Paper Pie

Liz & Kalli #16 Smoke

 

For this 16th week of the Liz and Kalli art project, the word is smoke. Liz's is on the top and Kalli's is on the bottom. I love it when the two images are so completely different. I think it says a lot about words and their meaning to different people. It seems that I always default to drawing, but I think that is because I love to do it!! When I was thinking about smoke, I kept thinking of gray, desaturated puffiness. I thought about going in that direction, but it is so against my grain that I decided that smoke would be better if it were colored anyways. Kalli's is so pretty and she did a great job with conveying smoke, but still using color. I love that it is watercolor on paper, yet has a depth of field and is not flat. Kalli says, "It's an abstract watercolor, showing clean air being polluted by smoke. But in a pretty way, I suppose..." I agree!

Blue Diamonds

I've been working on this new fabric design this long weekend. I wanted to try something more masculine or at least less feminine. I love it, this is a different color palette for me as well. I am going to order an upholstery weight fabric swatch and see how it turns out. I want a bag made from this fabric.

On a completely unrelated note, I was browsing over at Liz's blog today and she has a yummy sounding recipe for Healthy Apple & Strawberry Muffins. It inspired me to do a little baking of my own. I was not thinking about healthy recipes though, instead I opted for cupcakes. When Ryan and I got engaged, our friend Julie gave us the most amazing cook book for a gift. It's from the editors of Cook's Illustrated and it's named, The New Best Recipe. This thing is a tome let me tell you. It is over 1,000 pages and it contains 1,000 recipes. It is also a wonderful learning tool because it explains each recipe in detail, teaching you about technique, supplies and equipment. Each recipe is tested and tasted multiple times so as to discover the absolute best way to make anything from roast beef to layer cake. It is a really cool book. Today I made these cupcakes and they are so good. They are not overly sweet and the cake is almost the density of a muffin. One word of caution though, don't over chill the frosting. I left it in the fridge too long and it got a little too firm. I had to add water to get it to thin to a spreadable consistency. It still tasted great, but it was a little hairy there for a minute when my frosting was as spreadable as ice cold butter. Here is the recipe below as it appears in The New Best Recipe.

Yellow Cupcakes with Simple Chocolate Frosting

Makes 12

Make the frosting first. While it cools, prepare and bake the cupcakes; when the cupcakes are cool, the frosting will be ready to be whipped and used. If you prefer, you may opt not to whip the frosting, It will be denser and have slightly less volume. Bittersweet, milk, or white chocolate can be substituted for the semisweet chocolate. The recipe can be doubled.

Theses cupcakes are best eaten the day they are made, but unfrosted extras will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To double the recipe, use 3 whole eggs and 2 yolks and double the remaining ingredients.

Simple Chocolate Frosting

1 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. For the frosting: Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan or in a microwave. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl and pour the hot cream over it. Cover the bowl with foil and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk the mixture until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool and slightly firm, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Transfer the frosting to the bowl of a standing mixer. Whip the mixture at medium speed until it is fluffy and mousse-like and forms medium-stiff peaks, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

3. For the cupcakes: Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the middle position; heat the oven 350 degrees. Line a standard muffin tin with paper or foil liners.

4. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the butter, sour cream, egg, yolks, and vanilla and beat the wet ingredients into the dry at medium speed until smooth and satiny, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and stir by hand until smooth and no flour pockets remain.

5. Divide the batter evenly among the cups of the prepared tin using a 2-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon. Bake until the cupcake tops are pale gold and a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 24 minutes. Use a skewer or paring knife to lift the cupcakes from the tin and transfer to a wire rack; cool the cupcakes to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

6. Spread 2 to 3 generous tablespoons of the frosting on top of each cooled cupcake; serve.

Happy Memorial Day everyone!!

Summer Flowers & Feathers

I've been working on these cheery little fabric designs this last week. I absolutely LOVE this color combo, it is among my most favorite. It's so darn happy and it makes me think about water and sunshine and summer. I wanted these to work together but still feel quite different and able to stand alone. Did you know that you can order upholstery weight fabric from Spoonflower now? Yes, you can. It's heavy cotton sateen and it is great for home dec projects or things like bags and purses that need something a little heavier and more durable. I have not tried it yet, but I think when I order samples for these prints I'm going to see what it looks and feels like. I'll keep you posted. Have a lovely and relaxing Memorial Day weekend if I don't make it back here before Tuesday.

Liz & Kalli #15 Timber

Hello, it's time for Tuesday's art project! This week the word is timber. Liz's is on top and Kalli's is on the bottom. I love that we both essentially created the same image but each one is completely different. Mine is loud, colorful and imaginary and Kalli's is calm, serene and monochrome. I love the subtlety of Kalli's image. I want to meditate there. She used paint and ink. I went for a hike on Sunday and collected a few twigs. I had lots of different ideas floating around about what I wanted to do with them, but eventually decided that they should be outrageous and hyper. I painted them with acrylic paint and gave each one a distinct shape, style and pattern. Voila, timber!

Spring-A-Ling + Dot Dot Dot

I've been working on these two new fabric designs the last few days. I'm going to upload them to Spoonflower and order swatches to see how the colors reproduce. I really hope they come back this bright and vibrant. I'm very happy with these fun and flamboyant designs. I love the retro floral feel of the one on the left that I am calling Spring-A-Ling. I am also a fool for polka dots, so I'm all about the design on the right called Dot Dot Dot. I love the rainbow colors that are slightly askew from a traditional rainbow. A contemporary rainbow indeed. Hope your Sunday is filled with sun and fun!!

Liz & Kalli #14 Horizon

I can not believe it is already week 14 for the Liz and Kalli art project. This week the word is horizon. Liz's is on the top and Kalli's is on the bottom. I love both of these because they each represent horizon in their own unique way. I was thinking about bed sheets I used to have growing up. I can't quite remember them but they were like a deconstructed sunset with stripes making up the horizon. Anytime I can get some sort of rainbow-y thing going on, I usually take the opportunity. Kalli's is a combination of starry spots and the sun going down over Vancouver. She says, "When a city starts turning on its lights, it makes me think of a reversed night sky." I love Kalli's photography. See her Flickr page here.

Yellow Flowers & Scallops

My sister is getting married this summer and I am working on her invitations right now. The bridesmaid dresses are light yellow and we are all carrying daisies so I created the pattern on the left to go with the feeling of her wedding and I thought it would also make a great pattern for fabric. I'm in the midst of putting together some new fabric pairs to be printed at Spoonflower. With this new group I want to create two patterns that feel different but can still work together well. Keeping the color palette consistent helps to keep things cohesive. I am very happy with these two and will be uploading to Spoonflower for a sample swatch. I will keep you updated with how they turn out. Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms out there. I hope your day is filled with fun, joy and all the things that make you the happiest. 

Liz & Kalli #13 Laughter

This week's word is laughter, Liz's is on the top and Kalli's is on the bottom. When I started this week I couldn't stop thinking of the phrase: Laughter is the best medicine. I started playing with that but everything I was doing was too literal and weird. Then I thought about what a face looks like in laughter and how could I connote laughter in the most minimal way. I like what I ended up with. It is so incredibly different for me because it is so spare and without color. Kalli's makes me laugh, so that is a good thing. What is it about laughter that is contagious? Even just seeing the word ha, makes me smile. Kalli says, "I was thinking of laughter making you feel warm, in your belly, in your smiling muscles. So it's kind of illuminating the space a little." I like it!

Chamonix + Portland

I've spent the last few days updating the WonderFluff and Paper Pie Shops. I decided to put a few more fat quarters of fabric up for sale. So right now you can get all four designs, Mod Flowers, Mod Buds, Mod Trees and Mod Leaves. It's the Mod Collection! I also added the Cheerful Sunburst Tote that I posted about here a while back. I am so super excited about the sweet little French bird above. I've been working on this collage/painting the last few days and I just love it! It's an assemblage of flowery paper and this drawing/illustration of a friendly bird flying over several jagged precipices. I was watching Rick Steves' Europe yesterday and he was bumming around Chamonix, France in the French Alps at Mont Blanc. It is a beautiful and majestic place, and seemed fitting for this adventurous birdie. So I named this painitng, Flight Over Chamonix. I wanted to do a cheery and sweet bird because I've been so inspired by Lisa Congdon's vibrant bird paintings. I love this Quail! He's so exuberant yet humble at the same time. Amazing. Flight Over Chamonix is right here in the Paper Pie Shop.

In other exciting news, Ryan and I have finally booked our first trip to Portland, Oregon. We only talk about Portland like every single day, so this is a very exciting trip for us. We wanted to go for Memorial Day, but it was not working out with our bonus travel tickets/work schedules. Instead we are going for the Fourth of July, which will be super fun and festive in it's own right. We wanted to stay at the Kennedy School in the worst way. It's an old school now converted into a hotel, restaurant, several bars, and movie theater. Sounds like it would be just up our alley. The Kennedy School is booked for the Fourth, so instead we are staying at the Ace Hotel, which doesn't seem like a too shabby alternative. The Ace is right in the city too which will be convenient I'm sure. We will definitely take a drive to the Kennedy School at least for a sit on the patio or a trip to Detention Bar. One last little bit before I go, I'd like to thank all of the incredibly sweet and talented creative bloggers that have been linking to my beginnings of a blog here. I have been so inspired by this community for so long and it feels great to finally participate. It's such a wonderful thing!