Saturday, October 19, 2013

We decided to treat ourselves and the boys to a nice walk in the Beazell Forest today. Perfect beauty with the falling leaves and giant dropped maples all over the ground.




Happy Hiking
- Cerise

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Another Knit Down...Litterally

Pun intended, this was knit top down. Took me FOREVER to get my butt in gear to weave in the ends on this bad boy. Not sure why, but I wore the day after I did and loved it. It's definitely too big but still cute with a belt, incredibly comfortable, and not too hot. Perfect fall sweater tunic.


Happy sunny autumn afternoons
Cerise

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Sunday Cupcakes

My grandma's 80th birthday was three weeks ago. Family came out from all over to surprise her with a party. My job: make a cake. But of course with a few glutards and dairy derps in the family (this girl being one of them), I of course made two cakes. The request: coconut. The glutenous cake came out a bit heavy as the last two sad little eggs from my chickens barely pulled through and the egg whites were quite lacking. I used them anyways. The glutard version came out amazing, thank you Pamela's mix and yes I still have a ton from the wedding and yes it's still good. Key to amazing coconut frosting (aside from shredded coconut and lovely pastel candies gracefully mashed all over the completed creation): coconut oil in place of butter and coconut milk (from the can) in place of cow milk (don't forget the meringue powder for a perfect texture). Though I tried to make the glutard cake derp free, I realized much too late I forgot to cut my ridiculously tall 6" baked good in half and add frosting in the middle. Still delicious. Here are my sweet little creations!


Happy baking my little cupcakes!
Cerise

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Blocking Out

This sweater was in the works not too long ago. I started it in March this year and trucked along pretty quickly with it, especially for fingering weight on a size 3 needle. I decided to knit both sleeves at once since the yarn was getting low and maybe if I ran out I could shorten the sleeves. When the yarn did finally run out, I realized this would not work well with the style. Alas, I had a sweater without it's full sleeves. I searched around for a skein in my dye lot to no avail so I took a risk and ordered one skein last week. After the exciting Wednesday of getting my Quince and Co. package in the mail I was even more excited to see that the new dye lot matched quite perfectly to my old stuff. So I've been knitting away every night this week on the last bits of the sleeves and finally finished around 1:30 am yesterday. Quite tame to my 5 am sweater completion a few years ago on my French Braid Pullover. I force myself to bed, not before considering some intrelac and the weird way I cheat my ssk's and if it really makes a difference or not, and woke up eager to weave in my ends and decide whether blocking was worthwhile. I'll admit I was more excited to get pumpkins first, even in the chilly drizzle of Oregon. With ends woven I laid my Lightweight Pullover sweater out on my bed, yes I need to invest in some blocking pads but the bed seems to work just fine for now, I sprayed and tugged away. Voila! I can't wait to wear it out the cider press party tonight. I think it will be perfect for a cold, grey fall evening!



Happy blocking yarn friends
Cerise

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Saturday Cupcakes

More delicious deserts along the wedding theme. So intricate and very cute, these would be great as special treats for the bride and groom and the wedding party. Enjoy.



- Cerise

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Saturday Cupcakes

Weddings are coming up soon so here are some cute cake pops I saw around New Year. They look more like sweet bride and groom treats though. Enjoy.


- Cerise

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Saturday Cupcakes

Cupcakes are great, but cakes are also up there in wonderful. Here is a beautiful ombre ribbon cake with flowers to start your June. Enjoy.


- Cerise

Monday, May 27, 2013

Sluggish

I think this little guy was moving faster than me on the running trail last week.



- Cerise

Friday, May 24, 2013

Foodie Friday

This goes out to the foodies. This is a delicious gluten-free spread from New Cascadia Bakery in Portland, Oregon. My favorite stop anytime my family heads north and even my gluten-eating counterparts love their sweet and savory goodies.




- Cerise

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Tiny Terrariums

My sweet mini deer terrarium. Of course, no deer were harmed in the making of this. The little deer was a sweet find at Goodwill. I love finding new old stock.



- Cerise

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Pinterest

Are you following me on Pinterest yet? I warn you, it's eclectic and somehow full of cupcakes. Get pinning my pretties.

Pin it


- Cerise

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Mother's Day Gifting

Mother's Day was so much fun this year. 9 hole, 3 par golf, dinner, and family time. My mom also enjoyed her gift I made. Last minute touches were painted on Mother's Day morning but fortunately acrylic paint dries really fast and I didn't wast time sleeping in too late. Here is the final project. Look forward next week to the how-to for this project and a similar one my friend made the same day.


- Cerise

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Saturday Cupcakes

One of my favorite things to do after yoga on Thursday is head to the store around the corner and take pictures of all the pretty baked goods. Here is your first Saturday cupcake. Enjoy.



- Cerise

Monday, May 6, 2013

Monday Wildflowers

Happy Monday, thought you might enjoy some lovely wildflowers to make your Monday sweeter.



-Cerise

Friday, April 26, 2013

Add Color To Your Planters: Part 2

Well I didn't really get the photos up that I wanted to post on Wednesday. I realized too late that the pictures I used were already posted! Oh well. Here are more spray-painted creations. Oddly enough I got both these from a neighbor a LONG while back and have been toting them around all ugly so I finally spruced them up. I used terracotta pots in the hanging planter and spray painted them. Terrible quality spray pain. Did I mention this is the summer of spray paint?



Happy Color Sprucing,
- Cerise

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Add Color to Your Planters: Part 1

Pretty pots are my favorite for flowers and herbs on the deck. But price is always a factor and since I find a lot of freebies and cheap pots for planting they can be ugly or drab. This is the summer of spray paint and I'm starting early by revamping some old garden pots and plant stands that have been lying around growing ugly for the last few years. My favorite color so far is a sweet ocean blue turquoise paint that I happened across at the hardware store. It looks amazing with the yellow I picked up and is going to look fabulous with pinkish red carnations.

Painting pots is super easy and fast. I used old and new terracotta pots and some grubby plastic planters. To keep it looking good all around, I painted terracotta drainage dishes and old plates I use for drainage dishes. The spray paint is easy to scrape off slick plates so be aware that this won't last forever on your fancy china. I still need to find some chalk to label the plants in my chalkboard painted pots. I also went crazy on plant stands that I will post about tomorrow in Part 2 so stay tuned.

Here are the pots and plates I painted. I'm going to hunt for red and a better quality yellow this weekend and more pots so I can mix and match the drainage dishes and experiment with patterns. Check back next week for Part 3 to see how it goes!
(Don't forget to do this in an open area away from pets and plants)




Happy Painting,
- Cerise

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Bird Cage Garden Tutorial

Spring is here and since it's grey and cloudy most days here, I wanted a sweet little table-top garden for my patio table to bring a smile. Here's the step-by-step for making your own table-top bird cage garden.



Supplies you will need:
- small thrift store bird cage (Make sure you can fit your hand and pots in the cage opening.)
- 3 small terracotta pots or any other small container for planting with small drainage trays or rocks in the bottom of the pots for drainage (You may need more or less depending on the size and shape of your birdcage.)
- spray paint (I used chalkboard paint but you could do a fun color instead.)
- potting soil
- little plants, at least one for each pot (Succulents are the easiest for transplanting and surviving and really easy to find.)
- floral decor moss (There are different kinds and colors, use which works for your taste and colors. I used the dull grey moss and some found brown hairy natural material in the bottom for fluffing.)


Now to put it all together!

Step 1: Paint Your Pots
Put your little pots upside down on cardboard or other surface you don't care about getting painted. If you have drainage trays you can paint them too but they won't be visible later. Spray your pots well. Let dry and repeat if a second coat is needed. Flip and spray the top and inside of the rims of the pots. Repeat with your drainage trays if you have any. It's okay if they are painted all through the inside. Let dry. The pots pictured are not the ones I used but an example of how I paint my pots.

 


Step 2: Add Soil and Plants
When you pots are completely dry, add little rocks or broken pottery chips to the bottom of your pots. You don't need much and the rocks/pottery chips should be small but not clog the drainage holes. Add potting soil to the brim of the pots. Pop your little succulents or chosen plant firmly into the soil. Repeat with all your pots. You can add little pebbles or sea glass around the plant but it may look to busy or get hidden in the moss. Thanks mom for potting the little guys!

 


Step 3: Assemble Pots and Moss
If you can't fit your hand or pots into your chosen bird cage very well, this step will be challenging. (Can you tell I'm emphasizing this from experience?) Your pots are not heavy so it may take an octopus hand maneuver to achieve the following steps. Place some moss on one end of the cage and hold in place with your first little pot. Put some moss against the opposite edge of your bird cage and slide in your second pot to hold in place. Put some moss around your first and second pots and slide your third pot between them. Add or remove moss in order to see your plants well but have them snugged in with moss. Add a little mushroom bird or bug and lightly water your plants.

 


Voila! Bird cage mini-garden for your table or hanging.



If you make your own, please email pictures. I can't wait to see your bird cage garden designs!

Happy Planting,
- Cerise

Monday, April 22, 2013

Sunny Saturday Gnomes

Saturday was sunny and with the first Farmer's Market and Garland's Nursery's open house I was inspired to be outside and in the dirt. I have been wanting to make a gnome garden for quite a while and Garland's has a menagerie of miniature garden accessories. They are not very inexpensive though. Fortunately my craft room always has gnomes, hedgehogs and miniatures running around and I have jar fulls of pretty little rocks and marbles. The only thing I needed were plants gnomes would enjoy in their new garden pot homes. My mom helped with laying garden paths and "lettuce" planting. The little gnomes are hand-made and painted. They still need a door to their house so I will be on the hunt for one. Here's how it all turned out.










Happy Magical Gardening,
- Cerise

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Continue with Treasury Week

Here is another treasury. I had quite a lot of fun searching for interesting products. How can you resist the tentacle wall art? The blues are just so fun too. Enjoy.


Anchors Away!
- Cerise

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

More Treasury Fun

Etsy treasuries are quite fun to make. I enjoy searching with a simple idea of a color or object or creature and seeing where it takes me. Browsing through all the listings becomes quite a treasure hunt and often leads to rather neat surprises. Think of a topic is half the fun and gets my witty brain cells jumping around. Here are two from last week: April in Paris and April Showers.





Happy Exploring,
-Cerise:)

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Treasury Feature Patels

Here's a lovely treasury my pink urchin earrings are featured in. Thanks OmMama ;)



Happy Treasure Hunting
- Cerise

Monday, April 15, 2013

Graphic Design Poster

Along with crafting and some, my husband and I have a bluegrass band. We have a lot of fun (and tiresome font-picking-hours) making our posters. Here's our latest:


Happy Pickin'
- Cerise

Friday, April 5, 2013

Fun with Photoshop

New computer plus new software equals fun with Photoshop. This is my most recent creation. You will find it on the Boutique site banners. Along with experimenting with my new(ish) track pad functions, I had fun experimenting with opacity, fill, lighting effects, and other layer effects. Hopefully I can re-create the effects as needed. At least I can change the color tone and use this again.


Happy creepy circus inspirations,
- Cerise

P.S. If you want a good copy of this image I am happy to create a custom color for you.