buzzville

cake and goodness

We had such a busy week and weekend... lots of work, organizing, cleaning, etc. You'd think I was pregnant from all of the "nesting" behavior! Maybe I'm just nesting for all of you who are expecting! Anyway, I just can't believe that January is already over, and maybe that's why I've been in such a frenzied mood - so much to do and the days are just flying by! One of the things I wanted to do this year was to bake the "cakes of the month" from the January issue of Martha Stewart Living. I thought that I could bake each of the cakes in the appropriate month, and then post a review of sorts for anyone who might be interested. No, this isn't going to become a food/baking blog - but I thought it could be fun to go through the cakes each month. So, in order to meet the January cake deadline, it was this weekend or never!

The January cake was a Meyer Lemon Cake that sounded delicious. Both Jerry and I love lemon desserts, so we figured this one was a sure hit. But, we had some math to do first... the recipes were to make a gorgeous triple tier cake suitable for a wedding. We certainly didn't need that much cake around for the 3 of us, and I certainly didn't want to make that many cakes! So, I divided the recipe by a huge amount to make just one half of one 10" square cake (each tier is made up of 2 square cakes sliced in half for a total of 4 layers per tier!). This was not an easy project: the recipes required making the cake, a lemon syrup to soak the cake, lemon curd as the filling, and buttercream to frost the whole deal! I finished each of the components late last night and quickly (not artfully!) assembled the cake. We had our first sampling last night, and I have to say it was not as good as I had hoped. Overall, the cake was too sweet, and not lemony enough. The lemon curd was fantastic, but I think the buttercream should have been lemon flavored as well. Neither Jerry or I wanted all of the buttercream (we left piles on our plates), but we wanted more of the tangy curd. Here's what our slices looked like:

So, my recommendation is to make some trusty lemon bars if you're craving something lemony for dessert. This recipe was too much work for the less than fantastic results. Of course if someone else had slaved over it, I probably would have liked it more! But, I will say that the lemon curd recipe was really good, and the buttercream recipe was much easier than others I've tried - I'll use this again, but probably flavor it with a complimentary flavor...

is it too late for valentines?

Just in time (I hope!) is the last of the Valentine's Day projects to be added to the buzz goods shop. I designed 4 different cards and printed them using my Gocco. You can purchase a set of 4 postcards (one of each design) and 4 envelopes for $8, including shipping in the US. Here are the cards:

"bee mine" is printed in white ink on a red postcard and comes with a white envelope

"sweets for the sweet" is printed in pink ink on a slightly textured white card and comes with a white envelope

 

"love me tender" is printed in chocolate brown ink on a pink card and includes a brown envelope

"red vines" is printed in red ink on a slightly textured white card and includes a red envelope. If this reference doesn't mean anything to you, I highly recommend watching this incredibly funny video!

I hope you like these designs! This was my first printing on my Gocco, and it was a lot of fun to do!

Japanese Crafting Fans

I was so excited to see my Japanese craft library and Crafting Japanese mentioned in the Make blog (one of my favorites!). Does that count as 1 minute of fame?!?

feeling very loved!

Before I write anything else, I want to send a huge thank you to all of you who commented or emailed in response to my last post. The outpouring of suggestions and support was so wonderful, and was just what I needed! I'm feeling much better now, and Brynne and I have had a couple of good days together - more of the giggles and fun and less of the power struggles and tantrums. It's sometimes hard living in this place (which I really and truly love!) without any friends other than my hubby; but, it's so reassuring to know that if I need a little boost, I can draw on my blog friends for support, kind words, and virtual hugs! Thank you all, really and truly!

Even more love came my way through the mail... Amy (of amyville fame) sent me a fantastic swap package for one of the little deer I sent her way. Can you believe all the goodness?!?

She sent 3 adorable fabrics from the Max & Nobie Tiny Town line - these are so cute and sweet! Then there's the most incredible vintage crocheted hand puppet kit!!! These are going to be so fun to make - can you seen the little embroidered details on their clothing? She also sent some incredible Karabella Aurora 8 yarn in the softest, sweetest color - what do you all think I should knit/crochet out of that? A great set of tiny origami papers was also in the package - and I mentioned to Amy that we've actually been showing Brynne some *very* simple paper folding techniques - so I know we're going to have a lot of fun with these. And of course, the icing on the cake, or the cherry on top, is some genuine amyville merchandise - 4 stitchmarkers (or zipper pulls) - one black olive and three green olives with pimento! I know I've said this before, but her attention to detail and perfection in these tiny pieces is amazing! Thanks Amy! buzzville loves amyville!

Life as a toddler

Well, I had great plans of posting something fun and crafty, but as some of you are probably terribly familiar, life sometimes get in the way. I've been a bit blue lately about the increasing challenges of raising my little girl, and I'm currently really wondering if I'm up for the job. She's just a little over 2 1/2 now, and I guess we're well into the phase that many warned us about. It's so frustrating when our days are filled with battles, struggles, and tears... I miss the days where she was so happy and cheerful to just hang out, read books, play with toys, etc. Instead, her current favorite activity seems to be pushing mom's buttons as often as possible, ignoring mom's requests (or commands!) to stop, being obstinate, and creating impossible situations. Ugh! I know that so many of you have already been through this (or are currently in the midst with me), and so I keep telling myself that I can do this. But, each day becomes harder than the last, and my patience and mental fortitude appear to be fading fast.

I'm beginning to wonder if the fact that I work from home is part of the problem: because she sees me home all the time, I think she feels that I am at her disposal. It's *very* challenging to set limits and boundaries when I'm right next to her or in the next room. On top of that, our situation is one that inevitably leads to lots of guilt on my part - if I'm playing with her I feel guilty that I'm not working more, and if I'm working, I'm guilty of not spending enough time with my girl! I can't even begin to imagine what this would be like if I had 2 or even more children.

And so, I continue to hope that I am growing stronger and more patient, and that she and I will find a way to happily coexist through this time while she explores boundaries, learns to assert herself, and continues to investigate her roles in life. I know that all of the behaviors we're seeing are normal and an important part of her development, but more often than not I feel completely incapable of parenting in a responsible and effective manner.

Thanks for bearing with me on this post... this is what is at the forefront of my mind at the moment, and I need to find some way to process and learn from what we're going through. I'm hoping to get back to my old self really soon!

thanks to all!

I'm quite tardy in mentioning some amazing things that have been arriving in my mailbox. Here's a quick rundown...

I ordered this incredible zippered pouch from Nordic Section - yes, it has pom poms and a birdhouse charm!

Then the amazingly gifted and creative Sarah sent a suprise gifty of her fun and incredibly functional Crafty Recipe Idea Cards! Have you seen her Stick Family Portraits yet?!? Totally fab!

Mariko was an incredible swap buddy, and she made me this cute tote bag in exchange for the little reindeer I offered up before Christmas. Can you believe this fabric - snails and mushrooms?!?

Last, but certainly not least, Rose sent this incredible little package of goodies as a swap for her little deer. Can you believe she made this incredibly cute little stuffed deer?!? Oh, the patience required to make softies at a small scale... and she also sent the Denyse Schmidt Dots and Jots correspondence set, a beautiful piece of Kaffe Fassett's beach ball fabric, and some Japanese twill tape printed with little kawaii houses and critters!

I love when craftiness comes to the mailbox! Thanks everyone!

A million thanks...

... to all of you who left such sweet and supportive comments regarding the new buzz goods shop, and to those of you who have already become my first customers! It has already been a whirlwind, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this little venture develops! A little note about the shop, which may not have been clear from the outset: these are not necessarily one-of-a-kind items. I've made up one sample of each for the purposes of taking photos, but I'll happily make up more of each design based on the demand. However, each item *is* unique because they are handmade, and these little variations are what make them fun and special!

I promised more goodies for the shop, and today is the day! I've added a slew of door hangers (I hate this term - anyone have a better suggestion?) to the shop. Here is one of the designs:

Each of these started as a vintage Valentine's Day postcard that was scanned and printed onto high quality muslin, pre-treated with Bubble Jet. The vintage postcard patch was then appliqued onto a background fabric, and the whole thing got a coordinating fabric for the back and a ribbon to hang it by. They were then lightly stuffed with polyfill and hand-stitched closed. I thought this would be a great way to feature some of these incredible vintage images around the house. You can hang them on doors, around a pet's neck (just kidding!), from the mantel, on a wreath, or....? I hope you like them!

I should have one more batch of items added by the end of this weekend, and then that will do it for the Valentine's Day treats!

buzz goods are here!

There has been quite a lot of scheming and planning over here at buzzville lately, and I'm really excited to announce that I've opened a mini shop (over on your upper right) - buzz goods - where you can purchase some of the projects I've been working on lately. The current theme for the shop is Valentine's Day, so you can find some little goodies to treat yourself or someone you really like! The shop currently features cute mini pillows like this one,

and I'll be adding more items later this week.

I'm a little low tech at the moment - no automatic check out yet - so just send an email to buzzville at earthlink dot net if you're interested in something, and I'll get a Paypal invoice right out! International buyers are welcome - I'll just do a little fancy math to get you an accurate shipping quote!

All items are completely handmade by me, and other than the samples shown in the photographs, these will be made to order. So, it make take me a day or two to get your items in the mail once you've placed your order. Thanks for understanding! I think it will make each item more personal, which is just the way I like it! Speaking of personal, feel free to email if you have a special request for something - a different size, fabric, etc. I'll be happy to explore other options with you.

This is a *really* big deal for me, so a huge thanks to all of you out there who have given words of support and encouragement! I'm so much happier crafting these days, and it's because of all of you that I've had the wherewithal to keep it up!

Addiction: Japanese Craft Books!

We spent a couple of days in San Jose (where my grandparents live) for Christmas, and of course, no visit to a city that *has* a Kinokuniya is complete without a visit to said Kinokuniya! So, with some Christmas $$$ burning a hole in my pocket, I discovered a bunch of new additions to my collection (the gallery has been updated!). Here is some info and pics for each of these new acquisitions. Enjoy!

ISBN 4529040437 Tik Tik is part of the "Heart Warming Life Series" I keep coming across, and although it is technically not a magazine (because it has an ISBN rather than an ISSN number), this is Vol. 5 from 2004 (a bit old, and yet it was still on the stands!). This is the Christmas issue, and projects range from crosstitch to embroidery to sewing to beading. All in all, I probably should have looked through this one a bit more carefully before I bought it; most of the projects are a bit more traditional than my tastes - the cover is what drew me in.

ISBN 4391621878 On the other hand, Handmade Cafe is a fun one. Again, a wide variety of crafts included: felting, sewing, crochet, applique, embroidery, sewing, etc. This one has lots of fun, quirky projects that are really all over the map.

this one's for you Amy!

ISBN 4056041792 I know I'm a bit late on the bandwagon for this one - seems it's been popping up everywhere lately - but Nuigurumi Style is definitely worth it. This is my current favorite Japanese craft book - tons of cute projects, and lots of "studio" photos that are just as inspiring of the projects. If you're looking for a good first book to buy, I would recommend this one.

ISBN 4277171818 This Crochet book is really gorgeous. The projects are atyipical of what I've seen in most other Japanese crochet books - the patterns are more modern, more original, and not so focussed on doilies and potholders. Here's a sampling:

ISBN 4529041735 I probably would have bought this book of Onishi Junko's work just to drool over her amazing fabrics, but the good news is that the projects inside are interesting too. Most of the projects are bags (with some zakka thrown in here and there), but the shapes are very fun and innovative - pleats, ruffles, scallops, creative stitching, etc. And, did I mention the fabrics?!?

ISBN 4893968688 My quilt days is typical of several Japanese patchwork books I have - lots of focus on the quilting in taupes that is so popular in Japan. Projects include bags, sewing kits, wall hangings, and little baskets. It's a cute book, but unless you're interested in lots of detailed patchwork, applique and embroidery, I'd look elsewhere.

ISBN 4893968491 I have no idea what this book is called, but it is focussed on projects with wool felt. What attracted me is that most of the projects are very modern, with clean, simple lines and a sense of humor. Projects include bags and pouches, cup cozies, placemats, tea cozies, a simple sewing kit, dolls, wall hangings, etc.

Phew! Now these ought to last me a while, don't you think?!?

a new year

Phew - 2006 is here and already running fast! Belated festive new year wishes to you all, and I hope the first few days have been wonderful! We had a hectic weekend, full of organizing and regrouping. Signs of Christmas have been dismantled, packed up, and our tree recycled. We made a trek to Ikea to get some new, home organization type stuff. Although I haven't quite finished organizing my aforementioned crafty center (the holidays got in the way!), I made major progress this weekend with a new bookshelf that we were able to squeeze in.

We also did some purging and organizing in Brynne's room (out with the old toys, in with the new!). She's thrilled that we bought her a "big girl" bed at Ikea this weekend, although mom and dad are facing new challenges to make sure the "big girl" *stays* in her new bed! Leave it to Ikea to name the bed Kritter for the cute dog and cat at the headboard.

We also bought a bunch of new storage bins for toys in the hopes that we can keep things semi-organized. I swear, the curse upon parents is all of these fantastic toys that come with 1000 tiny pieces - I know they encourage creativity, but who is supposed to keep it all organized and contained?!? Since Brynne can't read yet, we went with a pictorial organization system:

I printed photos representative of the contents onto label paper and stuck them onto the bins. We're hoping this will help Brynne find her toys *and* put them away. I know you all think I'm crazy, but at least I'm trying!

We had a quiet celebration - we continued watching the dvd set from season 1 of Lost and I mixed up some tasty bellinis to toast in the new year (east coast time!). We made it to about 10:30 pm and then went to bed, to be woken up at 12:00 by our neighbors' fireworks celebration. For those of you who don't yet have kids, don't laugh - this too may be your fate if you ever decide to have offspring!