A Side of Sweet

Easter Bunny Cookies

After the modest success of my last sugar cookie/royal icing attempt, I decided to try a project that was a little more ambitious. My friends and neighbors, Daniel and Nadia, were having a braai (South African BBQ) and I figured some fun cookies would be a great trade for some good grilled meat and whatever else was brought to pass.

Even though I really liked the recipe I used to make the bridal shower cookies, it was a very involved process with multiple refrigerations and weighing of ingredients than I have time or patience for. The following recipe, from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle‘s blog, was just the thing. The recipe doesn’t need any chilling and has only basic ingredients.

Embossed Envelopes DIY

Even though our wedding is a year away, it’s never too early to get started on the DIY-ing, especially when you have lazy weekends and girlfriends willing to help out. Our first project was decorating the invitation envelopes. The envelopes were part of the paper supplies we purchased in Thailand. Because the envelopes are nice enough on their own, I chose a simple stamp to decorate one corner. To add some “pizazz”, we then embossed the design. With two people, it was quick work and took less than 30 minutes to do 50 envelopes.

Easy Embossed Envelopes

Supplies:

Envelopes
Heat gun, like this
Rubber stamp
Embossing ink, like this
Embossing powder, like these

1. Press rubber stamp onto embossing ink pad

2. Press rubber stamp onto your envelope

3. Sprinkle liberally with embossing powder

4. Tap off excess powder

5. Heat the stamped image until the powder changes to a shiny liquid and rises

6. Let cool

I ordered a personalized return address stamp on Etsy. I’ll post the finished product when the stamp comes and I can emboss the return address on it!

See more of our wedding photos & DIYs:

DIY Hanging Twine Balls
First Look Wedding Photos, Part I
First Look Wedding Photos, Part II
Wedding Dance Party Photos
Wedding Details – Dessert Table & Table Decorations
Wedding Updo – How to Chalk Your Hair
Wedding Ceremony Pictures
Wedding Getting Ready Pictures
Vintage Drawer Pulls as Placecard Holders DIY
DIY Wedding Photobooth Setup with Printable
DIY Gilded Upcycled Plastic Cups
DIY Glitter Upcycled Silverware
DIY Honey Jar Wedding Favors
Rustic Wedding Cake Frosting Technique
Stuffed S’mores Cupcakes Recipe
DIY Glitter Swizzle Sticks
DIY Embossed Envelopes
Engagement Photos, Part I
Engagement Photos, Part II

Lazy Morning

Oh yeah, this is our backyard.

Colored Cord Hanging Lamp DIY

Pat and I have a blank white wall behind our dining table that I’ve been wanting to DIY for quite some time. I had the idea to fill the wall while at the same time creating a light to hang above our table. Here is what we came up with. Supplies and instructions are below, as well as links to what we used on Amazon.

You will need:

Hook with a screw on it
One brightly colored extension cord. We used this 25 foot cord
3/4″ Poultry Staples. Like these

Hammer
Lamp shade – we went to goodwill and bought a strainer for $2.00. You could also use a cheese grater, etc.
Light bulb of your choice
Socket Adapter

1.Screw the hook into the ceiling

2. Screw your light bulb into the socket adapter.

3. Attach your bulb to the shade of your choice. For our metal filter, this involved Pat cutting off the point of the filter and placing the bulb/socket inside.

4. Plug the socket adapter into the extension cord.

5. Drape the cord through the hook so the long part of the extension cord is closer to the wall/outlet

6. Hammer the poultry clips around the cord in the design of your choice. We sketched out a few ideas but in the end just tacked it in and eyeballed it on the way. This part is easier with two people.

7. In the end, we used the whole 25 foot length of cord for the design, which we hadn’t expected!

8. Turn the light on and enjoy your handiwork!

Need more decor inspiration to make your house feel like a home? Order custom chairs online via Carrington Court direct!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

For Kari’s shower, I also made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Bridal white frosting with purple sprinkles and cupcake wrappers to stick with the purple theme of course! Recipe and photos are below. Please excuse the wonky lighting, I was in a hurry to get these babies out the door!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes Recipe with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

TIPS:

~If at all possible, weight the dry ingredients for this recipe! It will ensure that your cupcakes turn out light and fluffy!

~Use an ice cream scoop to put the batter in the cupcake liners to ensure uniform cake sizes.

~To get extra white frosting, use clear vanilla extract

~Room temperature eggs are critical!

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes Recipe with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Sweetapolita’s Bakery Style Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

Source: Magnolia’s Vanilla Cupcakes from Food Network

Yield: 24 standard cupcakes

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (190 grams/6.5 ounces) self-rising flour

1 1/4 cups (160 grams/5.5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks/227 grams/8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups (400 grams/14 ounces) white sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (250 mL) milk

1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with cupcake liners of your choice (24 total).

2. In a small bowl, combine the flours and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not over beat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended.

5. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake in middle of oven until tops turn golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out just clean (a few crumbs is okay), about 18 minutes.

6. Cool the cupcakes in tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Sweetapolita’s Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting

Ingredients

1 pound (454 grams/2 cups/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes

3 3/4 cups sifted (600 grams/1 lb + 5 ounces) confectioners’ sugar (icing, powdered)

4 tablespoons (60 mL) milk

1 vanilla bean, scraped

2 teaspoons (10 mL) pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Method

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip butter for 8 minutes on medium speed (I use “4″ on my KitchenAid). Butter will become very pale & creamy.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 6 minutes. Frosting will be very light, creamy, and fluffy.

3. Best used right away (for ideal spreading consistency reasons).

4. You can eliminate the vanilla bean and use 4 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.

Bridal Shower Wedding Dress Sugar Cookies

I “catered” my little sister’s wedding party this past weekend. Thanks to the help of a couple of girlfriends, I managed to turn out cupcakes, wedding dress cookies and chocolate dipped pretzels! Pictures and recipe for the cookies are below.