Handpainted Signs

I'm really getting into creating custom made signs, so I thought I would post some pictures of all the signs I have done. Maybe I can create one for you!

Fabric Flower

So, in my numerous searches on etsy, i've managed to find fabric flowers that I wanted to attempt to make. I've tried them before, and got discouraged, but now that I have a child to accessorize, I wanted to give it one more shot.

I cut 8 pieces of fabric, 1 1/2 inches squared

   

I then folded the square into a triangle . Youre going to fold the square three times total, folding the longest length of the triangle over each time.

  

     

      

Next, take a needle and thread, and sew together the loose ends of the triangle. I usually do 2 stitches, and then knot 2 to 3 times, to make a secure end.

 This is how it should look from over head. The sewn section is under my fingers.

I then cut the tip off the bottom portion of the petal. It'll help it to lay flat when you add a barette, or clip. It'll end up looking like a trapezoid.

 

 Once I have all 8 petals done, I start gluing them together, making sure each petal is even, and flush with the next.

 After you have all eight, I glue a clip on the bottom, and then add a button to hide the thread and glue keeping it all together.

Here's Ava, modeling her new flower clip!

Jewish Apple Cake

So I decided to bake something today, since I haven't baked in a while. I bought a cupcake book the other day, and now I suddenly want to start my own cupcake business. I've become fascinated with the idea of being a professional cupcake maker.  I blame not only the recipe book, but also tv, for having all those cupcake shows. I have no cupcake recipes of my own, but I figure I could start baking other peoples cupcakes, and then alter the recipes until I get something that's uniquely me!
Even though i just rambled about cupcakes, I didn't actually make any today. Instead I made a Jewish Apple Cake. It was my Grandmothers recipe, and I've always loved it, but I have never been able to figure out why it was a "Jewish" apple cake... Regardless of its religious affiliation, its pretty freakin awesome.

Here are the ingredients :
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons baking powder
4 eggs
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3-4 apples (you only need 3 if they are fairly large, but i usually buy and cut 4 just to be on the safe side)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar


Mix first 7 ingredients.

Grease a tube pan (I use butter and then coat it with flour)

Dice apples, making sure that the pieces are uniform, so they bake evenly

Mix cinnamon and sugar
Pour half the batter into the bottom of the pan and then half the apples. Cover with half the cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat with the rest of the batter, apples and cinnamon sugar.

 

 

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours. I usually bake for 75 minutes and then check at that point. Usually that does it, but your oven may differ from mine.

Let cool before you remove from the tube pan. I've had disasterous results by rushing to get the cake out before its completely cooled. 

 

Enjoy!

Handmade Shopping Cart Cover

So I should have taken a picture of the shopping cart cover I made in steps, from beginning to end, since that would have been the appropriate thing to do for this blog, but I didn't think of it until I was already halfway done. So there will be a photo of the final product once I take it to the store and throw it in a shopping cart. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out, even after all the difficulties I had with my sewing machine (I don't think it likes me very much). I used fabric that I had laying around from previous projects. The printed fabric I had bought to make her crib bedding, but ended up going in another direction. The plain fabric I used was leftover fabric from pillows I made for our living room. The only supplies I had to buy to finish this project was the lining for the leg holes. So it turned out to be a pretty inexpensive project.
Pictures to follow soon!