As promised...

Well, here it is, my latest cake creation. I made it for Chelsea's birthday. I used fondant icing bought from the store. The white was incredibly hard to work with. It took so much time to roll it out. The colored fondant was much easier to handle. I am not a huge fan of how it tastes either. Well, not so much the taste as the texture. It is kinda gummy. Again, the colored was better than the white. I think it turned out halfway cute. I am not excited about using the rest of the white though.
My next cake creation I hope to make on Tuesday night. Harvest cupcakes.....mmmmm.

It fits!

This is Bennett Speck the baby that I made the hats for that were in an earlier blog (August 21st "Praying For Bennett.") And here he is in the hat!!!! There is even a comment made about the picture, that is on Bennett's website, that mentions the hat :). Kelly said Bennett wore it home from the hospital too. Just thought I'd share. Below is one from a different angle.

I think my next post will have pictures of my newest cake creation. It was cute, but not the tastiest. I'll explain later.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

It may seem a silly question, after all I am 31. I have a degree, and a good job. So why am I asking this question? Well, because I don't want to teach for 30 years. I am tired of ungrateful kids that have more rights than I do. There are so many of them. They know I can't make them do anything they don't want to do and I really can't stop them from doing whatever they want to do. I give up. Nope, can't do it.
But what can I do? I have thought about grad school, getting my Masters in Educational Leadership. That would put me on an administrative track. But I would still be dealing with unappreciative kids. I could change subjects but I would still be stuck with the same problem. Then there is the Accelerated Degree program to get on the fast track to becoming a Registered Nurse. I don't have many classes that I would have to take before going right into the main courses. Problem is the two Universities in this area that offer it are George Washington and Marymount....only two of the most expensive universities in the area. I haven't fully explored this option though and I know that nursing is a great field and the shortage is only getting worse.
Then I have thought about just getting a job that I need a degree for. I hear there are government jobs like that. I don't know what those are or if they really do exist. (I'm even willing to learn Arabic....that should be a plus, right?)
All I know is I feel stuck. I hate feeling stuck.

C is for Cookie

I made these cupcakes for a cakewalk at church 2 weekends ago. I made 3 sets of 6 and they were the first 3 to go that afternoon! Here are step by step pictures...
I used icing made from Crisco, powdered sugar and water, tinted with royal blue icing. To get the furry effect I used the leaf tip. I left a space for the eyes on some but not on others. It doesn't matter really.Using the large round tip I added the whites of his eyes. Be sure not to let it peak but let it be flatter on top.

I tinted a small amount of icing black. Using the small round tip I made the eyes and the mouth. Don't worry too much about filling it in all the way. You'll see why in a minute. The one thing I did mess up here was eye placement. I should have put them more on the inside with one up and one down (more googley.)

To finish off the cupcakes place a mini Chips Ahoy cookie in his mouth. You can also crumble one up. I didn't think of that till later though. The 100 calorie Chips Ahoy might also be good to use.

They really were that simple to make. Didn't take a lot of time either. You could use chocolate icing instead of the black and even use upside down chocolate chips for the eyes.

I think I am going to try Oscar the Grouch next :)!

Oh all the YARN!!!! (with pictures)

The field trip to Raphine, VA was a success! It was a beautiful day and the drive was wonderful. The only complaint was that the trees weren't dawning their full fall colors just yet. The yarn shop (Orchardside) was so quaint and had TONS of yarn! The lady was very helpful and we used her expertise quite a bit today. But, we rewarded her well by spending a good bit of money in her shop. I finally got the merino wool for the tunic I have been wanting to make. I am so excited! I also got some yarn for a baby sweater I want to knit. And no, I don't really know how to knit just yet. We all found something we "needed" and each left there with a bag in hand.
On the way there we had passed the Apple Butter Festival which we all agreed to stop by on our way back. It was a small festival but had some really neat things. It was held at a mill. We talked to the owner and found out he and his wife bought it 16 years ago...knowing nothing about a mill. They were just tired of the city life and decided to do something else. That idea in itself deserves a blog of its own! The Amish were there selling things. I bought something very non-Amish from them but I can't post what it was since it is a Christmas present for someone in my family.
Then there was an herb farm with a great little shop and wonderful gardens to walk through.
I think we should take a field trip once a quarter! I have already started looking up places to take our next one!!

Ashley, Pam, Virgina, and me outside the Orchardside Yarn Shop.

A blacksmith at work.

A little Bluegrass band. They played In The Jail House Now and I knew it after about 3 notes :)

What is Pam gnawing on??? Actually, she's biting open a chestnut :).
Just down the driveway from the mill is the Herb Farm.
Here we are walking in the herb gardens. They were beautiful!
Our day was done. Time to go home. But not without one more look back at the "simple life."

FIELD TRIP!!!!

Today my Stitch and "Itch" are going on a field trip! We are heading down to Raphine, Va to a yarn shop. I have to admit, I haven't finished anything recently. Those baby hats are the last thing I completed. I made one for my great nephew which I didn't take a picture of...yet. I still have it. I'll try to get one of those posted. I am working on a blanket right now. It is all single crochet so it is super simple but can get a bit boring. I am making pretty good strides on it though. I am making it my house sitting project. I work on it mainly when I am house sitting. That will be 4 weekends in November so I should get pretty far on it. (I think I will take it on the field trip too. It should be a good car project :))
Of course I need to be sewing too. I am almost done with another tote bag. I have to change something about it though. (Mom, I might be calling you!)
I'll have pictures of our field trip in a blog coming soon. Till then...

Officially OLD

Well, I am a great aunt. I think that means I am officially old. It of course reminds me that I myself am not married and have no children. (Although I have no idea where I would fit an husband and children into my schedule at this point in my life.)
I think I am also officially insane. My principal has asked me to be what amounts to be a teacher's aide in a math class. It is taking one of my planning times which amounts to 4.25 hours a week. While I will get paid for it, I have a feeling I will miss my planning time. The group of students in this class is unreal. I have no idea what guidance was smoking when they decided to put them all in one class. No wonder the teacher needs help. Just when I thought things were finally calming down on the work front. Oh well!