Oh the Cuteness!

Happy How-Tuesday! This week I found a great vertical layer cake tutorial, a whole site filled with budget-friendly goodies, and a sweet way to make a crochet scarf. I'd love it if you readers out there would send me some tutorials you're in love with, either via the comments here or e-mail them to me at ohthecuteness@hotmail.com. The more people participating, the more fun it will be, and feel free to post links to your own projects as well! Firstly, I found this fantastic tutorial from the I Am Baker blog for creating vertical layers inside a cake in lieu of the traditional horizontal ones. How much fun would this be as a surprise?! I stumbled upon a site called Budget 101 and kind of got lost in it for a long while. They have all kinds of DIY ideas, but the one I liked most was this huge page of mixes for all sorts of goodies that you can make in mason jar s and give as gifts. Go check them out! Lastly, I found this cute tiny squares scarf tutorial from Do ...

Today I'm another year older, another year wiser (or so they say). Two weeks ago we had our housewarming party and celebrated my birthday with all my friends. It was such a sweet low-key party and we had such a lovely time. And look at that slice of birthday cake! It was exactly what I wanted. There's more photos on my flickr if you want to see everyone, but here's a few highlights:  We projected Buster Keaton & Fatty Arbuckle's silent films on the wall in the living/dining room. It was really fun with the party music in the background. And at the end of the night we watched Looney Toons with the remaining guests.  We had so much yummy food to eat and lovely drinks to sip! (No, those apples aren't real lol.)  Apparently I'm three, not only shown by the number of candles but by the style of cake, which I specifically requested after seeing a smaller version in the case at Baskin Robin's. Jamoca Almond Fudge om nom nom. We got J...

Hooray for How-Tuesday! This week I found an infinity dress, helpful gardening tips, and a malted chocolate cake! I love the idea of infinity dresses and this one is made from a mass-produced model. So many ways to wear it! Check out the pattern here . This article has 5 tips for a no-work garden, and the whole website has great tips for sustainable lifestyles. Give them a look here .  This cake is called the Campfire Delight: 6 layers of malted chocolate and toasted marshmallow! Om nom nom! Go make it here .

This year my birthday (back in August) happened to land on a Tuesday which is the day my Stitch & Bitch group usually meets so I decided to make a special, if somewhat outrageous, cake to share with everyone. I'd seen this malt ball cake  from Inspired by Charm on Pinterest before and I just couldn't resist. (Click the link for the full recipe and her cute tutorial for a mini bunting!)  It's a really easy recipe because it uses a boxed strawberry cake mix, which was surprisingly good. I also used this as an opportunity for trying a new method for getting the cake to rise evenly while baking. You cut pieces of thick fabric, like an old kitchen towel, into strips wide and long enough to wrap around the sides of your cake pan, then soak them in cold water, wring them out gently, and use a safety pin to keep them in pace around the outside, then bake as usual. It keeps the edges from cooking too fast and you don't have to trim a dome off the tops, which means no...

I can't believe it's been almost two months since my last post. I listed all of the craft fairs I had planned for the summer, which I knew would take up a good amount of my time, but I had no idea how full my schedule would be or that this would turn out to be one of the best summers of my life! I have so, so, so much to catch everyone up on. I just finished editing the last of the photos and am trying to figure out where to start... (By the way, the photo counter on my camera rolled over this past weekend, which means that I have taken over 10,000 photographs with it in less than two years. That feels like a fun milestone to me.) In the past couple moths I have been working my butt off for both of my jobs, as well as running around to tons of fairs. I've camped, I've explored, I've kayaked, I've gotten tan, I've partied, I've made new friends and become closer with the old ones, I've got a lush and successful garden for the first time in years, I...

Happy How-Tuesday everyone! I know it's been a while since I've done one of these, but I found some cute kid-friendly tutorials this week that went together so nicely! We have sidewalk chalk, a play kitchen, and rainbow cake! These giant pieces of sidewalk chalk are super easy to make and will surely keep the kids busy for a good long time! Find the tutorial here . This play kitchen is super-duper-awesome and it's made from an old entertainment center! I can't wait to have kids so we can have the best play kitchen ever! Check out the awesome step by step transformation here . I love cakes in jars somethin' fierce right now, and this one is the brightest I've ever seen. My five year old unicorn and rainbow loving self would have freaked over this. Here's the recipe .

In celebration of it finally feeling like spring/summer around here, I offer up my new variation on a traditional strawberry shortcake. A lot of things this week have inspired me to make this. For one, I accidentally got lemon olive oil at Whole Foods instead of regular (it's got a ton of lemon oil in it). A happy accident as it's been infusing my cooking with a bright citrus note that I just love! Also, obviously the farmer's market is bursting at the seams with strawberries, and I've been seeing recipes using balsamic vinegar with them all over the place. Lastly, the new Oaktown Spice Shop near my house has been inspiring me to use more interesting herbs and spices. This is the best strawberry shortcake I've ever made, and I hope you'll try it too! Cake ingredients: 4 large eggs 3/4 cup sugar 2/3 cup lemon olive oil 1 1/2 cups flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt Filling & whipped cream ingredients: 1 lb ripe strawberries 4 tbsp lig...

Okay, I know I've been trying to eat healthier lately and help Dennis with his diet, but I had a friend over for tea recently and I just had to bake something. It would have been rude not to, right? And afterwards I took the remaining 1/2 of this bad boy to work to share and they loved it. This, my friends, is my old stand-by: Whiskey-Almond Pound Cake. Oh yes. It's an adaptation from a recipe found in The New Good Cake Book , which was first published in 1982 and I have a newer edition. If you need a good, solid, no-frills book of basic classics like red velvet and honey cake, this is the one to get. Sometimes this cake is made with bourbon and ground walnuts, and I've even made it with orange liqueur as well, but we've had a bottle of Jack Daniel's sitting on our counter since the housewarming party. (I told Dennis no one would drink it, to which he replied, "Then I will at least."... One year later, it's still there.) I'm not a fan of Jack ...

Happy Halloween everyone! We had a great party on Saturday night and I decked out the entire house in horrific decorations. Click on the pictures for a larger view. Firstly, the living room: Mom gave me these cute little vintage-style pipe cleaner cat ornaments and I used some bits left over from my big round of cake bunting making to turn them into a little garland. Recycled wallpaper, orange polka dot scraps, and orange and white baker's twine was all it took to make my favorite new decoration! Black and plain cheesecloth, construction paper bats from years past, and a host of store-bought decorations I've been collecting since I was a kid covered the rest of the room. For the party we turned off all the lights and everything was lit with candles, black lights, and glow sticks. The majority of the Halloween decorations I have stored are candle holders and there are SO many candles around the room but you can't really tell. The curtain is m...