(Inside A Black Apple)

Teeny, Tiny, Wearable Art

Wellllll...after much perfecting of and reworking of one of the oldest Black Apple products, the "Cameo Pins", they're finally back in action and (a limited amount) are available in the shop.

I agonized over the packaging, because I wanted a simple card they could be "pinned" to, but this proved a little tricky...Happily, I finally got a design that I was happy with for the backing cards, sent them to the printers, and finished up a whole big batch, some for the shop, and some to keep for Renegade (two weeks!!!!).

Here's a gaggle of them hanging out on their cards:

Oh, huzzah...I am so happy with these. I love the feel of them. They remind me of some sort of game-piece or token, but they have such a delicate quality, too.

PS: I just checked, and they're already starting to fly away! Hop on over if there is one you're particularly keen on.

xoxo, sweet peas!

 

In my house, by day, by night

(Tiny Toasts)

(kitchen stacks)

(Emily legs)

(and dolly legs)

(night studio)

Hoorah for all of the bird-loving yesterday! Oh, and after getting quite a few fans of the shade clamoring for more info, this is what I could track down: the shade-makers have a (kinda sad looking) Found Images site, and there seem to be some online boutiques that carry certain designs (I didn't happen across the bird shade, unfortunately), but this boutique carries them: Fly-bird.

I have to get to work painting pretty faces on the currently face-less dolls whose legs you see up top! And make some tiny shoes. And do some packaging. Time for pink lemonade and an evening in the studio, my dears!

Avian, Chapter two

I blogged about the never-ending birdieness over at the Some Girls Wander blog a few weeks ago, and I already have to recycle my post title. Josiah asked point-blank a few days ago if I ever intended to fill my apartment with birds, particularly the living room, and I realized that I, inadvertently, had indeed made my little house an aviary!

In evidence, here are a few recent additions:

 
Sweet bluebird teacups that I have been coveting, given to me by my wonderful Mama.

A beautiful mirrored hook given to me by my lovely friend Elizabeth.

 
And, one of my new favorite things, this vintage-postcard riddled lampshade that we picked up in Nashville, while visiting the aforementioned Elizabeth.

So, bird trend, whenever you decide to depart, if you indeed ever do, it will be okay with me. I mean, I don't want to hasten your departure, but I think that I have enough birds in my life to live quite comfortably without another new flock always arriving every-so-often.

Perenially Apple-headed

This is another one of my new stuffed designs that will be headed to Renegade with me, and then I may be carrying more regular-like in the shop. She's so freaking cute, and has grown on me more and more in the week-plus that she's spent with her (yet unfinished) sisters hanging out in the studio. She kind of reminds me of one of those "clown-knock-down" games that you play with bean-bags at the carnival (you know, the ones with the frizzy hair and wierd faces?). I'm looking for an example online to show you...but nothing is coming.

Wait, I just remembered that "Curb your Enthusiasm" packaging has them:

Okay, well maybe she doesn't look like them. But she kind of feels like them, I guess. Or what I imagine that they feel like.

We just got home from a friend's birthday party at his parent's-in-law's huge house complete with pool and this pink stuff, and it was fun. Not really our normal scene, but the boys did end the day by playing Guitar Hero, so I guess it was kind of normal in a way.

Tired, tired, and hoping to be more entertaining tomorrowish!
Enjoy your weekend!

xoxo 

Just a few happy little things + a crime scene.

Happy little things from my studio. The crime scene comes later.

Another new postcard design, hot off the presses and freshly available in the shop:

Also, this teeny-tiny limited run of embellished screen prints that are available also, where else? But in le shop:

And these little guys, who aren't in the shop (yet) but are part of the army I'm assembling to take to Brooklyn in June! They're just loungin' on the couch:

I've been keeping so darn busy with the shop lately (it's been eat-sleep-dream-blackapple-mode around here). Shipping, designing, making, the endless emailing...plus I've got so many new things I'm trying out, testing, and seeing what new products I can add to the little business...I'm even reviving an old favorite product. Ooooh...mysterious, mysterious. Seriously, though? It's a new and improved version, and I think you guys are going to love them.

In the midst of all of this I suddenly felt like I was totally losing it, and had to (yesterday) just throw up my hands at about 3 pm and just call it a "mental health" day. This involved lots of therapeutic baking, and a fair amount of cabernet sauvignon...the crime scene below (note nearly empty bottle of Yellowtail peeking out to the right):

The truest  "corner of my home" I could possibly offer at the moment (wink, wink). I'm feeling better though, and soothed.
However, being drunk in the afternoon is a strange thing that I do not need to get used to...says the girl who works from home.

In Which I Invent a Very Good Cake

Hey! Thanks for all the tee love, you guys. There are still a few left in le shop, if you'd like one!

So, I needed a cake to grace my newly acquired and long-sought-after cake stand, so I made this incredible cake this weekend, and I have just been itching to share it.
Because it's crazy-good.
And because I'm proud of it, as I (kind of) invented it. I say kind of, because I used a basic Vanilla Layer Cake Recipe from the Magnolia cookbook as the foundation. I love, LOVE chocolate-and-orange combinations. I know that lots of folks are with me on this. However, I do not love very dark chocolate (I know, I'm still waiting for my palette to grow up) with my orange-flavored confection. And I have a really hard time finding milk-chocolate + orange combinations.

Thus, I bring you...

Orange Layer Cake with Whipped Fudge Icing

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 C self-rising flour
1 2/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C milk
1/2 c Orange Juice
Grated zest from two oranges
1 Tablespoon orange extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease and lightly flour 2 9" round cake pans (I like to use the inside of the wrappers from the softened butter to grease with, after I dump the sticks into the mixing bowl). Cream the butter with your mixer on medium. Add the sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, and then slowly add the flour, alternating with the milk and juice. Mix well after every addition. Blend in the orange zest, and mix a bit more.

Divide the mixture between the two pans, and bake for 20-25 minutes (test with a small, sharp knife or a cake tester into the center, and, as per usual, make sure it comes out clean...otherwise, back in the oven for a few more minutes). Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 10 minutes, and then remove to racks. Let cool completely at room temperature (I let mine cool overnight) before frosting.

Icing Ingredients:
1/2 C heavy whipping cream
4 squares (8 oz) unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
4-5 C confectioner's sugar
3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter

Carefully melt the butter (you can cube it for easier melting) and squares of chocolate on low, stirring occasionally and watching carefully to make sure the chocolate doesn't scald. When all of the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Beat the whipping cream with your mixer on high for 2 minutes, and then add a cup of your sugar. Continue to beat, and  the mixture should get lighter and fluffier. When cooled, slowly add your butter/chocolate mixture and beat on low until smooth. Cup by cup, add the remaining confectioner's sugar, until the mixture is light, thick, and a good spreading consistency. When I finished with this icing, it was verging on gross how obsessed I was with it. I was licking the mixer's beaters...the spatula...the bowl...

Place your cake on the serving plate (or cake stand) and push some small-ish pieces of tin foil or wax paper under the bottom of the cake, all around the perimeter. This will catch your icing mishaps and neaten things up! Using a knife and spoon, ice between the layers and the top and sides of the cake, adding decorative icing "swoops" to the surface with your knife if the spirit moves.

I can tell you that the spirit almost always moves me to do so. Remove scraggly "icing catcher" pieces of tin foil or wax paper from your serving apparatus and there you have it.
Cut and serve to appreciative and deserving peeps, including you!

New Tee Tuesday!

 

You must love that trashy, flash-ridden photo of Josiah. Just tryin' to keep AA's aesthetic alive. Kidding, it was just dark yesterday when these came in, and we were too impatient and excited to try them on!

I am flipping out over these. I flipped out over the silhuoette tees, too, but I am personally so in love with mine and ready to wear it every day. They're just so darn soft and fit so well and it's been a personal dream of mine to have a wearable family of hedgehogs at my disposal. Well, they're now at YOUR disposal, too, over at shop as of just a few minutes ago! Hooray, hooray.

The only slightly wierdo thing is that the supplier was out of the small grey tees, so there is a pretty light blue for you small-ies:

They're flipping adorable as well. I fancy them just as much as the grey!

Oh, so exciting. OH! I forgot to mention:
There are also a few boy's sizes, as well...only a few of each size, though (L & XL, all the mediums are spoken for already).

Happy Tuesday, loves!

Tea Towels!

Hoo-rah!

I've been so excited about this project, and wrapped all the stages (ordering, dyeing, printing, packaging, photographing) this weekend! I predict many more tea towels in my future, and these were really fun, if a bit finicky, to make. Hopefully the next run will go almost-perfectly!
They're just such useful things...you can dry your hands on them...wrap up some warm bread to serve at the table, etc.

There are two designs, a little cutie chasing some lightning bugs, and two friends with jars of cinnamon + nutmeg ready to assist in your kitchen-ish pursuits:

They come packaged up tied with sweet candy-striped bakery twine and include one of my newest postcard designs as a wee bonus:

Here they are in action on my own (admittedly shabby) cabinets:

I have 9 of each batch (the rest of them will come with me to Renegade... you know, gotta start hording things to sell!) available as of right now, in the shop.

Also, a cute new postcard pack (of the card that is included as a little freebie with the towels, actually) is also newly available in ye olde shoppe!

I'm in love with this little apple-head, and you'll be seeing more of her (oooh so mysterious) in the next day or two!

I hope everyone's weekends were nice. Mine was spent packing orders, sewing, shipping, baking, laughing, cooking, worrying and thrifting...I was going to be cheeky and say "not in that particular order", but it actually was in that particular order. All in all, that is a pretty well-rounded way to spend a weekend, I think.

Thanks for all the sweet words about the new, very-grown-up chair. It is making me very happy!

Hooray for Grey Days

I mean "Grey day" in the best possible way, for today is the day that my wonderful custom Astrid chair finally came after quite a bit of anticipation!

Hmmm...lets get rid of those strange little arm-rest duvets...

Ah, that's better.
Miette would've had a grand ol' time batting those things around. And they're just kinda wierd looking.

I am so very excited about that darn chair. I feel like such a grown-up! In my mind a nice chair of one's own = grown-up status.

Is that sad?

Happy Friday, my sweets! I'm doing an insane amount of packaging/shipping/general workin' the black apple mail-room this evening + tomorrow. I've got crafty projects that have emerged from the mysterious piles of yesterday, so I'll show those off tomorrow...I was just too excited to wait to show you my new chair!

Mysterious Piles

The pretty new enclosure cards showed up on my doorstep yesterday:

I really love these...even more than their predecessors. They have a nice matte finish this time and will be included in all orders for the next 3-4 months!

There are mysterious progress piles around my studio at the moment, and hopefully said piles will become finished projects by the end of today:

I had the best day yesterday with my wonderful mom. We had a belated-mother's day afternoon which consisted of a fun shopping trip, lunch, and hot chocolate. Oh, and some new super-dark jeans (my one pair is looking kind of sad).
And a cake stand.
And really, too much goodness to mention.

Happy Thursday, everyone!!