The Latest and Greatest {So Far, At Least}

I've been busy adding new stuff to the Poetic Culture Etsy store! Here are a few of our new products:

Glorious Day

The true meaning of Easter:

May you and your family have a blessed Easter!

'Twas the Night Before the Egg Hunt

DISCLAIMER:

THE FOLLOWING STORY IS REAL. THE NAME OF THE PARTY INVOLVED IN THIS SITUATION HAS BEEN CONCEALED TO PROTECT THE INDIVIDUAL FROM ADDITIONAL EMBARRASSMENT AND SHAME. THIS BLOG IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY INJURIES SUSTAINED DUE TO THE INGESTION OF STARBURST CANDY, WHICH HAPPENS TO BE A JUICY CONTRADICTION.

‘Twas the night before the egg hunt, and all through her dwelling,

Against her gluten-free diet, a girl was rebelling.

Dreaming of pancakes packed full of wheat

And sugar-free syrup, so yummy, so sweet.

Breakfast had ended and the girl’s work began,

Constructing goody bags was the fun task at hand.

She was holding an Egg Hunt the very next day

At her church for the children who would come to play.

She counted the eggs and the treats several times

And stuffed the bags full while watching “Army Wives.”

The sugary treats she couldn’t resist,

Into her mouth a Starburst went with a flick of her wrist.

Chewing and chomping the sticky sweet goo,

A strange and peculiar sound echoed throughout the room.

Something wasn’t right, something was weird.

A quick finger-sweep confirmed what she feared.

Her temporary crown, the second one she’d received

In three weeks time had popped off, she was peeved.

Where the crown once sat, a hillbilly-lookin’ peg now stood.

What the what?? This can’t be good!

She ran to the phone with the rogue crown in hand

To see if the dentist could come up with a plan

To fix her messed up grill before tomorrow came to be

And to stop her from screaming like a crazy banshee.

Reinstalled was the crown, she was sent on her way

With a supply of emergency cement, should the crown go astray.

Starbursts and crowns are a bad mix, she did learn.

Happy Easter to all, eat your candy with caution and concern!

Party On!

I love my Granny. She's beautiful, hilarious, feisty, blunt as can be, and just plain sweet. Oh, and did I mention that she's 93 years old? My Mom and I own our own jewelry and accessory business called Poetic Culture. We sell our handcrafted, one-of-a-kind products through trunk shows held in the homes of hostesses. Well, Granny has been curious about these shows we've been doing, so she decided to have one herself. I thought her idea was pretty doggone clever. So, Mom and I loaded up good ole Nellie (my Ford Expedition) and headed to Granny's place. She was definitely the hostess with the mostess! Here are some pics from our wild-and-crazy evening:

I had fun taking pics around Granny's house:

I took pics of her pics.

Here is my Grams' graduation pic:

Here is Granny when she was about 25ish (according to her):

Here is a pic of me Grams and her brother when they were wee little ones (spoken with Irish accent):

Check out what my Gramps made to hold da Mom's beads:

Remember that nifty quilt that I got from Goodwill for $1.99?? If not, click HERE. If so, check out how I am now using it:

Yep, I'm using it in our trunk show displays!

{The Canning Process: Jewelry Edition}

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Canning jewelry? Who woulda thunk it? Well, let's just say I needed a quick and cute way to package my Poetic Culture jewelry to donate as a door prize for a local women's conference. I wanted the jewelry to be visible through the packaging and cute, of course. Us gals are all about the cuteness, right? So, after thinking about it, I decided to use mason jars as my packaging device. After the smoke cleared (from all the thinking I did--ouch!), I whipped out my trusty can of black spray paint and gave the jar lids a good coat. I put some hot pink paper shred in the bottom of the jar and placed two earring cards, taped back-to-back, in the jar. I embellished the inside of the jar with a few black feathers. I'm into feathers, like pretty hardcore. I placed the lids on the jars and tied them up with some black tulle and hot pink ribbons. Of course, I included a Poetic Culture business card! Finally, I attached fabric flower brooches to the tops of the lids. They are decorative and they can be worn! Holla! And that's it, folks. Here are some pics:

Yummo! Lemon Cheesequake Cake {w/Blueberry Topping}

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Okay, let's get one thing straight--I am not a cook. I've tried, I've failed, my husband and I live on restaurant food, end of story. And we're cool with that. Don't get me wrong, we do eat at home sometimes, and the hubs can grill a mean steak. But, for the most part, we are let's-go-out-to-eat kind of folk. However, I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, but I can actually bake. I suppose my baking ability has something to do with the fact that baking involves exact measurments, not the natural talent to throw various ingredients together and make an amazing meal--I don't know.

I got to flex my baking muscles this past week since I was summoned to make a birthday cake for the hubs. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and he requested a blueberry cream cheese cake. I was cool with that. Problem was, I had never actually made a blueberry cream cheese cake. . . But, I had made a lemon cheesequake cake before, and I figured I could turn it into a lemon blueberry cheesequake cake if I dumped a can of blueberry pie filling on top. And that's just what I did. I have to admit, it was pretty doggone good. So, I thought I'd share the recipe with you guys. The complete, print-out-a-copy version follows the nifty pics.

IMPORTANT: BE SURE TO LICK ALL SPOONS, BOWLS, AND BEATERS USED WHEN COMBING CAKE MIX INGREDIENTS!

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO LICK THE BOWL AND SPOON. DON'T PASS IT UP!

And that's it! I hope you enjoy your cake as much as we (me, the hubs, and the fam) enjoyed this one!

Here's the actual recipe:

Lemon Cheesequake Cake {w/Blueberry Topping}

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (18 oz) package lemon cake mix

1 1/4 cups water (or as called for by the mix directions)

3 eggs (or as called for by the mix directions)

1/2 cup of oil (or as called for by the mix directions)

1/2 cup of margarine, softened

8oz cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 can blueberry pie filling

1. Grease 9x13 cake pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. Cover bottom of pan with chopped walnuts

3. Mix cake as directed on package

4. Pour cake batter over nuts

5. Mix margarine and cream cheese until smooth (whip it, whip it good)

6. Gradually add powdered sugar and mix well

7. Spoon over cake batter

8. Bake approx. 30 -35 min (or as called for by mix directions)

9. Cool completely

10. Top with blueberry pie filling

11. Put on a pot of coffee

12. Eat up! : )

Happy Baking, Peeps!

I'm a-linkin' up here: