Adventures in domesticity - Sewing a roll-up makeup brush case

So, like I mentioned previously, I've been sewing. I think what has really spurred the interest is that I now have the space for my machine to be out all the time, rather than tucked away in a closet in my tiny one-bedroom apartment. Seeing it every day makes me feel guilty for tucking away all my scraps in drawers, shelves, boxes...wherever I can get them to fit.

Back in college when I started wearing makeup for reals, I had three--maybe four--makeup brushes. One for eyeshadow, one for blush, one for powder... Okay, only three. Now, my little pencil case-turned-makeup-brush-case can't hold the burgeoning collection. Blush! Foundation! Eyeliner! Lip liner! Contouring! Shadowing! I was keeping my brushes in an old Bare Essentials box, and their poor little bristles were just getting bumped and smashed and treated terribly. Plus, the box was huge and made storage a real issue. So, with some scrap linen and cotton fabrics, I fashioned this roll-up brush holder. It's not perfect, as I refused to measure ahead of time and just went crazy with my scissors. Still, it gets the job done and is so fun to unroll each morning. Plus, all my brushes are lined up, and it is easy to find exactly the brush I want. This should definitely make putting on my kitty face tomorrow night to hand out candy to the kids very easy. (And, sorry for these yellow photos. The bathroom lighting is terrible.)

As for the croquembouche progress, the BF is having major issues with my making my own birthday cake. He thinks there is something sad about it. But, I love learning a new skill on my birthday. Or, at least promising to learn a new skill during that upcoming year. This little tradition is how I started knitting, printmaking, (almost) guitar playing, and now, hopefully, baking. So, the compromise we've reached is that I can make the cake so long as I make it with him. I think it's a good compromise as we get to spend fun time together.

Shhh...don't tell him. I'm going to practice making cream puffs tonight.

Adventures in Domesticity - Croquembouche

Having loads of time on my hands, which could clearly be better spent desperately searching for a job or unpacking the ridiculous number of boxes still left in my room--I've lately been embarking on casual journeys into domesticity. Sewing, knitting, cooking--no household activity is safe. Even cleaning (the kitchen pantry cupboards and the hall coat closet so far) is on the list of possible daytime destinations.

Now, with a milestone birthday quickly (too quickly?) approaching, I've been trying to figure out what to have as my birthday cake. Three-tiered white cake with custard filling, butter cream frosting, and animal print designs? Too much like my sister's birthday cake this year. (No one wants to be a biter--let alone a birthday cake biter.) Birthday pie? Been there, done that, last year. Cupcakes? Too cutesy. Some cake made out of a mold bought at Michael's? Every birthday cake I had as a child just doesn't seem to cut it for the quarter-century. I was just about to settle for little petit four cakes when came across this post by Mary over at Confessions of a Craft Addict.

Croquembouche! Of course! Who doesn't want to eat little cream puffs filled with pastry creme of all flavors and coated with loads and loads of sugary threads?

So tonight was the first dabble into baking profiteroles. I used Ina Garten's profiterole recipe. It really is a pretty simple recipe, and I'm proud of my first attempt at making pate a choux. The bottoms of the puffs were a little too brown but still made that hollow sound when tapped. The insides were undercooked, so I don't know how they made that hollow sound, but they did.

Lessons learned? First, I need to use a bigger piping tip. The puffs have the curly appearance of pastry poop because I had to make these tiny spirals on top of tiny spirals in order to get the size of dough dollop the recipe called for. I tried smoothing out the dough with my finger, but you can still clearly see the spirals when the profiteroles puffed up in the oven. I'm hoping that a bigger tip will also help give them more a more even size. Second, use convection setting on the oven. Some internet research tells me that the air will help puff the pastry and give it a light and airy inside. Third, cook the flour a little longer because it could still be tasted in the final puff. 'Course, that could be the undercooked dough talking.

Only eight days and counting (shit!) until the b-day. I've got to make quick progress on my profiterole skills in order to make my "crunch in the mouth" tower. An early start tomorrow should lead to at least a couple of attempts. And, maybe I'll manage to squeeze in a couple of job applications as well. Eh. Here's to hoping.