Fresh Moist Raspberry Cake

The golden crusted Moist Soft Raspberry Cake

We went Berry Picking this Fall and came home laden with delicious freshly picked Balckberries and Raspberries and the outcome of the fresh berries is the just out of the oven light and airy sweet scented moist Fresh Rashberry Cake. The cake has a nice crust on it from the sugar and was a real winner with my family

I picked the receipe from http://www.kitchenbounty.com/2011/04/fresh-raspberry-cake.html and followed his buttermilk variation which made it light and less in calorie.

The Batter with the Raspberries

Ingredients:

•All Purpose Flour: 1 cup
•Salt: 0.25 tsp
•Baking Soda/ Soda Bicarbonate : 0.5 tsp
•Baking Powder: 0.5 tsp
•Butter Softened : 0.5 cups - 4 tbs - 0.5 stick
• Sugar : 2/3 cup + 2-3 tbs to sprinkle on the top
•Eggs : 1
•Vanilla essence - 0.5 tsp
•Buttermilk- 0.5 cup
•Fresh or Frozen Raspberries - 1 cup


Procedure:

•Preheat the oven to 400F . Line and grease a cake pan or tin that is 18cm/7 in square.Dust it with All Purpose flour.

•Sift together 1 cup of plain/all-purpose flour, 0.25 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda, 0.5 tsp baking powder.

•In a food processor, cream 0.5 cups softened butter until soft and fluffy and slowly add the sugar until well mixed Add the vanilla  and the  egg. Finally add the Buttermilk and mix well.

•Mix the dry Ingredients to the wet mixtures in small batches until combined.

•Pour the batter into the cake pan and level the top and add the raspberries to it. Sprinkle with sugar.

•Bake in the middle rack for about 25-30 minutes till the knife comes out clean. Cool before inverting the cake.

•Can be served with whipped cream

The Cake filled with Raspberries

Fabric Painting on a Saree

Pinks.. Greens.. Yellows
 

 

Having finished 2 Salwar Embroidery for my friends I got to do Painting on a Saree for another friend of mine. It was a Kota Saree with Applique border in Pastel Pink ,  Pastel Green and a bright Yellow.. I was asked to add a punch of colour and design and make it flamboyant. As the applique was a floral design I went for a floral motif of a Bunch of Flowers.

 

 

The Applique Border of the Saree

I used  2 shades of Pearl Pink, Pearl green with a mix of Sap Green of Fevicryl Fabric on the Floral Design. I didn't use a medium to thin out the paint as Kota Fabric byitself is a very thin fabric and the colour bleeds if it is thin and watery.  I had placed the flower motif a regular intervals and accentuated the Saree.

The Bunch and Single Flowers Alternate eachother.

 A part of the bunch was added as Single flower motif to further make it more beautiful and also in the Pallu.

The Play of Colours
 

Beads in Embroidery

THE NECKLINE

Yet again lots had happened. I have moved back to US- Camp Hill, PA and am trying to find my roots here. Am Yet to establish my craft table and my crafty things but I have quite a lot of my past work which I can showcase. !!!!

THE FLOWER MOTIFS DETAILED WITH BEADS

A LITTLE MORE DETAIL WITH LAISY DAISY STITCH

In Continuation of the Surprise Embroidery, Painting I took up commercially for friends and family I was asked to accentuate an already printed Kameez. As it already carried a design I had less choice to work with. It was beige dull colour with marron and green circle and leaf motif. I went for beads of thr same colour but it overall added a shine under light and green and pink thread which would show off in the otherwise dull colour of the kameez. I worked on the existing design and created a neck line and at the base. Also worked with Laisy Daisy (Individual Chain Stitch) at the Border and the Sleeves She liked it immensely Hope to do manymore of this kind till I start my Work as a Architect designing spaces.

THE NECKLINE AND THE BEADWORK AT THE BOTTOM

A SERIES OF DIAMONDS ARE WORKED WITH BEADS

Embroider Little Flowers

Bright Yellow Flowers and Green Stems on a Half White Kameez

I love whites and beiges as it can be teamed up with any  colour duppata and salwars. This one I had teamed with Parrot Green Churidhar and Duppata but still the Kameez lacked something. I thought I'll add some small flowers to it . The basic design was inspired from kurta featured in Needle N Thread Magazine sporting a similar neck Pattern. I went to work with bright yellow flowers in Button Hole stich( which we use as loops for hooks) and Parrot green Stems in Stem stitch. I worked around the neck and the lower side of the kurta and in the end it looked chic to wear.

White Kurtha teamed with Parrot green Churidhar and Duppata

The design follows the Neckline

Pot Painting - As a Teacher

The Simple Pot Turned into a pretty work of art by a 8year old.

This Summer Hols the scroching sun made many kids stay indoors for the most of the afternoon and I was able to put best use of my skills to teach them a few crafst. We made stick puppets, seed art, vegetable painting, diya painting, recycled collage bags to store toys and so on with the 4year olds.

The Little older kids tried their hands on Pot Painting and decorating, Stain Glass Painting. This is a pot made by my neighbours kid with a little guidance from me. It made me immensely happy to see some of my skills to be made use. My friends even encourage me to start a summer camp/class next year with all sorts of crafts. But all my thanks goes to my daughter who just supports me in all my art and enjoys every single thing I do and in her sweet innocent way appreciates all my work by
flaunting it to all her friends and their family.

A little touch of ribbon to add to its beauty

Materials Needed:

 

 

Acrylic Paint

Pot - any Shape , Size

All purpose Varnish

Yelllow/ white carbon

Beads, sequince, embellishments if needed.

Glue

Sand papper

Scrub the pot well with a Sand Papper and make it smooth. Immerse the pot for about 2 hours in water so as it doesn't soak much paint while painting. Dry the pot for abput an hour and a half. Choose a sarker base acolur and give 2 coats of it let it dry. Once it is dry draw the design or carbon a design of your choice. Paint or glue the embellishments to make it pretty.

Stained Glass Painting as a Teacher

Summer is the time we have fun and with my daughter's birthday  I got busy and was not able to blog for quite some time. During the Summer Hols I tried my hands on quite a few crafts. I found felt t be versatile and did a Finger Puppet themed Birthday for my Daughter.. did some embroidery, Fabric Painting on Sarees, some earrings, Felt Purses and quite a lot of Quilling a new craft for me!!!.

The Best was I was able to teach my neighbours kids some Stained Glass Painting.. These are some of the works of my Friends Kids aged about 8-9years and their hand on Stained glass Paintings

Bird on a Branch on a Spring Morning

 
Materials Needed:

Glass Any Size

Watee Based Stain glass paints for beginers.

Stain Glass Liner

Tape to wind around the glass so as the hands are not cut

Interesting Designs

Butterfly on Hibiscus

Lighthouse

Voila with a little help these kids turned the palin glass into beautiful art to adorn their room walls.

Recycle Bag

In my childhood I used to save and cherish paper/ cardboard bag. One day when I was rummagging  through my junk collection as I call it I found one bag being torn. Voila look what was inside the colurful wrapping - a Kellogs carton.

Any Carton never goes a waste!!!

So now I recyle Kellogs and other cartons and make colourful bags to store my daughters toys, for her shopping, etc. and also gift them to her friends.