itty bitty cakes made from antique candy molds

What are these you ask? They're antique candy molds that were sent to us by our sweet friend Lisa. Lisa collects some of the best ephemera and vintage bits, and she was kind enough to send these our way! To make use of them as candy molds you can press them into a tray of packed brown sugar, pull them out, and then fill the recess with melted chocolate or liquid candy and let cool. 

I totally love them as-is, and I'll be keeping the majority of the collection this way. But I had a few doubles of the same exact design and I thought they would look amazing if they were painted to resemble tiny cakes. 

Some are super elaborate, and these ones looked like tiny bundt cakes. So with acrylic craft paint I painted one a buttery yellow, and the other chocolate. 

To create the transparent glazes I mixed some paint with Liquitex Gloss Fluid Medium and some water until I achieved a consistency that would drip ever-so-slightly down the sides. 

And then just kinda dabbed the glaze around the top of the cake ring until it dripped.

Right away I had the idea to paint this one to resemble lady fingers topped with cherries.

I love how the crosshatch of golden cake peeks through the aqua glaze on this one. 

This is one of the fancier shapes. It was destined to be chocolate with a dark chocolate glaze. I love how the gloss of the glaze makes it stand out against the chocolate cake.

I think they turned out super cute! I can imagine turning them into brooches, or rings! 

What a perfect fit for our little cast iron chef!

This was a fun little project to work on while orders were drying today. I love projects that really only require a fraction of your attention. That way you can craft and make things while still accomplishing your daily work goals. I think I did them all in about 45 minutes while doing a bunch of other stuff at the same time. 

It's still super cold here in Jersey but Aaron and I have our hearts and minds set on thinking Spring. When those sunny warm days arrive we'll be waiting with open arms and hearts brimming with inspiration. We are really looking forward to making and debuting our 2015 Spring collection! 

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Love from the Jersey Shore!

xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi! 

ps. Thanks SO much Lisa!!

And the happy mail continues

Just the other day I was just reminiscing about the "good ol' days" of blogging. I was talking about swaps, and the fun of sending and receiving packages filled with vintage bits and pieces, craft supplies, handmade gifts, and all those things. And whattayaknow…the incredibly sweet and fun mail that has been showing up at my house lately is making me feel like I've time traveled right back to those so called good ol' days!

In fact, this morning's mail contained a totally unexpected package from our friend Jennifer Perkins, who you probably know, or may just recognize as one of the talented gals in the Valentine's Day Wreath Blog Hop from a few posts ago. She was actually the gal who put together the Blog Hop.

 So today's package from Jennifer was pretty much a "just because" type of package. Which are the greatest types of packages. She's familiar with what me and Aaron like to collect and what we like to craft with. And she's got piles and piles of creativity and style to spare. So you better believe that a package coming from her is going to be a very fun package indeed.

It was just packed like a tin of sardines with all sorts of adorable vintage ephemera, and cutesy bits. And all in our color palette! So so fun and thoughtful! Do you see those adorable little cat eye sunglasses? And the sweet little 1949-50 school photo of the sweetly smirking blonde? And the tally card, and playing cards, buttons, paper doll, and there's even more that I couldn't fit in the picture. 

Love the little plastic dentures, and the golden A charm! 

I knew immediately who would be wearing those glasses! Perfect fit! 

Oh and this vintage floral brooch made of tiny seashells!! I ADORE it!! I'll totally be wearing it, but when I'm not I'll be keeping it in this little glass dish filled with my favorite tiny aqua glass ornaments, and honeycomb ball. This is the sort of stuff that makes my heart beat a bit faster. 

Just such a fun fun surprise! I adore it all and am totally inspired to create cute things using some of these pieces. I'm hoping to find a bit of time this weekend for personal crafting. We are also planning another @shoplikeitsaholiday instagram sale! The last one was so fun and we're going to work hard at gathering enough worthy stuff so that it's just as fun this time around! I'll be announcing the date soon! We'll be doing our gathering this weekend. 

We are totally buried in work right now, and doing our best to not freeze. As I type this it is 11 degrees…ughhh…and it's going down to 1!!! And with wind chill…just forget about it! yikes! 

Hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are. Thanks bunches for popping in! I'd love to hear about what you've been up to! Any fun craft projects? Swaps? Home improvements? 

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

xo Jenny... & Aaron says hi!

What I received in the #epicgalentinesswap

Last week I had told you guys about the Galentine's Day Swap. In case you missed it, I blogged about it here. And I had promised that I would return to share what I received in the swap…so here goes!

The package that my partner sent me arrived several days prior to Galentine's Day, so I'm proud of myself for maintaining adult-like composure and somehow not sneaking a peek at what was in the box until the big day. As a group, we all planned to open our packages at the same time on Galentine's Day (Feb 13th). The gal that sent to me was Meghan from Juneberry Stitches. And oh my gosh did she do an incredible job putting this package together! So so me! Just look at the above pic! 

First was this vintage Valentine. Sweet as can be! 

Too cute right? They used the best fonts ever back then! A happy new addition to my vintage Valentine collection! 

Meghan also sent me this sweet pink and white check vintage apron with black detailing.  I love it! 

It looks right at home hanging in my kitchen! 

Meghan makes some of the most adorable bags, and I was so excited to receive this one. Linen burlap with a black doily and pink zipper!

Annnd this incredibly cute custom "basket". It's like a bag that stands up and can be used to store things…like make up…or craft supplies...or whatever.  I love it so much! 

One of the questions in our Galentine's Swap questionnaire asked what new craft or hobby we'd like to learn. My answer is that I would love to sew. So once again, Meghan paid attention to the fine print and handmade me this darling needle book! 

So so so cute!! And beyond thoughtful! So much care and time went into these beautiful things. 

She also included some black and white baker's twine…which I love! Never enough baker's twine!

And those top three rolls of washi tape are from Meghan...the black with white hearts, and the aqua and pink scallops. As you can see they are also right at home in my studio! She perfectly nailed down my aesthetic. 

And I love this adorable little cupcake stamp. 

I totally cracked up at these pencils! So so good!! She sent a whole pack of them! "Hoes before Bros" A Leslie Knope quote from Parks and Rec. 

“You know my code: hoes before bros. Uteruses before duderuses…Ovaries before brovaries.”

And check out this crazy cute vintage cake decorator! Ahh!! The pink plastic handle! It is so perfect in our kitchen. The shelf you see here in the background is it's new forever home.

Such a fun swap and geez what a perfect and incredibly thoughtful package I received. So glad I found the time to participate. Such a great group of gals. Sweethearts. If you'd like to see what everyone else got you can check out the #EPICGALENTINESSWAP hashtag over on Instagram! 

Meghan also sent me a bag of chocolate kiss truffles...I didn't even know they made those! 

Seriously, life moves so fast. Seasons blend together and holidays come and go in a flash. So taking time to connect with others for a holiday themed event such as a swap is so meaningful. First, it's so important to set aside the extra time and effort for making things and gathering stuff for someone else. It's so rewarding. And then there's the super duper added bonus of receiving a package like this. There are things here that I can display year round and know that they came from a great place.

Hope you enjoyed!

xo, Jenny…and Aaron says hi!

Fast & Fun DIY vintage mini play food box garland…with FREE printable!

We are so so excited to share this free little do-it-yourself download with you guys!

 As you know, we are avid collectors of all things vintage kitchen/bakery. When we came across this collection of mini vintage Junior Chef mix boxes from the late 50s or early 60s, we swooned! First off, they're toy/play size! Little boxes made for kids who wanted to play kitchen. I LOVE stuff like this. When I look at these boxes I can clearly recall one of my all time favorite things from childhood. It was a cardboard "grocery store"…it had shelves stocked with groceries, and a checkout complete with cash register. On the shelves were faux food items and stuff like that…tooth paste, laundry detergent, cereal, and cake mixes, very much like these mini boxes. And the fact that the set was merely cardboard made it even more magical. Me and my sister absolutely loved playing "grocery store". I swear, just the act of filling our little play cart, and checking out at the register, provided hours and hours of fun.

So, when me and Aaron got our hands on this collection we couldn't believe how perfectly the pastel tones and fun imagery fit our home. And the mini boxes looked so great when they were all together in a group. So we devised a cute, fun, and super easy way to display them together. A garland of mini boxes! We simply strung a length of classic bakers twine through all of the lids of the boxes, spaced them out evenly, and hung them like a bunting. No, not just a bunting…more like The Cutest Bunting of All Time! 

So, here's where the real fun comes in! When we posted the above pic on Instagram, we immediately got so many requests. Everyone asked if we were going to be making these and selling them in our shop. And then our friend Heidi took it a step further and said that she could help us make that idea into a reality. Heidi is an Uber Talent…she can do anything really. She's the gal behind MyPaperCrane. To list her accolades and fabulous lines of licensed products would take up way too much space. Let me just say that if you think you aren't familiar with her work…think again. I bet you've seen her stuff. Her plush pieces are amazing…her fabric patterns are incredible…and she's just all around crafty. 

So, Heidi wanted to make reproductions of the boxes for her own personal crafty fun. So I scanned my set of boxes and emailed her the images. Within a few days she sent me the below templates! They are totally ready to print, cut out, and turn into mini boxes. 

And here's the thing…me and Aaron have never really reproduced something and then made it for sale. We generally hand paint original artwork from scratch and then make prints of the paintings for use on signs, die cuts, etc. 

So…we figured...what the heck, let's just offer these adorable templates as a free printable download for all of you guys! 

We suggest that you load your printer with bright white card stock. The heavier weight of the card stock will make the boxes sturdier. You can find the pdf right here. Just print them out…they conveniently come two to a page...and then cut out.

You'll see that there are little flaps that you'll cut just partially, just like on real boxes. These will fold together to secure the ends shut. Once you've got your templates cut, then just fold and crease them along all of the thin black guide lines. Then fold to assemble into boxes, using a bit of glue to secure the tabs to one another. (we used Aleene's Quick Dry Tacky Glue) 

Then to make the garland all you have to do is thread a length of bakers twine along the top of each box, simply closing the lid to secure the twine.

That's it! Your adorable vintage mini mix boxes are ready to hang. We LOVE ours! And yes, now we have two hanging in our home…the original is on a cupboard, and the reproduction printed version is draped across a shelf front in our kitchen. We hope you guys love these! And we would love love love to see pics of how and where you displayed yours…or any other crafty ways that you used your boxes.   (tag us on Instagram! @jennyeveryday) And oh yeah…be sure to thank the wonderful Heidi…and shop 'til you drop at MyPaperCrane! Of course, feel free to share this post with your friends, or on Pinterest!

Happy Crafting!

xo Jenny & Aaron

Meet our Feature Sponsor: Pei Li the Miniature Patisserie Chef

One of our very favorite things to do is to share. Share art, art techniques, vintage finds, recipes, favorite blogs... And what's most rewarding is to share the work of our talented friends. Every once in a while we come across an artist who's work is right up our alley. And currently, that credit goes to miniature artist Pei Li! Her work hits me on several levels. First, the sheer cuteness of her miniatures absolutely tickles my heart. Her choice in subject matter is exactly what the doctor ordered...I love the itty bitty macarons, and the diminutive cakes and cupcakes with their icing and frosting that looks tastier than the real thing. The next thing that grabs me is her color palette...so soft, dreamy, and enchanting. And then, what completes my love for her work is the admiration I have for her technical mastery. As a lifelong professional artist I have firsthand knowledge of the effort that this type of work requires. (though my work isn't even a fraction as demanding) In looking at Pei Li's art, and seeing the attention to perfect detail, the pieces come alive...they are physical embodiments of her passion and dedication.
We are honored to have Pei Li as our Featured Sponsor this month. It's a thrill to be able to share all these adorable pics of her work. And she was sweet enough to take the time for a little Q & A so that we can all get to know her a little better. Enjoy! 

What is your name and/or business and blog name?

    Hi, my name is Pei Li and my business name is Pei Li Miniatures. I'm also known as the Miniature Patisserie Chef.

What do you do? ...and when did you start?

     I started making 1:12 scale dollhouse miniatures after taking a class teaching paper clay in 2005. I never looked back since and have been making miniatures. I opened my Etsy shop in 2008 and after a few years, I also started to turn some of my creations into cute jewelry items. After another few years, I had my own website where I slowly started to sell some supplies and teach individual workshops locally in Singapore. 

What/Who are you inspired by?

   I get a lot of inspiration in real life....such as shops that I visited, or photos and pictures that I see on Pinterest, or in magazines. I love the zakka style, as well as the shabby chic, feminine style. A lot of the creations that I create are a reflection of the things that I love in real life: desserts, pastries, home decor, flowers etc.

Where do you create? home studio? kitchen table? sofa?

   I currently live with my family in Singapore. All my crafting is done in my own bedroom. I have a long work desk, and I usually craft while listening to music or videos! I really do listen to videos more than watching them as I need to pay attention while I'm crafting. When I conduct classes, depending on situation, I will do that in my kitchen or dining room. 

What are some of your fave movies/shows/bands/music?

   I listen to a variety of music, and what I like listening to largely depends on my mood. Sometimes I like classical music, or flute pieces combined with nature sounds. I find that really relaxing! On most days, my music playlist is comprised of songs by Samantha James, Sade, Blue Six and Urban Humming Stereo.

 Do you collect anything?

  When I was a kid, I used to collect stamps, post cards, stickers and letter pads. I outgrew that, and then before I started making miniatures,  I collected cross stitch magazines, charts and books. As for miniatures, I am more selective and do keep a few items that hold a special place in my heart. 

 Favorite art/craft supplies?

  My favourite craft supply would have to be air dry clay, which is what I use mostly in my work. I'm also a fanatic of paints, from acrylic paints, to oil paints to watercolours. I have quite a large collection when it comes to paints as it is also one of the important supplies that helps to transform my work. I experiment with different kinds of paint and am always excited to try different things.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

  I don't really have a long road map. All I know is that in 5 years time, it will be a blessing to be enjoying what I'm still doing, continuing my creative journey, being happy, contented and healthy! 

Three favorite websites/blogs/shops...etc?

  Pinterest is definitely one of my favourite websites, I get so happy and inspired when I see beautiful things! 

Another one of my favourite websites will be Zita Elze. From her website, you can find other resources to view her fantastic flower work. My work has no resemblance to her style, but it is her dedication to artistry that inspires me to strive for the same in my course of work.

Is there anything else you'd like to add? 

  Being able to share my love for dollhouse miniatures on the internet has been one wonderful journey. Having people telling me they smiled when they see my creations brings an unexplainable sense of happiness. And oh, I don't have a dollhouse, if you ask me (due to tight space constraints), but it doesn't stop me from making these mini accessories! 

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Isn't she great?! We'd love for you to pop over to Pei Li's blog and say hi! And it would be extra sweet if you let her know that Jenny & Aaron sent you. Thanks so much again. We hope you love what you see!
xo, Jenny & Aaron

When the mood strikes...paint!

Hey Happy Tuesday! We intended to pop in and say hi yesterday but we really lost track of time. We were completely immersed in several projects and we simply couldn't get ourselves to stop. As usual we were jumping from task to task, balancing work stuff, house stuff, studio stuff, life stuff. Some cleaning happened, some organizing happened, some more trim was painted, walls were patched and sanded, furniture got rearranged...yeah one of those days. And on top of that we were going over ideas and lesson plans for our upcoming classes that we are teaching at Art Is You in May! We are so excited  about them! We blogged about them here, and we'd love for you to take the time to check out all the details...and by all means...sign up and join us if you can! 

I'm not a gal who self promotes a whole lot, but when it comes to these classes, I have no problem shouting it from as many mountain tops as I can. Because I KNOW that you guys will absolutely love your experience. I KNOW that you'll learn a lot and laugh a lot. I KNOW that you'll whole heartedly impress yourself and unearth talents you didn't know you had. Come on down to Dixie to get your hands messy, expand your creative repertoire, and make some fabulous artwork in the process!

Artwork that's similar to what you're seeing in this post. You'll explore the many facets of mixed media...you'll learn all about layers and shading...experience first hand how to render cute girls' faces...create fun and fabulous backgrounds. It's an in-depth course...and "in-depth" doesn't mean that it will be hard. Nope, just the opposite. "In-depth" means that you'll get to take the time to really figure out what works for you. We won't ever quickly skim past the details. We'll stop, slow down, and offer you every bit of our 20 years of professional experience.   

Ok, end of sermon...lets get back to yesterday's fun project! 

We love combining our cute girls with textured and layered backgrounds. When it comes to creating backgrounds and layers, you'll notice that most artists have their go-to colors and textures. We're no different...we work within our own little comfort zone, we've got our special "tool box", our specific color palette that works for us. Very often we'll collage our backgrounds because we just love the extra bit of texture that patterned papers will bring to a piece. But yesterday's piece was all about paint. 

I honestly didn't have anything planned. I just let it all happen. Maybe the only thing I knew for sure was that there was going to be some black. Just like in our decor and my wardrobe. Black is necessary. Black balances our candy colors and sweet pastels.  

So...this piece was a lot of fun to work on. I rendered the girl all on her own...as you can see in the first pic at the top of this post. And as you can see, this girl has come a long way from that first photo. She started out as just a pencil sketch on water color paper and initially her coloring was very subtle. I had painted the canvas with a vague idea of how much space she'd occupy and approximately where she'd be positioned. I brought the background and the girl to a certain level of completion, and when the time was right I brought them together so that they could be completed as one cohesive piece of artwork. Doing it this way is a lot of fun. It's kinda exciting when you combine the two elements and see that you've got this whole new piece of artwork. After I adhered the gal to the canvas it was like starting all over...which really was fun. I added more texture, layered on some mediums, splashes of paint, sketchy pencil work...lots of stuff. 

Here she is hanging up. I like how it looks almost as if that is a window behind her...a glimpse of night sky. 

After painting this piece yesterday we got so excited about our upcoming classes. One of our classes focuses on abstract painting. And the other will feature portraits like this. We'll spend an entire day teaching all the techniques, tips, and tricks, so that in the end each student will have at the very least a go-to set of skills...a head start for future paintings. 

And once you've got your go-to "artist tool box" the sky is the limit! Whenever in the mood, you can paint a pretty girl, create a vibe, conjure up a dream world, and make fabulous artwork. 

Here is another painting that I worked on recently. A perfect example of what will be covered in our Abstractions class. I can't describe the joy I experience, starting with a blank canvas and building layers, creating movement, expressing a specific mood. I'm telling you...it's addictive, 

I really like how soft this piece turned out. Aaron says its his new favorite painting of mine. But seriously, he says that about each new one I do. He likes to point out his favorite areas of my paintings. What we refer to as "the sweet spot".

And now that the house is coming together we are able to hang art. It has been so long and we are really excited about it. Here are some of our personal favorites. Some are mine and some are Aaron's. Can you tell them a part? The two of us stay within our shared color palette which matches our home decor. But if you look closely you may be able to tell the difference between our respective paintings. We work in completely different styles, and in our classes we will both be teaching our personal methods..our favorite techniques and styles. It's fun to see how students drift toward either Aaron or myself based on the commonalities they sense in their own style. With abstracts it's all about two things...method & color. You wouldn't believe what a world of difference color makes. Imagine the above abstracts rendered in jewel tones, or earth tones even...with each student there are endless brand new possibilities. And this excites us so much!

It's not too late to sign up! Come for both classes or just one! Stay over night or just make a day trip of it if you are local enough! We can't say enough good things about Art Is You Art Retreats. Any fears you may have...seriously, throw them out the window! These are full day classes...One on One instructions! Plenty of time to learn, practice, create, and chat. You will leave confident, armed with new skills, and ready to create.

And we are offering a special discount! If you use a limited time promo code you can get $60.00 off your Art is Dixie purchase price!  When you register for either of our classes enter HOLIDAY (all caps) into the Event Code box on page 2 beside the package of days selection, and you will get $60 off your total registration.

Hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks so much for popping in! 

Love from NJ!

xo Jenny...and Aaron says hi!