Revamping Forgotten Furniture

PSHH!!! I like taking home abandoned furniture like kids take home stray cats. They are such good finds and often are abandon on the curb because people constantly move around in LA. It just so happens that people move very often in my neighborhood. Though a majority of my neighbors are Orthodox Jews; there's community college kids, hipsters, and dream hopefuls all here in Valley Village. 

Anyway, I found this glass cabinet a few weeks ago and was very fortunate that an old Armenian Man took pity on me and helped me carry this thing down the street and up the stairs. (GOD is AMAZING!!!)

Normally, a glass cabinet like this would be close to $100 out here in LA, so it was a lovely find and made of actual wood...unlike IKEA :/ 

Overall the project was a success but was very time consuming because the previous owners just caked on more paint to the original paint job. (It gives the wood a bubble plastic look, so I don't ever suggest caking on paint like frosting)

TOOLS:

60 Grade Sand Paper

Sand Paper Sponge (lost the packaging, but go to the hardware store

Small Can of paint (I choose a mint green, which doesn't show in the pictures)

Masking Tape

Rubbing Alcohol (optional)

Cost: Less than $20

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Use the 60 Grade sand paper to sand off the uneven edges of the paint job (if you have an electronic sander...you are BLESSED)

2) So after 2-3 days of sanding....go over with the sponge sand paper - this will even the surface because the 60 grade sand paper leaves very visible marks.

3) Use the masking tape to cover the edges of glass and then paint away

NOTE: Rubbing Alcohol can be used to remove paint left on the glass. Its a lot less toxic than acetone or paint thiner. 

Voila! You have your own personalized piece of furniture.

(I got bored and started to doodle)

 (I used the cabinet for my jewelry and make up...one day though it will be in my living room)

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

YAY! I finally made my first rose cake! Granted its just making swirls with a pipette tip (Sorry, the cake is a bit melted...it was by far the hottest week in LA when I was making this). So in this blog, I accomplished 3 things off my list: 1) making a lemon poppy seed cake (even though I cheated with the cake mix - also, lemon poppy seed cake is one of my sissy's favorite), 2) using tin cans as cake molds & 3) practicing on my cake decorating.

THINGS YOU NEED:

Lemon Cake Mix - (follow instructions on the back)

3 Tbsp Poppy Seeds

Chopped Lemon Zest from one lemon

favorite jam fillings
Pearl Sprinkles

Butter or oil

Flour

bamboo skewer stick

Empty Tin Cans 

1 Can of Frosting

Cake Pipette Decor kit - you can get a cheap one from Ikea...I was fortunate enough that my amazing friend, Geneva, bought it for me on one of our shopping adventures <3

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) After making the cake mix accordingly add the lemon zest and poppy seed into the mix

2) Lightly butter/ oil & flour the inner surface of the tin can

3)Fill the tin cans a bit less than 3/4 of the way (I made the mistake and filled it 3/4 of the way and got huge muffin tops)

4) Bake for about 30 min at 350 degrees or until your skewer stick runs clean when poked

5) Let the cake cool (took 20 mins for the tin to cool down)

6) Level the cake - cut the tops so its even

7) Cut layers and add your favorite fillings (I used a homemade lavender syrup - recipe in a future blog)

8) Do a light frosting over the whole cake (its like your primmer when painting because it evens out your surface)

9) When pipping the rose on the cake - don't think! Just go with the flow....I promise you it will come out better

After all of this: I had 3 cakes sitting around for about two weeks...I need local food eatters <3

Cupcakes Decorating

Usually I create my own recipe when making cakes and other sweets, but my sole purpose was to work on my decorating/ piping skills. The cupcakes ended up being super yummy and moist (little secret: I tend to add a bit more butter than the recipe calls)

This is the recipe for the chocolate cake can be found here. The vanilla frosting was one I made a few weeks ago for my friend's Ninja Cake. Tip: if you make too much frosting, just grab a container and throw it in the freezer. Before using it, let it defrost over night and you might have to add a bit more powder sugar in case the frosting absorbed some on the moisture in the freezer.

This flower piping tutorial was one I found on Pinterest. I didn't really follow her instructions because I'm still trying to get the knack of this and then I topped them off with pearl sprinkles from Jo-ann's.

I had soo much mini cupcakes left I played with the other piping tips. <3