Kathryn Church Designs

Inspiration Board: Vintage Yellow

2012-02-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Flowers!

2012-02-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

Pre-order your Valentine's Flowers!

Long-stemmed Premium Roses (available in red or assorted colors)

Dozen- $45.00
Half Dozen- $24.50
Single- $4.50

Add a vase - $2.00-$5.00
Moscow Delivery - $5.00

Custom Orders must be placed by Feb. 8Happy Valentine's Day!

kathryn@kathrynchurch.com

(image from here)

Palouse Mall Bridal Fair

2012-02-06T12:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we participated in our first bridal fair! I chose to feature yellow and grey since the mall doesn't have great lighting. The bridal bouquet above has: callas, cremones, billy balls, succulents, queen anne's lace, dusty miller, tulips, and lisianthus.

I found an old ladder at a thrift store and painted it yellow to showcase the potted succulents. Mike whipped up the "ranch inspired" backdrop to hang the window and more pictures from.

The back of the bouquet was lined with pearl headed pins and a small picture frame at the top. A couple cute kiddos even stopped by for a visit! :) Thanks Naphtali and Rachel for your help!

Baby Boy Mustache Shower

2012-02-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

My friend, Laura, and I threw an evening baby shower for her sister-in-law, Paige's new baby boy! We opted to focus on coffee since it was after dinner and most ladies don't want to eat too much anyway. We created a coffee bar with baileys, hershey's specialty creamers, kahlua, whipped cream vodka, etc..

Laura made mustache stir sticks out of felt. And we incorporated mustaches everywhere else!

Wyatt

Cranberry biscotti.

Laura and Paige.

Professional Shots: Ashley and Tyler

2012-01-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

Ashley and Tyler got married in early December. Ashley went with purples and greens which hi-lighted the winter element nicely without being specifically "Christmas." Her bouquet featured succulents, green hydrangea, picasso callas, ranunculus, seeded euc, stock, lisianthus, queen anne's lace, and cream hypericum. I used ornamental kales and cabbages on stage.

(Thanks to Chris Walker for the pictures!)

I love succulents for boutonnieres! They hold up really well (as do callas) and add a lot of texture.

Professional Shots: Rachel and Joe

2012-01-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

I just got these photos from Rachel and Joe's late summer wedding. They're perfect right now when there's tons of snow outside! Rachel is a fantastic graphic designer (Orange Peal Design) and she loves orange! She had a very clear vision of what she wanted and it was tons of fun to design for her.

Chris Walker took all of these wonderful pictures.

Isn't her dress splendid!? It's a Vera Wang for David's Bridal.

Her cake was made by her mom and it is one of my all time favorites!

Valentine's Printables

2012-01-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

I'm a sucker for Valentine's Day. All that pink and red is so cheerful when it's still pretty dreary outside. Love vs. Design has this free Valentine's Printable. They also have a free "Be My Bridesmaid" printable. That'd be a fun Valentine to pass out!

Business Cards

2012-01-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Vicky I have some business cards coming! She's also working up a new blog design that I'm very excited about. It should be up and running soon!

Sneak Peek: Paul Wedding

2011-12-31T21:40:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!! What a fun day to get married huh?! And what better colors than white and champagne!

Inspiration Board: White Rehearsal Dinner

2011-12-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

DIY: Cardboard Gingerbread House

2011-12-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

We do a Gingerbread House party every year and my talented husband whipped this cardboard house up for the kids in 20min! He used a refrigerator box, cut a triangle on the front and back and folded down the sides to form a peak. (Make sense?) I used paper and leftover felt for quick decorations. It was a big hit - and Asa's still playing with it.

Of course - you could paint it brown and add on a lot more "candy" too!

Sneak Peek: Paul Wedding

2011-12-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

I have to say that these are some of my favorite winter flowers yet! The bride did a great job picking colors and varieties. The purples and greens with succulents just play so well together!

Wedding Prep

2011-12-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

I'm loving all these purples and whites! They look like winter without saying "Christmas."

Those are picasso callas in there - so gorgeous!

DIY: Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies

2011-11-30T16:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts- the holidays just get crazy! Asa and I made these little turkey cookies to go at each placle setting. Royal Icing is great for the smooth, hard finish but it just doesn't have that buttery taste. So I experimented and used the royal icing technique with a "buttercream" frosting. I simply melted 1/2c. butter and mixed in nearly a bag of pwd sugar, 1tsp vanilla, and then enough milk to pipe. Then thinned it out for flooding. We let them dry out overnight. It worked pretty well, and tasted great - but we have some perfecting to do before I'm 100% sure! I'll post more if it works out.

Here's our favorite sugar cookie recipe.

Behind the Scenes

2011-11-18T14:51:00.000-08:00

We threw this photo shoot together pretty fast, and the sun was setting so we really hurried. I grabbed some "snow" from Michaels to try and get that winter effect and Naphtali stood on the table throwing snow at Rachel. Next time we'll plan a little more, but we still had a fun time!

I also found these little frame charms at Michaels and put my Grandma's picture in there.

And we did eat the cake - but not like that. It was just a funfetti cake mix, but I love love them!! Those little letters are from Michaels too.

My cute little niece did not feel like having her picture taken.

Winter Bouquet Shoot

2011-11-17T14:43:00.000-08:00

Christmas Bouquet

2011-11-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

I opted to do a hand wired bridal bouquet as my final project for design school. (I was really hoping there would be snow on the ground for the pictures but, even though it was cold enough for snow, there wasn't any. C'est la vie.) To add some glamour and shine I criss-crossed wire over the tops. The bouquet featured ranunculus, lisianthus, hypercium, oregonoia, freesia, and feathers. I've got some more pictures from our little photo shoot that I'll post tomorrow. (Thanks to my sister-in-law, Naphtali, for styling help and my friend, Rachel, for modeling!)

Fall Basket

2011-11-14T11:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday!

Christophersen/Crapuchettes Wedding

2011-11-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

Here's the rest of Daniel's photos. Annike wanted vibrant pinks and oranges to offset the teal of the bridesmaids dresses. (Here's the inspiration board.) I used zinnias, birds of paradise, stock, lisianthus, free spirit roses, and hypcericum. Birds of Paradise are a wonderful flower! So much character and color.

I made a wand for the flower girl. I'm a fan or real flowers but for little girls, these are fantastic. They can use them at the rehearsal, wave them around, drag them on the ground and they'll still look great! Just make sure to use full headed flowers without a center (daffodils, lilies) that give them away as fake. Carnations, mums, and peonies work great.

Christophersen/Crapuchettes Wedding

2011-11-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

Daniel Foucachon sent over some pictures of Annike and Jonathan's wedding! I haven't had a chance to go through all of them yet, but this one caught my eye. So sweet. These flowers were so fun to do - so vibrant! More to come!

Inspiration Board: White Champagne

2011-11-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

Disney Bridal Gowns and Rings

2011-11-03T09:51:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this on Pinterest the other day and, really, what hasn't Disney done?! At least they're not the Disney princesses actual dresses. Although, if brides have dressed up as Shrek for their wedding, I'm sure some have been Belle or, I shudder to think, Ariel. These gowns are designed by Alfred Angelo and are influenced by the respective princess. Much better. Still, going all Disney for your wedding?? My two year old niece would go nuts. Can you guess which dress and ring go with which princess?

via Alfred Angelo

From left to right for the dresses: Ariel, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Tiana, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella Platinum, Rapunzel
From left to right for the rings: Snow White, Jasmine, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Belle, Ariel

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

Here's our kiddos all set for the party! Thanks to pinterest for inspiration! Ida was a candy corn and our little boy was Johnny Cash.

I sewed a really basic pillowcase dress for the candy corn. I just googled some pillowcase dresses for reference and here's what it ended up being. It measures about 14in long (all said and done with 5/8in seams) and 16in wide. I left 5/8in casing up top for the ribbon and cut triangles off the top two corners (for her arms). I lined it for extra warmth and as an easy way to get the arm holes done.

Johnny Cash was pretty easy. Asa had the guitar, my husband had the belt buckle and those were his boots when he was little. A little black hair dye and a trip to Ross for pants and a shirt and there you have it!

Feature Flower: Greens

2011-10-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

This was another project for school which required us to showcase six different kinds of foliage and only foliage. We also had to incorporate a lot of lines throughout and manipulate the greens. It's definitely a different kind of challenge and surprisingly difficult. I do love those dramatic monstera leaves on the right though.

Let me know if you're curious about the specific varieties.

Sneak Peek: Ida's Nursery

2011-10-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

We're almost almost done with Ida's room! (Now that she's almost 6 months!) I just got a little bookshelf that I need to paint and I'd love to find a rug and small table, but we'll see. Here's her mobile which we finished up last week.

Feature Flower: Bird of Paradise

2011-10-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

This was another arrangement for design school showcasing the fibonacci sequence played out in floral design. It also used birds of paradise, so I thought I'd focus on them! They're a tropical flower and, like most tropicals, long lasting. They are more expensive but you get size, durability, and long life. They lend a very structured and modern effect to arrangements. (I used them in a wedding this summer that I still need to post pictures from.) What do you think? Do you like them?

Real Parties: Kids Carving Party

2011-10-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blogging silence! I really don't have any specific excuse other than the normal busy with kids and playing catch up!
My family grew up carving pumpkins together every year and we still regularly get together to carve. This past weekend we had a casual carving party at our place. Super easy and fun! The night before I ran out to the dollar tree, grabbed a few things for some decor, and that was that. The best thing about this party was that from the set-up to the clean up it was kid friendly. Asa (he's two in a half by the way) was able to help me decorate everything. He helped me make the cookies, cut them out, and patiently sat spreading the icing with a toothpick. I was impressed at how careful he was! He even held off eating them until his friends and cousin came over. (My mom's sugar cookie recipe is really the best. I did a faux royal icing which tastes better than actual royal icing, but nothing beats a buttercream so I added on some canned last minute.)

I got a bunch of googly eyes at the dollar store and Asa and I taped them on the cups and plates. He saw Monster's Inc recently so this made him extremely excited.

Yup. Here's my crazy helper.

I despise mice. I have a phobia of them. My sister-in-law picked these up for one of our parties a couple years back and I held on to them. But it really took a lot for me to handle these things.

Plastic tablecloth from the dollar tree works great for cleaning up all the pumpkin goop.

Mummy dogs have been popping up all over pinterest so we got some crescent dough, cut it into strips, and wrapped them up. Asa helped wrap them up too! Great kid activities.

When it came to the actual carving part, well the kids headed downstairs and we carved. My brother does extremely detailed pumpkins. He created cinderella's pumpkin coach a week ago for his daughter! (The garland in the background there is just a package of foam pumpkins from the dollar tree stapled to black ribbon.)

They spent the evening doing a bunch of this.

The finished product.

Cancer Update on my Mom

2011-10-17T15:51:00.000-07:00

October is breast cancer awareness month. Apparently one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. But they've also made leaps and bounds with treatments. My mom was diagnosed two years ago and she has been clear for over a year now. She's still on medication and frequent check ups but we're very thankful. She heads in Wednesday for another mammogram so you can be praying that it comes back clear! Thanks!

Sneak Peek: Walser Wedding

2011-10-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a few shots from the Walser wedding! Jen wanted to keep things very simple and hi-light some fall tones with mainly roses. Her husband has done a lot of missionary work in the Middle East so they incorporated a lot of that into their wedding with the linens, food, and colors. To tie things together I spray painted all the vases gold and silver (using Rustoleum Metallic finish) and used some exotic flowers for the reception. It was really fun to work with such rich tones and to get to use some unique flowers like kangaroo paw, pincushion protea, and ginger!

I didn't get any great shots of the reception stuff (there's one below) but I'll pass on the professional shots when I get them! Here's the inspiration board.

Real Weddings: Christy and Brian Professional Shots

2011-10-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well, we're home! And we did have a fantastic time in Portland, although we all caught a flu bug so I ended up staying in bed with the kids much of the time. But we got a chance to catch up with friends and family so it was a worthwhile trip!

Rosie sent over these pictures of Christy and Brian. Pretty fun!

Her flowers featured: dahlias, zinnias, ranunculus, stock, roses, billy balls, delphinium, queen anne's lace, and maiden fern. I ordered a bunch and we went to the cutting garden for some.

snow on the mountain in mason jars

Rosie's got more pictures of the wedding on her blog here.

Sneak Peek: Christy and Brian Professional Shots

2011-10-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a look at some of the shots done by Urban Rose Photography of Christy and Brian! More coming soon! (we're having a great week in Portland by the way!)

Fall Color

2011-09-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow marks the end of the busy, busy wedding season! (These are some of the flowers for this wedding.) This past summer (well fall too!) has been fantastic and a HUGE thank you to all the brides who let me design for them! I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you, all your creativity, fun ideas, and new challenges.

My husband's taken a new job. No, we're not moving, but we're headed down to Portland, OR for a week of training. It'll be work for him but it will be a lot of catching up with family and friends for me and the kids and I'm extremely excited for a little down time! Not to mention a trip to IKEA, Powells, outlets, and hopefully some thrift stores. I may finally find the elusive side table I've been looking for to finish off Ida's nursery. So, blog posts may or may not happen next week.
Thanks a ton and see you soon!

(btw: I've got a new blog and logo design in the works!)

Feature Flower: Sweet Peas

2011-09-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

Sweet Peas are fantastic! I meant to post this a couple months back when the sweet peas were actually blooming but... things get crazy and I forgot it was sitting here unpublished! They come in all sorts of colors, are easy to grow from seed (make sure they have something to climb up), and look spectacular in arrangements or bouquets. I just love the tendrils!

(All these flowers came from our local cutting garden. Mine got hit with the weed whacker. These were for a friend's baby shower.)

Wedding Details: Lawn Games

2011-09-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Lawn games are extremely popular wedding reception events right now. And with good reason! It's a fantastic way to keep your guests entertained and having a wonderful time while you finish pictures, everyone eats, etc.. These are especially great if kids are invited - a wonderful way to make sure everyone enjoys the party!

Here's a few ideas, and of course, these can be personalized to match your wedding scheme.

Cornhole, bocce, croquet, balloon darts, ladder ball, frisbee golf, and badminton (might get a little sweaty with this one).

Any more ideas out there!?

(pictures: cornhole, sign, collage, balloons, sign, bocce, badminton, silhouette cornhole, ladder ball, frisbee)

Sneak Peek: Christy's Bouquet

2011-09-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

Christy was laid back, easy to work with and fun to design for! She dyed her bridesmaids' dresses assorted shades of cornflower blue and wanted yellow, pink and orange flowers to match with some coming from the local cutting garden.

To go with her more casual bridesmaids dresses I wrapped the bouquets and boutonnieres in playful fabrics featuring blue for Christy and orange for the bridesmaids. (This fabric is Blue Chrysanthemum from Rebekah Merkle's England Swings Collection.)

The profesional shots were done by Urban Rose Photography so they're bound to be good! I'll show you them when I can!

Wedding Details: What to do for your exit?

2011-09-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Exits can make fantastic pictures! There's a lot of different options for what you do when you exit from the ceremony, church or reception! I had bubbles (yes that's me and Mike up there), my oldest sister did petals while leaving the church, my other sister passed out bells as they exited late at night. Here's some to get your creative juices flowing;
balloons, bubbles, petals, sparklers, rice, flying lanterns, cut up paper confetti cones, confetti poppers, ring bells, wave ribbon banners, etc..
Any more favorites out there?

Classic Bridal Bouquets

2011-09-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

I've been working on completing my advanced certification with the Portland Floral Design Institute. Here are some of the required bridal bouquets that I had to complete. With these I had to follow specific design patterns and tie techniques.
They are all pretty classic looks. The one above is a hand wired bouquet featuring gardenias and stephanotis. A petite bouquet and it smells spectacular!

Here's a dutch spiralled bouquet with free spirit roses. This picture doesn't show it completely but the stems come around and form a spiral. Neither of these are my favorite ribbon style, but it's great to work outside of your comfort zone.

And this is a faux-hand tied. It's actually in a foam holder for extremely hot days, but with stems attached to conceal it. These are eskimo roses.

I'm really curious to know what you think!! Would you opt for any of these? Interested in what they cost? What do you like or dislike about these classic versions?

Real Wedding: Ealy/Knight

2011-09-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the professional shots from the LaMoreauxs! We've known them for years and I'm constantly amazed at how he can capture everyone's personality!

Lenora wanted all her flowers to come from our local cutting garden! She brought all her bridesmaids and we went out and cut and cut! Too fun! (There's eleven bridesmaids there in case you lose count! A party in itself!)

Congrats Ty and Lenora!

Inspiration Board: Winter Purple and Green

2011-09-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek: Rachel's Bouquet

2011-09-15T09:25:00.000-07:00

Rachel's wedding was also this past weekend. She was a lot of fun to design for! She's a graphic designer and she loves orange. She really wanted ranunculus, they're small this time of year but we were able to get them in! I can't wait to show you her whole wedding party (of 12!) in all orange!

Cecilia's Wedding Featured on Apple Brides

2011-09-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Cecilia's wedding was featured on Spokane's Apple Brides Blog yesterday! Cecilia put a lot of thought and attention to detail in her wedding and the results are stunning. Take a look at Kena Helen's great shots!

(photos by Kena Helen Photography)

Fall Market Preview

2011-09-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday was also the Logos Fall Market. I teamed up with Vicktrola Prints and Urban Rose Photography to create a wedding inspiration table. Vicky took more pictures so I'll share hers when she passes them on - but here's a few I grabbed of the flowers. We went for a rustic vintage look with dusty pink, blue and gold accents.

My sister-in-law helped with our design and also penned a few signs for me.

With two weddings, the market, some deliveries, and attending one of the weddings - this is what my kitchen and work area looked like when the day was over. A small bomb exploded flowers and cake in our house!

Sneak Peek: Laura's Bouquet

2011-09-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Malibu Gerberas

I realize I didn't do a single post last week! With some sick kiddos and a few weddings, the blog got neglected. But here's a look at Laura's bouquet and her maid of honor. (The locket held a picture of her grandmother. And Laura gave me a charm to put on the bouts, corsages, and maid of honor bouquets.) I'll get you the professional shots in a bit! Meanwhile here's the inspiration board.

By the way, I've been updating some of the vendors, so take a look there!

DIY: Scalloped Fabric Garland

2011-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

My friend, Paige, and I threw a baby shower for our friend's new little girl. Paige had a great turquoise tablecloth and she suggested we do orange accents. We kept things really simple - various cobblers, orange sherbet punch, and coffee. I made up the garland to match the colors - super fast, under $7, and you can reuse it!

Supplies: (this makes one 12 foot garland)

3 fat quarters (or any leftover scraps)

4 yds bias tape

Directions:

Create a template: Draw a 7.5in circle on paper. Cut out and fold in half.

Fold your fabric in half, right sides together. Using your template cut out 17 7.5in half circles.

With right sides together sew all along the curve. Do not sew on the straight edge.

Turn right side out and iron flat.

Repeat with all your half circles.

Fold your bias tape over the straight edge of your first half circle and start sewing. Add a new half circle every 1.5in (approximately).

You could do smaller half circles or larger or use wider bias tape. *lots of ways to mix things up!*

Real Weddings: Robin and Lance

2011-09-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the professional shots from Bryan Aulick of Robin and Lance! Robin wanted a vintage feel of sage and white with a few hints of dusty pink. Here's the inspiration board. Robin and her mom were such fun to work with!

I had Vicky Ryan help with the design of the signs.

Here we are setting up at the Banyans! Their wedding was at the end of May and it was still chilly out. With that and the scattered showers we brought everything indoors.

Isn't this picture great!? One of my favorites.

Robin used a dark purple for her bridesmaids which offset the pale pink in their bouquets.

These last two I snapped.

These are the centerpieces waiting to get put out.

Real Weddings: Annike's Bouquet

2011-08-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

Annike's bouquet featured birds of paradise, free spirit roses, lisianthus, stock, hypericum, zinnias, and dusty miller.

The bridesmaids featured lilies, free spirit roses, lisianthus, hypericum, zinnias, larkspur, and dusty miller.

I snapped a picture of her dress while I was dropping off the flowers.

Sneak Peek: Christophersen Wedding

2011-08-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Supper Club: Asian Theme

2011-08-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Morgan and Brian! We had our last Supper Club with the Points who are moving down to Santa Barbara.

We made Rachael Rae's Chicken Lettuce Wraps. These were good - but some cashews would add a really nice crunch.

Sake - really not a fan, hot or cold. I am a fan of my Gurgle Pot though!! I really think I need one in every color...

Crab Rangoons (without any crab) My sister-in-law makes these and they're delicious and easy. While we were shopping Mike asked me if I got the crab. I replied that we didn't need any because, in fact, they don't call for any. He looked at me and repeated the name, "Crab Rangoons," then googled it and proved me wrong. When I called her up to ask, she explained that she just prefers them without. So really these are Cheese Rangoons - still delicious.

Sweet and Sour Chicken by Rasa Maylasia. This was probably my favorite dish of the night. It definitely had a spicy side!

Morgan made Steamed Coconut cakes. They were very spongey and light. She also brought some amazing loose leaf tea and Pocky Sticks (those things are addicting!). Brian made his version of Mai Tais and we did fried and white rice. (Katie's little girl was sick and we missed their amazing additions.)
Bye Morgan and Brian!

DIY: $2 Frame Chalkboard

2011-08-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

So many people seem to be able to find a really fun ornate frame at the thrift store for under $5. I, however, am not one of those people! Our small town thrift shops just don't seem to stock those. I settled for this really large frame for $1.89 (can't beat the price right?!). I felt a little bad when the worker said, "ahh so neat painting huh?" only for me to respond with, "well I'm turning it into a chalkboard." Clearly I didn't think it was such a neat painting.

This took about five minutes while Asa ate his lunch.

1. Clean the glass and remove the frame.

2. Use chalk spray paint directly on the glass and flat white (or anything) on the frame. (Rustoleum is my favorite!)

3. After a few coats - voila!

4. Make sure to allow the chalkboard paint a good 24 hours to dry. I didn't and some of it scraped up while I wrote and I had to re-do it.

5. Once it's dry, take the chalk sideways (no sharp edges) and rub it gently all over the board. Gently rub it off with a rag. And now it's good to go.

My husband put it back together and I now have a chalkboard hanging up in the pantry. It's already been helpful in preventing me from forgetting to buy key pantry supplies!

Inspiration Board: Pink and Green Gerbs

2011-08-23T09:21:00.001-07:00

Inspiration Board: Black and White with Lime Green

2011-08-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Real Weddings: Lenora's Bouquet

2011-08-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

Lenora wanted a very natural feel for her wedding and so she wanted all of her flowers to come from the cutting garden. I love the cutting garden but it always makes me a little nervous just because I never quite know what will be blooming and cutting garden flowers don't have the same life-span as greenhouse or specially cultivated varieties (especially on hot days). But she was laid back about the colors, just so long as it was colorful and contained sunflowers. The bridesmaids and I trekked on out there and picked and picked (it was hard to get some of them to stop picking and believe that we really did have enough!). There's always one more perfect bloom you can't pass up! (A really fun bunch of bridesmaids!)

I was thrilled with the colors when we got out there. We opted for snapdragons, sunflowers, chive blossoms, lavender, solidago, bupleurum, and rudebeckia. The navy bridesmaids' dresses set them off perfectly! I'll show you the professional shots when I get them.

Real Weddings: Hui/Fowler Wedding

2011-08-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

Kena Helen Photography shot Cecilia's wedding and did a fabulous job! Cecilia wanted soft flowers with warm tones of creamy white and accents of butter yellow for the bridesmaids and red for hers. Even with our late spring, peonies weren't available in July so I used hydrangea, dahlias, ranunculus, freesia, roses, and gladiolus (for the stage arrangements only).

Cecilia had me attach bracelets to the top of each of the bridesmaids' bouquets and an old brooch on hers.

Here's the inspiration board for Cecilia's wedding.

Feature Flower: Free Spirit Rose

2011-08-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Free Spirit is one of my favorite orange roses! It has a large head with slightly ruffled petals that smell amazing! A lot of greenhouse roses don't have scent since they're bred for size, color, life span etc.. but these have a great scent along with a decent life span.

Inspiration Board: Teal with Vibrant Orange, Pink, and Purple

2011-08-15T15:55:00.000-07:00

Vacation!

2011-08-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

We're headed out to Lake Michigan this week!! Time for a lot of relaxing, eating, reading, and enjoying family!

Inspiration Board: Teal with Golden Sunflowers

2011-08-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Boutonniere Details

2011-08-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

I love detailed boutonnieres! (Even though I use that word ALL the time, I still have to double check my spelling on it!) They're like the appetizer of flowers - one perfect bite. The classic rose is definitely fine but I'm a fan of the unique.

Lenora was really easy going and had so many colors in her flowers that the bouts had endless possibilities. While we were at the cutting garden one of her bridesmaids spotted the chive heads and that's exactly what I wanted to use! I found some poppy pods and we were set to go! I added a sprig of lavender to mimic the bridesmaids and also to mask any scent that the chive might give off. The twine suits it perfectly don't you think?

Any pictures of favorite boutonnieres out there?

Bassinet Makeover

2011-08-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here's another post that's just taken forever for me to blog! At the end of last summer I found this Eddie Bauer bassinet for $5 at a yard sale. It was in great condition, just missing a wheel.

BEFORE - this is what it looked like before. It just didn't match the plans for Ida's room and I wanted to have fresh bedding. So we painted it white and after searching all over for new bedding I decided to venture out and make some! And here's the result! Just don't look too closely - I had to fudge a few things.

I didn't attempt to re-create the canopy. I used coupons at JoAnns for the fabric so the total makeover cost was $35 for paint, fabric and notions plus an extra $20 for the baskets which I got on sale at Michaels. My husband had some spare wheels that he put on there and voila! $60 - great sewing challenge and fun project! (They retail over $100)

This storage space has been invaluable on those late night feedings and diaper changes! Everything's right there.

She's been pretty happy with it.

Just love those chubby cheeks!

Watermelon Shark Head

2011-08-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

We get really excited for Discovery Channel's Shark Week every year - our two-in-a-half year old is also very excited to watch "the sharkies." (He picked that up from LeapFrog Numbers Ahoy.)

I saw this posted on Pinterest today! How fun is that?! Don't know that we'll do it this year but someday we'll throw a shark week party.

DIY: Tree Branch Arch

2011-08-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

For the wedding this past weekend the bride wanted some kind of tree arch. After being inspired by this arch from Martha Stewart my fantastic husband helped me construct this. It was incredibly hot and the building wasn't air-conditioned but it survived!

Here's our how-to:

2 large heavy urns (I found the large urns at Michaels on sale! Make sure they're heavy.)

2 bags of sand

tree branches with two at least 7' or more (depending on the size of arch you want) We used maple branches from our backyard. You don't want anything too bendy as it won't hold itself up.

wire (I used bind wire which is a paper wrapped wire -you can get from a florist or Michaels sometimes)

crowning glory (again you can get this from a florist)

Position your two tall branches in each urn. Have someone hold them in place while you add sand. Lean them together and attach with wire. Trim off odd branches. Add short branches to fill in the base.

I sprayed the whole thing with tons of crowning glory, which helps maintain moisture.

Sneak Peek: Ealy Wedding

2011-07-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

11 bridesmaid bouquets!

Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake

2011-07-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here's the other cake, again from Beantown Baker, I made for my grandmother's birthday - and this one was especially for her. She loves fresh fruit and sweet frosting and this has both! (Again I didn't get to taste the whole thing due to Ida's sensitivities but I did get to taste the cake itself and I love this white cake recipe! That almond flavoring does wonders to enhance it!)

(Don't you like my nephew's finger pointing to which raspberry he wants?)

(Again, I assembled these super late at night while we were doing a Settler's of Catan tournament, so they aren't they smoothest or most level cakes ever.) My notes are in italics.

Recipe after the break

Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake - cake adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles - serves 12
Printable Recipe
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp table salt
12 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool

Set oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add cake flour, baking powder, and salt to mixer bowl and mix at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.

Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium speed and beat 20 seconds longer.

Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.

Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

Assembling the cake
Make a double batch of the vanilla buttercream. Recipe below. (I only used one batch since it was so rich. It covered really well - only a few spots I had to fudge.)

Make a batch of raspberry curd (recipe below) and allow to cool completely.

Once cake layers have completely cooled, use a large serated knife to slice each layer in half horizontally.

Scoop about a cup of frosting into a piping bag with a large round tip (you can also use a ziplock bag and snip off the corner. I wouldn't recommend doing that if you are piping swirls on top of cupcakes, but in this situation, it's ok. No one will see what you're piping).

Place strips of waxes paper around the plate or cake disk that you will be using for the cake. Pipe a small amount of frosting onto the center of your cake disk. This will serve as glue to hold the cake in place.

Place your first layer of cake, cut side up, on the disk. Pipe a thick ring around the edge of the cake. This will serve as a dam to keep the filling in the cake and prevent the layers from sliding around.

Spread ~1/3 to 1/2 cup of raspberry curd onto the cake. Add the top half of that cake and repeat. Add the bottom half of the other cake, cut side up again, and repeat. Place the top layer on the cake.

Apply a very thin layer of frosting on the cake. This will serve as a crumb coat and will help the final frosting to be smooth. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Next, coat the cake with frosting and smooth it out. Decorate how you'd like!

Easy Vanilla Buttercream - from The Way the Cookie Crumbles, originally from Cooks Illustrated April 2007 - makes 3 cups
Printable Recipe
20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups Confectioners’ sugar (10 ounces)
1/8 tablespoons table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons heavy cream

In standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 20 seconds.

Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed until most of the sugar is moistened, about 45 seconds. Scrape down bowl and beat at medium speed until mixture is fully combined, about 15 seconds.

Scrape bowl, add vanilla and heavy cream, and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice.

Raspberry Curd - from Notes from My Food Diary, originally from Luscious Berry Desserts by Lori Longbotham - note I doubled this recipe, but a single batch would be sufficient for filling a cake with some leftover
Printable Recipe
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
Two 1/2-pints ripe raspberries or one 12-ounce package frozen raspberries, thawed
5 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 to 3 tsp fresh lemon juice

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the raspberries, egg yolks, sugar, and salt and cook, mashing the berries and stirring frequently at first and them constantly at the end, until thickened, about 10 minutes.

Pour the mixture through a coarse strainer set over a bowl, pressing hard on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Cool to room temperature; the curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Stir in lemon juice to taste. Refrigerate, covere, until ready to serve, or for up to 1 month.

Triple Layer Oreo Cake

2011-07-27T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have a number of blog posts in my brain that I've been meaning to actually post - this month has just slipped by!

We had a bunch of relatives in town for the weekend of the 4th and it turned into one non-stop party! This included celebrating my grandmother's 87th birthday. I volunteered to make the cakes and couldn't decide on just one recipe - so I made two (I'll post the other later). This was a ton of fun to make and I so wish I could have tasted it (Ida has been extremely sensitive to dairy and chocolate.)! But I trust my husband's taste buds and he loved it. How could it not be good - it uses a WHOLE package of Oreos!

The recipe is from Beantown Baker and I didn't alter a thing. I will say, however, that next time I'd use 9in pans - the 8in overflowed. (I didn't have the smoothest icing job as I was literally assembling layers in between my turn on Settlers.) The recipe is long and time-consuming but oh so worth it!

Recipe after the break

Making this cake
1. Bake the cake layers. The cake layers can be made in advance and refrigerated or frozen. Layers should be completely cooled prior to assembling the cake
2. Make the Oreo filling
3. Stack the cake
4. Make the chocolate frosting
5. Frost and decorate the cake

Oreo Chunks
1 package Oreos

Remove 4 Oreos from the package for decorating the top of the cake.

Chop one row of the Oreos (1/4th of them), and set aside for the filling.

Chop one row of Oreos (1/4th of them), and toss with 1 Tbsp flour for the Oreo Layer and set aside.

Chop the remaining two rows of Oreos (1/2 of them), and toss with 2 Tbsp flour for the chocolate layers and set aside.

Oreo Cake Layer
1/2 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup + 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp sugar
1.5 egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 package Oreos, cut into quarters

Preheat over to 350F.

In a large bowl cream the butter until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture. Mix until integrated. Stir in sugar. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat for 30 seconds. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add the egg whites. Beat for 2 more minutes. Stir in the quartered cookies.

Bake for 25-30 min. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Chocolate Cake Layers (from Ina Garten)
butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1/2 package Oreos, cut into quarters

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. (I'd use 9in)

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined.

In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Stir in the Oreo chunks.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Oreo Filling
4 ounces softened cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 package Oreos, cut into quarters

Using an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in 1/4 cup whipping cream until smooth. Add the rest of the cream and beat until it has the consistency of whipped cream (don’t overmix).

Reserve 1/2 cup to use to decorate the top of the cake. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Stir in the reserved Oreo chunks into the remaining whipped cream mixture. Immediately spread filling on top of the Oreo layer and one of the chocolate layers.

Chocolate Frosting
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes.

Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.

Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Weekend Fun

2011-07-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

Can you tell we had a blast in Seattle this weekend?!

Supper Club

2011-07-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

After having a baby and everyone's crazy summer schedule we finally got around to another supper club. I'm not going to remember the names of everyone's dishes but Katie's salmon appetizers were amazing!

Mike and I were in charge of the salad course and palette cleanser. We made a Grilled Shrimp "Ceviche" Salad from Gourmet's Grilling Magazine.

This picture does not do justice to how colorful these veggies were - beets, brussel sprouts, squash - yum!

Champagne Sorbet - this was delicious and so refreshing! Recipe here. Sorry the pictures are so dark - we should do this in the middle of the day for good lighting.

Roast lamb and risotto style couscous. Everything was really delicious.

Brian made us guess what was in the ice cream that he made - avocado (pictured) and fig! They were so smooth and velvety!

Inspiration Board: Festive Orange

2011-07-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter Party Ideas

2011-07-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

We're headed to the final Harry Potter tonight and I happened to stumble on this today! Fun fun!
Butterbeer recipe here from Heather Bailey via birthdaygirlblog.
Broomstick tutorial here.

White Roses

2011-07-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

I had some extra roses leftover and pulled them together into a spiralled bouquet. These make me want to do a pure cream rose wedding. (added bonus - it'd be budget savvy!)

Inspiration Board: Casual Shades of Blue with Wildflowers

2011-07-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Inspiration Board: Orange and Red with Gold and Silver Accents

2011-07-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek: Hui Wedding

2011-07-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick look at last week's wedding. I can't wait to see the photographer's shots! Mine aren't the best as the lighting was pretty dim.

Cecilia gave me bracelets for all the bridesmaid's bouquets. I wrapped them around the top of the stems right at the base of the flower. A fun accent and great gift for the bridesmaids.

The bridal bouquet - the brooch is her "something old and borrowed"

All ready to go!

Shelbi's Catan Cookies

2011-07-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend a bunch of my relatives came up to celebrate the 4th. We're all Catan fans so we had a Catan tournament night. (Well every night became Catan night actually...) My cousin-in-law, Shelbi, came up with the brilliant idea of making the game board out of cookies. She did a whole post on the details over here. Take a look for the how to and her amazing photos. They were delicious!

(oreo - ore, marshmallows - sheep, butterfinger - brick, orange sugar wafers - wheat, nilla cookies - sand/dessert, mike and ikes - roads, gummies - cities and settlements, gummy bear - robber baron, candy melts - numbers)

U-Pick Flowers

2011-06-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

We've got a great local u-pick cutting garden, Sunshine Crafts and Flowers. I've used it for a number of weddings and it's a great cost-saving and fun option. You never know quite what flowers will be blooming until you get there.
The peonies are going crazy right now due to our cold weather. I took my nieces with me today on a girls' outing and we had a blast. Amara let us know that her flower was just like Rapunzel's and Madeline (the older one) was carefully selecting each blossom, removing leaves, happily posing for loads of pictures, and helping Amara.

Sneak Peek: Ashley and Seth

2011-06-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

Love Yellow

2011-06-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

I used this photo in an inspiration board, but I just love the combo of the yellow flowers with that seafoam green/blue dress so it's getting it's own post! There's something that is so incredibly eye catching and cheery about bunches of yellow flowers! Just makes me smile.

Real Weddings: Steven and Katie

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Katie choose a deep eggplant for her main color and accented with pinks, whites, and oranges.
I used lilies, roses, lisianthus, larkspur, dubium, bupluerum, dendrobium orchids, stock, and spray roses.
Here's the inspiration board for it.

(photo by Dane Wilson)

They featured an ice cream bar with delicious Ferdinand's Ice Cream and all sorts of toppings - such fun! I'm a sucker for sprinkles!

Congrats Steven and Katie!

Blog Giveaway Trip to Paris at Oh Happy Day!

2011-06-20T13:50:00.000-07:00

Don't miss out on entering this giveaway for a trip to Paris! It ends today!
http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris/

Inspiration Board: Navy and Twine with Sunflowers and Wildflowers

2011-06-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

Ifong Chen Photography

2011-06-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ifong Chen shot Rosie's wedding and did an incredible job! Head over here to see more pictures from her wedding.

You can see in the background the wrap on Rosie's bouquet. She gave me a handkerchief from her grandmother to put around the flowers. I LOVE those subtle details that make things extra special and memorable!

Rosie herself is an extremely talented photographer and I highly recommend her!

Inspiration Board: Aqua and Red with Cream and Yellow Accents

2011-06-15T21:06:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek: Rose's Bouquet

2011-06-14T09:55:00.000-07:00

Real Weddings: Denise and Lendl

2011-06-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

Well I'm finally coming up for a breath of air and posting some pictures! These were all taken by Chris Walker. Denise focused on aqua, red and orange for her color palette and tulips and roses for her flowers.

Denise had some really fun details. I love the typewriter guest book.

Ringing the bells

The bride made the cake topper herself- he proposed in a hot air balloon!

Denise's Bouquet

2011-06-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

This was from a wedding back in April - I'm a little behind on posting some pictures and I'll try to get more up of the whole thing soon! Inspiration board here.

(photo by Chris Walker)

Real Weddings: Robin and Lance

2011-06-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Robin and Lance!

Here's a few photos from their wedding this past weekend. I'll post more when I get a chance (and when I get the professional shots from the photographer.)

The inspiration board for this wedding is here.

Ida's Baby Announcements

2011-05-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

I did Ida's announcements through Tiny Prints and they turned out great! I've admired Tiny Prints' designs for quite awhile and this was the perfect excuse to use them. They're pricer than a photo collage for sure but they're printed on heavy cardstock with quality envelopes. They're customer service has been fantastic too. Very prompt. (And no I wasn't asked to do any promotion for them.)

I'm planning on framing one for her room. Although they have large artwork options for the designs too and I'm really tempted to get a larger version....

Garland Giveaway at Amoretti!

2011-05-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Bekah Merkle at Amoretti has a giveaway for this fantastic garland pattern! Even if I don't win I'm definitely getting one!

Flower Girl and Ring Bearer Alternative

2011-05-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

(image from Style Me Pretty)
Instead of having little kids throw petals or carry the rings why not have them carry signs, flags, or banners?!

(image from Martha Stewart)

Local Venues: Red Barn Farms

2011-05-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends from highschool got married this past weekend and I was so glad I was able to attend. Due to Ida's due date I wasn't able to help out on the actual wedding but since she came early I was able to attend! Bekah got married at the Red Barn Farms and it is a gorgeous location situated about 30min outside of Moscow. (More info about Red Barn Farms is listed under Local Venues.)

A bunch of girls from my highschool class were there - a really fun mini-reunion!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T19:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! This year I got an extra special Mother's Day! We came home from the hospital today to an immaculate house (thanks to my sister-in-law), fresh cookies from my mom, CostCo groceries from my mom-in-law, and, best of all, my two year old excitedly waiting for us! Now I get to spend the whole weekend cuddling my two (TWO!) kiddos.
I trust you'll all have a great day!

Ida Mae Dekker Church

2011-05-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

Look who arrived! This is what we've been up to the last few days!

Supper Club: Small Plates

2011-05-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we had our second Supper Club! We're still trying out different methods/ideas to see what works best for organizing it - but the food was definitely a success! This time around we split up who was in charge of various courses/dishes and they prepped most of it ahead of time. I naturally forgot the camera, so these are from Mike and Isaac's iphones (and we're missing a bunch of plates.)
Katie made this amazing deconstructed salad: whipped brie with tellicherry pepper and baby water cress.

Katie also made these braised short ribs with garlic confit mashed potatoes. (In the car on the way home Mike was ready for a whole plateful of this!)

Poached salmon with olive and basil butters.

lemon chill with strawberry coulis

We also had Wasabi Gougeres, Pumpkin Filled Tacos, Pear and Brie Crisps, Asapargus Soup with Goat Cheese and some fantastic wine.

Garden Prep

2011-05-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the blog silence! We're in the middle of potty training with our 2 year old (trying hard to get this finished up before the little girl comes! Only 2 weeks to go!). And since we got sunshine this weekend, we took full advantage of working hard to prep our yard and garden. This has been one of the coldest springs on record.

Above are the test results from the soil in our cutting garden - pretty good! We just need a little more acid for some of the flowers.
More wedding posts coming soon...

William Sonoma Recipe: Easter Nest Torte

2011-04-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law threw a massive Easter lunch this year and we were in charge of bringing something chocolate. Mike and I took the opportunity to try out William Sonoma's Easter Nest Torte - and ooh we're glad we did! It really wasn't that hard to make - just a little time consuming - and delicious!

Ingredients:

Cake:
1/2 c self-rising flour (to make your own: add 1.5 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt per 1 c. flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3c cocoa powder
1 stick (1/2c) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c superfine sugar (you can throw normal sugar in the food processor for a couple pulses, or just use normal sugar - that's what we did and the texture was still great)
2 eggs
4 Tbsp orange flavored liqueur
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces

Grease a 9in springform pan and line the base. Sift flour, baking powder, and cocoa. Add butter, sugar, and eggs. Whisk until creamy. Turn into the prepared pan, level, and bake at 350 for 20-25min. (Mine only took 12 min on convection. Watch closely.) Remove from pan and place on a cooling rack. Move the cake to a serving plate and drizzle with the liqueur. (We used a toothpick to prick holes all over for better absorption.)

Measure the cake's circumference, then cut a waxed paper strip 1/2in longer and 2.5in wide. Melt the chocolate and spoon it along the strip, spreading it to the edge on one side and shaping a wavy line on the other about 1/2in away from the edge. Leave 1/2 in free at one end. Set aside for 15-20min, then carefully lift the paper strip and secure it around the sponge so the straight edge rests on the plate and the ends of the strip meet. Chill. (We found it took longer then they said to get to a pliable state that was still hardened enough to stand upright.)

Filling:

2 tsp powdered gelatin

2 Tbsp cold water

3 egg yolks

1/4 c superfine sugar

1 tsp conrstarch

1 1/4 c milk

7oz semi-sweet chocolate

1 1/4 c whipping cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over the water in a small bowl and set aside to soften. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar, cornstarch, and a little of the milk. Put the remaining milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour it over the egg yolk mixture, whisking well. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook gently, stirring until thickened. Do not allow to boil.

Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin until dissolved. Break the semi-sweet chocolate into pieces and add to the gelatin mixture. Leave to melt then stir until smooth. Cover with waxed paper and allow to cool until just beginning to thicken then remove paper.

Whip the cream into soft peaks and fold it slowly into the chocolate mixture.

Turn into the chocolate mould on the sponge and level. Chill. Remove the waxed paper strip from the outside of the cake.

Decorate:

5oz milk chocolate

small chocolate eggs

The recipe says to:

Use a sharp knife, slice the milk chocolate into long thin shards and lay on the cake in a nest. We just went ahead and melted more semi-sweet chocolate, spread it on waxed paper and then broke it into pieces which we arranged on the cake.

Chill.

Enjoy! It's super rich, creamy, and not too sweet! (Not to mention my husband is quite the chocolate pro!)

Artist's Cake

2011-04-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

My dad is a very talented artist, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, and today is his birthday! We celebrated early and my sister-in-law and I made this cake for him. We got the cupcake idea from "What's New Cupcake" (What's New, Cupcake?: Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion) and had the Safway bakery print out one of his paintings (here's the original) on edible paper.

I tried out a new "buttercream" frosting recipe to try for a super smooth surface and it worked great! Here's the recipe (from here):

1 cup Crisco (or other quality vegetable shortening)

1/2 cup (stick) of butter, (allowed to come to room temperature)

1 tsp clear vanilla flavor (clear so that your buttercreams soft yellow color isnt compromised)

1 tsp of flavoring such as crème bouquet or lemon (optional) (I'd add extra butter flavoring)

1/4 cup milk (more or less as needed for consistency desired)

1 pinch salt (for use with unsalted butter only)

1 tsp meringue powder

2 lb bag of powdered (confectioners) sugar that has been sifted

On lowest speed, incorporate the these last three ingredients, just until they’ve begun to combine, and then turn the mixer up to medium speed, and blend until smooth and a little fluffy. If using a stand-up mixer, this texture will achieved after about 2 minutes, and if using a hand-held mixer, after about 5 minutes.

If while you’re mixing, the mixer beings to strain or you notice the icing is too stiff, add more water or milk, very small amounts at a time until you have the consistency you want. If the mixture becomes too soft, then simply add more powdered sugar.

And the best tip they gave to get that perfectly smooth top - Paper towels!! And not just any - they have to be Viva since Viva doesn't have a textured pattern on there. Once you've frosted the cake and let it sit for 15-30min or until it's "crusted" then you place your paper towel on there and start gently rubbing with your hand. Works like a charm!

Pale Pink

2011-04-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

I just love this cake! Very simple but it also looks like it tastes delicious! (image from Style Me Pretty - I think!)

How to make a carnation look good! (pic from here)

Prepping for a Wedding

2011-04-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

I love wedding flowers. They might just be my favorite arrangements to do. The anticipation of seeing everything come together gets me so excited every time! Part of this excitement is definitely due to the energy that the families and friends have put in for this special day. I'm looking forward to the professional shots of the whole thing!

Willow and Larkspur

2011-04-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

Spring Abundance

2011-04-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Wedding Details: Personalizing Shoes

2011-04-11T11:35:00.000-07:00

I love extra, unnecessary details that make fabulous pictures! Above are stickers placed on the bottom of the bride's shoes from Your Happily Ever After. A fun easy way to get your something blue! And below they just used sharpies to write the initials of the couple. Easy and extremely affordable! (The bottom picture is from Style Me Pretty, I think - I grabbed it awhile ago and forgot to page mark it!)

Kathryn Church Designs

Inspiration Board: Vintage Yellow

Valentine's Flowers!

Long-stemmed Premium Roses (available in red or assorted colors)

Dozen- $45.00Half Dozen- $24.50Single- $4.50Add a vase - $2.00-$5.00Moscow Delivery - $5.00Custom Orders must be placed by Feb. 8Happy Valentine's Day!kathryn@kathrynchurch.com(image from here)

Palouse Mall Bridal Fair

Baby Boy Mustache Shower

Professional Shots: Ashley and Tyler

Professional Shots: Rachel and Joe

Valentine's Printables

Business Cards

Sneak Peek: Paul Wedding

Inspiration Board: White Rehearsal Dinner

DIY: Cardboard Gingerbread House

Sneak Peek: Paul Wedding

Wedding Prep

DIY: Thanksgiving Turkey Cookies

Behind the Scenes

Winter Bouquet Shoot

Christmas Bouquet

Fall Basket

Christophersen/Crapuchettes Wedding

Christophersen/Crapuchettes Wedding

Inspiration Board: White Champagne

Disney Bridal Gowns and Rings

Halloween Costumes

Feature Flower: Greens

Sneak Peek: Ida's Nursery

Feature Flower: Bird of Paradise

Real Parties: Kids Carving Party

Cancer Update on my Mom

Sneak Peek: Walser Wedding

Real Weddings: Christy and Brian Professional Shots

Sneak Peek: Christy and Brian Professional Shots

Fall Color

Feature Flower: Sweet Peas

Wedding Details: Lawn Games

Sneak Peek: Christy's Bouquet

Wedding Details: What to do for your exit?

Classic Bridal Bouquets

Real Wedding: Ealy/Knight

Inspiration Board: Winter Purple and Green

Sneak Peek: Rachel's Bouquet

Cecilia's Wedding Featured on Apple Brides

Fall Market Preview

Sneak Peek: Laura's Bouquet

DIY: Scalloped Fabric Garland

Real Weddings: Robin and Lance

Real Weddings: Annike's Bouquet

Sneak Peek: Christophersen Wedding

Supper Club: Asian Theme

DIY: $2 Frame Chalkboard

Inspiration Board: Pink and Green Gerbs

Inspiration Board: Black and White with Lime Green

Real Weddings: Lenora's Bouquet

Real Weddings: Hui/Fowler Wedding

Feature Flower: Free Spirit Rose

Inspiration Board: Teal with Vibrant Orange, Pink, and Purple

Vacation!

Inspiration Board: Teal with Golden Sunflowers

Boutonniere Details

Bassinet Makeover

Watermelon Shark Head

DIY: Tree Branch Arch

Sneak Peek: Ealy Wedding

Lemon Raspberry Layer Cake

Triple Layer Oreo Cake

Weekend Fun

Supper Club

Inspiration Board: Festive Orange

Harry Potter Party Ideas

White Roses

Inspiration Board: Casual Shades of Blue with Wildflowers

Inspiration Board: Orange and Red with Gold and Silver Accents

Sneak Peek: Hui Wedding

Shelbi's Catan Cookies

U-Pick Flowers

Sneak Peek: Ashley and Seth

Love Yellow

Real Weddings: Steven and Katie

Dozen- $45.00
Half Dozen- $24.50
Single- $4.50

Add a vase - $2.00-$5.00
Moscow Delivery - $5.00

Custom Orders must be placed by Feb. 8Happy Valentine's Day!

kathryn@kathrynchurch.com

(image from here)