I always feel awkward mentioning such serious life issues on my silly blog, but oh well. My 4 year old was taken to the hospital last night after some complications from her recent tonsillectomy. She lost half her blood. My little pale wee one is at home now & I'll be spending some time getting the color to come back to her sweet little cheeks. That little girl has been through so much in the past year. I am anxious for her full recovery.

Happy Birthday Cupcakes!

I've been on the hunt for a scrumptious cupcake recipe. And I do believe I found one. While googling, I stumbled upon these Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcakes. I was on a mission to bake up a batch of yummy cakies for my friend Tia. Yesterday was her birthday & I wanted to surprise her with something special. The funny thing is, she came over to my house for an impromptu visit--right before I was going to make her treats. So, I thought, "What's better than receiving a batch of most excellent cupcakes? Helping to make them, of course!"
The cupcakes were delicious! We were quite impressed with ourselves I must say. Enjoy some pics & get the recipe at the end of this post! (Oh, by the way--they're SUPER easy to make!)

Life's too short to not tell your friends they rock, so I thought I'd interrupt here & say a few words about Tia. Tia is a mom, like me, & so we "get" a big part of each other. I love her willingness to be spontaneous with me & go along with my sometimes silly antics or goofball schemes. I envy her ability to organize---her grocery lists, her to-do lists, her meal planning, her kid's schedules, etc. She is definitely a giggle friend. If I could, I'd have little slots of "Tia time" every day. I love her tremendously kind & caring spirit. She is one of the most thoughtful people I know. She gives more than she receives & she deserves to have cupcakes every day. I love you my friend! Happy Birthday Tia!!!! You rock!
Filling:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

1/8 tsp. salt

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. peanut butter chips (or just use more chocolate if you want)

Cupcakes:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. baking cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. water

1/3 c. vegetable oil

1 Tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

In a bowl, beat cream cheese. Add sugar, egg, salt. Mix well. Fold in chips. Set aside. For cupcakes, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Mix well. Fill paper-lined muffin cups half full with batter. Top each with 2 Tbs. of cream cheese mixture. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan. Makes 18.

**The blogger whose recipe I got this from said she actually got 21 cupcakes out of this. The recipe says it'll make 18. But I only got 16. (I had about 3/4 cup of filling left over.) I also substituted the peanut butter chips for white chocolate chips. You could also use butterscotch! Yum!

Now, wipe the drool off your keyboard & go make some!!

Rock On!

Not that you really NEED a tutorial to tell you how to paint rocks. But, this is a great project that my girls & I do often. It's just fun & relaxing & the rock is your blank canvas!

The first thing to do is go rock collecting. Gather rocks of all shapes & sizes.

Now wash off all the dirt & leaves & slug guts with some soapy water. (Don't you love my new handmade scrubbie? I got it last weekend at "Art in the Park".)

Once the rocks are clean, sit them out in the sunshine to dry.
Get your supplies ready! You'll need acrylic paints...
...& paint brushes. Now, where did I put my brushes???
Oh, there they are!
And it's a good idea to lay out some paper on your work surface -no mess on the table & easy clean up!

Paint away! I couldn't resist painting sweets.
I found a treasure in this big ole rock because it's gonna make a GREAT door stop for my art studio!

My little porcupine kinda has bear ears, but he's still sweet. These rocks are an example of how you don't have to paint the WHOLE rock--you can let the cool little specks & flecks show.

OR, you can paint the whole rock like I did here. These are some garden markers I made 2 years ago for my mom & grandmother's vegetable garden. They plopped the rocks at the end of each row of scrummy yummy veggies.

You may want to coat your rocks with some clear spray sealer. If they will be outdoors, this is advisable. The colors may also fade a bit from the sunshine. These garden markers were sprayed with about 5 coats.

Check out THIS LINK for some super, super, super cute ideas from Martha Stewart about different rock crafts!

Rock on!!

Vintage Goodies Sale!

1. Vintage Jack-n-Jill Wall Hangings, 2. Vintage Henrietta Hippo Finger Puppet, 3. Vintage Floral Wallpaper, 4. Sally & Snoopy, 5. Vintage Apron, 6. Vintage Train Wallpaper, 7. Vintage Raggedy Andy Finger Puppet, 8. Vintage Paper Doilies, 9. Barney Rubble & Pebbles, 10. Vintage Pink Gingham Apron, 11. Vintage Pluto Finger Puppet, 12. Vintage Smiley Face Wallpaper

All the items in the "Vintage Goodies" Section at WhiMSy love are 25% off! Monday July 28th thru Sunday August 3rd! (Prices already marked. Shop will be stocked around midnight tonight!) So, go get some fun stuff!

Another Fabulous Saturday!

I'm getting back into my little "Nikki time" routine on Saturdays & I must say....I LOVE Saturdays. Today I had a fun one indeed. To start off the day my sweet mom & I went to 'Antiques in the Park', which is a fun outdoor venue with a couple dozen vendors selling their sweet vintage treasures--& sometimes cheesy collectibles. I've gone for the past few years & I always bring my 20 bucks & find a bunch of cool little items. I picked up these 3 lonely children's teacups...& these WONDERFUL vintage buttons! I can't wait to make them into button rings--& other lovely handmade surprises!

I bought these vintage flash cards for 25cents each. I'm not sure what I'll do with them---probably display them somewhere.

I also picked up this vintage children's book for a bargain because it's missing its front & back cover & a few other pages. It'll be great for making into notecards!

Then my mom & I stopped by one of my favorite coffee spots. I sipped on a peach italian soda. Yum. It was hot outside. Very hot.
We also hopped over to "Art in the Park" which is a HUGE collection of vendors from all over the state (& surrounding states) selling their stuff by the river. This weekend is a busy one in our city as it's the weekend of the Hydroplane Boat Races that come ever year. I got to meet an Etsy gal--my first encounter with another Etsian! She & I are also on the Eastern Washington Etsy Street Team (EWAET) & we're anxious to get together with other local Etsiers to have lunch, craft & get silly.

Sally sells skirts & aprons on her Etsy shop, but at the "Art in the Park" she was selling her other line of products--windows that she has turned into tables, shadowboxes, message boards, chalkboards, etc.

I guess I didn't have my thrifting appetite filled, so I ran over to Goodwill & found this AWESOME vintage globe lamp! A steal at $3.50. It is so cool. I have always thought it would be cool to have one. And now my dream has come true. Mr. WhiMSy love rolls his eyes when he sees me comin' home with my bags full of "crap" (as he calls it).

And now I'll show you my weirdest purchase of the day. It's a hamster wheel. I was drawn to that vintage blue color. Strange, I know. I don't have any pets either. But my girls are having a blast playing with it. I'll think of something unique to do with it.

After a day of shopping I came home & made those "cup" cakes that I mentioned on the previous post from Laura's blog. I must admit that my first attempt was a disaster--I forgot to add the sugar. My 2nd attempt wasn't any better--I added the sugar this time, but cooked it too long & it became a "cup" brick. I will try again tomorrow.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

Random Stuff

My latest foodie addiction is this. Yogurt with granola. And it HAS to be in a fancy goblet. I eat it morning, noon & night.

I was taking breakfast photos this morning & thought my youngest had an interesting combo. Chocolate milk with ice cream. Yum!! "For breakfast?!", you say. Yes. Doctor's orders. She is recovering from having her tonsils & adnoids removed. It's gonna be a fight to ween her off of that food routine when this is all over.

I had to show you what I found in my 5 year old's bedroom. I think I've said this before, but I LOVE finding my kid's toys in random position mid-play. It just makes me smile sometimes to see their silly or creative thought process.
I can totally hear Pocahontas jammin' on the keyboard. Rock on girl!

I must tell you what I'm doing this weekend. First of all, my mom & I are going to 'Antiques in the Park'. It's a small gathering of vendors that sell their vintage & antique items outside & it's always so lovely to go to. I can't wait!!! I always bring my 20 bucks & find something fun. It's a great place to practice my bartering skills. I'm also hoping to attend the "Art in the Park" event down by the river. I do believe there is at least one Etsy gal there that I will try to meet. I've never met another Etsian so this should be fun! "Art in the Park" is something I'd love to give a try--I always say "Maybe next year..." & it never happens. I think it's something that you have to be accepted into. It intimidates me. Maybe meeting up with this Etsy gal will be good--I can probe her for info & such. Anyway, me & my crutch will be hobbling around having a fantastic time!

Also, check out THIS RECIPE at Laura's blog, katydiddys. I must try these "cup" cakes this weekend. Yum!

Have a lovely weekend!!!

Molded Crayon Tutorial

Today I had some more crayon fun! This time, I made crayons inside shaped molds--like a candy or candle mold. An ice cube tray would also work. This process is a little more involved than the muffin tin method, but it's still fun.

You'll need to gather tin cans. I also used one of the many rectangular shaped flavored coffee tins I have laying around. Peel your crayons & break them into bits. Toss the pieces into your cans.

You'll be creating a makeshift double boiler. Fill a saucepan with water & set your cans, filled with crayons, inside. I didn't have very many crayons inside my cans, so they kind of bobbed around. That's OK. Bring the water to a boil & then simmer.

I used a plastic knife to slightly stir the crayons & make sure the chunks were melting.

When your crayons are melted, get ready to pour them into your molds. The cans will be SUPER hot, so be careful & use a hot pad or oven mit. I found an inexpensive mold at the thrift store. This design wouldn't have been my first pick if I had a choice, but it does scream "summer!" so that's cool.

Now don yer mitts & pour away. Make sure it's on a flat surface. Those blue dollops on the mold are from the previous owners candle mess.

Let the mold set for several minutes. I poured a few colors into the dolphin mold. In using this method I found that the colors weren't as swirly & cool looking in the end product as they were in the muffin tin method. You COULD pour in a few different colors in the same mold & get a similar "swirly" look though. I think that was my problem--melted crayons burning my fingers in one hand, & the camera in the other.

Here's a view of the bottom as they're drying. Set the mold in your fridge or freezer until the crayons completely harden. Your molded creations will come right out when they're done!


Ta-Da!! I'm happy with the way they turned out! I'm definitely thinking of favors in goodie bags for kid's parties---you can get molds in a numerous amounts of designs. Oooh...what about a cupcake crayon????!!! I'd have waxy colored teeth for sure.