Wordpress!!!!

You'll notice my blog has reverted back to kimmama.blogspot.com... that's because I moved over to Wordpress. Everything is moved over, including comments, so nothing has been lost. If you visit www.kimmama.com like you have in the past, you'll end up in the right spot. The only thing is you have to re-subscribe if you were using Google connect to follow me. Stay with me! Visit kimmama.com and sub :) Or just click here to subscribe to the rss feed.

A Birthday Cake that Says "I Love You"

Last summer I took up cake decorating as a new hobby when I offered to make a wedding cake for a friend. The wedding cake turned out wonderful and I decided I would like to make more cakes. Since then I've made a few birthday cakes and a few just for fun. I'd like to think I'm getting better at it. I would love to take a cake decorating class and learn how to make those gorgeous flowers out of frosting. One thing I do not want to learn is how to work with fondant. I know it is all the rage right now, but I hate the taste, so I'd rather not go there. I don't want to spend hours working on a cake that I won't enjoy eating afterward.

This is the cake I made for my mom's birthday this weekend. It's so colorful - an experiment with food coloring. I baked two 9" rounds and cut them with a big heart mold that is supposed to go with my cheesecake pan. I used a Duncan Hines mix (coconut) and made my own frosting (buttercream). It was really tasty - I had two pieces! I think coconut cake is my new favorite!!

Creativity Pays

Before I had my son, I planned on returning to work. Two weeks into motherhood, with my baby in my arms and tears in my eyes, I resolved to stay home despite the fact it didn't make much sense, financially speaking. Even though so many able women manage to work outside the home and still care for their children, I could not ignore the desires that the Lord had planted in my heart at nineteen. God's plans are not subject to our present circumstances, I've learned, and somehow I'm still at home six weeks later. I'm still in my home six weeks later. We're still eating six weeks later. Praise the Lord, we still have gas in the car six weeks later.

I'm confident the Lord will provide for our needs, but I do not think that entails sitting on my couch and waiting for cash to float out of the sky. God has given me certain skills and abilities for a reason, just as he has given all of us different talents and strengths. God blessed the Proverbs 31 woman for her hard work and dedication to caring for her family. I look to her example while staying at home with my son.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

One of my projects is making afghans and other items to sell in my store on http://www.etsy.com/. I use many different mediums, but crochet is my niche. I love the way I feel after I finish an afghan or bag -it breaks up my routine and I feel productive. When you have a newborn, life is a 3-hour track on repeat and it seems like nothing gets done!

Etsy is a marketplace for all things handmade: the conglomeration of items available on Etsy is mesmerizing. If I wasn't trying to make money, I'd be shopping!

How can you take your skills to the marketplace?