The Awkward Dinosaur Etsy Shop!

I am so excited to announce the opening of my Etsy shop! As some of you may know, this has been a long in the making so I'm thrilled to finally be at this point. I would love it if you would check out the shop page and pass the word along to anyone who might be interested. My first line of products are inspired by one of my favorite visual artists, Vincent Van Gogh. Here are a few of the things I've been working on:

Cake! Cake! Cake!

23 Dinosaurs for My 23rd Birthday!

Eric & Ariel's Wedding Cake!

(I just did the top cake!)

My cousin Zephyn's Birthday Cake.

The Desk

As promised, here is the desk reveal. Fortunately, my "before" picture looked especially sad and cluttered so the transformation will look especially remarkable. And there is nothing I love more than a dramatic reveal. Well, except maybe for a really cute cat video. Anyway, all I did was sanding, paint and installing new handles. This past week ended up being especially gloomy and wet so I made the best of things and turned our kitchen into a temporary shop for a few days.

 In the interest of making my projects as economical as possible (and because I really like the colour!) I decided to use the same turqoise-ish paint from the kitchen storage bench. Regardless of already having all of the painting supplies, I still ended up at the hardware store an unacceptable number of times. After expressing my frustration regarding the multiplicity of Ace voyages I undertook, my roommate Rose informed me that every project requires an average of three trips to the hardware store. I felt slightly consoled-after all, someone has to be the outlier.

Here's the final product, complete with a chair from Ikea (love!) I painted pink:

This finished piece combined with my full bookshelf makes this corner my favorite part of my room! So far at least.

 
Join me for my next blog entry about the best cakes I've made since moving to Carmel! Hint: one of them involves 23 of these friends. . .

Home Improvement Part I: The Bench

A recent slew of home improvement projects has encouraged me to abandon my long hiatus from blogging. After moving into our new Carmel apartment, Rose and I diligently have begun the task of constructing a space that is definitively not a college residence (despite the fact that our apartment bleeds vibes that feel suspiciously like South Campus Apartments at Anderson. . .)

With my birthday coming up this weekend I am staying plenty busy but thought I would start with a quick entry about a beautiful bench I purchased at a garage sale that was on the side of SR32 somewhere between Noblesville and Anderson. Rose and I also picked up a few old trunks with the intention of restoring them, but that is an entirely different, and significantly more epic, story.

So this lovely $20 piece just needed some rags, sandpaper and a lot of paint.

A few trips to Ace and several Google searches later (as it turns out, I need a little help to navigate projects that actually involve the hardware store) and the bench transformed into this vibrant piece.

In addition to adding the pop of colour by the window, it also solved our kitchen storage problem. No more aimless clutter on top of the refrigerator!

I'll try to keep updated with the apartment progress and will even attempt to be more diligent with documenting things with pictures. (Hmmm, I'm pretty sure using a form of "diligent" twice in one blog entry is overkill. Next time I'll pull out the thesaurus.)

Check back Sunday to see the results of my desk project!

Rainbow Cake!

Here is my version of the rainbow cake! I made it for the closing celebration of my senior theatre project where I led a group of middle school kids at the Park Place Community Center in improv techniques.

The Raven's Nest & The Alma Mater

As promised, here is a sneak preview. Alas, the night lighting in this apartment fails, but this gives the general idea. p.s. The caramel in those chocolate cupcakes is to die for. Also, the chocolate chip cookie dough buttercream on top of chocolate chip cookie cupcake filled with faux chocolate chip cookie dough. Yum.

Homecoming Preview!

So, I have been creating, shopping, and baking for hours this week in anticipation of Homecoming. aDORIble Catering will be selling Handcrafted Gourmet Novelty Pastries (in other words, CUPCAKES!) at the Wisdom Tooth Theatre Project table this Saturday. I am piloting a bunch of new recipes and flavors and so far everything is turning out REALLY delicious. Here is a description of the treats we will have for sale-specially designed and created to show some Anderson University flavor! p.s. Check back later today and tomorrow for a few pictures of some of the completed creations!

The Raven’s Nest

Enthroned in buttercream, the AU mascot makes a sweet appearance atop a gooey pocket of chocolate chip cookie dough nested inside a tender brown sugar cake.

The Presidential Sweet

Enjoy this charming pastry inspired by President Edwards: Grand red velvet cake brimming with congenial cream cheese filling.

The Edible Flame

The warm hues of orange cake meld with citrus cream cheese filling and rich chocolate ganache that will leave your taste-buds burning for more!

The Alma Mater

This confectionary “friend of all that’s good and upright” boasts chocolatey cookie pieces, delectable vanilla cake, and airy whipped topping within its borders. One bite will have you singing “Hail to thee all hail” with renewed gusto!

The Non-Creedal Creed

Moist chocolate cake filled with chocolate bits, infused with caramel, and topped with a rich dark chocolate frosting. Because we don’t believe that a cupcake should be boring!