Creative Crafter

So here is my second cupcake layout of our California trip. We visited alot of cupcakeries and this was definitely a favourite of mine - Yummy cupcakes in Santa Monica, we tried popcorn cupcakes, chocolate & coconut cupcakes and rootbeer frosting shots - my favourite flavours and they tasted spot on! They had so many flavours to choose from and even sold cupcakes made in a jar!

I think the page still needs something in the top right hand corner and my journalling was done in a light green pen which doesn't really show up so might change this!

I've also spent this weekend wrapping presents and I couldn't wait to make some pom poms following the simple tutorial video on this blog

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/home/2011/11/30/5-minuted-diy-yarn-pom-poms-how-to-video.html



All you need is some wool, sharp scissors and your hand! I love how easy they are to make and they look really effective as a decorative touch on christmas presents - my favourite part is when you have to give them a haircut!!

So Mel was right one of the highlights of Arne's trip was when we filled up with petrol and he got the squidgee out to clean the windows - look at that pure enjoyment on his face! This was the number plate on our hire car, I got lots of pics of number plates and that's another story! (and page..)

I made this page to show a selection of the places, activities & food that we enjoyed (or in the case of the apples talked about enjoying but never actually did!) In the middle I stitched the square in place and inside I am going to have little journalling cards about what's in each square... coming next a road trip page and the highlight of Arne's trip!

This double layout about our trip to jelly belly factory took quite a while, I wanted the mural to run all along the bottom but my pics didn't quite match/line up so I had to do a bit of chopping and piecing together!








The other layout is my version of our santa monica pier pics on the forrest gump bench!

The latest of my california scrap pages. I don't think Mel can accuse me of copying her 'big breakfast' layout, just the title but great minds think alike!

Here is a quick peak at some of my California pages, pics aren't great but you can get the idea! Nearly finished a page about Zuni as well.. x

I wanted to participate in the scrapping the music challenge and decided to use the lyric 'just hanging' with this picture of me and a group of friends taken after we'd just completed the crocky trail in Chester. It is an outdoor assault course which has rope swings, hamster wheels, mazes, cargo nets and is sooo much fun! You always go away at the end covered in mud and usually soaking wet so its not for the faint hearted! This picture was the first time I'd been and I fell off a rope swing into the water and had to be fished out!





I wanted this page to capture the mood of the crocky trail which is crazy fun, splattered mud and being outdoors. I punched out a cork flower for the centre of my flower in the top left. I splattered lots of paint and cut out a splat from sticky shimmery foil. I wrote the journalling in gold pen and then highlighted key words in green to tell the story.



I am so excited because I haven't been to the crocky trail for about 7 years but me, my sisters and their husbands are all planning to go over the easter bank holiday weekend, I can just imagine how much fun we will have and how dirty we will get! can't wait!

I recently came across lots of family photos of me and my sisters when we were younger. I liked this professional shot of the three of us (missing my youngest sister Gem!)

I decided to use the sketchy thursdays design for May guest designer.
I was a bit worried about spattering the paint, but luckily it worked really well (I made sure I did this bit first before I added any embellishments or photos!) and I was enjoying myself so much I decided to paint the edges of the heart doily too!



I used my new border punch for the top strips which was a bargain from the QVC outlet shop in shrewsbury (£2.99!) This is my favourite shop of all time because you can always find scrapbooking bargains and is the reason why all my stash could easily fill a room!

I made the title using a resist ink embossing technique but think its a bit glitter heavy in places :)



This layout is fitting because I've spent the day watching girly chick flicks which me and my sisters love doing together, no matter how many times I watch 'love actually' it still gets me! I love the colin firth story line best!

I have been really inspired to scrapbook today by a new magazine I got called Scrapbooks etc.... Normally I just flick through scrapbook magazines but never end up taking much from them, but from the first page to the last I wanted to try every idea! As soon as I got home I got busy making all the different flower ideas. There are also lots of good ideas for using misting inks that I want to try, I love this magazine and will definitely be buying it every month now I've found somewhere that stocks it.





This is a page that I've been working on based on the sketchy thursdays sketch using pictures of when me and Mel went to a concert in Manchester and ended up not being able to find where we'd parked the car and spent about 3 hours walking round Manchester until we found it with some help! It was definitely a memorable evening! I did the jounalling in a hidden circle that can be pulled out.

This is a post of firsts, the results of my first scrapbooking session since moving into my new bigger place and first time I tried to crop pictures using paint. I'm loving having more space to scrap in but think I need ALOT more practice with photo editing!!

I used this weeks sketchy thursdays design as inspiration for the snow fun page...



Unfortunately I also learnt for the first time you can't press the back key on blogger (without losing everything) :( so this is the second time I have written this post!

I thought this page went well with this months stuck sketches design, but I flipped the ribbon detail and title. I used the circle theme to include some quotes on sisters. My favourite one is the cookie one! It fits well with our family since we all love baking so can really appreciate how important chocolate chips are to a cookie! The picture was taken two christmases ago when we had such a fun time playing in the snow in a field near our house and even my parents joined in the sledging!

This weeks sketchy thursdays layout helped me to scrap these pictures of the fun day me, my sister and brother in law had kayaking in Turks & Caicos, because I had so many pictures and wanted to use them all i thought i would turn it into a double layout!

I thought these pictures went perfectly with this weeks sketchy thursdays layout. They were taken just before christmas in Covent Garden, at a kissmas tree. You both had to hold onto a strap and then kiss under the mistletoe and this action caused all the lights on the tree to come on!



This is another layout I completed this week, me and my sister Gem went to a cool American diner place when I was visting her in Turks & Caicos, we got some delicious fruit smoothies and the biggest helping of pancakes ever! I had banana and walnut and she had chocolate chip, they were really good!

I used this weeks sketchy thursdays layout design for this page. I am finding I am getting so much more scrapping done since playing along! The pictures were taken in Rotterdam, Holland along their equivalent of the Hollywood star boulevard. We had fun looking at who all the handprints belonged to but not sure if they were all authentic!



I liked the way my tag came out, it started as a clothes label from a top I bought in oasis! And I added a shiny star to the boulevard sign in the photo. Whenever I take photos of my scrapbook pages you seem to be able to see all the smudges and fingerprints i've got on the photos, maybe next time I should wear gloves!



I better go now or I'll miss my train to Leeds! I'm looking forward to a weekend of fun with my sister involving cupcakes, chick flicks and JLS!...

my page is based on this weeks sketchy thursday design

I was looking forward to scrapping these pics of the night we had a fire at the beach on my recent trip to Turks & caicos. By was preparing the sticks for the fire and he asked me and Gem to collect some conch shells. I thought it was for some technical reason but it was just to decorate around the fire!- it definitely added something to the event. We were planning to have smores and I've never had them before. I didn't think I'd like them too much as I'm not a big fan of marshmallows but once its toasted inbetween a graham cracker and some melted milk chocolate (we even tried mint aero which was yum!) it becomes quite attractive! We had such a fun night and I love the picture of us by the title - where you can see our backs round the fire - it looks like we are attending a seance!

I decided to make some mini cupcakes to take to church tomorrow for a visiting teaching get together we are having. I was put in charge of bringing desserts so I'm taking cheesecakes from work but also wanted to make something and then I was planning to take some to FHE the following night. I used the 'love bakery' book and was going to make the Chocolate oreo ones and the banana ones..

First up the oreo chocolate cupcakes. Sainsburys had run out of buttermilk so I substituted it for yoghurt and i didn't want to use white wine vinegar so i substituted it for rice vinegar. I was using my cute new scales I got from my mum at christmas.



When I added the vinegar i got a cool chemical reaction with the baking powder! But I was a bit worried when I tried the batter as it tasted really strong of vinegar!



I got this mini cupcake pan today from John lewis reduced to £12 instead of £20 (my staying in the house all day lasted till 3, then i got a bus to find a craft/home shop my sister had told me about and ended up at Brent cross!) And I was pleased to try out my new mini martha stewart cases.



The batter was supposed to make 12 regular cupcakes but I got 35 minis! So I think the banana cupcakes are going to have to wait for another time or I'll be over run with cupcakes! When I took them out the oven, I couldn't wait to try one to see what it tasted like and luckily it didn't taste of vinegar anymore it just gives it a slight tang combined with the yoghurt and they are so moist.



Oreo cupcakes

60g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
1 egg
20g cocoa powder (sifted)
150g plain flour
140ml buttermilk (I used plain yoghurt)
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
4 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Frosting

2 oreo biscuits (I used mint ones)
40g unsalted butter
85g full fat cream cheese
250g icing sugar (sifted)

Method

1)Pre-heat the oven to 180.
2)Add the butter and caster sugar to the elctric mixer and cream together for 7 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
3)Add the egg and mix for 1 minute
4)Add the cocoa powder and mix for 2 minutes, and then ass the flour and buttermilk and mix for 2 minutes. Add the baking powder and vinegar and mix for a further 2 minutes.
5)Divide the mixture evenly between the cases. Bake for 25 minutes (12-15 for minis)
Remove from the oven and leave to cool

For the frosting..

1)Crush the oreo biscuits with a rolling pin until you have biscuit crumbs.
2)Cream the butter and cream cheese together in the mixer for 2 minutes.
3)Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Use a tablespoon to fold in the biscuit crumbs.



The frosting was yummy with the mint oreo and the crumbs look good swirled through the white. But if I was making these again I think I need to find a better replacement for white wine vinegar as I think the rice vinegar gives too much of a tang! Unless they are supposed to be like that....