Inspiration Photo of the Day

• — • — •

I took this photo a good long time ago—9 months ago to be exact. My boyfriend's parents have an old sewing table in their guest room. We've been dating for a good while so I've seen this sewing table many times. I finally decided to open the little drawers though. There are 2 or 3 small drawers on it so I finally peeked in. What I found was a delight—bright & colorful thread, old vintage labels (us graphic designers eat that stuff up) on the spools—it was just good stuff. Now that I'm a blogger and think in terms of "Heywhatamigonnablogaboutnow????" (yes, that's all one big phrase b/c that's how my brain functions--lots of thoughts & things coming together quickly & crazily) I carry my camera w/ me the majority of the time. This was one of those times so I pulled the little digital cam-cam out of my purse and snapped away.

• — • — •

Now can I sew? Nope, not a chance. I understand sewing. I understand the logic behind making patterns, I understand why certain threads in certain fabrics with certain needles, I understand most of it. But my downfall? Threading that *&#$%@!*&$%* machine!! I cannot thread a sewing machine to save my soul. Bobbins hate me. Needles don't like me. Which is a shame b/c I'm convinced I'd make a killer fashion designer (clothing & fashion are what my dreams are made of). If someday I hit some major cash and find a magical machine that'll thread itself, I'll be all over it. But for now? It's stitch-witch for this girl. And just admiring these pretty little spools, colors, labels & all.

Coming soon to a gift near you...

Buy it, use it, print it, tape it... (to the tune of Daft Punk "Technologic")

• — • — •

Here at the Sweet Bippy Papers factory (otherwise known as my apartment), I'm busy working on some Christmas wrapping tags. My plan is to post them as a printable PDF. I might also post them as real, physical, pre-cut tags with adhesive. I'm not quite sure yet. But what I DO know, is that I hope to have these puppies up in my shop by Friday. That'd be ideal. There's also a blue and a green design, but that'll just have to be surprise for when they're posted to the Etsy shop! ;-)

pretty.

Inspiration photo of the day. My fabric bin sits next to my couch, adjacent to my hallway. I just folded and stacked the fabrics I used for a recent cupcake photoshoot and they're sitting there, their pretty patterns and colors staring me in the face when I walk by. My favorite's the brown polka dot. I'm a sucker for polka dots. Maybe it's b/c they look like sprinkles.

• — • — •

• — • — •

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving holiday. I look forward to sharing some of my holiday ideas soon!

I Heart Macarons. Times 10... or more.

•—•—•

This is a picture I stole from Fred Flare. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to pretend its mine. I wish it was, but its not. I saw this on Facebook. I'm FB friends w/ Fred Flare, and therefore this little ditty was in my Live News Feed. A book entitled I Heart Macarons. (PS: Hi Fred, or should I say People of Fred. I've been a fan for a long time!)

Let me tell you. I. LOVE. MACARONS. I can't handle how much I love them.


See that? There I am in Beverly Hills (visiting one of my bestest friends who lives in LA) in front of Paulette, a macaron bakery. A STRICLY MACARON bakery. They are such wonderful, beautiful creations. I only wish I could go back to obtain more of the gorgeous goodies so I could photograph them in all their delicate glory. This photo is about a year and a half old now (a long-term love affair I have w/ this cookie) and looking at it makes me want to go into a whole new story (the packaging, the brilliant logomark macaron cut-outs on the bench, etc) but I DIGRESS. I'M TALKING FOODS HERE, PEEPS. I'm talking MACARONS!!

This photo? It's from Paulette Macarons website. I certainly did not make, nor did I photograph these beauties. But I do recommend you go to Paulette and indulge in a serious way. You'll be so glad you did.

The macaron is, like I said above, VERY DELICATE. It's a curious little puffy shape, the entire constructed cookie sandwich looking hamburger-esque. Its sturdy but the second you touch it just a little too hard it will crumble to pieces. Its made of mainly egg whites, almond flour, sugar, and maybe some flavoring for the cookie part. The inside is usually a ganache, jelly, or jam concoction. My favorite flavors involve pistachio and/or anything floral--rose, lavendar, whatever. I'm a sucker for it everytime. Besides cupcakes & frosting, these are such a wonderful vehicle for experimenting with dessert flavors.

I've tried making these many a times. I wouldn't quite say I SUCCEEDED, but I certainly didn't fail (well, I failed once, but other than that...). I'm like...85-90% there. The basic idea is down. It's a tough nut to crack. Its a French creation, which means most recipes (even the ones in English) are in metric measurements. It's one of those moments where you feel like an American hick w/ the rest of the world all speaking metric and here I am, trying to translate 55 grams of egg whites into a measurement in cups. LAME. But its worth the struggle. I never went to any sort of baking school so I go into these experiments blindly. I just really want to try to do something so I don't actually realize how difficult or tricky something might be until the 4th time around b/c... I just don't know better.

In order to find recipes, I scoured the internet and generally fell into the same two or three recipes that were pretty widely used. I received Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook last year for Christmas which ALSO has a recipe for French macarons, which I have yet to try. (I KNOW. I KNOW!!! What have I been doing?!?!) BUT THIS??? This is like a godsend. Or maybe its not, I don't know. But it looks amazing. So between Martha & this? I have to think I'd be able to kick some Macaron ass, right? Maybe? Hopefully?

So this post is in honor of Macarons. It's in honor of this book, in honor of Fred Flare, and even Paulette Macarons. Thank you, wonderful people, for providing us with either the baked confections or just the resources with which we can create our own goods. I'd hold up a champagne toast but I've got no bubbly so we'll just have to pretend. Here's to making beautiful, colorful, luscious treats for one and all! *CHEERS!!!!!!!!*

And just for fun, here are some photos from Paulette's site. Really, if you're ever in LA (Beverly Hills, specifically), make it a point to stop in and take a few bites. The staff was incredibly kind, the space was chic, and the cookies were tops. And the logo & business card? Yup, even those are good too. ;-)

Effervescent Deliciousness.

Effervescent. It's a good word, right? EF-FER-VE-SCENT. It just sounds...sparkly. Light. Airy. Positive. Uplifting. And DELICIOUS. Thirst-quenching. I've been craving effervescent beverages and because you can't drink champagne 24/7 (dammit!), I've been filling it in with other fruity substitutions when I need a serious fix. Izze does the job—I'm partial to the grapefruit and ginger flavors. How could you not be drawn in by the colors and simple, chic design? I've indulged in an Italian soda or two from Target's Archer Farms line or World Market. Blood orange soda? Peach Pear Soda? Yup! But you know what really strikes my fancy?

• — • — •

ORANGINA. See the bottle in the bottom of the illustration? Isn't it perfect???? That's part of the fun, the Orangina adventure. That short, squatty little bottle that's bulges out like a bulbous orange is inside the bottle giving it its shape. But, as a graphic designer, you know what else I love about the stuff? The ads. They're pretty pleasures. And you can download them from their website (which is where these came from)! They have desktop images, as well as a gallery of their poster campaigns. These are a few of my faves that I pulled for you (and me) to enjoy.

• — • — •

They make me yearn for warmer weather, sunny skies, and a bulbous little bottle of the good orange stuff right now. *LE SIGH* I guess these will just have to do for now!

Color Theory + Baking = Happy

I didn't mean for this to happen. It was a total accident.

• — • — •

The colors? Yeah. They progress in color. It was a total accident. I was making these cookies and got super excited when I was digging out various jam jars from the back of my fridge. I just wanted to use them all. Little did I know I was creating a pastry rainbow. Anyway. More about the cookies later, like "Hey, ML, what's that jam in the middle?" "Oh, well you see that dark reddish one there? That's..." all in due time, my friends.

Apple Pickin' Perfect.

• — • — •

I have a lot of blogging to do. I've been behind. Uber behind. I planned to do a big ol' cute post on a trip to Lynd's Fruit Farm out in Pataskala, only that was two weeks ago and I finally sorted through the photos. My boyfriend and I only started going to Lynd's last year but I'm pretty sure it's going to be a yearly tradition...mainly b/c I'll stomp around and whine if I don't get to go. PLUS, going to Lynd's means there's apples with which to make crisp and/or pie. So really, making sure I get to Lynd's is a favor to EVERYONE. (uh huh, yeah, sure) ;-)

See the sun? The pretty blue sky?? (Hang on, wait, let me find a picture...)


Just enough cool air to nip your nose but just enough sun and warmth that as long as you bundle up, you don't need a coat. Early October apple picking is PERRRRFECT. So perfectly fall. I always read blogs by people in fancier cities (LA, NYC, San Francisco, Belgium, blah blah) and they always have such gorgeous posts of their local markets and produce and ingredients. Well, I'm here in the middle of Ohio. We have that stuff, don't get me wrong. But it's not quite in abundance as oh, say, walking around France and picking up some fresh baguettes, cheese, and berries to get you through the day (sad face). Or maybe it is and I just don't have my trusty camera poised and in position ready to snap away (dang it!). But now it's my turn! My turn to post images full of vibrant natural colors, delicious foods, and plain, good old-fashioned seasonal freakin' fun. I could yammer on and on...but why? Heeeerrreeeee we go!

• — • — •

Close-up of a suncrisp apple, my favorite. The red ones are melrose.



Inside the tent at the farm. If you don't find what you're looking for while you pick, you can find it here.

Silly me, when we walked past these really quickly (my boyfriend thought I was nuts for stopping for photos every two seconds) I didn't really notice what these were. Due to their color my brain just thought "blueberries." But uh, yeah. Isn't blueberry season quite over? Turns out while I was making my way around the tent a second time, I actually read the sign that said they were concord grapes. They're pretty, aren't they?? And I just LOOOOVE the little green baskets. I know, I know. It's the simple, little things, right? You don't get cute little green baskets when you buy your stuff from the big box grocers. Kroger, where is my cute produce packaging, dammit!



Back outside! Time to check out the pumpkin patch.
Um, yeah, the patch is actually...kinda gross. Mudtown. Super mudtown. Lots of bruised and rotting pumpkins. BUT hey, today is nature day, right? WE LOVE NATURE. BRING IT ON, PUMPKINS.


And that's it. I'll be posting these to my flickr account if you're wildly interested so once those are up, I'll let you know. Now don't all these pictures make you want to go bake a pie???? (okay, that might just be me.) :-)