If you are in the mood to be a proud American, I would like to recommend attending a good ol’ small town rodeo.  We did two weeks ago, and we came away singing, “I’m Proud to be an American …” and happily wiping the turkey-leg juice off of our faces with the sleeves of our shirts.  Okay, I admit it, my family lured me away from my drawing table with the promise of some excellent rodeo cuisine.  And, it worked.  We all piled into the car and headed to Stonewall, Texas (about an hour from Austin) for the Stonewall Peach JAMboree & Rodeo.

We were lucky enough to arrive in time for the crowning of the Stonewall Peach Queen.  (As you might guess Stonewall is known for mighty fine peaches.)  First, we watched the 2009 Peach Queen bid adieu (say so long) to her subjects, followed by the crowning of the new Queen and her court.  I was standing next to a group of precious little gals who were star struck with the beautiful princesses. Move over Cinderella, Ariel and Belle!  (See photo below: girls looking through the fence and over the cows to admire their new Queen.)

After all the heraldry was over, and before the cow pokin’ began, we made sure we didn’t miss our favorite rodeo foodie finds: juicy turkey legs, famous smoked sausage from Fredericksburg, crispyTexas taters (homemade potoato chips) and then we topped it all off with luscious peach ice cream.  It just doesn’t get any better than that!

And, lest you think it was just about the food, here are a few pictures of the very cool cowboys and cowgirls, as well as the beloved “animal athletes.”  Although we were delighted with Calf Roping, Barrel Racing, and Bull Riding, our favorite events were Wild Cow Milking and Mutton Bustin’.  (Of course, we love little lambies here at Cathy Heck Studio, so we are glad to report that the “mutton” do not actually get busted in the Mutton Bustin’ event.  :-)

I hope I have given you a hankerin’ to get yerself to a rodeo to get a good taste (literally and figuratively) of America, and if you do, don’t forget yer hat and yer boots!
Happy Fourth of July from our family to yours.

Margaret is most proud of this egg, because this egg holds the honor of being the “First Egg Margaret Actually Finished.”  When we started making these tedious jewels, Margaret was a toddler, while her sisters were five and ten years older.  So, although she tried, many of her early eggs are only decorated on one side.  (And, actually, if you think about it, her half-egg method was probably a very efficient use of time and effort … since, when displayed, only one side shows to the egg-admiring public, anyway.)  Nevertheless, while we love Margaret’s half-eggs just as much as all the others, she loves this one the most!

P.S. Margaret has continued to complete her eggs ever since this one, but, if you ever start to get antsy when you are making your own Ukranian eggs, I recommend the excellent half-egg time management approach.

The reason chess boards are flat…

In honor of Alice in Wonderland…

We thought it would be fun to send our friends and family a Cyber Easter Egg each day this week leading up to Easter.  These are from our collection of handmade Pysansky eggs that we have been making ever since the girls were little when we ordered our first Ukranian egg decorating kit from the Chinaberry catalogue.  We only make a few each year, but after a while, they add up to a basket full!  If you would like to take up this tradition, here are a few tips that we have learned which might make it a little bit easier for you. Happy Almost Easter!

At Cathy Heck Studio, we are big fans of the color green.  In honor of this, the only day when one is protected from being pinched by wearing a garment that reflects light of a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometers, I have randomly collected green items from our apartment to assemble this humble ode to a great color:

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

May your day be filled with lots of LOVE!

While making Happy Valentine’s Day boxes for my college kiddos, I decided to use Mini Tootsie Pops as edible filler.  As I tossed them in, for just a moment, it looked as though one was looking back at me.  With a little embellishment from my trusty pen, he really was looking back at me.  (He didn’t wink, though.  That would have been weird.)  But, Ding!  Idea for a Valentine’s Day treat.  I decided to make a whole batch of Tootsie Pop People for Margaret’s Advisory Snack Day.  As I began, I realized that they needed a way to stand, since they had no legs, so I decided to give them big sweet cupcake chairs.  When I finished the project, I thought they looked a little bit like they were all seated in the movie theatre just waiting for the romantic movie to begin.

To begin, I needed a recipe for a great cupcake.  Margaret suggested that I use Funfetti cake mix from the grocery store, but I had just finished a tight deadline, and I was in the mood to make them from scratch.  I chose a recipe from the Magnolia Bakery in New York City because when I searched the web, it was mentioned all over the place.  (I did not choose it just because it was the favorite cupcakery for the Sex in the City ladies … I promise, I learned about that later!)  You can see the recipe here. And, if you click here, you can see a nifty how-to apply-frosting video from the cupcake pros at Magnolia Bakery.  This recipe did indeed yield some tasty cupcakes that blended with the buttercream frosting for a melt-in-your mouth happiness, but just so you know, I suspect I would have recieved the same appreciation for Funfetti cupcakes from my teen.  So depending on your mood and time, I would suggest this for Step One:  Either prepare your favorite cupcake recipe OR purchase Funfetti cake mix from the grocery store, which is perfectly acceptable, and possibly preferred, if the age range of your audience is anywhere from 6 to 16.

For directions to make EASY Tootsie Pop People Sitting On Cupcake Chairs, click here.