RaeLyn Murphy's Blog, page 2
January 27, 2012
Paw Print Cupcakes
I love these cupcakes because they are so easy to make and they lend themselves so well to a variety of themes. As a former Den Mother and Cub Master, I love these Paw Print cupcakes for use in all of the dens. As a mom, I love them because they go easily with a zoo outing or party, some of the Disney movies (Jungle Book, Brother Bear), and any other animal-based theme you might think of.
All of the ingredients for these "Cub Cakes" were purchased at my local Dollar Tree store. Some Dollar Tree stores now have refrigerated sections and would also carry the eggs needed for the cupcake batter. Mine doesn't, but it does carry the vegetable oil needed.Make cupcakes in the flavor of your choice. Top with vanilla icing. Place a miniature York Peppermint Patty slightly off-center on top of each cupcake and arrange three Junior Mints around the top edge to form the paw. If you'd like, chocolate chip "claws" and be added to the tips of the Junior Mints. Chocolate chips may also be used in place of the Junior Mints for a more wolf-like animal track. In fact, if you'd like to substitute a Mickey or Minnie Mouse theme, you could just remove one Junior Mint and arrange the mints in the familiar Mickey silhouette. So easy! Enjoy!
January 24, 2012
Washing A Wall With Light
Do you live in an apartment or feel stuck with white walls? What's the easiest way to create evening ambiance? I'm going to show you how to "paint" your walls with color in five minutes flat for less than $20.
Ready?
For this effect, you need to purchase one or more can lights, as shown. These take a standard base light bulb. I used one orange and two blue fluorescent bulbs for the effects shown. Incandescent bulbs are also perfectly acceptable for wall-washing; fluorescent bulbs are just cheaper and cooler.
For my purposes, I've purchased three cans. They are $8.00 at my local big box do-it-yourself center. Because I'm placing this behind a heavy piece of furniture, I've also placed the lights on a timer so that they are timed to switch on at dusk and turn off around bedtime. The cans do come with in-line switches, however. If you use a cord clip to keep the light switch within convenient reach, you may decide to leave out the timer. Alternatively, you might place all of your colored lights in the upper slot of your switch plates, if you have an outlet, or set of outlets, on a switch.
The can light fixture calls for a 40 watt bulb and does state that you could use a Par30 bulb (flood bulb)--good luck finding a colored Par30 in the 40 watt size, although it can be done. The advantage to using a flood bulb here is direction: floods will direct the light straight up the can with little dispersion. You may even be able to find a colored LED flood. Like fluorescent bulbs, LED's are cool and use less electricity so that you get more lumens per wattage. Lumens indicate the brightness of the lamp; watts indicate the amount of energy used and does not indicate brightness.
Put your light bulb in the can, plug it in behind the couch or other large piece of furniture. This is not a necessity. However, the furniture helps corral the light, directing it upward for better effect. Without this, the lighting effect will be more subtle.
To get the sunset effect, the two blue lights were placed at the ends of the couch and the orange light was in the center.
For this restful blue, I simply turned the orange light off and pulled the two blue cans a little closer together.
Here, just the one orange light, placed at the center of the couch, washes the wall with warmth. As you can see, it's easy to change the mood of the room by simply changing the colors in your can lights. For the price of a light bulb, you can "re-paint" the walls at any time. This lighting effect does work during the day, but it is more subtle.
Not shown here, rope lights laid on top of kitchen cupboards, placed along the wall behind the entertainment center and other furniture, or placed along the headboard or bed frame also wash your rooms with inviting glows at little expense. During these cold winter days, this can be an immediate, and homey, mood-lifter.
Ready?
For this effect, you need to purchase one or more can lights, as shown. These take a standard base light bulb. I used one orange and two blue fluorescent bulbs for the effects shown. Incandescent bulbs are also perfectly acceptable for wall-washing; fluorescent bulbs are just cheaper and cooler. For my purposes, I've purchased three cans. They are $8.00 at my local big box do-it-yourself center. Because I'm placing this behind a heavy piece of furniture, I've also placed the lights on a timer so that they are timed to switch on at dusk and turn off around bedtime. The cans do come with in-line switches, however. If you use a cord clip to keep the light switch within convenient reach, you may decide to leave out the timer. Alternatively, you might place all of your colored lights in the upper slot of your switch plates, if you have an outlet, or set of outlets, on a switch.
The can light fixture calls for a 40 watt bulb and does state that you could use a Par30 bulb (flood bulb)--good luck finding a colored Par30 in the 40 watt size, although it can be done. The advantage to using a flood bulb here is direction: floods will direct the light straight up the can with little dispersion. You may even be able to find a colored LED flood. Like fluorescent bulbs, LED's are cool and use less electricity so that you get more lumens per wattage. Lumens indicate the brightness of the lamp; watts indicate the amount of energy used and does not indicate brightness. Put your light bulb in the can, plug it in behind the couch or other large piece of furniture. This is not a necessity. However, the furniture helps corral the light, directing it upward for better effect. Without this, the lighting effect will be more subtle.
To get the sunset effect, the two blue lights were placed at the ends of the couch and the orange light was in the center.
For this restful blue, I simply turned the orange light off and pulled the two blue cans a little closer together.
Here, just the one orange light, placed at the center of the couch, washes the wall with warmth. As you can see, it's easy to change the mood of the room by simply changing the colors in your can lights. For the price of a light bulb, you can "re-paint" the walls at any time. This lighting effect does work during the day, but it is more subtle.Not shown here, rope lights laid on top of kitchen cupboards, placed along the wall behind the entertainment center and other furniture, or placed along the headboard or bed frame also wash your rooms with inviting glows at little expense. During these cold winter days, this can be an immediate, and homey, mood-lifter.
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