Fuck Mondays

Today's post is cancelled because Monday needs to go die in a fire somewhere so i don't have to deal with it anymore.

To elaborate, the main computer is fried thanks to a fucking virus somebody got from porn-surfing (gee, thanks guys. really. We didn't have to USE it or anything...) On top of that family arguments/issues have become too much for me.

I will attempt to post tomorrow after today has officially gone to hell and died a flaming death of doom and destruction.

-Cake42

Friday's Spotlight: Running late as usual! :-D

        You guys willing to take the excuse that i seriously thought all day today was thursday?? Because i did. It wasn't until Jim got out of the shower and started putting on his khaki's and work-shirt did i realise "o.O fuck. it's friday." So dearest apologies. I'll be more on-time with these in the future.

        This Friday's spotlight is on one fantastic artist! I am seriously in love with this woman, her artwork, the storyline, everything! Her name? Pia "Yapi" Santiago. (or better known in my household as "*SQUEEEE!*") With her birthday coming up tomorrow (and for another excuse to stalk her...) i figured i would feature her this week and make her feel all warm n' fuzzy inside (or totally creeped out, one of the two...)

        I first discovered 30 year old Yapi from the Phillipines (that must be an amazing place to be from. seriously. I have too many wicked friends that are Filipino... The food ain't half bad either!) -- and her kickass Troll men while looking for examples of my favorite Warcraft race on Deviantart and stumbled across her infamous Meiles. (insert drool here.) (My version of him looks like a backwards naked school portrait somewhere o.O but eh it's free fanart right?)

(Tell me you wouldn't want to nom on that all night!)

        Though the story of these two mismatched lovers isn't written down anywhere publicly available (damn!) her little snippets into the lives and histories are always a welcome sight in my inbox! Don't get me wrong though, she draws much MUCH more than just sexy, scrumptious, jamaican-accent'd, blue guys with tusks and pudgy, adorable, squishy elves -- but they're my favorites (and I'm looking forward to Jim and I's anniversary because i am so going to commission her for a pic of Illo, Al, and Valkyron -- Though that commish might end up somewhere other than Deviantart... *wink wink*)

        On top of her Warcraft art, she also does some pretty wicked commissions including (but not limited to:) Mermaids, Rhino-men, TMNT, Bleach, and a variety of other mesmerizing bits of fanart. This month, in honor of her birthday, she started $5 sketch commissions, as well as a free raffle for a small bit of art that has her fans clamoring for positions -- i myself entered and am on pins and needles to see who wins!

        So if you haven't been over to stalk favorite her yet, go do so! Her livestreams are always fun, she's super bubbly, and hell i bet she'd even treat you to some singing if you asked real nicely! 

        Congratulations Yapi m'luv for being awesome enough to grab an entire post to yourself today! I'll be awaiting my restraining order eagerly XD 

        -Cake42

        P.S. -- you have NO idea how hard it was to find art of hers that wasn't done for someone else >.< So you get Meiles twice. (quit complaining and drool already.)

(Monday, you guys get to see my unmentionables as well as a project i hope to finish before next winter o.O)

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ALL IMAGES POSTED IN THIS ENTRY BELONG TO YAPI. STEALING IS NOT PERMITTED AND CAN (AND WILL) BE DEALT WITH SERIOUSLY. We will not just threaten to send rabid flying monkeys at you, you can seriously get sued for that kind of shit, so think before you try and claim it as your own -- Yapi has a lot of viewers and fans and they'll know it's not yours.

Fabulously Fimo

        As many of you may (or may not?) know, it's tax time! Meaning of course everyone is getting their tax checks! Time to pony up and get that used car, or a vacation, or for people like me and jim -- a 300 dollar shopping spree at the hobby store!!!
        So on top of all the special yarn and sketchbooks and antique-looking treasure chests we found (a long with many "booty" related pirate jokes...) I managed to grab some modeling clay. For a seriously long time, i've been oggling those teensy tiny miniatures that so many of you out there make daily. Cakes, sweets, ocotopi (I totally have a hidden love for octopi and squids...), chibis, entire kitchen sets -- all mini-sized!! (It makes me SQUEE!) And i'll admit -- i was a little jealous. How could these people possibly be so talented as to make play-doh look like delicious moist decadant cake!?
        Well, first off i found out that it's not play-doh. It's called "modeling clay". (Which i guess technically Play-doh could be called that too, but just work with me here...) The difference between them is actually really simple. (i.e: i learned it on google this morning.)

1. Water-based clays -- These clays are often air-drying like Cold Porcelain (and play-dough... except play-dough looks moldy when it dries. Ick...). They don't usually need baking (although you can) and they need to be kept in an air-tight container if un-used. They WILL eventually dry out though. 
2. Oil-based clays -- These clays are called "non-drying" or "never-drying" because there's no water to evaporate (thus drying it). In order for you to keep your creation when it's finished, you have to take two things into consideration:
• Is it a Plasticine clay? -- Plasticine clays are clays that will never ever ever EVER dry out. Meaning literally, it will last pretty  much forever. It'll get stiff when it gets cold, but it will never truly harden and can always be smushed if it falls or if your little sibling wants to play with it. The good points? It's easily remodle-able and you have an infinite amount of time to scrutinize over something without worrying if it's going to dry. This is awesome for making temporary molds, stop-motion animations (Gumby!) or just letting your kids play with it until they get tired and you don't have to go out and buy more brand-name "art dough" for 20 bucks. The stuff is cheap and colorful and easily available! The cons? It NEVER FRIKKING DRIES.
• Is it a Polymer clay? -- Polymer clay is like the stuff of the frikkin' gods. It can dry in the air, you can bake it and let it harden and use it for all kinds of stuff. Cover a box with it, make my little ponies out of it -- pendants, charms, earrings! (oh my!) this stuff has endless possibilities. (Hell it even comes in "translucent" and liquid forms!! 

        So of course today i decided to break open my $15 box of 18 bright assorted colors and see if i couldn't make the My little pony of my dreams! Only problem? The box was merely labled "Creative Art Clay". No ingredients list, no baking time, hell there wasn't even an address o.O!! Was it Polymer? Plasticine? What the hell was this shit!?
        In the name of all things crafty, i quickly picked the ugliest color i had (nasty orangish-pink-salmon-barf) and formed two cubes (turning them into dice with a few holes poked into them in case this actually worked...) and set the oven for 250 degrees (average baking temp from what i googled). Once the thing was preheated and ready to go, i set the timer for 15 minutes and waited....
        Seven minutes later.... i found goo. All. Over. My. Mom's. Pan.
        On the plus side, i found out it was Plasticine clay!! Bad side? The vision of my perfect pony fell out of my hands quicker than i could have sketched them down....
        So what's a girl to do with (essentially) 15 bucks worth of the most expensive play-doh in the craft store?

        I go completely nerdy and make a bust of my WoW character that's what! 

Er... kind of?

        Okay, that's bad. That's Craftfail kind of bad... Actually, close-up she kind of reminds me of the guy from Goonies who likes the candybars... (Hey you guys!) Leeeeeeeeeeet's just ignore that i ever mentioned this monstrosity and move on to people who actually know what they're doing with clay... k? Good!

        First up, Unladylikely and her best friend have adorned simple wooden dowels with this pliable paste and have created the most amazing homemade harry potter memorabilia i've ever seen! Wands? Nerdtastic!

        I've always had a love for all things gruesome and macabre, so beatblack's skeletal "anatomy lockets" sent my heart a-flutter. 

 

(I'm in lurve with the brain-cameo in their avatar!)

Now someone out there, knows how to render 3D models into a perfect polymer replica! lilninjabear has sculpted up an adorable murloc baby!! (I have a huge soft-spot for murlocs... the quest where you drag the babies on the trunk back into the ocean makes me tear up. Srsly.) 

D'aww! I wanna cuddle 'im! 

Now on the complete opposite end of the totally nerdy spectrum, we have maxxev who has combined the art of knitting, with the art of illusion (*waves hands magically and throws glitter*) thus creating... 

 

(Bum, bum, BUMMMMM!) 

        The most amazing piece of polymer geekery i've ever laid eyes on!  Lookit that! It's pure polymer, but it looks like it's been knitted to perfection! Sheesh, it takes me forever to get regular cables right, let alone clay ones! o.O They've also got a few other wonderful pieces they've worked on such as knitted ornaments made of clay. So pretty! Want! (Also i'm completely head-over-heels for their "knitted heart brooches" to the point where i would sell a kidney to own one. o.O)

        Internet Geekdom cannot truly be achieved of course, until one has done something "Bacon"-y. Whether it be partaking in bacon breathmints, cooking bacon turtles, or even knitting a bacon scarf, bacon has become a huge part of our internet culture. (Hell, there's even a website dedicated to it o.O) So when i saw solar_jazz's "Deceptively Delicious Earrings" i couldn't help myself. 

Om nom nom polymer. 

        But of course there are thousands of teeny tiny detailed creations out there that have been carefully and lovingly sculpted to pure perfection by some of the most talented people. If you don't believe me, check out my DevArt fav's and take a look for yourself. Hell, i've even favorite'd a few tutorials for when i can go grab me some Fimo next month! (If you'd like me to favorite one of your creations, or one of your favorite artist's creations, leave me a note and i'll totally check it out!) After all, that's how i found Christopher Blake and his teeny tiny wonders of pure awesome-sauce. 

        Not only does he sculpt some dangerously delicious miniatures, but he's also created shoebox-like dioramas with miniature shops and rooms! (Squee!). He says he'd love to have a giveaway for every 100 followers he gets, so why not pop over and see what he's got at his blog? If not for the future giveaways, then to check out his itty bitty nom-ables!

        If you have a certain hobby or craft that relates to pure geekdom, nerdery, or all-around dorkness -- please leave a comment or drop me an email! (Heck, i'll even accept them on DevArt or Facebook if you've got the time!) I'd love to hear from you guys and all about the things you love! 

            -Cake42

Bow Chicka Bow Wow

(Sorry for the lateness of the post today! -- almost 12 hours i know... -- Sleep didn't catch up with me until around 1:00 this afternoon.)

        I'll openly admit it. Peanut butter makes me excited. Not like "OMG WATERPARK!" excited, i mean like "let's put on some Barry White and cuddle" kind of excited. (*wink wink, nudge nudge*) So needless to say, when Valentine's day came around, i had to make something involving peanut butter.

        If you could see my favorites, you would probably be as confused as hell. I have unorganized pages and organized folders everywhere. The most recent of which, have been recipes and tutorials from Craftster, so when i went looking through my abomination of a favorites list for something peanut butter -- i had plenty to choose from!

This week's Awesome-Monday-Craft-Slash-Recipe-Thingy (need to find a better name for that...) is of course Redflags' luscious "Chocolate-covered oatmeal peanut butter sandwich cookies"

These cookies -- despite the horrible twinge of pain in my mouth from a missing cap -- were to-die-for! They were soft and gooey and almost exactly like those oatmeal cream pies from Little Debbie, except with more peanut butter and drizzled in chocolate! Although Redflag's turned out much much prettier and perfectly round, they were still snapped up quicker than i could sandwich them!

Ingredients:  (This is still Redflag's recipe, i'm merely  making comments where i changed things)
(cookies)

• 1 1/2 cups Flour (All purpose)
• 1 tsp baking soda (I attempted to double the batch and added too much, they ended up spreading out super thin)
• 1 tsp baking powder (i probably didn't add enough of this!)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks softened)
• 1 cup peanut butter (I used creamy here too, my boy hates chunky lol)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs 
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 cup quick cooking oats

(filling)

• 6 tbsp butter (softened)
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use crunchy here. It'll be icky.)
• 5 tbsp heavy cream (we bought heavy whipping cream instead. not sure if it's the same thing, but it turned out perfect!)

(for the drizzle)

• 1 bag of your favorite chocolate chips/melting chocolate (12 oz)
• 3 tbsp shortening

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (She forgot to add that to the original recipe, but it's posted in the comments later.)
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
• In a separate bowl cream the butter, peanut butter, sugars, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time incorporating each one thoroughly before adding the next. 
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Add the oats. 
• Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a parchment lined (or in my case cooking spray'd) baking sheet and flatten. (If you don't flatten them, they turn out kinda lumpy and oddly shaped. But don't flatten them too much, or they'll goo everywhere and will be burnt cracker things.)
• Cook for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. (Like she mentions, they're going to look like they're not finished. They are. Let them finish cooking/cooling on the pan before you remove them.)
• While cookies are cooling, make the filling by pretty much just dumping all the "filling" ingredients into a bowl and mixing it. you can't really go wrong with it. (You will have to have a wooden spoon handy to smack any boyfriend-vultures away though, or you will not have any left to fill the cookies with. Same with the cookie dough!)
• To make the chocolate drizzle (Which we totally forgot to do and ended up just microwaving some hershey's chocolate chips and sticking it in a piping bag...) Place your favorite melting chocolate in a double boiler. Melt with 3 tbsp of shortening and stir until completely smooth.
• Assemble the cookies by globbing a tablespoon of filling onto the bottom of a cooled cookie. Place another cookie (top up, so the bottoms face eachother) on top and smush down carefully so the filling distributes evenly. Set aside. 
• Place your chocolate in a ziploc baggie or a piping bag, and snip off the end (tiny!) drizzle warm gooey goodness in a zig-zag pattern (or smiley face, or hypnotic swirls, or pretty much whatever you like.. it's your cookies!) 
• OM NOM NOM until they're gone. (Okay i added that last part...)

 Anyways, these cookies are da bomb. However, due to the fact that boy was impatient and i was sore from bending over the stove/sink all day, they turned out a wee bit soggy. We ended up refridgerating them to firm them up and ended up letting them get REALLY hard. (Which is still good, they were amazingly tasty...) but they did give me the worst tooth pain in ages. Seriously, these things are rich. It was hard to eat more than one at a time o.O

(Pure om nom nom...)

        Next week (as soon as the weather is nicer so i can get some better light...) I'm showcasing a pattern for a crochet'd bikini top (which i am totally wearing right now...) which can be made in just about any size and is soooooooo comfortable!

        Remember, if you'd like me to try a recipe or a pattern (as long as they're free) feel free to drop me a comment or an email and i'll see what i can do! :-D

            -Cake42

Friday's Spotlight: Hyperbole and a Half

(If you're new, or just tuning in, I mentioned last Saturday, that Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are going to have themes now! every Friday is going to be a spotlight or interview on a website, seller, or a random hobo.)

When someone starts a blog, they intend for people to read it. Whether or not they get many viewers at first, there's always that hope that somewhere on the other end of the twisted web, that someone is watching. One of those people, clinging to the very dream that someday she'll become famouse beyond reason, is Allie. Allie owns the quirky, strange, and oh-so-addicting blog "Hyperbole and a Half". Part blog, part webcomic, it's become one gigantic flaming mess of dinosaurs, talking spaghetti noodles, childhood trauma, and bears. Lots and lots of bears. Oh, and cake. In her (first) "About me" section, Allie describes herself as "Heroic, caring, alert, and flammable". Her sense of humor is a lot like my own -- twisted, childish, and seriously random -- but hers is definitely more addictive.

My personal favorites from her extensive archive (which i may or may not have spent 6 hours pouring through...) would have to be Spaghatta Nadle -- the previously mentioned spaghetti noodle who speaks ... with a speech impediment. It's not only adorable, but he's got a lovable attitude! Completely quirky and unexpected he continues on for a few other episodes (4 or 5... possibly more i forget XD) and i personally would love to see just a webcomic of him every morning in addition to my already 13 comics i read daily. (Dear god is it really that many??) 


I stumbled upon Allie's blog from a wall post between my friends on Facebook -- it might have been "God of Cake" or "Dog's don't understand basic concepts like moving" episode. Her comics are interesting, the stories hilarious, and the behind-the-scenes action is just icing on the cake, and i would gladly spend another all-nighter reading through her repitoire of weird all over again.

Allie's want for internet domination (or at least global fame...) seem to be growing exponentially and i'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next blog post. If you love her quirkiness as much as i do, you can get even more of it from the forum "VERY SERIOUS" -- which is anything but. (Especially if you like dinosaurs and doodling in MS paint.) If you're bored, go check it out. If you're not, go anyways and meet some of the strangest, most off-the-wall people i've ever laid eyes on and enjoy yourself!

Congrats Allie, you've officially become my first Spotlight post, and hopefully this will help propel you a little higher on the "lookit me i'm famous!" ladder. [insert heart thingy here that blogspot hates, because it includes a less-than sign...]

-Cake42

NerdCraft Wednesday:

        If you haven't figured it out already, i'm a complete nerd. A dork, a geek, a twisted freak of nature who's utterly and completely obsessed with all things gaming with a sprinkle of reading and crafting thrown in. For those who missed Saturday's post, Every Wednesday is now dedicated to my nerdly obsessions.This week, we're focusing on the nerdiest craft projects that have ever hit the web, and have a close place to my heart.

        We'll start with something i'm actually familiar with: Yarn!

        Through my daily stalkings meanderings through Craftster, i happened upon an extremely colorful purse! (And me, being the purse-whore i am, immediately hit ctrl+d...)

        What's more, it's based after the board game "Settlers of Catan"! Unfortunately, i've never played this game, and up until i saw this purse i'd never even heard of it o.O So what does a girl do when she's intrigued? Wiki.

"The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) under the name Die Siedler von Catan. Players assume the role of settlers on the game board, each attempting to build and develop their settlement while trading and acquiring resources. Players are rewarded points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of points is the winner."

         Well kudos fantasticmio for being wickedly awesome and creating a bag about something you love :-D (and being nice enough to hand out the pattern for free!)

         I must admit. I've never really been one for making potholders... when you think about it, they seem like the most boring thing to make o.O They're just squares of fabric you use to grab things out of the oven with, right? Oh boy am i wrong o.O

        Adaiha has managed to convince me with a single photo, that everything i ever thought about potholders was wrong. o.o Not only can they be beautiful additions to your kitchen theme and color scheme, but they can also be fun to make! They don't have to be squares (as any person on Ravelry could have told me...) hell, they can even be freakin' Celtic knots.

         Lookit that! How perfectly awesome could one potholder/trivet be?? Okay, so i guess it's technically not a "Celtic Knot" -- as she calls it a "woven circles trivet" but damnit it's celtic enough for me! And i love it. Adaiha, you win an internet m'dear. 

        Up next, i've featured something that's been on the news a lot recently. The zodiac.

 (I myself, am a Scorpio and Jim's a Leo)

        I frikkin love this blanket/throw. Ever since i was little i've been enamored with the stars -- hell, every time i got upset or worried i loved to look at Orion's belt like it was my personal formation in the sky. (Kinda like XKCD said here....) Nevertheless, i love it. Crocheted in Tunisian stitch (something i've yet to quite master with my teeny Tunisian hook...) i envy them! Wonderful work m'dear. You too, win an internet. 

      Though i have yet to actually read/play anything involving "Cthulu" i must say he's quite a character. Seen in everything from Scribblenauts, to plushies, to tea cozies this squid-faced behemoth has won my heart. (and probably my soul, but for such cuteness i'd probably give it willingly anyways.) 

        There are literally thousands of patterns for this squishy squid-guy, but these here are a few of my favorites: 

Amigurumi Cthulu -- Squid squee!

Ski-mask Cthulu (reminds me of an Ood...)

Cthulu Sock monkey! (Okay, not really knitted or crocheted... but it's Cthulu. Nod and smile.)

        And of course how can we end our yarn-craft section without a nod to the longest running game in the history of "WTF ANOTHER?" -- Final Fantasy. 

        Yes my friends, that is indeed the most adorable Chocobo amigurumi pattern you've ever laid eyes on -- and the lovely phantasmafreud has oh-so-lovingly written out the pattern for you all for free. You should go shower them with love and affection and promptly go make your own cuddly bird-buddy. DO EET.

        Still yarn-related but not quite, ammasmama has ingeniously created a tutorial on make-your-own resin knitting needles! 

         I'm sure with a little bit of know-how and a few power tools you could probably fashion crochet hooks as well (Ooooh! Custom Tunisian! :-o) But nevertheless, her tutorial is genius! The ingredients are slightly toxic so gas masks are definitely a requirement, but the McDonald's straws are just perfect. Who ever woulda thought? lol. Head over to her tutorial here and go make your own -- 

        But before you go sticking buttons and doodads on the backs of your newly created glitery stabbing tools, Check out what you could be putting on the ends of them instead to complete your nerdery: 

 Companion Cube-ry! 

        I myself have never really worked with canes (or clay much for that matter o.O) But these make me want to buy as many pretty shiny colors as i possibly can and cane away! Think of how many adorable Portal-themed charms you could come up with? Stitch markers? Buttons? Endcaps for the needles above? Muahahahahaha the possibilities!!

        Next Week i'll be showering you all in girliness, glitter, and all things nerderiffic -- but if you have a completely dorky/gamer/geeky/nerdish project you'd love to show off, feel free to drop me an email or a comment! I'd love to see what you've got!!

          -Cake42

Monday Montage: Crab Rangoon!

        Welcome to Monday, the most glorious -- oh who am i kidding nobody's thrilled it's monday. (On a similar note, i seriously cannot stand Garfield. I want to watch him burn in a hobo fire with great fiery passion.)

        BUT! in the honor of it being my new blogging schedule (and the fact that i've noticed i can have this post written on a thursday and posted on a monday....) I've decided to grace you all with my shit-tastic photography skills. Enjoy. 
         This week's awesome noms were inspired by the extremely tasty Food People Want because for ages i've been craving Crab Rangoon. Not just like "Oh, it sounds pretty good, i'll get that the next time i go to the mall", i mean like Holy crap this is what it must feel like to be pregnant, i need it NOW kind of craving. (No, i'm not pregnant.) So Jim -- my loving tolerant sweet sweet fiance Jim... -- did the most wonderful thing in the world for me the other day, and bought the stuff to make homemade rangoons. (Baby, i love you!)
        We found Michael Parlapiano's gorgeous blog from our daily searches on Foodgawker. We wanted a recipe that was simple, wasn't too overcomplicated with ingredients we didn't have -- just pure sweet rangoon -- and my god did this recipe deliver!

        (Please note i may or may not be having a love-affair with Jim's Camera. I am not a photographer by any means -- (as you can obviously see) -- but this camera really makes me want to try o.o)

        We live in Indiana, so getting fresh crab isn't always easy. (or cheap!) So unfortunately, we had to go with the pre-packaged fake crab. But damnit it was still tasty!

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz Package of fake crab sticks
• 1 8oz Block of cream cheese (softened)
• 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce (Fact: I cannot pronounce that word for the life of me. Same with "Tranquilizer")
• 1/2 tsp Soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp Grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp Lemon juice
• 1-2 green onions, sliced paper-thin (we omitted these because dad won't eat anything with the word "onion" in it...)
• Ground black pepper to taste
• Store-bought wonton skins
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 egg yolk
• Oil for frying

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the crab meat and cream cheese until combined. 
• Add the W-sauce, Soy Sauce, ginger, Lemon juice, green onions, and pepper and mix well. 
• In a small bowl or cup, mix together the water, cornstarch, and egg yolk to make a glue. 
• Take a wonton wrapper, and -- using your finger or a brush -- brush the egg mixture on the bottom and right edges. 
• Using a rounded tablespoon, spoon the crab mixture into the wonton -- Do no overfill! It's going to look like you don't have enough. You will! Remember, you have to fold these!! 
• Fold the wontons over into a triangle shape, so that the two wed sides, meet the two dry sides. pinch closed. Either use a fork to flute the edges (and seal them) or you can play around with your boyfriend's kitchen gadgets and make nifty edges with his ravioli maker you forgot you still had from christmas. 
• Repeat with remaining wontons. 
• When you run out of wontons, spread on crackers and continue eating. 
• Preheat oven to 200° 
• Fill a large (heavy bottom) pot with enough oil to fry with. Heat until oil is 350°, or until your boyfriend starts impatiently tossing rangoons in. 
• Working in batches, fry 3-4 (or less, depending on how big your pot is) pockets at a time until golden brown and poofy. 
• Fish them out of the oil and place on a rack with a paper towel to drain excess grease. 

• Place in the oven to keep them warm, or eat directly from the pan while you fiddle with your camera and have a food-gasm.  

        Food.People.Want also provides a recipe for homemade sweet and sour sauce, but let's just say there wasn't enough time to finish the sauce before the rangoons were finished off. I'm happy to say however, that we got my cream-cheese-hating-little-brother to love cream cheese again. Mission accomplished? I think so.
        
        Next week I'll be posting the lovely recipe to RedFlag's "Chocolate covered Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies".

[Insert Homer Simpson drool sound here]

        Hopefully mine will turn out as pretty!!

           -Cake42

Super-Mega-Update-Of-AWESOMENESS (or something like that.)

        So it's been a little over a month since i've posted -- i apologize guys. Things have been a little... well... busy to say the least. We've not only lost Uncle David suddenly, but also been through one hell of a snowstorm (not to mention the added loss of our two guinea pigs and all four babies they'd had...) With trying to keep enough dry firewood to keep the house warm, writing stories, and crocheting like mad, it's been tough finding time to sit down and make a worthwhile post. (but trust me, if you could see my favorites list right now, it'd have you ooh'ing and ahh'ing. i swear!)

        So i figured -- why not!? I'll share some of my most favorite sites with you so YOU TOO can squeal like the little fangirls you know you are, and enjoy some kickass D.I.Y's and just pure amazing stuff. (You know, so you can look at stuff in between my rediculously long update periods...)
        So first off, i'm posting the wedding-y things. Not necessarily all about dresses, these are tutorials and general "Wow!" articles/sites that have really inspired me in the last few months...

.::||====================||::.

        First off, he ever lovely Candycanechild (from Craftster's forums) posted a beautiful tutorial on how to make some unique paper that can be used for STD's, invites, placecards, hell even the programs! (not to mention Valentines, greeting cards, or just amazingly colored paper for all your crafting needs!)

 

        They have a nifty tie-dye type of design to it -- and can you believe it's just food coloring and shaving cream? Check out the full tutorial [Here] and squee over it too so i don't feel like such a dork. (please?)

        Second, more paper! Kind of. o.O How many of you are doing STD's? (Save-the-date's) Jim and I are going to do our best to get some out due to the fact that we're having our wedding so close to a holiday, but we have yet to come up with a definite design. (more on that later!) But i have to say, i am in freaking love with these nerderiffic (yes, that's a word...) Space-invader pop-up cards!!

        I can almost hear the music beeping monotonously in the background XD. The extremely crafty (and ingenious) Ceep came up with these on my new favorite haunt -- Craftster forums -- and goes into detail about just how difficult the finished product really was to perfect. (Lookit those teeny tiny strips of paper barely holding on to the top 'pixil's'!! Ack. i'd break it every time T.T) But if you think you're confident enough in your cutting skills to make these (or other sprites! I'm sure a mario one would be kickass!) check out the full thread and fawn over her prowess there, or check out Offbeat brides' "Show us" thread here for some more inspiration from the most wonderful girls on the web!

        Though i'm not a parent yet, I've become quite enamored with the website "Parent Hacks". Not only do they share wonderful eco-friendly alternatives for everything baby, but they also share some pretty nifty crafts to do with your kids (or for your kids). My current favorite, is Tie-dye tissue paper.

        Though you can sort-of see a pattern (haha, a joke!) in my love for all things hippy, i have actually never tie-dyed anything o.O But reading through the tutorial here made me really want to try! Made out of that crinkly tissue paper my mom stuffs into gift bags to make things look bigger than they really are, these beautiful works of art could be used for tons of crafty things! (The website even mentions gift wrapping, although it'd break my heart to see such gorgeous stuff be ripped to shreds!) And be sure to check out the rest of the gallery here where the rest of the fancy images are hiding!

        If you're like me, then you've got a ton of art supplies sitting around in boxes and baskets ready to be used in a moment's notice. If you're also like me, they've been sitting there for about a year because you've been saving it for "that one special project!". Well ladies (and gents), Here's that project.

     I myself, was given a "make your own candle" kit from the hubbs a few years ago, and simply never got around to doing it. I've got wicks, wax, dye, molds, everything! Just no patience or incentive! I've got candles out the wazoo over here (I may be a candle-phile... not sure if that's a word.) so i never really found a real need to make a bright purple pillar candle all of a sudden. I also -- have a bag of 80 tealights that have only seen the light of day (ironically...) during blackouts due to storms. So this project here gives me a wonderful idea for that unused wax!! Environmentally safe, they're not only beautifully elegant and "chic" but also really frikkin' easy. (the best kind of craft.)

(Also, the wonderful people who created this tutorial have a TON of totally awesome candle/soap ideas!)

        Another wicked website "Dollar Store Crafts" is after my own heart. They showcase cheap D.I.Y projects with some pretty kickass ideas. Need something thrifty but elegant for the wedding, and can't afford those $8-a-piece votive holders you saw at Steinmart? Fear not! You can make a cheaper cuter facsimile and who's ever going to know the difference?

        Using dollar-tree wine glasses, gift-box takeout boxes, and battery operated candles (because otherwise they might catch on fire o.O) These little votive lamps are adorable and honestly something i never would have thought of until now! A similar tutorial even shows how you can use dollar-store lampshades instead of takeout boxes!

        Anyone who's ever even tried to google "weddings" has probably come across those completely versatile Apothecary jars that the wedding designers stick candies and little trinkets in -- right? They're really hard not to miss! Well, the lovely people at Dollarstorecrafts, have come up with a simple (yet slightly smaller) solution, that i'm sure with some ingenuity, would result in some gorgeous glassware! (Unforunately due to my blog's size and my lack of knowledge in how to resize shit, the link to the video is [Here] where you can enjoy it in all it's High-Def glory.)

         Again, if you're like me, you love all things girly and frilly. Although i have yet to work these into my wedding, I'm sure if i tried hard enough, i could find a way!

        After all, who wouldn't want teeny chandeliers in your own custom colors to hang above each table? Or hell, i'd just hang it up in my room, but then again i'm a dork. The full (awesomely photographed) tutorial is here for anyone interested. <3

        Of course i've got nearly thousands of things favorite'd right now, so bear with me as i ramble on about things that may or may not have strayed from the weddingness i first promised. To be perfectly honest, it's hard to keep a blog entirely about weddings -- especially for someone who's never been to a wedding (well, being 2 doesn't really count. i don't even remember being two!) and having only seen wedding shows/books/other websites, it's hard to constantly blog about something you don't really know -- so when i do blog about what i know, i end up with crafts. lol.

        I did want to let you all know though, that i plan on keeping the blog alive a little more often. It's a good place to squee about things with other people who understand, as well as show off not only my own achievements in the crafting/wedding world, but those of others! So starting this week, (er... monday i guess?) I'm going to be updating the blog on certain days with certain things, with intermitten posts of geekdom and nerdery in between. <3

The schedule should *hopefully* look like this:

• Mondays -- comprised of what i hope to accomplish this week. Usually recipes or the beginning of crafts. Also recaps any weekend crafting/cooking adventures, as well as a couple of websites i may have visited and caught my eye. 
• Wednesdays -- Complete Geekery. Gaming, Warcraft, Books, anything completely and utterly nonsensical is going here. (There will be MANY many articles/comics going here from my various "dailies" -- comics i read every morning -- as well as exceperts/links from cracked, dorkly, and other fine offbeat places.)
• Fridays -- The best of the best. Websites and crafts that have literally made me squee out loud and deserve a friggin' trophy are going here. (I have an entire freaking folder in my favorites i do this with.. no seriously!) So every Friday i'm going to post a few and what i love about them. (Kind of like a spotlight :-D)

        Weekends and Tuesdays/Thursdays are my Warcraft-- I MEAN "me" time. Okay, warcraft. I may or may not be completely obsessed with that game.... but that's besides the point!!!

        So i hope you guys look forward to a few more updates (and not necessarily wedding!!) though i promise to post some weddingness here and there. ;-) (maybe i'll give it it's own day too?)

-Cake42

Not dead...

I promise I'm not dead, but thank you for the lovely emails!

I've been super-busy with all sorts of things lately, from the death of two pets and an Uncle, to the raging snowstorm we had here in Indiana. With all of this chaos happening, it's been hard to post things in-between it all!

I promise i'll make it up to you. <3

Stay patient!

-Cake42