Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes!

Yummy! Maybe my cupcake pincushion tutorial last week (?I've lost track of time!) inspired me or maybe it's just that
I am helping host a baby shower soon, but I have been making cupcakes all week. I'm freezing them and plan on decorating them when I have more time. I happened to pick up the Better Homes and Gardens "magazine" (it costs $10 so I should call it a book!) called "Cupcakes, 150 Sweet Recipes". It is full of great recipes for cupcakes of every kind.

 This particular cupcake takes me back to my childhood when I would stand by the curb and hold out my dime for the ice cream man. He would hand me my Dreamcicle, a vanilla ice cream with an orange outer shell. It was wonderful. These cupcakes remind me of that taste. You can get the recipe here:  

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/cupcakes/orange-cheesecake-cupcakes/
or below (because they won't keep that recipe up forever!).
 What does this have to do with quilting? Absolutely nothing, except that quilters are sometimes asked to help with things like baby showers and they need good ideas like this one. Cupcakes are fast and easy - perfect for someone who is busy quilting!!!!

Orange Cream Pop Cupcakes


1   3-oz. pkg. orange-flavor gelatin
1   2-layer size pkg white cake mix
1   4-serving size package cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 1/4 cups orange juice
4 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line twenty-seven 2 1/2" muffin cups with paper bake cups and set aside. (I used only 24.) 
Set aside 2 teaspoons of the gelatin for the frosting. In a mixing bowl beat the remaining gelatin, the cake mix, pudding mix, orange juice, eggs, oil, and vanilla. 
Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out batter in cups. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in muffin cups for about 5 minutes, then remove from pan.
Spoon orange-flavor frosting into a pastry bag with a large round tip. Spoon the vanilla flavored frosting into another pastry bag fitted with a small star tip. Pepe orange frosting onto each cupcake to cover the top. Pipe a medium size star of white frosting onto each cupcake. If desired, insert a craft stick into top of each cupcake. 
Frostings: Prepare 1 recipe Cream Cheese frosting. Place 1/4 of the frosting in a separate bowl and beat in an additional 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. To the remaining bowl of cream cheese frosting, add the reserved 2 teaspoons gelatin from the cupcakes and 1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel. If desired, add a few drops orange food coloring. Beat to combine. 
Note: Cream Cheese Frosting: 1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 5 to 6 cups powdered sugar. All cream cheese and butter to soften. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Makes about 3 1/2 cups. 
 

The Right Border Fabric

When you're choosing a fabric for your border, sometimes the right fabric is one you've pieced together yourself! This quilt was one I made about 6 years ago. You can't see in this picture, but the words to a poem are embroidered in the light, teapot squares, which are appliqued. I had really struggled to find "just the right fabric" for the outer border. Nothing worked until I just pieced all the fabrics from the patchwork squares in random widths. In this photo, I have not yet trimmed it all to the same width.
So remember this little trick the next time you have a hard time finding the right border fabric. Maybe it's in your scrap box!

Using Tea or Coffee to Create Flesh Toned Fabrics

Many of my patterns have characters on them such as the children on this quilt. Because good skin tones are hard to find in fabric, I often have to dye my own.  In this quilt, I've used fabric dyed by either coffee or tea. You will notice that each child has a different color skin.  Coffee gives a more brown beige and tea gives a warmer beige.


 In this tutorial, I'm going to show the easy process of tea or coffee dying.

1. Materials: You will need  fabric (unbleached muslin, cream cotton, very light peach cotton, or light tan cotton are good choices) and very hot tea or coffee. Use about 2 tea bags to each 8 oz. of water. This should be a very strong tea. You will need enough to submerge your fabric. Keep in mind that you don't really need a large amount of fabric to make a face, hands and legs. A fat quarter will do at least a couple of figures. But be aware that it is very difficult to match a tea or coffee dyed color. Dye all you need for one quilt at one time. You need a container large enough to hold the liquid and the fabric. .You need 1/2 cup plain vinegar to set the dye. (Not pictured here.)

2. Add your unfolded fabric to the liquid and be sure it is completely submerged. Swish it around a little to be sure the liquid permeates the entire piece.

3. Let the fabric sit.The longer it sits, the darker it will become (up to a certain point.) At least an hour or more is needed. (In the photo I am leaving the spatula on top of the fabric to hold it under the surface of the water.) The fabric will look darker when wet thank it will when it is dry.. Rinse well under running water.( If you find that it isn't dark enough, put it back in the tea or coffee and leave it longer.)

4. Soak the fabric again, after rinsing, in 4 cups of water and 1/2 cup vinegar. This will help set the dye.
   Let it sit about 15 minutes, then rinse again.

5.Roll it up in a towel to absorb excess water and then dry it either naturally or in your dryer.

6. Press well. If the fabric is not dark enough to suit you, repeat the process. (If it is too dark, you can bleach it out.)

That's all there is to it! You might want to get some unbleached muslin and experiment a little. See how many skin tones you can make. Human skin comes in hundreds of colors.

Have fun and save all your "experiments". You never know when you might need just a little bit of flesh color.