Author Archives: smwaller

World’s Best Cake

You did it! Congratulations! (If I only had a neon sign I could hang in my window.) But trust me, this is the best cake you will ever have. Today I made it to celebrate a birthday, but really any occasion would do. 

Follow this recipe and you can’t go wrong!

  • 1 box of plain white cake mix
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter, melted
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening and dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set pans aside.

Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer until the batter looks well blended . Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with a rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your figure, 27 to 29 minutes. Let cool. And while you wait, you can make the frosting.

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter
  • 2/3 unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4  teaspoon salt

Place the butter and cocoa powder in a bowl and blend with an electric mixer until the mixture is soft and well combined. Add the confectioners’ sugar, 1/3 milk, vanilla and salt. Beat with the mixer for 2 to 3 minutes until the frosting is fluffy and is lighter in color.

And then frost the cake until your heart’s content. (It really is the best part!)

A New Year with the Passion Conference

My projects have been put on hold this week to attend Passion 2011. It was an amazing 4 days of worship, and as a part of the conference, they created this museum-like exhibit called the Go-Center, where participates could learn more about and donate to different international causes. As a lover of arts and crafts, I wished I could have been a part of the construction. It was a room full of inspiration!

The pictures below are from the area where you could donate to building wells in India. There were multiple areas where they had objects hanging from the ceiling – here it was water bottles.

Below are pictures from the Compassion International market, where you could donate a chicken, medicine, etc.

Click here to hear about the amazing results, and to learn more about Passion 2011 (Click here)

I keep my [felt] hearts on a string

With my new sewing machine, I’ve been waiting for something to inspire me. Playing around, I sewed together a heart, and the idea hit me – hearts of a string.

With 2 squares of off-white felt, quilt backing, gold thread and grey yarn, I made this project in about an hour.

I liked this project because it doesn’t have to be perfect. My first heart was far from having an even seam, so I sewed another stitch and the imperfectness made it look really cute!

I’m thinking with some pink and red felt, this project will make the perfect Valentine’s Day decor!

(And shout out to the birthday girl and my friend who received these hearts – Carmen! It’s just a small token of how much your friendship means to me.)

Inspiration on a Lazy Day

Many of my projects are started on lazy days. Two nights ago, my dad was watching the Falcon’s game and my mom was upstairs knitting, so I looked into my craft box to see what would inspire me.

If you don’t have a craft box, I highly suggest pulling one together. Though mine is rather small and incredibly messy, it’s a place where I keep majority of my supplies.

I also keep a folder on my computer’s desktop where I keep pictures that inspire me – things I find on blogs or even Etsy.

It was this picture that inspired me to stitch the dress. The rest just came together on it’s own.

It’s not perfect, but hey, I put it together while watching the Falcon’s game (plus it cost less than $3). It doesn’t have to be.

Knit yourself a scarf

Another project I made for a Christmas present this year was this scarf. I found the pattern from Debbie Bliss’s book The Knitter’s Year (as you can tell, I’m a big fan of that book!) And it was pretty cool project to undertake. I had purchased fisherman’s wool a couple weeks before, and jumped on the opportunity to use it, but the pattern suggests using two different color cotton yards.

I suggest looking up Debbie’s Bliss’ book for the entire pattern, but to achieve this curved stitch is super easy.

  • Row 1: Knit
  • Row 2: Purl
  • Row 3: Knit 2 stitches together for 3 stitches – yarn over 6 stitches – knit 2 stitches together for 6 stitches – yarn over 6 stitches – knit 2 stitches together for 2 stitches
  • Row 4: Knit

The pattern creates this awesome lace detail and, of course, the curved look.

So if you have a boring afternoon, just pick up some size 3 knitting needles. It’s simple and you can most definitely do it!

A Fishing-Inspired Christmas

Christmas gifts for my fisherman dad – fisherman ornaments!

And if you’re like my family and leave your Christmas tree up until Epiphany, this is a simple craft that you can add to the tree before the Christmas season is over. The bobbers were super easy. I simply bought a pack of traditional bobbers for 50 cents, and I attached a thicker ribbon using the hook that attaches onto the fishing line.

The fishing lure was easy too. But to be better safe than sorry (especially after my dad got a hook stuck in his thumb), the points of the hooks need to be removed. Then I just added a ribbon – and I picked a lure that (was cheap) and had a loop at the top so it hung straight.

Merry Christmas!

My projects are about to be taken to a whole new level after today. After years of dreaming, I finally own a working sewing machine! I have been given old machines, and though I love the sentimental value, they just haven’t worked. So to get one that is brand new… well, I’m loving it!

And if that gift wasn’t good enough, the best present was the free tutorial given freely by my wonderful grandmother.

Oh, and can we talk about my first white Christmas EVER! The backyard is a blanket of snow, so basically, I probably won’t be getting any projects started tomorrow. I’m thinking snow day!

Knitting a Washcloth

Remember that knitting project I started on Sunday…

My washcloth has finally taken shape, and I was surprised how easy it was to create. The pattern is from Debbie Bliss’ book The Knitter’s Year. This is one of my favorite books from Debbie Bliss. It contains projects that could take less than a week and are just as cute and creative as a project (like a sweater or blanket) that would take months!

The pattern is basically a seed stitch center and a garter stitch edge. I had never done a seed stitch before, but it was super easy. To make it…

  • (Row 1): Knit 5 stitches –  then purl 1/knit 1 until the last 5 stitches – Knit the last 4 stitches
  • (Row 2): Knit 4 stitches – purl 1/knit 1 until the last 5 stitches – purl 1 then knit the last 4
  • (Row 3):Knit 4 stitches – purl 1/knit 1 until the last 5 stitches – purl 1 then knit the last 4
  • (Row 4): Knit 5 stitches –  then purl 1/knit 1 until the last 5 stitches – Knit the last 4 stitches

These 4 rows create the seed stitch. Repeat this pattern until you’ve reached your desired length. I suggest looking up Debbie Bliss’s book. I’ve made several projects from The Knitter’s Year, and they are all pretty simple to make.

I was never an architect.

But thanks to an old kit from Williams Sonoma, I am able to make gingerbread houses… from scratch! And with it’s planned out design, all I have to do is make, roll out and cut the dough. Let it bake and then decorate to my heart’s content!

My mom says they will be the centerpiece for Christmas dinner. I don’t know if they are worthy of a centerpiece, but Liz and I sure had a fun time making them!

And can we talk about these 3D tree cookies?!