For those of you with arty aspirations, check out my friend Brooke’s website at fireandflowers.com. Not only does she have lots of good project ideas, but she is now teaching classes so you don’t have to figure out how to do these things on your own. She has classes for both kids and adults covering a variety of projects. I’m totally blown away by her creativity and talent, it’s very inspiring!
My friend Pam Jaeger, super talented artist and designer of Made With Luv’s logo, has had the honor of being entered in a contest on Etsy for Best Wedding Cake Topper. Please go here, log in and vote. Her toppers are the amazing little dolls listed as being by dandelionland (her fun etsy dollstore name). Vote for her!
My friend Pam finally has a website. She is an amazing, wonderful artist (and person!) and I’ve been giving her a hard time for awhile for not showing herself off on one of those new-fangled intraweb pages. Well, she finally got her site up and running, and I am spreading the word. Her paintings are dark but hopeful, whimsical but serious, all at the same time. Ok obviously I’m no art critic, but I am a really big fan.
Also, she designed my logo which, as you can see, is super kick ass.
So click here to see some of her work, and you will understand why I love her so!
My friend Laura got the craft fevah this season, as it was kinda going around and it was a very serious strain. Check out the fun holiday gifts she gave me!
First up is this awesome scissors pouch. I can’t get a good photo of the inside, because I am a craptastic photographer, but basically there are three felt pockets for holding sharp instruments. When my scissors are in use I just keep my shank in there. (Click on the photo to see the large version)
She also made me this beautiful jewelry bag. The inside is lined with tiny pockets, perfect for keeping my glitzy glamour items safe and secure when I travel. It has a drawstring closure and it’s just pretty. Luv it! (Again click on the photos to see the large version)
And if that weren’t enough, next came this box of baked goods. (If my personal trainer is reading this- Gabi, hi, I’m giving all this away to my coworkers! Really!)
I love a homemade holiday. Next year I want to make a pact with all my buddies that we either make things for each other ourselves or we buy things from other crafters to support the community. Nothing like a homemade gift to demonstrate how creative a person can be, whether they make it themselves or buy something totally unique from another artist. And to think some people still suffer at the mall.
Natalie is a true cupcake connoisseur. She bakes them, creates them, obsesses over them and finds new and inventive ways to decorate them, creating her own accessories when necessary. She is also a wife, mother, college student, crafter, and all around cool chick. Besides making cupcakes she runs a company called Bake & Destroy. Read all about her….
When did you first become interested in baking?
My mom baked a lot when I was a kid, she still does, actually. I have really fond memories of her showing me the right way to measure flour so you don’t get air pockets and how to separate egg yolks and whites. She always made our birthday cakes, Christmas cookies, treats for school, etc. and I was always her official egg-cracker, whisker and spoon-licker. Then when I went to college I got a job baking at Letizia’s Natural Bakery and that’s where I learned more techniques and picked up a little more about the commercial side of baking. I dated a series of men who didn’t care for sweets, which I don’t recommend, so I was really happy to start dating my now-husband because it gave me someone to bake for. Now he and my son are my best taste-testers!
Did you ever take any baking classes?
I always said I wanted to take a decorating class, but I never did. And now that I bake and decorate quite a bit I feel like a lot of the things I wanted to learn about are things I wouldn’t use anyway. For instance, I hate fondant, I think its vile tasting and in a way, cheating. I mean, I know how amazing fondant-covered cakes can look, we’ve all seen Food Network cake challenges, but I don’t really think covering your cake in pounds of a virtually inedible substance is the be-all end-all of cake decorating. It would be nice to know how to do all those pretty roses- of course I would do black ones or incorporate them into something non-wedding cake-ish, but there’s always time for that. But to answer the question, I learned the basics from my mom and my bakery job and anything else I’ve picked up has been from other bloggers or Martha Stewart.
I’ve only made cupcakes from a box. If I wanted to start cooking from scratch, what are your top tools that you’d recommend I have?
Well, even if you make cupcakes from a box you obviously need cupcake pans and paper liners to start with. I have two sets of measuring cups and two sets of measuring spoons, which is really handy for recipes where you need to add the same measurement of different ingredients. Everyone should own at least one rubber scraper and an oven thermometer. A simple set of decorating tips and pastry bags will fancy up any cupcake as well. A good hand mixer is pretty important, but don’t feel pressured to buy a huge stand mixer. I have one that I use for double and triple batches of buttercream, but I rarely use it for cake batter. I think its way too easy to over beat batter in those and then you get muffins. Those are the basics, but it’s really easy to make ordinary cupcakes awesome- sour cherry ball candies on top are always adorable and you can get a whole bag at Target for under a dollar. Sprinkles, food coloring, miniature toys…I like to use things I find in ordinary places and I think that appeals to people.
Any reading materials you suggest for beginning and aspiring bakers?
Julie Hasson’s “125 Best Cupcake Recipes
Where are your favorite places to shop for supplies?
I buy all my beautiful cupcake liners from confectioneryhouse.com who really owe me some free stuff from all the publicity I’ve given them. I seriously send that link to a dozen people a week. I love Penzeys for all my baking spices, vanilla and almond extracts, too. Otherwise I’m always finding fun things to top my cupcakes with at Uncle Fun, which is a local oddball shop. But I think every big city has a place like that, just weird little toys and notions. I just started making my own cupcake toppers, too, which has been really fun so I buy a lot of ribbon where ever I can find it and I go through a lot of Rusty Pickle paper.
Anything hand-made out there in the world that you do not currently make but that you admire?
Right now I’m majorly in love with Jenny Heid’s artwork. It’s all really affordable, I’m just having trouble deciding between a few things I’ll die without so I sort of want to wait until I can just get everything I want at once. I also love Jessie Steele aprons, I have two and my husband has to talk me out of wearing them out in public sometimes. I’m really into Etsy, not just because that’s where my shop is, but because I love the network of DIY artists and it’s so awesome to essentially have a handmade mall on your computer.
In your social circle of friends, do many people you know make crafts, of any kind? Does baking and crafting, for you, involve a social network, or is it something you do entirely on your own?
I prefer to bake alone, although I love decorating with friends. The baking part is less social because you have to pay attention and there’s only so much room to scoot around each other. I usually have people over to decorate Halloween cupcakes and that’s always fun! I think almost all of my friends are really crafty, one has her own small baking company, another one is an installation artist, I have one friend who has a handbag company and one who just knits and bakes because she loves it. I gravitate toward other domestic types, I think.
How did you get the idea for Bake & Destroy?
After my son was born I found myself baking a lot out of boredom- babies sleep a lot! I knew I was technically a good baker so I was baffled at how sometimes what I made was stellar and sometimes I just blew it. I wanted to start a blog where I documented failures and successes, and I also wanted to make a baking blog that was full of cuss words and sarcasm. Like, I love Martha Stewart, she’s my hero, but if I was on her show every other thing I said would be bleeped. The name obviously comes from “skate and destroy” the classic Thrasher Magazine adage. I just wanted to name my blog something that would reflect both sides of me; I love being domestic and swapping recipes but I’m also covered in tattoos and married to a skateboarder.
Does anyone ever mock your love of the cakes and if so, what do you say to them?
For a while my extended family was kind of like, “I suppose Natalie’s going to bring cupcakes to the picnic” like I’m a one-trick pony or something, but I actually got them all addicted to my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes so now they make sure I’m bringing cupcakes.
Favorite Music to work to?
I almost always bake to The Cramps. I don’t know why, there’s just something about all their songs about tough broads that makes me want to get in the kitchen.
Biggest Inspiration?
It’s really corny…so much so that I almost don’t want to even say it, but my son is a huge inspiration. I want him to have memories of me making him really awesome birthday cakes and just to remember all the cookies I made him and all the time we spent together in the kitchen. He already loves stirring and pretending to cook, so I hope he’ll stay interested in that sort of thing, it’s an awesome quality in a man. Plus, having him really gave me a lot of confidence. I’m much more able to put myself out there on my blog and to come up with new items for my Etsy shop without doubting myself now that I have him. Teno is rad!
Natalie was kind enough to share a recipe for Lemon Vegan Cupcakes with us, click here to read it!
