Home Renovations: The Bedroom

I recently moved into a new house and I've done A LOT of renovations.  I'm going to start my renovation recap with one of the bedrooms.  I was inspired by an etsy treasury I created sometime last year that featured carnival colors and circus staples.  For my color palette, I wanted to go with the bright pastels you see on carnival rides:  sea green, hot pink and baby pink, and pale yellow.

To recreate the theme, I used a base coat of Valspar's Mermaid's Song, and created a trim in Valspar's Hot Passion Pink.  The trim was easy and relatively mess free.  I think it took me about two hours to complete the entire border.  I chose a damask pattern I found at Michael's.  My only complaint is that once I saw it on the walls, I wanted to paint it everywhere.  Once I find a crafty idea I like, I sprint with it!

I wanted something really cool for the walls, and I found an etsy seller that matched my aesthetic perfectly.  Eyeshuttertoforget sells amazing vintage-inspired prints that are beautiful, whimsical, calming, and nostalgic, all at the same time.  I love the subject and the colors.

                                                                                                   

I wanted the prints to make a statement, so I chose three 16x20 photographs.  Deciding which three I wanted was so difficult; there are so many fabulous prints to choose from!  I finally decided on the three above.  I bought silver poster frames on sale at Michael's, and I used hot pink spray paint on plain cardboard to make the mat. 

I absolutely adore all the prints.  They arrived super quickly and in perfect condition.  The seller even sent along a little 5x7 freebie of a merry-go-round horse.  I love everything from this shop and I definitely want to get more photographs.  

I added a fun and sparkly vase with glittered flowers to complement the pictures.  The vase is an empty wine bottle from World Market, and the flowers are from Michael's - I edged the them in glue and sprinkled them with glitter. 
 

Also complementing the theme are pieces of hard candy made from glass that I inherited from my grandma.  The cabinet is my most prized possession - my amazingly talented significant other made it for me for Valentine's Day a couple of years ago.  

He designed and constructed the entire piece completely by hand.  I am encouraging him to do some pieces for his etsy shop WhiskeyBent; right now he sells hand-tooled leather flasks that he literally cannot keep in stock.  I also made my own decoupaged light switch plates to match the decor.  Tutorial coming in the next post! (Yeah, I know - he can make an entire piece of furniture from scratch and I can decoupage...life is so not fair).  

.Love.

Rachel

Cupcakes!

I have never had a cupcake better than those from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  I'm serious - not only will your cupcakes be beautifully party-ready, as soon as anyone takes a bite, all you will hear is "mmmmhmmm."  I took the Coconut Lime Cupcakes (pg. 107) to a faculty luncheon at my school, and everyone went crazy for them.  The best thing about this book is that the cupcakes are made to impress in both design and flavor.  This is probably my #1 favorite cookbook, and it should be a staple on every dessert-lover's shelf.

The recipes are simple and delicious.  Many of the recipes use similar ingredients, so once you purchase those staples, you're good to go for a variety of different recipes.  Admittedly, some of the ingredients are not going to be in your pantry to begin with, but I've had no trouble finding them at Earth Fare.  If you've got a health food store in your area, you're golden, but even if you don't, many of the odder ingredients can be substituted for something else.    

These were the among the first cupcakes I made from the book.  To the left are Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemony Frosting.  I used the Lemony Buttercream frosting and added a bit of lemon zest for decoration.  They were soooo good - spicy and sweet, perfect for the holidays.  To the right are the Maple Cupcakes with Creamy Maple Frosting and Sugared Walnuts.  I loved the nutty flavor combined with the maple, but the frosting was not my favorite.  Other people loved it, but I thought the soy milk powder gave it an odd flavor and a downright icky texture.  If I were to do them again, I would use the simple buttercream recipe and add a dollop of maple syrup to that recipe.  On the plus side, the sugared walnuts were so good, my family ate half of them before they even made it on the cupcakes!


I turned to this book again when I was put in charge of my friend's bridal shower.  To the left is my favorite so far - the Mucho Margarita Cupcake.  I did them in a hurry, so they look a mess,  but they were amazing.  Something about the salt in the icing just works with the sweetness of the cupcake and the flavor of the tequila; plus, they've got just the right amount of novelty for Cinco de Mayo or a 21st birthday party.  I especially love the colorful rim of sugar around the edge!  I also made Green Tea Cupcakes with Green Tea Glaze and Almond Flowers (on the right).  They looked so lovely, especially for a bridal shower, but the flavor was so-so.  Part of that was my fault - the recipe called for matcha green tea powder, which I couldn't find anywhere, so I used regular green tea powder instead.  Big mistake.  The cupcakes turned golden brown instead of light green, and they tasted like fake sweetener.  I wouldn't recommend this recipe because the ingredients are a pain to find, and it calls for a lot of things most people don't have in the pantry and will never use again (I'm looking at you, $6 tube of vegan marzipan!).

Another of my favorites is the Crimson Velvet Cupcakes with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting.  Here is my recipe (adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World):


Cupcakes:
1 C Almond Milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C sugar
1 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C canola oil
1 tbs red food coloring (make sure it does not contain carmine)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp Chocolate Almondine flavor (or similar chocolate flavoring)


1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin.
2. Mix the almond milk and vinegar in a medium bowl - you'll use this later.
3.  Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4.  Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the almond milk concoction.
5.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing well.  Add more food coloring if necessary, though I don't care for an overly red cake.
6.  Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake 20-22 minutes, depending on your oven.  They took 22 minutes in mine.  Cool completely.


Frosting: 
1/4 C Earth Balance
1/2 C Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cream Cheese
2 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract


1.  Combine all ingredients using a mixer.  Make sure the Earth Balance and cream cheese are at room temperature before mixing.
2.  Place frosting in the refrigerator to cool.
3.  Pipe onto cupcakes.

Enjoy!
.Love.
Rachel

Feature Fest

The kiva team over at etsy is having a feature fest to spread the word about all of our wonderful members.  

All of the members of the kiva team loan at kiva.org, a microlending site where anyone can make a small loan to an entrepreneur anywhere in the world.  Those small (starting at $25) loans make a huge difference in the lives of the business owner, their families, and their communities!

I decided to feature thesquarepeg, partly because I love her name and her fun and whimsical picture!

I wanted to get to know her better, and I thought you would too!  Thesquarepeg is Cathi Newlin, an artist experienced and trained in a variety of media, who is now using her talents to produce lovely Japanese inspired ceramic pieces.  Her art has been a developing process in technique and style.  

I can honestly say that my ceramic work is only now being informed by my 2 dimensional training. I spent so much time trying for that perfectly thrown, utterly symmetric bowl, that I was very tight and narrowly focused.

Now, I'm comfortable enough with my skills, and influenced by other potters' work enough to bring some looseness and fluidity into my clay - its becoming less like rendering and more like life drawing at a big ol' easel.

Her functional pieces have a lovely calming and natural aesthetic, with muted colors and organic shapes.  Any kitchen lucky enough to have one of Cathi's pieces gains a tranquil and creative addition.  Cathi hopes that her pieces become integrated into people's everyday lives.

I hope my customers get from my pieces something that they *want* to use well and often. I love fine art, and its in my blood, but the thought of someone using one of my pieces as an everyday item - as part of their every day life, well, holy cow that's awesome!

Cathi is very thankful to everyone who has appreciated her art and supported thesquarepeg

First, to anyone who's ever plopped down hard-earned cash for something I made, thank you. I'm still amazed every time someone does that!

If you decide to plop down that hard-earned cash at the squarepeg, know that Cathi supports 2 wonderful causes.  First, kiva.org 

As we ask every member of the kiva team, why do you loan?

I'm a fortunate soul - I'm a white woman born and raised in the richest nation on Earth. I have the luxury to own pets, call my art my vocation, read a book and watch my children grow old. Kiva is, in my opinion, the best way for me to be an active part of a global village. EVERYONE should be able to feed and educate their children. The world becomes a better place for everyone when there is less poverty, more education and stronger communities.
And since I'm not wealthy by any means, Kiva is the best bang for the buck ;)

Cathi also supports another cause that you know we love, dog rescue!  
my other conviction - purebred dog rescue. I've been active in Boxer rescue for more than 15 years.
You see a few items in my pottery shop from which money is donated to the cause, and in my photography shop (theSquarePegToo), 20% of all sales are donated.
And no matter what your pet, you can help the cause too just by neutering your pet.

Two wonderful causes, from a great talent.  You can purchase ceramic pieces from Cathi at thesquarepeg

Handmade Laundry Detergent

I hate buying laundry detergent because it's incredibly expensive, especially if you get the good stuff without the nasty ingredients and fragrances.  I've been playing around with the idea of making my own detergent, and I finally took the plunge.  It's actually quite simply and amazingly cost effective.  There are only three ingredients - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, Borax, and soap.  I used my own unscented cold process soap I made back in January.  Even if you have to buy the soap, your total cost could be around $8, and this makes a lot of detergent: I would estimate about 100 loads.  Plus, you'll have tons of washing soda and borax left over for your next batch.

Ingredients:  

1 cup Arm&Hammer Washing Soda $2.50/3.9 lbs

1 cup Borax $3/4.75 lbs

2 cups Cold Process Soap* $2.50/~4.5oz

1 tsp Essential oil or fragrance oil (optional)

*When choosing your cold process soap, make sure it's vegan and doesn't contain tallow or lard.  You don't need conditioning oils, so look instead for cleansing oils like coconut oil and palm kernel oil.  

Step 1:  Grate your cold process soap.  I used the medium grade so that the soap didn't get stuck in the tinier grates.

Go ahead and use up the whole bar.  You should have approximately 2 packed cups - if the measurement varies a little bit, that's okay.

Step 2:  Add the curly, grated soap bits of soap to a food processor.  

I don't think this step is completely necessary, but it will ensure that the soap dissolves easily in your washing machine.  It does turn the soap into smaller bits that mix better with your other ingredients.  I also added a bit of the washing soda so that the soap wouldn't stick together as it was getting shredded.

Step 3:  Mix your 2 cups soap bits with 1 cup of A&H Super Washing Soda and 1 cup Borax.  If you would like to add fragrance, add 1 tsp essential oil or fragrance oil by droplets to the mixture.  I recommend mixing in a large, lidded container.  I used a 1 gallon container with a snap top.  All you have to do is shake it to mix.  If you don't have something similar, you can always stir the ingredients in a large bowl. 

Step 4:  You're done! Use 2-3 tablespoons per load.  I've also heard you can use vinegar in the rinse cycle as a fabric softener, but I've never tried it.  Let me know how your detergent works, if you have a different recipe, or if you've got other laundry tips to share : )  Enjoy!

Rachel

Giveaway Winner!

Our giveaway ended Monday, and the winner is Chandler, commenter #33.  Chandler was picked using a random number generator.

Chandler has won her choice of yummy treats from ajoeynamedroo.  Thank you to everyone who entered; we truly appreciate all your support.  Stay tuned for more giveaways and tutorials, and in the meantime.....

.Love.

Rachel