Creative Dawn

After a recent trip to Goodwill I got quite a few wooden plaque type items, so my options were open as far as 'canvases' for my ideas.   You need to be able to look past what the item is to truly be creative.  Souvenir spoon racks and wooden calendars are perfect once you remove the display parts.  Lately I just want to paint everything I can get my creative little hands on.  Luckily inspiration is overflowing right now too!  This is a cool idea and would also make a great gift for any cook/baker out there.  We all have our go to recipes but usually need a quick reminder about quantities and cook time.  Why not paint the recipe basics and hang them in a convenient spot in the kitchen?  The one on the right painting is just a pretty design created from a spoon display.

Wow!  What a day!  Worked over 10 hours, came home and my husband made dinner, yeah!  Then had to bake cupcakes for my stepson's grad party tomorrow and make a card and work on a few other things.  I am sooo tired now.  Tomorrow, I work at 6 am then come home pack up the truck and head to the party 45 minutes away.  What that means is a soon as we get home, it is bed time for me.  Right now my eyelids are getting heavy.  So, here are the pictures for today.  A card to go with the gift made yesterday and many cupcakes. Sleep tight y'all!

The other day I posted some felt items, one of them being this cupcake design.  Since then it has been finished and is now a fun and colorful pillow top.  It is so bright and cheery and is reminiscent of an Andy Warhol print.  Working with bright colors is a favorite of mine, the more color the better.  Today was also a baking day.  A few days ago I purchased some zucchini and today it was made into bread.  Patterns and recipes are both things that to me are guidelines so the recipe was altered to work with the ingredients that were on hand and I didn't feel like going to the store.  The recipe ended up as zucchini carrot bread and it is sooooo gooood!  It is posted below if you want to try it. Zucchini Carrot Bread 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 3/4 tsp nutmeg 1/4 tsp allspice 1/4 tsp ginger 3 cups flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 tbls vanilla 3 eggs 8 oz can of carrots blended and pur...

Yesterday, my sister in law sent me a text message about my niece wanting to paint and bake with me today.  No problem!  I didn't have to work and it's fun having kids around the house.  I actually ended up with my niece and a friend of hers they are both great kids and awesome little helpers.  First they put on aprons and then got started.  The first thing we did was make chocolate chip cookies and once they were in the oven the girls painted.  They came up periodically to scoop a new batch or to take the finished ones off of the cookie sheet.  They resumed painting and after a while wanted to bake more so we made banana bread.  I think they had fun and I enjoyed having them here.  I am posting some of their work and also a small painting that I recently did.    ;)

I had planned a different post for today, but it didn't work out so I had a change in plans.  I two things for today bread and painting. First item beer bread, YUMMY!  At my local liquor store you can pick your six pack of beer from a variety of micro brews.  They provide an empty holder for you.  After the first time that I purchased some great beers for my husband (he loves to sample different styles), I noticed a recipe on the side of the box.  It sounded easy so yesterday I made it to go with the jambalaya that was simmering in the crock pot.  The aromas in my home were awesome!  The recipe calls for 12 oz. of beer, 3/4 cups of brown sugar and three cups of self rising flour.  You start by greasing a loaf pan and preheating the oven to 375.  Next, beat together the beer and sugar then gradually stir in the flour.  Pour it into the pan and brush the top with melted butter.  Bake for about 55 minutes and serve....

Today was a day of getting things done.  Cleaning, cooking, baking and errands, whew tired now!  I was just going to make some banana bread, but half way through that I decided to make some peanut butter cookies, my favorite.  My banana bread recipe is from the mother of an ex-boyfriend.  I love making it and the house smells so wonderful afterwords.  There are quite a few cookie recipes that I use, but today instead of making a traditional peanut butter cookie with the criss-cross top I added peanut butter chips.  Wow are they good, I had four!  Yummy for the the tummy, but not so good for the waistline. The painting here is large.  Normally I don't get to paint pictures this size because the materials are a bit more than my budget allows, but this was free, the best price of all.  It is about 3 feet by 4 feet, the wood isn't cut perfectly so if you look close you can see the border is uneven.  The paisley shape just seemed like a g...

Today, I was in a baking mood.  I just love to bake it can be so relaxing.  The only bad thing is that my husband doesn't eat sweets at all which is bad for my waistline.  The good thing is that I can bring them to work.  In my past job, all of my friends in the kitchen looked forward to my treats, hopefully the new job will have lots of baked goods lovers too.  I had all of the ingredients for oatmeal cookies except for raisins.  I scoured my recipe books and came up with a basic recipe and instead of the raisins that were called for I added peanut butter chips.  I added a little extra sweetness once the cookies were cooked.  I had small bits of both white and dark chocolate chips.  After melting them down in the microwave, I spread the chocolate on the tops of the cookies and let them cool and harden.  YUMMY!  So, tomorrow see if the new coworkers appreciate my treats.  Wish me luck!

Today  we are celebrating my stepsons 18th birthday.  As I have mentioned in the past, money is tight so I made a cake.  An awesome Jello poke cake!  If you have never tried one you should they are great.  You make a basic white cake and let it cool once it is, use a fork or skewer and poke holes all over the cake.  Make some Jello and using one cup of boiling water and a half cup of cold.  Once it is dissolved, pour it over the cake and let it chill and set then top it with whipped topping and serve.  YUM!  Check out the Betty Crocker website if you have any questions. I also drew a sign to put on the cake since you can't really decorate it.  There is also a banner that I made to hang up.   Simple and budget friendly ideas that still make a great celebration.  It's not how much money you spend it's how much time you spend together that matters.

  This little trio of trees came in a bundle from the thrift store for a total of 1.19.  They were so cute, I had to get them.  I decided to paint them to look like Christmas cookies.  It was a quick project and they will look adorable on the kitchen counter.  What next?  My staff loves it when I bake and lately, I have been getting requests for cookies at least once a week.  An awesome cook asked me to please bring him cookies any kind, so I got some white chips and made chocolate cookies.  The chips make them look like polka dots so that's why I called them Polka Dot Cookies.  The recipe is from the white chips bag, but I added a little something extra this time, just a touch of cayenne pepper.  They are not spicy at all, but you do get a hint of the flavor and chocolate and spice are a great combo!  Lastly, since I had to make cookies anyways, I set a few aside for my mother in law.  Friday, she had to put her beloved...

Did everyone eat way too much today?  I did!  Every year, I am assigned the job of bringing rolls for Thanksgiving regardless of whether it is my family or my husbands.  I really can cook, but one year I made these rolls and now that is all anyone wants me to bring.  They are not from scratch, just frozen rolls, but I season them a bit.  I melt butter, add basil, oregano, garlic salt and Parmesan cheese.  It can't be fresh cheese it has to be the one in the green can, it's a texture thing.  After all of these items are mixed together, I dip the frozen rolls in it and then follow the package directions.  Simple, but tasty!    My small project besides the roll is a rustic looking tree wall hanging.  This wooden plank was free!  I made a tree stencil and painted it in brown then taped on the stripes and dry brushed the green.  A simple rustic look that can be used for Christmas or for a cabin. 

  So, today, I had to get up earlier than normal for a work thing that was extremely boring.  I have been kind of listless and not very motivated.  I am sure it will happen again throughout this year.  I do have a small project though!  A little Goodwill find that I had a difficult time trying to figure out what to do with.  It could have gone Christmas or Halloween but in the end it was the pumpkin theme that won out.  If it had been for Christmas it would have been a snowman.  So first, I did paint it white and then changed my mind and it became a fun stack of pumpkins. I also did a little baking today.  It's getting cooler and it's a great way to warm up the house.  My friend Jess was recently asking me to make peanut butter cookies because they are her favorite, mine too!  So, I got out my Marjorie Johnson baking book and used her recipe.  YUMMY!  She has a blue ribbon cookbook and everything that I have made is awes...

Let's face it, everyone has to eat and most people enjoy sweets, so giving gifts that are food related are always welcome.  As the holiday season approaches, I will share some of my favorite food gifts, but for now, I will show you what they will be packaged in.  I got this cute little crate at a thrift store for less than $2.00.  It wasn't bad, but I had to make it my own.  I just painted it a cream color and then decided on an apple motif.  It's fall right now so the apple idea was inspired by the season.  All I need to add to it for a total gift is the food.  So there you have it, two gifts in one, a decorative container and whatever I bake to put inside.

I came home from work and needed something to do while I waited for Project Runway to start.  First, I grabbed the peppers out of the fridge that one of my customers gave to me and made some salsa.  I had hot banana peppers, habanero and Thai chilies.  After dicing the peppers and very thoroughly washing my hands, I added in some tomatoes, cumin, garlic salt and oregano, it was spicy, but good.  What next, that was quick, baking sounds good.  I usually bake something at least once a week, mostly cookies to share at work, but today, muffins with a little twist sounded interesting.  I paged through my library of cookbook and came across a recipe that was called Pesto Surprise Muffins.  Mm...but I don't have any pesto, what to do...I just made salsa, would that work?  I made the recipe and made two substitutions instead of Parmesan I subbed cheddar and used my homemade salsa instead of the pesto.  They turned out good, but next time I might ad...

Yesterday it was Van Gogh, today Mondrian. Another thrift store find for just a few bucks. This box was screaming color block at me and what better artist to inspire that than Piet Mondrian. I painted the box dark blue and when it was dry, taped it to create varying rectangular shapes. What to do with it next? Birthday present for my sister in law! I baked some pumpkin muffins, not from scratch like I really prefer, but I did add in some pecans. Yummy, I love baked goods for gifts, especially when the weather starts to turn chilly. Happy Birthday Sis in law! Have a great day!