Blackberry Macaroons

This year for Easter, I wanted to make something pretty. I came across a recipe in a Martha Stewart magazine for pretty pink chocolate-dipped raspberry macaroons, and so I said YES and looked no further. You might be wondering why then this is titled "Blackberry Macaroons" and so I will tell you that I refuse to pay $5.00 for a tiny little pint of raspberries, especially when I can get blackberries for $3.00! I eventually would love to try these with raspberries in the summer when they are a bit cheaper, but for now I was perfectly pleased with my blackberry substitution experiment. And anyways, these turned out to be a very lovely shade of purple, which is second best to pink.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Ingredients: 2 c. dried sweetened flaked coconut 3 tbsp. granulated sugar 1 large egg white pinch of salt 1/2 c. fresh blackberries 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Combine coconut, granulated sugar, egg white, and salt in a food processor and pulse until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add blackberries and pulse until just incorporated (do not overprocess!).

Scoop mounts of coconut mixture 1 inch apart onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to form the small mounds. Bake until macaroons are lightly golden, about 25-28 minutes (more or less depending on your oven, so watch them carefully). Rotate the baking sheet halfway through. Then transfer the macaroons to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, place the chocolate chips in a microwave bowl. Microwave first for 30 seconds, then stir, then microwave at 10 second intervals until it melts (stirring between each interval). Use a fork or your hands to dip the bottoms (or the whole thing!) of the macaroons into the chocolate. Transfer them to a wax-paper-lined sheet or container. Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes or overnight. Serve them chilled and enjoy eating something pretty.

Fun with custom orders

Recently I've had a few custom orders through Etsy that have been really fun to work on. Well,  any time I get to draw pretty words for work is actually pretty great. But this one particular project was for an 8x10 print and two matching 5x7 prints for an upcoming Great Gatsby themed wedding. I particularly love Art Deco style things, so it was extra fun to incorporate that part of the Great Gatsby into these. 

I felt pretty inspired during the sketching process. I pulled in features seen in a variety of things from book covers to architecture from the Art Deco time period. It makes me want to draw a bunch of things in that style!

I was loving it so much that I incorporated some of these illustrations into a journal I'm now selling in my Etsy shop. It might just pop up in some cards eventually too!

Sometimes I make pretty websites

Along with working on adding more products to my Etsy shop, I've also been busy lately with some freelance work. I recently finished working on a blog website for a makeup artist in New York City. You can see it here. This time, I played developer rather than designer.

I have been taking on more web design projects lately where I do both the design and development of the site, but normally my usual role would be to design the visual aspects of a site and work with a developer who would make it work by writing code and all. I typically just make things pretty, so this time it was a fun change to be the one to make the website come alive. It was made on WordPress (so is my blog), and I think I'm totally on my way to becoming a master of it (how long that journey may be is still in question).

One thing I particularly like about developing sites is the different type of creativity required. With web development, it feels like how math class used to feel for me in school. It's all like a formula that is sometimes agonizing to figure out, and I often feel as if I could punch my computer in the face if it had one during that part, but then it's seriously so exciting once I do figure out everything and know how to make things function. I realized that I have a bad habit of celebrating with some sort of chocolate confection or cookie-like treat when I figure out really tough things by myself. I do hope that urge to reward myself with sugar passes as I become more of a web master.

But anyways, after working on a web development project, it does feel nice to be working on making things pretty again. I'm working on adding new cards to the shop, and have some exciting custom projects coming soon that I will most definitely share with you. They are going to involve lots of pretty hand drawn things.

a week in instagrams and more spring preview

This week flew by, but lately it's been feeling like that every single week. I've been continuing to work on my "Spring Collection" of greeting cards. I had some samples printed this week and got really excited at how well the colors + paper choice turned out. All of my paper comes from French Paper Co, and for this collection I'm trying out a different type. I try to always use recycled paper and this one has lots of nice little specks in it. I'm loving it so much that I might transition to using more of it in the rest of my products...

I just got a shipment again this week and wanted to share with you a picture of their packaging. Yes I am in love. My sister (also a designer) and I could go on and on talking about paper. The way it smells, the way it feels....and so on. But now that I've written that out, it does kind of sound weird and I know for sure it will to those who don't work with printed paper things for a living. Whatever.

I also ordered some Moleskine notebooks that I will illustrate and sell in my Etsy shop. I really enjoy lately designing things by hand without the use of a computer at all. Getting your hands dirty seems so retro. I received pretty pink nail polish in the mail too. That of course has absolutely nothing to do with my work. But it's pretty. These all arrived at the post office on the same day making for a very lovely afternoon of goodies.

This week I also had time to be a little social, which was a nice change. Unfortunately when I get really busy, my social life is usually what I cut first and I know that's not a good thing. I try to remember that getting out and seeing people is a really good break to stay sane, even when work things feel overwhelming. This week I had a nice lunch date with my mom, and there was also a surprise birthday party for one of my closest friends. Surprise parties are actually very exciting for the birthday haver as well as the birthday party throwers. It was just as fun as how it looks in the movies! I illustrated part of an E.E. Cummings poem to give as a birthday gift to my friend. She is always kind enough to accept a growing collection of my hand drawn work.

Chunky Monkey Cookies

I've been on a banana + peanut butter kick lately, and just recently added in chocolate to the combination. I actually made these cookies last month, but love them so much that I must share them with you. The banana flavor makes them taste healthy and the texture is muffin-like, and I won't judge you if you also think they pass as breakfast...

Slightly adapted from SugarHero.

Ingredients: 8 tbsp. unsalted butter 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 egg yolk, at room temperature 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (from about 1 1/2 bananas) 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Combine the butter and the peanut butter in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave in 30-second intervals until the butter is melted. Stir the two together and set the bowl aside to cool to room temperature.

In a small separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, and salt. Add both sugars to the bowl of melted butter and peanut butter, and whisk them together until the sugars are wet and everything is combined. Add the egg yolk and the vanilla extract, and whisk again until they’re incorporated. Add the mashed banana and whisk once more, stirring until everything is combined.

Slowly add the dry ingredients. Add the chocolate chips and stir until your dough is smooth and there are no dry spots of flour remaining.

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to drop balls of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350° for about 10-12 minutes, until golden around the edges and puffed and just set in the center. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Spring Preview

Welcome to my newest home on the Internet! I've wanted to make a blog like this for a long time now, and then I FINALLY did it. And I am so excited you are here! I always love getting a peek into the personalities and daily lives of other artists that inspire me, so here I'll share mine with you. This is the main place where all of my thoughts, creativity, baking adventures, and daily life bits will be combined. I used to have just a food blog, but then I realized I wanted a place where I could combine just about everything. There will still be plenty of recipes for baked treats and sweets, but I'm also going to show more about my design work and creativity, as well as little bits and pieces of normal day-to-day things (expect LOTS of cat and food things). Anyways, welcome again and I hope you come back often! So on with the blogging! For the last few weeks I've been busy with freelance projects, and have been itching to get back to creating more products for my Etsy shop. Valentine's season felt very successful and motivating for being my first, and I've been looking forward to creating a Spring collection of cards and 8x10 prints next. So here's a little peek into what will be showing up in my shop soon!

With Spring so close, I feel myself longing for everything colorful and bright. See my new favorite nail polish color? I recently bought a purse of the same color. While I am in love with this minty blue-ish green right now, I remind myself to put it in more design work than wardrobe pieces now that my hands and bag coordinate.

I've also been in the mood to be more hands on with drawing on materials lately. My process usually involves drawing everything by hand, and then moving to the computer to refine and add color. But recently it's been satisfying to practice some hand lettering right on my Etsy packaging materials that I mail to my customers. Right now, most of the envelopes that I use are made of recycled cardboard, and using colored pencils to add color to the ink drawings looks really fun with that natural texture and color of the paper. For me, the feeling is similar to having coloring books when I was little. Actually, I don't see why those are limited to children. Everyone should be given coloring books regularly, right?