Oh the Summertime!

For the second summer in a row I've worked on campus here at Anderson University as a Resident Conference Assistant (RCA). It's a pretty cool job that involves a lot of responsibility, flexibility, and strange hours. I just finished that up this Monday (!) and have been setting up the apartment I will be sharing with a few friends this next semester. I really love the decor aspect of having my own space. I ended up spending most of today hanging pictures and art prints and using far too much Modge Podge. I wanted to share a few of my projects from this summer. I was pretty busy, so I didn't do as much as I might have liked; I am pretty excited about what I did get done!

As always, I'll start off with an edible project. Here is a penguin "cake" I put together for one my co-workers this summer.The design was adapted from the always-wonderful book "Hello, Cupcake." My co-worker, Chloe, jokes about starting her own reality TV show called "Penguin Talk with Chloe" where she narrates the activities of live penguins. Hope she hires me for catering for the premiere party! Just chillin' next to the mineral water.

Here is a card (really a small canvas-our staff signed the back of it) I painted for one of my supervisors this summer. (Modge-podged over the paint of course:D) The quote is by Emerson and it says "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful we must carry it with us or we find it not."

Next up is my version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night." It's made from river shells, sea stones, and a sea star. This was a long time in the making-I started it in January, set it aside and didn't finish is until this summer!

Speaking of projects that are a long time coming, I finally completed my t-shirt quilt which I started, well, two years ago. It's pictured here with my dinosaur sheets. I backed it with a fleece blanket.

Here are a few elements of my apartment decor. For these makeshift display shelves, I thumbtacked lace to the wall to hold up hardcover books. The wood art is from Bolivia.And behold: My newest creation! I found an old boring lamp left in my room and I decided to decoupage it with Impressionist paintings. I often look for books of art prints at used book stores in order to make cards and other projects and this one definitely got put to good use! Decoupaging is reason number 437 for why Modge Podge is the Best Thing Ever.

Things That Make Me Happy!

Creating Cupcake Busts of the Birthday Girls!
Surprise Roses in the Mail.
Making Dinosaur Chocolates . . .To Go with Cupckake Thankyou Cards!Roommates Who Make Christmas Tree Cakes for October Birthdays.Homemade Marshmallows!Surprise Parties with Lots of Colour!
Giant Dinosaurs.My New Business Cards :D It's Official, Guys!

Ice Cream Cake :D

For my co-worker, Amanda's, birthday, I made my first attempt at an ice cream cake. It was actually quite a bit easier to make than I originally anticipated, although I realized after I had already put it together that my version doesn't actually have any CAKE in it.A lot of websites suggested using a spring-form pan. I haven't invested in one yet, but my sister suggested using layer cake pans lined with plastic wrap which worked quite well. I used low-carb ice cream since Amanda is on a low-carb diet for medical reasons, but obviously any flavor can be substituted.Unfortunately, I didn't get a very good picture of the layers, but this one gives the general idea. Between the ice cream layers are layers of diced strawberries (mixed with a bit of granulated Splenda) and crushed up chocolate animal crackers mixed with fudge ice cream topping (this was definitely the best layer in my opinion).I frosted the top with Cool Whip. Although I wasn't able to make it completely smooth, it worked decently. I looked online afterward and found a few variations on the whipped-topping-frosting that I might experiment with in the future. For decorating, I used dark chocolate melting wafers. I just put them in a ziplok and snipped the corner. I had to reheat them several times, and there are a few trouble spots on the cake, but overall I like how it came out. The swirls are coloured in with strawberry syrup (I used a paintbrush) and of course there is the strawberry fan.I was pleased with the results considering it was my first, and more importantly Amanda loved it!
p.s. here's a picture of the 4th of July cupcake flag I made. Directions are in "Hello, Cupcake"

Happy Birthday Aubren!

June 18th just happened to be the 20th birthday of Aubren, one of my wonderful co-workers. Since this important day fell on one of the busiest days of our summer so far, I wanted to do something special to help make this birthday a memorable one. Along with the help of the rest of the Reardon Summer Staff, I put together a mini-surprise-party at morning staff meeting. Fish themed of course. Because, honestly, who doesn't like goldfish? I made goldfish bowl cupcakes from the wonderful cookbook "Hello, Cupcake!"-best thing ever! Check it out on Amazon. Since I had to make them in the Myers public kitchen while the Christ in Youth conference was going on, I feared for their safety, but fortunately they made it through alright. Everyone seemed to enjoy their cupcakes plus I think Aubren was surprised. In a happy way.