Dreamed I was having dinner at Martha Stewart's lol/ So~ne cenaba en casa de Martha Stewart jaja

Why in the world would I dream ( last night) that I was a dinner guest at Martha Stewart's home. LOL I was teaching her how to make rice and beans, puertorricans favorite food !!!.. and she seemed so excited !!! ... and she was really nice to me... that is, until she noticed I didn't have a manicure and started joking about that !!! It was at that point, that I said good night and left hahahaha. OMG !!! Crazy dream!!!

**** Diganme porque, anoche so~ne que era la invitada de la conocidisima Martha Stewart a cenar. jajaja No solo eso, si no, que le estaba demostrando a ella como preparar la comida favorita de los puertorrique~nos: arroz con habichuelas ( frijoles) !!! ... ella estaba super emocionada!!! ... y fue encantadora conmigo .... hasta que se dio cuenta de que mis u~nas no tenian hecha una manicura y empezo a hacer bromas con relacion a esto !!! Fue en ese momento, que le di un "buenas noches" y me fui. jajajajajajaj Dios mio !!!, Que sue~no tan absurdo!!!

How to make buttercream frosting look like fondant/Como hacer que el glaseado de mantequilla parezca "fondant"

My daughter's 30th birthday is today. With so many things to do and still recovering from a fall in which I hurt my knee really bad, I thought and thought of a cake that my daughter would like and that didn't requiere too much work. Well, I decided that I was going to create a design, that resembled the card and the gift bag I had previously made. Fondant???... No way... not with my knee hurting the way it is and with the temperature being sooooo hot. I love the look, taste and consistency of any kind of fondant  but, I was going to frost this cake with buttercream !!! LOL. I remembered a trick, that some years ago, somebody told me to make a cake that was covered with buttercream look like it was fondant. So, I baked my two oval cake layers, filled them and crumb coated them with buttercream. The recipe I used for the buttercream was Wilton's buttercream:

**** El dia del cuplea~nos de mi hija es hoy. Con tantas cosas que hacer y aun recuperandome de una caida en la que me lastime la rodilla, pense y pense en el bizcocho (pastel, torta) que le haria a mi hija, que fuera simple y que a ella le gustara. Bueno, pense entonces que le haria un bizcocho, que semejara la tarjeta y la bolsa de regalo que ya le habia hecho. Entonces recorde, un truco que hace tiempo me habian dicho que podia hacer que el glaseado de mantequilla, semejara el "fondant". Hornee mi pastel ovalado y prepare la receta de Wilton de glaseado de mantequilla:
'

• 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) / 1/2 taza mantequilla
• 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening (Crisco) / 1/2 taza manteca vegetal (Crisco)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar / 4 tazas azucar en polvo
• 2 tbsp milk ( I substituted this for orange juice) / 2 tbsp leche (yo las sustitui por jugo naranja)

Cream together butter + shortening and add vanilla. Add powdered sugar, one cup at the time and beat. Add milk and beat.
**** Bata juntos la mantequilla y la manteca vegetal, a~nada la vainilla. Agregue la azucar en polvo taza a taza y bata. A~nada la leche y bata.

To achieve the "fondant look", do this:
**** Para obtener un glaseado parecido al "fondant":

• frost your cake smooth with buttercream. / Cubra su paste con el glaseao lo mas liso posible.
• Wait untill the buttercream sets and crust. / Espere a que el glaseado se seque.
• Cut a piece of PAPER TOWEL that has "quilted designs" / Corte un pedazo de PAPEL TOALLA que tenga dise~nos.
• Cover the top of the cake with the paper towel and pat gently. Lift a piece of the paper towel just to peek under and make sure it is "imprinting or embossing" well on the buttercream. / Cubra el tope del bizcocho (pastel) con el papel toalla y dele golpecitos suaves con la palma de su mano. Levante un pedacito del papel para ver si la marca de los dise~nos es definida.
• Carefully lift the paper towel off the cake. / Cuidadosamente, levante el papel del bizcocho.
• Repeat procedure on the sides of the cake. / Repita este procedimiento en los lados del pastel.

To decorate the cake I took some shortcuts, and here they are:
Estos "trucos" hacen la decoracio muy rapida:

• Make leaves and stems with: / Haga las hojas y tallos con:  Leaf Green Wilton Decorating Icing , tip #3

• Write the birthday message with: / Escriba el mensaje con:  White Wilton Decorating Icing, tip #3

• Add yellow food coloring to the remainder of the buttercream. Put it in a disposable pastry bag and make the flowers with: / A~nada colorante amarillo al restante del glaseado. Ponga en una manga de repostero y hafa las flores con la duya:  tip #1M

Final product: Cindy's birthday cake; simple, pretty, oh so yummy!... and she loved it!!!!
*** He aqui el producto final: el bizcocho de cumplea~nos de Cindy; simple, lindo y sabroso.. y sobretodo, a ella le encanto!!!

BONUS TIP: After the layers have cooled, poke little holes into the cake with a very thin wooden rod. Pour a light syrup made with equal parts of sugar and water and add a little Brandy (heat untill it boils- let cool) over the cake. ENJOY!!!
**** Despues que sus bizcochos esten frescos, hagale agujeritos por todo el pastel con una varita de madera fina. Prepare un sirop con partes iguales de azucar y agua. ponga a hervir y a~nadale un poco de Brandy. Deje refrescar y vierta sobre los pasteles.

 

Make Two Gift Bags out of brown lunch bags/Como Hacer Dos Bolsas Para Regalo de Fundas Para Meriendas.

Hi !!! I saw a pack of lunch brown bags the other day at Walmart. Of course, I saw way much more than simple bags! So, My daughters b-day was coming up, and I had aready made her a beautiful card and had bought her a gift or two. I decided that I wanted to make a gift baf to match the card I had made. So, this is what I did:

**** Hola!!! Mientras estaba en la tienda Walmart, vi las blositas (fundas) de papel, que en ocasiones se usan para llevar meriendas o almuerzos al trabajo o a la escuela. Claro esta, que al verlas, vi el potencial que estas tenian para hacer manualidades. El cumplea~nos de mi hija se acercaba y ya le habia hecho una linda tarjeta y le habia comprado algunos regalitos. Asi, que decidi hacer con estas fundas que habia comprado, unas hermosas bolsitas de regalo. Esto fue lo que hice:

1. Stamp images on the brown bag and color./***Estampe imagenes sobre toda la funda y coloree. 

• The stamps I used for the "flower" bag are: / *** Los sellos usados para estampar la bolsa de flores son: Stampology by Autumn Leaves. For the "Ladybug" bag I used stamps from: / ***Los sellos usados para estampar la bolsa de la mariquita son: Stampology by Autumn Leaves and Lovebug Stamp Set from Stampin Up.

• 
  
  Fold in 2 1/2 inches from the bag border. Unfold, add glue to the inside of the "fold" and fold inwards, again. / *** Doble hacia adentro, 2 1/2 pulgadas del borde de la funda. Desdoble y an~ada pega en la parte interior del doblez y vuelva a doblar el borde.

• 
  
   After it is dry, punch an oval shape, through all the thickness of the top of the bag, catching in the front and back at once. / *** Despues que la pega este seca, una las partes delantera y trasera de la bolsa y con un ponchador ovalado, corte las dos partes a la misma vez.

• Punch: Stampin Up
• 
  
  Make gift tags for your gift bags. I first cut out the shape out of chipboard and then I cover it with pattern paper. Tie it to the bag with ribbon or twine or both. / *** Haga las etiquetas de regalo. Primero, corte la etiqueta en carton fino y cubra con papel de dise~nos. Amarre a la bolsa (funda) con cinta o soga fina.
• 
  
  Flower / ** Flor: Create a Critter cartridge.
• 
  
  Ladybug / ** Mariquita: Doodlecharms cartridge.
• 
  
  

HaPPy BirtHdaY to my daughter Cindy!!!/ Feliz cumplea~nos a mi hija Cindy !!!

     30 yrs ago, I was staring at my little baby girl: Princess Cynthia (Cindy), who made her triumphant entrance into this world at app. 5:30am. Today, she is the best daughter, sister, wife and mom anyone could ever have. She is also known as Dr. Cynthia Miguel, a soon to be Pediatrician, who at this moment is saving the lives of the tiniest ones in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). HaPPy BirtHDay CinDY !!! ♥ ♥ ♥

Flower in Pot B-Day card / tarjeta de cumplea~nos Flor en tiesto

Hello everyone !!! It's a beautiful sunny morning here in western Puerto Rico :) My oldest daughter's birthday (Cindy) is this Sunday August 15th. I cannot believe she is almost 30 !!! WOW! This card is meant to represent how my precious daughter, has turned from a tiny seed into a gorgeous blooming flower. The expression on the stamped face on the flower looks so much like hers !!! ... She is always happy and smiling; and when she does, her eyes almost close ... just like the face on the flower !!!
These are the materials I used to make this lovely birthday card. It was designed on the Gypsy.

Cartridges used:

• Create a Critter: all flower parts
• Walk in My Garden: flower pot

Cardstock:

• DCWV: Flower Shower Spring stack; Sweet Mat stack
• Stampin Up: Kraft

Punches:

• Martha Stewart

Stamps:

• Peachy Keen: PK-590 Blushing Bride, for the face
• Stampin Up: Whimsical Words (Palabras Caprichosas), for sentiment.

Cuttlebug folders were used on flower petals and pot.