LydMc

Happy Halloween! Halloween is almost here again, and you know what that means... costume pARTy! In case you missed the original  Halloween Costume Art , I like to commemorate the holiday by drawing various (often hilarious) costumes pulled from the latest costume catalogs.   Random Costume Assignment This year I enlisted my brother to help randomly assign costumes for my usual cast of characters.   Even though the costumes were completely random, a lot of them worked out quite well for the people who received them. 1st time is not the charm Once I knew who was who, I took some time to sketch out a possible plan. Ten people is quite a lot to fit into one picture, especially since I wanted them to interact in some fashion.  Getting ink A few preliminary sketches later, and I was ready to start inking. This is one of my favorite parts of the process, as it refines all the hazy spots and makes it look so official! Gibdo attack! (Bonus...

The 4th of July is a great time to celebrate freedom, independence and our nation's birthday. It's also a great time to bust out the fireworks (where legal), barbecues and patriotic baked goods! As it turns out, I actually started out just planning a baked good to celebrate the  July  birthdays of two of my coworkers. When one requested cherry pie, I could not help adding one more birthday to the mix. My, my, this American pie Instead of the typical lattice top, I simply added three full dough stripes across the bottom of the pie and three half stripes across the top. I added white sugar to the stripes to make them extra white and tossed it in the oven for about 20 minutes. (If you're looking for a good crust recipe, by the way, check out  Pie Crust V   on Allrecipes.com. It's my go-to crust recipe for most of the pies I make.) The stars were baked separately on a cookie sheet (also topped with white sugar) for about six minutes. Once both the pie and s...

I <3 Valentine's Day! Valentine's Day is the perfect time to celebrate with sweet, pink treats full of love and deliciousness. As it turns out, you can make just about anything heart-shaped, and muffins are no exception.  Instant yum While I originally just intended to make some of my favorite go to muffins as part of a low-key brunch, inspiration and timing got the better of me and made for a fun, new creation. Think outside the box... By following the "What if" recipe option listed on the back of the box, you can transform these already tasty muffins into allegedly "guilt free baked donuts." The only main difference in the process involved putting the batter into a plastic bag and piping it out onto a pan. The shape of my heart Since it was <3 day anyway, I decided to take it one step further and make Valentine's Day themed, heart-shaped donut muffins.  Circles, hearts and triforces, oh my! Along with the ...

Happy Thanksgiving! I've always had a soft spot in my heart (and stomach) for Thanksgiving.  Stuck in between two majorly merchandised holidays, Thanksgiving is often overlooked and has become something of an underdog in the holiday season.  Nonetheless, Thanksgiving is quite possibly my favorite holiday to celebrate.   For me, it has always meant good times with family, sharing delicious homemade creations and catching up while hanging out in the aftermath of football and food comas.  This year, my family had the opportunity to make our Thanksgiving something completely different, so we decided it was time to start some new traditions.  'Tis the season for baking What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than by giving thanks? And what says gratitude better than home-baked goodies? To celebrate Thanksgiving 2014, we decided to make plates of baked goods and deliver them to various servicemen and women who, by the nature of their job, hav...