Thursday, January 30, 2014

Custom Cupcake Dolls

A few years ago, I made some of this cupcake doll for a customer.
She was on a really tight budget and I tried to come up with something
smaller than the size dolls I typically work in and less expensive.



Well, then I made the Christmas ones.


Taught a class on spring ones and created a few more custom orders.

This year I taught a Valentine class and am
now developing dolls for every season.
(more classes will be announced soon)

One of my favorite customers
(who is also a crack up)
Lives too far to take a class and decided to order 5 dolls.
Each one representing a facet of her personality.
She sent some do dads to use if I wanted, but gave
me full creative license otherwise.

Did I have FUN making these....


Left to right...
"Eat Dessert First"
"So Silly"
"Me? Lost?"
"Kitty Bo Peep"
"She's a Pistol"

Now to pack up these little darlings and ship them off to their new home!

Thank you Cindy for your order, hope you love them!!!

XO,
Lisa

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Vegetarianism

Hello Friends.  My Man and I have fully committed to vegetarianism.  Why?  Too many health issues that all point to the food we are eating.  After years of suffering and me on/off again with food elimination diets, it was time to just do it.

Not to blame my partner or family, but it is pretty difficult to be responsible for feeding the family an entirely different style of eating when you want to become a vegetarian or vegan.  Not to mention trying to eat HEALTHY Veg/gluten free out in restaurants is REALLY hard. (unless you live in some super hip City)  Friends and family don't always understand and you get the "what do you do for protein" question.   When you decide to not eat meat or dairy, it seems that some people think you are passing judgment on them for eating those things, by you NOT eating them.    Which we are not.  What one eats is simply a lifestyle choice, but in some ways has been just as divisive as discussing politics or religion.

I had a couple bouts of being pretty dang sick last few years after eating certain foods.  It kept getting more frequent and severe.  It culminated at the the Holidays.  I was so sick after indulging in holiday food, that one week into the New Year, we made the change.   Having my Man on board and enjoying it has beed truly wonderful.   I'd like to become full vegan, but for now we do have the occasional egg or salmon.  No, meat, wheat, dairy, refined sugar, wine or coffee.  Having tried this lifestyle on and off in the past, knew I'd be fine.  My Man on the other hand, was a bit of a sugar/coffee junkie.  Happy to report, he doesn't miss any of it and we are having a fantastic time trying new recipes.  Almost every symptom I was having is gone and even my man can't believe how great he feels and how much better and more consistent our energy levels are.  Our skin has improved, digestion, sleep, eyes are brighter, etc, etc.  Next we are getting back to working out.  We fell off that wagon last year too.  Despite not exercising we have lost between us 19 lbs in under one month. Oddly, both Rob and I "cheated" this month, while him eating lunch at work and me with a friend.  We both felt ill that night.

So, my goal here in bloglandia is not to convert or debate with anyone. But to offer some really cool recipes we have tried and LOVE.  Plus link to other peoples site that I have gotten some really cool recipes from.

Last night we shared a photo of our Vegan Spicy Thai Noodle Recipe (don't know where I found it online, so cannot link to original creator) and promised to share with a few of you today.  Here it is!  If you try it, please let me know what you think!

Spicy Thai Noodles



Sauce:

1/2 cup cashew butter
2/3 cup water
4 tablespoons wheat free soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic (we used 4)
1 tablespoons fresh finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons miso paste
1-4 thai peppers (we used 2 and it was pretty hot)
Juice from 1 lime
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Place all of the above ingredients except cilantro in a blender and blend until smooth.  Then add the cilantro and blend again. Set aside.

Toppings & Noodles:

1/2 thinly sliced red pepper
1/2 cup tofu in chunks (optional)
1 cup diced kale
1/2 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cups thinly sliced onion
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 lime cut into wedges
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/3 cup cashews
Cilantro for serving

package of rice noodles (we used the whole package, honestly it was too much) since we were feeding three of us, half a package would have been fine.

Soak the noodles in very warm water for at least 30-45 minutes.

Cook onions, tofu, red pepper, carrot in grapeseed oil until onions get slightly translucent and tofu gets colored and firms up. (I use medium texture tofu)  Add Kale and a 2 tablespoons of water and steam quickly.

turn heat down to low and simmer until water is evaporated.  Add noodles and sauce to vegetables, tossing until all is covered.   Continue cooking until noodles are soft.

Serve in bowl topped with chopped cilantro, sesame seed and chopped cashews, with a lime wedge on the side.

(tips I learned from this recipe:  Cooking thai noodles is kind of tricky.  Overcook and you have mush, under cook and they are chewy.  Much smaller window and room for error compared to wheat pasta. Next time I make this, I will be sure my noodles are pretty much done before I toss with the veggies and sauce.  Rice noodles are delicate and the more you stir them around in the pan, the more they break apart)

After dinner we made this cake, compliments of Jenny Doh.  It is a paleo recipe and was fabulous!


http://blog.crescendoh.com/crescendo/2014/01/favorite-paleo-chocolate-cake-recipe.html




Let me know what you think!

xo,
Lisa

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Saturday Bliss

You know those days and you wake up, cranky?  Well, today was one of those days.
Trying to snap myself out of my mood, I decided to work on a few neglected projects
for myself.  This between working on Kits for my "Valentine Cupcake Girl" class in two weeks and an order for 5 Custom Cupcake girls for this super FAB client of mine.


First, "Mr. Byrd".  You see, he has been lying in a little bin in my garage studio for, oh, say
2 years.  Waiting ever so patiently for me to get to him.  You know the projects you have for
yourself, just never seem to take priority over, say...the "paying" orders.  ;-)


Mr. Bird resides on my desk right next to my computer, to gently remind me to Stay focused
on my direction.  (he has a compass as a necklace, um since his eyesight is not so swell)



Secondly, "be the change you wish to see in the world" is perhaps my favorite quote of all time.
Been wanting to make a "junk" sign to hang above my sliding door in the family room. Pretty happy with it.




Lastly, my "Bloom" sign needed a little juging...you know goodging?  Good grief how to you spell it???  To "Spiff" something up....anyone?  anyone? Pray tell me if you know.



"Bloom" got the leaves added to the corners and hung next to my Favorite Mannequin...full of....BLOOMS.  Ha.




Yep one of those days. If I weren't in the middle of a juice fast and trying to kick my wine and caffeine habit, I'd open a bottle of wine. No wonder I woke up cranky! LOL ;-)

Have a great remainder of the weekend!!! XOXO ~ Lisa