Marie Skirt Completion!

My bubble skirt is complete!  I do like the final skirt but I think I would make some changes if I did it again.  First, I would probably do a smooth back similar to the Anthropologie skirt that inspired me to participate in this.  Not that I don't like the pleated back, I just think it might be more 'poof' than I'm used to.

Second, I would line it.  I don't normally line the projects I work on unless the information is in the original pattern.  I saw that the sew along was going to have lining, but I figured I'd skip that step.  Looking back, I might actually go back, rip out some seams and add lining.

Not a great photo. Was in a hurry to get to work.

I like the final shape of the skirt more than I thought I would.  It's fun, a little sassy, and I love the plaid fabric.  Overall a cute and easy project.

Even better, one of my co-workers told me I was 'looking awfully Scottish today.'  I think that was the best compliment I've ever received. ;)

Sweet Treats Saturday: Valentine Cookies

I wanted a fast an easy Valentine's themed cookie for my goodie bags that I am making for my co-workers and dance classes.  This recipe fit the bill - I ended up making two batches as they were so easy to put together.

I didn't end up doing the frosting as I wanted a cookie that I could throw into a treat bag.  I sprinkled each cookie with Valentine's colored sprinkles and called it a day!

The only variation that I made was that I ended up using a small cookie dough scoop to distribute the cookies as the first round that I did had spread considerably on the baking sheet and did not really hold the piped shape.  They were still delicious, but I thought it would be easier in the end and would give me a more uniform cookie size if I used the scoop.

I hope everyone has a sweet and Happy Valentine's Day weekend!

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays * Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * I Made This * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * The Trendy Treehouse * Tatertots & Jello * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge Friday

And the winner is...

Elle!  Congratulations on winning my first giveaway for a cupcake craft bag and some goodies.  I will be getting in contact with you for details.  The winning post was:

Elle said...

I'm just starting to knit, so this will be so cute... and useful!

Thank you to all who participated! I'm planning my next milestone giveaway and look forward to kicking it off.

The regularly scheduled Sweet Treats Saturday will be posted shortly. I'm furiously baking away.

Fabric distractions

While I've been waiting for the fabric to come in to begin the easier parts of my Spring palette wardrobe challenge, I'm wrapping up a few other projects I had lined up.  This includes:

1. The Marie Skirt: I'm happy to say that it is now complete! I just need to put together an outfit and take some pictures to show it off
2. Finishing up my knit cowl: So close! Maybe this weekend if I get some heavy tv watching in.
3. Busting through my stash!  This, my friends, is what I worked on tonight.

I had some extra fabric set aside that I had used as lining in my Rooibos dress.  I had just enough to reuse an Amy Butler pattern.  I had previously made the Lotus dress, but the pattern also came with the option to do a tunic and cami.  I had just enough fabric to whip together the Lotus cami.  I thought it would also be good practice in button construction as I will have quite a few to add in my Spring wardrobe.

The pattern has been flying along with the only hiccup coming in the installation of my last buttonhole.  Somehow I jammed my machine and am stuck seam ripping out the hole for the second time.  I don't mind (too much) as I still need to pick up buttons for the tunic, so I wasn't really in a hurry to finish it.

The buttonholes that didn't give me grief

I think I'll be able to pick up some buttons by the end of this week, and have this top all ready to wear after the weekend.  Additional good news: my fabrics have shipped! Fingers crossed that I get those before the weekend too, but I have enough projects to keep me busy if they don't.

Something old, something new... and a trip to Disneyland

No, this is not a wedding post, but I did pick up a few things during my vacation weekend in Southern California.  First, my friend gifted me a book of her grandmothers'.  I never would have known to pick this book up on my own, but it turned out to be an amazing gift!  It's the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework.  It's a crafter's dream!  It has every type of needlework that I've ever wondered about, including some great information about the few that I do.  I can't wait to try out some of the techniques on lacework and needlepoint, but along the same lines, it taught me some new techniques for the crochet project that I was working on this weekend.  I was gushing about the book all weekend and can't wait to spend more time pouring through it.

In addition, while shopping in downtown Orange, California, I found a cute store called the Heavenly Hostess.  They had some great items, and while I was there I stumbled upon the book Blogging for Bliss: Crafting Your Own Online Journal.  I've been reading a lot of blog and blogging articles recently to continuously improve What's Up Cupcake, so I was really excited to find this book.  Even more so when I found some of the blogs I already frequent in there such as Posie Gets Cosie and Angry Chicken.  I've learned some fun things already and am looking forward to applying them to the blog.

In addition to reading, I cranked out a new scarf based off of the previous Tea Scarf pattern that I made back in December.  I had some great yarn from Three Irish Girls that had been waiting to be used, and I knew this pattern would be perfect.  I'll detail my adjustments to the pattern below, but definitely check out the original pattern here.  I'm calling my variation the Sherbert scarf.  The colors alone make me want a scoop of rainbow sherbert, but I thought this tweaked version needed it's own name.

Sherbert Scarf
Chunky, worsted weight yarn.  I also used size 8mm crochet hook because I didn't have a 7mm on hand

Row 1: CO (ch) 140
Row 2: Ch 3 for turning chain, then DC into each base chain
Row 3&4: Ch 3 for turning chain, SC, DC into turning chain, then *DC, ch 1, DC; repeat from *in each chain around the scarf, ending where you began
Row 5: Ch 3 for turning chain, then DC into each base chain
Row 6&7: Repeat pattern from rows 3&4
Row 8: Ch 3 for turning chain, then DC into each base chain
Row 9: Ch 2 for turning chain, then Ch into each base chain

Weave in the ends.

And finally, what trip to Southern California is complete without a stop by Disneyland? During my craft shopping, I picked up a new copy of Cross-Stitch & Needlework as it featured some lovely St. Patrick's Day items. While hanging out at Disneyland, I spotted a small green display in honor of my favorite holiday, so I had to pick up one of their St. Patrick's Day Mickey's.  Isn't he cute?

So now you tell me - what are you favorite craft books or magazines? Anything you couldn't live without or can't wait to own?

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays * Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * I Made This * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * The Trendy Treehouse * Tatertots & Jello * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge Friday

Spring Palette Challenge

Now that I've started sewing again, I decided to set some goals for upcoming projects, starting with the Colette Patterns Spring Palette Challenge.  I thought it would be a good way to focus my sewing energy and upcoming projects by putting together the next round of garments that I want to make, as well as picking out the palette to work with.

Originally I had planned to stay with grey as the main color and then add accents such as green or pink.  Once I started pulling together the patterns that I wanted to make, I found that certain fabrics and patterns seemed to better suit them.  So, below I unveil my Spring challenge!  I am aiming for the 5 items, but depending on the difficulty level and time involved, I want to at least make 4.

I liked the idea of just doing two colors but possibly incorporate the grey through them.  That's where the floral prints come in.  Aside from that, stripes and polka dots are always a favorite and instantly made me think of Spring.

What do you think? What are your Spring craft or sewing plans?

Sweet Treats Saturday: Champagne Cupcakes

What better treat for Valentine's Day then some champagne cupcakes? When a friend showed me this recipe, I was instantly looking for an occasion to make it.

The cupcakes and pastry cream filling have a light champagne taste. I made a slight tweak to the frosting because I thought it was a little too sweet.  You can try either way and adjust it after you taste it.

The champagne combined with sour cream, and the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

The recipe can be found at the Sprinkle Bakes Blog.  My revised version of the frosting is below.

Just out of the oven.

The pastry cream filling. I carved out the filling with a spoon.

Champagne Cupcakes Frosting (Revised):
1 cup plus 1 tbsp champagne or prosecco
2 sticks of butter softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2  oz. cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla

Prepare frosting as in the original directions, but add the additional cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and vanilla.

Beautiful champagne cupcakes.

Also, I had plenty of the pastry cream filling for another batch of the cupcake batter.

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays * Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * I Made This * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * The Trendy Treehouse * Tatertots & Jello * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge Friday

Marie Skirt Sew Along Progress

I've been working on the Marie skirt sew along - for once actually close to on time with the sew along progress.  It's coming along really fast and luckily I didn't add pockets (it looks like there were some hiccups in the original plan to add pockets).

Assembled the pattern and ready to cutout the fabric

I just need to pickup a zipper but then I'll be ready to finish off the skirt and hem the bottom.

I still need to press the pleats

I really like the shape. I was worried about the 'bubble' aspect at the hips, but it's pretty cute.  I'm going away for the weekend (Disneyland!!!) but I'm hoping to pick up the zipper and finish it off next week.

First milestone and a giveaway!

What's Up, Cupcake? has reached its first major milestone... it has officially made 50 followers!  Thank you so much to all of my blog followers and loyal readers.

Now for achieving this milestone, I'd like to host my first giveaway.  Just a small token of my appreciation but I'm hoping that with each next milestone there will be bigger and better giveaway opportunities.

Here's what you can win:

A cute cupcake drawstring bag!  Perfect for storing needlework projects, makeup, etc. Made by moi.  I'll ship it to you and will throw in some extra goodies for fun.

Now, here are the rules.  You can enter up to five times:
1. Follow this blog. You can do this by clicking the 'Follow' button on the right side of the page.  Post a comment in response to this blog post letting me know. If you already follow, just post below and let me know.
2. Be a 'fan' of the blog on Facebook.  You can do this by clicking on the link to the right or by looking up What's Up Cupcake (the website) on Facebook.  You can add another post in response to this blog.
3. Tweet about the contest.  Provide a link to www.whatsupcupcakeblog.com.  Post a link to your Twitter account in response to this post.
4. Tell a friend about the blog.  If they also follow it, post another reply letting me know who you referred. Just a note: the more people that are referred, the sooner that we can have another giveaway!
5. Post a link to the contest on your blog.  Post a link to the post in the comments below.

Please don't post a reply more than five times, once for each of the options listed above.  I will pick the winner at random with a number generator.  The giveaway is open until next Friday, February 11th.  I'll announce the winner on the 12th.

In the loop

Just been working on a crochet project for a friends' upcoming birthday.  I love the yarn I'm using - Misti Alpaca Hand Painted lace. The color is gorgeous and it's wonderful to work with.  I'm using the Crocus Bud Shawl pattern again because I just loved it so much. It's fast and easy to put together.

 

My favorite part of this shawl is blocking it and seeing the pattern open up. This one may actually be more like a shawl in size because of the lace weight yarn.  I'll keep you posted. I'm flying down to Southern California this weekend for a Disneyland trip so hopefully I can finish this project up on the plane ride.

Sweet Treats Saturday: Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

As you can see, I'm on a cupcake roll.  Not only that, but I thought I would try something completely new. I love to bake, but there are a few things I haven't made yet for a few reasons:

1. Creme Brulee: I have a torch, but playing with fire scares me.
2. French macaroons: There's only so many steps I can take while making something, and the thought of making it look so uniform makes me grimace.
3. Meringue: a) That's a whole lot of egg whites, b) what do you do with all of those yolks? c) it's just intimidated me.

Well, I stumbled upon a lemon cupcake recipe the other day while surfing the Cake Journal blog that had a meringue frosting.  Normally I would have just substituted the frosting for another kind, but I was feeling gutsy, and had a lot of eggs in the fridge.

Lemon zest

Spring liners

The cupcakes were your standard vanilla cupcakes with a lemon full of fresh zest.  That was the easy part.  I baked them in some cute spring wrappers (it's a beautiful, sunny day in the California Bay Area), and started inching towards the eggs that were glaring at me.

The hubby separated all of the whites and yolks for me (I keep him around for things like this), and placed them in a cute little lemon bowl (to stay on theme of course).

Lemon bowl filled with egg whites.

Add a bucket load of sugar, some vanilla, and mix.  So far so good.  Now onto the scary part - the double broiler.  I've done this method for plenty of things but the thought of doing it for finicky eggs was a daunting task.  I made sure to keep the water at a simmer and stirred constantly.  I couldn't find my candy thermometer so I just eyeballed it to see when the sugar was dissolved.

Mixing bowl in a pot on the stove.

Afterwards, I reattached the bowl to my stand mixer and let it whisk on high for about 5 minutes.  The recipe said it could take up for 12 or more minutes, but mine made it to stiff peaks pretty fast.  And there it is. Beautiful, fluffy, marshmallow like, meringue frosting.

Meringue

I was so pleased with the results, and it made a ton! I definitely could have made a second batch of cupcakes and still had enough.

A beautiful cupcake on my new Crate and Barrel plate.

I piped some extra onto wax paper just to see how it would hold up.  Maybe a treat for later?

This post will be participating in the following Linky parties:

Making the World Cuter * Just Something I Whipped Up * Made by You Mondays * Sew Cute Tuesday * Talent Tuesday * I Made This * We Did It Wednesday * Hoo’s Got Talent * The Trendy Treehouse * Tatertots & Jello * Thrilling Thursday * It’s a Hodgepodge Friday

Featured Friend Friday! Veronica Darling

This month I'd like to introduce you to: Veronica Darling!  Another one of my favorite bloggers who not only makes gorgeous garments, but also always has amazing photos of her projects on her blog.  She is also one of the selected bloggers to participate in the Sew Weekly challenge where she will be sewing a garment for every week for the next year.  It's a great challenge that I'm envious she can keep up with.  Now I give you, Veronica Darling:

What inspires you?

To sew I need to think a lot about materials, about patterns and how it'll all go together, so I often find a lot of inspiration being in my (neat) sewing room looking at my fabrics or flicking through my vintage patterns. But in general I get inspired by conversations with my friends, by the newspaper, but stories, by things online, by everything really! I love print fabrics and I love vintage stylings, so any of those older things makes me happy!

What is your craft space like?

In the last 6 months we moved to Melbourne, and into a larger house with an even larger spare room that got to be my sewing room, and it wasn't really until this Christmas period where I ordered everything and made sure all my stuff was unpacked. As I work mainly with vintage or second hand materials, I have become a bit of a hoarder, but now I'm not cramped into the spare bedroom/book room/sewing room. My aim this year is to use only my stash, and try and avoid new things (even from the op shop) as much as possible. 

I love the suitcases in the back of the room!

Let us in on your stash... what’s coming, what’s in progress, what are you stumped with?

I always have a few projects and personal challenges on the go! I'm preparing for more of the Sew Weekly Challenge, where we are sewing a garment a week, all different garments, but with the same theme each week. I'm also planning on sewing up some darling vintage patterns that a pen pal, Amanda, sent me to test out for her. So hopefully more sewing!

Oh! I'm also in the middle of crocheting a massive king sized blanket for our bed, and I'd like to finish it before winter!

What is your favorite craft to work with? (Sewing, knitting, etc)

Totally sewing, I feel there's so much different creativity going on there and I feel I've got so much more to do with sewing before I master another craft completely. I'd love to draft my own patterns, like see a dress somewhere, and start to think exactly how to draft it. I rely a lot on vintage patterns for my styling, but I do feel limited that I can't break out of those restrictions.

What is your favorite thing that you’ve created so far?

For me, the last thing I make is always the fave, until I make the next one. I'm a bit in love still with this Chanel inspired dress I made last week, because I haven't worn it yet! It's my wedding anniversary next week, so hopefully I'll give it a whirl then!

Where can I read more? Etsy, Ravelry, Twitter, blog, etc.  (You don’t have to share all)

I'm Veronica Darling on everything! I'm addicted to social media, and have loved the craft world online, so if you search 'Veronica Darling Twitter' you'll sure to find me there (and Ravelry, Craftster, Burda Style, Tumblr, Pinterest, Etsy - although I don't have any things in my shop at the moment!)

But you can look at veronicadarling.blogspot.com as I daily update.

A warm winter treat...

It must be the Irish in me, but I absolutely love potatoes.  Ok, well I have no Irish in me, but that's further proof that I should.  I don't normally blog about non-Sweet Treat Saturday posts, but this was so yummy that I wanted to share.

I used four large russet potatoes for the soup.

Maybe it's the fact that it's winter, but I've been in the mood for some warm, hearty soups.  This past weekend I decided to act on that urge.  The only problem was that the weather was in the 70's, but that couldn't really stop me.  Smitten Kitchen had an irresistable sounding potato soup recipe, that also fit into my diet budget.  If my calculations are correct, it's only about 4 Weight Watchers points per serving (using light sour cream).  I just made a few changes to the recipe due to my own laziness/diet needs so I'm listing the revisions below.  


Potato Soup
By Smitten Kitchen

Serves 6

1 tablespoon of minced garlic (I didn't feel like using the whole garlic head per her recipe, but I'm sure it was delicious.  Maybe next time...)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts halved lengthwise, washed, and chopped small (Trader Joe's only had frozen chopped leeks so I used about a cup of them.
5 1/2 low-sodium vegetable broth (I didn't want it too thin but also, not too thick, so I went in between her measurements. Also used veggie broth as TJs didn't have a low sodium chicken broth in stock)
2 bay leaves
Salt (3/4 tsp and to taste)
2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (that was about 4 potatoes for me)
1/3 cup (light) sour cream
Ground black pepper to taste

The below recipe is Smitten Kitchen's with my comments added to any changes I made.

In a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add leeks and cook them until soft (but not brown), about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook another minute.Add the broth, bay leaves and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat and simmer about 30 minutes. 

The leeks from Trader Joe's before mincing.

My vegetable broth was very orange in color but still delicious.

Add potatoes and continue to simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Mine actually took about 30 minutes until they were tender.  Next time I may cut them smaller.

Ready to simmer the potatoes.

Discard bay leaves.  Add sour cream to soup and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust seasonings, adding more salt and pepper to taste. Using immersion blender, process soup until chunky-creamy, leaving lots of potato texture intact. (Alternatively, transfer a portion of the potatoes and broth to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.) I did the latter method as I didn't have an immersion blender.  I blended most of the soup in my blender but made sure to leave a few chunks of potato deliciousness.

Blending the soup. Spoonfuls at a time.

Mixed the blended soup together and ready to serve.
Almost like sweet potato soup in color because of the vegetable broth.

Voila!  A little time consuming but very easy to make.  My soup was pretty orange due to the color of the vegetable broth.  I didn't really need to add anything though I imagine bacon bits and some cheese would have even made it more incredible.  It was perfect just the way it was though.  Definitely going to add to my 'make again' recipe pile.

Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Color of the Year

So Pantone has announced their color of the year.  Having previously worked in a retail product development environment that had me living and breathing Pantone colors, I was interested in seeing what their idea is for 2011.

The color of the year is Honeysuckle which is a vibrant pink.  I actually like it - not sure how much I would incorporate it into my wardrobe, but I'm thinking it might make an appearance in my selection of colors for Colette's Spring Palette challenge.

In Stitches

I've been doing a bit of cross stitch, knitting and crochet recently. While you can spend hours cross stitch and not have a lot to show for it, I have made a bit of progress on my Baa Baa Black Sheep pattern.

4 sheep down, 5 to go!

I've also been working on another cowl, this time knit.  It's the Gap-tastic cowl pattern on Ravelry.  It's essential a seed stitch cowl just worked in the round.  Super easy and mindless knitting. I'm over half way done with it and can't wait to see the final results.  Especially because this yarn had previously been tied up on another project that just wasn't coming together like I wanted it to.  I finally decided to scrap it and create another cowl that I could put to use instantly.

Knit one, purl one, over, and over, and over...

Annnnnd... I'm Back!

First of all, please let me apologize for the radio silence.  I have a few excuses:

- Part of my new years resolutions also included focusing more on Irish dance.  This has inched into my sewing time a bit. I just need to manage my time (and energy) a bit more.
- My sewing machine has been giving me grief. I thought I was going to have to take it in for a tune-up, but after reading a blog post from Freckled Whimsy, I thought changing the needle might be a good place to start before I forked over my money (and my machine) to the shop.  It worked! So far my machine hasn't given me any grief (knock on wood) since I changed the needle.  Before it was skipping stitches and getting jammed constantly, but now it seems to be back to normal. Whew!
- Because my machine has been out of commission, I've been doing a lot of hand needlecrafts. I needed a friend to remind me that my blog isn't just about sewing, but crafting in general. So I'll be sure to update you on those projects too.

Now let me get back to my projects.  I finished our new duvet cover and I'm so happy with the results!  I love the color combination and it fits our bedroom perfectly.  Here are some pictures of the final product:

I didn't end up using the Amy Butler pattern at all, but just did a free form duvet.  I used ribbons to tie the cover shut, and to tie the comforter inside the duvet.

I love the main fabric design!

Hope you like it! Stay tuned this week for more project updates on a Featured Friend Friday!