Her Morning Elegance / Oren Lavie

Thanks to Design*Sponge for sharing this video by Oren Lavie:



Instant happiness!

New Etsy Shop: Beneath the Sky

I opened a new Etsy shop this weekend: Beneath the Sky. I decided to launch a separate shop that will house original and one of a kind artwork I make. Right now it has small tile collages I have made recently but it could be anything down the road. That is why I chose the name "Beneath the Sky"... because it doesn't really have any limits, it could consist of items made from anything under the sun!

Erin's Summer Salsa

For a while, I have been compiling recipes from family and friends with the plan to design and print a customized cookbook. It has been forning slowly but surely. One of my plans is to actually make each recipe that will be featured in this cook book and take pictures of the final product to be used in the book. My first recipe was this delicious "Summer Salsa" recipe from my very good friend Erin!

Summer Salsa

• 1 pint fresh strawberries
• 1/2 medium red onion
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (optional)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp of salt

Preparation:

Clean your strawberries, bell peppers, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro leaves. Remove and discard the stems of your cilantro, finely shred, and set aside. Hull and chop your strawberries and place in a medium mixing bowl. Chop your red onions, bell peppers, and jalapeño pepper and combine in mixing bowl with strawberries. Add orange juice, lime juice, cilantro, and salt and combine until evenly mixed. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

5 minutes before serving, remove the salsa from the refrigerator and stir. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!!

I have to say this came out really well. I tried it when Erin made it for one of her fun parties and have been looking forward to making it myself ever since. Thanks, Erin, for kicking off my recipe making for my cook book!

I am still taking recipes to include, so if you have one you would like to share, please send it my way!

Happy President's Day!

In honor of president's day, allow me to share a cupcake mosaic brought to you by Zilly Rosen of Zilly Cakes:

Spacesick

I recently discovered the incredible work of spacesick. I am in awe of the designs and they make me laugh, too. Check out the "I can read movies" pieces.

Tonight! Be Mine: Boston Handmade 2nd Annual Valentine Show

The 2nd Annual Boston Handmade Valentine Show
TONIGHT: Friday, February 6 ~ 5pm to 9pm
450 Harrison Avenue ~ Gallery #31 ~ 31 Thayer Street
click HERE for directions

Works on view and available for sale at Be Mine include a range of media by the following:
Bancroft Studios
Blue Alvarez Designs
Books By Bexx
Bumble Belly Designs
Christine Marie Art
DeShawn Marie
Elizabeth Brennick Designs
Fraske Designs
K. Hawkins Photography
Lucie Wicker Photography
Lush Beads
Nancyrosetta
Reclaimed To You
Sea Glass Things
Stonehouse Studio
thirteenthstory
Vintage By Crystal
Yarn Obsession
Visit Be Mine to find the perfect gift for all your Valentines!

How to make Beach Themed Cupcakes

Recently, I went to a Cupcakes and Champagne party. Clearly, this was a great reason to make themed cupcakes. In the dead of winter, what theme is most desirable? You got it: Beach themed cupcakes. I was inspired by yogi_lo's beach themed cupcakes on flickr and decided to create my own.

For the cupcake, I made both cappuccino brownie and vanilla funfetti bases. For the frosting, I took some "white" whipped frosting and added some blue food color until I got the desired sea blue. I used graham cracker crumbs for the sand and Teddy Grahams as my beach-goers. The rest of the elements were hand formed out of marzipan and tinted accordingly with food coloring.

I made a variety of scenes. I made happy swimming and surfing scenes, and also some shark attack and red tide scenes. I had SO much fun making these... maybe too much fun.

Happy Birthday, Pat!

Happy birthday, Pat!
And so ends the Fraske kids' birthday whirlwind. Three birthdays, two weeks, still I always have room for more birthday cake.