAz_61qW0qI/AAAAAAAABs4/Om8Q2yw4UqA/s1600/04.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I gave the sewers a couple of coats of silver glitter spray.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glitter was everywhere.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following day, I frosted the mini cupcakes with store-bought green frosting</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and placed the sewers</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">right on top.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YWIKJ_sA2Vw/VAz_8bZvs-I/AAAAAAAABtY/5duYqUPfsS0/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YWIKJ_sA2Vw/VAz_8bZvs-I/AAAAAAAABtY/5duYqUPfsS0/s1600/09.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the regular sized cupcakes, I made up some green velvet batter.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really liked how green they turned out :) </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the store-bought green frosting, I added a generous spoonful of creamcheese. I avoided adding too much, because I didn't want to over-lighten the color.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4pk2dL7lRO4/VAz_9kSrGiI/AAAAAAAABtk/ihvhsQyBEQk/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4pk2dL7lRO4/VAz_9kSrGiI/AAAAAAAABtk/ihvhsQyBEQk/s1600/12.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using white frosting and food coloring, I mixed up all the colors I would need to frost the faces.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgVi0Bz0SKk/VAz_93uSBPI/AAAAAAAABto/74jOI9YM5ZY/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XgVi0Bz0SKk/VAz_93uSBPI/AAAAAAAABto/74jOI9YM5ZY/s1600/13.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cat had sent me this photo to use as a references. Aren't they adorable? And so perfect for a one year old's birthday!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XLsfmmrshc8/VCdSH-nTbrI/AAAAAAAABus/d4chuc3wims/s1600/IMG_8770.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XLsfmmrshc8/VCdSH-nTbrI/AAAAAAAABus/d4chuc3wims/s1600/IMG_8770.png" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The finished cupcakes :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g5JYZxB4OYY/VAz_-PpUC0I/AAAAAAAABtw/EobCIF3qanM/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g5JYZxB4OYY/VAz_-PpUC0I/AAAAAAAABtw/EobCIF3qanM/s1600/14.JPG" height="251" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's how the set up looked at the party!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ce9WkTdQ-XM/VCdSNbIrnrI/AAAAAAAABu0/jpNzZkB5LyQ/s1600/IMG_4254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ce9WkTdQ-XM/VCdSNbIrnrI/AAAAAAAABu0/jpNzZkB5LyQ/s1600/IMG_4254.JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Mason!</span></div>
<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-72112629061954950962014-09-07T17:52:00.002-07:002014-09-07T17:52:59.332-07:00I Heart AC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every time August rolls around I'm always thinking of what Mickey themed cake to make Alane for her birthday. Around this time, since Perry was leaving, there was a lot of talk about New York. Alane loves New York, so I designed a cake that was inspired by the state.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted to experiment with making an ice cream cake this year. I had made an <a href="http://coolcalmandcreative.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html">ice cream cake</a> for Alane a couple years ago, but this time I wanted to try a different shape. Selecting the ice cream flavor was difficult. I was in the ice cream section of Target for way too long trying to make a decision. So. Many. Flavors. I even consulted Ronnie and Cat. In the end I chose one that was similar to Ben & Jerry's Late Night Snack since it was one Alane had wanted to try it, but never got the chance to.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZL0a4KjOVKs/VAzzCdWxrMI/AAAAAAAABp8/CwMlNJ7K1hQ/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZL0a4KjOVKs/VAzzCdWxrMI/AAAAAAAABp8/CwMlNJ7K1hQ/s1600/02.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cake flavor I chose was Alane's favorite, Funfetti.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5KuXAWwi00/VAzzCTfiqsI/AAAAAAAABp4/LA9v8zHfIpM/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i5KuXAWwi00/VAzzCTfiqsI/AAAAAAAABp4/LA9v8zHfIpM/s1600/04.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The design I went with was inspired by the Mickey ear caps you'd see at Disneyland. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YjxwU7lld80/VAzzC89WAII/AAAAAAAABqM/cgrx19RYiwI/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YjxwU7lld80/VAzzC89WAII/AAAAAAAABqM/cgrx19RYiwI/s1600/06.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted the ice cream to be in the middle of the cake. So I cut out some cake to fit the ice cream.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3F8GTEaO0KU/VAzzDTIsTKI/AAAAAAAABqE/vi-UNFm_CuE/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3F8GTEaO0KU/VAzzDTIsTKI/AAAAAAAABqE/vi-UNFm_CuE/s1600/07.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I molded the ice cream using a small bowl. That also determined the size of the cavity I'd have to cut out of the cake.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBbKpqmntPY/VAzzDzJWGpI/AAAAAAAABqQ/cab6hyTfPhI/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YBbKpqmntPY/VAzzDzJWGpI/AAAAAAAABqQ/cab6hyTfPhI/s1600/08.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While that ice cream dome was left to harden in the freezer, I made the ears out of fondant. I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup as my mold.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p7ZpP5qH964/VAzzEDpdMWI/AAAAAAAABqU/VSL41bHdyLw/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-p7ZpP5qH964/VAzzEDpdMWI/AAAAAAAABqU/VSL41bHdyLw/s1600/09.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was going to use skewers, but I had dry spaghetti noodles and just decided to use those to hold up the ears.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make the ears black, I used a brush to wet the fondant with water, and then dusted the ears with black sugar glitter.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bQXOI3YJqpY/VAzzFNCUigI/AAAAAAAABqo/XnKfijmTY5A/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bQXOI3YJqpY/VAzzFNCUigI/AAAAAAAABqo/XnKfijmTY5A/s1600/12.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the cake. I placed my ice cream surprise into the middle of the cake, and gave the cake a thin layer of frosting. Then the cake went back into the freezer to set overnight.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHvxv30wUEY/VAzzFEoV2hI/AAAAAAAABqk/L3z9Z26PG_I/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yHvxv30wUEY/VAzzFEoV2hI/AAAAAAAABqk/L3z9Z26PG_I/s1600/13.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next morning, I had wanted to give it a final frosting before going to work. However, the frosting I had made was too thin. So.... this happened :(</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M6R-rqG60Iw/VAzzFVSZMiI/AAAAAAAABqs/l8nIpuTfYII/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M6R-rqG60Iw/VAzzFVSZMiI/AAAAAAAABqs/l8nIpuTfYII/s1600/14.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had no choice, but to scrape it all off and place back into the freezer.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OOP7uO3PniQ/VAzzF890blI/AAAAAAAABqw/hRO8oQq-23U/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OOP7uO3PniQ/VAzzF890blI/AAAAAAAABqw/hRO8oQq-23U/s1600/15.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was on schedule to deliver the cake on Alane's actual birthday, but because of this hiccup, I had to delay the delivery to the following day. So the next morning, I bought frosting and gave the cake a proper final frosting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the design, I used chocolate frosting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello, New York skyline. Kinda.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I chose to include the Twin Towers, because it made the cake more visibly New York.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cake looked a little plain, so I added black sugar glitter and gold sugar stars to liven it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Alane!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That picture reminded me of this one from 2005 (I think). hahah.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RdZpX3Z9LSk/VAzzIjSuNbI/AAAAAAAABro/StIUqxfZfos/s1600/meNalaneintheRR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RdZpX3Z9LSk/VAzzIjSuNbI/AAAAAAAABro/StIUqxfZfos/s1600/meNalaneintheRR.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-41842198224456879742014-08-31T18:31:00.000-07:002014-08-31T18:31:04.915-07:00BBQ and Brownies<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sean hosted another barbeque at Refugio park in mid-July. This year I wanted to make barebeque themed cupcakes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started by making the grills by melting and piping white chocolate. Then I sprayed them with silver food coloring.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Made my fingers very silvery. I was trying to get my hands in focus in this shot, but... that didn't work.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I frosted the cupcakes with dark chocolate frosting and decorated them with black sprinkles and a bit of red sprinkles to imitate the charcoal and embers.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make them actually look like a grill, I had to decide on what to "grill". I chose to "grill" burgers. I made the "burgers" by melting chocolate. To make them more burger-like, I piped yellow frosting to make "cheese" and red frosting to make ketchup smileys to make things more fun.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">:)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">DOC//Hover Hands Crew</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perry made the big move to New York in early August. I wanted to make him "wanlass" baked good before he left, so I chose to make him a brownie cupcake since he likes brownies. I kept the design simple and gold with a little phrase that I thought suited the occasion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VdPHtYWWFbs/U_WB062xDsI/AAAAAAAABoQ/DdbNfohvwhA/s1600/20140731_225616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VdPHtYWWFbs/U_WB062xDsI/AAAAAAAABoQ/DdbNfohvwhA/s1600/20140731_225616.jpg" height="200" width="164" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xx0znzwLgGE/U_WB00cLUEI/AAAAAAAABoU/MCVSA1KVynw/s1600/20140731_231815.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xx0znzwLgGE/U_WB00cLUEI/AAAAAAAABoU/MCVSA1KVynw/s1600/20140731_231815.jpg" height="200" width="168" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I brought the leftover brownies to his farewell get together at Southern Pacific Brewing, and every time I'd offer someone a brownie they'd ask, "are these special brownies?" lol, who do you think I am??</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's still weird to think that if I wanted to see Perry, I'd now have to travel across the country to see him. O__O I miss you, buddy, and I hope I make the trek out to NY sometime!</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-14838587752558770592014-07-06T12:38:00.001-07:002014-07-06T12:38:52.972-07:00Kayleigh's Tutus and Tiaras Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cat's niece Kayleigh turned TWO this year! Can't believe it was already her second birthday! Feels like it was just yesterday that I was making her cupcakes for her <a href="http://coolcalmandcreative.blogspot.com/2013/06/minnie-mouse-cupcakes-for-kayleigh.html">first birthday</a>. The theme for her birthday this year was "tutus and tiaras" and the color theme was pink and teal. The plan was to make a dozen regular sized cupcakes and any amount of mini cupcakes. I planned to put tiaras on the mini ones and little Kayleighs on the regular sized ones.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make the tiaras, which in this case were more like crowns, I rolled out some fondant and used a knife to carefully cut and shape. I wanted the tiaras to be a bit curved, so I taped some wax paper to my tube of sugar pearls and attached the tiaras as I finished making them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bought a can of silver food coloring to color the crowns.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I made a very silvery, sparkly mess. Glitter was everywhere!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I let those set overnight. The next day after work, I made and frosted the cupcakes. For the mini cupcakes, which the tiaras were to sit on, I chose to frost with a sparkly teal frosting. In the future, I will curve the tiaras more so they'd stand up a bit better.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JfRoiKUpviE/U6-oyaQ5NAI/AAAAAAAABmw/hepTdkHBTas/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JfRoiKUpviE/U6-oyaQ5NAI/AAAAAAAABmw/hepTdkHBTas/s1600/04.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The larger cupcakes were frosted with a glittery pink frosting. I didn't like how pink it was, so I toned it down by adding some white frosting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4ouYUx3ZwgQ/U6-oym15LEI/AAAAAAAABm4/z5YPAS56740/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4ouYUx3ZwgQ/U6-oym15LEI/AAAAAAAABm4/z5YPAS56740/s1600/05.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make the little Kayleighs that would sit atop the cupcakes, I printed little faces and cut little bodies out of pink-checkered cardstock paper.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-braAQOhZuIQ/U6-oy4C5GqI/AAAAAAAABnM/6x4Js7Pjzlc/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-braAQOhZuIQ/U6-oy4C5GqI/AAAAAAAABnM/6x4Js7Pjzlc/s1600/06.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After they were frosted and assembled, I piped a little bow to tie everything together (pun intended). Alane helped with adding the sugar pearl.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fc7DxYS03EE/U6-ozJYx1MI/AAAAAAAABnE/_pSdfrzUInQ/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fc7DxYS03EE/U6-ozJYx1MI/AAAAAAAABnE/_pSdfrzUInQ/s1600/07.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A little Kayleigh army!</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9H1RcHrIPDY/U6-o0A4OfGI/AAAAAAAABnQ/ZB2MsFzNPIA/s1600/08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9H1RcHrIPDY/U6-o0A4OfGI/AAAAAAAABnQ/ZB2MsFzNPIA/s1600/08.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The cute little set up at the birthday party!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MqASt1S_BkY/U6-o0YuIB-I/AAAAAAAABnU/s505phtQrO4/s1600/09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MqASt1S_BkY/U6-o0YuIB-I/AAAAAAAABnU/s505phtQrO4/s1600/09.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy SECOND birthday, Kayleigh!!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AzY8FQZMhuk/U6-o0t11H1I/AAAAAAAABnc/FldwgwsyhIc/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AzY8FQZMhuk/U6-o0t11H1I/AAAAAAAABnc/FldwgwsyhIc/s1600/10.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-5440670993951479672014-05-18T14:10:00.000-07:002014-05-18T22:46:40.926-07:00And At Last I See The Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I started this drawing last March (2013). Generally, I'll pick up an itch to draw when I'm feeling particularly inspired. Tangled had become one of my favorite Disney movies mainly because of the lantern scene. Rapunzel in the moment I chose to draw has a look of being blissfully content and hopeful, and, at the time, I felt I could relate.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only time I had met Rapunzel was during the summer of 2012 at Hong Kong's Disneyland. I told her she was my favorite which made her very happy and we had a small conversation. Being so far from home, I can imagine she doesn't get many opportunities to chat.</span></div>
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<a href="http://25.media.tumblr.com/c9f19115ea6ce32cd8c7b79ac8ce4cfa/tumblr_mgaielZh8J1rr60a4o2_r1_250.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/c9f19115ea6ce32cd8c7b79ac8ce4cfa/tumblr_mgaielZh8J1rr60a4o2_r1_250.gif" height="200" width="140" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6-Ixar3WeGg/U3j-Vzt2fKI/AAAAAAAABmE/tz-JShyKKxE/s1600/IMG_1062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6-Ixar3WeGg/U3j-Vzt2fKI/AAAAAAAABmE/tz-JShyKKxE/s1600/IMG_1062.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">March 2013. So began my drawing. My initial sketches were not promising... I was starting to think it was too ambitious.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">April 2013. Eyes are my favorite features. It's when I get the eyes and the rest of the face mostly perfect, when I start to feel better about the rest of the drawing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rssW_fdlRhg/U2_QTWPWyEI/AAAAAAAABkU/QjeUKimcpXg/s1600/IMG_3585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rssW_fdlRhg/U2_QTWPWyEI/AAAAAAAABkU/QjeUKimcpXg/s1600/IMG_3585.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AY1TcSHk-NQ/U2_QTaHonzI/AAAAAAAABkQ/WN81QmqgWXM/s1600/IMG_3590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AY1TcSHk-NQ/U2_QTaHonzI/AAAAAAAABkQ/WN81QmqgWXM/s1600/IMG_3590.JPG" height="200" width="157" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May/June 2013. Since this is my drawing, I changed up the flowers in her hair. I felt inclined to include a daisy since it's my favorite flower.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">June 2013. After a few consecutive days of drawing, I’d set the drawing aside and revisit it every now and then.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">July/September 2013. Which turned into more then than now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The one year mark of this drawing was approaching, and I hadn't touched my drawing in nearly six months. So I told
myself that I’d finish it by the end of April. Of course, I can't just force myself to do something.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">April 2014. Until one day, I found myself in need of a distraction. I
wanted something that would be both relaxing and satisfying, so I grabbed my
sketchbook and continued my drawing. I really love how drawing can relax me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I went back and forth on deciding whether to leave the background white or to color it in. Eventually, I felt that coloring in the background would enhance the lighter features of Rapunzel.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it’s May, and I can </span><i style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">finally </i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">say that I've finished this
drawing. I'm a huge perfectionist so I can still see flaws and I can nitpick for days, but nothing can be done about those now. Though, I'll have to say that it looks much more impressive in real life. My camera will not capture the colors properly!</span></div>
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<a href="http://iliketodoodle.deviantart.com/art/And-At-Last-I-See-The-Light-454928604"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F9NQNdvs9ZY/U3kR_UfANmI/AAAAAAAABmQ/Pe5Eaqk8A48/s1600/IMG_5298.JPG" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All at once everything looks different</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that I see you.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really enjoyed working on this! (Even if it did take over a year to complete.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now.. what to draw next.</span></div>
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Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-78170783097803940632014-04-12T19:38:00.001-07:002014-04-14T14:07:15.865-07:00NATM: 72 & 73<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>April 1</b></span></div>
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<i style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Farewell, How I Met Your Mother</i></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Revlon <i>Blue Lagoon</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>April 10</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Ma Montre</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">L'Oreal <i>Eiffel For You</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gz6b_gBOzH4/U0n3RwtPY9I/AAAAAAAABjk/ANnyZvKgS8w/s1600/73+IMG_5267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gz6b_gBOzH4/U0n3RwtPY9I/AAAAAAAABjk/ANnyZvKgS8w/s1600/73+IMG_5267.JPG" height="235" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Polish Count: 101</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Early 2013, I started Nails at the Moment, because I wasn't doing many crafty things, but I enjoyed painting my nails as a short and simple creative outlet. Now I've included another favorite pastime: drawing. This is my take on nail (&) art.)</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-6331743368308379432014-03-29T17:14:00.000-07:002014-03-29T17:14:05.387-07:00Jillian's 12th Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For Jill's early birthday celebration, Cat wanted to make custom cupcakes for the Fifth Harmony inspired "Me & My Girls" birthday party. Jill is on a dance team so Cat wanted to include the bows she wears as a part of her uniform. She also likes nail polish and mustaches.. as most kids do. Jill's favorite colors are teal and lilac so that decided the color theme of the cupcakes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also wanted a small cake. The cake took a bit more time and thought to design. Cat mentioned that Jill loves High School Musical and thought a cake that had their iconic red curtains and a silhouette of a girl jumping to signify her jumping into her 12th year would be cool. I put the ideas together and came up with something I felt I could make. To complete the cake, Cat came up with a favorite quote of theirs that was from the movie.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-75qUfPr2crM/UzdXPVOaokI/AAAAAAAABjU/-2ygHyL20Lc/s1600/00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-75qUfPr2crM/UzdXPVOaokI/AAAAAAAABjU/-2ygHyL20Lc/s1600/00.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few days before Cat was to come to pick up the cake and cupcakes, I prepped some of the decorations. To make the mustaches, I used black fondant and a combination of two cookie cutters, because I didn't have one in the shape of a mustache.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I first cut them into lips</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H4S712wI4MY/UzdNe93FxPI/AAAAAAAABgI/7xDIscANxW0/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H4S712wI4MY/UzdNe93FxPI/AAAAAAAABgI/7xDIscANxW0/s1600/02.JPG" height="159" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jz69lFkqdUA/UzdNe8X17zI/AAAAAAAABgM/mSa_-vqNe5s/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jz69lFkqdUA/UzdNe8X17zI/AAAAAAAABgM/mSa_-vqNe5s/s1600/03.JPG" height="135" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">then reshaped using the bottom of a heart and refined using a knife.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wVGiYUbhGVY/UzdNfin8K4I/AAAAAAAABgU/kNRunYEglj0/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wVGiYUbhGVY/UzdNfin8K4I/AAAAAAAABgU/kNRunYEglj0/s1600/04.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CWyxfjArH14/UzdNfpf-NBI/AAAAAAAABgg/iX0_EWOjsMw/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CWyxfjArH14/UzdNfpf-NBI/AAAAAAAABgg/iX0_EWOjsMw/s1600/05.JPG" height="140" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It wasn't complete without a little curling at the edges.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-77JDgZUESw4/UzdNgCpAofI/AAAAAAAABgo/4OPnPeGqHGs/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-77JDgZUESw4/UzdNgCpAofI/AAAAAAAABgo/4OPnPeGqHGs/s1600/06.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The night before the pick up, I baked the red velvet cake and Funfetti cupcakes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJyQLpBThl4/UzdNg9n9wWI/AAAAAAAABhQ/8TfF9Ga-Wjc/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YJyQLpBThl4/UzdNg9n9wWI/AAAAAAAABhQ/8TfF9Ga-Wjc/s1600/07.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day of, I first crumb-coated the red velvet cake using cream cheese frosting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oVIb5ieSS5o/UzdNgwWuylI/AAAAAAAABgw/xPwmc7YWtGA/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oVIb5ieSS5o/UzdNgwWuylI/AAAAAAAABgw/xPwmc7YWtGA/s1600/08.JPG" height="244" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So crummy. I placed this into the freezer to speed up the process.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkiXAl1Czn4/UzdNgw7w2DI/AAAAAAAABg0/1AcAfUWXabw/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tkiXAl1Czn4/UzdNgw7w2DI/AAAAAAAABg0/1AcAfUWXabw/s1600/09.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the cake chilled, I frosted the cupcakes. Half with aqua blue and the other half with lilac-y colored frosting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c1dPo6XGjVY/UzdNh0S-liI/AAAAAAAABhM/q_5CiLQfjr4/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c1dPo6XGjVY/UzdNh0S-liI/AAAAAAAABhM/q_5CiLQfjr4/s1600/10.JPG" height="222" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I placed the fondant mustaches, which I had dusted with some pearl luster dust, onto four of the cupcakes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lIJ4KAVlW-E/UzdNh9BhvcI/AAAAAAAABhI/4AC_igKh1ws/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lIJ4KAVlW-E/UzdNh9BhvcI/AAAAAAAABhI/4AC_igKh1ws/s1600/11.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other eight cupcakes were to be hand-piped which I do by using wax paper cones filled with colored frosting. The only other tool I use is a tooth pick, which I use to smooth the frosting and to fix edges and lines. </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There would have been more pictures of the process, but I usually get too focused to stop. I need another person to take pictures for me.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KMBqFSiQXOk/UzdNihCKTQI/AAAAAAAABhU/ZzHN2BNKqaw/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KMBqFSiQXOk/UzdNihCKTQI/AAAAAAAABhU/ZzHN2BNKqaw/s1600/12.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bow designs were based off of ones that were similar to ones that Jill owned.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C4wECKfr_nU/UzdNi-3rJoI/AAAAAAAABhw/3XJqrPmESu8/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C4wECKfr_nU/UzdNi-3rJoI/AAAAAAAABhw/3XJqrPmESu8/s1600/13.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wanted the nail polish bottle cupcakes to have backdrops that imitated common nail designs. For the sake of time, I chose two fairly simple designs: polka dots and chevron. These polka dots were sugar pearls.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mKMnWAIWi6I/UzdNi3vxgjI/AAAAAAAABhs/4gqSAe4uJes/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mKMnWAIWi6I/UzdNi3vxgjI/AAAAAAAABhs/4gqSAe4uJes/s1600/14.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7qmjutYaHrk/UzdNjCd4oNI/AAAAAAAABho/EzBErtQPJ9w/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7qmjutYaHrk/UzdNjCd4oNI/AAAAAAAABho/EzBErtQPJ9w/s1600/15.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really liked the way the cupcakes turned out. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of the liners I used. They had mustaches on the bottom!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tsIzaC-tctA/UzdNkMUY2CI/AAAAAAAABiI/6sBIq2eluOs/s1600/16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tsIzaC-tctA/UzdNkMUY2CI/AAAAAAAABiI/6sBIq2eluOs/s1600/16.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The night before, I had made the stars and little jumping girl out of fondant. The stars were made using a star cookie cutter that was actually too big. I cut them out using the cutter and then used a knife to make them smaller. The little girl was free handed using a knife, so she's kinda funny looking.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KBdkZGGh6M8/UzdNkE1ivOI/AAAAAAAABiE/NFivInyZRQs/s1600/17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KBdkZGGh6M8/UzdNkE1ivOI/AAAAAAAABiE/NFivInyZRQs/s1600/17.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Stars wouldn't be stars if they weren't gold. To make the paint, I mixed gold dust into a bit of vanilla extract.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kl-kVH9lbqU/UzdNkLNc4mI/AAAAAAAABiA/9lkLybrhO5M/s1600/18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kl-kVH9lbqU/UzdNkLNc4mI/AAAAAAAABiA/9lkLybrhO5M/s1600/18.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using a clean makeup eyeshadow brush, I brushed the gold paint mixture onto the stars. I stuck them into an extra cupcake to dry.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KpYwSUc34U4/UzdNk3144eI/AAAAAAAABiM/DVHdcOLbFu8/s1600/19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KpYwSUc34U4/UzdNk3144eI/AAAAAAAABiM/DVHdcOLbFu8/s1600/19.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a little while, I did a final frosting on the cake, and piped "JILLLL!!!" on one side and "You can do it just know that I believe" on the other. I piped "Happy" and "Birthday" onto the stars, made the curtains out of red crepe paper, and assembled everything onto the cake. It looked a little plain, so I added some black sugar dust. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rGsJyXkqwS0/UzdNlMb0eUI/AAAAAAAABiQ/tpDppYZa-2A/s1600/20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rGsJyXkqwS0/UzdNlMb0eUI/AAAAAAAABiQ/tpDppYZa-2A/s1600/20.JPG" height="277" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The wires I found are suppose to be used for floral arrangements. I cleaned everything before using of course. The stars ended up being a bit heavy, and the cake wasn't dense enough to keep the stars up higher than where they ended up sitting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0TUOvAJI4g/UzdNlfrecOI/AAAAAAAABis/1ShiQK2e_8w/s1600/21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z0TUOvAJI4g/UzdNlfrecOI/AAAAAAAABis/1ShiQK2e_8w/s1600/21.JPG" height="293" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, I thought everything turned out to be very cute.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fmg7XyoWzt4/UzdNlsvMOAI/AAAAAAAABio/wGtXvk29sjI/s1600/jilliancup_cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fmg7XyoWzt4/UzdNlsvMOAI/AAAAAAAABio/wGtXvk29sjI/s1600/jilliancup_cake.jpg" height="304" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That evening, Cat picked everything up and took them over to Jill's. Everything arrived safely, and Cat told me the mustache cupcakes were the first to go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lIM4p1XsTLI/UzdO0GmBOdI/AAAAAAAABi8/07T_vVp36Q4/s1600/jillcupcake1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lIM4p1XsTLI/UzdO0GmBOdI/AAAAAAAABi8/07T_vVp36Q4/s1600/jillcupcake1.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The birthday girl, Jill! She loved everything :)</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xmf3ZMgssPY/UzdO0HpAfKI/AAAAAAAABjA/PS6nlt66uFM/s1600/jillcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xmf3ZMgssPY/UzdO0HpAfKI/AAAAAAAABjA/PS6nlt66uFM/s1600/jillcake.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy early birthday, JILLLLLLL!!!!!</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-40085607733099345912014-03-25T11:44:00.000-07:002014-03-25T11:44:27.004-07:00Gabriella's First Birthday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Audrey, being the lovely godmother she is, wanted some custom Minnie Mouse cupcakes for her goddaughter's first birthday. We threw some ideas around and came up with these. The designs are similar to the ones I made for <a href="http://coolcalmandcreative.blogspot.com/2013/06/minnie-mouse-cupcakes-for-kayleigh.html">Cat's niece</a> last year.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yRMXrnfSPsg/UzD8O0CZqOI/AAAAAAAABdg/FUxHZlPbVOU/s1600/00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yRMXrnfSPsg/UzD8O0CZqOI/AAAAAAAABdg/FUxHZlPbVOU/s1600/00.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I prepped most of the decorations a couple of days before baking to save some time. However, silly me forgot to bring my camera, and my phone had run out of battery.. so I have zero photos of the process. -___-</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will just explain what I did. First I rolled out a bit of white fondant and used a small butterfly cookie cutter to make the bows. To make them look more bow like, I increased the space between the "wings" by cutting a bit of the fondant out. Then I laid the bows on some straws to dry and to give them more shape.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xq4cGgxjjpc/UzD8PFdbUdI/AAAAAAAABdk/nG_sl3botLY/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xq4cGgxjjpc/UzD8PFdbUdI/AAAAAAAABdk/nG_sl3botLY/s1600/01.JPG" height="214" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Using Foodwriters and candy melts, I made the little monogram pieces that will go on top of the mini cupcakes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R0OIMEUc9EU/UzD8QJpgMJI/AAAAAAAABd4/m73jtLzK-PY/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R0OIMEUc9EU/UzD8QJpgMJI/AAAAAAAABd4/m73jtLzK-PY/s1600/02.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HfZCEVujUQ0/UzD8QYmpotI/AAAAAAAABd0/Swt3DvTH23A/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HfZCEVujUQ0/UzD8QYmpotI/AAAAAAAABd0/Swt3DvTH23A/s1600/03.JPG" height="148" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make the "1" pieces, I melted the pink candy melts</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and piped them onto wax paper. I only needed 12, but made more to have options. Then I got carried away since there was extra and made some decorations for the extra cupcakes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EP_O0EtPKs8/UzD8Qzj31QI/AAAAAAAABeA/ORJMD7DoJTc/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EP_O0EtPKs8/UzD8Qzj31QI/AAAAAAAABeA/ORJMD7DoJTc/s1600/07.JPG" height="254" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The day before Audrey was going to pick up the cupcakes, I baked the cupcakes and finished the decorating.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14pQuOfTqss/UzD8RBAmezI/AAAAAAAABeM/iH-Fk1EE5Tg/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14pQuOfTqss/UzD8RBAmezI/AAAAAAAABeM/iH-Fk1EE5Tg/s1600/08.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mmm, pink frosting on vanilla cupcakes baked with pink sprinkles.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dPfzcO_bA0M/UzD8RmUjYpI/AAAAAAAABeQ/mfBpQ2D3r9w/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dPfzcO_bA0M/UzD8RmUjYpI/AAAAAAAABeQ/mfBpQ2D3r9w/s1600/09.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark brown candy melts for the ears.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3zdIprsOvcU/UzD8SD3wjTI/AAAAAAAABeg/UerLIJvpU3A/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3zdIprsOvcU/UzD8SD3wjTI/AAAAAAAABeg/UerLIJvpU3A/s1600/10.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I added bow details using the Foodwriters.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UWKMO4t9TRw/UzD8Ss8A6GI/AAAAAAAABek/A7sX79gAzZE/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UWKMO4t9TRw/UzD8Ss8A6GI/AAAAAAAABek/A7sX79gAzZE/s1600/11.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then the final touch! Sugar pearls</span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to mimic Minnie's iconic polka dots.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EhPGnHh8ULw/UzD8TPi9PsI/AAAAAAAABes/jpnj_iYBeyc/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EhPGnHh8ULw/UzD8TPi9PsI/AAAAAAAABes/jpnj_iYBeyc/s1600/12.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To decorate the mini red velvet cupcakes, I started with frosting them with cream cheese frosting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zus1d-jDlfc/UzD8TbPJDCI/AAAAAAAABe0/BnxCa3FDgxs/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zus1d-jDlfc/UzD8TbPJDCI/AAAAAAAABe0/BnxCa3FDgxs/s1600/13.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--xzqUxA6BG0/UzD8Tj4k-LI/AAAAAAAABe8/TbA70Gdrb1w/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--xzqUxA6BG0/UzD8Tj4k-LI/AAAAAAAABe8/TbA70Gdrb1w/s1600/14.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, I forgot to mention that I had dusted pretty much everything with some edible pearl luster dust. Things just look nicer with a little added shine.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TGroEintEo/UzD8UFyMM_I/AAAAAAAABfE/D1WX6GUxhNc/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TGroEintEo/UzD8UFyMM_I/AAAAAAAABfE/D1WX6GUxhNc/s1600/15.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some extra cupcakes for Audrey :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cupcakes done and ready for pick up!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vj3bmcriqtA/UzD8U-erBUI/AAAAAAAABfg/TZKR3dKk2wk/s1600/gabminnie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vj3bmcriqtA/UzD8U-erBUI/AAAAAAAABfg/TZKR3dKk2wk/s1600/gabminnie.jpg" height="320" width="254" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Audrey sent me some photos from the party. Here's one of the set up!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pnHy-RxH47s/UzHL1-EleBI/AAAAAAAABf4/N0eLI9YwvYQ/s1600/gabminnie1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pnHy-RxH47s/UzHL1-EleBI/AAAAAAAABf4/N0eLI9YwvYQ/s1600/gabminnie1.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy birthday, Gabriella!</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-46818815755427868162014-03-24T20:46:00.000-07:002014-03-24T20:46:12.384-07:00NATM: 68, 69, 70 & 71<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>March 11</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"There's nothing about me that separates me from anyone else." - Cory Matthews</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Bevin</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MAq4HsfHWg/UzD4vAHPthI/AAAAAAAABc8/f492M-1I8xw/s1600/68+IMG_5179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MAq4HsfHWg/UzD4vAHPthI/AAAAAAAABc8/f492M-1I8xw/s1600/68+IMG_5179.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>March 17</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy St. Patrick's Day! </span><i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I guess this means good luck?</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Orly <i>Jealous, Much?</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VLy--QDJ8YY/UzD4v2hNLHI/AAAAAAAABdE/ZQm9MgB1Prw/s1600/69+IMG_5180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VLy--QDJ8YY/UzD4v2hNLHI/AAAAAAAABdE/ZQm9MgB1Prw/s1600/69+IMG_5180.JPG" height="206" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>March 18</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Added O.P.I. <i>Polka Dot Com</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O3s9NcBOtTU/UzD6T4xjT0I/AAAAAAAABdU/CpqigXLcvL4/s1600/70+IMG_5192.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O3s9NcBOtTU/UzD6T4xjT0I/AAAAAAAABdU/CpqigXLcvL4/s1600/70+IMG_5192.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>March 22</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Minnie Mouse Cupcakes</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Essie <i>Lilacism</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H_o_s0P6zT0/UzD4vIGuPcI/AAAAAAAABc4/fGzF5ImwHDw/s1600/IMG_5231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H_o_s0P6zT0/UzD4vIGuPcI/AAAAAAAABc4/fGzF5ImwHDw/s1600/IMG_5231.JPG" height="219" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Polish Count: 99</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Early 2013, I started Nails at the Moment, because I wasn't doing many crafty things, but I enjoyed painting my nails as a short and simple creative outlet. Now I've included another favorite pastime: drawing. This is my take on nail (&) art.)</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-75455313616574492922014-03-05T21:24:00.000-08:002014-03-05T21:24:35.237-08:00NATM: 67<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Carey</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Glaze <i>White Cap</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">O.P.I. <i>Muppets World Tour</i></span><br />
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<a href="http://iliketodoodle.deviantart.com/art/Do-You-Wanna-Build-a-Snowman-438541661"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NKiX75DEPoY/UxgEKsWAB_I/AAAAAAAABco/GPn7KL1sc60/s1600/67+IMG_5178.JPG" height="248" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Do you wanna build a snowman?</i><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"> I've seen and heard so many versions of Let It Go this weekend. I had to draw a little something from Frozen :)</span><br />
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<b style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Polish Count: 95</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Early 2013, I started Nails at the Moment, because I wasn't doing many crafty things, but I enjoyed painting my nails as a short and simple creative outlet. Now I've included another favorite pastime: drawing. This is my take on nail (&) art.)</span></span>Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-33793423872229928922014-02-25T19:59:00.002-08:002014-02-25T20:00:16.992-08:00NATM: 65 & 66<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>February 16</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tuxedo Mask's famous rose and Valentinesy inspired nails.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Glaze <i>With Love</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Purity</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YezK-yc0ohA/Uw1dVvOfXUI/AAAAAAAABcM/6HW29nGCKDA/s1600/65+IMG_5092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YezK-yc0ohA/Uw1dVvOfXUI/AAAAAAAABcM/6HW29nGCKDA/s1600/65+IMG_5092.JPG" height="192" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>February 25</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My favorite Miyazaki movie is Kiki's Delivery Service. Kiki is a character I'd like to cosplay as someday.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Essie <i>Bikini So Teeny</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://iliketodoodle.deviantart.com/art/Kiki-s-Flight-436752175"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SrsSvh-bIRc/Uw1dWBJtp6I/AAAAAAAABcU/Y8-1dTeLuFY/s1600/IMG_5133.JPG" height="202" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Polish Count: 92</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Early 2013, I started Nails at the Moment, because I wasn't doing many crafty things, but I enjoyed painting my nails as a short and simple creative outlet. Now I've included another favorite pastime: drawing. This is my take on nail (&) art.)</span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-22979873492083191002014-02-23T15:28:00.000-08:002014-02-23T16:08:13.386-08:00Life is Partly Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had missed Cat's birthday last year, because she was in London and I was on my trip up the Northern coast. This year, we were both in town, so I wanted to follow tradition and make her a birthday cake. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had found some black fondant and decided to design Cat's cake around using it. Originally, I was going to be a bit ambitious and do fondant ruffles with gold edges, but decided that I didn't have enough experience with fondant to make that happen. To avoid a fondant mess, I simplified the design by going with a golden, painted look. I first drew out a crown-like design by googling crowns and tiaras. I wanted to also include a quote that would represent Cat's 26th year. I thought about it for awhile before I realized it's been staring at me -- the quote Cat had used in her coaster favors for her 22nd birthday was the perfect quote.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-meROREdb1P8/UwlEH9DL8QI/AAAAAAAABZY/Z7K4Xp8qFfc/s1600/00.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-meROREdb1P8/UwlEH9DL8QI/AAAAAAAABZY/Z7K4Xp8qFfc/s1600/00.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nc3wjNYHwsM/UwpttwG-PqI/AAAAAAAABb4/21ypv6fzqr0/s1600/IMG_5127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nc3wjNYHwsM/UwpttwG-PqI/AAAAAAAABb4/21ypv6fzqr0/s1600/IMG_5127.JPG" height="200" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She's been liking red velvet lately, so the decision on what flavor cake to make was an easy one. I used these cute 6 inch pans that my cousin had gotten me for my birthday. No more baking in a rectangular pan and cutting circles out.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZkK1-gd90M/UwlEJJCfL6I/AAAAAAAABZw/r0w9wuCEm4A/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RZkK1-gd90M/UwlEJJCfL6I/AAAAAAAABZw/r0w9wuCEm4A/s1600/01.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the cakes had been baked and cooled, I trimmed the edges. Minimal cake waste :)</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mj0rYeAPKNU/UwlEH5KuwlI/AAAAAAAABZc/o7W-VJxf77E/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mj0rYeAPKNU/UwlEH5KuwlI/AAAAAAAABZc/o7W-VJxf77E/s1600/02.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I fashioned a cake board from some cardboard and covered it with plastic wrap. I put a pat of cream cheese frosting on the board before placing the cake on top to help keep it in place.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ScfTj0fZL7Q/UwlEIQNEWqI/AAAAAAAABZg/4FG4hv67QUA/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ScfTj0fZL7Q/UwlEIQNEWqI/AAAAAAAABZg/4FG4hv67QUA/s1600/03.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I crumb-coated the two layer cake.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--4guvg7t4_4/UwlEIkE6F_I/AAAAAAAABZo/hVQXhHiASXQ/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--4guvg7t4_4/UwlEIkE6F_I/AAAAAAAABZo/hVQXhHiASXQ/s1600/04.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I put the cake in the freezer to help it chill faster. About 30 mins later, I added a generous layer of cream cheese frosting, and then got to kneading and rolling the fondant with my new rolling pin and pad set I had gotten from my Secret Santa.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-00f8cV42oic/UwlEI4tZASI/AAAAAAAABaA/DuhKhJEdp4o/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-00f8cV42oic/UwlEI4tZASI/AAAAAAAABaA/DuhKhJEdp4o/s1600/05.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And my goodness, was that a workout. Also, I clearly rolled out more than I needed.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IbNVpMks15E/UwlEJIetI0I/AAAAAAAABZ0/43qq4U_fi60/s1600/06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IbNVpMks15E/UwlEJIetI0I/AAAAAAAABZ0/43qq4U_fi60/s1600/06.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Placing this sheet of fondant on my cake was so unpredictable. I had rolled it onto my rolling pin, and then placed it over the cake. I was trying to gently place it on, but it kinda just fell. I had to then quickly arrange it and smooth it out. I managed to get it fairly smooth, but not without some folds.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4smW6fkWsA/UwlEJvGjUcI/AAAAAAAABZ8/I1mNP7zJ7yA/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y4smW6fkWsA/UwlEJvGjUcI/AAAAAAAABZ8/I1mNP7zJ7yA/s1600/07.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day, I used some of the leftover fondant and rolled out a ribbon type strip to be used to cover most of the imperfections at the bottom of the cake.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j2YEFiZZ114/UwlEKhEEMNI/AAAAAAAABaU/gHZOoeCeW70/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j2YEFiZZ114/UwlEKhEEMNI/AAAAAAAABaU/gHZOoeCeW70/s1600/08.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kinda successful.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make my gold paint, I mixed some gold luster dust into some vanilla extract. Originally, I was going to use some vodka, but didn't want to buy an entire bottle just to be used for cake painting. Vanilla extract contains 35% alcohol, and is fairly inexpensive. Why do I need the alcohol content? It's because it helps to adhere the paint with a quick dry time.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_tfrTu7MsAY/UwlEKa-O8vI/AAAAAAAABaQ/BefdWA_e6MA/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_tfrTu7MsAY/UwlEKa-O8vI/AAAAAAAABaQ/BefdWA_e6MA/s1600/10.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I used clean make-up and paint brushes to paint the rest of the details.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If I had a steamer, I would have been able to get the cake to look darker and glossier, but this will have to do.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a finishing touch, I dry dusted the cake with a bit of white luster dust and gold disco glitter.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cat swung by later that night to pick up her gift and cake. </span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm glad my surprises got to kick off your week-long birthday celebration!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the next evening, her actual birthday, she celebrated with her family :)</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0TwIC6EPj8/UwlEN59YlKI/AAAAAAAABbY/AmMW8nSNNfA/s1600/18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0TwIC6EPj8/UwlEN59YlKI/AAAAAAAABbY/AmMW8nSNNfA/s1600/18.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Happy birthday, Catherine Mary Cay Del Rosario!</b></span></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-81641487953731269902014-02-11T17:45:00.001-08:002014-02-11T17:45:54.653-08:00NATM 64<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February 11</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In honor of the Sochi Olympics, I wanted to draw something that was inspired by the games. My favorite sport is figure skating and I've always wanted to go skating outdoors. I googled some images and found these two and sort of put them together. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cns-5iCgl0U/UvrEVEF3QLI/AAAAAAAABYo/1XyN9vY9bN8/s1600/skates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cns-5iCgl0U/UvrEVEF3QLI/AAAAAAAABYo/1XyN9vY9bN8/s1600/skates.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V4mik16r5P4/UvrEVV37GdI/AAAAAAAABYs/tptaGfNU6-Q/s1600/skatesoutside.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V4mik16r5P4/UvrEVV37GdI/AAAAAAAABYs/tptaGfNU6-Q/s1600/skatesoutside.png" height="140" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Purity</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Glaze <i>Sand Dolla Make You Holla</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sephora by OPI<i> It's Bouquet With Me</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48KfvcC8v7Y/UvrPxpgVgiI/AAAAAAAABZI/hoaiU0VmFws/s1600/64+IMG_5081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-48KfvcC8v7Y/UvrPxpgVgiI/AAAAAAAABZI/hoaiU0VmFws/s1600/64+IMG_5081.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Polish Count: 89</span></b></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-15909923891884693442014-02-04T17:02:00.001-08:002014-02-26T22:50:34.190-08:00NATM: 62 & 63<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 30</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Avril</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Revlon <i>Sheer Blossom</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M_r2PtWTT1k/UvGE_QpH73I/AAAAAAAABYU/nNyy5rZn6yI/s1600/62+IMG_5066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M_r2PtWTT1k/UvGE_QpH73I/AAAAAAAABYU/nNyy5rZn6yI/s1600/62+IMG_5066.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">February 4</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I've decided to try something different for the rest of my "nails at the moment" photos. I like to think of it as my take on "nail art." I am combining my favorite past times: nail painting and doodling. I don't draw as much as I'd like to nowadays, but since I paint my nails so often I thought it'd be fun to pair the two to encourage some more drawing. From now on I'll have an accompanying doodle every time I paint my nails.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been on this<a href="http://sailormoon-official.com/"> Sailor Moon site</a> for the past couple of weeks checking on what goodies are coming out for the 20th anniversary. I have a couple of friends who are going to Japan in March, so I am making them a shopping list ;) Sailor Mercury is my favorite Sailor Soldier (Saturn is a close second). I was also Mercury for Halloween like 8 years ago. What I drew is actually part of the banner on the site. I kinda messed up on her mouth area, but oh well. I just really wanted to draw her hair.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to the nails:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sephora by OPI <i>Just a Little Dangerous</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://iliketodoodle.deviantart.com/art/Sailor-Mercury-431883722"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GF3T7cjdwIA/UvGE_TBpsII/AAAAAAAABYQ/biGndayfReo/s1600/63+IMG_5071.JPG" height="254" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">View the drawing on my <a href="http://iliketodoodle.deviantart.com/art/Sailor-Mercury-431883722">deviantart </a>page.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Polish Count: 86</span></b></div>
Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-44093977804067479742014-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:002014-01-25T14:12:35.527-08:00NATM: 59 - 61<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 10</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julep <i>Farrah </i>over<i> </i>Julep <i>Sylvia</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 13</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Caitlin</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymGmaxK3vys/UuQ11mMSgfI/AAAAAAAABX4/yveYJs6elyw/s1600/60+IMG_5050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ymGmaxK3vys/UuQ11mMSgfI/AAAAAAAABX4/yveYJs6elyw/s1600/60+IMG_5050.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 20</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicole by OPI <i>Sweet Daisy</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NETmCsHpdx4/UuQ11vv_fiI/AAAAAAAABX0/4ZifAzqIrPs/s1600/61+IMG_5060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NETmCsHpdx4/UuQ11vv_fiI/AAAAAAAABX0/4ZifAzqIrPs/s1600/61+IMG_5060.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Polish Count: 83</span></b></div>
<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-48641536897004141792014-01-10T16:32:00.000-08:002014-01-10T16:32:09.986-08:00NATM: 54 - 58<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 21</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">E.L.F. <i>Plum</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julep <i>Ciara</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_HIEDKh_NQQ/UtCN7O01e6I/AAAAAAAABXI/99ruRUV2FTE/s1600/54+IMG_4883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_HIEDKh_NQQ/UtCN7O01e6I/AAAAAAAABXI/99ruRUV2FTE/s1600/54+IMG_4883.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 25</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Merry Christmas!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Blaze</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pzE-JTB3J58/UtCN7NZ-fEI/AAAAAAAABXA/I6aFDdYBG7Y/s1600/55+IMG_4898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pzE-JTB3J58/UtCN7NZ-fEI/AAAAAAAABXA/I6aFDdYBG7Y/s1600/55+IMG_4898.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 31</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Added Forever 21 silver glitter over Zoya <i>Blaze</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 2</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Purity</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julep <i>Farrah</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Glaze <i>Stellar</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forever 21 silver glitter</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Glaze <i>White Cap</i></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VXXRUWPagI/UtCN7prvoyI/AAAAAAAABXg/MBwkeTQWue8/s1600/57+IMG_4928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1VXXRUWPagI/UtCN7prvoyI/AAAAAAAABXg/MBwkeTQWue8/s1600/57+IMG_4928.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January 7</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julep <i>Sylvia</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Polish Count: 80</span></b></div>
<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-5249852131257299712013-12-17T22:42:00.000-08:002013-12-17T22:42:55.826-08:00NATM: 49 - 53<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">November 17</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Julep <i>Kendra</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">November 24</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Valerie</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 1</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Neeka</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 7</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zoya <i>Kristin</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China Glaze <i>White Cap</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">December 15</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Essie <i>School of Hard Rocks</i></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Polish Count: 70</span></b></div>
<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4399709716589301327.post-35163589377031857052013-12-08T01:04:00.000-08:002013-12-08T01:36:29.584-08:00Diamond Diva Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cat approached me about making her mom's birthday cake a couple weeks ago, and of course I was happy to make one for her! This year is her mom's big 6-0, and the 60th year is also known as the diamond anniversary. That, of course, became the theme for her birthday. Cat and I emailed each other back and forth and came up with the design below. The cake will be a two layer red velvet cake. The bottom tier will be covered in acrylic diamonds, the top layer will be hand piped with a damask-like pattern, and the topper will be a 6 and 0 made out of white chocolate.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lE9PUWXzEnk/UqQMl8xuwsI/AAAAAAAABSQ/-KeKFDcR8f8/s1600/00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lE9PUWXzEnk/UqQMl8xuwsI/AAAAAAAABSQ/-KeKFDcR8f8/s320/00.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I baked two 10 inch red velvet cakes for the bottom tier. I forgot to take pictures of the bottom tier cake baking process, because I had too many things on my mind and to take care of. Plus, The Sound of Music Live was on!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here I had just washed and dried the diamonds (2,000 of them!) that Cat had ordered. The silver cake board was purchased from Michaels, and Ronnie helped me attached the black glittery ribbon around the board as a little embellishment while I was making the cakes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ICVa0NkmoD8/UqQMl-pxEKI/AAAAAAAABSM/rjGJ6g2WITA/s1600/01.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ICVa0NkmoD8/UqQMl-pxEKI/AAAAAAAABSM/rjGJ6g2WITA/s320/01.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pretty.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pHcBpZvcX88/UqQMl1mavRI/AAAAAAAABSI/CS3V-TY4xKc/s1600/02.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pHcBpZvcX88/UqQMl1mavRI/AAAAAAAABSI/CS3V-TY4xKc/s320/02.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the cakes were cooling, I whipped up some cream cheese frosting. When the cakes had cooled completely, I trimmed the edges, leveled the layers, and began assembling. I put a pat of frosting onto the cake board to help keep the cake in place.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0dqbyIxA_qM/UqQMo4BqFzI/AAAAAAAABTI/Sj8OCnmtH-U/s1600/03.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0dqbyIxA_qM/UqQMo4BqFzI/AAAAAAAABTI/Sj8OCnmtH-U/s320/03.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before I placed the first layer onto the board, I added wax paper to keep the board clean.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-07pUbvOMwvE/UqQMmq3CWYI/AAAAAAAABSY/yB3yDtbmGKc/s1600/04.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-07pUbvOMwvE/UqQMmq3CWYI/AAAAAAAABSY/yB3yDtbmGKc/s320/04.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thin layer of frosting is the crumb coat. You know how when you want to frost a cake and to make it as perfectly white as possible, but the crumbs just start mixing into your frosting? Well, starting with a crumb coat will fix that.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y16AXclh4KU/UqQMm6OD8QI/AAAAAAAABSk/D0wIKV7rsNM/s1600/05.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y16AXclh4KU/UqQMm6OD8QI/AAAAAAAABSk/D0wIKV7rsNM/s320/05.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After letting the crumb coat covered cake chill (alliteration!) in the fridge overnight (well, a few hours), I continued with a generous frosting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-41dwKKKrLoQ/UqQMnCwUQhI/AAAAAAAABSs/IxcrIfeFrzw/s1600/06.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-41dwKKKrLoQ/UqQMnCwUQhI/AAAAAAAABSs/IxcrIfeFrzw/s320/06.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since this was going to be a two layer cake, I grabbed some boba straws to be used for stability.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hpd_zrWMBlM/UqQMn7biQtI/AAAAAAAABSw/hdMchdwO9ug/s1600/07.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Hpd_zrWMBlM/UqQMn7biQtI/AAAAAAAABSw/hdMchdwO9ug/s320/07.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I stuck the boba straws in the approximate spot that the second layer will sit. Looks like it's someone's fourth birthday.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u9m7-AOh8NQ/UqQMoLDXSnI/AAAAAAAABS4/6xh98ENp7Qc/s1600/08.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u9m7-AOh8NQ/UqQMoLDXSnI/AAAAAAAABS4/6xh98ENp7Qc/s320/08.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I trimmed the excess.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmc0sLmTAnw/UqQMoeSh-nI/AAAAAAAABTQ/Mnyo0u8J0JM/s1600/09.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tmc0sLmTAnw/UqQMoeSh-nI/AAAAAAAABTQ/Mnyo0u8J0JM/s320/09.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was kinda early in the morning and I needed to buy more sugar and grab some coffee, but before doing those errands I wanted to also throw some diamonds onto the cake. Originally, I had wanted all the diamonds to be facing up, but to do that I would have had to place them onto the cake one by one, and that would have been way too tedious and time consuming. So I just grabbed small handfuls and carefully placed them onto the cake and flipped some right side up whenever I could.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sGJhVlE-VUs/UqQMonZOT9I/AAAAAAAABTM/o-Wlc69roO0/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sGJhVlE-VUs/UqQMonZOT9I/AAAAAAAABTM/o-Wlc69roO0/s320/10.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A general covering of diamonds before I left to do my errands.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KfHUFoE4w00/UqQMpR_L3XI/AAAAAAAABTY/6G9-jfff5WM/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KfHUFoE4w00/UqQMpR_L3XI/AAAAAAAABTY/6G9-jfff5WM/s320/11.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once I had gotten my coffee and more sugar, I whipped up another batch of cake batter to make the top tier. Since I don't have cake pans smaller than 10 inches in diameter, I used a glass dish that was 9x12 inches, and planned to cut it in half.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WoHxHhkOdvg/UqQMpkMQAhI/AAAAAAAABTw/b41IHKqI5iU/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WoHxHhkOdvg/UqQMpkMQAhI/AAAAAAAABTw/b41IHKqI5iU/s320/12.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While it was baking I continued adding diamonds to the bottom tier. I am loving my Snow Day candle from Bath and Body Works :)</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6brSFf-JWLY/UqQMqjpTquI/AAAAAAAABTs/QzxzP6mIteE/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6brSFf-JWLY/UqQMqjpTquI/AAAAAAAABTs/QzxzP6mIteE/s320/13.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the cake was done baking, I let it cool for awhile before cutting it in half</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2HyJALZbSr8/UqQMqLlIZYI/AAAAAAAABTo/TDqgdhxiRbA/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2HyJALZbSr8/UqQMqLlIZYI/AAAAAAAABTo/TDqgdhxiRbA/s320/14.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and shaping into two circular pieces.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Vu9BYOUBTI/UqQMq-qxV1I/AAAAAAAABUI/T--FGPu9FyU/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Vu9BYOUBTI/UqQMq-qxV1I/AAAAAAAABUI/T--FGPu9FyU/s320/15.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This tier needed a cake board, so I drew one onto some cardboard,</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OWh85ndFhlM/UqQMrACRLTI/AAAAAAAABUE/pcAHfz_4OUo/s1600/16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OWh85ndFhlM/UqQMrACRLTI/AAAAAAAABUE/pcAHfz_4OUo/s320/16.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">cut it out and covered it in plastic wrap.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iIIHqFLG8_k/UqQMrfVjwCI/AAAAAAAABUA/4dv1HNq5iBA/s1600/17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iIIHqFLG8_k/UqQMrfVjwCI/AAAAAAAABUA/4dv1HNq5iBA/s320/17.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then I went about frosting it the same way I did with the bottom tier.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJyxyIY7f6g/UqQMryhv0JI/AAAAAAAABUM/1kW82q15Zv0/s1600/18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TJyxyIY7f6g/UqQMryhv0JI/AAAAAAAABUM/1kW82q15Zv0/s320/18.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1TEQdGQNNs0/UqQMvAkA5yI/AAAAAAAABVQ/6r-Fx0H_Ukc/s1600/19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1TEQdGQNNs0/UqQMvAkA5yI/AAAAAAAABVQ/6r-Fx0H_Ukc/s320/19.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the crumb coat covered cake was in the freezer (to speed up the process since I was short on time), I melted some white chocolate to make the topper.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Um3JlGnfsE/UqQMsWwerVI/AAAAAAAABUY/5trrsiytIbw/s1600/20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4Um3JlGnfsE/UqQMsWwerVI/AAAAAAAABUY/5trrsiytIbw/s320/20.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I piped the chocolate numbers on top of skewers. Since it's been very cold, the chocolate solidified faster than usual, so.. I had to work a lot faster, and wasn't able to smooth it out. Ignore the unsmoothness for now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once the top tier had chilled enough, I gave it a final frosting.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-73Mgj7RXs-U/UqQMtFxbZpI/AAAAAAAABUs/wEzJ7SD_Ixk/s1600/22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-73Mgj7RXs-U/UqQMtFxbZpI/AAAAAAAABUs/wEzJ7SD_Ixk/s320/22.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tiers one and two are ready to be assembled.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edFVjq8ecJE/UqQMt85y39I/AAAAAAAABU8/9YbMoMXyzH4/s1600/24.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-edFVjq8ecJE/UqQMt85y39I/AAAAAAAABU8/9YbMoMXyzH4/s320/24.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I placed the top tier onto the bottom tier, and filled the little space between the tiers with more frosting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I bought myself the smallest decorating tip Michaels had to pipe the damask detail.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j04BtEuPOLM/UqQMuqnr1BI/AAAAAAAABVY/CLf-HdfjofM/s1600/26.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j04BtEuPOLM/UqQMuqnr1BI/AAAAAAAABVY/CLf-HdfjofM/s320/26.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It still wasn't fine enough for me, but I worked with it. I made black frosting by adding food coloring to some chocolate frosting. Because I was short on time, I had to really simplify my original damask pattern design. My piping could have been neater. I was also just finishing up my coffee at this point, and I could tell it was kicking in, because I was (oh, so horribly) belting every song off of NYSNC's Christmas album.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUyO7J4wkiE/UqQMuyhw6SI/AAAAAAAABVU/PgPuE0w6jyA/s1600/27.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUyO7J4wkiE/UqQMuyhw6SI/AAAAAAAABVU/PgPuE0w6jyA/s320/27.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I fixed up the topper by covering the 6 and 0 with some frosting and sprinkled it with some clear sanding sugar. It would have looked nicer in silver, but it was a last minute decision and I didn't have any silver sugar on hand. To use up the rest of the diamonds, I sprinkled them onto the space between the layers and at the very top. I piped the birthday message onto the cake board as the finishing touch. I am quite proud of this!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ns6Qg20lTHo/UqQMvw5AG7I/AAAAAAAABVg/5eAwGPl8TyI/s1600/28.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ns6Qg20lTHo/UqQMvw5AG7I/AAAAAAAABVg/5eAwGPl8TyI/s320/28.JPG" width="239" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is an all around view. The diamonds definitely give it that BLAH-DAOH factor Cat and her mom love.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mevW2RzsMV4/UqQMwJpBwNI/AAAAAAAABVs/5Pq74cOknOw/s1600/29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="104" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mevW2RzsMV4/UqQMwJpBwNI/AAAAAAAABVs/5Pq74cOknOw/s320/29.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When Cat dropped by to pick up the cake, she was telling me about how her mom has really been treating her birthday as a 60th diamond anniversary and has been saying the phrase "shine bright like a diamond" from Rihanna's song. So I added it to the other side of the cake board.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iT9p3qECTN4/UqQMwIg_3zI/AAAAAAAABV4/ayVHgB-A3ww/s1600/30.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iT9p3qECTN4/UqQMwIg_3zI/AAAAAAAABV4/ayVHgB-A3ww/s320/30.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transporting the cake was our biggest concern, but with some thinking and excellent driving, it made it to South San Francisco safely, and was a huge success!</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFhCCKaoumg/UqQMwQwmhdI/AAAAAAAABV0/xKvTR8Xg2MQ/s1600/31.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wFhCCKaoumg/UqQMwQwmhdI/AAAAAAAABV0/xKvTR8Xg2MQ/s320/31.JPG" width="239" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Diamond Jubilee, Auntie Diva Dettie!</span></div>
<br />Christinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11371813207941463038noreply@blogger.com0