Whoopie Pie Recipe

Easy Whoopie Pie Recipe

(using cake mix)

Whoopie Pies are like the new cupcakes, maybe even the new cake pops.

They are easy to make, adorable and beyond yummy.  You can make them from scratch, or...you can be like me, and doctor up a cake mix to create these treats.

Let's make these bad boys together:

Whoopie Pie Ingredients:

2 packages of Devil's Food Cake Mix

4 eggs

1 1/4 cup Crisco {shortening}



Frosting Ingredients:

4 cups of powdered sugar

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

pinch of salt 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Combine all the whoopie pie ingredients and mix.  The batter will be thick, that is normal. 

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. This is VERY important.  The whoopies cook really fast and the parchment paper helps prevent them from burning on the bottom.

Use a tablespoon to scoop spoonfuls and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.





Bake for 8-10 minutes. Watch closely because they cook really fast. 

This batch will make about 24 complete whoopie pies {2 cookies per pie}.



While you finish baking the rest of the pies, get started on the frosting.

Combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Put all the frosting in a large Ziploc bag and cut a small hole in the tip.



Take your cooled whoopie pies and apply a large dollop to one side using the plastic bag.

Put the other whoopie on top.

Add your favorite sprinkles.



And enjoy!



You can even add food coloring to the frosting for a more festive look.

  

Holy cow, these are good. Seriously.

Hurry and wrap them up and get them out of your house,

unless you're prepared to eat all 24 by yourself in one night.

Overcoming Writers Block and Getting Out of a Creative Funk

Tips to Overcoming Writers Block and

How to Get Out of a Creative Funk

Source: ageektragedy.net via Ashley on Pinterest

For a while, when people asked me what "I did",

I would answer, I'm a Mom and a blogger.

The Mom part always felt good to say.

But, from the look on the asker's face,
I could always tell the blogger part had them confused.

You blog?

And people care?

Now, they never say those exact words,
but its usually written all over their faces.

Instead they say, Oh how nice for you.

One time I even got up the nerve to say: I'm a writer.

But I cringed later as I thought about those words being uttered,

and I felt like a fraud.

How could I call myself a writer?

I'm not contracted with a publisher,

I don't use complete sentences,

I have no formal training,

I don't know the first things about grammar

and I make mistakes.
Bu then I thought about it some more,
and I realized if I want to be a writer,
then I need to own it.

Source: sortacrunchy.net via Ashley on Pinterest

For me, there is a strange contradiction when it comes to writing 5-7 blog posts a week.

#1 It's Hard: Often times I get writers block and struggle for topics to discuss.

#2 It's Easy: Yet, the more I write, the easier it comes.

So I guess it goes something like this:

• It's time to write, so I sit down at the computer, no topics in mind.
• I randomly select a topic, and start throwing a bunch of blah, blah, blah down on the screen.
• I finish my blah, blah, blah, take a step back and re-read the post.
• And then, out of nowhere I am suddenly inspired with the true topic I should be writing about. 

This is my creative process, it all happens pretty fast, and its therapeutic.  It's how I discover what thoughts lay deep within my mind and my heart. Very often a post will start out as a simple update on the adventures of Baby W, and then, somehow it transforms into a life lesson I have learned as a new momma, as a wife, as a friend, as a blogger--and usually I have no idea how I got there. 

That's the beauty of creative writing for a blogger {as I see it}.

It's on your terms. 
You don't need to hold a degree, or be the worlds best speller, or even be grammatically correct all the time {I certainly know I aint'}. You just need to find the style that gives your story a voice. 

For me, that style is casual.  I like to write to you as if we were cozied up in my living room, sipping hot cocoa {or a frozen lemonade} and eating chips and salsa, just chit chatting about life.  I use words such as "like", and "awesome", and "rad"--terminology certain to warrant the sweeping red pen of a college professor. 

But I'm not writing for him. 
I'm writing for me. And for you. 
And if we can't be in the same room enjoying an afternoon chat over chips and salsa, I still want the conversation to feel like that's what we're doing.

This might be your style too.
It might not.
Either way, we all have moments where we struggle to find our voice, struggle to channel our creativity. And there are a few tips I have discovered that help me get out of my slump.

Here they are:

1. Bring Your Camera Everywhere
My friends laugh at me, because literally everywhere we go I take out my giant Nikon camera and snap away. And I don't just take pictures of the seemingly important stuff. Nope, you'll find me snapping away at Baby W enjoying his snack, or the way his toes looked curled up in the grass, or how his little lips look all puffy when he takes a nap.  Being picture-taking-obsessed has taught me that these little fleeting moments are the the important ones. These are the photos that I will pour over when I am old and gray reflecting on the good'ol days.

2. Let Your Photos Inspire You
As I said, I take pictures of everything.  And often times, when I sit down to write, I spend the first few minutes browsing through recent photos I have taken.  They inspire me.  A picture of Baby W enjoying a giant pie inspired this post.  An old picture of me as a teenager inspired this post. Pictures of Baby W's mess inspired this post.  Pictures evoke feelings, and feelings can turn into words that mean something to you and your readers.  If you don't have any recent photos, go through some old family albums and be inspired by your past.

3. View Life As Your Next Blog Post or Writing Topic
I realize this may sound completely lame, and perhaps even sad.  But let me explain.  Blogging has given me a new appreciation for even the simplest pleasures in life--I often see things through the lens of my camera and through the story that I will tell about the picture.  I see the complete beauty in an afternoon walk, where once I just hurried along until Baby W fell asleep in the stroller.  I go to the farm with Baby W and am excited by all the colors of the produce, and even the smell of the animals.  I grab hold of these feelings, even take pictures of them, and then store them away for a future blog post.  It makes for a much more "fun" and "happy" Momma.  *Note: Even with this fluffy new attitude, I still have my debbie downer moments, no doubt about it.

4. Keep a Notebook On You
I have a small pad of paper that I write down post ideas as they come to me.  I used to try to tell myself, you don't need to write that down, you'll remember. But I never do remember.  So now, I write them down.

5. Ask Friends or Family
I can't tell you how many times I have said to Ben, Hun what should I write about tonight? He always gives me a handful of ideas. I rarely use what he suggests. BUT, nearly every time, his ideas have inspired another thought in my mind--many that have turned into some of my favorite posts.

6. Use Popular Prompts
There are many popular topics out there that other bloggers have already written about.  And it's not plagiarism if you take that same topic and write your version.  For example, I wrote a post titled, Letter to 16 Year Old Me.  Your post would be completely different than mine, but you could still get ideas from this same prompt.  Other topic ideas: Life List, Awkward & Awesome, Things You Should Know About Me if We're Gonna Be BFF, Favorite Childhood Books.

7. Go Shopping and Read Magazines
I don't mean go buy a bunch of stuff, although go for it.  But I often get out of my creative funk when I go shopping.  For example, I was inspired to create my feather extension headband when I went to the mall and saw all the feather dangle earrings.  And I was inspired to create my pom pom necklace when I saw the fabric flowers on t-shirts at Old Navy.  Also, magazines like Real Simple, Martha Stewart, Woman's Day and Better Homes & Garden always have fun DIY ideas to help inspire your creative minds.

So that's it.
Those are my tips.
They don't always work,
but most of the time they do the trick.
So go on and be a writer.
Own it.
Your words matter.

Source: tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

DIY Feather Extension Headband Tutorial

How to Make a Feather Extension Headband

Feather extensions and earrings are all the rage right now {especially peacock feathers}.  Very bohemian, very awesome.  So rather than create earrings or a clip in extension, I thought about attaching the feathers to a subtle headband.  And this is what I got.   

  

It seriously only took about 5 minutes to create.

Here's how I did it:

Supplies:

Blank headband

Clear thread

Hot glue gun

Two very small strips of fabric

Feathers of your choice

*I purchased my feathers at Joann's and they were already finished on the ends with a clear thread loop. The brand is Touch of Nature.

First, take your clear thread and measure about four inches longer than you actually want your feathers to hang.  For example, I wanted my feathers to hang about 2.5 inches from the base of my headband--so I cut the thread at 6.5 inches.

Find the loop part on the end of your feather.

Tie your clear thread to the feather with a double knot. Repeat this same step with the second feather and the second peice of thread.

See how the thread is basically invisible and it looks like the feather is suspended in mid-air.  This way it will blend in with your hair without any bulky strings or rope.

Take some fabric scrap and cut two strips about 1.5 inches long {no need to be exact here because you can always trim the excess later}.

Now for the sorta tricky part. 

1. Lay down your fabric scrap and place a drop of hot glue as shown in step one. Then the other end of your clear thread right in the drop of glue. Then lay the end of your headband in the glue on top of the clear thread.

2. Wrap the end of the fabric over the hot glue so that it holds in place.

3. Continue wrapping the fabric around the headband.

4. Put a drop of glue on the end of the fabric and secure in place. Trim any excess string.  *Repeat these steps with the other feather on the other side of the headband.



It should look something like this when you hold it up.

I love how it blends in with hair, almost like it was a feather extension.

My Mom just got a Brazillion Blow Out on her hair, so I made her model my headband on her blonde hair below:

So that's it.

Kinda neat, huh.

Happy Crafting!

_______________________________________________________

I am sharing my Life List over at A Happy Girl today.

Tahnie is having a blogger series about taking chances and making "big jumps" in life.  Please stop by and say hi--Tahnie is the sweetest gal and momma ever!

How to Grow Your Etsy Online Business

Tips to Grow Your Online Business

I remember the weeks leading up to "starting my Etsy shop".  I must have talked myself out of it 1,000 times--literally.  I made excuses like, what if nothing sells?  what will my friends think?  what if I make a mistake on an order? what if no one likes my designs?  what about the financial risks for the start up costs? and on and on...

Source: eliseblaha.typepad.com via Ashley on Pinterest

But then one night, I took the plunge. I remember the nerves in my stomach as I clicked "purchase" at  two in the morning for my very first order of supplies.  The total was $178 and I immediately thought about all the other ways I could be spending that money.  But there was no turning back now.

About a week later, my supplies arrived and I got to work on designing.  And then, a few days later, I clicked "publish" and made my site live for the world to see. 

But the world didn't see...in fact, hardly anyone did.

Sales were slow. Like slow slow.

And I won't lie, I got discouraged.  As orders trickled, I eventually learned that there was so much more to growing my online business than I had realized.  Now, I'm not pretending I am some hugely successful shop owner--hardly.  However, I have created a business that is growing at a pace I am comfortable working at.  I'm certainly no Lisa Leonard, Barn Owl Primitives or Pleated Poppy, but I have learned some helpful lessons along my journey.

Here is a peek into my workspace this afternoon {during nap time}--pure chaos:

Clearly I haven't learned how to create in an "organized" fashion, but I have learned some other tips along the way.  Here they are:

Getting Started:  You probably have a lot of ideas, and that's fabulous.  When starting your shop, I suggest picking your favorite ideas and starting there.  Don't go crazy, creating a ton of designs to launch your shop. Maybe start with a dozen.  Then, once your shop has been open for a little bit you can get a better idea of what's most popular.

Source: designeditor.typepad.com via Ashley on Pinterest

• Shop Banner: I know nothing about even the most basic graphic design. So I hired Dumplin Design Studios to create my banner for a very reasonable price.

•  Business Cards: Dumplin Design also created my business cards to match my blog and shop.  Again, super affordable. I have my business cards printed at www.zazzle.com.

• Shipping: Determine what method of shipping you are going to use.  USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc. I use USPS first class mail.  I either print my shipping labels from paypal, or I take them to the post office and wait in line the old fashioned way.  It is waaaayyyy cheaper to buy your shipping supplies online rather than at the post office.  You can find bubble mailers for really cheap at the Dollar Tree. I get my bubble mailers from JP Sales, and they seem to be the best bulk prices I have found--and they are wonderful to work with.

Pricing:  There is a fine line between setting a price that makes this worth your time and setting a price close to similar items in your market--and both are super important.  You don't want to price yourself so low that you can't justify the time you spend on your shop AND you don't want to price yourself right out of the market.  So do some research and see what other people in the your product category are charging. 

Budget:  You could literally spend thousands and thousands of dollars to start up an online business.  But that isn't realistic for most of us. So I encourage you to set a "start-up" budget.  What are you comfortable spending on initial supplies, packaging and marketing?

Branding: Consistency is key when it comes to branding. Branding can be seen in the form of gift packaging, business cards, promotions, shop banners, newsletters, facebook, blogging, twitter, pinterest. These are all opportunities for you to sell your brand.  And it is important that your brand look the same across all mediums--use the same logo, the same font, the same avatar, the same type of photography, and similar colors. You want to brand yourself in such a way that someone will know a product is yours the moment they see the packaging.  For example, I see a little blue box and I immediately envision beautiful Tiffany's jewelry. 

Packaging:  This is the fun part. Sometimes I am compelled to buy a product just because I know I am going to love the packaging.  I could go crazy with an elaborate design for my shop, but I also have to keep in mind affordability and time. I don't have enough time to spend hours on my gift boxes, but I still want them to look pretty.  So, here is how I package my jewelry:

Super simple.  I recommend using Notable Notions for your packaging supplies. I have done my research and they have great prices, plus they ship super fast.  I get my kraft boxes from them, and they also offer great displays and other packaging components.  My rubber stamp is from JLMould on etsy, and I made sure it had my web address on it so that gift recipients would know how to find my shop.

Here is how I package my pillows and table runners:

I get my tissue paper in fun colors from the Dollar Tree and Walmart.  Then I tie it with a simple twine bow.  Twine makes me happy, and I would like to have it in every color. 

You can find lovely and colorful twine at The Twinery and Pretty Tape. 

Below are some other fun packaging ideas via pinterest.

Click here to see all the other fun packaging ideas I pinned.

Source: luxecetera.com via Ashley on Pinterest

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Amidst my late night etsy searching I also found these fabulous shops that can help you spruce up your packaging:

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Photography: When we go shopping, we see, we touch, we even sometimes smell the item we are interested in purchasing.  When ordering online, we only have the picture and description to go from. You can have the a dozen different shops selling the exact same item and I can promise you, the one with the best picture will get more sales--even if they are the most expensive.  Make sure your photos are light and bright, no dark backgrounds.  Be sure to get some close ups (you don't want a buyer to think you have anything to hide). Please NO blurry images. This post also has some helpful tips on taking good product shots. Also, if you are on Etsy, be sure to use ALL five photo spaces--the more pictures the better. 

{via}

Marketing:  This topic could be a post all to itself.  But for now, I will keep it simple.  The most affordable way to advertise your online business is through blogs that have readers similar to your target market--duh, right.  I have found more success when I offer a discount in combination with a giveaway.  And I have had the BEST results advertising on Tatertots & Jello and Love Stitched. In fact, I am having a giveaway over at TT&J now!


Newsletter: I don't do this--but I should.  I have heard first hand from VERY successful online businesses, that as soon as they started a monthly newsletter {with discount codes and promotions} they saw a 20% increase in their sales--true story.


SEO and Keywords: How you title your items is critical.  Sure its cute and also good marketing to come up with clever names for your products--but that doesn't help a search engine find you. So you need to be sure to put other key words in your description.  The first few sentences of your shop welcome section are also important--for they are the words that search engines pick up--so don't waste this section with a personal bio or the history of your shop. Instead, use the first few sentences of your welcome section to incorporate as many key words describing your shop as possible.  For example: Little Miss Momma carries a variety of cottage chic home decor items {ruffled pillows and burlap table runners} as well as rose cabochon necklaces, unique cabochon statement/cocktail rings, anthropologie-inspired hair pin sets, and more unique couture accessories.

Social Media: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest. You gotta do it.  Maybe not everything on that list--but at least one thing.  Take Barn Owl Primitives for example. She doesn't blog, but she has a crazy successful online business. And she just so happens to be a facebook goddess.  You can almost always find her on fb--captivating us with her words of wisdon, her fun finds, and her totally loveable personality.  She facebooks about everything, from style, to home decor, to crafting, to current affairs, etc.  And then, when it's appropriate, she also gives you updates on her shop.  Because she doesn't just promote herself all the time, people actually want to read what she posts--and it works!  She topped over 1,000 sales in no time at all! Rock on girl!


Integrity: Have it.  There are bound to be multiple shops carrying very similar items as you, and that's okay.  It doesn't mean you copied them, or they copied you.  But if you ever have the opportunity to blatantly copy, please don't.  I promise, you are more capable than you even know of coming up with your own unique designs, and you will find so much more fulfillment through the creative process.

Source: quote-book.tumblr.com via Ashley on Pinterest

Manage Expectations:  Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't explode overnight, or after a week, or a month.  The process can take time.  And don't compare yourself to other successful shops out there--because for every 1 of them, there are 1,000 others working towards success at this very moment.  Work hard, have faith, and believe in yourself.

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