Rainbow Cupcakes

Want to know how I made the rainbow cupcakes from Wednesday's post? It's actually pretty easy. It takes extra time for mixing and splitting up the batter, but the results are totally worth it!

In case you'd like to give it a try, here's how I did it:

Supplies Needed

2 boxes white cake mix

Oil, eggs, water to make the cake mix

Large mixing bowl and spatula

Measuring cups and spoons

6 medium bowls

6 table spoons

Gel food coloring

Muffin/cupcake pan

Cupcake wrappers

Frosting, sprinkles, candy, etc for decorating

Oven

Cooling rack

I started out with the same method as I used for the rainbow birthday cake I posted about here.

Stop using the cake recipe after the batter is colored and get out your trusty muffin/cupcake pan and cupcake wrappers.

Using a table spoon--as in spoon from the table not a measuring spoon. You know, like this:

Okay, using the table spoons, scoop one color of batter gently on top of the next. Gently because you want the bottom layer to show on the bottom and not up the sides or on the top of the cupcake. You can't control how it bakes and it will do all kinds of cool tie-dye type things, but if you want it to resemble a rainbow then be careful when you layer the different colors of batter.

I like to do this part assembly line style filling one color at a time. It's monotonous but seems to make things go by a little bit faster. With that said, I can never resist the urge to make up just one with all the colors for fun. :) Try to resist. It's hard to do.

Don't be scared to fill the pan. 2/3 of the way full is what we're aiming for, but the more you add the bigger the cupcakes (generally speaking). I'm all for more cupcakes, so I say fill 'em up!

Once the pan is full, pop it in the oven for however long the box says to bake cupcakes. I generally like to check them at the earliest time listed on the box. That way I can pull them if they're done or give them another minute or few as needed. You can always cook them more, but you can't go back once they are over-cooked.

Slap some frosting and decoration on those babies and call them good!!

Other Things I Learned Along the Way

• Use white cake mix. Yellow cake mix leaves the colors washed out looking. If you don't mind that then go for the yellow cake mix (or add the egg yolks to the white cake mix). If you want bright, vivid colors then use white cake mix. I learned this one the hard way, folks.
• Use the cupcake wrappers. It will save you headache and heartache after you're done baking. For some reason, the batter is just a little more sticky than without the food coloring. It likes to stick to the pan. Another lesson learned the hard way over here.
• If you want a rainbow, then pay attention to the order you are using for the colors. Even then, you may not get a rainbow. Baked goods are unpredictable like that. Just keep in mind that no matter what, you'll have a colorful result.
• Don't add too much food coloring. You will be able to taste it. Just start with a few drops and keep adding until you have the color you want. The colors will get richer when baking, so if the red isn't red enough for you then bake a cupcake and see how it turns out. You may be surprised that the batter bakes up darker than it looks in the bowl.
• Be prepared to share the recipe if you take this to parties or other events. Everybody loves a rainbow cupcake.
• If you mess it up, who cares? Everybody loves a cupcake...even a weird colored one.

I found out recently that the Kaylah of the Dainty Squid also wrote a rainbow cupcake tutorial. I wish I'd seen it before my foray into rainbow cupcake baking. Actually, on second thought, I'm kind of happy I didn't see it first. We really enjoyed eating all the tester cupcakes before I found a method I liked best. Check out her tutorial for more tips!

If you bake them, please come back and share! I'd love to see your creations!

Brr...Scarf weather and how to make a crochet pattern map

For those of you that don't know me personally:

I live in Alaska.

Have you ever been to Alaska? You really should visit.

In the summer.

Don't come now. You'll freeze before you even step off of the plane.

As I type this, the temperature is sitting at a nice cozy -27 degrees F. That's -33 degrees C, in case you were wondering and didn't want to do math.

It is this time of year that I wonder to myself, "WHY?"

But the silver lining to this frozen ice cloud is that this just lasts for a few weeks at a time. And if you really want to put things in perspective, we haven't even hit our cold snap yet. That comes in the end of January.

Seems kind of needless to say this now, but I will any way:

This is perfect scarf weather.

Well, as long as the scarf isn't the only thing you're wearing, that is.

Here's my scarf:

It's a prototype of one of my many ninja related ideas. I call it a prototype because I always make up a project like this and then fiddle with it until I like the end result.

My method for mapping out a pattern just takes an idea, some graph paper (or blank paper and a ruler), and a pen or pencil.

For instance, take my scarf. I made the ninja heads first and then made the rest. My stitch pattern map for the ninja heads looks like this:

Except I did mine by hand so it's a lot messier! I also used a different count--the numbers are there for show and not function. This pattern map would make a very small ninja.

I used a simple single crochet stitch and took it row by row working the ends in as I went. Remember, your pattern map is written in pen or pencil--not stone. You can change it up as you go based on how the piece is taking shape. 

Once the whole thing was done, I single crocheted around the outside to give the piece a clean, round look. And since I worked the ends into the back of the piece, it made the scarf single sided.

Okay, I had no idea what a pain in the ass a single sided scarf can be until I wore this one around for a little while. I am constantly turning the faces so they are right side out. I'd much rather make the pattern double sided to avoid that altogether! My solutions so far have left tons of loose ends to work in later on, so I'm still in the figure it out stage of things with the pattern.

Happy pattern mapping!!

Stop back by and share what you've made in your free time. I'd love to see!

Kid Friendly Batik Test

So I gave the kid friendly batiking that I found at That Artist Woman's blog a shot.

I could tell immediately after reading the how-to that this had the potential for some major messiness. This is significant because I have the young ones to worry about cleaning up--which requires planning ahead of time and gives me the excuse to "test" this stuff out first. So that's just what I did.

I don't have any in progress shots because my hands were too messy to pick up the camera and take them., but here is the finished project for your viewing pleasure:

A few tips that I'd like to share about this project:

1. It was a lot of fun!
2. It was messy!
3. The instructions recommend that you water down the paint but not too much. I'd say it should be about the consistency of shampoo, maybe a little bit thinner. This, I can tell you for sure, is good information. If the paint is too watery then it's easier to use too much paint, and ...
4. When you use too much paint, the colors will run into areas that you don't want them. Note in the picture above that the bottom right corner of the design where the blue paint bled into where the orange should be.
5. After the finished product is washed and dried, the fabric is somewhat stiff. At least mine was. Perhaps it was all that extra paint I used since my paint was watered down(?). It's definitely not the kind of fabric that you're going to want to use for a pillow or blanket. I'm thinking I'll use it to make a little bag or credit card pouch or something. Line it with an orange fabric...oooh! That might be kind of cool!

In conclusion, I recommend you give this project a shot. It's not a quick project--what with all the drying time for the glue and paint--but I still found it fun.

Have you tried anything new in your free time lately?

**Edited to add:**

Check out the comments section. Gail from That Artist Woman's blog stopped by and left some suggestions for the stiff fabric conundrum. Thanks, Gail!!

My First Major CRAFT FAIL or To Pre-Wash or Not to Pre-Wash

I'll admit it.

I rarely pre-wash my fabric before sewing it.

There. Now you know one of my dirty little secrets.

Call me lazy, call me a fool, but I don't do it about 90% of the time.

It slows me down! I want to be able to pick my fabric, bring it home, and use it. Not pick it, bring it home, wait for 90 minutes while it washes and dries, THEN use it. I live in the boondocks. That's like, 2 hours of waiting if I go straight home after purchasing my fabrics. I don't want to wait that long!!

But at what cost do I feed the need for this instant gratification?


Pictured above is the very first quilt that I ever made. It's about 10 years old.

I didn't pre-wash any of the fabrics that I used to make it. When I was done sewing it together, I used it for a little while and eventually washed it in a regular old household washing machine. As you can see, from a distance the quilt looks fine. Even decent for a beginner, right?

How about we take a closer look at some of those squares...


See that? The red that I used for the outer trim pieces bled onto the other fabrics. And it bled like crazy. All over the blanket with splotches of red and pink everywhere.

I'll never forget that day when I pulled my prized quilt out of the dryer--I almost cried.

It was RUINED!!

Okay, so it wasn't ruined. In fact, I have used it quite a bit since that day and have grown to appreciate the blotches of red rather than loathe them. But that's exactly how I felt when I pulled it out of the washing machine that day. Ruined.

And all I would have had to do was pre-wash the fabric to prevent this...right?

Oh, my friends, if it were only that easy.

In the 10 years that I've owned this blanket, I have washed it many times. And each time the red bleeds a little bit more. It's not nearly as bad as that first wash, but it still happens. I put the blanket into the wash and it comes out just a little bit different every time. It's like Christmas, I tell you.

So is just pre-washing the fabric going to save you?
Sometimes, yes.

Nothing in life is certain, though. We all know this.

So I throw caution to the wind most of the time and use these two tips for when to pre-wash:
1) Always pre-wash fabrics that have colors on them that bleed more easily than others, like red.
2) When the finished product needs to be square or measure to a specific size so there's no room for shrinkage (like pillowcases and garments), pre-wash.

It has worked for me for the most part. I guess that's obvious since I only have pictures of the one quilt to show you, huh? It just seemed like a good phrase to close with. :)

Do you have any tips for fabrics with bleeding color or to prevent colors from bleeding in the first place?

Curtains, Anyone?

Our front room has been needing curtains since...oh, I don't know...we moved in.

And there really wasn't much of an excuse after my mother, in an effort to get me to make some curtains, bought some very nice fabric while in Hawaii about 4 years ago. It has dragons and bamboo--quite nice indeed.

If you have ever seen our living room, then you know that this design fits right in

But the timing couldn't have been worse. Despite the beautiful fabric, my sewing machine and I were going through a battle to end all battles. Some things were said (by me), some needles were broken (by the machine), tension issues arose (machine again), I got angry and put it in storage. It was time to take a break from sewing for awhile.

Well, since I finally dug my sewing machine out of hibernation (after almost 3 years!) this month, I thought that I had better make good on the promise to my husband to make those curtains.

Sorry for the plants in the way, but that is where they live

And I did.

Isn't that red accent on them nice? Oh yes, I agree. I didn't mean to do that, but I made a dumb move and did some needless sewing.

Now, I could have ripped stitches, but let's be honest here. I hate ripping stitches. Especially ones made by sewing machines. So I opted for another option: Add a color coordinating border!

The original plan was to have the border go around the whole outside, but I like it better just in the middle. And since I'm the creator, that is how it stays!

Since these were such a long time coming, my husband even watched the kids so I could hammer these out. Normally crafting must wait until after the munchkins have gone to bed, but not this day. This day I got to live the dream while making...curtains? Oh well, it was still nice.

With the mistake and all, this project took me about 5 hours. I'd say the mistake took at least an hour and a half of that time. Yes, I know, costly mistake. The bulk of the rest of the time was spent pinning and ironing.

This is not labor intensive work. There is a whole lot of ironing, pinning, and straight seam sewing going on when making curtains.

One tip that I would like to pass on:
My mother gave me this tip the first time I made curtains and it has saved me a ton of frustration.

Wait to sew the bottom of your curtains until after you hang them for the first time.

Then pin the bottom of the curtains while they are still hanging. That way you can be sure that the finished bottom looks straight when they are hung up. You would be surprised how many windows there are out there that aren't perfectly straight and square. Save yourself some seam ripping and do this extra step.

I made these in my free time (with a little bit of child care help). Imagine all the things you could do in yours!

Polymer Clay

I'm having so much fun finding new mediums to craft with.

Today I'm going to discuss polymer clay.

I have used polymer clay in the past and had a lot of fun with it. In kindergarten, my best friend and I used to make all sorts of odds, ends, widgets, and other treasures with it when I'd go visit her house. I think I even still have a little pink pebble shaped lump that she gave me floating around my house somewhere.

The thing is, as a young child, polymer clay is cumbersome. You can't do it right unless there's an adult present and willing to run the baking portion of polymer clay treasure making. You could leave it and wait until and adult is ready, but kids want instant gratification! I was more of a do it on my own kind of kid. Plus my parents were always really busy. So I found other crafts to play around with and forgot about polymer clay.

That is, until a few days ago.

I picked up some polymer clay (Sculpey was the brand that I used) and my husband and I made some mushrooms for my terrarium.


I didn't have any varnish to seal them with so they haven't been put in the terrarium yet, but they look very nice on my windowsill next to my plants.

Some polymer clay making tips:

• Like many humans, I use my hands when grasping and shaping things. So because of this, most of my projects were "textured" with fingerprints. The fingerprints didn't bother me, but if they bother you then you can wear some gloves. Polymer clay tools may also be helpful.
• Some of the color on the clay will come off on your hands. This is significant if you roll up, say, some red clay and then go grabbing for the white. Soon your white will become pink! To avoid this, you should wash your hands between colors. At the very least work the lighter colors before moving to the darker colors if you don't feel like washing in the middle of your project.
• Large products may crack during the baking process. I didn't have this problem with the stuff that I made, but I've heard others talk about it being a problem. Apparently Sculpey makes a polymer clay that is supposed to be resistant to cracking like that, but I live in Interior Alaska and our craft stores don't seem to carry that version. At least I can't find it. Though I didn't really look that hard either--just a quick look over the polymer clay section at each of the 3 small stores in town.
• You can paint polymer clay. Not happy with the colors of your project? Only have white clay when you want to make a blue bird? No problem! Paint works great on these. I didn't paint mine, but it can be done.

In about 45 minutes, I made these mushrooms. Most of that time was spent sculpting.

These were made in my free time: imagine what you could do in yours!