a so sweet bunny cake

I think I made my most successful carrot cake, ever!

It is the usual recipe, but this one has bunnies on it,

isn't it so cute?

Okay, so I am not a cake decorator and it is not perfect,

but it is still really cute!

A while ago, I was daydreaming and going through catalogues

when I found this beautiful cake from William Sonoma:

super, duper cute,

but it is $70+ shipping and it is full of nuts!

So I set out to make my own version, for a lot less, bigger and nut free.

I always use the same recipe, the one that came with the pans, from Wilton.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup of oil

2 cup of sugar

2 cup of flour

2 tsp of baking soda

2 tsp of cinnamon

1 lb of freshly shredded carrot

Mix eggs, add oil while mixing, add the rest of the dry ingredients with strong stirring,

and finally add the carrots, gently.

Split evenly into 2 pans (also make great cupcakes!)

bake at 350 for 35 min.

I had to trim around the cakes a little as the cake stand I wanted to use is slightly smaller

than the cake pans.

I made the cream cheese icing:

3 cup of powdered sugar

3 packages of cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat version)

1/2 tsp vanilla.

I cut each cake in half to make it a 4 layer cake, always very decadent!

I also covered the cake in the same icing....

which was probably not the best idea!

I had purchased the bunny image from Fancy Flours,

and it is supposed to go on top of buttercream....

Well I went ahead, and a first it was ok,

but then, it started to wrinkle more and more!

I was so disappointed, but I continued with the decorations.

At least I knew it was tasty.

I set up the table with so cute bunny plates (from PB)

and set up the cake on the table.

To my surprise, it was a lot smoother,

not perfect, but I was no longer upset about it!

And the best part, it was really good!

There will be cake for breakfast for a few days!
Happy day!

teen boy bedroom: the ORC edition

After some reflections, I decided to go ahead

and participate to the One Room Challenge .

Last spring, I worked on the back patio, creating an inviting outdoor dining area 

for my first ORC.

In the fall, I totally upgraded a corner of the kitchen into a functional and cute baking area

for my second ORC.

And this spring for my third ORC, I want to transform my son's bedroom.

His room is probably the only room that has not been updated since we moved here.

It might seem a little late in the game as Brick Master (my son's nickname) is already 16

and a sophmore in HS, only 2 1/2 years away from college.

But I feel like it is actually the perfect time,

he is no longer a little kid and appreciate things more,

well not to the point of wanting extra pillows on his bed!

So we are keeping things simple and taking into consideration his tastes:

his room, not mine!

Which means: Star Wars, air planes, karate, legos (lots!), rock climbing,

computer and robotics.

He already has some good base: a nice large black bed

and a sturdy desk,

and of course some cool Star Wars art!

but ugly yellow walls!

The starting point inspiration is this room we saw in IKEA,

it totally inspired my teenager,

think urban loft....but in the suburban DC area!

Well that sounds doable....

Next week, the real inspiration board.

We still are working on all the details,

he is a tough customer!

And just like last year, we went to the robotic competition

for the Greater DC area this last week end.

The team did great and won the Outreach award,

but did not place as well as last year,

so no international competition this summer,

unlike last year when we went to Florida (in July!).

There is always hope for next year...

a sew illustrated basket for all the pincushions....

Here is the basket for the cute pincushions I have been making.

It is the perfect container to store and display them.

The pattern is from Minki Kim's book: Sew Illustrated.

I chose to skip the patchwork pieces for some "solid" print,

all related to sewing.

I stitched a spool and scissor combo, a seam reaper and a jar with a wood cupcake button (brought back from France last fall)

The handles are made of that weird paper that looks like leather, easy to sew by machine and hand.

The little front pocket is perfect for the scissors. It turned out cute enough that I will make one for myself. My mom received that one with the pincushions...
Happy sewing!

more illustrated pincushions? yes please!

After making my first set of pincushions

which I am guilty keeping for myself...,

I made another set for my mom.

This time I used white linen and a mixture of prints, not just Liberty of London.

Changing the fabric really change the feel of the image.
Some of the illustrations are from the same pattern, other (like the sewing machine) is from the book "Sew Illustrated".

It was fun to look for a small image for the sewing machine. It looks challenging but it is a fairly forgiving technique, I was just stitching around the shape.
So here is the new set of pincushions:

I kept them simple, just one of them has a little tag.
But I could not stop there, and made something else to keep them together:

which I will share next time!
Happy sewing!

my latest guilty pleasure: illustrated pincushions

Last time I was around, I mentioned we were not getting any snow,

well I stand corrected! We had some, all my flowers are dead

and I am ready for some warmer weather!

I have not been able to sew a lot lately,

first because of my ankle (which is much better now)

and second because I had some skin surgery which prevented me 

from doing anything my with right arm, total nightmare....

So I went for little tiny projects: cute pincushions!

linen, Liberty of London, lace, applique...

what's not to like?

The pattern for these pincushions are from Minki Kim from Sewing Illustration,

I previously made cute tea mats from her book:

I was able to get the patterns for free a while ago,

when they were first available.

The designs are small and a little bit tricky,

but if it is messed up, it is easy to start over,

after all it is only a 3 to 4 inches piece of linen!

And sewing these beats hands down thinking about skin cancer, even the non deadly one!
Happy sewing!