Sassy & Sweet Notes

THANKS and CONGRATS!

Alan to the rescue! He heard me muttering (ok, not really muttering) several terms of endearment (ok, not really endearment) over my keyboard's desire to make me CRAZY(er) by denying me use of the B, X and Z keys.

Like a superhero, my knight in shining armor, he pulled out an old keyboard from his bin of "parts", plugged it into my computer and chucked the one that was giving me fits! YES! I'm BACK in BUSINESS!

Thank you Alan! My hero! The new keyboard is scheduled to arrive on Monday. Imagine just how CRAZY I'd have been by Monday not having B, X and Z at my disposal!

In other news, my dear friend Manetta (who we name all of our Turkens after) became a new Aunt last night! Congratulations to you, Manetta, and to your brother and sister-in-law! Welcome to the world, sweet little Sasha....

floating bovine

Earlier this week I brainstormed a few ideas of different things that could be done with the balloon in the Bundle of Joy set. Here is one those ideas on paper.

For my idea of the floating bovine I wanted more than one balloon. By using the masking technique, I was able to create a bouquet of balloons rather quickly. And it's a good thing I could create a bunch of balloons...I don't think this cow could float with just one. *grin*

To create this balloon bunch for yourself, first stamp the pink balloon and mask it with a post-it note. Then stamp the dark purple balloon and mask it with another post-it note. Finally, stamp the third balloon. Remove the post-it note masks and draw in some strings. Masking is a great technique for getting a few extra miles out of images, and is one of my favorite things to do!

It's a lovely spring day (Happy First Day of Spring!), and would be a perfect day for some new baby cows to be born. But I doubt we'll be so lucky...dang it.

Aunt Patty - Doodled

Since I shared the recipe for Pineapple Upside Down Cake, and thanked Aunt Patty for the original recipe, I thought I'd "doodle" Aunt Patty for no other reason than "just because". I think Patty looks best in pink.

Say CHEESE!

Hi Patty!
(She's one of my Mom's sisters, by the way...)

Aunt Patty digital illustration by me: February 26, 2008.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Alright girls... it's time for a tasty treat! I made this recipe yesterday.

It's soooo divine, I must share it with you.

I started out using a recipe from my Aunt Patty, but altered it a bit to use what I had on hand.

Here's my version!

SweetMissDaisy's Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Aunt Patty says it's important to use a glass pan - pineapple can react with metal and make your cake taste metallic! I used an 8x8 square glass baking pan. You could also use a 9x9 glass pie dish.

Topping (cooked in pan):
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3 small cans CHUNKED pineapple

Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter in the bottom of the glass baking pan. Spread 1 cup brown sugar on top of the melted butter. Drain 3 small cans (or 1 large can + 1 small can) CHUNKED pineapple, and place pineapple chunks on top of the brown sugar. You don't need the pineapple juice for this recipe, so mix it with some OJ and enjoy a fruity drink while you wait for your cake to bake!

Cake:
1/2 cup butter room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup flour

Mix together the cake ingredients and spread over top of the pineapple chunks (it'll be thick!). Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Let it sit for 5 minutes, then turn it over onto a plate and serve, or leave it all in the pan and serve like a cobbler.

Yummy! Deeee-lish!

PS: Yum-Girl digital illustration by me: February 25, 2008.

triple-shot day

I talked to my parents last night (hi Mom and Dad!). They live up in northeastern Washington, near a small town, in the mountains.

The folks up there have had frigid temperatures recently, and now they've got OODLES of snow! So much snow that you can only see the very tip tops of fence posts.

More snow is expected, too! I just checked the 10 day forecast for their area, and 9 out of the next 10 days predicts snowfall. Woweeee!!

I remember having snow like that ... up to the eves of the house, and it was great fun as a kid!

Have fun pushin' snow, Dad! Better make it a triple-shot day! Stay warm!

A Triple-shot Day illustration by me: January 30, 2008.

will you be mine

Vivian mentioned on my last post that she wanted to see the love bug's girlfriend.... here you go!

Will You Be Mine illustration by me: January 28, 2008.

i love you...

 
...sometimes, it just needs to be said.

Love Bug illustration by me: January 27, 2008.

Just for FUN...

Earlier this week I was working on some penguin note cards (seen here). Alan had all kinds of suggestions for design ideas when he looked at my cards. Today he surprised me with a drawing he did in his engineering illustration program (AutoCAD). This drawing is one of the design ideas he had after seeing my note cards. I thought I'd share it here with you, since it's pretty stinkin' funny!

Alan drew the penguin by looking at the penguin in the My Favorite Things stamp set called Winter Blast, which I'd used on my cards. But the snowman and the concept is all his. Once I saw his drawing, I just had to see it in color! I pulled his illustration file into Photoshop, filled in the colors, and added the greeting. Hahaa!! This just cracks me UP!

Happy 7th Birthday, Miss Daisy!

I adopted Daisy when she was almost 4 years old from a family who couldn't keep her any longer. She'd been moved between several homes before she came to live with me. The family that had her just before I adopted her didn't feel like their home was the best home she could have. Apparently, they didn't trust their neighbors not to harm Daisy if she went to their barn, so the family decided it would be best to find a safer place for her to live. It was a happy day when she came to live with me. We lived very happily together, until one day (Valentines day the following year) we met Mister Farley who was looking for a forever-home. Daisy and I knew immediately that Mister Farley needed to come live with us. And it's been ULTRA happy dog days for us ever since!

I decided to make Daisy some special treats for her birthday. Something she can share with all her dog friends here on the farm (not that she WANTS to share, but we make her). I asked for recipe's earlier this week, and thanks to everyone who left me a note or referred me to sites online. I read them all and they all sound delish! I found a recipe in a book I have by the folks at Three Dog Bakery that I altered just a bit ... thought I'd share my version of the recipe with you. The ingredients are simple, and they were quick and easy to make.

Sweet Miss Daisy Hearts
2 cups Whole Wheat flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
2 TBS Honey
1 Egg
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Milk (soy, rice, or fat free cow)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder and onion powder together in a mixing bowl. Stir in honey, egg, oil and milk. (I just used a fork for all the mixing and it worked great!) The dough will be somewhat dry, but it will stick together. On a wheat floured surface, knead the dough 10-15 times. Pat into nicely shaped ball and roll out onto cutting surface 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes, or cut into 1.5" squares. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 15 minutes. Let cool on the sheet. Serve one cookie to all dogs, and store remaining cookies in an airtight container. All the dogs on the farm give these cookies TWO PAWS UP!

Happy Birthday, Miss Daisy!
You're my favorite chocolate chunk!

I can draw that...

I bought a stamp the other day that's a bowl of cherries, by Hero Arts. I really like it, but I got to looking at the picture of it online (it hasn't arrived yet) and thought "I can draw that...and maybe I'll like my own bowl of cherries better!"

So I did.

And I do!

I know I'll get plenty of use out of my Hero Arts cherries stamp. One can never have too many cherries. Or chocolate. But chocolate covered cherries are gross! Just one of those is too many!

Oh... and here's the Hero Arts bowl of cherries stamp, in case you're wondering what my inspiration was.

My Favorite Flower

I had so much fun with yesterday's illustration project, I decided to do another. And it's a greeting card! You can own it! My greeting cards are always professionally printed, an envelope is included, and they're packaged in clear protective envelopes.

We have these wildflowers growing in the backyard, and it's been so fun to see them go from small blooming plants, to big plants covered in BIG flowers!

It's so tempting to photograph them day after day, making my Photo of the Day gallery nothing but their happy, sunny blooms.

So... did you know that Whipper Snapper is having another HUGE image release in July at the summer CHA show?! Would you like another sneak peak? Stay tuned!

A Little Birdie...

I used to want to be a children's book illustrator. I love the various styles used by artists who so colorfully tell a story. But I didn't feel I had the right style or ability to put on paper what others wanted to see.

I'm still really drawn to children's book illustration, and especially to illustrators who paint -- watercolor, acrylic, oils...

For some reason I really wanted to paint yesterday, so I drug out some of my acrylics and brushes and went to work on this little bird and sunflower design. It's nothing fancy, simple lines and colors, but I like it! =) Maybe I'll tack it up on the wall!

The painting is 9x12.