World's Best Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

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Strawberry season is here, and there is absolutely no better way to enjoy them then in a strawberry shortcake... 

I decided to make one for Mickey's 5th birthday last week, and thought I'd share with you.

Some people use pound cake or angel food to make shortcake, but I like a nice white cake from Duncan Hines.  No other brand will do, and no, they did not pay me to say that.  I just looove their cakes... and M&M brownies. (Homer Drool)

Step 1:  Bake cake as instructed on package.

As you can see, I couldn't find my second round cake pan, so I used a square one and trimmed the cake with a knife by tracing around the top half.  The upside here is that I got to sample the cake and no one knew... hahaha

Tip! To keep your cake level, always place the bottom layer top side down.

I also don't have a cooling rack, so I just use the top of a roasting pan upside down.  Works great. Make sure to cool it completely or your whip cream will melt right off!

Step 2:  "Ice" with whipped cream.

There is nothing better than real whipped cream, so while you can use whipped topping, but it's so much better to make your own, especially since it's so easy.

If you have a metal mixing bowl, stick it in the freezer with your beater whips for about 30 minutes, it will make it easier.

Mix 500 ml of 35% whipping cream, 1/4 cup of sugar and half a capful of vanilla extract and beat on high until it stiffens and starts to form soft peeks.  You can also whip by hand with a whisk... but it will take about 15 minutes and it will feel like your arm is about to fall off... so you know, totally up to you.

Work quickly so that your whip cream doesn't melt, adding a generous amount between the layers and all around the cake... you should use all of it.  (Minus a spoonful or two for the cook.)

Step 3:  Decorate with strawberries and voilà!

I recommend sticking it quickly in the fridge and letting it sit for at least an hour so that it sets.

It was a big hit with the boys, earning a thumbs up from Mickey, the house's toughest critic. 

Ummmm my favorite! Reminds me of when my mom used to make them.  Some people use strawberry jam in the middle...

Only 3 steps, but it will look like you slaved for hours!

Funky French Manicure How To

Pin It I found this great new product the other day and am so happy with my results I thought I'd share.

It's called Art Deco, and I found it at the local junk store when I was picking up a birthday card.  It comes in almost every colour under the sun, and was only $2.00, so I decided to try it.

What I liked best about this nail polish is the brush:  It is very long with a very fine tip.  Perfect for detail work!

 I've seen many variations of this type of nail polish, I'm pretty sure any brand you can find locally will do the job.

 I started with a clear base coat, did two coats of the silver, trying to keep the lines straight.  The brush was helpful, and it was pretty easy.  The sparkles in the polish makes the nails feel a little bumpy, but two generous coats of a clear top coat smoothed it right out.

I swear the toughest part of a manicure is managing  not to screw it up while it dries!  It may feel dry to the touch, but if you've done several coats, it will take longer to cure, so any actual pressure could dent or smudge all your hard work.  (which happens to me probably 50% of the time, despite my best efforts!)








I love how much they sparkle!!!  This would be beautiful for a night out... perhaps
for the upcoming hot Valentine's day date you've got planned? 

One last quick tip:  Did you know that if you're out of nail polish remover, you can use fresh nail polish to remove the old stuff?  Simply apply a thin coat and wipe, the new polish will remove the old.  Humph.  Who would have thought?

Much Love, 

Felicia

Creative and Imaginative Recipes for Christmas!

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With Halloween barely over with, it's already beginning to look a lot like Christmas.  All of the stores are already replacing the candy and costumes with Christmas treats and wrapping paper, and sending out flyers filled with toys and gift ideas.

I guess there's no denying it, the holiday season is upon us.  Christmas parties will abound, and baking will begin.  Millions of cookies will be baked, as well as other yummy treats.

If you're looking for creative ways to wow your guests or your colleagues at the up-coming office party, here are some fun, unique recipes that will brighten up any buffet table.

Megan, from CrazyDomestic.com shares this wonderful recipe for melted snowman cookies that is sure to delight kids of all ages...

I love the way she gave every snowman a different expression, it really makes them come alive!
Complete instructions can be found here, and I think you could probably make him a top hat, using a mini marshmellow dipped in chocolate on top on a chocolate melt.


These Christmas tree cupcakes, brought to us by Amazingmoms.com,  look great and are easy enough to achieve.  The kids can help out, and as a bonus, they will be thrilled by the amount of frosting on them!!!

Recipe Instructions

These reindeer cupcakes are very cute, also from Amazingmoms.com, and easy enough that your children can help .  If you don't want to mess with the melted chocolate, you could easily replace the piped antlers by using pretzels instead!  The website actually has many fun christmas baking ideas, check it out if you're looking for more!

This cookie Christmas Tree looks to darn good to eat!  I think the most complicated part of the recipe is drawing out your twelve circles with a compass on the parchment and having to cut them out.  I think this is well worth the effort, when you consider the wow effect this will have as a centre piece, not to mention the props you'll get!

Recipe Instructions

The great thing about cookies and other baked goods is that they make a great inexpensive gift.  All you need is a pretty basket from the dollar store, some cellophane and a little ribbon, and you can make a beautiful creation.  Consider adding a candy cane or a small ornament  as you're tying your ribbon.  It will look great, and people will really appreciate the time and effort that went in to the gift.

Happy Baking, and have a Merry Christmas!!!

Much Love, 

Felicia

PS:  I'd love to see pics of your attempts!  Send them to me by email, I'll add them to the bottom of this post!

Amazing Art You Can Create With Your iPhone or iPad

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I may have mentioned this once or twice before, but I dream of owning an iPad...

For now, I must be content with my iPhone 3GS...

One of the main reasons I want the iPad 2 is because I've been dabbling in digital illustrations, and there are so many great apps for drawing, movie making, photo editing, and more.

I recently purchased a stylus, which, for some reason, I thought could only be used with an iPad. Well, what a difference it has made! I purchased two new apps, Zen Brush, and ArtStudio, and I'm simply amazed at what I've been able to draw/paint with them. Zen Brush is only in black and white, but ArtStudio uses full colour, and even allows you to import pictures to work on. Plus, and this is the greatest part in my view, you can make up to 6 layers, which can be quite helpful. For example, in this "painting", I first created the background image and then created a second layer with the tree. This way, if you're unhappy with something, you can erase it without losing your background image.

Here are some sketches I did using Zen Brush (as a side note: they offer more options than the Sepia Background, but I think it's the nicest one):

One of my first sketches, a quick rendering of a picture of my oldest.

I absolutely love this one. It reminds me of a painting that used to hang in my grandfather's room.

Skater boy

Pond... a quick sketch of a painting I've been working on.

Bunny!!! He was one of my first, and not really a masterpiece, but I really like him.

Drawing hair with this app is so easy, I've never been able to do it better with a pencil. Highlights are created with the eraser, which you can make any size you like. Both apps offer different qualities, and I recommend them both. Also, they were quite inexpensive (I think the most expensive was ArtStudio, but for $3.99, I feel it packs a whole lot of value). A stylus definitely offers greater precision, I couldn't have created these without it.

Now imagine what I could do if I wasn't limited to the tiny screen of an iPhone...

Hope you enjoyed!

Much Love,

Felicia

PS: If you're in the market for a stylus, Amazon offers some great deals... this is the one I purchased... for half the price of what I paid at Best Buy.

5 Ways to Save Money by Shopping Smart

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There have been times in my life that I've been very poor, so I learned early to stretch my dollars as far as they could possibly go.  Shopping smart is now something that's in my blood.  It doesn't matter how much money I have, although I like to spend, I have always had the kind of mentality where I'd rather have 3 sweaters than 1 for for my money. 


To help you save your dollars, I've put together a top 5 list of ways to shop smart and really stretch your money as far as it can possibly go, leaving more for savings or that big ticket item you've been dreaming of, like an iPad 2 in my case. While we are on that subject, if anyone rich is reading this and would like to donate one for the sake of art... just email me ;) LOL


1. Sales:  This may seem obvious, but many people don't take full advantage of sales.  When I receive flyers for the week, I look for any great sales on items we use regularly in our home.  I usually go 2 to 3 times a week, so  my main groceries get done where there's the most sales on items I want to buy, but if there's a really exceptional offer somewhere else, I'll stop there for my mid-week oops I ran out of (insert item here).


I stock up on those items.  For example, in this household, we tend to use two 2 litre bottles of Pepsi a day. (yes, I know that's a lot - please no lectures - Anyone who knows me knows that I should be the Pepsi spokesperson. LOL) Anyway, so two 2 litres of Pepsi can cost up to $6/day at my local convenience store.  Times 30 that equals to a potential of $180 a month for Pepsi.  Stop that, I know you're judging me.  Tomorrow, it will go on sale for $0.88 at one of our local grocery store.  I will be purchasing about 30 bottles, and only because I can't possibly store any more in my 2 bedroom appartment.  But this represents a savings of $62!!!  On one item!  


Do this with several items you use regularly and can store for a long period of time and this could amount to HUGE savings per month, allowing you to reduce your credit card debt that much faster, added savings if you consider the interest you won't be paying...


2. Liquidation:  I always look for the liquidation section.  The deals you can find there are simply amazing, and I swear, it makes me positively giddy when I find a steal of a deal. I do my Christmas shopping all year long, and have picked up many toys for the kids that ranged from $10 to $30 for a Whopping $2 to $10!!!  Clothing always goes dirt cheap at the end of the season, and some items just never go out of style, such as plain t-shirts and camisoles... so it's time to stock up when they go on for $3!!!  (Which by the way, says a lot about the unbelievable mark-up on prices). 

How to wear slouch boots - my interpretation

Pin It So the other day I bought myself a GORGEOUS pair of purple slouch boots - and every one knows how much I LOVE purple!!!

I bought mine at Giant Tigre for $20, but I found this picture online of Steve Madden Boots, and they are exactly the same!

And by exactly, I mean in look.  I'm sure the Steve Madden boots are real suede and better quality.  Yadiyadida.

How many seasons are purple slouch boots going to be "in" for?  Why would I invest $160 in a fad, when I can get the same look for much, much less?

So I googled some ideas on how to wear them, and they recommend the skinny pant tucked in, but also mention that it's important to add weight up top to balance out the chunkiness of the boot.

I got to wear them the other day as the weather has dropped drastically lately:

I love the look... And it was all very inexpensive:

• The sweater dress was a $10 find at Fairweather last year.  Gosh I love that store!  
• I'm wearing a $3 liquidation long sleeve t-shirt from Smart Set (also love them, but only worth shopping the sales - their regular prices are ridiculous, considering the quality of their merchandise)  
• My pashmina was a gift, but they can be purchased almost anywhere for as little as $10 (depending on the quality of course).  
• My purse, pictured below, was found at a pharmacy of all places.  It was marked $25, but scanned for $15 - SCORE!!!  I love how original it is, and as an added bonus, the interior is awesome.
• My jeans are just an old pair of well worn jeans that I love deeply - and I think they were from a friend.

Total cost for the whole outfit, including the Steve Madden look-a-like boots? Only $68!!!  Now that's dressing on a budget!

It always makes me laugh how women's magazine's advertise "affordable" looks, and then show me outfits that cost upwards of $350.  I've never been rich, but I've always had style.  I almost never pay full price for clothing, and I don't think that will ever change for me.

Well maybe one day when I'm rich and famous I'll buy a  Gucci Purseand some Manolo Blahnik shoes, but that's it, I swear. (probably)

How to start off my blog posts? - Deep Thoughts, by Felicia Stevenson

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I was about to write a totally different post on a completely different subject, but as I started to write I had the same problem I always have: how do I start my blog posts?

It feels unnatural to just start typing away, without acknowledging the fact that I'm writing for real life readers, but then, what do I say?

Um... there's the traditional: Dear Readers, 

No - that sounds to formal, and I'm anything but traditional.

Let's see..., how about Dear little monsters?

Shoot - no wait, that's taken already.

By George, I think I've got it! Dear Fellow Lifers!!!

-and by lifers I mean people like I, who have been sentenced to life on earth.  I think I really like that.  

But then I wonder if new visitors will be confused by it.  I mean, I can't be explaining what I mean under every post, now can I? 

Still, I really feel like I need to acknowledge the fact that I know you are there, and that I appreciate it more than I can really say.

Dear most wonderful people in the world because you read my blog,

There.  That says it all now, doesn't it?  A little long winded, but appropriate.

SO, settled.  

Until anyone gives me another really great suggestion, or you know, my crazy/beautiful mind

comes up with something better, that will be it.

PS, as a complete afterthought, I'd like to mention that I know starting a sentence with But or And is grammatically incorrect.  But I mean, call me a rebel, I'm taking artistic liberties.  And I don't care who doesn't like it.   :) 

How to: Water Marble Nail Art

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As an artist, the world is my canvas.

I love to create beauty everywhere I look, and that includes myself.

To me, hair, make-up, nail colours, clothing, shoes, coats, hats, purses, etc. are all tools to be used in creating a work of art: the perfect look.

I am a girly girl for sure, and am forever fascinated by both fashion and style.

While surfing youtube the other day, I came across a series of videos by this girl showing really cool effects that can be done with nail polish.

This one really caught my attention:

Her creativity is astonishing, isn't it? 

 I'd really like to know who came up with this idea in the first place and how!!!

Of course, I just had to try it out, check out my results below:

I must say: this was very time consuming! (two base coats, taping each finger, the water coat, two top coats and considerable curing time for such a thick application - 5 coats if you're counting!)

Total time: almost two hours!!!

The results do speak for themselves though, it looks like a professional manicure, and I'm quite pleased.  Probably for special occasions only, but it's a cool trick to know for sure!

I did my thumbs and index fingers with the recommended white base coats, but I did a pink base on all my other nails.  I then only used the pink, purple and silver as my design colours. The pictures don't really show the designs on the darker nails, but they look pretty cool as well.

Let me know if you decide to try it out!