Oreo Cookie Cupcake Experiment, Part 3 Thursday, Jul 9 2009

Okay, I hadn’t made cupcakes for a long time (it seems…), so when I was told that we could bring a dish to the Atlanta Collage Society art show in Blue Ridge, I decided to make some.  This time, since it was an hors d’oeuvres situation, I decided to try to make mini cupcakes.

I already knew that Oreo made miniature cookies:  I just didn’t know for sure how many were in a bag.  I also decided to buy another mini cupcake baking pan.  I had only one, which cooks 24 cupcakes at a time and I knew there would be more than that.  I settled on two 12 cupcake pans, to later have the option to make smaller batches.

Basically, I followed the same recipe as in my Oreo Cookie Cupcake, Part 1 entry.  But I will see if I can note the differences when mini cookies and mini cupcake pans are used.

COOKIES AND CREAM CUPCAKES
MAKES 22 TO 24

1 bag Mini Oreo Sandwich Cookies ( a bag has about 75-80 mini cookies)
1 bag regular sized Oreo Cookies (you will have many left over)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines Vanilla)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 48 cupcake cups with mini paper liners. Set the pans aside.

2. Count out 24 Oreos and separate the top and bottom wafers. Make sure each has some of the icing on it. Place one wafer, icing side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Set them aside. Place the remaining whole mini Oreo cookies aside for garnish.

3. Take about 18-20 of the LARGE Oreos and put them in a food processor to crush. You may also place the Oreos between sheets of waxed paper or in a large, closed zipper-lock bag and crush them by rolling over them with a rolling pin. Set these crumbs aside.

4. Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed.

5. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the crushed Oreos and fold these into the batter until well incorporated. Set aside the remaining crushed Oreos for the frosting. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cup­cake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 48 and 56 cupcakes; I had to cook a smaller second batch of 8 after the first 48 were done) Place the pans in the oven.

4. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 14 to 18 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Carefully remove the cupcakes in their papers and place them on a wire rack to cool thoroughly (at least an hour) before frosting.

Cake Doctor’s Vanilla Buttercream: Place 8 tablespoons real butter, at room temperature, 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 cup powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl. Blend with electric beaters at low speed 30 seconds. Add 3 more cups powdered sugar alternately with 3 tablespoons milk, a tablespoon at a time, blending at low speed. Increase to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Makes 3-1/2 cups.

I iced the cupcakes with the vanilla buttercream, sprinkled Oreo cookie crumbs on top, then planted a mini Oreo cookie in the center.

Note: Next time, I think I will dispense with the 1/2 Oreo in the bottom of the cupcake liner. Instead, I may make a thin crust of crushed oreos and a little bit of butter. Maybe its just me, but the mini Oreos were not big enough to fill the whole bottom of the cupcake liners, and I thought an even layer would look better.

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Art Show in Blue Ridge Wednesday, Jul 8 2009

Having two computers can be a pain sometimes – photos may be on my laptop that are not on my desktop two floors down.  I have done my latest posting downstairs, so that is why this is a little late.

I am recently participating in the Atlanta Collage Society Show at the Blue Ridge Mountains Art Association gallery in Blue Ridge, Georgia.  This picture was one that I finished just for the show – it’s called Oasis.  It is a large piece, at least for me: I think it is 24 by 30 inches framed.

I had three other pieces entered in the show, including Montgolfier, A Winged Mother, and Lost My Head.  Blue Ridge is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours north of Atlanta, and I visited twice.  My husband and I went to the opening reception on June 27, and then my mother and I went a couple of days later when she was off work.

I have to say that I owe this show to my Mom.  She is the one who goaded me to refine the above collage by adding a different background.  She also went with me to Sam Flax to pick out frames and mats for the two pictures that needed framing.  Then, she cut my mats and framed them.  She’s like the Martha Stewart of Atlanta – but don’t tell her that.  She can do about anything!

I brought some cupcakes to the show for the reception – I will post pictures of that later.  I basically did a variation on my Oreo Cookie Cupcakes, but this time I used mini Oreos to make mini cupcakes.  More later.

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Shame on you, CafePress! Tuesday, Jul 7 2009

I have been meaning to write a blog post about this for a week or so, but thinking about it bums me out.

In case you don’t know what CafePress is, it is a site that sells t-shirts and other items printed on demand.  Thousands of designers have bought into the concept, opening up shops and uploading their own original designs to sell to the public.  I was soooo happy when I discovered their service.  I have been a member since 6/25/2004, or so it says on my account.  I started out with the free option, opening up a separate shop for each design.  Then I decided to upgrade to a Premium Shop for about $60 a year, and have consolidated my designs into one shop (Maison Celeste).

Now, I will be the first to tell you that I am not making a living off of my earnings at CafePress.  I make from $30 to $120 per month.  But I have really appreciated having my shop up.  It’s great exposure, and I have sold my work not only in the United States, but also abroad.  Just recently, I have had triple the orders that I had last year, which was encouraging.  I plan on highlighting more of my products on my blog, explaining the creative process behind my digital work.  I have also planned some other promotional ideas…

But a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a problem with my commissions.  The way CafePress used to work, I would set the markup for my items in the shop.  I could either choose to set an exact markup price for all items, or choose an algorithm that produced a sliding (relative) profit scale.  There’s also a place where you can choose what they call tiered markup: low,  medium, high or premium.  I usually choose high, which gives me from $1.00 on small items to $6 or $7 on larger items.  Every time I sell something, the markup is shown on my report.  I got the same profit, no matter if the customer clicked straight on my shop or if the product was found through the CafePress Marketplace search engine.

When I last checked my sales report, I noticed two things. First of all,  the items purchased by customers through the CafePress Marketplace were more expensive to the buyer.  For example, my La Paloma Tote Bag is priced in my shop at $15.99.  The original cost is $12.99 without the design.  Therefore, I make $3.00 on that purchase.  On June 14th, however, someone purchased that same tote bag through the Marketplace.  The cost to the customer was $17.00 and my profit was $1.70 (a flat 10% of the newly elevated price).  I was aghast.

So, the other night, I started to do some internet research to see if anyone else had learned more about this strange change then I did.  I came across a very detailed report written by Jim at Irregular Times.com.  He not only commented on the change in policy, but detailed what happened when he removed his products from the Marketplace (yes, one can opt out of the Marketplace).  Even though some of his products were purchased from his shop, he still received the Marketplace 10% markup.  The post is very enlightening, and more information has been added through reader comments.  The basic idea seems to be that CafePress is, in essence, competing with its own designers.

I have since been looking into alternatives to CafePress, although the thought of re-doing everything bums me out.  I found a very informative comparative article on Squidoo.com called “CafePress Alternatives and Competitors” .  I have gone to Printfection, but they definitely don’t have the merchandise range offered by CafePress.  I don’t think that I will miss all of the items, like the coffee mugs and notebooks, but I definitely need someone that prints posters, cards, and magnets.  On the upside, Printfection has a massive range of t-shirt styles and colors.  I don’t get the appeal of the cutting boards, though…

I am already a little familiar with Zazzle – I just didn’t see any advantage to their program.  In fact, last time I checked, there seemed to be no option to have a shop.  Looking at the site now, it does look a bit different, and it has a really large merchandise selection.   The article in Squidoo basically says what I had heard about Zazzle, that the markups are limited and no stores.  But when I just clicked on “Sell” at Zazzle, it looked like they had made some policy changes, perhaps to lure people from CafePress.  I will look into it more later.

Finally, there is Spreadshirt, which is a German company.  At the moment I am unable to access their site, because of maintenance.  But the range of products is impressive – as are the prices.  I think I looked at one wacky halter-like t-shirt that was going to sell for 75 Euros – not Dollars, but Euros!!!!!  I will go back later.

In the meantime, please go to my CafePress Shop and check it out.  I am planning on removing myself from the Marketplace, which means that I will need to do more promotion myself!

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Happy Birthday, Frida Kahlo! Monday, Jul 6 2009

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Like I need a hole in the head… Monday, Jul 6 2009

What I do when I am bored is surf the internet.  My typical search words -  if I don’t have anything pressing that I want to research at the time – are ones that come up with images or loteria items.  In my computer – my laptop, mostly – I have stored examples of loteria decks from many sources.  Some are vintage cards and old decks from Mexico.  A goldmine of examples can be found at Elsewhere.com, where Josh (also a blogger) has posted many decks in jpeg. format.

I also have found numerous works of art inspired by the Loteria.  Some artists have created a deck of all 54 cards in their own style.  Others have done larger works, and have not made it through the entire deck (yet?).  Since I have also been working on my own loteria series (or two or three…), this interests me to no end.  I love seeing what other artists have done.

So, i had a thought last night – what if I started another blog (see? crazy!) that is only about Loteria?  I have a LOT of material, and if I could get an interview with the individual artists, that would be cool, too.  I also have found some awesome clothing and fabrics that are based on Loteria.

The featured photo is a gorgeous Goth doll dress (OR a gorgeous loteria dress on a Goth-looking doll…) at Monkeytailz.com.  Isn’t it marvelous?  I am familiar with the Alexander Henry fabric, but I love what the dress designer has done with the corset!  It must be a shrunk-down photocopied version on fabric – iron on, maybe?  I just love it – and I don’t have a doll to put it on!  There’s even a tiny purse to go with it!

Another option would be to feature something about loteria one day a week on my blog – like Loteria Lunes…  Hey, like TODAY is Monday (lunes, in Spanish)!  What a coincidence.  By the way, if you love this fabric, it may be hard to find.  You might join the crusade of Bell Pepper Fabrics:  they are trying to get together a large enough order to convince the AH people to make more of this fabric.  Go Here to find out more.

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Honk If You’ve Seen La Llorona… Sunday, Jul 5 2009

I have been cleaning up my studio and office and re-arranging my wall decoration.  I have all sorts of posters and things up there.  One of the things I came across was this bumper sticker.

I know it’s not big, but I cannot currently use my scanner, so I had to go out on the web to get an image.  I have not put the bumper sticker on my car (yet), but I bought it because it is so different.  I bought mine on a visit to Houston, Texas at Casa Ramirez in the Heights.

At the time, I had done a lot of research on La Llorona for one of my lesson plans (here is the blog post) and recognized the illustration from Joe Hayes’ book.  I bought it a while ago on Amazon.com, but the book and the bumper sticker can be found at Cinco Puntos Press, Mr. Hayes’ publisher.  Here is the cover from the book:

I believe his story is set in New Mexico.  I thought that it was interesting that the story is available on VHS and DVD.  I wonder if it is narrated by Joe Hayes, showing the pages from the book, or if it is a live performance that has been videotaped.  Oh, the illustrator is Vicki Trego Hill.

I may have to do a La Llorona themed poster for my CafePress Shop.

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NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) Saturday, Jul 4 2009

Well, I just signed up for National Blog Posting Month, and already I am annoyed. On the site is a cute little badge that I am supposed to be able to stick somewhere. But the HTML is wonky. BAhhhh. I did get it shared with my Facebook friends, but it still didn’t look like the badge.

How am I going to write every day? I certainly have the time, but sometimes I don’t have the motivation. Sometimes, I get so involved “researching” my topic that I run out of steam – but I eventually post that info a couple of days later. I also want to upload more photos, but I have two computers, and sometimes I’m not blogging on the computer with the pictures I want to use. I know: excuses, excuses.

Right now, I am in the middle of re-organizing my studio. It takes up the whole bottom floor of our three story townhome, including the garage (that garage had not held a car in years!). Since it’s summertime, and since I have been reading the latest Studios Magazine (put out quarterly by the people who publish Cloth, Paper, Scissors), I am inspired. I have weeded out old magazines, rearranged some storage, and taken note of the many art supplies I need to make use of. Keeping me company are my dog and my video downloads from Amazon UnBoxed.

Today, of course, I am going over to my mother’s place for Fourth of July, so I am prepping to make a potato salad. Fun!

Visit NaBloPoMo

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Raoul Dufy, continued. Thursday, Jul 2 2009

I just realized I forgot to finish my blog post about my trip to Jackson to see the Raoul Dufy exhibit.  My mom and sister were supposed to meet me in Jackson on Sunday and we were going to go together to the exhibit.  That morning, I think, I got another call, saying that my nephew had advanced another level in his Little League tournament.  Therefore, he had another game that morning, at 9:30.  That meant that not only were my companions going to be leaving later, but they would be leaving from Carencro, LA – which is even farther away than Covington.

No problem.  I had already slept in, and made the decision to get up and go ahead of them.  That way, I would make sure I saw everything I wanted to, and then I could just follow them around when (or if) they got there.

I got my stuff together and drove to downtown Jackson and located the museum.  Since it didn’t open until noon, I went out to find a place to eat.  There’s not much in the way of restaurants in downtown Jackson, especially on a Sunday morning.  I drove around the HUGE Mississippi State Fairgrounds, and through a picturesque gentrifying neighborhood (Belhaven Heights) before finding a Waffle House and deciding to eat there.

Before my trip to Jackson, I had asked my father if he had any advice – he lived south of Jackson in a little town called Osyka.  So I figured he’d been to Jackson.  His advice was to approach the city with an armed contingent.  Apparently, my father thinks that Jackson is dangerous.  This from a man who has traveled all around New Orleans and Houston and Atlanta – all three cities much bigger than Jackson.  He just said to stay away from the bad parts of town after dark.

This Waffle House was on the periphery of the Downtown area, and I was joking around with my waitress (a college student) about my father’s pronouncement.  She said, “Oh, this area is fine in the daytime…”  Okay.  Not long after that, suddenly two men started yelling at each other – cursing and challenging each other to a fight.  The management got them settled down and send the angrier man outside, where he waited, furious, gesturing the other guy to come out and join him for a fight.  We really don’t know the cause of the disagreement, but my waitress said, “Well, now you have something to tell you dad about!”

From there, I returned to the peace and quiet of the Mississippi Museum of Art.  I paid my entry fee, and the kind people told me that I could leave and return if I wanted to without paying again for that day.  I really took my time – there are two ongoing exhibits at the museum as well as the Dufy exhibit.  I really enjoyed the Mississippi Story exhibit, which included works by Mississippi artists, as well as art about Mississippi.

I learned a lot about some artists that I had never heard of – I especially liked the work of Walter Anderson.  Apparently, there is a museum in Ocean Springs, MS, with his work and an entire room of his house with painted walls.  I will have to go there next time I’m in that area.  His work is fabulous, and he apparently worked in many media, including watercolor, linocut, and clay (?).

In addition to Walter Anderson’s work, I was flabbergasted at the larger-than-life representational works of Glenray Tutor.  It says on his site that he is a photorealist.  His still life works are filled with all sorts of beautiful ordinary things like firecracker wrappers, marbles, candy, toys, bottles, Mason Jars – you just have to go to his website to see it for yourself.

There was one work by Lea Barton called Yellow Dog – it was a mixed media collage and had a picture of Jesus on it, so of course it caught my attention.  It was inspirational to see because it was a large work, and I am trying to envision larger pieces for my own artwork.  I went to her website, where there is a YouTube interview with the artist.

By the time my mother and sister arrived, I had spent about 2 1/2 hours in the museum and was going through the gift shop.  I loved the Dufy exhibit – his body of work is so vast and colorful!  I especially loved his woodcuts from Bestiaire, by Guillaume Apollinaire.  I am definitely going to buy a copy!  He was also the illustrator for an Alphonse Daudet book called Les Aventures Prodigieuses de Tartarin de Tarascon (I think).  Here is a copy of an English translation of the book.  Here is where you can buy a French version.  Neither seem to have Dufy’s illustrations.  Apparently a copy of that would cost a LOT.

It’s 11:00 and time to get up and do stuff!

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Raoul Dufy Exhibit in Jackson, Mississippi Thursday, Jun 25 2009

Last weekend, I went to Jackson, Mississippi to see the Raoul Dufy exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art.  I also invited my mom and my sister to come – kind of a girls’ weekend.  As usual, nothing could be that simple.  First of all, Mom decided to take advantage of some days off to precede the rendez-vous with a visit to my sister’s family in Covington, Louisiana.  That, in itself, is not a problem:  Covington is about 2 1/2 hours south of Jackson, so Mom and Sis could drive up and meet me, then I would take Mom back to Atlanta.

My husband, in the meantime, had an opportunity to go to NearFest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that same weekend.  That meant coordinating dog boarding not only for my dog, Lupita, but also for my mother’s dog, Poppy, because we were also taking care of her while Mom was in Louisiana.  I keep Lupita at Man’s Best Friend up here in Norcross, so I just had to make sure her shots were up to date and drop her off.  Poppy was a bit more tricky.  She’s only about 7 months old and has never been boarded.  I had already made reservations at the Hilton Garden Inn in Madison, Mississippi and they do not accept pets.

I hesitated to also board Mom’s baby at MBF because they have a bit of paperwork to fill out.   Also, Poppy is only a 10 pound puppy (and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – princess…) and she could not just stay anywhere.  So, after a brief websearch, I found the Chateau La Pooch just down the road from the hotel in Madison.  Perfect solution!  So, Poppy was going to ride with me to Madison on Saturday and stay at the CLP for two nights, then ride home with Mom and me on Monday.

The drive over was 6 1/2 hours – I had my trusty Garmin GPS to guide me.  I really only stopped a few times – picked up a book on CD at Cracker Barrel, and did drive-thru for lunch.  I didn’t want to leave Poppy in the car – even in the shade – for long because it was HOT!  This wasn’t a problem until I got to the Mississippi Tourist rest stop and decided I wanted to look at a map – one thing about the GPS is that it doesn’t give you the big picture.  Surely we were almost to Jackson!  So, after walking the dog, I picked her up and walked into the Welcome Center to find a Mississippi map.  After I did that, I walked back out.  Her feet never touched the ground, although I did try to get her to drink from the water fountain (which she declined to do…)

As I walked out, the kindly security guy came up to me and said, “Ma’am, we try to keep the dogs out on the grass…”  So, I looked at him pleasantly and explained my dilemma:  Leave a puppy in the car and have someone report me for animal cruelty, tie her outside (where someone might snatch her – I didn’t say that), or carry her in just for a moment to look at the map.  He told me that Jackson was not far away – I knew that already… and we said our good-byes.

After I dropped her off at the “chateau”, I went to the hotel.  Mom and Sis were not coming until Sunday, so I had the evening by myself.  I used my laptop to search for shopping options (if there’s a Hobby Lobby, JoAnn Fabrics, TJMaxx, or Tuesday Morning in the area, I like to check it out.), and drove out to shop.  I didn’t find too much, but stopped at a Stein Mart and bought a dress and a new top.  Then, after searching up and down the frontage road of I-55, I decided to try Raising Cane’s, a chicken finger restaurant.  Then, I went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Part Two later!

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Perfect for the “faux catholique”… Monday, Jun 15 2009

A couple of years ago for spring break, my husband and I went to Saint Augustine, Florida.  We stayed in a cute B & B, walked around the old town, visited the fort, ate at the newer Columbia Restaurant, and I think we went to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum.

There is also a holy place there, The Mission of Nombre de Dios and The Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche.    They have a great gift shop where I scored four cute little volumes called Miniature Stories of the Saints.  Here is a place where you can buy the set for $7.80.  The stories are short and simple, but the main reason I bought them was for the illustrations.  I eventually plan on using them in collages and shrines.

Here is a sample story I found on a different website.  It is about Saint Barbara:

Saint Barbara the Brave Martyr

When Barbara was a little girl, her wicked father imprisoned her in a high tower. So Barbara lived in the tower with only the servants who cared for her. And she was very good. One day a priest passed under her tower. He was singing about Jesus Christ. Barbara heard him. She asked him about his song. He told her all about the Savior. Barbara was overjoyed. “I love Jesus too,” she cried. “I am a Christian.”

When her father heard this, he was furious. In those days, it was against the law to love Jesus or to be a Christian. So this cruel father dragged his own daughter to the judge. “My daughter is a Christian,” he cried. “She is not my daughter any longer.” “What shall we do with her?” the judge asked. For he saw that Barbara was good and pure.

“Do what the law orders,” her father shouted. “Beat her until she is almost dead. Then chop off her head.”

So the soldiers carried out that cruel order. But suddenly they saw angels coming. The angels carried the soul of Barbara to heaven. And a terrible flash of lightning struck her cruel father and killed him where he stood. Her Feast is December 4th.

Go here to read the others online:

• Saint Agatha the Pure Virgin
• Saint Angela Friend of Girls
• Saint Brigid of Ireland
• Saint Catherine of Siena the Dominican
• Saint Clotilde Queen of France
• Saint Colette the Franciscan
• Saint Mary of Egypt who had been a Sinner
• Saint Ursula and her Companions

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