Chillin' in North Knoxville

I found this happy snowman walking through the neighborhood this afternoon with the bright white snow sparkling all around. He just fits in the scene perfectly, doesn't he? So happy-go-lucky, smoking his pipe, chillin' in his baja, basking in the sunshine... for now. Seems like he could be the gatekeeper for the world of graffiti behind him. I love the bold colors and shapes contrasting with the splatters of paint around the edges, especially the bottom left corner of the building. Not sure what this building is, actually, but it might inspire some nice peppered paper. It certainly comes to life with this jovial man in front of it. I love sunny snow days!

Pao de Queijo

Here's Laurence's Brazilian cheese bread recipe I referred to in my previous post:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup milk (can use rice milk)

1 tsp salt

2 cups tapioca starch (corn starch works)

2 eggs

2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large metal bowl place 2 cups tapioca starch (garlic or other seasoning if adding) and set aside.

In a saucepan boil together the oil, water, milk, and salt. When the mixture begins to boil it will begin to foam; at this point pour the mixture into the tapioca starch and mix well (don't use a mixer). After mixing well, let mixture rest for 10-15 minutes, or longer. Add the eggs and cheese and mix well with a large spoon. The mixture will be very sticky at this point.

Using a small spoon or scoop, drop balls of the above mixture onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are lightly browned.

* add garlic powder or other seasoning for extra flavor

* can use a variety of cheese in place of parmesan, which it the traditional cheese for this Brazilian recipe, cheddar is also good

I'm not sure how I feel about posting this recipe on my blog, since I've never made it! But, I have often enjoyed this cheese bread, with parmesan and cheddar. So, I've at least tested it out in some way, and it's just so fitting with the Kissin' & Cookin' recipe card posted below.

Kissin' & Cookin'

I found this pretty recipe card looking through my mom's recipes a few weeks ago. It's a recipe from my great aunt Dorothy. The cheese balls don't sound particularly appealing to me, but maybe I'll have to try them out one day, whenever I have an extra stick of Oleo on hand. However, I do love the illustration and detailed design of the card, with the colorful figures and floral designs, and even the nice blue script. I wish all of my recipes were on fun cards like this one. Maybe I should design some recipe cards myself? That would be a fun project! I also love that the little man is holding some utensils (for cooking?) with the little lady about to pour some tea! Laurence does make some mean pao de queijo (Brazilian cheese balls). I'll post his recipe too. Just saying, I still like his kissin' and cookin.' :)

How I Pepper Paper

Lots of people ask me how I came up with the name Peppered Paper. Those that know me well may remember Pepper, a blue heeler mix with fuzzy white hair and little black spots on his back. Those that know me better may know about my strong affinity for Dr. Pepper, inherited from my great grandmother whose husband owned the ice plant in Mayfield, KY. Stories of getting sodas and candy for a nickel at the ice plant were told countless times around my grandmother's breakfast table. Unfortunately, I inherited her sweet tooth. However, I think these images do the best job of showing how the name came about, besides just thinking it's catchy.

I mostly work using painted paper collage. My technique is intriguing, part of my process being so loose and intuitive, and the other part being completely meticulous and detailed- the painting and splattering versus the cutting and pasting. I always lay out thick white paper on my drafting table to collect the splatter and strokes that don't quite make it onto the paper I'm preparing. After months, when this drop sheet is just right, I roll it up and save it. I love it. I think I am really an abstract expressionist at heart. I'm planning on framing some of the best of this collection to hang in my studio. Hopefully I'll get something on the walls soon, and I'll post some pics when I do. Until then, I think I'll start posting more of these peppered papers, just because I find them so beautiful and would like to share them. Hope you like them!

Over the Threshold

Kathryn wanted to give her brother and new sister-in-law a unique (and very thoughtful) wedding present. She commissioned this portrait of their first home together, which showcases all of her brother's landscaping getting the home ready for his new bride! Even though they may soon outgrow their little red brick cottage, I hope this canvas will always bring back fond memories of sweet early years together. I'm still wanting to do a collage of our first home together, the major work in progress. I can visualized what I would love for it to look like one day, but what if we change our mind about the trim color or something? Better wait til the curb appeal is real and not just imagined.

I used my painted paper collage technique for this piece and found some beautiful thin textured paper for the plants. I also used one of our salvaged topographical maps for the background, which I think adds some nice subtle interest in the the sky and grass. More samples of my custom work can be seen in my Etsy shop.

For Baby Isabella's Nursery

One of my best friends from junior high is now a Mommy! That's fifteen years we've been "growing up" together, and I cannot get over her new title. Seems like just yesterday her mom was yelling at us because our shorts were too short, and now she has a little girl of her own! The crazy thing is how normal it all is- the office turned into nursery, the bottles in the kitchen cabinets, the baby gear laying all around, everything just seems to fit like it's always had a place. I guess that's how these things work out, but I just keep wondering how we're going to come up with more space in our kitchen cabinets... one day.

Anyway, I finally got to meet sweet Isabella and give her this canvas to hang in her nursery. I think it will look great on the bright green walls. She's so beautiful and curious, taking everything in all around her! Not even three months, but hopefully she'll like having this when she gets a little older too! I'll be listing these custom canvases in my etsy shop soon... just let me know if you know of any new little ones who would like a Custom Birth Announcement Canvas!