Surfing Card

It’s week two of our Summer theme! The name this week is “Surf’s Up.” It’s a light blue matte shade and very Summery. We’ve been inspired to make a card from this shade. It’s a perfect “Just Because” card that you can use to celebrate Summer!

You don’t need very many things to make this card. It’s super easy.

First of all find some surf boards that you can print off and trace from the Internet. We decided on a few different sizes and shapes to make it more fun and whimsical. We kept them to about 3 inches tall/long and about an inch or so wide.

Then we decided on a colour for our card. We chose a light blue shade like the eye shadow colour that we picked for this week.

Then we picked out some colours that would look good with the blue and traced the surfboards on them and cut them out.

We found some stamps that we thought would make a good pattern (patterns/designs work best for this) on our boards and we stamped and embossed those on the surfboards.

Next we made some sand by cutting it out of some sand coloured paper. Draw a curvy line out for the top of the sand first and make it as deep as you want.

Lastly we glued the sand on and then arranged the surfboards in the centre of the card. You can put them in front of or behind of the sand; it’s up to you. Add some waves and a sun if you like.

Interesting Vacation Spots

We’re kicking off Summer with a brand new theme! We’ve found a few very beachy and Summery eye shadow/highlighter palettes sure to be popular this Summer and we’re doing posts inspired by the names of these shades. We’ve picked a Tarte, Rainforest of the Sea called High Tides and Good Vibes as well as two by Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.

Our very first one is fitting to kick off Summer and the name of that one we chose is “7 Day Wknd” (a metallic orchid colour) which might inspire your Summer holiday plans. We thought it be cool to start off the Summer with some vacations destinations that might get overlooked when you think about top holiday spots to visit. We found some super beautiful places to travel that don’t necessarily get as much attention like France, England, Hawaii, etc. Enjoy and be inspired to travel!

Samoa

Samoa consists of ten islands and is located in the Central South Pacific Ocean. It’s super lush, serene, and green with lots of waterfalls, volcanoes, rainforest, swimming holes, beaches, and waterfalls. If you love the outdoors, the warm sun, and adventures this is the place for you. It seems to be a place to go if you are less into resorts and more into island exploring and enjoying the beach and swimming.

Some top spots to check out are...

The Samoan Cultural village

To Sua Ocean Trench

Apia

Alofaaga Blowholes

Robert Louis Stevenson Museum

Lalomanu Beach

Namibia

Namibia is supposedly a great place to visit if it’s your first time to Africa and it’s not a super busy place either so you can enjoy yourself without too much hustle and bustle around you. It has the highest sand dunes and the oldest desert and has a variety of wildlife that you can see. There are many sand dunes of course to visit as well as shipwrecks and national parks.

Some top spots to check out are...

Sossusvlei

Sandwich Harbour

Etosha National Park

Luderitz

Giant’s Playground

Skeleton Coast

Damaraland

South Korea

Don’t be put off by their neighbours, South Korea looks like a beautiful place to visit with so much culture/history and stunning landscapes. You can hang out in the bustling urban city and visit the many markets and try out all of the tasty street food. You can also take in the more serene side of the country and go to the many palaces and temples along with National parks to take in all the views and nature surrounding.

Some top spots to check out are...

Seoraksan National Park

Jeju Island

Changdeokgung Palace

Gwangjang Market

Busan

Templestay

Hahoe Folk Village

Slovenia

If you’re looking for a peaceful casual European holiday you’ll find it in Slovenia. It’s got one of Europe’s greenest capitals (Ljubljana) and most picturesque little towns full of cafes and outdoor restaurants and cobblestone streets. It’s rustic and sophisticated. You can enjoy the Venetian style coastline or the snow covered Alps or walk amongst the beautiful architecture which includes castles!

Some top spots to check out are...

Lake Bled/Bled Castle

Julian Alps

Postojna Cave

Triple Bridge

Ptuj

Triglav National Park

Vintgar Gorge

Mauritius

Apparently this is a heavenly serene place to travel. It’s full of white sandy beaches and bright clear blue water. It’s an ideal place for couples and honeymoons. You can relax on one of the many beaches or enjoy the spas at the many resorts along with divine food and local rum or you can be adventurous and try things like snorkeling kite/wind surfing, boating, diving (to see the many sea creatures and coral reefs), hiking in the forested mountains. You can also take walks to see temples, churches, mosques, botanical gardens, and lighthouses.

Some top spots to check out are...

Le Morne Brabant

Seven Colored Earths

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens

Chamarel

The West (diving, whales and dolphins)

The East (for the stunning beaches)

Eureka Plantation Mansion

Kazakhstan

Big city and architecture is what Kazakhstan is all about. It is the world’s ninth largest country and it’s full of things to do. You’ll find many upscale restaurants, clothing markets, and nightlife attractions in the largest city, Almaty. Check out Astana which has been named “the world’s weirdest capital city” which is very futuristic and has only existed for 20 years!  However, this huge country has nature and adventure to seek out and enjoy as well. You’ll find some beautiful views and can go on some long hikes in the Tian Shan Mountains. Also, enjoy waterfalls, streams, sacred forests, and lakes.

Some top spots to check out are...

Astana

Tian Shan Mountains

Big Almaty Lake

Ascension Cathedral

Almaty

Kolsai Lakes

National Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Romania

Romania is full of Medieval towns and castles and lots of cobblestone streets and rolling hills. Check out the wooden churches and quaint cafes. Again there is lots of hiking up in the Carpathian Mountains but you can also enjoy the beach at many of the resorts along the Black Sea coast. You can also spot some wildlife here or go check out the many caves, volcanoes, meadows, and gorges.

Some top spots to check out are...

The Black Church

Brasov

Corvin Castle

Transylvania/Wallachia

Bran Castle

Museum of the 1989 Revolution

Danube Delta

Marbled Bundt Cake

Time for a Father’s Day treat. My dad is always asking for a marbled something when it comes to baked goods so we tried this one out and it was a huge success so give it a try for your dad this Father’s Day. I know I couldn’t stop eating it when we baked it!

You will need...

3 cups of flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¾ cup of buttermilk

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 ¼ sticks of butter

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 large egg yolk

3 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

2 Tbsp. of butter

2 Tbsp. of unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare your bundt cake pan by greasing it and then flouring it.

In a two separate medium sized bowls, mix/whisk your dry (flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda) and wet (buttermilk, vanilla, and lemon juice) ingredients separately.

Now beat the sugar and the butter with your mixer.

Add in the eggs one at a time followed by the one yolk.

On low, add in one third of the flour mix followed by half of the wet mix and then repeat with remaining dry and wet ingredients.

Separate the batter evenly into two bowls.

Now it’s time to make the chocolate part of the marble cake.

Melt the chocolate chips, butter, and cocoa powder in the microwave until smooth and fully melted.

Stir the chocolate mixture into one of the bowls of batter.

It’s time to marble!

I put a dollop of each batter side by side until the bundt pan is full. That is one layer. Then on top of each dollop, put the opposite flavour for the top layer. Swirl it all around with a butter knife until you get your desired marbledness. You can also layer one flavour on the bottom and one on the top and swirl. I tried that the first time I made this cake but it didn't get as marbled as I wanted it. 

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. It usually takes the full 60 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan and then slide it out of the pan and allow to cool about 2 hours before eating.

You can eat it plain or you can make a glaze or icing to put on it (the second time around we made a caramel glaze). You can put whipped cream or ice cream and even some berries on top if you like.

Now it’s time to enjoy!

*You might have noticed that the last few final steps have no pictures. We were so excited to eat this cake that we got distracted and forgot. Next time!

Key/Change Holder Dish

In keeping with the key ring theme, we are making key/change “dishes” as a gift that you can give dad for Father’s Day. They come in quite handy. You can also use these dishes to hold jewelry or little knick knacks.

You can make these dishes from lots of different things. We are going with ceramic dishes and we are using a very cool technique to decorate them. 

You don’t need very many things to create this cool little gift. All you need is some nail polish (your choice what colours you’d like to use; we went with blues), a big plastic tub filled with warm water so you can dunk your dish, and a ceramic dish of some sort (we found a couple at the dollar store).

First of all prepare your work area and put some newspapers down. You might want to have some paper towels and some nail polish remover with cotton pads on stand by. You may also want to wear some latex gloves to protect your hands.

Fill a tub, big enough to dunk the dishes that you have selected, with warmer water.

First we drizzled the nail polish on the surface of the water, swirling it around to make a cool pattern.

Then we dipped the ceramic plate (we also made a little bowl) in slowly and the nail polish will stick to the plate. Don't wait too long after drizzling the nail polish to dip. It may start drying.

Once you have the plate etc. looking as you want it, find a good place to let it dry for a couple of days.

You don’t have to do this last step, but we used a protectant spray to keep our polish sealed on the plate.