Watercolor Wednesday and Some Blogs to Check Out

Here are details from two watercolors I've done over the last few weeks. The bottom one really looks a lot like wallpaper - but at least it would be interesting wallpaper! I'm working on another project this week so haven't had as much time to paint. Hopefully, I'll post some pictures of my new project later this week.

In the meantime, I've updated my site with links to some really cool blogs that I like to visit. I expecially recommend Design Mom (http://www.designmom.com/), How About Orange, and Angry Chicken for DIY crafts and cool product tips. I check them out pretty much every day. I love bloggers that post frequently and these have a new post pretty much every day.

White and Gold Birthday Cake

Here is my latest commission - a white cake with gold accents. Silver and gold was requested, but did you know that silver dragees are quite expensive? Maybe if I buy them in bulk then it would be worthwhile, but $10.99 at the grocery store for a little bottle is way too much. Anywho, my friend seemed happy with the cake and I was mostly satisfied. I tried all of the components (cake and icings) separately, but hope it tasted good all together. The piping is, um, rustic, to put it nicely, because my sister has my icing gun thing at her house. I also realized I need to get more cake pans; I only have a few sizes and that's pretty limiting.

The cake itself is the White II butter cake recipe from The Joy of Cooking, with some colored sprinkles in the batter for a "funfetti" look (requested by the birthday girl). The frosting between the layers is cream cheese and the frosting on the outside of the cake is just a quick buttercream. For the decorations, I cut star shapes from white fondant and painted them gold with luster dust mixed with lemon extract (the extract is clear and the alcohol in it evaporates, so it works well for this kind of decorating).

Watercolor Wednesday and a new toy

I am experimenting with a looser, wetter style. What do you think? I'm just messing around with colors to see how they flow together. We'll see what comes of it.

Above is my new crafting toy! I got it from Cathy of California's etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=35475. It was waiting for me when I got home today so I haven't had any time to experiment. Hopefully, I'll be posting some of my creations soon......

Watercolor Wednesday

Watercolor Wednesday - Valentine Edition

Watercolor Wednesday

Here are some paintings I've been working on the last few days. I'm into orange and blue right now, I guess. The one above is finished but the two below are still in progress. Although, I like the one on the bottom as is, so I'm not sure. I'm going to let it sit for a while and then revisit it.

Cupcakes for Stacey's birthday